Ancient Magic: Shield

Wizet completed his discharge procedures without trouble and also claimed his new identity—as a member of the Lovegood family.

In other words, the "family" Luna had mentioned.

Luna lived in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, a semi-wizarding settlement.

A so-called semi-wizarding settlement meant wizards and Muggles lived mixed together.

It was just that wizards had to restrain themselves and avoid casting magic in front of Muggles as much as possible, so they would not violate the Statute of Secrecy.

Perhaps because of this, Luna rarely went to the Muggle village. This home was the entire range of her activities.

As for the specific contents of the Statute of Secrecy, even Luna was not very clear on them.

She only knew that after entering Hogwarts to study, she could get the corresponding explanation from the relevant History of Magic lessons.

Aside from that, Luna still possessed a great deal of common knowledge about the wizarding world, and that common knowledge was exactly what Wizet needed.

Without a doubt, Wizet was a very good listener.

After spending these few days together, Luna already told him everything without reservation.

Luna's home stood in a black castle beside the village. Its shape resembled a cylinder, and its design was like the rook in international chess.

Outside the castle, there was also a lush garden where all kinds of strange magical plants were grown.

This was Luna's important playground. Like a fluttering butterfly, she collected dew in the garden, loosened soil, watered, fertilized, and had the time of her life.

She had many playmates, and her favorite among them was an owl.

When Wizet had just moved in, Luna had introduced the owl to him. "Her name is Diana. She is a very good postwoman!"

"Postwoman? The wizarding world uses owls to deliver letters?"

Luna stroked the owl's fluffy feathers. "Yes. Whether it is sending letters or parcels, you can ask Diana for help."

Using owls to communicate and deliver packages counted as common knowledge in the wizarding world, with a kind of romance unique to wizards.

Aside from the palm-sized owl, the most active creatures in the garden were gnomes.

Gnomes were a kind of short magical creature, looking like potatoes that had grown legs.

Luna had a very good relationship with the gnomes. When she planted things, the gnomes would burrow out of their holes and help dig the soil.

The gnomes were only friendly to Luna. Their attitude toward Wizet was rather nasty, and they had even bitten his finger.

Luna carefully bandaged his wound and said airily, "Daddy said the gnomes in the garden are a blessing."

"If you feel some talent poking its head out today, you mustn't suppress it. That is the blessing the gnomes have given you!"

Wizet had only just begun living in the wizarding world, while Luna had grown up in a wizarding family, so he chose to believe Luna's words.

He really did feel that something was poking its head out—

In his mind, Wizard's Practical Guide turned to the second page, revealing new content.

Ancient Magic: Shield: Guided through the meditation method and gestures, gather the power of ancient magic and spread it into a magical barrier...

This was a spell that did not require the use of a wand.

Luna had once told him that wizards generally needed the help of a wand in order to cast spells.

And if Wizet wanted to obtain a wand, he still needed an acceptance letter from Hogwarts.

Although Dumbledore had once told him that he had to enter Hogwarts to study.

But nearly half a month had passed, and the so-called acceptance letter had never appeared.

Being able to obtain magic from Wizard's Practical Guide—and magic that did not require a wand at that—made him extremely excited.

Wizet walked out of the garden and came to the side of a stream, where he began practicing this spell.

First, he needed to master the gestures that would be used in it.

The first movement was to press his palms together. After several motions like forming hand seals, he spread his hands apart, with his index fingers and thumbs pressing against each other...

The casting gestures were not too complicated. After practicing them several times, Wizet committed the set of gestures to memory.

Practicing the gestures was only the first step. He also needed to guide the power of ancient magic and integrate it into the gestures.

This process was clearly much more difficult. Every time his hands touched, it was a collision of power.

His hands would separate like mutually repelling magnets, and the gestures needed for casting would also become awkward.

"Is it because the source of my power is an Obscurus? I'll try combining it with the meditation method!"

As a student, Wizet was good at thinking through problems and solving them.

After entering the state of the Guardian Meditation Method, everything around him became clear.

Even the process of guiding the power became much smoother.

When he completed the final gesture, silver-blue ancient magical power had already appeared, gathering between his hands into a ball of light.

Then...

The ball of light vanished, and the power returned to Wizet's body.

According to the description in Wizard's Practical Guide, when all the steps were complete, the power should have spread out and formed a magical barrier.

Yet the power returned to his body. Clearly, the spell had failed to complete.

Still, the appearance of the ball of light was already encouraging enough to spur him on in practicing the magic.

After practicing again and again, Wizet's gestures had become extremely fluid, yet he still could not complete the final step.

Every time the ball of light gathered between his hands, just as it was about to spread outward, the power would return to his body.

After constant practice, he felt that during the casting process, he seemed to be lacking something...

"Wizet, are you practicing magic?" A light, airy voice came from the side.

Diana stood on Luna's shoulder, her eyes half-lidded as if she were dozing.

"It looks like magic that only wizards from long ago knew. Can you show me again?"

"Of course!" Wizet maintained the meditation method, his gestures and the circulation of power flowing in one smooth motion.

Yet at the final moment, the power still failed to transform into a barrier.

"Maybe you're missing a strong wish?" Luna tilted her head. "I once read an ancient notebook. It was full of wizards' experiences with casting spells."

"The wizard who left the notes mentioned that when wizards cast spells, they always needed to have a wish. Only then could they make their magic become gentle, just like Diana."

"There was really a notebook like that?" Wizet was a little curious. "Is that notebook still around? Can I borrow it to have a look?"

"It's gone." Luna shook her head gently, her voice seeming to grow a little more solid. "Something happened. A lot of notebooks disappeared."

"Something happened? Couldn't magic fix them?" Wizet knew of a spell called Reparo. That spell could even repair a house quickly.

Luna shook her head again. "It was a magical accident. My mother... a brilliant witch. She loved doing experiments... a charm went wrong..."

"I was there at the time too. The power that erupted from that failed charm was very strong. My mother disappeared, and those notebooks did too..."

Looking at Luna's expression, Wizet felt his heart tighten and murmured, "I'm sorry... I didn't know..."

He had only known that Luna's mother was gone. He had never thought that Luna had witnessed her mother's death.

"It really was a sad thing." Luna's voice became light and airy again.

"But I still have family... and it's not as if I can never see Mum again. There will be another chance in the future, won't there?"

Wizet now somewhat understood why, back at St. Mungo's, Luna had mentioned family so solemnly.

"Hoot hoot!"

The owl on Luna's shoulder woke up, flapping its wings and shrieking in alarm.

The calm stream grew restless, churning up great sheets of spray that splashed onto Wizet and Luna...