Playing With Fire
"...and so, when you understand that fire is simply a reaction of transferring energy and states between heat, air, and a combustible material-" Kir snapped his fingers, producing a sphere of flame, whose only source of magic was at the bottom. "Making true fire is simply a matter of understanding mediated by magic."
"That hardly used any magic at all!" one student exclaimed.
A couple of more enterprising students tried snapping their fingers. Some managed to make sparks.
"How are you doing that in mid-air?" One student asked after a couple of unsuccessful starts. "There's nothing to burn."
"Ah but there is," Kir said. "And by the end of the semester, you'll learn how to compress the right elements in the air so that you too can make true fire."
A bell chimed and everyone started getting up. Everyone left Kir's class happy because he'd announced there would be no homework before the next class.