Alchemy and the Weasleys

Alchemy and the Weasleys

Professor Flitwick took a look and said, "Oh, a very clever way of guiding them—though it's a shortcut, it really can help you master the spell faster. Wade, this must have been your idea."

Wade's eyes curved as he gave a radiant smile.

Professor Flitwick, who had been stern-faced, smiled as well. With a wave of his wand, he copied the parchment over a dozen times so every group could have one. At the same time, he cautioned them, "This is only a reference. You still need to truly master it. I'll collect the parchments in ten minutes, and I hope all of you will have mastered the Levitation Charm by then! Those of you who can already make your feathers float—why not try making them spin in the air?"

The students in the classroom began practicing again while Professor Flitwick walked around offering guidance.

Wade directed his feather, making it draw circles one moment and squares the next, then began copying down poetry from memory. Anthony glanced at him enviously, but he did not aim beyond his reach. Instead, he continued practicing the Levitation Charm over and over.

After class, the Gryffindors hurried off to their A History of Magic lesson. The Ravenclaws had no more classes that morning, so Wade went to the library out of habit. Michael had originally planned to go with him, but before he could even stand up, someone stopped him.

"Hey, Michael." His roommate Terry slung an arm around his neck and asked, "You've disappeared after every class lately. You've been going to study with Wade, haven't you? I heard Granger and Longbottom from Gryffindor have been joining you too?"

A circle of little Eagles stared at him with bright eyes.

Michael raised his hands in surrender. "That's right, but it's not like I was hiding it! What's with this whole interrogation?"

"So Longbottom mastered the Levitation Charm because of your study sessions?" Lisa hurriedly asked. "I thought you were just doing homework together."

"Michael, could you make time to teach me too?" Padma asked. "I'm still not very good with the Incendio Charm."

Padma was a very pretty girl of Indian descent, and Michael had always been fascinated by her. But when it came to learning spells, he would not steal someone else's credit.

"While I'd be happy to teach you the spells I know, Padma, Wade is the one who's good at teaching people, not me—we're all learning from Wade," Michael said honestly.

"Wade..."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

In their eyes, Wade Grey was especially aloof. He was handsome but rarely smiled, remarkably talented yet detached from the crowd. Though he was the same age as them, he did not joke around, play games, attend gatherings, or even talk about Quidditch. He always vanished as soon as class ended and did not return to the Tower until curfew. While the other students usually chatted and did homework in the Common Room, Wade was rarely seen in the Common Room. The little Eagles felt as though their whole group had been unilaterally isolated by Wade.

In short, he was someone who kept people at a distance.

That was why hardly anyone usually took the initiative to speak to Wade—young wizards were all a little afraid of him.

The library was cold and deserted. Madam Pince was not watching the students either, instead slowly turning the pages of a book. When she saw Wade enter, she merely glanced at him before lowering her head to read again.

After two months of school, Madam Pince had become familiar with every first-year who frequently visited the library. She knew perfectly well which students could be safely left alone in the library and which needed to be watched every moment, or they would make noise, damage books, or even fight.

Wade belonged to the kind of student she could trust completely.

Wade made his way familiarly to the Alchemy section—he had recently begun setting aside time to study Alchemy.

Alchemy studied the composition, structure, and magical properties of the four basic elements, as well as the transformation of matter. It was closely connected to Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. At Hogwarts, students could only take Alchemy if they received "Exceeds Expectations" or above in all those subjects in their Ordinary Wizarding Level (OWL) Exams. It was an extremely difficult subject. Without the corresponding foundation of knowledge, Lower Years found it difficult to master through self-study.

Yet traces of Alchemy filled every part of their lives—the ever-burning candles in the Great Hall, the 142 moving staircases in the castle, portraits on the walls that seemed alive, door knockers that asked different questions, as well as Flying Broomsticks, Golden Snitches, the Sorting Hat, Wizard's Chess, Remembralls, and more.

Basic Alchemy was not actually that difficult to get into. It was simply that Alchemists always liked to use obscure vocabulary, convoluted expressions, and exaggerated fantasies, invisibly raising the difficulty of learning it.

Wade's reading comprehension had been cultivated and trained for over twenty years in his previous life, and he had sufficient knowledge and vocabulary. So although it was difficult, he still worked his way through Alchemy books one after another.

Some time ago, he had read books Nicolas Flamel had published many years earlier—Basic Alchemy and Analyzing Alchemy. Recently, Wade had begun reading The Book of Nature's Secrets: The Fifth Element.

It had been written by the twelfth-century Alchemist Ramon Llull, and the so-called fifth element was the Philosopher's Stone.

"This book is actually a little outdated. Since Nicolas Flamel created the Philosopher's Stone, he has proven that many of this book's theories differ from reality."

A voice suddenly came from beside him. Wade looked up in surprise to find the Weasley Family's Twins standing nearby. The one who had spoken was George Weasley.

"You're a first-year?" Fred simply pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him. "It's a bit early to be studying this."

"But I have to say, you've got good taste! Alchemy is the most fascinating subject in magic!—Muffliato." George said, waving his wand to keep Madam Pince from rushing over.

"But Hogwarts doesn't let you study it until sixth year—"

"Such a stupid decision. Why can't they offer Alchemy classes from first year?"

"Then most students wouldn't dare go home during the summer," Fred said with mock solemnity. "Because they'd be guaranteed a 'T' on their final exams."

"Except us—"

"We're naturally gifted at this—"

"So we started teaching ourselves a year ago!" George said. "Here's some advice from your seniors, little Ravenclaw: you should start with Basic Alchemy! Nicolas Flamel is the greatest Alchemist still alive! His books are more worth studying."

Wade spread his hands. "But I've already finished that book."

"Wow!" Fred raised his eyebrows. "Then what about Analyzing Alchemy?"

"I've read it."

"Then—what about On the Diversity of Species?" George asked.

"A work by the twelfth-century Thomas Aquinas?" Wade hesitated before saying, "I saw it, but I did not read it closely, because it seemed that his book did not involve the application of magic."

"That was actually due to the limitations of the time," George said. "He had no choice but to entrust the book to Muggles for publication, so he wrote the parts related to magic very obscurely. Of course, we recommend the version revised by Esnel Vargas in the eighteenth century. He added more than two hundred magical creatures and over a thousand magical materials. It's more comprehensive and more accurate."

The Weasleys had read at least twenty or thirty books on Alchemy, and they had studied all of them in depth. They spoke about them as if they knew every detail by heart.

Wade felt as though he had found treasure and simply took out parchment to write everything down. If they had not had afternoon classes, he would not even have wanted to let them leave. They had enjoyed the conversation so much that, when they parted, none of them noticed—they had not asked one another's names.