Thursday, Charms Class.
Professor Flitwick, who taught Charms, had once been a dueling champion. Because he had some goblin blood, he was extremely short, barely over a meter tall. Paired with his old-fashioned gray wizard robes, he looked like a miniature white-haired old man.
Because of his height, he had to stand on a stack of books during class just to reach the lectern.
When he took out the roster to call attendance, he suddenly let out an excited squeak upon reading Harry's name, then toppled straight off the stack and vanished from sight, drawing laughter from the young wizards.
Hermione and Damon were the exceptions.
Charms Class was Damon's strength. Thinking of that, Hermione had already steeled herself to give it her all.
As for Damon, he simply respected and liked Professor Flitwick. The professor was highly skilled yet remarkably easygoing. He treated nearly every student equally, neither playing favorites nor discriminating against anyone. Students could move about freely during class and even joke around with him.
As for learning Charms? Faced with his expert-level Charms Mastery, Damon honestly did not think there was much he could still learn in class.
Unless Professor Flitwick was willing to give him private lessons.
In fact, that would not be difficult to achieve.
"Charms are not merely complicated, profound spells. They are also an art, an expression of the heart and will."
"Today, the first Charm we will learn is Lumos. It is one of the most basic and useful Charms.
"You can use it to light up your surroundings in the dark, as a signal light, as decoration, or even as a distress signal in an emergency."
As Professor Flitwick began teaching, the young wizards focused their attention on the tips of their wands and gave them a flick.
"Lumos!"
As the words fell, lights of different colors instantly filled the classroom. Some students produced a glow as faint as tiny stars, while others shone as brightly as burning flames.
Damon was in no hurry to cast the spell. Instead, he helped Neville beside him, whose light was only the size of a small ball, until Neville's casting reached the average level. Then, under Neville's puzzled gaze as if asking why he had not cast the spell himself, Damon calmly said:
"Lumos."
At once, every student in the classroom saw a warm sun. As Damon raised his wand, it hung overhead, warm but not harsh, like the strength within someone's heart.
"Oh! My goodness! Five points to Gryffindor for your unparalleled Lumos!"
Professor Flitwick leaped down from the lectern and practically skipped over to Damon, his face beaming with ecstatic delight.
Malfoy stared at the warm orb of light in Damon's hand, his face clouding with jealousy and wariness. That was Lumos?
Even the enhanced Lumos Solem could not achieve that effect, could it?
Damon was clearly an orphan, so why was his magic so powerful?
But he soon had no time to think about that.
At that moment, the Slytherin students, who had always respected him because of his father, were looking at him with angry, resentful eyes.
Recently, a rumor had become extremely popular in Slytherin: Damon White had not joined Slytherin because Malfoy had insulted him as a Mudblood on the train.
Damon White had mistakenly believed that Mudbloods were not qualified to join Slytherin, so he had settled for Gryffindor instead.
In other words, such an outstanding young wizard had originally belonged to Slytherin, but because of Malfoy, this genius had joined Gryffindor—the house Slytherin hated most—and become their greatest opponent!
How could they not be furious?
If Malfoy's father had not been one of the School Governors, the snide remarks behind his back would likely have long since turned into outright hatred.
Even so, Damon White's exceptional performance in Charms Class and Transfiguration would certainly reach the ears of Slytherin students in other years. And Malfoy, the culprit who had caused Damon White not to be sorted into Slytherin, would be forever nailed to the pillar of shame by these first-years!
Once he realized this, Malfoy's expression grew even uglier. But that also meant he had not yet understood the severity of the situation.
When Damon Haas displayed more and more virtues in the eyes of the students, even becoming so powerful that they could scarcely hope to catch up to him, Malfoy's disaster would truly arrive.
Damon's performance in Charms Class sparked a wave of exclamations, and his achievement of earning five points at once gave Hermione an intense sense of crisis.
Now Damon was only one point behind her!
After Damon's stunning performance, Professor Flitwick did not hesitate to encourage the other students either. But to keep things balanced, he naturally would not award Gryffindor any more points, so Hermione could not widen the gap. That left her somewhat dejected.
Ron and Seamus turned into Damon's fanatical loyal supporters, their faces bursting with excitement as they kept making faces at the Slytherin students.
Later, when casting the spell, the light Seamus produced somehow carried faint sparks of electricity. But they were so subtle that they were concealed by the glow, and no one noticed.
Nor did anyone notice the faint loneliness on Harry's face as he looked at the ball of light in his hand. He had long known that Damon's Charms were exceptional. He should have understood the gap between them.
But this was only Lumos, the simplest spell. Could two people casting it really produce such an enormous difference?
Hearing some young wizards whisper things like, "Even the Savior's spell light is nowhere near Damon's," Harry felt his face burn.
He had never liked being called the Savior in the first place, and now he felt even more ashamed.
Somewhere deep down, he also felt that his own performance should have been better.
But thinking back over the past few days, he had done nothing but fool around with Ron. He had not even finished Monday's homework, let alone prepared for class in advance like Hermione.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, as if they both saw the unwillingness in each other's eyes. The distance between them silently narrowed.
After class, Professor Flitwick stopped Damon. Since Damon had to hurry straight to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, they could not talk for long.
Professor Flitwick asked about Damon's background, restrainedly praised his magical talent, and told him not to waste it. He also assigned Damon a special piece of homework: use Lumos to create light in seven different colors.
"Don't rush to finish it. Once you are confident, you are welcome to come find me in my office on the Seventh Floor anytime."
"Alright, Professor."
The two made their arrangement and hurriedly said goodbye.
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