Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.
Professor Flitwick was slowly crawling out from behind the pile of books. His hair was a little messy and his robe was wrinkled, but his face still showed barely suppressed excitement.
He climbed onto the stack of books, stood firmly on his feet, cleared his throat, and tried to adopt the serious demeanor of a professor. "Ahem! Uh... Order! Maintain order!"
Even so, his bright eyes still darted back and forth among the students, finally locking onto Harry in the back row.
The excitement he had just suppressed surged up again, and his voice rose several decibels. "Oh, Merlin's beard! It really is you! Harry Potter!"
He opened his arms wide and said happily, "Welcome, Mr Potter, a warm welcome to Hogwarts! Welcome to my Charms!"
The Gryffindor students responded immediately, erupting in applause, with Seamus even slamming his fist on the table in excitement.
Harry forced a slightly stiff smile at Professor Flitwick.
This sudden and enthusiastic praise made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
But he could only silently endure the stares of the entire class.
Professor Flitwick stood on the pile of books for a long while before he managed to calm his agitated emotions.
He raised his hand and pressed it down, and the chatter in the classroom gradually subsided, with only sporadic laughter still lingering in the air.
"Oh! It seems the name ' Potter ' itself has some kind of magical power that makes people feel lightheaded!" he joked with a laugh.
Professor Flitwick then glanced at Harry, a hint of good-natured teasing in his eyes, "... of course, the good kind!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another low chuckle rang out in the classroom. Harry's cheeks flushed red, and he shook his head helplessly.
Professor Flitwick cleared his throat, his tone instantly turning serious. "Alright, enough joking, let's get down to business."
He raised his wand, his fingertips gently stroking the shaft, and said in a deep voice:
"The key to Charms lies in precision! Precision down to every gesture, every syllable; nothing can be wrong!"
To leave a lasting impression, Professor Flitwick recounted some past events:
"Back then, the wizard Baruffio mispronounced the 'f' sound as's' when casting a simple levitation spell. Guess what?"
The students all opened their eyes wide with curiosity, waiting for him to continue.
Professor Flitwick widened his eyes dramatically and said in a somewhat dramatic tone:
He fell straight to the floor, and out of nowhere, a bison stood on his chest!
"The buffalo glared at him, and he stared back at the buffalo; the scene was incredibly awkward, one he'll probably never forget!"
A burst of laughter erupted in the classroom. Lavender laughed so hard he slapped the table, while Parvati covered his mouth, his eyes full of amusement.
Even the usually composed Olivia had a slight smile playing on her lips.
"Therefore," Professor Flitwick said, his smile fading, his tone serious, "Pronunciation and gestures are both indispensable! Everyone must remember this."
Hermione immediately took out her notebook and quickly jotted down the professor's words, the pen scratching on the paper.
She knew the importance of details, and naturally dared not neglect such advice in the slightest.
The Ravenclaw students, on the other hand, were more rational. Unlike the Gryffindor, they did not react enthusiastically; they simply nodded slightly, but they had taken the professor's warning to heart.
Padma sat opposite him, pen in hand, making careful annotations in her textbook.
"Alright, that's enough about pronunciation." Professor Flitwick raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. "Now we'll begin learning spells—our first spell, the Lumos!"
He paused, then clearly pronounced the incantation. "The incantation is ' Lumos '!"
Then, he raised his wand, his wrist pointing slightly forward in a fluid and precise motion.
In that instant, a steady, soft white light condensed at the tip of the wand, like a high-quality LED flashlight, steadily shining on the opposite locker, making the wood grain of the locker door clearly visible.
The brightness is just right, neither too bright nor too dim, enough to illuminate the cabinet.
"Wow!"
The Gryffindor students immediately responded with timely exclamations of surprise.
Neville clapped his hands excitedly and turned to Draco, saying, " Draco! You guessed right! It really is the Lumos!"
Draco's gaze swept over Hermione's tense profile. "Basic stuff, don't be silly."
His words seemed to be a response to Neville, but also as if he were speaking specifically to Hermione.
Draco didn't stop there; instead, he leaned slightly closer, just enough for her to hear. " Miss Granger, you must study hard."
Hermione paused in her page-turning motion, neither looking up nor responding, but she increased the pressure of her fingers, causing the edges of the paper to wrinkle slightly.
This disregard did not deter Draco, who continued, "After all, it would be incredibly unprofessional for my bodyguard to not even know a basic spell."
These words were like a fine needle, gently piercing Hermione's carefully maintained composure.
She finally raised her head, her brown eyes devoid of any emotion, only pure indifference, as she looked directly at Draco: "I don't need your reminder."
After speaking, she immediately looked away and returned her gaze to her notebook, as if the eye contact just now was a necessary response, and that even a second longer would be superfluous.
Draco looked at her cold, hard profile, and the smile in his eyes deepened.
He enjoyed seeing her feign composure while simultaneously being unable to contain her anger.
Like a little hedgehog with its quills raised, cute yet stubborn.
"That would be best," Draco said.
"After all, I don't want to get into any unnecessary trouble because my 'bodyguard' isn't professional enough."
Ron, sitting in the back, didn't hear their conversation, but he did see Neville fawning over Draco.
Ron immediately puffed up with anger, kicked the table leg hard, prompting Harry to helplessly pat his arm.
Harry thought to himself, "Ron's here again."
Professor Flitwick watched the students' reactions with satisfaction, then moved his wand, and the ball of white light followed his gesture, illuminating every corner of the classroom.
"Did everyone see clearly? The gestures should be gentle, the incantation clear, and you should concentrate, letting the magic flow out through the wand."
He retrieved his wand, and the white light vanished instantly.
As soon as Professor Flitwick finished his demonstration, a whole row of arms shot up in the Ravenclaw seating area.
Unlike the Gryffindor ' astonishment, the hawks' eyes were full of inquiry, clearly intrigued by the principles behind the Lumos.
" Mr Comfort, may I ask?" Professor Flitwick glanced around and called on the Ravenclaw boy who had raised his hand the most eagerly.
Comfort immediately stood up, adjusted his glasses, and asked:
"Professor, is the light produced by the Lumos a cold or hot light source? What is the relationship between its energy consumption and the duration of illumination? Also, what is the magical principle behind the spell's effectiveness: does it activate the energy within the wand's wooden core, or does it draw photons from the surrounding environment?"
A barrage of professional questions erupted, Gryffindor fell silent instantly. The little lions looked at each other, their faces showing a hint of confusion.
These questions went far beyond learning spells; they sounded like the content of an advanced Magical Theory class.
Professor Flitwick stood atop a wobbly stack of books, far from feeling troubled; on the contrary, his eyes Winky with excitement.
He clapped his hands loudly and exclaimed, "Ah! A truly profound double-question problem! Clear logic, getting straight to the point! Ravenclaw 5 points!"
After speaking, he cleared his throat and began to explain in detail:
"First of all, the Lumos is a typical, near-perfect 'cold light source.' Think about it: if you used ' Incendio ' for illumination, your parchment would be scorched before you even finished reading it, while ' Lumos ' light can even touch your skin without burning you. This is the core characteristic of a cold light source—it only emits light, without generating heat."
After the students had digested some of the information, he continued explaining energy and its principles:
"As for energy consumption, it is positively correlated with lighting duration, but the consumption rate is extremely low."
"Because magical energy forms a closed loop when a spell takes effect, and the loop only breaks when the caster's attention is distracted or the spell is intentionally terminated."
"In terms of principle, it's neither simply stimulating the wand's core energy nor directly absorbing photons. Instead, it uses the vibration of incantations and hand gestures to transform magical particles in the surrounding environment into visible light particles. Here, the wand acts as a 'conversion medium' rather than an 'energy source'..."
Professor Flitwick spoke at length, from the transformation of magical particles to the resonance of spell frequencies, leaving the Gryffindor lion cubs dizzy with a barrage of technical terms.
Neville scratched his head, looking at Draco with a blank expression, while Ron, already showing impatience, muttered to Harry, "What is he saying? I don't understand a word."
Harry shrugged.
Hermione listened intently, her brow furrowed, and she took notes rapidly with her pen.
The Ravenclaw students were clearly still eager for more; as soon as Mr Comfort sat down, several more students raised their hands, wanting to continue asking questions.
Seeing this, Professor Flitwick raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. "Alright, those of you with questions, please write them down first, and we can discuss them individually after class! For now, let's practice the Lumos, after all, practice makes perfect!"
The eager little eagles had no choice but to give up for the time being, reluctantly putting down their hands and taking out their notebooks to record their questions.
Professor Flitwick resumed the lesson, his tone becoming more serious:
"While the Lumos will automatically extinguish when the caster's magic is depleted or their attention is diverted, we must master its dispelling spell; otherwise, in adventurous moments where concealment is required, this light will directly reveal your location!"
As he spoke, he deliberately glanced at Gryffindor, his eyes showing a hint of approval.
The lion cubs immediately straightened their backs, their faces beaming with pride.
The words "adventure" and "concealment" perfectly captured Gryffindor's love of adventure, making them find the ability to break the curse particularly useful.
"The anti-Charm of the Lumos is ' Nox '!" Professor Flitwick clearly pronounced the incantation, raising his wand. The white light at the tip instantly extinguished, and the classroom returned to its original brightness. "Everyone, repeat after me: Nox!"
" Nox!" the students shouted in unison, their Sonorus.
Just then, Hermione suddenly raised her hand.