Leon continued reading.
'Subjugating a Cerberus requires a lot of preparations and dozens of experienced beast handlers along with multiple teams of hit wizards, even then you can expect a high casualty rate.
The Greek ministry just lures the 7-X classified beasts back to their lairs, the volcanoes, with food whenever they leave their territory.'
'Now, I understand why they have Fluffy guard the room. I guess, it makes sense that something with that horrible reproduction rate has such power.'
'The 7-X is the highest threat level that can be assigned, and that beast is a couple hundred meters away from me.'
Leon suddenly got the impulse to run to the third floor to see the mighty beast with his own eyes, but he quickly smothered it and began searching for trolls.
'Cave Trolls, Mountain Trolls, Forest Trolls. Damn, so many types..'
'What was that Troll that nearly kills Hermoine....A Hogwarts Troll?' Snickering at the image of Ron Weasley stuffing his mouth with both hands, Leon tried to recall what type of troll that got done in by its club- the troll which other trolls call dumb but he couldn't remember. So, he decided to read up on every type of troll native to Britain.
'Hmm! From what I read, Trolls are vitality incarnates with the forest trolls having absurd regeneration rate, followed by mountain trolls.'
'They are individually XXX-classified beasts but as they move in groups and are resistant to the spells of an average wizard, they are classified as 5-X when spotted in groups.
The average wizard talked about here is an average active auror.
Magic, like everything, requires practice not to let your skills rust. And an average paper pusher doesn't need much magic in their life. Thus, the ministry assigns danger ratings according to the skills of the people who face the beasts.
There is only one solution for civilian wizards when they face any beast classified above XXX, nicknamed wizard killers, which is to Apparate away.'
Leon continued reading the book, thumbing the pictures of the Trolls as they dumbly looked at him.
'It seems Trolls have the same amount of regeneration as the Trolls in the games of my previous life. A Forest troll can regrow its hand in a second, at first, or reattach it even quicker, the mountain Troll sacrifices some amount of its regeneration for strength where whereas the Cave Troll sacrifices some amount of its regeneration for better eyesight in dark and rough skin.'
'Expect Cave Troll the other two has shit perception..cool.'
'The best way to kill a troll is via mind spells or enchanted objects, though cursed objects work too.'
'Damn, Enchanted objects? Cursed Objects? How to 'enchant' or 'curse' them? So many questions..' He shook his head and continued reading.
'Damage done by enchanted or even charmed objects hinders the Trolls' regeneration. But when you face a Troll, mind spells should be your go-to solution.
They are easily distracted, so you don't need to risk your life when you see one, just distract or confound them with a spell. Now, the spell will only work if it is overcharged, so don't hold back when you face one. The above instruction is for auror or auror trainees, I will once again mention this. If you are a civilian wizard that came face to face with a Troll, your only solution is to Apparate away and stop your excursions into magical forests if you don't want to be used as a toothpick.'
'Yeah, I was not looking to fight one before and now it is confirmed….. I will just follow it around for some time to satisfy my curiosity and of course, to make sure Hermoine doesn't get killed. Yep, that's the main reason.'
Clearing his throat, he wrote down the weaknesses, and signs to identify the type of trolls before returning the book.
A little danger isn't new to him, as always he will make preparations so there won't be any danger, just like sky diving.
'Ah! Wrong example!' Leon grimly chuckled and continued searching his charms textbook and some other books for new spells before deciding on his next spell- a camouflage spell.
'Perfectly invisible if the target is at a distance more than 7 meters. Hiding in a shadow exponentially increases the power of this spell, making the caster perfectly invisible even at a distance of less than three meters. The caster is advised to be stationary in both cases and should be hugging a wall or floor. The spell power will be less effective if the caster stands on a floor away from everything.'
'Hmm! It will do! Maybe I will get the chance to say, 'I am the shadow'.' Leon grinned.
'If I find a way to move quickly and stealthily then I am reading for some troll stalking, and Hogwarts will witness the birth of the Batwiz,' Leon sniggered and noted down the spell.
An invisibility spell is multiple orders more complex and difficult than the camouflage spell, making Leon choose the lite version.
He can always go for the invisibility spell if the camouflage spell doesn't work as advertised, but he doubts he needs the invisibility spell. The trolls are supposed to have poor senses.
After memorizing the spell, he took out his wand and started to practice the spell on a quill he tossed below his table.
As Leon was grinning at the near-invisible quill after his third attempt, Susan harshly whispered.
"What are you doing, spells aren't allowed in the library. You can damage the books." Susan nervously glanced at Madam Pince, the caretaker of the library.
"Don't worry, I am not practicing an elemental or offensive charm." He said, before lowering his textbook onto the floor, below the table.
Just as he was about to cast the spell again, Susan caught his hand.
"Come on, some of the Hufflepuffs left to our common room, we can go there," she said.
Leon shrugged and packed his books; Hannah too mimicked him and clutched the magazine she tossed aside earlier like it was going to escape.
The Hufflepuff trio left for their common room with Hannah humming and browsing the magazine, and Leon admiring the millennial-old castle with a grumpy Susan tailing them.
However, the grumpiness didn't last long.
Susan and Hannah were giggling away by the time they reached their common room, thumbing the pages of the magazine.
Leon tried to take a peek into the magazine but was shushed away. He had to settle with admiring Hogwarts, so he couldn't complain.
Hannah led Susan to the girls' rooms leaving Leon in the common room.
He quickly occupied a corner and started using the spell on a book and kept on increasing the size after each success.
He kept on practicing even after dinner in his room.
As the night deepened, he was able to turn a 1-meter stack of books invisible.
The next morning, Leon woke up and continued practicing the spell with more enthusiasm as he was very near to becoming an invisible man, a lite version of the invisible man, to be exact.
After a stack of books of the same height as him perfectly disappeared, melding into the wall he eagerly cast the spell on himself, eyeing the mirror in his room.
Sadly, the result wasn't a success, he could see his outline in the mirror.
'Hmm! Maybe, the reason for this partial success is because a humanoid outline is more complex than a cuboid.'
A little disappointed he freshened up and left for breakfast.
The herbology class was interesting. The Professor just let the students ooh and ahh over rare magical plants.
And Leon's voice was the loudest in the oohs and ahhs let out by the students.
He was simply mesmerized by the magical plants.
Some plants were on fire, some were ethereal and see-through.
They were literally magical. So, one can't find fault with him.
Hufflepuffs entered their first flying class in high spirits, at least it was the first class for muggle-borns like Leon and Justin, a Hufflepuff muggle-born.
"Are you nervous, Leon?" Justin asked.
"No, you?"
"Nope, Ernie let me use his broom after he finished practicing for the team tryouts."
'Woah! Too much information. So, first-year students are allowed to bring their brooms and even participate in the tryouts for Quidditch. Hmm! I wonder if Rose will still become a seeker.'
"Cool! Is that why you were always quickly running away from the classes and lunch," Leon asked as Madam Hooch entered the field.
"Yeah, I wanted to invite you. But you always seemed busy, so I didn't," Ernie answered, with some guilt lacing his voice.
"No worries," Leon waved his hand. With the prospect of flying before him, he couldn't bother with the whys and maybes of not getting invited like an insecure teen.
"All right, say up," Madam Hooch instructed after she informed the class about proper safety protocols and rules.
"Up!" Leon commanded with a grin, which nearly split his face as the broom rose to meet his palm.
'Damn! I am becoming a magical joker.' The sarcastic thought flashed through his mind as Madam Hooch instructed the next step.
The rest of the flying class went smoothly.
Leon was able to feel a connection forming between him and the broom, just like how it did in the charms and transfiguration class after he spent some time in the air.
Once he felt the connection, flying became even easier for him.
'Damn, So I have talent in any subject that requires a constant connection with the target. I am average in DADA because the spells and their effects are permanent- can't be manipulated again after they leave the wand- quite different from most of the charms and transfiguration.'
'And predicting with this data, I won't be talented in potions as just as most of the DADA spells, potions can't be manipulated... Bah! Who needs potions anyway.'
Leon ignored the disappointment that he was not an Uber OP MC and concentrated on the air that ruffled his hair and the joyful shouts of his classmates as Madam Hooch extended her class until nightfall after some requests.
The little irrational disappointment that clung to his mind, that he wasn't some god-given gift to the magical world, melted away as he flew in the air with the ease of a bird, enjoying the beautiful sunset that turned Hogwarts into a fort made of gold.
Leon slowly glided in the air; his eyes stuck to the beautiful sight in front of him.
The castle walls rose to embrace the sky, defying the ravages of time, and exuding a profound and primeval aura that contained mystery, wonder, and warmth.
The lake shined with a warm glow as the sea of greenery stretched onto the horizon, slowly swallowing the sun.
'Hmm! It seems the psyche merge tamed the daredevil in me more than I thought. Otherwise, how would I have missed the chance to do a dangerous, adrenaline-pumping stunt.' Leon thought as he walked towards his room and quickly holed himself.
Riding the high of flying, he continued his practice and with a little after 30 minutes, he couldn't see himself in the mirror anymore.
With an excited grin, he slowly entered the common room, hugging the walls.
Nobody noticed him as he slowly moved towards the corner where Susan and Hannah sat, engrossed in something.
Seeing even they didn't notice him even when he was a meter away from them, courtesy of the shadows that were cast by the lamps. He dispelled himself and loudly cleared his throat.
They jumped in fright before glaring at him.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked with an unrepentant smirk.
"Spell Cards, join us," Hannah replied merrily before remembering they were supposed to be glaring at him.
Susan just sighed at the innocent girl before explaining the rules to Leon.
Ernie too joined the game while Justin was content with watching.
Leon sucked at the game causing Susan and Hannah to giggle whenever his card exploded in glitter, dust, or water.
The spell cards game was a little similar to UNO. In the game, you have to play a card that either supports the previous spell card, enhancing the card effect on the next player or counter it or take the cards if you can't do anything mentioned above.
There are many different spells-shields, shield breakers, counters and such. The problem was the spells were too niche and the purebloods looked like they grew up with this game, so Leon more often than not got outplayed.
But being the Puffs they were, his housemates didn't bully the new guy too much, making it a very enjoyable game.
That night Leon slept with a smile on his face. Even though he didn't spend more than three days at Hogwarts, he loved every second.
The next morning rolled around.
Leon started the hunt for his next spell that would help him move silently and quickly.
'I can safely follow the Troll with the camouflage spell and its stinky smell will lead me right to it. But moving quickly will nullify my stealth. I need a spell for movement, and it should combine with the camouflage spell to let me move unseen.' This was the best case he was hoping for.
'The easiest way to move unseen and fast is with a broom and Rose's invisibility cloak which I don't even know if she has with her.'
He spent his whole morning searching for a proper solution, but he couldn't find any.
Checking the time with quick tempus, he left for breakfast.
"We don't have classes this afternoon what are you going to do?" Susan asked between her bites.
"I don't know, but I am excited about the spell affixes we will learn in today's charms class though," Leon replied, hoping the charms class would shed light on his problem.
The charms class was splendid with Flitwick explaining the theory behind charms affixes and letting them practice Lumos Solem. The spell produces an orb of light that floats in the air- like the sun- different from the wand lighting of Lumos.
Leon got it on his first try and the professor seemingly expecting it made him practice Lumos maxima, a spell to increase the intensity of light.
It wasn't long before bright flashes emerged from the tip of the wand with enough intensity to blind a person.
Maybe Leon's classmates got inspired by him, but they too quickly nailed the Lumos Solem spell causing Flitwick to vibrate in happiness as he directed them to try Lumos Maxima.
The class quickly ended with a mixed group of students practicing Lumos Solem and Lumos Maxima.
Leon was doing both. He used Lumos Solem to produce three orbs of light while using Lumos Maxima to let the orbs of light flare up instead of the tip of his wand.
However, without the slight modification to the spell Flitwick provided at the end of the class, it would have been tough for him to properly orient the orbs of light and use them to burn the retinas of anyone watching.
'I wonder if the professor knows that he helped me perfect an attack spell.'
Flitwick gave out another 15 points to Hufflepuff for his ingenuity and his talent for charms, making Leon mock strut off the class with his chest puffed up making his friends laugh at him.
.........................................
A/N: Last chap this week!