The next morning, Ivan woke up and checked the clock—it was 8 a.m.
At Hogwarts, classes for junior wizards run Monday through Friday. They start from 9:00 a.m. to noon, with an afternoon session from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. After washing up, Ivan reviewed his schedule while feeding Yumi, his pet. Hermione had handed him the schedule last night, looking eager to start learning new things.
"Let's see," he thought, glancing at the schedule. "No classes this Monday morning. Herbology is in the afternoon, and we have History of Magic in the evening."
Seeing that Neville was still asleep, Ivan quietly left the dormitory to avoid waking him.
In the common room, he ran into some older students he didn't know very well, including the Weasley twins, Fred and George, and their older brother Percy, who had recently become Head Boy.
"Ivan!" Hermione called. She was sitting on a sofa, holding a thick book about wizard society. She quickly stood up when she spotted him.
"Good morning, Hermione," he greeted her, noticing how her gaze kept drifting to Yumi in his arms. Smiling, Ivan gently petted Yumi while talking to Hermione.
"A General History of Modern Wizards?" he read off the cover of Hermione's book. Thinking of her study habits, he couldn't help but ask, "Don't tell me you're memorizing all of that?"
"Of course!" Hermione replied, giving Yumi a gentle pet. "We live in the wizarding world now. We need to know its culture and customs—what if we make fools of ourselves by not knowing?"
"Memorizing everything…" Ivan muttered with a small smile. "Well, as long as you like it, I guess."
Hermione looked at him seriously and said, "You should memorize it too, Ivan."
To change the topic, Ivan asked quickly, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Hermione blinked, momentarily thrown off. "No, not yet."
"Then let's go." Ivan took her hand, leading her toward the Great Hall before she could say anything else that might involve more studying.
On their way to breakfast, they encountered one of Hogwarts' tricky moving staircases. Fortunately, the Weasley twins helped guide them to the hall. Soon, Ivan and Hermione enjoyed a hearty breakfast among other students.
"No classes this morning—what are you planning to do?" Ivan asked.
"I'm going to the library," Hermione replied eagerly.
Ivan smiled, expecting that answer. "Miss Know-It-All" was ready for action, as always. Luckily, he was also quite interested in the Hogwarts library, filled with unique books he had yet to explore. However, he realized that most of the powerful magic books that could improve his abilities were stored in the Restricted Section. These restricted books weren't just about dark magic—they also contained advanced white magic, alchemy, and rare potion recipes. The Restricted Section held knowledge that young wizards might misuse or fail to understand without guidance.
Fortunately, Ivan had the support of Professor Dumbledore, who had promised to help him with any advanced magic questions whenever he needed it.
Walking into the library, Ivan was struck by its size. Hogwarts was indeed the oldest wizarding school and had the richest collection of magical knowledge. Although it wasn't ranked as the top wizarding school in the world, its history and resources were unmatched.
Ivan quickly realized he was wrong to assume the open shelves wouldn't be helpful. Even though they didn't contain complete spell guides, the books were filled with valuable magical theories and insights. For instance, he was reading a book titled Basic Principles of Spells, which used almost a hundred pages to describe different experiences of a wizard casting spells.
"Spells are really just psychological suggestions," Ivan read, nodding as he thought, So, casting a spell and using wand movements are just ways to strengthen the image in our minds. This lined up with his own ideas about how magic worked.
The book explained that to cast a spell, you first need a clear goal of what you want it to do—like a strong mental image. Ivan saw this as the "imagination" part of spellcasting. Then, you need to feel it deeply in your heart, as if charging the spell with your intent. This part, which the book called the "heart" of spellcasting, was actually the wizard's deep desire to make the spell work.
Afterward, you need a strong and determined will to bring it all together and cast the spell.
Other spells, like the Vanishing Spell or Levitation Charm, don't need a lot of raw power but require focus and intent.
"A strong will makes magic easier to control and handle," Ivan noted, realizing that the emotional state of the wizard can directly affect the power of a spell.
Finally, he grasped how "mind," "thought," and "will" come together to influence magic. The "mind" represents magical power and efficiency, like a battery's energy level. The stronger the mind, the higher the upper limit of your magic. With a high enough mind attribute, a spell's power increases, especially if the wizard is in an intense emotional state.
For example, Ivan thought of Peter Pettigrew, who had once used a powerful Blasting Curse to destroy an entire street. Ivan estimated that Pettigrew's mind attribute was probably around 3 or 4. If a wizard with a mind attribute of 5 used the same spell, Ivan imagined it could be powerful enough to destroy a mountain.
Ivan thought about Fantastic Beasts 2, where Credence's uncontrolled outburst of pure magic had blown up an entire cliff. That was raw, unleashed magic, not amplified by mind power.
Mind power, Ivan realized, was like a multiplier. It could take a simple spell and increase its strength several times over.
He also remembered "love magic" and how Lily Potter's love had protected Harry from Voldemort's curse. This rare and powerful form of magic, known as the Passive Resistance Charm, was a spell that not only required magical strength but was strengthened by the caster's love and self-sacrifice. Because of this, Voldemort couldn't touch Harry without suffering himself.
Ivan understood that, in theory, any spell could be infused with mind power, although it was extremely challenging to master this process. His own mind attribute was only around 2, which made it difficult to control, let alone add to spells.
But Ivan felt satisfied knowing that, even without mind power, magic could still be very powerful. After all, even a high mind attribute added to a Repelling Charm couldn't make it stronger than a well-cast Blasting Curse.
Understanding this balance between spells, power, and emotional strength made Ivan excited to keep learning more about magic and its depths.
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