Disarming Charm and Scientific Theory

Ye Ting did not find reading alone boring, but before long, the girls' conversation turned to him.

They began talking about the spell he had cast earlier and the way he had drawn his wand.

Hermione, who loved getting to the bottom of things most of all, was the first to question him.

"What spell did you use just now?" she asked. "You knocked that red-haired guy's wand right out of his hand."

"That was the Disarming Charm," Ye Ting replied casually. "It's the most commonly used spell in wizard duels. The incantation is 'Expelliarmus.'"

"I know that one!" Marietta cut in. "I remember it being mentioned in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but the teacher said we wouldn't learn that magic until higher years."

"You can use such a complicated spell? How did you do it?" As a Muggle like Ye Ting, Hermione found his ability to cast such a spell quite a blow. She immediately pressed him for the secret.

"Actually—" Ye Ting explained, "this spell isn't complicated. If anything, among all spells that can be used in direct confrontation, the Disarming Charm is one of the simplest. It doesn't have much destructive power and can easily be blocked by various counterspells, but it has one advantage that no other spell can match."

"What advantage?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"It has the fewest syllables of any dueling spell, so it can be cast the fastest. Using it often lets you seize the initiative in a magical duel."

At that explanation, Cho Chang and Marietta nodded in sudden understanding, impressed by Ye Ting's extensive knowledge.

Hermione, however, was unconvinced. "I've never read that conclusion anywhere—that the Disarming Charm has the shortest incantation. Which book did you read that in? I've never seen any spellbook discuss the difference in pronunciation length between spells."

"That's my own conclusion. I compared several relatively simple and commonly used dueling spells, including the Stunning Spell, the Impediment Jinx, Petrificus Totalus, and the Dancing Feet Spell, and came to that conclusion," Ye Ting answered.

"But if the books don't say so, how can you be sure it's correct? Those books were written by the greatest wizards. If even they didn't say it, what makes you think you can be right?"

What a proud girl. She refuses to admit defeat no matter what. Let me teach her a lesson.

Thinking this, Ye Ting began criticizing Hermione in a stern tone.

"Miss Hermione Granger, I assume that ever since you were admitted to Hogwarts, you haven't properly studied Muggle science?"

"N-no, but what does that have to do with Muggle science?" Hermione asked, blushing slightly.

"It has a great deal to do with it. Muggle science may not be as convenient or miraculous as magic, but its logic and methods of studying problems are well worth learning. Even when studying magic, they can still serve as a reference.

"For example, to study the time needed to cast spells, I only need to keep my magic and concentration equally full, cast different spells clearly and completely with the same volume and speed, then record the time for each one. That lets me roughly compare the lengths of their incantations. This is what science calls the controlled variable method," Ye Ting explained seriously.

"Finally," he concluded, "the spirit of science tells us that only practice can reveal the truth. Blindly believing in authority is unwise. Even Newton, a giant of science, has had his theories proven not to be absolute truth in the modern age; they have limitations in many respects. So what makes you think the wizards who wrote these magical textbooks are completely correct? After all, magic is not as rigorous as science.

"If everything the predecessors said was completely correct, then how could new spells ever be created? Their books never mentioned those spells, after all. Following your reasoning, the entire wizarding world would never make progress again."

This explanation left Marietta, who came from a wizarding family, utterly bewildered—indeed, many wizards were not especially logical—but Hermione Granger, who came from a Muggle family, and Cho Chang, who had spent a long time in the Muggle world, barely understood what Ye Ting meant.

"This is the first time I've ever heard such an idea." Cho Chang looked at her fellow countryman with admiration. "Using scientific methods to study magic—you really are a genius."

Hermione, meanwhile, had been reduced to the verge of tears.

She had always considered herself clever and had refused to acknowledge Ye Ting's superiority, but his arguments were so reasonable that she could not refute them. That left her in an awkward position: she wanted to argue, but had nothing to say; she wanted to apologize, but could not quite swallow her pride.

In the end, she chose to apologize.

"S-sorry," she said softly. "I admit I was wrong. Please forgive me..."

But before she could finish, she burst into tears and ran out.