The Charms classroom was located on the seventh floor of the castle; the windows faced east, and when the morning light slanted in, dust could be seen floating in the air.
Regulus sat in the second row of the Slytherin section, with Avery Cuthbert on his right and Alex Rosier one empty seat away on his left.
The latter was nervously flipping through *The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1*, muttering under his breath as he reviewed the pronunciation of the Levitation Charm.
"Relax, Rosier," Avery glanced at him, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Professor Flitwick won't eat you."
"I just… want to make sure the pronunciation is accurate," Alex whispered.
The classroom door creaked slightly as it was pushed open, and Professor Filius Flitwick practically floated in; he was so short that he had to stand on a stack of thick books to see the entire podium.
But when he stood still and his bright eyes swept across the classroom, everyone fell silent.
"Good morning, children!" Flitwick's voice was high-pitched but clear. "Today, we will learn the most basic magic, the Levitation Charm! A spell that seems simple, yet contains the essence of magic!"
He waved his wand, and a white feather floated out of a box on the podium, hovering in the center of the classroom.
"Now, repeat after me!" Flitwick raised his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
"Note three key points: the swish and flick of the wrist, the 'o' should be elongated, and finally, the 'sa' is a light exhale."
There was a feather on each desk, and the classroom was filled with uneven chanting.
Regulus raised his wand slightly: "Wingardium Leviosa."
His voice was steady, his gesture precise; the feather rose slowly, as stable as if suspended by an invisible thread, hovering motionless in front of Regulus.
"Perfect! Five points to Slytherin!" Professor Flitwick practically jumped off the thick books and walked quickly to Regulus's desk, looking up at the feather.
"Look at this stability! No wobbling at all! Mr. Black, have you practiced this before?"
The same question as Professor McGonagall's.
"I just listened carefully to your explanation, Professor," Regulus said humbly.
"Good! Very good!" Flitwick waved his small hands excitedly.
"Mr. Black, perhaps you could demonstrate for the other students?"
"Of course," Regulus bowed slightly to Professor Flitwick. He let the feather fall and recited the spell again: "Wingardium Leviosa."
Under everyone's gaze, the feather slowly floated up again to the same height.
Professor Flitwick said loudly to the others, "Pay attention to the gesture! Pronunciation is important, but the gesture cannot be ignored either. Remember, it's a swish!"
Regulus let the feather slowly drop back to the desk and looked at Flitwick. "Professor, I have a question."
"Ask! Child, ask away!"
"Professor, I was wondering, when the Levitation Charm acts on an object, does it strip away its weight, or does it use magic to build an invisible support for it?"
"If it's the former, does the object's mass still exist? If it's the latter, is the magical support point evenly distributed or concentrated on a certain part of the object?"
The classroom fell silent instantly, and the students turned to look at him one after another.
They only thought about how to make the feather float; they had never considered the principles behind it. For them, it was enough that the spell worked.
But Regulus's question seemed to expose the very essence of the spell.
Professor Flitwick adjusted the small round glasses on the bridge of his nose, a gleam of admiration flashing in his eyes. "What a sophisticated question! Rarely does a first-year student think about the essential level of a spell."
He waved his wand gently, and a feather on the podium floated up, paused in the air for a moment, and then slowly descended. "The answer is both, but the core is the balance between magic and the object's mass."
"The Levitation Charm doesn't truly strip away weight. Mass is the essence of an object; just as our souls cannot be separated from our bodies, magic cannot erase it."
"What we do is use magic to act upon the object." The tip of his wand pointed at the floating feather, and a faint silver glow appeared around it.
"A wizard's magic repels gravity while simultaneously wrapping around every corner of the object evenly, like putting on a light cloak woven of magic."
"The support points are dispersed, which ensures the object floats steadily without tilting or flipping."
Regulus nodded slightly and followed up: "Then what if the object's mass changes?"
"For example, if a drop of water falls on a floating feather, will the magic adjust automatically, or does the caster need to redirect it?"
"A brilliant extension!" Professor Flitwick's voice became increasingly excited. "Magic is connected to the caster. When the object's mass changes, the magic will sense the change immediately and adjust automatically."
"But this requires the caster to maintain focus and not break the connection with the magic."
He looked at Regulus with a gentle smile. "If focus is lacking, the magic will dissipate, and the object will either fall or be pulled off course by the extra weight.
"The fact that you could think of this shows that you have not only mastered the spell but are also thinking deeply. This is the key to becoming an outstanding wizard."
"Thank you, Professor Flitwick; I've gained a lot from this," Regulus thanked him sincerely.
Professor Flitwick looked up: "Keep thinking that way. Another five points to Slytherin!"
The Slytherins discussed excitedly in low voices, and the Ravenclaws also glanced over frequently.
Regulus knew in his heart that Professor Flitwick's explanation was the traditional understanding of the wizarding world, but from his perspective, it was more like the interaction between a magic field and a gravitational field.
It was just that he couldn't express it using those terms.
Professor Flitwick went to inspect the other students, and the classroom was once again filled with the sounds of "Wingardium Leviosa" rising and falling; white feathers either popped up suddenly, drifted crookedly, or didn't move at all.
Alex Rosier had already tried seven times.
His feather would either just tremble a few times or suddenly shoot up, hit the ceiling, and then fall limply.
On the last attempt, the feather even emitted a small wisp of blue smoke.
"Wait a moment," Regulus said.
Alex was startled: "W-what's wrong?"
Regulus walked over to him: "Professor Flitwick said to draw an arc, but you're jerking it up and down. Look."
He flicked his wrist, leading the wand in a gentle arc: "Magic should be composed, but you're acting like you're striking iron."
Alex blushed: "I… I was afraid I didn't have enough strength."
"The Levitation Charm doesn't need strength; you just need to be precise." Regulus lowered his hand. "Try again. The movement should be fluid and smooth, without interruption."
Regulus kept adjusting his posture. Alex wasn't stupid; he was just nervous.
Perhaps it was the discomfort of a mild-mannered pure-blood branch mixing into a nest of hardcore pure-bloods?
Regulus thought to himself that he needed people like this—mild-mannered pure-bloods.
Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
This time, his wrist traced a fairly complete arc. The feather wobbled, rose two inches from the desk, and hovered for three seconds before falling.
"I did it!" Alex's eyes lit up.
"Not bad," Regulus nodded. "But there's still some resistance in the magic because you weren't firm enough when casting. Keep practicing."
Alex nodded vigorously and looked at Regulus gratefully.
*Maybe Black isn't so scary?*
He sat back down, and Avery leaned in and whispered, "You're too patient with him."
Regulus glanced at Avery. "Cuthbert, do you know why on the Black family tapestry, next to those burned-off names, there are often some inconspicuous names left?"
Avery frowned: "…Because they're from branch families? Not important enough?"
"Because when the main branch acts stupidly, it's those branch families that preserve the family's bloodline," Regulus said calmly.
He looked around as if picking out fools. "And you can't guarantee that the main branch won't produce any fools."
The pure-bloods nearby who heard this snickered, while the half-bloods and Muggle-borns looked strangely at these people who were laughing for no reason.
Avery fell silent.
"And thirty years from now," Regulus's voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for the nearby students to hear.
"When we look back on Hogwarts, what we remember won't just be who made the feather fly the highest or who rode a broomstick the steadiest. We'll also remember who was in class with us, who copied homework with us, and who talked about dreams with us after lights out."
These words reached the ears of Professor Flitwick, who was making his rounds.
The tiny professor stopped in his tracks. He looked up at Regulus, something flickering in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he just tapped the podium lightly with his wand.
"It's best to do your own homework, Mr. Black."
The classroom suddenly erupted in laughter.
×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×
Read Extra Chapter Visit My Patreon
I have only 1 tier
19$ Tier – Access to 30 advance chapters
patreon.com/Lempil
patreon.com/Lempil