11 Chapter 11 - Learning New Spells.

The three brothers woke up early for another day of work.

Molly accompanied them to Diagon Alley this time, to perform the 'Engorgio' spell and thus return the boxes to their previous size.

She said goodbye to the boys and said she would be back at lunchtime to help them collect all their things and go home.

They started the workday in their usual position, with George heading to the beginning of Diagon Alley, Fred hanging around the front of the tent and Ron at the back of the tent, getting ready to serve new customers.

The hours passed and that day seemed less busy than the day before. They barely managed to gain people's attention, as those who were there didn't seem to be very interested in a tent made by children.

"Ron, it's too quiet here. Why don't you help me attract more people?"

Fred asks, frustrated.

"I'm not good at this. And by the way, that's not my job."

Ron replied, returning small insects that were scurrying across the floor.

"Oh, come on, Ron! Help me out. You just need to be kind and friendly. Look at your cute little face. You can attract a lot of customers with it, I'm sure."

Fred persisted, pouting at Ron, but Ron didn't even look at him.

"You have to help me. We've been here all day and not a single customer has shown up. If we carry on like this, we won't get any money. Pleeeeease."

Fred kept insisting.

Ron continued ignoring.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please…"

It was then that Fred started firing 'please' annoyingly, trying to convince Ron through fatigue.

At first, Ron seemed firm about his decision, but as time went on, that annoying voice saying it over and over again began to take a toll on Ron's sanity. He thought Fred would do that for a maximum of 5 minutes, but he was reminded of what an annoying child Fred could be.

"FINE!"

Ron yelled irritably, glaring at Fred. Fred grinned from ear to ear, excited about what he was about to see.

"Look, you just need to stand right here and when someone passes by, you tell them if they need something fixed. Doesn't it look easy? If she says no, keep pushing. Although you do look cute. People will end up stopping to listen to you. So, you just have to be cute and send them to our tent, okay?"

Fred explained, positioning Ron in the middle of Diagon Alley, but next to the tent they had set up.

Ron didn't have a very happy expression on his face.

"Now you stay right here and I'll be standing over there on the wall watching you. If you have anything, you give me a shout."

Fred completed, patting Ron lightly on the back and walking away.

Ron watched as Fred slowly walked away from him and leaned against the wall. Ron's head couldn't process how he was going to do that. It was as if he had a block on acting nice to strange people on the street.

He looked at Fred and Fred started pointing to his mouth, making a smile, meaning that Ron should smile to talk to people.

Ron took a deep breath and opened a huge smile, watching the people passing by.

It was then that an adult wizard, approximately 30 years old, rushed past Ron.

"Do you want to fix something? Come to my tent and we can fix your watch."

Ron started to smile creepily at the man, noticing that he had a watch with broken glass on his wrist.

"No. I'm busy. Thanks!"

The wizard replied, not taking his eyes off the newspaper he was reading.

"I think you misunderstood. I said come over here. Now!"

Ron said seriously, causing the wizard to break his pace and look at him.

Fred looked up, worried about Ron's approach.

"What did yo-?"

Before he could finish the sentence, the wizard felt his body go cold as he looked at Ron. He looked like a child, but he had a menacing posture and a terrifying gaze, which held many disturbing secrets.

"Well, now that you've finally decided to pay attention, let me explain. We offer repair services. We can solve any problem you might have. I can assure you that we are the best at this."

Ron explained menacingly. The calm, gruff voice made it worse.

"I…understand. But I really don't need any repairs right now. I appreciate the offer, but I don't think it's necessary."

The wizard was visibly uncomfortable with Ron's intimidating posture, but tried to remain calm.

"Are you sure about that? You might not be aware of the dangers of leaving a faulty magical object without proper… repair. Who knows what unintended consequences might ensue? It would be a shame if something disastrous happened while you postponed the repair."

Ron said, moving his face slowly, as if he was going to kill the man at any moment.

The wizard remained static, not knowing what to answer, afraid of what might happen.

"Blimey, have you gone completely bonkers?"

Fred intervened in Ron's threats.

"Sorry about my brother, sir. He's not having a good day."

As soon as Fred apologized to the wizard, the wizard ran away from the two, startled by the way Ron was acting.

"My little brother, you don't have to go around scaring others. What are you thinking? It appeared as though you were giving that bloke quite the demanding stare, wouldn't you say?"

Fred said, scolding Ron.

"I said I'm not good at this. You should have listened to me."

Ron answered seriously.

"When you said it was bad, I just thought you would make him nervous, not that you would traumatise him."

Fred replied indignantly.

The day passed and finally Molly showed up to pick up the brothers. She used the 'Reducio' spell again to put away the objects, and then, they all went home.

Everyone was at home, gathered around the table for lunch.

"So how was today?"

Molly asked, curious.

"Ron threatened a customer today."

George told it like it was nothing.

"What?"

Molly said, choking on her food.

Percy looked confused at Ron.

Ron glared indignantly at George, urging him to be quiet.

"No, that's not what happened!"

Fred intervened, realizing that this would eventually get out of hand.

"He just tried to convince a customer to come visit the store, but it turned out to be a little inconvenient. It wasn't a big deal."

He said, trying not to get Ron into trouble with Molly.

Ron found this attitude strange. He wouldn't have a problem with seeing one of the brothers being grounded for something he did, especially if it caused some benefit to him. In Fred's case, if Ron got grounded, they wouldn't have to work the next day, so that would be good for Fred, but still, he chose to protect Ron.

Ron didn't dwell too much on the subject. It was just a quick thought. Whereas Molly accepted Fred's justification, even if it was a little weird for her.

Hours later, Ron decided to go down to the first floor, looking for something to satisfy his hunger.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Ron found Molly facing the stove.Within the cauldron, she diligently concocted a peculiar blue potion. Its bubbling surface emitted delicate wisps of steam, carrying a refreshing scent reminiscent of clean laundry, purifying the air and imbuing the surroundings with a subtle fragrance.

At the same time, he could see brooms floating across the floor on their own while a duster moved through the air, cleaning furniture surfaces.

Molly was using her skill in alchemy and magic to perform a series of spells with one specific goal: efficiently cleaning the house.

Seeing Molly effortlessly handle spells opened his eyes to a new way of looking at things. He recognized the immense knowledge and skill she possessed, and he just needed to be a good son worth teaching.

"Oh, Ron! Want some pumpkin cake? I was about to call you and your brothers to eat."

Molly said, nodding at a tray on the table.

Ron approached the tray, taking the lid off it and revealing what the cake looked like: It was an orange cake, shaped like a pumpkin. The cake also had a handle with leaves on top. It was too detailed.

He took a piece of the cake and took a bite. The taste was incredible, like something he had never tasted before. It was just the right temperature and tasted like sugar pumpkin with a slight hint of cinnamon.

"Wow, this is great!"

Ron said, surprising himself with the taste.

Molly smiled proudly, happy with the news.

Ron sat down at the table to eat while Molly got some more ingredients into the cauldron.

Within seconds, the potion in the cauldron began to emit a bright light and, when poured into the bucket, turned into a sparkling liquid. Molly picked up the bucket of blue liquid and carried it towards the living room. Ron followed her with his gaze the entire way.

Upon arriving in the room, Molly grabbed that liquid and threw it in the air. That sparkling water that was liquid before, started to turn into a powder on the shelf that Molly threw in the air, and then, the entire room that was disorganized with pillows thrown on the floor, was straightened up in seconds. All objects organized to the millimeter.

Ron's eyes widened, impressed with the effect of the potion.

"Can you teach me?"

Ron asked firmly.

"Huh? Teach what?"

Molly stopped suddenly, in the middle of cleaning, as she looked at Ron.

"Teach me what you know about magic and alchemy."

Ron replied, staring at her.

"Oh, my dear, you have so much ahead of you, still young and full of potential. There's a world of knowledge and experience awaiting you out there, and in time, I'll be more than happy to share a few valuable lessons."

Molly replied, trying to comfort Ron.

"I already learned all the spells from the school textbooks."

Ron answered shortly.

"Oh really?"

Molly replied doubtfully.

"So, if I ask you to cast any of the spells in the book, are you sure you can do it?"

She continued.

"Yes."

Ron replied, his voice not trembling.

"If you're so certain, then why not put your skills to the test? Give me a demonstration by casting the 'Lumos' spell, dear."

Molly asked. She knew that 'lumos' was a very easy spell, but she didn't want to put Ron off asking for a difficult spell the first time.

Ron pulled his wand from his pants' pocket and in one subtle movement, he said,

"Lumos!"

Quickly, a very bright lighting appeared from the tip of the wand, completely illuminating the environment they were in.

That surprised Molly a little. Even if it was something easy, she knew how clumsy Ron was. Seeing that he managed to perform the spell the first time made her very proud.

"Oh, well done, dear! But this is still a very easy spell. Let's try Wingardium Leviosa."

Molly suggested, while giving Ron an audacious look, hoping he was going to have a hard time with this.

Ron raised his wand towards the carrot cake Molly had prepared and, with a swish and flick, he pronounced it perfectly,

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

In moments, the cake began to levitate. Ron moved the wand with delicacy and precision, making sure the cake didn't even tremble in the middle of the levitation. He landed the cake on the table and faced Molly right away, expressionless.

Molly's eyes widened in amazement. She had no idea that Ron would even be able to lift anything from its place, but he moved the cake perfectly across the table without dropping a crumb.

"Oh, well… Then show me…"

Molly stammered, but before she could finish speaking, Ron pointed his wand towards George who was descending the last few steps of the stairs in search of food, and together with a quick flick of his wand, he said in a loud voice,

"Immobulus!"

George was quickly immobilized, an expression of surprise and confusion on his face.

"W-what?"

Molly didn't know what to say to Ron. He really had learned all those spells in a few weeks. Spells kids his age would take months to learn.

"How did you do that?"

Molly asked stuttering. Not even Percy in first year had demonstrated as much skill as Ron was demonstrating.

"I studied."

Ron replied, lowering his wand.

"Can you teach me now?"

He completed, staring at his mother.

Molly was silent for a moment.

"Can you undo the spell on your brother, first?"

She asked, still shocked, but with a little spark of doubt in her mind.

"Finite Incantatem."

Ron pointed his wand at George, who began to move quickly again.

"Huh…. What was that?"

George swallowed hard, not understanding anything.

[In the backyard, near the garden]

"Well, I was wrong. You are really doing your best for your studies and I am very proud of you. You are going to be an amazing wizard, my dear."

Molly began to say proudly to Ron.

"But I'm going to need you to be responsible, dear. You can't let your extraordinary talents lead you down a path of poor decisions, alright?"

Molly continued. She was now speaking in a more serious tone to Ron.

Ron just nodded in agreement.

"For starters, I want you to choose what you want to learn. I won't teach you everything at once: Do you want to learn about Alchemy or Magic?"

Molly asked, looking deep into Ron's eyes.

At the same moment, Ron felt his vision getting a little blurred, as if his blood pressure had dropped and he was going to pass out, but then, something surfed right in front of his eyes.

[ Choice System Enabled ]

[Congratulations witcher! You managed to complete the Choice System trial period and finally qualified to unlock the system. Do you want to absorb the 'System of Choices'? ]

A green holographic image appeared in front of Ron's eyes.

'What is that?'

Ron wondered, confused, and closed his eyes.

He felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension at the message. Ron had never seen anything about a 'System' within the world of Harry Potter, however, one of the entertainments he had in his past life was reading.

He spent most of his break reading novels. So, it was very familiar how a 'System' worked for him.

[ Do you want to start? ]

[ Yes ]

[ No ]

Two options appeared in front of Ron's eyes. He felt like he could almost touch the words.

'Yes!'

Ron answered mentally, looking at the 'yes' option.

[Accepted System!]

[ Loading…]

[ 10% ]

[ 30% ]

[ 80% ]

[ 100% ]

[Choice System Enabled!]

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[ Toru's notes ]

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