Even though nothing had really happened between her and Altair, she still felt put out, and her lips pursed into a small pout, her whole face gone flat with disinterest.
She had no interest in watching Quidditch anymore. She just wanted to leave, so she tugged at Altair's sleeve.
"Altair, it's too high up here, I don't want to watch anymore. Why don't we go for a walk by the Black Lake instead?"
There was a stretch of grass along the lake's edge, the air clean, the view open, and plenty of wizards liked to go there to talk or stroll.
"Sure."
Altair had never cared much for Quidditch anyway. He'd only come out to clear his head, so it made no difference to him where they went.
"We'll be off, then. See you."
Altair said his goodbyes to the Patil sisters. Beside him, Hermione had already taken hold of his sleeve, offering the sisters an apologetic smile before pulling Altair away from the stands.
The Patil sisters never noticed the little scheme behind it. They only felt a bit of a shame, though they said their goodbyes politely all the same.
Once they were down from the stands, Hermione's mood picked up considerably.
The two of them walked toward the Black Lake. A breeze rolled off the water, catching Hermione's hair and lifting it, carrying with it a faint clean scent.
Altair savored the quiet of the moment.
Sunlight. The lake. Grass. Wind. Hermione.
The silence didn't last long. Hermione suddenly reached up to touch the leaf earring at her ear, turned to Altair, and asked out of nowhere:
"Altair, do you have any new magic you could teach me?"
"New magic? There is one..."
Altair thought it over and landed on something suitable.
"Something not in the books again?"
"Of course. What's the point of something that's already in the books."
"Is it from that Saruman's spellbook again?"
Hermione was thinking of the Entangling Thorns charm Altair had taught her last time, a kind of magic quite different from what mainstream wizarding circles practiced these days, though it worked remarkably well.
"Mm. It's a defensive spell called the Light Shield Charm. It can block most Dark magic and curses. If your magical power is strong enough, it can even hold off the Unforgivable Curses. Far stronger than the Shield Charm."
Altair explained as they reached the lakeshore, found a clean patch of sloped grass, and sat facing the water.
Then he drew his wand and swept it once around himself.
"Aegis Invictus!"
The Light Shield Charm was one of the stronger defensive spells among the Light-based incantations, it was a Holy magic, and after the system had converted it into something better suited to this world, the incantation had become Aegis Invictus.
As Altair moved through the casting and spoke the words, a pale, misty glow rose up around his body, soft rather than blinding, carrying a calm and almost sacred quality.
"Try casting something simple at me."
Altair said to Hermione.
Hermione thought for a moment, drew her wand, and pointed it at Altair.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
She cast the Leg-Locker Curse, a fairly basic beginner spell anyone could learn straight out of the standard spellbook.
A beam of light shot from her wand, and the instant it struck the pale glow surrounding Altair, it snuffed out like a candle flame pinched between two fingers.
Hermione let out a small yelp, and her face immediately went strange.
But then the leaf at her ear flashed a streak of emerald green, and her color came rushing back to normal almost as fast as it had drained away.
"The Light Shield Charm devours any offensive spell that hits it, and along with it, some of the caster's own mental energy. Put simply, casting an attack spell against the Light Shield Charm costs you extra."
Altair gave his wand a flick, and the pale light around him vanished.
"If you only have enough magic left for one more spell, and that spell hits the Light Shield Charm, your mental energy gets devoured on the spot and you'll pass out immediately."
"That's an incredibly strong ward."
Hermione murmured, her eyes lighting up, and there was a touch of open admiration in the way she looked at Altair now.
"A spell this powerful must be terribly difficult, and you've already mastered it? No wonder Professor Flitwick says you're the most talented wizard he's ever seen."
"You'll probably pick it up quickly too. Though with your current magical reserves, it likely won't hold against anything too powerful. Still, the spell itself carries extra resistance against Dark magic specifically, so that helps."
Altair raised his wand and traced an arc through the air.
"When you speak the incantation, your hand needs to move like this, and the way you channel your mental energy has to..."
Hermione wasn't just the top of her class. She was also the kind of top student who genuinely loved to learn.
For the next hour or so, Altair simply sat there by the Black Lake, watching Hermione practice the spell over and over, tireless, never once complaining.
Thanks to the moon oak earring, Hermione's mental reserves ran deep, and even what she burned through was replenished quickly.
Unlike something as intricate as the Hymn of Light with its healing properties, a defensive spell like this was far simpler. Within a little over an hour, Hermione had all but mastered it, succeeding roughly once every five attempts.
Even though the pale glow around her was barely visible in the daylight once she cast the Light Shield Charm, its strength was nothing to scoff at.
Altair tried channeling some magic into a Petrifying spell aimed at her, just to test it, and it was blocked cleanly, the effect triggering and devouring a portion of his own mental energy in the process.
Pleased with the result, Hermione grew even happier, and threw herself back into practice with fresh energy.
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