Cat and Dog Fight and the Freezing Charm

The spell classroom is on the Castle Seventh Floor, with windows facing east.

At this time, the morning light was streaming obliquely through the windows, illuminating the entire classroom. Fine dust particles floating in the air swirled slowly in the beams of light. Rows of desks and chairs were neatly arranged, a few books were stacked on the teacher's desk, and the blackboard still bore traces of the previous lesson's writing.

A Ravenclaw girl was casting Scouring Charm on the blackboard with her wand, and the words disappeared line by line.

Regulus sat down in his usual spot by the window, near the back. The canopy of the Forbidden Forest outside shimmered with a greyish-green hue in the morning light, the treetops swaying gently in the breeze. A few crows landed on the stone ledge outside the window, cawing a few times, their muffled calls coming through the glass.

Only a few Ravenclaw sat scattered in the classroom, heads down, flipping through notes, occasionally glancing up at him before looking down again.

Regulus rested his arm on the windowsill, tapping his fingers on the stone window frame, watching the flock of crows fly away, dropping a few feathers. After about fifteen minutes, the sound of footsteps in the Corridor gradually increased.

Avery burst in first, gesturing and talking excitedly to Alex, his voice booming down the Corridor. "Let me tell you," he said, "Your punch yesterday wasn't right. Hermes's punches were pretty hard, though."

Alex followed him, nodding occasionally, his expression much more restrained Avery's.

Hermes walked at the very back, looking dazed, his eyes slightly swollen, his shoulders slumped as he walked, as if he hadn't slept at all. Lina and Samuel followed behind Hermes, one peeking over at Avery, the other walking with his head down.

Alex spotted Regulus first, paused for a moment, and a look of delight flashed across his face.

The smile that had just begun to appear on his lips was quickly abruptly cut short, replaced by an unnatural expression, like someone caught red-handed doing something wrong. He nudged Avery with his elbow.

Avery followed his gaze, his face instantly lighting up. He rushed over in a few strides, plopped down next to Regulus, threw his backpack on the table, and turned to face him.

"You're back! We were wondering if you could make it back today," he said quickly, without pausing for a moment, "Is everything alright at home? How are things?"

"Nothing," Regulus said, looking at him. "It's just something at home."

Avery let out a sound, his mouth opening halfway before he suddenly closed it.

The night before last, Sirius Black returned home dressed in a black funeral robe, walking from the Entrance Hall all the way to the Gryffindor Tower, visible from half the Castle. News of the funeral spread throughout Slytherin that very night: Sirius had returned from the Black family funeral, dressed in a black robe.

Avery snapped his tongue, abruptly changing the subject. "Today's Charms Class... Professor Flitwick said last week we'd be teaching something new, the Freezing Charm. Have you heard of it?"

Regulus ignored him, his gaze passing over Avery and landing on the people behind him.

Alex was walking this way, his lips slightly pursed, his eyes fixed on the ground, not looking at him.

He sat down next to Avery, nodded as a greeting, then rummaged through his bag for a while without taking anything out. Hermes didn't even glance in his direction, instead walking further back to sit down, hands in his pockets, yawning, his eyelids drooping, staring blankly at the table.

He's usually lazy, but at least he'd nod in agreement; today he didn't even bother with that.

Lina and Samuel followed behind Hermes.

Lina met Regulus's gaze, her eyes lit up at first, then the light went out, and she quickly took half a step behind Alex, shrinking her whole body behind Alex's shoulder.

Samuel, head down, followed behind Lina, shuffling his heels on the ground, and sat down in the last row.

Regulus looked away, having a general idea of what was going on.

These guys were both excited and nervous.

Even Hermes wasn't looking in his direction, and Lina was hiding behind Alex; they must have done something, something related to him. Regulus could probably guess what Sirius had been thinking the night before last, running off alone without a word. Perhaps Sirius disliked everyone around him; they were all corrupt.

Given Sirius's personality, it's perfectly normal for him to use foul language a few times; with James around, he'd definitely get even more carried away.

When the two sides collide, with four Gryffindor on one side and five Slytherin on the other, it's like two litters of cats and dogs with overlapping territories. One barks its teeth and the other bristles; it would be strange if they didn't fight.

He looked at Alex.

Alex was engrossed in flipping through his notebook, his fingers tracing the edges of the pages as if they held the ultimate secret of Magic, refusing to look up at him. Regulus then glanced at Avery.

Avery was grinning, his eyes full of smugness, fidgeting in his seat, looking like he was waiting for him to ask something. Go ahead and ask, ask away, and I'll tell you everything.

Regulus glanced at him, then looked away, turning to the window without asking anything.

Avery waited a moment, then tilted his head smugly and peeked at Regulus, only to find that Regulus really didn't intend to speak.

He turned to look at Alex, his eyebrows furrowed, his lips moving silently. What was wrong with him?

Alex shrugged.

Avery turned back, opened his mouth as if to start the conversation himself, but then felt it would be too boring if no one picked up the thread, so he sulked and rubbed his bottom in his seat. By this time, most of the young wizards had arrived, Slytherin side was quiet, with Ravenclaw still engrossed in their books.

Light footsteps echoed down the Corridor as Professor Flitwick entered through the doorway.

He was short, with pointed ears, wearing a dark blue robe with a few ink stains on the cuffs, and a pair of thin silver-rimmed round glasses. He jogged to the back of the podium, stood on the stack of books, and was a head taller than the podium.

He twirled the wand in his hand, glanced around the classroom, and spoke in a high-pitched voice with his characteristic lightness.

"Good morning, everyone! It's February, spring is almost here, it's time to wake up your wands. How did your Softening Charm practice go last week?" Several Ravenclaw looked up and chattered, saying it was alright. Slytherin responded enthusiastically, loudly declaring they had mastered it long ago. Flitwick shrieked with laughter.

"Alright, alright, let's learn something even more efficient today, the Freezing Charm! Immolus!"

He waved his wand, and glowing words appeared on the blackboard. A few letters squeezed together within the words, choosing their positions before settling down.

The syllables light up one by one: Im-mo-bu-lus.

Each vowel shimmered with a different color: Im was ice blue, mo was silvery white, bu was light gray, and lus trailed a frosty white tail, like frost flowers forming on glass in winter.

"This word comes from the Latin word mobilis, meaning to move; adding 'im' before it indicates negation."

Flitwick pointed his wand at the podium, and a feather floated up from the pen holder, hovering in mid-air and slowly rotating within the beam of light. "Just make it stay still. Pay attention to the pronunciation: 'Im' should be short and sharp, 'mo' should be rounded, 'bu' should be crisp, and 'lus' should be exhaled completely, allowing the Magic Power to flow to the tip of the wand along with the airflow."

He recited the entire incantation, pronouncing each syllable clearly and precisely.

He then broke down the movements. "The wand movement is to lightly tap forward, then rotate the wrist inward half a circle, releasing the Magic Power at the end of the rotation."

He nimbly rotated his wrist, the tip of his cane drawing a small arc in the air.

The feather stopped spinning at the very end, completely still, not even the fine feathers on its wing trembled.

"The effect is very direct on objects without will and creatures with low intelligence."

He waved his wand again, and the glass of water on the podium instantly froze into ice. Ice crystals spread layer by layer from the surface to the bottom of the glass, and a layer of ice condensed on the glass wall. He then pointed at the plant on the windowsill that was dozing off, and the plant's leaves stopped swaying and froze in one position, even the dew on the tips of the leaves froze into ice beads.

"However, it should be noted that the effect will be weakened by the strength of the will of creatures with a certain degree of Magic Power resistance."

Adult wizards can resist Freezing Charm through willpower, which is why they are used more to restrict movement in duels than to completely immobilize an opponent. However, they are very useful for dealing with minor troubles in life, such as...

The professor blinked, pointed his wand at the teacup on his desk, and the freshly brewed tea stopped steaming, a thin layer of ice forming on the surface. "When you want iced tea in the summer."

Several young wizards laughed.

Flitwick waved his wand again, and a glass of water appeared on each of the young wizards' tables.

"Alright, practice time. Freeze the water, but don't freeze the cups, just freeze the water. Begin!"

The classroom became lively.

The chanting of incantations rose and fell, wands were waved, and water gurgled and bubbled in several cups, yet the surface remained perfectly still.

Avery pronounced it so forcefully, drawing out "Im" and emphasizing "bu" as if he were cursing. He jabbed his wand forward, but the water didn't freeze, the cup shattered, and water splashed all over his sleeve.

He swung his hand and cursed, nearly sending his wand flying. Alex, standing next to him, silently moved half a body's width to the side.

Alex was steady, pronouncing each syllable clearly. His wand lightly touched the water's surface, causing a thin layer of ice to rise and shatter. Flitwick glanced up as he passed by and nodded. "Correct pronunciation, but steadyer wand."

Hermes frowned, staring at his cup as if the water owed him money. With a flick of his staff, the water froze into a solid block of ice. The cup shattered along with it, the crack running from the rim all the way to the bottom, breaking the cup in two.

He expressionlessly pushed the broken glass aside, picked up a spare new glass from the side, and continued staring at it.

Lina's progress was going well; a complete layer of ice had formed on the surface of the water, making a loud thud when tapped on it. However, the water underneath was still sloshing and hadn't frozen through. She tilted her head to look at the bottom of the cup and tried again. This time, the water at the bottom sloshed less than before.

She turned to look at Samuel, Samuel was muttering to himself with his head down, his voice very soft, his lips barely moving, and the movements of his wand smaller than hers. His glass, however, was frozen solid, completely frozen from top to bottom, the surface as smooth as if it had been polished.

Lina pouted and continued chanting and waving her wand.

Regulus drew his wand, pointed the tip at the glass of water, chanted a spell, lightly touched the surface of the water, and rotated his wrist half a circle.

The water instantly froze into ice, transparent from the surface to the bottom of the cup, like a freshly cut piece of Crystal.

A very thin layer of frost has formed on the cup wall, fine and even, without any rough ice crystals that have frozen randomly. Each frost line extends in the same direction, as if blown out by a gust of wind at the same moment.

A wisp of white steam rose from the rim of the cup and drifted away in the morning light.

Flitwick passed by his seat, glanced up, and looked at the frost, the transparency, and the smoothness of the ice surface.

Then she shrieked, "Perfect! Mr. Black, as always, Slytherin, five points!"

Regulus bowed his head and nodded politely to the professor. "Thank you, Professor."

None of the young wizards around looked up.

Getting extra points is nothing to be surprised about, just like him walking into the Great Hall every morning.

The spell itself wasn't difficult; most of the young wizards did it in class, some quickly, some slowly, some beautifully, some clumsily. Avery tried again, and this time the water froze, along with the cup, onto the table, and he couldn't pull it off no matter what he tried.

Alex, who was next to him, tapped the rim of the glass with his wand to thaw it.

One Ravenclaw was so forceful that he not only froze the water, but also the table and chairs, trapping him inside his seat.

Flitwick laughed and lifted the spell for him, saying, "Control, control. You need strength, but precision isn't an option."

In the back row, a Slytherin- made ice glass still contained air bubbles, which were sealed in the ice as strings of transparent beads, quite pretty. Regulus looked at the ice glass in front of him, his mind wandering to other things.

The Freezing Charm, in essence, is a constraint on physical movement.

The Magic Power is poured into the target, suppressing the movement of molecules to a standstill; water freezes, objects are frozen in place, and the movements of living things are interrupted.

This constraint is imposed externally, and is completely different from the Disintegration Charm.

The Disintegration Charm dismantles the structure from the inside, with vibrations penetrating the material layer by layer, shaking apart every connection point.

Freezing is achieved by pressing it down from the outside, preventing it from moving.

There are two paths, one dismantling inwards and the other pressing outwards, both the End causing the target to lose its original physical state.

What if we push the constraints to their extreme?

From paused to a permanent stop.

A novice wizard can freeze a cup of water and it will melt in a few seconds, while a skilled wizard can freeze a lake and it can last for days.

The difference lies in the magnitude of the Magic Power and the strength of the will.

The constraint itself is a continuously applied pressure, provided by the incantation structure and Magic Power, but only will can maintain the stability of this pressure. Objects without will—water, stone, air, and low-intelligence creatures such as cats, dogs, and rabbits—will be frozen instantly.

The professor said that a wizard with willpower can resist, which may indicate that willpower itself is a counterforce.

A skilled wizard doesn't need a counter-curse; they can withstand it with sheer willpower. Magic Power is merely an aid; the core is a will strong enough to resist external constraints. This is the same as what he verified with Werewolf —that willpower overrides instinct.

Willpower is not only a tool for defending against mental intrusion, but also a weapon against physical constraints.

He put the thought aside and didn't think about it any further.

The Dismissal Bell.