Curse Class, Suitable to be a Teacher?

Inside the Charms classroom.

As class time drew near, more and more students entered the room.

Ravenclaw was, after all, the house that loved studying most. Most of the young eagles waited quietly, while some previewed the textbook in advance. Even when someone spoke, it was in a low murmur.

The class sharing this lesson with them was Hufflepuff. Seeing everyone else keeping quiet, the little badgers did not make a fuss either. They sat obediently in their seats, their faces filled with anticipation for Charms class.

A course at Hogwarts was usually taken by two houses together.

The four houses were paired at random, and students only found out from their timetables the day before or on the day itself which house they would be having each class with.

According to the school's official explanation, this was to strengthen ties between the four houses and encourage students to interact more.

Lucien, however, could not agree with that.

Every house had its own traits, and some houses were simply prone to conflict with each other.

Yes, I'm talking about the lion house and the snake house.

Their communication and connection usually consisted of verbal sparring, physical clashes, and at their most civilized, drawing their wands for a satisfying duel!

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were much better. One loved knowledge, the other loved peace. The atmosphere was quite calm, and their relationships with the other houses were decent too.

"Huff, huff—"

With a burst of slightly hurried panting, Terry plopped down beside Lucien.

Lucien glanced at the clock. There were only ten minutes left before class began.

Without Lucien needing to ask, Terry took the initiative to lower his voice and start talking.

"Lucien, the staircases in this school are way too strange!"

"Some move at timed intervals, some only move if you stand on them and jump three times, some..."

"And also, also, isn't the school alarm clock way too loud?"

"As soon as the alarm went off, I sat straight up!"

Hearing Terry's complaints, Lucien turned his head away.

"Maybe the school is afraid students will be late for class."

Terry scratched his head.

"Is that so? Then the school really cares about its students?"

Ring, ring, ring—

The bell for class rang.

Professor Flitwick arrived in the classroom right on time.

The professor was short, and only by standing on a pile of books could he reach the lectern.

He took out the register and began calling roll in a thin, high voice.

After finishing roll call, Flitwick began introducing the class.

"Everyone may already know me. I am Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, and also the first-year Charms professor."

"Charms is one of the most fundamental parts of magic."

"In this course, we will mainly teach common, practical magic."

"For example, the Levitation Charm."

As he spoke, Flitwick took out his wand and gave it a tap. The entire lectern flew into the air, so steady that the objects on top did not even wobble.

"Or a simple Color-Change Charm."

The lectern instantly changed from a solid wood sheen to a gleaming golden color, immediately catching the young wizards' eyes.

"All right, everyone, please hold your wands properly. What we will be learning today is the illumination charm. It is not difficult. The incantation is Lumos."

Lucien softly recited the spell.

"Lumos."

A soft, steady ball of light appeared at the tip of his wand.

This was one of the simplest charms, and Lucien had mastered it long ago. It was not difficult at all.

With a thought, Lucien slightly adjusted the flow of his magic.

The ball of light changed from white to blue. Then it even left the tip of his wand and circled once above his head.

"Mr. Grafton, excellent work!"

Noticing Lucien's spellcasting, Professor Flitwick quickly walked over.

"That is a variant application of the illumination charm. Three points to Ravenclaw!"

Seeing Lucien succeed, many of the young wizards worked even harder.

Beside him, Terry kept flicking his wand, chanting nonstop.

Lucien saw white light emerge from the tip of his wand, very bright, but it only flashed and disappeared.

Lumos was indeed simple and basic, but as long as the magic output was well controlled, it could serve other purposes too.

For example, you could instantly increase the brightness and dazzle your opponent's eyes.

If you could make the ball of light you launched last longer and shine brighter, and produce more of them to interfere with your opponent's vision, then use the chance to cast another spell, that was also a tactic worth trying.

Lucien habitually let his thoughts branch out. In his view, the simpler and more basic something was, the more room it actually had for development and extension.

He noticed that the ball of light Terry released was bright enough, but its stability was still lacking.

Lucien reminded him gently:

"You can try imagining a candle flame. Keep the range of your wand movement at about half a palm's length, and use about the same force as if you were gently lifting an egg."

"When you recite the incantation, you don't need to go too fast. Just say it at a normal speaking pace."

Following Lucien's advice, Terry carefully tried it once.

"I did it!"

Terry's ball of light no longer flickered. It was even brighter and steadier than those of the other young wizards who had successfully cast the spell.

"Thanks, Lucien. You were exactly right!"

Terry was flushed with excitement, happily waving his wand around, until he flashed Professor Flitwick in the eyes and awkwardly drew it back.

Seeing that Terry had completed Lumos, the young wizards around him also followed the method Lucien had just given, and one after another released balls of light.

All at once, this section became the brightest place in the classroom.

Standing not far away, Professor Flitwick watched the scene with gratification.

His previous conversation with Professor McGonagall had already made Flitwick pay attention to Lucien, this rather gifted young wizard.

When Lucien used the variant Lumos, it had actually still been within Flitwick's expectations.

But when he heard Lucien guide his classmates in concrete, detailed terms, genuine surprise appeared in Flitwick's eyes.

A good way to judge whether someone had mastered knowledge was to see whether they could explain it clearly to others.

And Lucien had clearly done it—and done it very well!

Flitwick had seen many students who could be called geniuses, but most of them shared one common flaw:

They could master a spell very quickly themselves, but they were utterly unable to explain how they had done it.

Perhaps for most wizards, being able to cast a spell successfully themselves was enough.

But Flitwick was a teacher, a master in the field of Charms, and he firmly believed that whether magic was simple or complex, there were detailed operations within it that could be replicated.

Being able to break a skill down into the most fundamental points of knowledge and teach them to students—

That was what made a qualified teacher.

Lucien could not only master magic himself, but also analyze it meticulously and patiently teach his classmates.

In Flitwick's eyes, that was what a truly gifted student looked like.

He could not help sighing:

"Perhaps Lucien is quite suited to becoming a teacher too?"

In the end, the first Charms class concluded perfectly.

Of course, Professor Flitwick did not forget to award Ravenclaw another two points on the grounds that Lucien had helped his classmates.

While the other young wizards poured out of the classroom, Lucien came up to the lectern.

"Professor Flitwick, I have some questions about charms. May I ask you for guidance?"

Flitwick smiled.

"Oh, of course. Do you have class next?"

"No, Professor."

Flitwick hopped down from his stack of books and beckoned to Lucien.

"Then let's talk in my office."