Just as the words fell, the students could no longer contain their excitement, standing in place and cheering loudly, their faces flushed red, whether from excitement or the cold weather.
"However, forgive me for being blunt, but your current abilities are far from reaching that point," he continued.
They felt as if they had been drenched by the falling snow, their previously high spirits suddenly dampened.
Fortunately, Tewell explained to them,
"To achieve the level of Professor Fawley, you need to improve your understanding of magic spells, gestures, and the release of magical power. It's not something you can accomplish, at least not right now."
Seeing some disappointment among the students, Tewell smiled and asked, "Alright then, who among you can make magic pause? Like this—"
He waved his wand.
"Fall unconscious."
A red light shot out, but to the students' surprise, it didn't continue forward as expected. Instead, it stopped mid-air, resembling a small red thief.
"This is control over magic. You can think of it like the light orb emitted by the Lumos spell, with the only difference being that other spells would find it much harder to achieve this level."
At least, Tewell himself could only achieve this level with some basic spells.
"I don't understand," Ron complained, "Isn't the Lumos spell supposed to emit light from the tip of the wand? What do you mean by emitting a light orb?"
This time, they didn't need Hermione; even Harry, who had been soaking up magical knowledge, could explain it to him.
"The light from the Lumos spell can detach from the tip of the wand and move to anywhere visible at the caster's will."
"Doesn't that mean it saves electricity for the light bulb?" Ron exclaimed in surprise.
"..."
The students in the classroom still didn't understand, but their confusion was different.
They tried quietly to replicate the spell, but as expected, they failed.
Even Percy, who had been dismantling spells lately, could only briefly halt the magic.
In the end, they had to reluctantly accept the fact that their abilities were not enough for this task.
"Don't worry," Tewell encouraged them, "I've long realized this, so I'll give you a little help."
Waving his wand towards the surrounding snow, it seemed to boil, and nearly a hundred fist-sized snowballs flew out, hovering precisely two feet above each student's head.
Only then did they notice that each snowball had a small opening, revealing its hollow interior.
"Do you see?" Tewell retrieved his wand, focusing the students' attention on him.
"You can understand the magic you emit as a balloon, with the magic effect being the outer layer and the magic power being the air inside."
"Now, I've prepared a tougher outer layer for you, so you don't have to worry about making the magic pause."
"Next, you'll need to accurately release your magic into the snowball, filling it with an effective spell."
Seeing the eager students, Tewell raised his voice to ensure they heard clearly.
"Remember, maintain a consistent and stable output of magic to prevent your spell from collapsing. Too little magic will cause it to dissipate due to insufficient power, while too much will burst the original spell."
"As for the type and amount of magical output, that's up to you."
The students paid no heed to the professor's words.
Upon hearing that the snowball could contain magic, they were eager to stuff their coolest and most flashy spells inside.
They wanted to show the professor that they, as senior students, were not like those junior beans, only capable of playing with light balls!
Compared to the excited students inside the golden membrane, the outside junior wizards could only watch the top students, hoping they would offer some insights to satisfy their curiosity.
This time, Hermione couldn't say anything more. After all, she was only a first-year student, and even being able to recognize the spell was considered extremely excellent.
However, Cedric was different.
He had been taking private lessons with the professor for so long, quietly observing Percy's dismantling of spells, and, combined with his already excellent knowledge base, he was prepared.
He cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention, especially that of a certain student from Ravenclaw.
Noticing this, he quickly averted his gaze and proudly said, "Take a close look at that golden membrane. It's actually a powerful Armor Charm!"
"Tch~"
The students had done their research long ago. Who didn't know that this magic was the Armor Charm?
Ignoring the disdainful looks from everyone, Cedric raised a finger and said mysteriously, "But there's something you definitely don't know."
"What is it?" asked Autumn Zhang immediately.
His face turned slightly red, embarrassed to show off anymore.
"In fact, the snowballs are also Armor Charms, but different professors seem to have applied variations to this Armor Charm, making it gentle yet resilient, and providing a barrier against magic without dissipating."
"No way! The Armor Charm is supposed to block magic. How could it not dissipate?" Autumn Zhang exclaimed, mouth agape in surprise.
"Who knows? After attending the professor's classes for so long, my biggest impression is that he has played around with the Armor Charm."
Cedric shrugged. "I don't care about the Armor Charm. The key is, we also have snow, but how can we play with it like them…"
Ron looked enviously at the students inside the golden membrane; they were already having a blast!
Each of them emitted colorful lights towards the snowballs above their heads, completely ignoring Tewell's reminders about controlling magic and using proficient spells.
However, despite their efforts, only a few students managed to accurately hit the hollow opening of the snowball. And even those who hit didn't do much damage. The specially reinforced Armor Charm couldn't be broken by their spells.
As for the rest, their spells either missed or went wildly off course.
Some students even accidentally hit their classmates in front of or beside them…
You couldn't tell whether it was due to personal grudges or simply incompetence. After all, Tewell intentionally placed the snowballs above their heads.
Watching them scramble around, the junior wizards outside couldn't help but mock them enviously.
They wanted to play like that too!
Tewell couldn't help but laugh and cry. After waking up several students who were accidentally injured, he had to wave his wand and inject his magic into the little ghosts on the students' heads.
In an instant, the little ghosts seemed to come alive, their expressions much livelier, and their movements more human-like.
Of course, their words became more authentic too.
"Come on, Flint, you're a wizard, not a giant. The thing in your hand is obviously a wand used to cast magic, so why does it look like a stick in your hands?!"
"Percy, Professor Fawley wants me to tell you that you did the best in the whole class."
Percy's face lit up, but then he heard the next sentence from the little ghost, "But you're also the farthest off-topic. Didn't the professor tell you to use offensive spells? Can't you listen?!"
"Miss Penelope, I heard you're a candidate for Ravenclaw Prefect?"
Penelope beside her was stunned. She thought the little ghost would say the same thing as the others, but why was it so friendly to her?
"Yeah," she raised her small head proudly and smiled, "Professor Fawley already told me secretly!"
The little ghost shook its head and sighed, "Well, it seems like this year's Ravenclaw students aren't that great~"
Penelope: "…"