Magic Light First Blooms and Star-Moon Synchronization (Part 1)

The morning at Hogwarts was awakened by a unique magic. Sunlight streamed through the tall stained-glass windows of Gryffindor Tower, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow on the floor. The air was thick with the mingled scents of toast, fried bacon, and fresh parchment. Lynn woke in the boys' dormitory, surrounded by the characteristic blend of wool blankets and teenage sweat, the Star Stone pressed against his chest, radiating a steady warmth.

The Common Room was already bustling with noise. Hermione was sitting early at a table near the fireplace, with Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 spread open before her. She nibbled on a slice of toast thickly spread with marmalade while reading intently, her bushy hair gilded with a pale gold by the morning light. When she saw Lynn come down, she immediately looked up, her eyes bright and sparkling with eagerness for new knowledge. "Lynn! Look at the timetable!" She pushed a piece of parchment toward him.

The parchment clearly listed the first day's classes: morning was Charms (Professor Flitwick) and Transfiguration (Professor McGonagall), afternoon was History of Magic (Professor Binns).

"Professor Flitwick is the Head of Ravenclaw, and they say he's incredibly accomplished in the field of Charms!" Hermione's tone was full of reverence.

"Professor McGonagall is even stricter. Transfiguration is one of the hardest subjects in the O.W.L.s!" Ron came over holding a huge beef pie, his mouth stuffed full, speaking indistinctly with a clear look of awe on his face.

Harry, on the other hand, looked somewhat worriedly at the History of Magic on the timetable. "Professor Binns... is a ghost?"

After finishing a hearty breakfast, the first-years followed the timetable's directions, navigating the still-mischievous staircases (this time a flight suddenly turned into a smooth slope, and Neville's toad "Trevor" nearly slid away), finally finding the Charms classroom at the end of the fourth-floor corridor.

The classroom was spacious and bright, with rows of long tables and benches facing the lectern. Behind the lectern were towering bookshelves crammed with heavy magical tomes. Professor Flitwick stood on a specially stacked pile of books, just barely able to get his head above the lectern. He was short in stature, with white hair and beard, wearing neat dark blue robes and a small pair of round-framed glasses, behind which his eyes sparkled with wisdom and gentle warmth.

"Good morning, little first-year fledglings!" Professor Flitwick's voice was high-pitched but clear, with a peculiar rhythmic quality. "Welcome to the wonderful world of Charms! Here, will resonates with magic, and spells become reality! I am Filius Flitwick, your guide."

His opening remarks were concise and full of enthusiasm. After a brief self-introduction and emphasis on classroom discipline, he got straight to the point.

"Today, we will learn one of the most basic, yet most important spells—'LumosLevioso'!" Professor Flitwick drew his slender wand, and with an elegant, conductor-like flick of his wrist, he precisely pointed the wand tip at a pure white feather on the lectern.

"LumosLevioso!"

A soft, pure milky-white light instantly surged from the wand tip. It wasn't a blinding beam, but rather a tangible mist that enveloped the feather. Amid everyone's amazed gazes, the feather seemed to lose its weight, rising lightly and steadily from the lectern, hovering a foot above the desk, slowly rotating and radiating a soft halo!

"Perfect control! Will must be like a silk thread, magic like flowing water!" Professor Flitwick looked satisfied with his result, then gestured for the students to take out their wands and practice feathers (one each). "Now, it's your turn! Concentrate, feel the flow of magic, and clearly pronounce the incantation—'LumosLevioso'! Remember, the wrist movement must be light, as if lifting a cloud!"

The classroom immediately filled with a cacophony of uneven incantations and wand-waving sounds.

"Lu-Lu-LumosLevioso!" Neville's voice trembled with nervousness as he jabbed his wand wildly; the feather didn't move at all, instead rolling onto the floor after he accidentally poked it.

"LumosLevioso!" Seamus gave his wand a forceful wave, and a small shower of sparks shot from the tip, nearly singeing his feather.

"Lu... LumosLevioso..." Ron's face turned red as he strained; the feather quivered, rose an inch from the desk, then fell back down with a plop.

Harry fared slightly better; his feather wobbled up a short distance, its light faint and flickering, before dropping after a few seconds.

Hermione took a deep breath, her small face tense, her gaze intensely focused. Following the description in the book, she tried to regulate her breathing, swung her wrist at what she thought was the perfect angle, and clearly intoned: "LumosLevioso!"

The tip of her Moonlight Grapevine Wand glowed with a soft milky-white halo, which enveloped the feather. The feather trembled, and with extreme slowness, as if burdened, left the desk, rising about three inches! The light was faint, but relatively steady!

"Excellent! Miss Granger!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed in surprise. "Making the feather leave the desk on your first try! Remarkable focus!"

A glow of pride and joy instantly lit up Hermione's small face. She struggled to maintain the output of magic, but it was clearly taxing, and the feather began to wobble slightly.

Just then, Lynn, sitting beside her, also raised his wand. He didn't immediately chant the spell, but closed his eyes, as if sensing something. The Star Stone on his chest pulsed faintly. He wasn't sensing his own magic, but rather the struggling milky-white halo at the tip of Hermione's wand—that pure but slightly sluggish flow of energy.

He opened his eyes, and the Star-patterned Fir Wood wand traced an incredibly small, almost imperceptible arc in the air, a peculiar curve like a star's orbit. No incantation, no light, not even an obvious fluctuation of magic. But the moment he completed this tiny motion—

Hermione suddenly felt the sluggishness from her wand vanish! As if a gentle yet firm warm current (from the Moon White Stone?) had instantly cleared the channel for her magic! The milky-white halo enveloping her feather suddenly became bright and stable! The feather, which had been teetering, was now lifted lightly and steadily into the air by an invisible current, hovering stably, radiating light several times brighter and softer than before! The glow was purer and more lively than even the feather Professor Flitwick had demonstrated!

"Merlin's beard!" Professor Flitwick was so excited he jumped straight up from his book pile (nearly falling), adjusted his round glasses, and stared at Hermione in disbelief. "Perfect! A textbook example of 'LumosLevioso'! Five points to Gryffindor! Miss Granger, your talent is astonishing!"

Hermione herself was stunned. She looked at the feather floating steadily and glowing in the air, then at her own wand, her mouth slightly open. That feeling of the magic suddenly becoming so smooth just now... what was that? She instinctively glanced at Lynn beside her.

Lynn had already withdrawn his wand and was looking at her calmly, a hint of barely perceptible amusement and... encouragement in his deep eyes? He gave a slight nod, as if to say: See, you can do it.

Hermione's heart gave a sudden leap, and her cheeks flushed red. Was it him? That wonderful smoothness just now... could it have been him? But how did he do it? No incantation, no light...

Just as her thoughts were in turmoil, Lynn raised his own wand, pointed it at the feather in front of him, and clearly intoned: "LumosLevioso."

A condensed, profound stream of deep blue light, like cutting through the morning mist, instantly surged from the wand tip, precisely enveloping the feather. The feather didn't rise slowly; instead, as if pulled by an invisible star track, it instantly and steadily hovered into the air! The light it emitted was no longer a soft milky white, but a restrained, deep blue glow like a star in the cold night. The light was steady, profound, carrying a peculiar icy texture, complementing Hermione's vibrant milky-white radiance.

"Oh! Equally excellent! Mr. Lee!" Professor Flitwick praised again. "A unique magical signature! Deep and stable! Another five points to Gryffindor!"

Ron's mouth fell open as he stared at Lynn's feather radiating starlight, then at his own lying flat on the table, and let out a groan: "This isn't fair!"

The atmosphere in the following Transfiguration class was completely different.

Professor McGonagall's classroom was on the second floor, spacious, cold, with only the lectern and neatly arranged desks. Professor McGonagall herself was like the embodiment of her classroom, wearing immaculate dark green robes, her hair in a tight bun, her expression as stern as granite. Her sharp gaze swept over every first-year entering the room, and the classroom instantly fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall's voice was as cold as her gaze, "is the most complex, most dangerous, and most demanding of rigorous discipline among all the subjects you will study at Hogwarts. It requires precise incantations, perfect wrist movements, and strong willpower. Any foolish horseplay or carelessness could lead to... irreparable consequences." Her gaze lingered for a moment on Ron and Seamus, who both immediately shrank back.

"Today, our goal is to turn the object in front of you—" Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a smooth, polished round pebble appeared on each student's desk, "—into a polished brass button of the same size!"

She drew her wand, her movements precise, crisp, and without any flourish, pointing it at the pebble on the lectern: "FormaMutatio!"

A dazzling, metallic-silver-white light flashed! The pebble on the lectern vanished instantly, replaced by a shiny, sharply-edged brass button! The whole process was as fast as lightning, clean and neat.

"Did you see that?" Professor McGonagall withdrew her wand. "Incantation: FormaMutatio. Wrist movement: from the inside out, a quick and steady half-turn, like turning a key. Willpower: you must clearly visualize every detail of the target form in your mind! Now, begin practice!"