Mischief Sprite

Hogwarts classes were quite relaxed; first-year Young Wizards had no more than three lessons a day.

On Thursday, Ravenclaw had three different classes: Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration Class.

For a power like spells, which provided immediate positive feedback,

after just a few days at school, the Young Wizards had already shown varying levels of progress.

Most Young Wizards had mastered Lumos, but could only produce a faint glow.

Some were still waving their wands, flicking and pausing as they loudly recited the incantation,

yet they still could not make the tips of their wands shine.

As for Sean,

his Lumos Charm practice had already reached the Proficient level.

The light he produced was not only brighter than that of the other Young Wizards, but also steadier.

The logic behind learning magic could always be explained like this:

first came understanding.

If you did not understand a spell, you could not use it.

Therefore, all other conditions aside, the more spells a Wizard knew, the stronger they were.

And once you understood a spell, you still needed to practice it constantly, becoming ever more proficient with it.

That was the second principle behind a Wizard growing stronger—

the more proficient a Wizard was with the spells they used, the stronger they were.

There were many examples of this, such as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, who would arrive next year.

His specialty, Obliviate, could even make powerful Wizards who feared neither Vampires, werewolves, nor Trolls suffer a humiliating defeat.

So constant practice was certainly the path toward the source of magic.

After reaching the beginner level in the Lumos Charm, Sean could clearly feel that his understanding of the spell had deepened.

His formerly stiff gestures had become smooth, and his pronunciation was no longer vague, but clear and forceful.

Sean guessed that once his proficiency with a spell reached a certain level,

he might no longer need to speak the incantation aloud.

He would only need to recite it silently in his mind.

"Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1" mentioned that this was the Silence Spell commonly used by advanced Wizards.

As for the principle behind it,

"Magical Theory" offered a clear explanation:

since an incantation was a specific word or phrase used to trigger or invoke magic,

silently reciting it was equally effective, which meant it could be used without making a sound.

This would also be covered in Professor Snape's sixth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Very good! Very good! Remarkable progress. Many of you have learned Lumos.

For Young Wizards who have just learned the Lumos Charm, uninterrupted practice is extremely important.

But for a few extra-talented little ones..."

Professor Flitwick's voice was shrill. As he spoke, he winked at Sean, Hermione, and several others.

"I'll teach them another spell in advance. Come now, those little ones who learned the Lumos Charm last time can gather around.

As for those who haven't learned it yet, don't worry. Remember what I said: flick and pause, yearn for the light..."

Professor Flitwick was easy to underestimate, but he was anything but sloppy when it came to casting spells.

Under his guidance, the few Young Wizards who had performed especially well began practicing another spell.

It was the Levitation Charm.

By the end of class, Sean's Levitation Charm had gained a full 30 points of proficiency under the professor's guidance.

It had reached (34/300).

Satisfied, Sean left the Charms classroom through its long corridor. The Young Wizards had ten minutes to get to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

That was not much time, so everyone hurried along in a noisy group.

Until they encountered an unwelcome guest.

"Aha! First-year brats!"

Just as the Young Wizards were about to open a door, a ghost suddenly sprang out from behind it, frightening everyone badly.

It shoved a wastepaper basket over Seamus's head, and Seamus cried out:

"My head! Oh no! My eyes! Has it gone dark?"

But the ghost's prank was clearly not over. It suddenly yanked the rug out from beneath the Young Wizards' feet.

Even Michael fell. Just as he was about to get up, his nose suddenly tightened. It was that ghost.

It grabbed Michael by the nose and shrieked:

"Got your nose!"

Anthony and Terry instinctively took a step back, then forced themselves to edge closer to Michael.

Sean moved the fastest. He shouted:

"Peeves! Bloody Baron is coming!"

The ghost immediately let out a shriek and fled in a flash.

Sean and the other two quickly helped the still-shaken Michael to his feet.

The Young Wizards around them looked at Sean with admiration.

"Oh, thank you, Sean. You really saved me, and you too..."

Michael's face reddened. He looked around, confirming that Peeves had left.

Then he quietly edged a little closer to Sean.

"Sean, how did you know Peeves was afraid of Bloody Baron?"

"Gryffindor Prefect Percy told me."

Sean was not lying. Percy had indeed said that, but how Sean had known about it was another matter entirely.

On the Moving Staircase, the frightened Young Wizards all quickened their pace to get away from there.

Only when firelight appeared in the corridor did everyone finally let out a breath of relief.

Peeves had been named very aptly. Mischievous and troublesome, he always liked to shriek as he flew through the corridors of Hogwarts, pulling all kinds of pranks.

Although he had no physical body, could pass through walls, and was as translucent as a ghost,

he was not actually a ghost.

Sean had learned this while flipping through Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

At Hogwarts, Peeves was very noisy, but he was not a ghost. He was a Poltergeist, also known as a Mischief Ghost.

A Mischief Ghost was a form of psychic energy, rather than an imprint left behind by the dead.

The ghosts of Hogwarts all acknowledged that Peeves was not one of them.

Theorists generally believed that Mischief Ghosts were entities caused by subconscious behavior—particularly the subconscious behavior of the oppressed.

For centuries, Hogwarts students had endured considerable pressure, so it was hardly surprising that Peeves had emerged as such an entity.

It was Sean's first time seeing such an explanation. Thoughtfully, he continued reading:

I advocate that Young Wizards should at least learn the following spells to deal with the darkest part of magical power.

Green Sparks, Green spark;

Red Sparks, Red spark;

Knockback Jinx, Repelling Charm;

Smokescreen Spell, Smokescreen Charm;

Wand-Lighting Charm, Lumos

Sean carefully read this section and committed the first four spells to memory.

If he learned those four spells, he should be able to achieve Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

As for how to learn them, Sean glanced at Professor Quirrell, who stammered and mumbled whenever he spoke.

He let out a deep sigh and temporarily put the plan aside in his notebook.

He had to face the question that filled him with both excitement and concern—

practicing potion-brewing,

in the Dungeon guarded by Professor Snape, a place reputed to be forbidden ground.