Chapter 29
"This is also Lumos." Lucian's voice pulled the students back from their shock.
"To achieve this effect, I went through five stages." He lightly waved his wand, restoring the partially scorched training dummy to its original state. A faint smell of burning lingered in the air.
"The first stage—I define it as the theoretical stage. This is the stage Ginny is currently in: mastering the most standard casting motions, rhythm, pronunciation for a spell, and understanding the resonance frequency it uses to channel magic. Of course, a calm mindset is also required—though that clearly isn't an issue for any of you."
"The second stage is endless, diligent practice."
Hermione raised her head at this point—but she quickly realized that her method was only the second stage, and lowered it again.
"Even for the simplest spells, I repeated them tens of thousands of times. Instinctive casting is faster than thought. Until a spell's casting becomes muscle memory, I wouldn't rush to learn the next one. In my view, that is what truly means basic mastery of a spell."
Lucian paused here. "The following three stages have no fixed order. To me, they are simply manifestations of a wizard's own will. That is the question Ginny asked earlier—once basic mastery is achieved, how do you increase a spell's power?"
Ginny lowered her head at this moment. If the professor's definition of basic mastery was this level, she certainly didn't feel she had mastered the spells she'd learned.
She had thought that after studying with Lucian for so long, she was doing quite well. Now it seemed she still had a long way to go.
"Magic is the embodiment of imagination and a wizard's willpower. When I incant the spell, what I picture in my mind is not the final appearance of the spell, but the magic resonating at the tip of my wand, building intense kinetic energy that will tear through darkness in an instant. This imagination is not absolute. Every wizard has their own understanding of the world—just as you might not understand what 'kinetic energy' means. You don't need to figure it out exactly. You only need to understand and recognise the world according to your own thinking, and firmly believe that this is the correct path."
"I only want to teach you the theory of learning magic, but I don't want you to fully understand magic according to my way of thinking. Whether it's Percy's or Percival's method, in my view they can ultimately lead to the same result—so long as you firmly believe your path is correct. Of course, that kind of persistence is often the hardest. It requires constantly deepening your understanding of the world, adjusting your perception, strengthening your convictions, and refusing to be swayed."
"In addition to imagination, the confidence Percy mentioned is also extremely important. When casting, you must believe that your magic will manifest exactly as you expect. Doubt is the greatest obstacle to the flow of magic. You are not 'trying' to produce strong light—you are declaring the birth of light."
"When your will and your imagination are completely and unwaveringly convinced of this, the spell will reveal its true power."
"As for the final stage—I don't want to name it, and I don't think you need to deliberately pursue it. The answer to that stage is for you to discover yourselves."
The classroom fell completely silent, every face showing thoughtful contemplation.
"Alright, Ginny's question is settled. Does anyone else have questions this week?"
No one spoke; seeing this, Lucian assigned an open-length essay: they were to write about their understanding of the five stages of magic and bring it to him next week.
"Class dismissed."
The students left one by one; Cedric, however, lingered deliberately, taking his time packing up and being the last to stand. Once everyone had left in order, he stood at the door, suddenly turned back to Lucian, gathered his courage, and said:
"Professor."
"Hm? Is something the matter?"
"Halloween is coming up. Nearly Headless Nick is holding a Party, and I was thinking of inviting your assistants to come along and see it. Would that be alright?"
Jeffery, who had been lost in thought over Lucian's earlier words, suddenly looked up in surprise—he hadn't expected this to involve him.
"A ghost's Death-day Party?"
Lucian was a little surprised and instinctively glanced toward Jeffery, who was now looking down, seemingly embarrassed.
"If you want to invite Jeffery, why are you asking me?"
Seeing that Lucian remained calm, Cedric delivered the theory he had prepared "Professor, regarding the fifth stage you mentioned today—I think I already have an answer. One very important factor in spell power is emotion, right? Professor Dumbledore once told me that the power of love is the strongest magic in the world. By having us perform the play, you actually wanted us to experience different emotions through it and improve our magical abilities, didn't you?"
Lucian looked at Cedric with some surprise. This student really was different from the others—far too good at thinking things through.
While other students simply followed his explanation , Cedric always pondered the deeper intent behind it and moved closer to the effect Lucian wanted to achieve. For less perceptive students, such insight could be a burden—once they knew what Lucian was aiming for, their minds would prepare and resist, making the result worse.
But Cedric was different. He only performed better.
"Yes." Lucian nodded, curious to see how Cedric would convince him—though he still didn't understand why inviting Jeffery out required his permission. He had never restricted the freedom of his two assistants.
"So I was thinking... shouldn't wizards also experience different things and feel different emotions? Wouldn't that be better than always shutting themselves away studying spells?"
"Hm. That makes a lot of sense. I don't see any reason to refuse." Lucian nodded and looked at his two assistants.
"Jeffery, you heard him? The Hogwarts ghosts are holding a party on Halloween. Go with Cedric and take a look—Camille, you go too."
Jeffery, who had just opened his mouth to speak, immediately closed it. Camille frowned slightly, unsure why she had to go, but still agreed.
'Camille is coming too?' Cedric suddenly felt a little awkward—this cold, serious assistant made him nervous just being near her.
"What, you don't want me there?" Camille seemed to sense his thoughts and glanced at him.
"N—no, of course you're welcome." Cedric gave a wry smile, suddenly regretting his decision.
"The party starts at seven on Halloween night. I'll come ten minutes early to pick you both up.
Note : Drop Powerstones.
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