Another Version of the Levitation Charm

The Charms classroom was on the castle's third floor.

Compared with the tall, chilly stone chamber used for Transfiguration, this room was noticeably livelier. Its windows were brighter, its desks and chairs lighter, and the whole place had the same small, refined air as its owner.

As the students filed in, the professor was nowhere to be seen behind the lectern.

Then a Ravenclaw boy in the front row looked down and gave a startled "Huh?" Only then did everyone notice the towering stack of books behind the lectern, with a tiny wizard standing on top.

Professor Flitwick.

He wore neat robes, his beard was carefully trimmed, and he stood atop the books as though the arrangement were nothing worth making a fuss over.

"Good morning, children!" Professor Flitwick's voice was high and full of energy. "Welcome to Charms! I hope you've all brought your quills, your textbooks, and—most important of all—a wand willing to cooperate with you."

A ripple of good-natured laughter ran through the classroom.

Unlike Professor McGonagall's, Professor Flitwick's class felt cheerful from the start, but cheerful did not mean lax. Quite the opposite: his eyes shone, and he spoke of every spell with the excitement of someone who truly loved it, like a collector eager to show his treasures to newcomers.

"Charms," he said, "are different from Transfiguration. They generally don't try to change a thing itself. Instead, they influence it, give it an effect, set it in motion, or—make certain tasks a little easier."

He waved his wand, and a piece of chalk leaped from the lectern and briskly wrote several words on the blackboard.

Several first-years immediately went wide-eyed.

Justin clearly liked a class that did not begin by intimidating him. Even his posture relaxed a little.

Gavin, meanwhile, listened closely.

The more basic the definition, the less he wanted to miss.

After all, the secrets of a subject often lay hidden in its first few seemingly simple definitions.

Professor Flitwick went over some fundamental requirements for casting spells before finally getting to the point:

"Today, we're learning a very classic and very useful spell—the Levitation Charm."

He turned and wrote on the blackboard:

Wingardium Leviosa

The classroom filled with the scratch of quills on parchment.

"Remember its pronunciation, its rhythm, and the movement of your wrist. A good spell usually takes several things done correctly, not just enthusiasm on your part."

The warning came at just the right time.

Several first-years who had been itching to try lowered the wands they had already raised.

Then, with a wave of the professor's wand, a feather appeared on every desk.

"Well," Professor Flitwick said, his eyes sparkling, "let's begin."

The classroom soon filled with voices practicing.

"Wingardium Leviosa—"

"Wingardium Levi-o-sa—"

"Wingar..."

Accents, rhythms, and gestures overlapped in a jumble that was earnest and chaotic.

Most feathers did not budge.

A few twitched.

One feather was jabbed into the air by an overexcited Hufflepuff student and ended up stuck to Ernie's head.

Ernie's expression froze. Then, with admirable restraint, he took the feather down and placed it neatly back on the student's desk.

"Sorry," the student whispered.

"It's all right." Ernie removed the feather from his head. "At least it did fly."

Justin stared at the feather in front of him and recited the spell three times. It merely rolled over, as if offering what little cooperation it could spare.

"Does this thing pick favorites?" Justin whispered.

"Maybe."

"Then it clearly doesn't want to work with me."

"You wave your wand like you're signing a check—far too perfunctory." Gavin glanced at his movement.

"So spellcasting needs to look more committed?"

"At least don't look like you're trying to get rid of an accountant."

Justin took the criticism and began adjusting his movements.

At the same time, Gavin raised his own wand.

He had read about the Levitation Charm long ago.

Compared with Transfiguration's feeling of "changing a thing," the Levitation Charm felt more like adding a buff to a target.

He did not rush to speak. First, he recalled Professor Flitwick's movements.

A sweep of the wand.

A pause.

A clear intention.

Free the target from gravity's grip and let it float.

Then he spoke:

"Wingardium Leviosa."

His words were clear, his movement precise.

The next second, the feather on his desk rose cleanly into the air.

It floated steadily at a comfortable height, as though an invisible little shelf had been waiting there to hold it.

Justin, sitting closest, stared.

Ernie stopped practicing too. Looking at the feather floating so gracefully, he tried to get used to "Gu succeeding on his first try," but clearly had not managed it yet.

Several Ravenclaw students in the front row turned around.

One boy in particular had already made his feather tremble. Now, watching Gavin's hover so steadily, his expression grew more intent.

Professor Flitwick noticed the commotion and hurried over on quick little steps.

"Very good!" Professor Flitwick gazed up at Gavin's feather as though admiring a beautiful line of poetry. "Five points to Hufflepuff!"

At that, the Hufflepuff students perked up at once.

Ten points in Transfiguration, five in Charms.

Gavin was earning points at an absurd rate for his first day of school.

"Thank you, Professor."

But he clearly had no intention of stopping at "cast the spell successfully."

The next moment, he looked at the floating feather and asked:

"Professor, can the height of the Levitation Charm be adjusted more precisely by changing the amount of magic used or the degree of control?"

The classroom grew a little quieter.

Professor Flitwick's eyes lit up.

"Of course it can, Mr. Gu!" Professor Flitwick's eyes shone. "An excellent question. The Levitation Charm doesn't have only two outcomes, 'success' and 'failure.' In theory, a caster can adjust the height, speed, and stability of the levitation through control. A skilled wizard can even guide a target through quite precise movements in the air."

Gavin looked down at the feather, thoughtful.

"What if the target isn't a feather, but something heavier?"

"That requires stronger control and a clearer intention. Not everything can be made to float as easily, but the principle remains the same."

"Could it work on a person?"

This time, even several first-years nearby stopped practicing altogether.

Justin slowly turned toward Gavin, his face asking the complicated question of why anyone wanted to know whether people could be levitated in their very first Charms class.

Professor Flitwick was not displeased in the slightest.

On the contrary, he looked delighted.

"Strictly speaking, it can affect a person. But casting directly on a person is much more complicated than casting on an ordinary object, and much more likely to go wrong. That's why we don't encourage it in formal lessons."

"Does the limitation come from the target itself, or from the structure of the charm?"

"Both." Professor Flitwick stroked his beard. "The more complex the target, the more variables the caster must handle. A person isn't a chair, or a trunk, much less a feather. They can move, struggle, and even resist magically."

"Resistance..." Gavin repeated quietly.

"Yes. That's why many spells behave differently against living things than they do against inanimate objects."

The classroom had taken on a peculiar atmosphere.

Most first-years were still struggling to get their feathers off their desks, while Gavin's discussion had already reached the limits of casting on people.

The Ravenclaw students in the front row had all fallen politely silent.

But there was a hint of academic frustration in that silence.

Gavin still was not done.

"Professor, if the Levitation Charm counters or weakens the effect of gravity on a target, could there be a reverse version? One that makes things heavier instead of lighter?"

This time, Professor Flitwick's eyes truly blazed.

"Ah—what a splendid question!" He nearly clapped his hands in excitement. "That, young man, is precisely a direction worth discussing!"

The entire class turned its attention to them.

Even the Hufflepuff student in the far corner, still locked in a standoff with his feather, looked up.

"The sort of 'gravity charm' you're describing doesn't have a widely used basic counterpart dedicated to that purpose in the modern system of charms," Professor Flitwick said. "But there is a related spell—the Slowing Charm."

With a wave of his wand, he wrote another term in the corner of the blackboard.

"It works by making an object heavier, leaving the target more sluggish and harder to move. In a sense, you could think of it as another approach to the Levitation Charm."

"That sounds a little like the Impediment Jinx." Gavin frowned slightly.

Professor Flitwick's eyes brightened further. "Very good! I see you've done your Charms reading."

Flitwick wrote the incantation for the Impediment Jinx on the blackboard as well. "Their effects are somewhat similar, but they work quite differently. The Impediment Jinx is more like casting on the space around a target to create an invisible obstacle. The larger the target, the less effective it becomes. The Slowing Charm focuses on the target itself, so the heavier the target, the better it works. Of course, magical resistance matters too, but that's another subject."

"Why do people rarely mention it now?"

"Because modern wizards carry such light equipment." Professor Flitwick spread his hands, looking almost regretful. "Modern wands are very light, and people carry far less than they used to. Against a wand, a set of robes, or a nimble modern wizard, the Slowing Charm usually doesn't have enough of an effect to matter."

"But it used to be different?"

"Certainly." Professor Flitwick nodded. "Wizards once commonly wore heavy cloaks and thick boots and carried all sorts of pouches and metal accessories. Some even hauled around piles of materials. Under those circumstances, a Slowing Charm was quite a nuisance."

Justin listened, increasingly bewildered.

He whispered to Ernie, "Why does it feel like we're not taking the same class?"

Ernie lowered his voice too. "Could it be because we didn't do the reading?"

They stared at each other, wondering whether reading ahead really explained it.

Near the lectern, Gavin kept asking questions.

"Professor, if the Slowing Charm were strengthened, could it theoretically have a suppressive effect? Say, prevent a target from moving altogether?"

"Theoretically, that's a direction one could explore," Professor Flitwick said, "but it's well beyond what a first-year should be considering. And once you start imposing severe restrictions, both the charm's structure and its safety become more complicated."

"Understood."

"But your line of thinking is excellent, truly excellent." Professor Flitwick smiled at him so broadly that his beard nearly curled upward. "Many wizards only care how to use a spell. Few stop to consider where it might lead. Thinking about such things is an important step toward becoming a fine spellcaster."

He was clearly pleased.

At last, a student was asking these questions—and in the very first lesson of first year.

It was like finally scratching an itch he had not been able to reach.

Gavin's eyes had grown exceptionally bright.

The Levitation Charm was not a simple trick for "making things fly."

There was clearly much more behind it.

Weight, speed, resistance, sluggishness, perhaps even some form of influence closer to "force."

That was exactly what interested him most.

At last, Professor Flitwick reluctantly ended the impromptu discussion and turned to check on the other students' practice.

Before leaving, though, he added one more thing:

"Keep it up, Mr. Gu. You have a real talent for Charms."

"Thank you, Professor."

Professor Flitwick left, satisfied.

Gavin gazed at the feather still hovering above his desk, lost in thought.

At lunch, the Great Hall was even livelier than it had been that morning.

After two morning classes, every first-year had completed the first transition from "thrilled to be here" to "taught a lesson by reality." Some complained about the stairs, some about the professors, and some about how their matches and feathers seemed to have joined forces against them.

The mood at the Hufflepuff table was good, though.

Especially after Ernie solemnly announced that "Gu earned another five points for the house this morning." Several students nearby looked at Gavin with greater warmth and straightforward admiration.

Lunch was as plentiful as ever.

But Gavin was not paying much attention to his food.

His mind was still on the questions from class.

The Levitation Charm.

The Slowing Charm.

Controlling magical output.

Resistance in living things.

And a certain place in Hogwarts Castle that had caught his interest.

The Room of Requirement.

If the rumors were true, it might be the perfect place to practice undisturbed.

After lunch, instead of returning to the Common Room with the other Hufflepuffs, he left the Great Hall alone.

The corridors of Hogwarts were quieter in the afternoon than in the morning.

Most students had either gone to the courtyard, returned to their dormitories to sort through the morning's lessons, or gathered to discuss who had embarrassed themselves in their first class. Sunlight slanted through the high windows, casting patches of pale gold across the floor.

Gavin walked alone through the corridors toward the Seventh Floor.

Of course he remembered where to find the Room of Requirement.

Opposite the Barnabas tapestry on the Seventh Floor.

Walk back and forth three times while keeping clearly in mind what you need.

After reaching the Seventh Floor, he turned into a long stone corridor and finally spotted the tapestry. A foolish-looking wizard was trying to teach a group of trolls ballet. The scene had that peculiar absurdity unique to the wizarding world.

Opposite it was a stretch of blank wall.

There was nothing there.

Gavin stopped and stood there, studying it for two seconds.

"Good. Now it's time to witness a miracle."

He began walking back and forth along the wall.

One step, two steps, three steps.

His thoughts were perfectly clear:

I need somewhere I can practice magic in peace.

I need somewhere...

On his third pass, he stopped and turned to look.

A door had appeared in the previously bare stone wall.

A perfectly ordinary door, yet one that clearly had no business being there.

Gavin looked at it and slowly raised an eyebrow.

"It really exists."

At that moment, he felt even a little happier than he had that morning when he first successfully cast the Levitation Charm.

Because it meant he now had a private room at Hogwarts, at least for the time being.

Gavin reached for the handle and gently pushed the door open.