Charms Class

The Charms Class classroom was on the Castle Seventh Floor, its windows facing east. When the morning light slanted in, you could see dust drifting in the air.

Regulus sat in the second row of the Slytherin Area, with Avery Cuthbert on his right and Alex Rosier one empty seat away on his left.

The latter was nervously flipping through Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, muttering under his breath as he reviewed the pronunciation of the Levitation Charm.

"Relax, Rosier," Avery said, glancing at him with a mocking edge to his voice. "Professor Flitwick isn't going to eat you."

"I just... want to make sure I pronounce it correctly," Alex said quietly.

The classroom door gave a faint creak as it was pushed open, and Professor Filius Flitwick practically drifted in. He was so short that he had to stand on a stack of thick books to see over the whole lectern.

But once he stood still and his bright eyes swept across the classroom, everyone quieted down.

"Good morning, children!" Flitwick's voice was shrill but clear. "Today, we will be learning the most basic of magic, the Levitation Charm! A spell that seems simple, yet contains the very essence of magic!"

He waved his wand, and a white feather floated out of the box on the lectern, hovering in the middle of the classroom.

"Now, repeat after me!" Flitwick raised his wand. "Wingar-dium Levi-o-sa!

"Pay attention to three key points: the curved swish of the wrist, the elongated 'vi,' and the final 'sa,' which should be exhaled lightly."

There was a feather on every desk, and uneven chanting rose throughout the classroom.

Regulus lifted his wand slightly. "Wingardium Leviosa."

His voice was steady, his gesture precise. The feather slowly rose, as stable as if it had been suspended by invisible thread. It hovered in front of Regulus, completely still.

"Perfect! Five points to Slytherin!" Professor Flitwick practically jumped from his stack of books. He hurried to Regulus's desk and looked up at the feather.

"Look at that stability! No wobbling at all! Mr. Black, have you practiced before?"

The same question Professor McGonagall had asked.

"I only listened carefully to your explanation, Professor," Regulus said modestly.

"Excellent! Very excellent!" Flitwick said, waving his small hands excitedly.

"Mr. Black, perhaps you could demonstrate for the other students?"

"Of course." Regulus gave Professor Flitwick a slight bow. He let the feather fall, then recited the spell again. "Wingardium Leviosa."

Under everyone's gaze, the feather slowly floated up once more, reaching the same height.

Professor Flitwick called out to the others, "Pay attention to the gesture. Pronunciation is important, but the gesture cannot be neglected either. Remember, it's a curve!"

Regulus let the feather slowly settle back onto the desk, then looked at Flitwick. "Professor, I have a question."

"Ask away, child, ask whatever you like!"

"Professor, I was wondering: when the Levitation Charm acts on an object, does it strip away its weight, or does Magic Power build an invisible support for it?

"If it's the former, does the object itself still retain its mass? If it's the latter, are the support points of the Magic Power distributed evenly, or concentrated on a certain part of the object?"

The classroom instantly fell silent, and the students all turned to look at him.

They had only been thinking about how to make the feather float, and had never considered the principle behind it. To them, as long as the spell worked, that was enough.

But Regulus's question seemed as if it meant to expose the essence of the spell itself.

Professor Flitwick pushed up the small round spectacles on his nose, and appreciation flashed in his eyes. "What an exquisite question! Very few first-year students are able to think about spells on the level of their essence."

He gently waved his wand, and a feather on the lectern floated up, paused in the air for a moment, then slowly descended. "The answer is both, but the core lies in the balance between Magic Power and the object's mass.

"The Levitation Charm does not truly strip away weight. Mass is the essence of an object, just as our souls cannot be separated from our bodies, and Magic Power cannot erase it."

"What we do is act upon the object with Magic Power." The tip of his wand pointed at the floating feather, and a faint ring of Silver Light appeared around it.

"A wizard's Magic Power repels gravity, while at the same time evenly wrapping every corner of the object, as if dressing it in a light cloak woven from Magic Power.

"The support points are dispersed. Only that way can the object remain steadily suspended without tilting or flipping over."

Regulus nodded slightly, then pressed further. "Then what if the object's mass changes?

"For example, if a drop of water landed on the floating feather, would the Magic Power adjust automatically, or would the caster need to guide it again?"

"A splendid extension!" Professor Flitwick's voice grew even more impassioned. "Magic Power and the caster are connected. When the object's mass changes, the Magic Power senses the change immediately and adjusts automatically.

"But this requires the caster to maintain concentration and not interrupt their connection with the Magic Power."

He looked at Regulus with a gentle smile. "If concentration is insufficient, the Magic Power will collapse. The object will either fall, or be pulled off course by the extra weight.

"For you to think of this means you have not only mastered the spell, but are also thinking carefully. That is the key to becoming an outstanding wizard."

"Thank you, Professor Flitwick. I've learned a great deal from that," Regulus said sincerely.

Professor Flitwick tilted his head up. "Keep thinking like that. Another five points to Slytherin!"

The Slytherins lowered their voices and excitedly discussed it among themselves, while the Ravenclaws also kept glancing over.

Regulus knew very well that Professor Flitwick's explanation was the traditional understanding of the Wizarding World, but from his perspective, it was more like the interaction between a magical field and a gravitational field.

He simply could not express it in those terms.

Professor Flitwick went to inspect the other students, and the classroom once again rang with scattered cries of "Wingardium Leviosa." White feathers either shot up abruptly, drifted crookedly, or remained completely motionless.

Alex Rosier had already tried seven times.

His feather either merely trembled a few times, or suddenly shot upward, hit the ceiling, and then fell limply back down.

The last time, the feather even gave off a thin wisp of blue smoke.

"Stop for a moment," Regulus said.

Alex jumped in fright. "Wh-what is it?"

Regulus walked over to him. "Professor Flitwick said to draw an arc, but you're twitching up and down. Look."

He moved his wrist, guiding his wand through a gentle arc. "Magic should be composed, but you look like you're forging iron."

Alex blushed. "I-I was afraid I wasn't using enough force."

"The Levitation Charm doesn't need force. You only need precision." Regulus lowered his hand. "Again. Make the movement smooth and slow. Don't break it off."

Regulus kept adjusting his posture. Alex was not stupid; he was just nervous.

Perhaps it was the discomfort of a Gentle Pureblood Branch having slipped into an Authentic Pureblood Nest?

Regulus thought to himself that he needed people like this—Gentle Purebloods.

Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"Wing—gardium Levi—o—sa."

This time, his wrist drew a fairly complete arc. The feather swayed, rose two inches off the desk, and hovered for three seconds before falling.

"I did it!" Alex's eyes shone.

"Not bad." Regulus nodded. "But your magic power is still obstructed, because you aren't firm enough when spellcasting. Keep practicing."

Alex nodded hard and looked at Regulus gratefully.

Maybe Black wasn't that frightening?

He sat back down, and Avery leaned over, saying in a low voice, "You're far too patient with him."

Regulus glanced at Avery. "Cuthbert, do you know why, on the Black family tapestry, beside the names that have been burned away, there are often still some unremarkable names left?"

Avery frowned. "...Because they're side branches? Not important enough?"

"Because when the main branch does something stupid, it is those side branches that preserve the family bloodline," Regulus said calmly.

He looked around, as if selecting fools. "And you cannot guarantee that fools will never appear in the main branch."

The purebloods nearby who heard this started snickering, while the half-bloods and Muggle-borns looked strangely at these people who were laughing for no apparent reason.

Avery fell silent.

"And thirty years from now," Regulus said, his voice not loud, but just enough for the nearby students to hear.

"When we remember Hogwarts, what we remember won't only be who made a feather fly the highest, who rode a broomstick the steadiest. We will also remember who attended class with you, who copied homework with you, and who talked about ideals with you after lights-out."

Those words drifted into the ears of Professor Flitwick, who was patrolling the room.

The small professor stopped in his tracks. He looked up at Regulus, something flashing in his eyes. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he merely tapped the lectern lightly with his wand.

"Homework is best written by yourself, Mr. Black."

The classroom instantly burst into laughter.