The Blessing of Natural Magic Power

Breeze casually pointed his wand at the feather, unconcerned with the wand movement, and quietly recited the spell.

Then—

"Whoosh!" The feather shot out at lightning speed. More than half its length sank firmly into the ceiling, its tail quivering and buzzing.

"Oh!" Professor Flitwick stared at Breeze. Behind him, the Little Snakes swallowed nervously, while the Little Badgers taking the class alongside them gasped.

"Did he fail?" one Little Badger asked, staring in disbelief at the feather now motionless in the ceiling above Breeze's head. "Order has never made a mistake before. Today..."

Some of the Little Snakes looked at the Little Badger as if he were an idiot. They didn't think it was a mistake at all. It seemed more like a threat.

The Little Snakes' conspiratorial suspicions were, however, validated by Professor Flitwick.

"That wasn't a mistake. I think Mr. Order's magic was simply too powerful, and he didn't control the force properly. Is that what happened, Mr. Order? Have you experienced any surges of uncontrolled magic lately?"

That kind of magical power was clearly beyond what a young wizard should possess. What was more, the magic Order had wielded seemed somewhat erratic, like the result of an uncontrolled surge. Its aura also struck Flitwick as unusual. However, he didn't say so outright, intending to look into it later before deciding what to do.

"Mm, possibly."

Flitwick immediately replied, "Then you should have Madam Pomfrey take a look, Mr. Order. Uncontrolled surges of magic are no small matter. Many young wizards have trouble controlling them."

"I will. Thank you for your concern, but I think I can keep it under control." Breeze pressed his lips together and nodded to Professor Flitwick. He had meant to smile to put him at ease, but suddenly didn't feel like pretending. So, with just a hint of gratitude in his eyes, he said earnestly, "I can make it behave."

Breeze raised his wand and recited the spell. The feather embedded in the ceiling was quickly pulled free and floated down obediently, hovering in front of him.

"Oh, precise control. But we can't overlook the power behind it. I suppose I should award you points, Mr. Order. However, since you didn't follow the wand movement or pronunciation I taught you, and your control slipped earlier, I think we'll call it even. I hope you don't mind."

Professor Flitwick hurriedly added, "Of course, that doesn't mean you lack talent for spells. Please don't be disappointed."

Seeing Breeze lower his head, looking utterly dejected, Flitwick guiltily scratched his head and offered a few words of comfort.

"Perhaps you could gently lift the desk in front of you. I can award you ten points for that."

Breeze immediately took up his wand, gave it a swish and a flick, and carefully recited the incantation using Professor Flitwick's pronunciation.

The desk in front of him slowly rose into the air, floated steadily toward Professor Flitwick, then back again, before settling on the floor without making a sound.

"Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin for Mr. Order's spellwork."

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Professor Flitwick started applauding, and the Little Badgers quickly joined in. The Little Snakes didn't dare hold back, and even Malfoy clapped. The Little Snakes gave Breeze inscrutable looks, but when he calmly sat down as though nothing had happened, their fear of him only deepened.

Professor Flitwick's class soon ended. Breeze took his textbook and prepared to go have lunch. He wasn't very hungry after sleeping on a hard book that morning, but earning points in Charms had lifted his spirits, and now his stomach was very insistently reminding him to eat.

"Praise isn't just an honor for Slytherin; it's also an affirmation of me. Salazar Slytherin founded Slytherin House a thousand years ago, giving it its first glory and ideals. But over the past thousand years, it's undeniable that young wizards have kept it all alive. I believe young wizards shape Slytherin, not the other way around!"

As Breeze thought about his relationship with Slytherin and how he should handle things from now on, he heard a "hoo-hoo-hoo" nearby. The owls had arrived!

One after another, owls flew in through the windows on either side of the ceiling, passing over the young wizards' heads as they dropped letters and parcels to each of them.

Breeze received a parcel too. It was the first one he'd ever gotten.

There was also a letter:

Dear young Mr. Breeze Order,

It's my first time helping a young wizard buy a bed and other necessities. Oh no, perhaps I did prepare such things for my child when he went off to school, many years ago, but I've nearly forgotten... I've also brought you some sweets I bought in Hogsmeade Village. I hope you like them, little darling.

—Sincerely yours, Madam Malkin

Madam Malkin hadn't asked Breeze why he needed to buy these things, but she'd still gathered them together quickly. It touched him. He didn't know why he'd thought of Madam Malkin first, rather than Emmeline, who had wanted to adopt him.

"Look at that—a Remembrall!"

It was Malfoy's voice. It seemed Neville had received a Remembrall, and Malfoy had started picking on Gryffindor again. Perhaps the Flying Class that afternoon had him in such a good mood that he needed to make himself even happier.

Breeze finished lunch and, parcel in hand, set off for the Owlery. He paid no attention to the argument behind him as Potter joined the fray and clashed with Malfoy. He'd kept quiet during Charms, but his magic really had acted up then. It was probably nothing bad, though.

However, the Weasley Twins stopped him.

"Hey, why do you look so glum again?"

Breeze stared expressionlessly at the two of them. They wouldn't come looking for him unless they wanted something. As they'd put it, Breeze was a little Snake who kept to himself, only coming out to bite when needed.

They were nothing like him—two Little Lions who caused trouble every day.

George took a notebook from his wizarding robes and handed it to Breeze.

"We found this in a hidden compartment behind a cabinet in the Gryffindor Common Room. It's a notebook of prank spells left behind by someone from an earlier generation. Maybe it'll come in handy."

All right, Breeze forgave them for their unflattering description of him.

"Thanks, but I think I already know a few spells to defend myself."

Fred shook his head. "No, no. There are some really fun spells in here. Like this one—Levicorpus. It hangs someone upside down. Use just a little force and get the angle right, and you can flip up their robes and show off their flowery underpants. Very handy..."

Breeze's face darkened. But then he thought about using that spell against the Slytherins yesterday, and admitted it would've been pretty funny. Of course, only on boys. Breeze had no desire to be called a pervert.

After saying goodbye to the Weasley brothers, Breeze took the book and returned to the Owlery.

Faner grew a little tense as he watched Breeze use his wand to stir up that natural magic power again, though Breeze seemed to have it well under control.

Could you hear me talking, and are you using this magic to lower my guard? Breeze couldn't help wondering. But all he could do was accept it in silence. These powers could be undone. He could hide them away again or even discard them, but he no longer wanted to.

"If I find you a body someday, could you please not take over mine..." Breeze still didn't trust An Qing's memories, so he made another concession.

"How about an alchemical body? It's not as if I could actually kill an innocent person for you. I have my principles. If it's someone who's not innocent toward me, though, I might consider it..."

"That's a deal, An Qing."

Breeze tried drawing a thread of natural magic power along with his own magic, then said, "Faner, Accio!"

The Summoning Charm was fairly advanced. Breeze hadn't been able to cast it before, but with his own magic combined with natural magic power, he could perform it with ease.

"It's like some sort of empowering force."

Holding Faner's warm body in his hand, Breeze tapped his unhappy face with his wand and said, "Undying Flame!"

In an instant, light and darkness all around them were drawn in and poured into the wick inside Faner, replenishing his lamp oil. This time, though, the oil was different.

"How do you feel, Faner?"

"Mm... That feels so good!" Faner wriggled in Breeze's hand. Breeze dropped him onto the desk in disgust, and watched as Faner spat out a brilliant firework and burped with satisfaction.

"Breeze..." Faner stared at him with yellow, oil-slicked, vertical pupils. "I've discovered I can spit out pretty fireworks!"

"Got it, got it. Anything else?"

"Yeah! My wick feels full of life. I can shine brighter!"

Breeze smiled. All right, his natural magic power was only an empowering force for now. It wasn't changing anything fundamental. He didn't dwell on it, picked up the parcel, and headed into the bedroom.

"I bought a bed and some necessities, so it looks like I'll be living here from now on. Slytherin probably doesn't want me."

"Oh, wonderful, Breeze! I'll tidy up your room every day!"

Breeze set the parcel on the bedroom floor and untied the string. A burst of magic broke out, and the little parcel swelled and burst open. When Breeze looked again, a large four-poster bed with silver-green covers stood before him.

Beside it stood a desk with a bookcase attached, along with a matching table and chairs. Some necessities had been placed on the table, and a box of sweets sat on the bed.

Madam Malkin had been so thoughtful.

The parcel had been delivered using a Shrinking Charm. It would return to its normal size as soon as the parcel was opened. The Shrinking Charm was rather difficult, but Breeze hadn't tried it before. He could give it a go later. He remembered the incantation was "Reducio," while the corresponding Engorgement Charm was "Engorgio."

"Oh, it's so soft!" Without waiting for permission, Faner leaped onto the bed. He sounded wistful as he said, "That guy never let me on his bedding, even in winter. I could only lie there for a little while when he was gone. This feels so nice."

Breeze frowned. "Don't get lamp oil on the covers. Maybe I should buy you a little bed of your own."

"Oh, I'm not a pet. I don't need a bed. But, Breeze, if you're going to live here, you'd better seal up the window. It won't be so comfortable in winter."

That was true. Breeze did need to think about it. But what could he use to seal it? He had it: Four-Leaf Vine, a close relative of Devil's Snare.

Like Devil's Snare, this vine could extend and contract on its own. It also had a magical mesh that screened it from the outside world. The mesh was like transparent glass, meant to protect its seedlings. And just as its name suggested, it had four kinds of leaves, each of which changed with the seasons.

He hoped Professor Sprout had some of this vine. Breeze would also need to learn the Growth Charm, though an ordinary Growth Charm couldn't enlarge magical plants.

But in the notebook he'd found in the Owlery, Breeze had seen an enhanced version of the Growth Charm. It could use magic to make magical plants grow temporarily. As long as the magic didn't fade, they wouldn't return to their original size. Although plants grown this way had no medicinal value, they could still be useful for other purposes, such as fighting enemies.

The notebook said the spell had been passed down from a plant wizard who had lived a thousand years ago. Somehow, that wizard had been able to control plants and had earned great renown by using them. The details were unknown, though. He hadn't left behind much of a legacy, and his line had died out. This enhanced Growth Charm was just one of the basic spells he'd left behind.