Chapter 55: The First Step of a Successful Mage: No Longer Holding a Staff (Part 2)

Hearing that Annie had indeed called her name, Hermione did not falter. She stood up naturally from her seat and walked briskly to the front of the podium. As a top student, she certainly wouldn't miss an opportunity to earn points for her House.

Performing magic in front of so many people actually made Hermione a little nervous, but she had more confidence in her spellcasting abilities. Besides, little Annie had requested wand-based magic without specifying a particular spell, which was far too simple for her.

After walking to the podium and turning to face the class, Hermione looked at the many teachers and students below. She gave a slightly awkward, hurried bow, took a deep breath, and drew the wand she had kept in her pocket: "Lumos!"

With a sharp cry, Hermione gave her wrist a slight, practiced flick. A small, bright white orb of light ignited at the tip of her wand. It was a very simple illumination spell that she had been able to cast easily since her first year, so performing it now was incredibly smooth.

If one increased the magical output of this spell, the brightness of the orb could be freely controlled according to the wizard's will. It could even function like a flashbang to momentarily blind an enemy. Of course, the prerequisite was remembering to close one's eyes before increasing the output, otherwise, the intense light would surely blind the caster as well.

"Very good. Um, ten points to Gryffindor!" Annie nodded noncommittally, signaling Hermione to step down. Now, it was time for her own lecture.

"I believe you all saw that just now, right? Lumos is just a very simple little trick. It can be used for lighting, for play, or sometimes to attack certain light-fearing, annoying creatures. Actually, this kind of minor spell can be done without a wand—like this." Annie snapped her fingers and said, "Lumos!"

Without using a wand or performing a somatic gesture like Hermione, she simply snapped her fingers casually. A small, bright white orb instantly appeared in the air in front of her at the sound of her voice. It floated slightly, emitting the same bright light as Hermione's spell, though it appeared much softer.

"Whoa!"

The students immediately began to buzz with excitement. Lumos was a spell they were quite familiar with, something they had encountered in their first year. Everyone here could cast it, so there was nothing strange about the spell itself. However, Professor Annie's casting was almost like that of a fairy or a house-elf; she didn't need a wand at all. Was this the wandless magic she intended to teach? It seemed they had truly come to the right place today.

Annie raised her hand to signal for silence, then continued, "Some of you might not know this, but I come from Valoran! In my homeland, spells are generally divided into two major categories based on their source of magic: Arcane and Divine. Let's talk about Divine magic first."

Annie paused. She needed to recall a few things; after all, it had been a long time since she had read those books! Although the information was stored in her mind, retrieving it clearly required a little time.

"Divine magic generally relies on prior communication with a deity to obtain their consent. When casting, one can temporarily borrow the deity's power to release the spell. Whether the deity is just or evil, this method of casting is collectively called the School of Divine Magic. And the wizards capable of releasing Divine magic are usually believers in those deities."

"Arcane magic, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated. It can be divided into Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Transmutation, Illusion, Necromancy, and so on! There are so many! Let's not get into them for now; explaining them is too much trouble! However, I feel that your way of casting is somewhat similar to Conjuration. But it's also a bit like incantation magic—you just mutter a spell, wave your hand, and the magic flies out. But if you really dig into it, it feels different from both. It's just... strange."

"Alright, I won't say any more about that. Research is something those long-bearded, academic wizards like to do; I'm not into that." After speaking for a while, Annie sat down on the podium with a look of distress. Standing for too long was making her uncomfortable, so she sat down and casually "grabbed" the floating orb of light, pulling it into her hand. Bright white light leaked through her fingers.

"Let's talk about Lumos first. It generally belongs to the School of Evocation I mentioned earlier. It manipulates magical energy based on mana, and through different arrangements, it forms these brilliant magical effects. Similar spells include Fireball, Lightning, Magic Missile, and Ice Arrow. They all belong to Evocation! Evocation is essentially shaping mana into the energy form you wish to express. For example, if I want a fireball, then—voila!—a fireball appears!" Annie extended her empty left hand, and a fireball the size of a basketball instantly appeared in her palm.

"Uh... you? Okay, you... student, do you have a question?" Halfway through her sentence, Annie saw a large boy with glasses in the front row raise his hand. She reluctantly stopped to see what he wanted to say.

"Hello, Professor Annie. I am Harry. I wanted to ask, does everything you just said have to do with wandless magic?" Harry Potter stood up and asked cautiously. He had come here specifically to learn wandless magic; all this talk was completely over his head.

"Eh? It doesn't seem to have much to do with it..." Annie bit her finger and thought about it. She had indeed drifted a bit off-topic.

What Annie intended to teach today were the tips and tricks of wandless magic. What she had just discussed involved much higher-level concepts, so it wasn't directly related to today's lesson. However, it wasn't entirely unrelated either. If they could thoroughly research the things she had just mentioned, they could perform wandless magic in a better, more powerful way—just like her, being able to conjure a fireball anytime, anywhere.

In any case, Annie felt that if they were like her and were willing to put in the effort to study the principles of magic and understand the construction of spell models, then with enough practice, they would one day be able to conjure fireballs for fun. That was the best way to perform wandless magic.

But since they didn't seem to like listening to it, she'd let it go. Annie actually didn't really want to teach it! To explain these things clearly, it would take at least ten days or half a month; it was simply too much trouble!

"Alright, then let's move on to another simple type of wandless magic!" After dissipating the fireball, Annie stood up and crushed the Lumos orb in her hand, letting more light burst through her fingers.

Hearing that Annie had no intention of continuing with magical principles and modeling after being interrupted by Harry Potter, Snape turned around and glared at him fiercely.

In Snape's eyes, this boy was a complete nuisance who only knew how to ruin things! What little Annie had just started to explain was the real good stuff. He was listening with great interest, only to be interrupted by this brat. If you don't understand, why can't you just sit there quietly? Fine! You like to talk, do you? Just you wait! Tomorrow, during Potions class, you'll see!

Many others shared Harry's sentiment. They had just heard a massive amount of nonsense from Annie; although it sounded very high-level, it was too vague, and they found it completely incomprehensible. Now that it seemed they were finally getting to the main topic, the students perked up, thinking it was finally time for the "real" content.

"I have watched many of you cast spells, including Hermione just now. You all consume your own magic, conduct it through a wand, and then, through the inadvertent manipulation of incantations, gestures, and mental strength, form the spell within the wand before finally releasing it! Actually, there is no need for that at all! The wand only serves to conduct and form the spell. At most, it's just a difference in conduction coefficients and spell power. Why haven't you thought..." Annie suddenly stood up and raised her voice.

"Why can't you release the magic outside your body first, and then, under the manipulation of incantations, gestures, and mental strength, form the spell directly outside your body and release it? Isn't that just wandless magic? By forming the spell outside the body, you won't hurt yourself. Why must it go through a wand?" This was also something Annie had always wondered about.

Even though they could do it without a wand, they couldn't release a single spell without one. Forcing it either harmed them or caused their magic to clash and go berserk within their bodies. Was it simply because they were too used to the existence of wands? If so, how did they cast spells before wands were invented? The wizarding world was truly strange and quite foolish. No wonder a whole group of them couldn't beat her; they deserved it!

"Alright, it's probably best if I demonstrate. So, does anyone want to come up and demonstrate wandless magic? This will be a very interesting experiment!" Seeing that most of the students still looked bewildered, Annie decided to use a direct experiment to make them understand.

"Huh?" Just as Annie finished speaking, a large boy stumbled forward from the aisle, nearly startling her. Was someone actually this eager? To run up on their own? That was great! "You there, student, it's decided—it's you!"

"No, no, no! Professor! I didn't volunteer! I don't know how to do wandless magic, they pushed me up!" Ron glared indignantly at the two Slytherin students who had just been standing behind him in the aisle.

It was Crabbe and Goyle! Originally, these two had seats, but they had sold them to others before class in exchange for a promised meal. They had become the wizarding world's first scalpers. They had even decided that if there were more open lectures, they would continue to arrive early to claim seats, because they had discovered it was incredibly easy money!

"It doesn't matter! I want someone who doesn't know how. Hurry up, come over here." Under Annie's demand, Ron could only walk to the podium aggrievedly. Once he stood there, he continued to glare at the smug Goyle and Crabbe below.

"Alright, then, I'll give you a wand first." As she spoke, a point of blue Arcane light lit up on Annie's finger, which she then pointed at Ron.

Magic: Lesser Hypnosis!

"Huh? Professor! This wand is...?" Ron suddenly found that an exquisitely crafted wand had mysteriously appeared in his hand. It was gold-trimmed and inlaid with gems; it was at least ten thousand times better than the one in his pocket!

"This wand is yours. Use it to cast a spell—any spell will do!" After speaking to Ron, Annie quickly turned her head and placed a finger to her lips, signaling the teachers and students below not to make a noise or startle the boy.

Because Annie knew that in their eyes, Ron wasn't holding any wand at all. He was merely gripping nothingness with his right hand. That was the effect of her Lesser Hypnosis; it made Ron believe that what he was holding was actually a top-tier, ultra-luxurious wand.

"Given to me? Use it to cast? O-okay! No problem at all! Professor, just watch!" Happiness had come far too suddenly. Just as Ron was lamenting his lack of a good wand and wanting to learn wandless magic, Professor Annie had just given him such a luxurious one? This was amazing!

Ron felt his confidence swelling. With this wand, he would no longer fear failing a spell, no longer fear bad grades, and no longer fear being at the bottom of the class! Now, he was ready to cast. To him, this was a piece of cake; he felt his combat power had increased at least a hundredfold!

"Aguamenti!"

Holding the wand that was invisible to everyone else, Ron pointed it toward the classroom door and recited the incantation. Then, under the surge of his magic, a tiny stream of water leaked from the tip of the wand, only to vanish after a few drops.

"That's impossible!!"

Before anyone else could form an opinion, Ron himself screamed.

He had an ultra-luxurious wand now! He could feel that this wand was a perfect match for him. How could it only leak such a tiny bit of water? It should have been at least a large jet of water! Was it because he hadn't put enough magic into it? Yes, that must be it!

So, he tried again, this time using almost all of his magical strength.

"Aguamenti! Aguamenti!!"

With Ron's voice, a small jet of water sprayed out, slightly larger than before, but not much more. If the first attempt was a few drops, this was at most equivalent to a toddler peeing in the street.

"This... this... Professor, maybe... it seems... this wand really isn't suitable for me."

For a moment, Ron was utterly dejected. He slumped and placed the non-existent wand on the podium.

He had just used all his magical strength, yet the spell released was even worse than the junk in his pocket. What was the use of it? Thus, he had no choice but to reluctantly return it to Professor Annie.

"Alright, you can go back down now. You'll understand why in a moment." Annie smiled slyly and signaled for Ron to step down. She believed he would understand once she explained the situation.

In contrast to Ron's dejection, the teachers and students below were shocked!

They stared wide-eyed at the dejected Ron as he walked back into the crowd. What on earth had Professor Annie done to him? Had this notorious underachiever actually become that powerful? If they hadn't misseen, he had just performed wandless magic, hadn't he? Even if the power was lacking, it was still high-level wandless magic!

"I believe you all saw that clearly, right? Quite a surprise, isn't it?"

Annie suddenly hopped down from the podium and walked to the very front before continuing, "I just cast a tiny hypnosis spell on that student! The effect was to make him believe he was holding a wand, and then, he was able to cast a spell quite smoothly, without backlash or magical instability. Isn't it magical?"

"So, I discovered the characteristic of your spellcasting long ago! Actually, what truly troubles you is not the wand in your hand, but the wand in your mind! For countless years, you have become accustomed to the existence of that wand. Once you lose it, you don't even believe you can cast spells yourself. You must realize that magic can also be conducted through the air, even if the conduction efficiency is very poor. That is also why that student's spell was so weak even though he used almost all his magic." Annie stopped there; she hadn't decided what to say next.

Most of the observing professors understood Annie's words, looking thoughtful. Among them, the most accomplished, Dumbledore and Snape, had exceptionally sharp gazes. Clearly, they had benefited greatly and likely fully understood Annie's concept. If they weren't in a classroom setting, they might have already started experimenting. The two caught each other's eyes; it seemed that setting aside their pride to attend this lecture had indeed been worth it.

A trip well worth taking!

Who cared about pride when strength was involved? Previously, the two of them could perform a bit of wandless magic, but it was mostly minor tricks without offensive capability. But now, perhaps they would dare to attempt wandless offensive spells without worrying about harming themselves.

"Harry! Why aren't you remembering what Professor Annie just said?" Dumbledore pretended to whisper a reminder to Harry, though his exaggerated volume was likely heard by everyone in the classroom. The students, who had been somewhat confused, were immediately jolted awake and eagerly took out their quills to take notes.

The strongest reaction came from Ron. He was staring at his empty palms, his lips beginning to tremble.

He had actually performed wandless magic? He had actually learned wandless magic just like that? It was a truly wondrous feeling. No wonder he had been wondering why the spell was so weak; so that was the reason!

"And one more thing!" Annie looked at the students taking notes with satisfaction, which reminded her of her school days in New York, filling her with a sense of teacherly achievement.

"Forming spells by releasing your own magic is very wasteful. Magic dissipates very quickly once it is outside the body. If you do that, your battles become nothing more than a competition of who has more mana. That is truly foolish! Why haven't you thought about using a tiny bit of magic to guide and gather the magic that already exists in nature? If you do that, wouldn't you save a tremendous amount of energy?"

This? This was incredible!

Dumbledore looked at Annie in shock. He had truly never thought of this question. He knew that magic existed in nature, and he knew that wizards naturally absorbed this ambient magic as they grew, and as a wizard aged, their bodies could hold more and more magic. This was why adult wizards were generally stronger than students—because the amount of magic they could contain was on a different level.

Over the years, using natural magic to cast spells was not unheard of, but it was mostly used in magic circles or certain devices.

For example, Hogwarts' protective enchantments, or the Ministry of Magic's power systems and Floo Network. But for individual spellcasting, it seemed no wizard had ever truly attempted it; they were more accustomed to using their own internal magic.

Thinking of this, Dumbledore couldn't help but frown in deep thought, wondering if there was a way to utilize this ambient magic. Perhaps the energy-gathering charms used in large-scale magic circles could be improved or simplified?

Beside him, Snape silently took out a small notebook and quickly recorded Annie's exact words along with his own emerging thoughts. Following Annie's reminder, it was as if a window had opened to a different path. While he was somewhat surprised by this wandless magic tip, he didn't value the tip itself as much as he valued this novel concept. This! This was the key!

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Revision 1

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(End of Chapter)