Hogwarts' Master and Combined Spellcasting

After struggling through Tuesday afternoons of Herbology and History of Magic, Xiwen's life as a student finally seemed to be back on track.

No more people were constantly destroying the castle's Magic Node, no more professors were always watching Xiwen cast Confundus Charm, and no more dark wizards were sneaking into the Forbidden Forest hoping to cause a big stir...

Although life at Hogwarts had become more stable, the ever-restless Little Cat was causing Xiwen, the "old father," a lot of worry.

She would leave her dorm room and wander around all day, only remembering Xiwen, her "nominal" owner, at night, and would return to her cat cage to sleep.

I don't know where the Little Cat goes to run around and cause trouble every day. It often gets its clean white fur all dusty and its paws are always covered in mud.

After several unsuccessful attempts to bathe her, Xiwen had no choice but to secretly recite Cleaning Charm every night after she fell asleep to clean the troublesome cat, thus preventing Little Cat from turning into a completely gray cat...

After observing the Ghost Xiwen secretly and making inquiries from various sources, the Young Wizard Xiwen sought the help of Professor Kettleburn and finally learned what the Little Cat did every day.

It turns out that the Little Cat patrols different areas around Hogwarts every day, as if surveying her own territory. Crucially, she can also teleport, the kind of Anti-Disapparition Jinx can't prevent, so very few people can find her exact location.

Fortunately, Professor Kettleburn was a seasoned street urchin, and he had spotted the Little Cat several times in the Forbidden Forest. The Little Cat seemed quite displeased with Professor Kettleburn's previous attempts to feed her the stinky rats; each time the professor caught her, she would glare at him disapprovingly before swaggering away.

Furthermore, on one occasion when Professor Kettleburn went to Bowtruckle Island on the Black Lake to Bowtruckle, she unexpectedly spotted the Little Cat there as well. She seemed to get along well with these small, Fantastic Beasts, and was even allowed by Bowtruckle to climb one of their Guardian Tree.

Professor Kettleburn said to Xiwen, "According to feline habits, your Little Cat probably considers the entire Hogwarts Castle and its surroundings her territory. Those of us who regularly take care of her are just two-legged creatures serving her. Only friendly Fantastic Beasts like the Bowtruckle can be considered her friends."

"Usually, the stronger a feline Fantastic Beasts's magic, the larger the territory it defines for itself. Judging from the territory your Little Cat has occupied, her future is limitless!" the professor remarked with admiration.

Xiwen's lips twitched.

I was worried she wasn't doing well, or if she was being bullied. Turns out she's already crowned herself the master of Hogwarts!

Having come to terms with it, Xiwen finally stopped worrying about the Little Cat's living conditions. He even felt that as a cat lover, he was unworthy to worry about the "Lord of Hogwarts"...

He quietly shifted his attention, then noticed the wooden leg protruding from Professor Kettleburn's trousers and asked with some concern, "Professor, is your leg really alright?"

"I've told you so many times, I'm perfectly fine!" Professor Kettleburn stretched his wooden legs and said nonchalantly. "These are all my achievements! After the fire dragon and the Chimera, now we have the Venomous Leopard, tsk tsk."

Xiwen: "... Whatever makes you happy."

Starting Wednesday, Xiwen resumed his morning workouts, but because his body was still slightly unaccustomed to it, he decisively reduced his training volume.

With the training volume reduced, the time for morning training also decreased accordingly. Therefore, Xiwen had ample time to harass Miranda.

"What? You want to learn Combined Spellcasting?"

On the lawn in the teaching area, Miranda stared wide-eyed at the overconfident Xiwen.

"You've only been in school for a few days, and you already want to learn things that older students don't usually teach?" she asked.

"I didn't expect to learn it right away," Xiwen said with a big smile, trying to ingratiate himself. "I just wanted to know if you'd taken any notes, the kind related to spell combinations!"

Ever since witnessing the professors' fluid spellcasting on Halloween night, Xiwen has been envious of the synergy between spells. He even had a sudden inspiration: he felt he could learn from the professors' methods of combined spellcasting and combine Kamar-Taj magic with the spells of this world.

However, the first thing to do is to understand the principles behind the interaction between spells.

Xiwen didn't think he'd get an answer from the professors at this point; they'd likely think he was being unrealistic. And that was certainly true. He hadn't even fully mastered the spells he needed to learn, so how could he possibly leap to combining spells?

So Xiwen thought of Miranda, the academic superstar from Ravenclaw, who was capable of writing a "Book of Spells" from her Charms.

"No, don't even think about it. Go and learn your basic spells!" Miranda tried to send Xiwen away with a triple denial.

However, Xiwen was not discouraged. He simply lowered his expectations a bit and said to Miranda, "How about this, could you give me a rough demonstration of how to use Combined Spellcasting? I'd like to learn something new."

"That's easy." Miranda finally gave in to Xiwen's persistent nagging, snapped her notebook shut, and stood up. "Actually, the method I told you last time for cleaning the grime—using Severing Charm followed by Mending Charm— is barely considered Combined Spellcasting."

"Tell me more about it?" Xiwen nodded, recalling the professors' smooth Cleaning Charm, Severing Charm, and Mending Charm. The three spells took effect almost simultaneously, cleaning the dungeon in just a few breaths.

"This Combined Spellcasting is the simplest," Miranda explained. "It involves casting spells that can be used in combination in a continuous sequence to achieve effects that individual spells cannot."

"However, you'll find that such Combined Spellcasting isn't necessary. Casting the necessary spells one by one can achieve a similar effect, just less efficient."

Xiwen nodded in understanding. Compared to the professors' spellcasting methods, his own efficiency in cleaning the dungeon was obviously much slower.

"Similarly, there are Combined Spellcasting used in combat," Miranda continued. "For example, if you use a spell like Serpensortia in battle, following it with an Engorgement Charm will undoubtedly make your summoned snake more powerful and intimidating."

"Combined Spellcasting in combat differs from everyday spells that can be cast one by one. Every second in combat is precious; completing your spell a fraction of an second earlier gives you a greater chance of victory. Therefore, this kind of Combined Spellcasting should utilize a higher-level casting technique— Nonverbal Casting!"