Magic is never open to wizards without talent,
but wizards with even a modicum of talent are not always wise.
Sheen silently put away his quill lollipop, while Hermione remained silent, looking somewhat bewildered.
When Sheen placed the real quill down, he turned to see Hermione glaring at a stiflingly amused Justin,
as if she would turn him into a skunk the moment he let out a laugh.
"Just laugh if you want to laugh."
Sheen sighed.
"Hahaha—Sheen, Hermione, I say, you don't actually think it's a real quill, do you?
That's the second funniest joke I've heard today..."
Justin laughed so hard he could barely stand straight.
"Jas—tin!"
Hermione puffed out her cheeks.
Hearing this, Justin instantly suppressed his laughter
"Oh, Hermione, teach me. I've been practicing the Summoning Charm lately, but I can never seem to succeed. Do you think it's a problem with my wand movement?"
"...Your wand movement is too hesitant."
Hermione calmed her inexplicable irritation and turned to give Justin serious guidance.
Sheen, meanwhile, shifted his gaze back to the quill.
He took another broken quill out of his bag; one of the characteristics of a quill is its durability,
but that was not the case with Sheen's.
Although he used a knife to skillfully shave the quill's feather shaft to extend its lifespan,
things that break will eventually break, and the part worn away by friction can never be recovered.
"Accio—Quill!"
He pronounced the incantation accurately. The quill trembled violently and flew gently into his hand.
[You have practiced the Summoning Charm once at the Apprentice level, Proficiency +1]
At that moment, Sheen froze.
Summoning Charm?
That was the name used on the panel.
Why wasn't it the Accio Charm?
Coincidences are rare in the world of magic,
Sheen thought deeply.
"Because what determines the strength of the spell itself is the wizard; the wizard's will to summon acts upon the object, creating a Summoning Charm.
Accio—Quill!"
As soon as Sheen spoke, all the quills in the classroom trembled and flew toward him.
[You have practiced the Summoning Charm once at the Novice level, Proficiency +3]
And it wasn't just quills that landed in front of him.
Justin, who was holding a quill, stumbled and ultimately fell onto the wooden table in front of Sheen.
As Sheen watched Justin calmly, wondering whether to lend him a hand,
he heard Hermione let out a "pfft" of laughter, then asked through her suppressed giggles
"That looks quite good. Is this a new dance you've learned?"
Sheen quickly saw Justin's face turn red.
...
Sheen had gained a general understanding of the characteristics of the Summoning Charm.
As Hermione had suggested: when a wizard summons an unknown object, they do not need to know its specific name, but they must know a certain attribute of the object.
For example, Hermione might not know the title of a book, but she knows the book is about the Summoning Charm.
When Hermione cannot call out the name of a book because she knows so little about it, she only needs to determine the object's attribute in her mind (a book about the Summoning Charm), lock onto a range (the school),
and then the object within that range that matches her intent will fly toward her.
However, at the same time, the mental exhaustion increases drastically.
If one could summon living creatures, the power of this spell would be terrifying,
but clearly, that is not possible.
Harry had once tried to summon Hagrid, and of course, he failed.
Sheen thought that failing might actually be a good thing; otherwise, if Hagrid flew toward him...
Of course, Sheen also believed that no matter what Harry whispered in his mind, Ginny would not fly toward him.
As Sheen's understanding of the Summoning Charm became clearer, his progress also improved
[You have practiced the Summoning Charm once at the Novice level, Proficiency +3]
[You have practiced the Summoning Charm once at the Intermediate level, Proficiency +10]
[Summoning Charm Unlocked]
Exhausted, Sheen put away his wand.
Turning around, he saw an equally exhausted Hermione and Justin.
However, Justin recovered quickly, pulling three steaming cups of honey jasmine tea from Sheen's blind spot.
To this day, Sheen still didn't know where Justin got the food from.
He only knew that the honey jasmine tea tasted delicious.
...
As twilight enveloped the castle, Sheen set off toward the dungeons.
The corridors were sliced into alternating fragments of light and shadow by the setting sun, and the portraits hanging on the walls began their busiest and most pleasant time of the day.
The Fat Lady appeared beside her close friend, Lady Violet; she was clearly slightly tipsy, leaning elegantly against her frame while humming an off-key tune.
"Look, it's Sheen Green, Sir Cadogan, your 'Troublemaker Ace',"
she said with a certain teasing tone.
The portraits of Hogwarts were never merely paintings—they loved to amuse themselves.
The characters in these portraits could run into other paintings, devise passwords, offer life advice, or provoke students into duels...
In private, they would also come up with all sorts of other mischievous schemes.
And among these schemes, the most important was the little wizard known as the "Troublemaker Ace."
It didn't sound like a compliment, but it truly expressed a portrait's affection for a young wizard.
"In the name of knighthood, Fat Lady, ten centuries of experience is not easily mistaken.
Little Green, he will make a great name for himself in the wizarding world, I guarantee it."
Sir Cadogan's words drew frequent attention from the Fat Lady; after all, a knight never lies.
There was no sense of time in the dungeons.
Severus Snape had been there for an unknown amount of time,
until the heavy rain ceased.
The dungeons remained that cold, isolated place.
The scent of potions still lingered, and parchment was still piled like mountains.
Severus Snape stood there like a statue merged into the very shadows of the dungeon, motionless for a long time.
A note was unfolded in his hand; if Sheen were here, he would know this was hidden knowledge from the books of Master Libax Polacci.
However, unlike Sheen's, this note had a faint "one" written on it.
*Click—*
Sheen pushed open the door, breaking the silence.
When he saw Professor Snape, a clear flash of joy crossed his emerald eyes.
He walked quickly to his cauldron, set down his notes, and went to the specimen cabinet to retrieve his materials.
Sheen was slightly excited; after all, he had brought two tasks today that would excite a wizard
First, to verify how much Master Libax Polacci's improved ritual enhanced the quality of potions.
One must know that for every level a potion's quality increases, its effectiveness grows rapidly, and of course, it sells for a higher price.
And the second task,
was to verify his hypothesis from flying class regarding whether a wizard's will could finely control potion reactions.
However, he clearly did not notice Professor Snape's more complex gaze.
(End of Chapter)