As Professor Flitwick said, the Lumos spell is a very basic incantation.
Once the young witches and wizards learned the incantation and the wand movements, along with a few tips from Flitwick, they quickly got the hang of it.
The classroom was filled with twinkling lights, flickering on and off. To make the illumination more noticeable, the professor kindly drew the curtains.
Wayne's wand tip emitted a bright orb of light, with a moderate brightness and a steady source. It was nothing like how the other young witches and wizards were flickering.
"Very good, Mr. Lawrence, Hufflepuff gets two points," Professor Flitwick praised as he walked over, though he didn't seem too overly excited.
After all, the Lumos spell is too simple; with a little practice, anyone can master it. Flitwick was merely rewarding Wayne's large, round, and persistent light as a form of encouragement.
Hermione shot him a sideways glance, lifted her chin, and let out a huff before reciting the incantation. Her wand tip lit up, but it wasn't as large as Wayne's; the brightness was too bright and slightly glaring.
When the young witch tried to reduce the brightness a bit, her lack of control over her magical power caused the spell to dissolve.
"Pfft."
Wayne found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you laughing at? You're just a little more skilled than me," Hermione retorted, then tried casting the Lumos spell again.
This time, however, the result was even worse; her wand merely flickered briefly before becoming unresponsive.
"You need to maintain a calm mindset for stable output," Wayne advised. "So, Miss Granger, can you tell me what I did to make you angry?"
Hermione replied with a sour tone, "Why do you care? Go find your Ravenclaw senior."
???
Wayne was puzzled.
First of all, he had only exchanged a few words with Autumn; the fact that Hermione had managed to see it was quite something.
Secondly... What do you mean by that tone, young witch? We haven't had anything between us yet.
"That's not..." Hermione realized her tone was off and quickly explained, "It's just that the first time we met, you were thinking of swindling my money, but you're different with that Ravenclaw..."
"What are you talking about?" Wayne glared around, noticing that Professor Flitwick had moved to a distance, feeling more at ease.
"Was I swindling you? I was just being nice."
"Knowledge is priceless! I borrowed two Sickles to read books for a week; you tell me, was that a good deal?"
"Pretty good," Hermione nodded instinctively, but she still felt something was off.
"Then that's settled. It's precisely because I see how eager you are to learn that I reluctantly lent you the book."
"I can guarantee that if Autumn had borrowed a book from me, I wouldn't have lent it."
Another round of banter ensued, and Hermione unconsciously began to smile, completely unaware that Wayne had already begun calling out Autumn's name.
Throughout the entire class, the young witches and wizards practiced their spells, and Toby approached Wayne looking troubled.
"Wayne, is there a way to make the light stable? Mine keeps flickering like a police car's lights and is blinding me."
"How to put it..." Wayne pondered for two seconds. "Just imagine that you're holding a torch, and firm that thought."
Toby seemed to ponder that as he returned to his seat.
"What did Wayne say?" Norman asked.
They shared the same struggle; both had wands that kept flickering – one like a police car, the other like an ambulance.
"Wayne said to imagine you're holding a torch and to concentrate."
"I'll give it a try," Norman nodded, raising his wand high with great enthusiasm.
"Lumos~~Maximum!"
Boom!
A light appeared, but it was instead a burst of flame.
The flames burst forth like a serpent, startling Professor Flitwick, who quickly conjured water to extinguish it.
What a talent.
Wayne was amazed; his roommate was indeed impressive, using the fire spell instead of the Lumos spell.
In a battle, he would undoubtedly be a formidable opponent.
"Mr. Sherlock, what Mr. Lawrence suggested is correct, but you need to stay calm; it's holding a torch, not throwing it!"
Professor Flitwick, still shaken from the fright, explained; he too had been quite startled but was fortunate to be holding his wand upwards.
If he had pointed it at someone, Madam Pomfrey would have complained again.
After a few reminders, Professor Flitwick continued to patrol the classroom, assisting the young witches and wizards in mastering their spells.
He had thought Norman was troublesome enough; who could have imagined the real trouble was yet to come.
"Mr. Finnegan, loosen up a bit; your wand is about to snap."
"Remember to have a pause while casting spells. Lumos~~Maximum, keep that rhythm in mind."
No wonder Professor Flitwick was voted the most popular professor at Hogwarts for sixteen consecutive years.
He had patience, a good temperament, and offered students ample practice opportunities, so everyone surely liked him.
Seamus, who had been nervous moments ago, had also relaxed a lot under Flitwick's reassurance.
He confidently lifted his head, and in his hand, the wand transformed into a conductor's baton, tracing a beautiful arc.
His desk mate, Neville, looked at him expectantly, and Flitwick shot him an encouraging glance.
"Seamus..."
Wayne furrowed his brows, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
Wasn't that the notorious explosive genius?
He and Hermione were only one desk apart from Seamus and Neville, and as he heard Seamus starting to recite the incantation, Wayne's bad feeling grew stronger.
"Lumos~~Maximum!"
"Duck!"
Wayne instinctively pulled Hermione down; the young witch stumbled and fell into his arms.
Almost simultaneously.
Boom!
A deafening roar filled everyone's ears, and a violent explosion engulfed the spell classroom.
Over a dozen young witches screamed at the top of their lungs, nearly piercing eardrums.
The three at the center of the explosion, Seamus and Neville, had their faces blackened, their hair resembling frizzled explosions, while Professor Flitwick, due to his shorter stature, narrowly avoided disaster.
However, being closest to the blast, he temporarily lost his hearing.
"Burp!"
Seamus belched loudly, blowing out two smoke rings, his eyes gleaming with brightness, utterly oblivious to his situation.
"Professor, did you see that?! It lit up just now!"
"What did you say?!" Professor Flitwick asked loudly.
"I said! It! Lit up!"
Flitwick nearly stumbled as he stepped backward.
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