Clearing the Land

Chapter 26: Clearing the Land

"Like this. Watch closely!"

Hermione proudly waved her wand and recited the spell. A mass of blue, bellflower-like flames fell onto the wasteland, and before long, the smell of scorching filled the air.

However, the flames went out almost immediately. They failed to ignite the wasteland and only scorched a few weeds black.

Hermione said somewhat sheepishly to Charles, "I'm still not very familiar with this spell. Let me try again."

This spell could produce blue flames. They gave off a gentle light, were unaffected by wind or rain, and could be stored in a glass bottle and used as a heater.

Hermione had only just learned it from a book and was still inexperienced, so the results were poor.

The barren patch had already been surrounded by a firebreak, so all they needed to do was burn it. Charles had decided to let Hermione try after seeing her studying the book on Fire Spells that she had borrowed from the library over the past few days.

At that moment, Seamus hurriedly said, "Let me try!"

Helping Charles clear the wasteland came with payment. However, the Gryffindor first-years were all discussing the upcoming Flying Class, and none of them were interested in Charles's snacks. Only the loyal Seamus and Hermione, who could no longer stand listening to everyone brag, were willing to help.

Seamus waved his wand and recited the spell just as Hermione had. He failed on his first attempt, producing only a few blue sparks.

Hermione told him that he had made a mistake in one place.

It had to be said that Seamus was quite talented. After correcting a small mistake, his wand spewed out a blue pillar of fire, about the size of the water jet used by firefighters. It slammed into the middle of the wasteland.

Without a word, Charles immediately cast the Levitation Charm on Seamus and Hermione. Just as he was preparing to drag them away, the flames on the grass exploded.

From the older students and Professor Sprout, who were attending class in the greenhouse nearby, to Voldemort, who was watching Charles through Quirrell's eyes from behind a castle window, everyone saw a flash of blue light. Then, a huge mass of sky-blue, crystal-like flames covered the entire wasteland.

"Wow!" Seamus excitedly turned to Hermione. "Your spell is amazing!"

Hermione did not want to answer. It was not that Seamus's magic was more powerful than hers, but that both of them were currently being carried over Charles's shoulders as he sprinted away.

Charles carried them both over a stream and only stopped after running a hundred meters away. By then, the flames had finally begun to die down.

"Ow!" The moment Seamus was set down, he suddenly discovered that all the strength had left his body and dropped onto the ground.

He rubbed his head and said nervously, "I think I'm really sleepy. I feel like I could fall asleep right now."

As he spoke, he yawned.

"It's nothing." Charles handed him a large piece of chocolate. "You used up too much magic in one go. Eat something at dinner later, then sleep in your dormitory, and you'll be fine."

When Charles handed another piece of chocolate to Hermione, he noticed that her expression was a little strange. She seemed extremely unwilling to accept the result.

"Don't overthink it." Charles tapped her on the head with the chocolate.

"Mm..." Hermione hugged her head and glared fiercely at Charles. "Even my father has never hit me like that."

Charles stuffed the chocolate into her hand and said with a smile, "Don't envy him or feel jealous. There's something wrong with Seamus."

"A wizard's magic is like water in a teapot. Using magic normally is like pouring tea through the spout. Although only a small amount comes out at once, it's easy to control."

"Seamus is different. He's like opening the lid and pouring the tea out. It all gushes out at once, overflowing the cup and splashing everywhere."

Hermione quickly understood and looked at Seamus with some sympathy.

Now it was Seamus's turn to panic. He asked nervously, "What should I do? Should I go to St Mungo's?"

Charles shrugged and said to him, "The doctors there will tell you... 'We can't treat you. Go home. Bye-bye.'"

"Playing tricks on your classmates is wrong." Dumbledore appeared at that moment. With such a huge disturbance at school, the headmaster could hardly fail to show up.

He said kindly to Seamus, "Don't worry. This isn't a serious problem. You just need to practice more."

Seamus asked the headmaster expectantly, "Really?"

"Of course it's true." Dumbledore answered with certainty. "I would never lie."

The implication was that Charles had been lying.

Seamus wondered whether he should borrow Ron's rat that night and put it on Charles's bed to scare him.

Dumbledore went over to the place that had just been burned, and Charles and the others followed.

The originally withered wasteland was now covered in grass and wood ash. The soil was still warm enough to roast potatoes in.

After eating the chocolate, Seamus felt that some of his strength had returned, and he was no longer as sleepy. Looking proudly at his handiwork, he said, "Looks like I'm pretty amazing after all!"

Charles gave him a bag of toffees. This was the payment they had agreed on.

"It was a Magical Power Outburst." Dumbledore used a technical term Charles had never heard before. "Finnigan used too much magic at once and couldn't control it properly, resulting in an effect similar to an explosion. I'm afraid even a dragon couldn't withstand that power."

He turned to Seamus and said, "I suggest that you don't use magic like this again until you've mastered controlling your spells. Repairing the castle is very expensive."

Seamus immediately agreed.

Charles thought for a moment, then asked the headmaster curiously, "Professor Dumbledore, can this method be used to increase a spell's power?"

Dumbledore answered seriously, "Casting a spell is a very precise process. The slightest deviation can lead to extremely serious consequences."

"Controlling chaos is far more difficult than controlling order. You might encounter something irreversible while attempting it."

Charles thought it over carefully, then nodded.

Late-stage Low-Potency Syndrome was one thing, while blindly pursuing power was another. That would lead him astray.

Compared with power, safety and controllability were more important.

Take nitroglycerin, for example. Pure nitroglycerin was immensely powerful but prone to exploding. After diatomaceous earth was added, its power decreased somewhat, but it became much safer and could therefore be used widely.

Now that the weeds had been cleared, it was time to plow the land.

"Professor Dumbledore," Charles asked the headmaster, "what spell is used to make something like a Self-Inking Quill?"

He had actually considered hiring Harry to do the work, but the Old Man did not treat pounds as money and had driven up Harry's labor costs. Besides, Harry had inherited his family fortune and did not lack money, so that plan had gone nowhere.

He had also considered Seamus, but he wanted to plant flowers and grass, not dig a pond to raise fish, so he had abandoned that idea.

Charles could not exactly order Voldemort to plow his land, grab the unwilling Voldemort by the scalp, force a hoe into his hands, and beat him whenever he refused—knocking him down and continuing to beat him until he obeyed and worked.

And so, the idea of making an automatic hoe and plow came to him. He decided to create some farm tools like quills that could write by themselves and let them do the work.

Dumbledore saw what he was thinking and slowly shook his head. "That's a very advanced spell. Only the wizards who produce quills know it, just as only a few wandmakers know some of the most crucial spells used to make wands."

Charles was helpless. People naturally would not casually reveal their core technology.

He could only settle for the next best thing and ask, "What about a spell that makes a teapot pour tea by itself?"

Dumbledore smiled. "That's a very good idea, but I think you should start learning spells from the basics. Of course, if you're interested, you can go to the library and look into it first."

"But don't try it lightly. Someone once made a mistake. They intended to pour a cup of tea, but ended up taking a bath."

Charles was once again at a loss. However, the moment he heard about taking a bath, he seized the opportunity. "Professor, I often have to deal with compost made from Dragon Dung, so I end up smelling awful. Even Seamus has started complaining about me."

Seamus cooperatively nodded emphatically from the side.

Charles continued, "I heard there's a bathroom in the castle. Could I apply to use it after I finish working?"

Dumbledore did not answer, because the Prefects' Bathroom was a privilege reserved for prefects. He was the headmaster, so whether another prefect took Charles inside or told him the password was a matter among the students. Granting Charles a prefect's privilege himself was an entirely different matter.