Hogwarts was awakened by a unique kind of magic in the morning. Sunlight streamed through the tall stained-glass windows of Gryffindor Tower, casting splashes of color across the floor. The air was filled with the mingled scents of toast, fried bacon, and fresh parchment. Lynn woke amid the distinctive atmosphere of the boys' dormitory, a mixture of wool blankets and teenage sweat, with the Star Stone against his chest radiating a steady warmth.
The Common Room was already bustling. Hermione had seated herself early at a table near the fireplace, with The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 spread open before her. She nibbled on toast thickly spread with orange marmalade while reading intently, her fluffy curls gilded pale gold by the morning light. When she saw Lynn come downstairs, she immediately looked up, her eyes sparkling with eagerness for new knowledge. "Lynn! Look at the timetable!" She pushed a sheet of parchment toward him.
The parchment clearly listed their first day's classes: Charms with Professor Flitwick and Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall in the morning, followed by History of Magic with Professor Binns in the afternoon.
"Professor Flitwick is the head of Ravenclaw House. They say his mastery of Charms is profound!" Hermione said reverently.
"Professor McGonagall is even stricter. Transfiguration is one of the hardest subjects in the O.W.L.s!" Ron said indistinctly as he approached with an enormous beef pie, his cheeks stuffed full and his face plainly full of awe.
Harry looked somewhat worriedly at History of Magic on the timetable. "Professor Binns... is a ghost?"
After enjoying a hearty breakfast, the first-years followed the timetable's directions through staircases that still enjoyed playing pranks on them. This time, one flight of steps suddenly turned into a smooth slope, and Neville's "Jumping" nearly slipped away. At last, they found the Charms classroom at the end of the Third Floor Corridor.
The classroom was spacious and bright, with rows of long tables and benches facing the lectern. Behind it stood towering bookshelves crammed with heavy magical tomes. Professor Flitwick stood atop a specially arranged pile of tall books, barely managing to get his head above the lectern. He was small in stature, with white hair and beard, dressed in neat dark blue robes and wearing tiny round spectacles. Behind the lenses, his eyes shone with intelligent, gentle light.
"Good morning, little fledglings of the first year!" Professor Flitwick's voice was shrill but clear, carrying a peculiar rhythm. "Welcome to the wonderful world of Charms! Here, will and magic resonate, and spells become reality! I am Filius Flitwick, your guide."
His opening was brief but passionate. After a simple introduction and an emphasis on classroom rules, he went straight to the point.
"Today, we will learn one of the most basic and most important spells—'LumosLevioso'!" Professor Flitwick drew his slender wand and gave his wrist an exceptionally graceful flick, an arc like that of a conductor. His wand tip precisely pointed toward a white feather on the lectern.
"LumosLevioso!"
A soft, pure milky-white light instantly flowed from the wand tip. It was not a dazzling beam, but something like tangible mist that enveloped the feather. Under everyone's astonished gaze, the feather seemed to lose all weight. It rose lightly and steadily from the lectern, floating a foot above the tabletop as it slowly spun, giving off a gentle halo.
"Perfect control! Your will must be like a thread, your magic like flowing water!" Professor Flitwick said approvingly as he looked at his result. Then he motioned for the students to take out their wands and practice feathers, one for each of them. "Now, it is your turn! Focus, feel the flow of magic, and clearly pronounce the spell—'LumosLevioso'! Remember, keep your wrist movement light, as though you are lifting a cloud!"
The classroom immediately filled with uneven chants and the swishing of wands.
"Lu-Lu-LumosLevioso!" Neville's voice trembled with nerves as he jabbed his wand wildly. The feather did not budge. Instead, he accidentally poked it until it rolled onto the floor.
"LumosLevioso!" Seamus swung his wand forcefully, and a small spray of sparks burst from its tip, nearly scorching his feather.
"Lu... LumosLevioso..." Ron's face turned red with strain. His feather trembled, rose only an inch from the tabletop, then dropped with a plop.
Harry fared slightly better. His feather wobbled its way up a short distance, its light faint and flickering, but it fell after only a few seconds.
Hermione took a deep breath, her little face tense and her gaze utterly focused. Following the book's description, she tried hard to adjust her breathing, flicked her wrist at what she believed was the perfect angle, and clearly said, "LumosLevioso!"
A soft milky-white halo lit up at the tip of her Moonlight Grapevine Wand and enveloped the feather. Trembling, the feather slowly—painfully slowly, as if burdened by weight—lifted from the tabletop and rose about three inches. The light was faint, but relatively stable.
"Very good, Miss Granger!" Professor Flitwick cried in delight. "You made the feather leave the table on your first attempt! Your concentration is excellent!"
Pride and joy instantly bloomed across Hermione's face. She tried to maintain the flow of magic, but she was clearly struggling, and the feather began to sway slightly.
At that moment, Lynn, seated beside her, raised his wand as well. He did not cast the spell at once. Instead, he closed his eyes, as though sensing something. The Star Stone against his chest gave a faint pulse. He was not feeling his own magic, but perceiving the milky-white halo at Hermione's wand tip—the pure yet slightly sluggish flow of energy she was struggling to maintain.
He opened his eyes. His Star-patterned Fir Wood wand lightly traced a strange arc through the air with an extremely tiny, nearly imperceptible movement, like the path of a star. There was no incantation, no light, not even any obvious Magic Fluctuation. Yet at the instant he completed that tiny motion—
Hermione suddenly felt the sluggishness in her wand vanish! It was as though a warm but steadfast current, perhaps from the Moon White Stone, had instantly opened the channel for her magic! The milky-white halo around the feather at her wand tip abruptly became bright and stable! The feather, which had been on the verge of falling, seemed supported by an invisible current of air. It rose lightly and steadily into midair, hovering securely and radiating a soft glow several times brighter than before! Its light was purer and more lively than that of the feather Professor Flitwick had demonstrated!
"Merlin's beard!" Professor Flitwick excitedly jumped right off his pile of books, nearly falling over. Adjusting his round spectacles, he stared at Hermione in disbelief. "Perfect! This is practically a textbook-level LumosLevioso! Five points to Gryffindor! Miss Granger, your talent is astonishing!"
Hermione herself was stunned. She looked at the steadily glowing feather hovering in the air, then at the wand in her hand, her mouth slightly open. That feeling of her magic suddenly becoming incomparably smooth just now... what had happened? Instinctively, she looked toward Lynn beside her.
Lynn had already lowered his wand and was looking at her calmly. His deep eyes held a trace of almost imperceptible amusement and... encouragement? He gave a slight nod, as if saying, See? You can do it.
Hermione's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and her cheeks quickly flushed red. Was it him? That wonderful sense of smoothness just now... could it have been him? But how had he done it? There had been no incantation, no light...
While her thoughts were in turmoil, Lynn finally raised his own wand toward the feather in front of him and clearly said, "LumosLevioso."
A condensed, profound stream of deep blue light, like something cutting through the morning mist, instantly surged from his wand tip and precisely wrapped around the feather. Rather than rising slowly, the feather was drawn by an invisible starry path and immediately floated steadily into the air! It no longer emitted a soft milky-white glow, but a restrained deep blue shimmer like stars on a cold night. The light was stable and profound, carrying an unusual icy texture as it complemented Hermione's lively milky-white light.
"Oh! Just as excellent, Mr. Lee!" Professor Flitwick praised again. "A unique magical quality! Deep and steady! Another five points to Gryffindor!"
Ron gaped at the feather before Lynn, glittering with starlight, then at his own feather lying on the table. He let out a mournful cry. "That isn't fair!"
The following Transfiguration class had an entirely different atmosphere.
Professor McGonagall's classroom was on the second floor. It was spacious and cold, containing only a lectern and neatly arranged desks. Professor McGonagall herself seemed like the embodiment of her classroom. She wore her impeccably neat dark green robes, her hair twisted into a high bun, and her expression was as stern as granite. Her sharp gaze swept over every first-year entering the room, and the classroom instantly became so quiet that a pin could have been heard falling.
"Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall said, her voice as stern as her gaze, "is the most complex, most dangerous, and most demanding of strict discipline among the subjects you will study at Hogwarts. It requires precise incantations, perfect wrist movements, and strong willpower. Any foolish playfulness or carelessness may lead to... irreversible consequences." Her gaze rested briefly on Ron and Seamus, and both immediately drew in their necks.
"Today, our goal is to turn the—" With a flick of Professor McGonagall's wand, a smooth, polished round pebble appeared on every student's desk. "—into a polished brass button of the same size!"
She drew her wand and, with a precise, crisp motion devoid of any flourish, pointed it at a pebble on the lectern. "FormaMutatio!"
A dazzling silvery-white light with a metallic sheen flashed! The pebble on the lectern instantly vanished, replaced by a gleaming brass button with crisp edges! The entire process was as swift as lightning, clean and efficient.
"Did you see that?" Professor McGonagall lowered her wand. "The incantation: FormaMutatio. The wrist movement: rotate half a turn from the inside outward, quickly and steadily, as though turning a key. Willpower: you must clearly outline every detail of the target form in your mind! Now, begin practicing!"
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