The explosion at Malfoy Manor had little to do with Hogwarts. Here, even Voldemort had to keep his head down, and Grindelwald had to lie low. They could not interfere with the teachers and students attending class. If they wanted to cause trouble, they would have to wait until after the exams.
After breakfast, the new Gryffindor students headed for the Spell Class classroom to attend their first lesson at Hogwarts. Everyone was a little nervous.
Charles and Seamus were no exception. By the time they came to their senses, they realized they were lost.
Fortunately, there were plenty of paintings in the castle, and ghosts passed by from time to time. As long as you politely asked for directions, you would get the right answer.
Except from Peeves. Whether you were polite or not, he would go out of his way to prank you.
"Look what I found?!" Peeves passed through the ceiling and appeared in the corridor. "Two little brats, hahahaha! I'll show you what I can do!"
He rushed behind the armor beside the corridor and pushed it toward Charles and Seamus.
Crash!
The metal armor slammed heavily onto the floor and immediately fell apart. A flying helmet struck the front of Seamus's lower leg, making him clutch it and howl in pain as the books in his hands fell to the ground.
Charles stepped on the flying iron gauntlet. Seeing Peeves fly toward another suit of armor at the other end of the corridor, he came up with a theory and kicked the iron gauntlet.
Just as Peeves was preparing to knock over the second suit of armor, the flying iron gauntlet smashed into him and sent him flying two meters away.
"Who?!" he shouted furiously. "Who dares—"
"Accio Peeves!"
"Peeves, get lost!"
Before Peeves could finish, it was as if a giant hand had grabbed him and viciously thrown him out the window.
"Cool!" Seamus forgot all about his aching leg and ran over to Charles. "How did you do that? I heard my mother say that no one could subdue Peeves!"
Charles told him, "Come on, let's go. Don't be late. I'll explain on the way."
Seamus hurriedly picked up his textbook and rushed with Charles to the Spell Class classroom on the castle's fourth floor.
On the way, Charles said, "Before I came to school, I heard that Peeves could pass through walls but could also touch objects. That seems contradictory."
"So I came up with a theory. Peeves has two states: one in which he can pass through objects, and another in which he can touch them. These two states might not coexist."
"He tried to knock over the armor just now, which meant he was in the state where he could touch objects. That meant objects could touch him as well."
"To verify my theory, I threw something at him, and it turned out to be correct. So while he was still caught off guard, I used Accio Charm and Projectile Charm to throw him out."
Seamus did not quite understand, but it sounded impressive.
The two finally reached the Spell Class classroom before the lesson began. The moment they sat down, Professor Flitwick appeared with the attendance register.
Professor Flitwick had to jump onto a pile of books behind the lectern before his head could be seen. He opened the register and began calling the names.
"Harry... Potter..."
The professor became so excited that he shrieked as if he were about to faint.
Seamus whispered enviously, "Potter is really famous. People stare at him wherever he goes."
Charles quietly comforted him. "Don't worry. With your talent, I believe you'll be the center of attention too someday."
Seamus said, "I hope so."
He achieved it very soon.
After taking attendance, Professor Flitwick told everyone, "Learning spells requires gradual progress and diligent practice. Don't foolishly imagine that you can master extremely complicated spells in your first year."
"Today, we'll start with a simple spell, 'Gentle Breeze Charm.' Does anyone know this spell?"
The moment the professor finished speaking, Hermione's hand shot straight up, without even a millisecond of delay.
After being called on, Hermione stood and answered, "The Gentle Breeze Charm produces a gust of wind from the tip of the wand. Its incantation is... blah blah blah... and the casting motion is... yada yada yada..."
Compared to how she usually spoke, she was rather excited at that moment, as if she were doing the thing she loved most.
After listening, Professor Flitwick clapped and said, "Very good, very good. That was a perfect answer. Gryffindor gets two points."
Looking at the back of Hermione's head, Charles knew that once she sat down, she would definitely have a proud smile on her face.
Hermione was actually very sensitive inside. An eleven-year-old girl had entered a completely unfamiliar environment and had always been cautious. Her arrogance was merely a form of self-protection.
Still, she really was impressive enough to deserve that arrogance.
Professor Flitwick began explaining how to pronounce the incantation and how to wave the wand when casting the spell. Then everyone began practicing on their own.
The spell was actually very simple, and quite a few of the new students from wizarding families already knew it.
These students had learned through their parents' words and demonstrations. Adult wizards inevitably developed habits that made casting more comfortable for themselves, but those habits were not necessarily suitable for their children.
Professor Flitwick kept walking around the classroom, correcting their improper techniques. They should first learn the standard method before modifying it according to their own habits.
When he reached Charles, he praised the 460 wand that was nearly half his own height, then said seriously, "When casting a spell, the main thing is to watch the wand's tip and its trajectory. The longer the wand, the easier it is to make mistakes in this regard. You need to be careful."
Charles immediately said, "Thank you, Professor. I'll be careful."
Jack had not told him about this minor detail. That was the difference between an educator and an ordinary person.
After half a lesson, everyone in the class could make their wands blow wind like a hair dryer. They began casting the spell at one another and blowing each other's hair around.
Charles felt that Professor Flitwick had chosen such a simple spell for the first lesson because he wanted to give everyone some confidence.
At that moment, Professor Flitwick asked everyone to come over and play a little game that could earn them points.
A long table had been placed in the open space before the lectern. A row of candles stood on it, each about ten centimeters apart. Professor Flitwick asked everyone to cast the spell from one end of the table and see how many candles they could blow out.
The row of candles stretched two meters. Blowing out candles beyond the 1.5-meter mark earned one point, while blowing out the final candle earned two points.
Everyone had only one chance, and they all cast the spell with every ounce of their strength.
Harry made his appearance under everyone's watchful eyes. He was a little nervous while casting the spell, and in the end, only three candles remained burning.
He let out a helpless sigh and glanced gloomily at Charles.
Charles said smugly, "Don't be discouraged. You blew out several more candles than Hermione, who came in third."
Seamus stepped up next, and he was just as nervous.
Professor Flitwick said from the side, "Don't be nervous. It's only a little game. Stay calm."
Seamus took a deep breath to calm himself, then began casting at the flames atop the candles.
Boom!
The enormous sound reverberated through the classroom, and everyone covered their ears.
In front of Seamus, forget the candles—even the long table had vanished without a trace.
Charles felt a little shaken. Seamus had just used this spell to blow on his hair. If his wand had released such a massive shock wave then, Charles estimated that he would have ended up lying in the Haggett Cemetery Chamber.
"Old Man was right," Charles thought. "Hogwarts really is dangerous."
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