Chapter 7: The Return I

"And that is why Chinese wizards added a swallow's spit into our version of the Pepperup Potions!"

Simon nodded as the old Lord Lian finished his monologue about the many uses of a swallow's spit. The portrait that had previously acted as if he was too good to teach Simon was now practically prancing with glee as he lectured the young wizard. While he was initially tempted to see the country he never travelled to during his life, the old Lord Lian most certainly loved having the opportunity to demonstrate his intelligence and superiority over a young modern wizardling. He simply did not voice this hobby of his openly as he still had a mystical, wise elder image to uphold. But in the confines of the Li family's small study room in Southwest England, old Lord Lian was free to just flex his knowledge without pretences. Master Lian was right about letting Simon bring the portrait with him back to Britain.

Honestly, Simon felt like he was learning even more with the portrait. While Master Lian was a good teacher and perhaps because he was a good teacher, he never flooded Simon with information that he felt was beyond a 3 to 4-year old's reach. But with his humongous ego and competitive nature, the former Lord Lian would cover everything when asked a question. Given that Simon was actually a late teen in a 4-year old's body, the detailed Wikipedia page-like format of the portrait's sharing proved more useful to him.

This was especially the case when it came to wandless magic. Simon did not dare to try casting in the Yang Manor, with Aunt Xiao keeping an eye on him like a hawk. If Aunt Xiao saw any signs of spellcasting, Simon would likely be blamed for a breaking vase or an exploding tea set. In the confines of his own room at the Li cottage at night, Simon started to try casting basic spells from the books, such as Lumos and Wingardium Leviosa. However, he had found limited success in this endeavor until he began speaking to Lord Lian's portrait.

"Great ancestor, did wizards and witches of your time train to use magic without the aid of wands or swords?"

"Shut up about wands. Those pesky western inventions! But yes, swords are used, often by more amateur wiccans who needed an extra boost in their concentration. But if you were good, you would not need a sword. Magic flows within all wiccans and it should be no different from any human learning to walk or talk."

To demonstrate what he had just said, Lord Lian moved his hand in one swift motion, slicing a thin branch off the tree above him. A clean demonstration of Diffindo or whatever the Chinese variant was.

As per usual, Lord Lian continued to share without needing further prompts, "Witches and wizards came up with words to make spellcasting easier, because words give your mind certain ideas which your magic can draw upon. Like how when you think of the word 'tree' you should seek what you have been taught to be a 'tree' in your mind – this could be translated into what your magic does. That is how accidental magic first occurs."

With another motion of his hand, Lord Lian conjured a tree on the ground where the thin branch had just fell. "Because magic simply translates what our mind pictures, spellcasting is about the discipline of the mind. The more detailed and controlled your thought process, the more magnificent your creation."

Motioning his fingers slowly, the newly conjured tree started to grow, leaves sprouting with vibrant colours as its branches twisted in a fantastical fashion. Just as the tree seemed to grow too great in size to remain within the painting, Lord Lian closed his open palm and the tree shrank into nothing more than an ink painting of the tree on a piece of rice paper in the Lord's hands. That was some crazy painting-ception.

"Training one's mind is how one trains a good wizard – a good wizard who does not need to rely on sheets of metal or a bunch of sticks. Did I answer your question?"

Simon nodded, still stunned by the display of magic before his eyes. He never knew individuals in their portraits could do that. He never knew they could even cast magic, let alone use magic to alter things within their own paintings. Or maybe the Hogwarts portraits were less talented in wandless and silent spellcasting, simply lazy or a bit of both.

Later in his room, Simon closed his eyes, envisioning all the things he wanted his magic to create. He had so many ideas but he knew he needed to settle his mind on one. Suddenly, he noticed a soft rapping at his door.

Raze glided to the open door before Simon could even react. The occamy had grown close to the youngest of the Li family and immediately recognized her scent. She chuckled as Raze snuggled up closely, embracing the toddler with his wings. Sue had started to walk decently well during their first few months in China and would sometimes come to Simon's room since she was able to travel longer distances. Whenever she stumbled into his room, it was because she wanted to play. What she wanted to play was usually the question Simon needed to resolve.

This time, she seemed intrigued by the glowing stickers on Simon's desk which Dirk had recently installed. An upgraded version of muggle glow-in-the-dark stickers for children, Dirk had charmed them to twinkle. Seeing his sister's fascination at the twinkling stars, Simon finally concentrated on a particular image in his mind.

A warm glow built on his fingertips, and slowly began to dance towards his sister. Her eyes shone in contentment as these little balls of light floated towards her like fireflies. It took a lot of focus but the smile Simon got from his sister made it all worth it.