The First Day of Class

For Avada, the debate over the essence of magic proposed by Flitwick was not a problem at all—he had known from the very beginning that Essentialism was the correct answer.

However, this was the result of his own unique talent, and he could not prove anything to others. He couldn't exactly tell people, when asked how he proved Essentialism, "Oh, I saw it with my own eyes," could he?

If he actually dared to do that, it would be a miracle if he didn't get beaten to death.

Therefore, in the following Charms class, even though he had almost completely mastered the relevant content during the summer vacation, he still listened attentively. And when Flitwick handed out feathers to everyone for them to practice on their own, he hesitated, considering whether he should show off a bit and cast a perfect Levitation Charm right away.

As he was hesitating, Baron, who was sitting next to him, successfully made his feather float after a few failed attempts, earning five points for Slytherin.

So, he hurriedly cast the spell as well, becoming the second person to succeed and earning two points for Hufflepuff.

"Wait, did you succeed on your first try just now?"

Baron suddenly turned his head, looking at him with some astonishment.

"Cough, luck, just luck." Avada realized he had slipped up in his performance and quickly laughed it off to cover it up. Baron didn't pay much attention to it and continued waving his wand at the feather, making his execution of the Levitation Charm increasingly proficient.

Avada watched for a moment and suddenly said, "You could try flipping your wrist slightly outward when you flick your wand. Don't make the movement too large, just a subtle gesture will do."

Baron raised an eyebrow. "Neither the book nor Professor Flitwick asked us to do that."

"Just try it, there's no danger." Avada immediately demonstrated a Levitation Charm with a wrist flip, causing the feather to float steadily. Seeing this, Baron nodded slightly, followed Avada's advice to turn his wrist, and recited the incantation for the Levitation Charm.

"Huh?!"

As the spell took effect and the feather floated, a flash of surprise crossed Baron's eyes.

"What's going on? It feels so much easier to maintain the spell!" he exclaimed in a low voice. "How did you figure that out?"

"I just tried it out during the holidays."

Avada lied without blushing. This was actually the effect of his Magic Sense; he could observe the disturbances in magic when Baron cast the Levitation Charm, and through further calculation, optimize the best way to cast it.

However, the only problem was that his brain wasn't fast enough. Just optimizing the simplest Levitation Charm required him to observe for a long time, let alone high-end, complex spells.

"I want to ask Professor Flitwick." Baron stared at Avada with sparkling eyes.

"Sure."

As soon as Avada nodded, Baron immediately raised his hand, called over Flitwick, who was patrolling the room, demonstrated the optimized version of the Levitation Charm, and asked for the reason.

Flitwick, however, didn't seem very surprised. "You're quite lucky to have figured out optimization techniques on your own."

"The spells in textbooks are the most standard templates with the strongest versatility. As a wizard's strength increases and their understanding of magic deepens, they will naturally develop optimization techniques that suit their own style. Take the Levitation Charm you just learned as an example: a 'slight wrist flip' can reduce the consumption of maintaining the spell, and if you let the tip of your wand droop a little while waving it, and emphasize the 'di' in the incantation, you can significantly enhance the effect of the spell..."

"But don't get too obsessed with optimization techniques. Building a solid foundation and practicing basic spells thoroughly is what you should be doing at this stage," Flitwick reminded them.

"Understood, Professor," Avada and Baron replied in unison, nodding.

When the bell rang for the end of class, Flitwick hopped back onto his stack of books and clapped his hands to stop the students from discussing and practicing. "That's all for today's lesson. Those who haven't mastered the Levitation Charm, remember to practice more when you go back. If you can all master the Levitation Charm within a week, I'll show you something interesting."

"There is no homework for this lesson. Class dismissed."

After saying this, he hopped nimbly off the podium and was the first to leave the classroom. Some students followed him out, while others remained in their seats, looking dejected as they waved their wands at their feathers.

"Our next class is Herbology, with Ravenclaw," Baron said, checking his schedule. He stood up, shouldered his bag, and said goodbye to Avada.

"Our next class is History of Magic. They say it's the most boring class," Avada sighed. "Besides, we Hufflepuffs have to wait until tomorrow to have a class with our own Head of House."

"Haha, I'm off. See you later."

"Yeah, see you."

Professor Binns was a ghost with an aged face and was the only ghost professor at Hogwarts. Legend had it that one day he stood up to go to class and accidentally left his body behind in an armchair in front of the staff room fireplace, never realizing he had already died.

Relying on his nature as a ghost, he became the only professor in the school capable of working 24/7. Moreover, he was extremely knowledgeable and never forgot anything, making him the best candidate for a History of Magic professor. The only problem was that his lectures were overly monotonous and dull, with excellent hypnotic effects.

For instance, right now.

"Few people can feel the unique charm within the vast history. Most people just treat history as ordinary stories, caring only about the gossipy deeds of famous figures."

In the first History of Magic class for Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, Professor Binns was, as per the custom of the first lesson, trying his best to praise the charm of history, attempting to spark the students' interest. However, his tone, which lacked any inflection and dragged on, only made his efforts counterproductive.

"The masses work together to push the wheels of history, allowing its trajectory to develop and change. Occasionally, a flash of genius will pass by, illuminating a brand-new path... You, me, and everything around us are all part of history. Studying history is studying ourselves, studying society, allowing us to summarize experiences from the past, learn lessons, and predict the changes of the era..."

A faint snoring sound echoed in the classroom.

"Strictly speaking, our history of magic should be divided into two parts: Wizarding History and the History of Magic. Wizarding History explores the changes in the situation of wizards, the establishment and perfection of magical society, exchanges and conflicts with other races, and is closely related to Muggle history..."

The snoring began to merge into one, rising and falling rhythmically.

"And the History of Magic tells of the emergence of various spells and alchemical products, analyzing how they drove the historical process. For example, the invention of the first Flying Broomstick, the first Portkey, Apparition, Aguamenti, the Shield Charm, and other spells have all had a huge and profound impact on the development of magical society..."

In the classroom, Avada was forcing himself to keep his mind active, becoming the only person in the room listening attentively. He hadn't slept well last night, and coupled with Professor Binns's hypnotic tone, keeping himself awake felt like torture.

The only thing that comforted him was that the content of the History of Magic was indeed very interesting. Comparing it with the content of the original work in his memory allowed him to deepen his understanding of the magical world significantly.

After struggling through History of Magic, there was Flying Class with Ravenclaw. In class, Cho Chang predictably showed excellent flying talent and received high praise from Hooch. What surprised Avada a bit was that his roommate, Shabi Nott, also displayed impressive flying skills and was commented on by Hooch as "having the potential to become a professional Quidditch player."

However, his own flying ability was mediocre. Although, with the help of his Magic Sense, he managed to make the broom fly into his hand after shouting "Up!", he lacked the essential elements for flying, such as balance, depth perception, and coordination.

In the afternoon, it was McGonagall's Transfiguration class. After McGonagall demonstrated some high-end operations that made Avada feel dizzy—such as turning herself into a cat and turning the podium into a lion—the students below immediately expressed their eagerness to study Transfiguration diligently, and then began to look dejected as they faced a matchstick that was supposed to be turned into a needle.

After waiting expectantly for twenty minutes, Avada finally couldn't hold back. With a wave of his wand, he became the first person in the classroom to successfully turn the matchstick into a needle, earning five points for Hufflepuff.