"It really is quite difficult." Cedric nodded earnestly at that. "But Runes are the foundation of the spell system. If you want to research Charms, you have to take the course."
"Oh? You're planning to research spells?" Tris asked, a little surprised.
With that handsome face of Cedric's, it would be a shame if he didn't become a celebrity. Even if he didn't, being a spokesman at the Ministry of Magic would be a good option.
Going into research really seemed like a bit of a waste.
"Yes, I've been thinking about it." Cedric seemed a little embarrassed. "But I don't know whether I'll manage it. It takes quite a lot of talent, after all."
"True. Good luck." Tris nodded, then waved at Harry and Ron, who were approaching from a distance. "Hurry up, you two."
"Huh? Who are you?" Ron asked in puzzlement when he reached them and saw Cedric talking to Tris.
Tris resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. What was wrong with this kid? Was that any way to ask someone who they were?
Cedric, however, was good-natured and introduced himself with a smile. His manner immediately won Harry and Ron over. Tris couldn't help reflecting that it was no wonder this guy had become Hogwarts' undisputed Champion in the original story.
Even setting his abilities aside, his character was beyond reproach.
After breakfast, Tris waited until both his roommates had gone out before trying the meditation method again. As before, he stopped after completing one full meditation cycle.
He checked the time. It had taken roughly eight hours again.
When he tried reading, he once again experienced that same feeling of his mind being unusually active. This confirmed his earlier guess: the meditation method really could make his mind more agile for a short time.
This was probably the effect of what was called mental power cultivation.
The HP system had no concept of mental power, but it did have similar things: the power of the soul, the power of the mind, and the power of love. Tris felt they were all more or less the same thing, though he would need to research further to determine the specifics.
With that daytime session, Sunday was practically over.
In the blink of an eye, a new week had begun.
In Charms, Professor Flitwick read the young wizards' newly submitted essays and once again returned more than half of them. Most of those he accepted belonged to students who had previously heard Tris explain his essay-writing tips.
"Many of you have made clear progress with your essays this time. That's very good. But some of you still need to pay closer attention. Here's what we'll do: after class, ask the students whose essays passed for advice. Or ask Tris directly." Professor Flitwick gave Tris a small nod.
Those words immediately sent the gazes of every student whose homework had failed toward Tris. At least half of those looks were resentful.
Draco's glare was the fiercest of all.
As if Tris would be scared of that. He glared right back at every one of them.
After beating Draco up in the common room, he had already begun to develop a fearsome reputation. On top of that, the system's intense training regime seemed to have made him even more muscular.
He and Ron were both tall to begin with, but while Ron still had a little baby fat in his face, his body was skinny. Tris was different: he was solidly built.
Tris often wore nothing but a T-shirt on his upper body while reading in the common room, and plenty of people had seen him.
Without using magic, none of the first-years thought they could take Tris in a fight-Draco was a cautionary example.
But when it came to magic, they really didn't know many combat spells either.
So their anger could only go as far as glaring. In fact, when Tris glared back, quite a few couldn't help looking away.
During this Charms lesson, Professor Flitwick finally taught the students their first spell.
Lumos.
It was an extremely common and highly essential spell.
Hogwarts had no electric lights. If they got up at night, they had to carry the lanterns provided by the school. Lumos would make things much more convenient.
But although it was a basic spell, truly mastering it was no easy task.
According to Flitwick, if they began learning and practicing now and could keep the light steady for five seconds by the end of their first year, they would be doing very well indeed.
Well, despite the Chinese name meaning "flickering light," the ideal result was a light that didn't flicker.
That made sense when he thought about it. A flickering light source would certainly be hard on the eyes.
Flitwick carefully and patiently explained everything they needed to watch out for with the spell, then had the young wizards begin trying it.
Unsurprisingly, of the twenty-one students in the class, a full seventeen produced nothing on their first wave of the wand. Only three managed to light their wands on the first try.
Blaise Zabini, Ernie Macmillan, and Zacharias Smith.
Slytherin and Hufflepuff had actually ended up with a one-to-two split.
But even among those three, not one could keep the light steady. From the moment it appeared, the glow at their wand tips flickered constantly.
Zacharias's Lumos even went out after less than two seconds.
Even so, he looked thoroughly pleased with himself. After all, that one attempt had put him ahead of more than eighty percent of the class.
At this point, someone might ask, "Dog Ye, can't you count? Twenty-one students, seventeen producing nothing, and three lighting their wands-aren't you missing one?"
Yes, one was indeed missing.
Because that show-off Tris hadn't cast the spell right away.
He had mastered Lumos before he even received his Hogwarts acceptance letter. He simply hadn't been able to keep it steady for five seconds-Percy had mentioned that standard while teaching him, too.
But after the system activated and required daily spell practice, Lumos had become the spell Tris practiced most. Add in the wand that suited him, which he had bought after his acceptance letter arrived, and casting it was now as natural as breathing.
There was no need for him to fumble through attempts like the other young wizards.
But just because he didn't want to show off, made no move, and intended to keep a low profile didn't mean other people would let him.
Professor Flitwick noticed that Tris hadn't moved, but said nothing. Two weeks earlier, he and Tris had conducted some wand research together. Though they hadn't achieved any results, it had given him a preliminary understanding of Tris's magical ability.
In Flitwick's opinion, Tris's practical spellcasting was already good enough to earn at least an E, even if he took the first-year final exam right now.
Flitwick had no objection to him doing nothing.
But while Flitwick had no objection, someone else did.
"Huh? Weasley, why aren't you doing anything? Haven't you memorized the incantation?" Zacharias, sitting at the next desk over, looked at Tris, who hadn't picked up his wand, and spoke.
"Looks like being good at reading and writing isn't enough to make you a good wizard."
The jab was unmistakable.
From Flitwick's earlier remarks, their classmates had vaguely guessed that Tris had something to do with their homework being returned.
They didn't know exactly how much, but there was definitely a connection.
On top of that, over the past two weeks, professors had praised Tris and awarded him points several times in class. Some of the young wizards who thought highly of themselves had long since grown unhappy about it.
And Zacharias was one of the students who resented it most.
The Smith family wasn't a traditional British wizarding family. They had come to Britain from America over a hundred years ago. Of course, saying that American Anglo-Saxons had British ancestors wouldn't be wrong either.
Since enrolling, Zacharias had performed quite well in all his subjects. That had made him rather conceited.
But the homework over these past two weeks had dealt him a harsh blow.
He could just about accept having his homework returned, since quite a few others had theirs returned too. But the professor had practically said outright that their essays were nowhere near Tris's standard and that they needed to learn from him. That was much harder to swallow.
Now, seeing that Tris hadn't moved his wand, he immediately concluded that Tris was only good with words and lacked practical magical ability.
Well, if Hufflepuff and Slytherin had shared even one Transfiguration lesson, Zacharias certainly wouldn't have thought that. But Hogwarts' system of pairing houses for classes meant he knew nothing about Tris's performance in Transfiguration.
So Zacharias was baffled to discover that, as he delivered his taunt, the Slytherin students around him were all looking at him with the pitying gazes one might give an idiot.
Zacharias had shown considerable magical talent since childhood and had tried several elementary spells at home-he had raised his hand during their first Charms lesson, too, and had put in extra practice afterward.
He had instinctively assumed that Tris, who hadn't raised his hand then, must be worse at magic than he was.
But what were those looks from everyone around him supposed to mean?
"Smith is right." Tris nodded with a smile. "Being good at reading and writing alone really won't make you a good wizard. But any truly top-class wizard will definitely be very good at both.
"Oh, you might not understand that. After all, you can't even manage a simple first-year essay."
Tris had originally intended to keep a slightly lower profile, but when someone came looking for trouble, how could he possibly remain polite? He went straight into mockery mode.
Zacharias's fair little face flushed red. He glared at Tris, sounding somewhat hysterical. "Hmph, what good is all that talk? Are you saying you're already a top-class wizard?"
"I never said that. I only said that someone who can't even write an essay properly won't become a top-class wizard," Tris replied dismissively.
His contemptuous attitude only infuriated Zacharias further. "Stop talking and prove it. If you're so capable, why don't you give it a try? Or have you not even figured out how to hold a wand?"
"Since you insist..." Tris shook his head, his expression and resigned tone those of an adult humoring a little brat. He picked up the wand on his desk and gave it a gentle wave.
A precise movement, a perfectly pronounced incantation.
With that gentle wave, a dazzling light burst from the tip of his wand. It was as though a high-wattage light bulb had suddenly been switched on in the classroom!
"Oh!" Several nearby students who had been watching instinctively cried out and covered their eyes.
There was only one reason: it was far too bright.
Even Tris himself instinctively narrowed his eyes.
Holy shit, why is it so bright?