The morning sunlight fell through the window onto Morris's face.
Morris rubbed his eyes and stretched his somewhat stiff body.
As he studied the Bone Summoning Spell, dawn had arrived before he knew it.
The spell was much more intricate than he had imagined, and its effect was to summon all sorts of objects made of bone.
Bone spikes, bone spears, bone shields, and even bone vases, for instance.
Very convenient.
Of course, bone spikes and bone shields were still the simplest.
They counted as a means of physical defense and attack.
If he could stomach it, Morris thought these bones could even be used to make bone broth.
I'll try it next time...
I wonder what it tastes like.
"Bone Summoning Spell!"
As Morris chanted softly, three sharp, grayish-white bone spikes instantly formed in the air.
They were about half an arm's length and shot straight toward the opposite wall.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three dull sounds of penetration rang out as the bone spikes sank deep into the hard wooden wall.
A simple yet fierce attack.
Morris walked closer to inspect them and found that the bone spikes had sunk almost halfway into the wooden wall and were firmly embedded.
It seemed there was no need to worry about their power.
Next, he began testing the bone shield's strength.
Unfortunately, his current repertoire of offensive magic was very limited. Aside from a few minor prank spells, Incendio seemed to be the only one that truly qualified as a means of attack.
"Bone Summoning Spell!"
A bone shield large enough to cover Morris's entire body floated in the air.
Then came...
"Incendio!"
He raised his wand, and scorching flames surged from its tip, blasting the surface of the bone shield.
The flames cast a red glow throughout the room.
However, the violent collision he had expected never occurred. The moment the flames touched the bone shield, they flowed naturally to either side, like water striking a smooth, round stone.
A minute later, Morris stopped the Fire-Making Spell.
The heat dissipated, and the bone shield remained unchanged, as intact as before, without even a single scorch mark.
He reached out to touch its surface. Though it was somewhat warm, it was nowhere near hot enough to burn his hand.
Immediately afterward, he tried casting the few minor jinxes he knew at the bone shield. Without exception, every jinx bounced off, and the shield itself suffered no damage.
This was good news for Morris.
With enough practice, summoning a bone shield would take only an instant.
This already qualified as a serviceable means of defense.
After practicing for a while longer, Morris sat down in his chair for a short rest.
Come to think of it, new spells always appeared in the Book of the Mage without any warning.
But he already had a tentative theory about this-whenever he became proficient in the old material, new content would appear in the Book of the Mage.
Of course, this was only a guess. He would need to observe it further to determine exactly how the Book of the Mage worked.
Knock, knock!
Just then, someone knocked on the wooden door.
Morris got up to open it and found an unfamiliar older student standing outside.
The boy was staring at him with a very displeased expression, his brows knitted tightly enough to crush a fly.
Morris paused. "May I ask who you are...?"
He was certain he had never provoked this boy.
Could this be that classic scene in films and TV shows where an older student comes looking for trouble?
But it's already been two weeks since school started. Isn't it a little late for that now?
"I'm Roger Davies," the boy said coldly, as though holding back his anger. "I live next door. Also, you were far too noisy this morning. What exactly were you doing?"
"Uh." Morris gave an awkward smile. "I'm very sorry, Davies."
His experiments with magic that morning had probably been a little too loud and disturbed the boy's rest.
What else is there to say? Apologize.
Get the attitude right first. I'm the one in the wrong, after all.
Perhaps because Morris's apology seemed sincere, Roger's attitude softened slightly.
Looking puzzled, he asked again, "So, what were you doing in your room? These walls are supposed to have Silencing Charms on them. Whatever you do, we shouldn't be able to hear it."
"Silencing Charms?"
Morris glanced back into his room. The large holes the bone spikes had made in the wall earlier were particularly conspicuous.
It seemed his bone spikes had not only pierced the wooden wall but might also have damaged the Silencing Charm placed on it.
No wonder the noise had carried outside.
"I was just practicing magic, but I seem to have accidentally damaged the wall." Morris apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry."
At this, Roger pressed a hand to his forehead and said helplessly, "All right, this happens often. Just be more careful next time. And remember to repair your wall and restore the Silencing Charm."
With that, the older student immediately made to return to the room next door.
Since Morris had readily admitted his mistake, he had no intention of pushing the matter.
"Wait!" Morris called after him.
Roger turned around, looking impatient. "What?"
"I don't know how to fix it," Morris said matter-of-factly.
After all, he was only a first-year student.
He really was not very familiar with the Mending Charm or the Silencing Charm. Or rather, he had not even had time to learn them yet.
"Figure it out yourself," Roger said expressionlessly, even a little coldly. "I'm under no obligation to help you deal with trouble you caused yourself."
"I'll treat you to sweets!"
"No need!"
In the end, Roger still helped Morris repair the wall.
Despite his verbal reluctance, he had ultimately lent a hand when he saw a younger student in difficulty.
Morris felt rather moved. Sure enough, there are still more good people in this world.
Most people at Hogwarts were quite friendly.
At least, everyone he had met so far was.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Weasley Twins, and several older Ravenclaw students.
He could safely say that he was gradually growing fond of this wondrous school of magic.
In the days that followed, Morris's life settled into a regular cycle between the classroom, the library, and his dormitory, over and over.
There was one small incident: he heard that Professor McGonagall had caught the twins wandering around the right-hand corridor on the castle's fourth floor and given them a severe scolding.
He still remembered what Headmaster Dumbledore had said at the start of term-"Anyone who does not wish to suffer an accident and die a painful death should stay out of the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor."
It seemed that place really did hide some secret.
When Morris asked the twins what they had discovered, they said Professor McGonagall had caught them before they had seen anything at all.
George had even blamed Fred for not checking the "map" properly.
Because of this, they once again had to "reflect through labor" by cleaning the second-floor bathroom over the weekend.
Of course, the twins showed no intention of reflecting on their actions. Instead, they urged Morris to find a night to sneak out with them and see what was going on.
Naturally, Morris refused.
Though he was a little curious too, he was nowhere near the point of having to know.
If he really had to sneak out at night, why not go to the library's Restricted Section?
That was far more appealing than a corridor that might cause someone to die a horrible death.