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Ryan was improving. He had transitioned from weak contact to brief flashes of light, and the intervals between them were getting shorter and shorter. It seemed he was close to mastering the spell.
Mikel, however, was having a different experience. The light on his wand was highly unstable. At its brightest, it shone like a spotlight, but at its dimmest, it was barely brighter than a firefly, as if it could go out at any moment.
The more this happened, the more anxious Mikel became. His anxiety fed into a vicious cycle, causing his control over the spell to deteriorate further.
Kyle wanted to help him, but just as he was about to speak, he saw Mikel take a deep breath and raise his wand abruptly.
Kyle suddenly had a bad feeling, a sense of impending disaster. The feeling hit him so quickly that he didn't have time to think. Instinctively, he turned around, ducked his head, and shut his eyes.
Almost at the same moment, a blinding light, like a flash grenade, filled the entire Charms classroom.
Although the light vanished in an instant, its effect was devastating.
Caught off guard, most of the young wizards were temporarily blinded. Cries of panic echoed around the room as students covered their eyes and scrambled, pushing each other in their efforts to escape. The classroom descended into chaos.
Even Professor Flitwick was momentarily affected. However, being a seasoned professor, he kept his cool better than the students. Trying to reassure everyone in his high-pitched voice, he shouted, "It's alright! Don't panic! Just stay calm; your vision will return shortly."
Despite his efforts, the chaos persisted. To make matters worse, Flitwick was shouting in the wrong direction, facing the wall instead of the students.
The four wizards in the painting on the wall were unimpressed. While they had been startled by the light too, their painted forms weren't permanently affected. From their perspective, Flitwick looked as ridiculous as a decapitated Teboro hog.
Amid the chaos, only a few managed to stay calm, including Kyle, who had anticipated the disaster. A handful of other students, either by luck or preparation, were unaffected as well.
All they could do was try to calm their panicked classmates and help those who had fallen to prevent a stampede.
It took several minutes for the lingering effects of the bright light to fade and for the students to regain their sight.
"Oh, Merlin's beard, what a catastrophe!" Professor Flitwick muttered as he rubbed his eyes and stumbled down from the desk.
He wanted to come down to comfort the students but, unaware he was heading in the wrong direction, missed a step and tumbled to the floor.
Professor Flitwick was livid.
In all his decades of teaching, he had witnessed plenty of mishaps—students being hit by flying spells, levitation charms summoning cows, lock-opening spells causing explosions—none of it surprised him anymore. These kinds of accidents were part of the job, especially with first-year students still getting accustomed to magic.
But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that something as simple and safe as the Illumination Spell could cause such chaos.
With the frustration of every student weighing on him, Flitwick approached Mikel, the source of the problem.
Mikel lay slumped over his desk, completely unresponsive. Professor Flitwick called his name several times but received no answer.
Growing concerned, Flitwick hurried over and examined Mikel. After a quick check, he concluded, "He's alive. He's just fainted from magical exhaustion..."
Kyle, overhearing this, breathed a sigh of relief.
In this context, magical exhaustion didn't mean that Mikel had used up all his magic, but that he had overexerted himself. It was like an ordinary person staying awake for two days and nights without rest.
Professor Flitwick, on the other hand, seemed somewhat bewildered.
"Magical exhaustion? From an Illumination Spell?"
This was the second time in a matter of minutes that Flitwick questioned his entire career. He began to wonder if he had been at Hogwarts too long and had somehow become out of touch with reality.
In all the centuries of recorded wizarding history, he had never heard of someone fainting from casting the Illumination Spell.
"Professor, should I take him to Madam Pomfrey?" Kyle asked cautiously. "It's probably better than leaving him here like this."
Flitwick, still processing what had happened, nodded. "Yes, yes... Take him to the hospital wing quickly."
Kyle wasted no time. He cast a levitation spell on Mikel and guided him out of the classroom.
Normally, Professor Flitwick would have awarded extra points for such initiative, but given the circumstances, Kyle was just grateful they hadn't lost any points for the disaster.
Not long after leaving the classroom, Kyle spotted a cat sitting at a corner. It wasn't a magical creature or a person in disguise—it was simply Mrs. Norris, Filch's infamous companion, with her sharp amber eyes fixed on him.
"Mrs. Norris! Perfect," Kyle said. "A student is injured, and I need to get to the hospital wing. Can you help me find the way?"
Although Cedric's map had the hospital marked, Kyle had never been there before and wasn't familiar with the exact route. Mrs. Norris, having roamed the halls of Hogwarts for years with Filch, would certainly know the quickest way.
Without a word, Mrs. Norris stood up and started walking toward the right-hand staircase.
Does that mean yes? Kyle wondered as he quickly followed her.
The cat led him through the twisting staircases of the castle, taking a shortcut through a hidden passage behind a statue. In just a few minutes, they arrived at a courtyard outside the Great Hall.
There, a massive clock stood, giving the area its name: the Pendulum Clock Courtyard.
Once they arrived, Mrs. Norris pointed with her tail to a set of stairs. "Go up that way," Kyle interpreted her gesture.
"Thank you, Mrs. Norris. I'll bring you some fish as a reward!" Kyle said gratefully.
He reached out, intending to pet the cat, but Mrs. Norris dodged him with a swift, disdainful glance.
Ears folded back, she glared at Kyle for a moment before turning and walking away, disappearing into the shadows.
"Sassy," Kyle muttered with a smirk before focusing on Mikel and heading up the stairs.
The hospital wing was just up ahead, and this staircase didn't move, so he didn't need to worry about getting lost again.
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(End of chapter)
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