Chapter 24: The Trial of the Wind I

The Stone Eagle peered down at her in its haughty demeanour, "Are you sure you wish to proceed with the Trial, Inheritor? The Trial is not a safe one and no one will be there to help you, should you be injured. Many potential inheritors have walked away from this with severe injuries; few even without limbs."

Ginny nodded in affirmation.

"Very well. The Second Trial, The Trial of Elements. Get through the Trials set through your understanding of Elemental Magic. Potential inheritor: Ginevra Molly Weasley, aged 12, third-year student. Time Limit: 5 years. Which trial do you wish to undertake first?"

"The Wind Trial."

The Stone Eagle acknowledged her with a nod and said, "The Trial will commence once you step inside that circle," it raised one of its claws and gestured towards the centre of the Room where a red circle about a meter in diameter had appeared. "Try your best to stay in the circle." after saying so it disassembled into bricks and fused back into the wall.

Ginny, however, was distracted by her intrusive thoughts, 'Damn, Rowena has great taste in voice actors… or whatever she used to synthesise its voice. That deep baritone… Oof! I'd've been a total fan if this voice was used to make music!'

She shook her head. 'Well, let's get this started.'

Her wand appeared in her hand as she walked to the circle and stepped inside. She raised her wand. Its tip glowed with a pulsating light tuned to her heartbeat. It was almost as if the wand was expressing its eagerness to be used.

Just as she waited for something to happen, a forceful gust of wind caught her off guard, billowing against her robes and threatening to lift her off her feet, making it challenging for her to maintain her balance within the circle. She stumbled, barely managing to stay within it thanks to her heightened physicality.

"Whoa! What the-" Her exclamation was swallowed by the wind's ferocity as another even more potent gust blasted towards her. This time, she was more prepared, "Ventus!" she commanded the wind around her to counter the gust of wind, but she had underestimated the power of the gust and she was pushed to the left, even closer to the circle.

She sensed another gust sweeping towards her, forcing her to counter with another "Ventus!" But this time the gust was unexpectedly weak - barely a gentle breeze rustling through her hair, so she had pointlessly wasted more of her concentration on it, causing her to be unable to counter the next much more powerful gust that blew from her to the left and push her out of the circle.

"Dammit." she cursed. "The robes offer too much resistance." So, she took them off, balled them, and chucked them across the now much larger Room to her seat. She took a deep breath, "I need to be able to understand the direction and how strong it will be before it actually hits me…"

"The Anemo Fluctus does give allow me to have a rudimentary sense of the direction of the wind until I cast it… The problem is how to extend the duration of that sense… But, before that, I could try something else."

After a bit of pondering, she stepped inside. She whispered an incantation, trying to charm the soles of her footwear with a Sticking Charm to hold her in place, only to fail miserably and be tossed out by an incredibly powerful gust of wind.

"Ooof!" the breath was knocked out of her as her back slammed into the ground. "Yeah, I should've expected that," she grunted as she got to her feet. What was odd was that her heightened physicality and sense of balance should have allowed her to land on her feet, but she didn't. "Tsk, she somehow managed to stick a Differential Layered Spell into whatever artefact produces these gusts of wind."

A Differential Layered Spell was similar to what Snape had done with his overpowered Expelliarmus against Lockhart; but instead of similar Spells, it was two different spells - which made it much more difficult.

"Why am I even surprised?" she whispered to herself, her voice tinged with a mix of resignation and amusement. Recently, she had been relentlessly humbled, repeatedly reminded that she was a noob. A mere noob who had to be shown her place repeatedly until she felt that her initially inflated head had shrunk down to the size of a toddler's; which was where she was in terms of magical skill.

"Sigh, no tricks, then." She didn't immediately step into the circle. She took a deep breath and let her magic out fully, letting it once again intertwine with the ambient magic. She had realised that as she grew, her magical perception got more sensitive, allowing her to perceive much more and more, but at the same time, it continuously distracted her, making her unable to concentrate on anything. She might really become Luna the Second if she didn't keep most of it retracted. So she always kept it at its minimum.

With her magic now freely flowing, she once again experienced the world in a way that transcended the mundane. Colors seemed more vibrant, and a subtle rhythmic beat - an unseen symphony of subtle vibrations resonated through her very being.

She heard the whispers of the wind, as it flowed around her, dancing around her gracefully.

"Anemo Fluctus." she chanted, and the whispers intensified as her magic shifted its rhythm, taking on a faint, light, and airy feel. The whispers now felt as if they were spoken directly into her ears, becoming more distinct, telling her their secrets. She moved her wand swishing in a swishing motion away from her. And instantly, the wind blew. It turned into a gust that flowed toward the direction she swished her wand in.

Yet, the whispers also became distant and indistinct. The spell was complete and she had lost that special connection that bound her to the element.

She closed her eyes and called upon her ability: Hyper-Cognition, her mind kicked into high gear, her focus enhanced, her ability to perceive anything and everything enhance to its peak, and the world around her seemed to slow; as if she existed in a separate dimension of heightened awareness. At the same time, she felt an unsurpassed control over her magic, she felt like her Magic was putty in her hands she could mold as she pleased, into whatever form she wanted, into whatever shape she desired. It responded to her will with astonishing precision. She felt like she could do whatever she want to. The Fabric of Reality felt like it was hers to bend. It was intoxicating.

Knowing she could not use it for too long, however, she forced herself away from that almost addictive control over her magic and once again chanted, "Anemo Fluctus." while trying to record every change, every inflection, every mutation in the rhythm of her magic as it once again took on that light airy quality, resonating with the wind itself, forging a connection that she did not even sense in her normal state. She raised her wand and moved it with perfect precision, executing the spell completely.

The wind responded actively as if rejoicing in the harmony she had established, blowing in a tremendously powerful burst that swept across the Room. If the dummy were still around, it would suffer a dire fate.

Yet, she had no time to marvel at the effects of her magic, as a powerful sense of vertigo drove her to her knees and then onto all fours. She panted heavily, her chest heaving as if she had run a marathon. She suddenly felt more tired than she had in almost a year. Her mind slipped out of its heightened state, into the normal, relatively sluggish state.

"Damn, this, sucks." she breathlessly whispered, panting with every breath.

She flumped onto the ground, belly-down, and stayed like that for a while as she caught her breath.

A massive chunk of her frankly monstrous volume of Magic had disappeared with just that one spell. The use of magic along with Hyper-Cognition had multiplied the cost of each spell she cast. And it was not hard to understand why: as the epitome of Mind Arts, Hyper-Cognition enhanced every parameter of her mind tremendously to keep a balance between all aspects of the mind. And in doing so, her ability to generate intent and willpower also increased. The sheer potency of her intent caused each spell she cast to draw a torrent of magic, far beyond her normal capability. If intent was the metaphorical pail the drew from the well of her magic, she used a freaking bathtub to draw from it in the state of Hyper-Cognition. Her body did not like that she drew such a tremendous amount all at once, causing a powerful sense of vertigo, and distracting her from spell-casting.

Yet, even as her body was recovering from the vertigo, a smile adorned her face. She had achieved her goal of understanding what the spell actually did.

After a while, when she felt she'd recovered enough, she got to her feet.

Ginny once again focused on feeling her magic, letting the world around her fade into the background; listening to its rhythms that resonated with her heart's beat, to the ebb and flow that synchronised with her breaths, letting the feeling consume her mind for a while, before focusing on the whispers of the wind and slowly shifting the rhythm of her magic to match the one she had when she cast the Anemo Fluctus spell. Slowly, but surely, she managed to do so, and once again she understood how the wind was currently flowing around her.

It was much more indistinct and muted than what she felt during the time she cast the Anemo Fluctus spell, let alone the incomparable clarity she had in the state of Hyper-Cognition. But this was contiguous and would not end once the spell was complete, nor would she be on a timer.

It was not a skill she could summon casually at will. Not yet, not for a while. It demanded relentless practice and unwavering patience from her, slowly honing her understanding of the element of wind to reach that level.

After practising her new skill for a while, she decided to give the Trial another go.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the circle. Only this time she made sure to have her magic tuned to the wind, listening to its whispers.

As she waited patiently, she felt a stir. And sure enough, a moment later a gust of wind blew towards her, trying to blow her out of the circle. But this time, she was ready.

"Ventus!" she chanted, causing the wind around her and in front of her to collide with the oncoming gust of wind and cancelling each other out. Another gust came, this time it was not very powerful and merely a distraction so she ignored it and let it ruffle her clothes, waiting for the next gust of wind.

Bursts of winds, distracting breezes, powerful flurries, and continuous gales blew toward the redheaded girl, inundating her; attacking her, and trying their best to push her out. But, Ginny took them on, and countered them, her eyes carrying an excited glint. Slowly, but surely the pace increased and Ginny found it increasingly difficult to keep up.

Yet, her excitement only increased.

As the wind howled around her, whipping through her hair and clothes, she felt an exhilaration building within her, a thrill she had never experienced before. With every spell she cast, every twitch of her wand, every flex of her Magic, she felt a sense of exhilaration. It was the first time she had exerted her magic quite so intensely, quite so frequently. Her heart thumped in her chest, pumping blood faster and harder than it ever had; her mind sharpened and her focus reached a new height; her actions flowed effortlessly and instinctively from one to the next; her connection to her own magic felt deeper and closer than ever.

She no longer thought of anything other than herself and the next gust. At that moment, nothing else mattered to her. All the doubts, feelings, guilt, and whatnot had vanished. She was entirely immersed in the moment.

But even as she revelled in her control over the element of wind, she steadily found it harder to keep up; despite her grasp over her newly gained skill increasing at a tremendous pace as the Trial relentlessly pushed her to the limit, the difficulty increased still faster.

She was finally blown out by a gust of wind that had somehow managed to slip past her senses and catch her off guard. The Trial had bested her yet again. Yet there was no disappointment to be found in her eyes: they still burned with an excited glint and carved on her face was a rather unnerving smile.

Her heart still thudding against her chest and cheeks still flushed from exertion, she walked into the circle - without even bothering to rest. She could not help it: she had never exerted herself as much as she did now; her overpowered stats made it difficult for her to truly exert herself. Yet, this Trial pushed her to the limits and beyond.

She didn't even care about the Trial anymore, she just wanted to have fun.

-x-x-x-

It was only when she was completely exhausted that she reluctantly left the Room. On the way back, she got many strange looks from people. She did not even notice that fact until she was almost at the Portrait of the Fat Lady.

'The heck, what's up with those looks?' she was totally baffled.

As she entered the Common Room, she noticed more weird stares.

"Ginny what have you been up to?! You look like you've walked through a tornado or something!" Gwen exclaimed as Ginny walked over to the table where the two sat.

"Yeah! You look like you've been snogging s- ow! Gwen! Why'd you hit me?" Aileen was interrupted by Gwen swatting her.

"Huh? What do you mean snogging? I was just practicing the Windy Spell. Aileen, you pervert!" Ginny thanked the all deities that came to her mind that she was still able to bullshit her way through.

"Bullshit!" Aileen exclaimed, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment. "That is a N.E.W.T. level spell! There's no way you can do it!"

"Shall we have a bet then?" Ginny's eyes glinted.

"Uhh… no… let's not." In truth, she did not have the confidence. Ginny had way too many surprises up her sleeves. Even if she believed that Ginny was bullshitting, she had no way to know for sure.

"Tsk, tsk, you backed down so soon, Aileen. You scared, hm?" Ginny's senses were tingling.

"Nope, I won't be goaded into doing exactly what you want. Not anymore!" Aileen declared. Ginny froze in shock. She did not expect that reaction at all. She should have been goaded into betting against her and losing. Then Ginny would be able to squeeze her cheeks all she wanted! But that dream had shattered because…

Her Aileen had grown up! Ginny wiped away a metaphorical tear and renewed her determination to find ways to prank Aileen.

"Ah, by the way, we're going to this Quidditch Club called Bludger Brawlers tomorrow, wanna come with? It'll be fun!" Aileen quickly changed the subject before Ginny could find new ways to bully her.

Yes, clubs were apparently a thing in Hogwarts. It was only recently that she found out that something like that even existed. These 'clubs' were some informal gatherings that some students who had shared interests established or if some professor created because some of them were pestered by the students for their special expertise in the students.

Flitwick's expertise in the Art of Dueling was one, actually. This was what she wanted to use to broach the subject of Contiguous Spell Chains to Flitwick. Flitwick also led another Charms' Club.

The Transfiguration Club was another. Obviously led by McGonagall and once every few years, Dumbledore himself would attend and show off.

The Gobstone tournament was organised by the club called the Gobstone Gladiators. It was an unnecessarily cool name for something like Gobstones.

There used to be a Chess Masters club that got disbanded because there was no one interested in it. Wizards don't really like using their brains.

And Quidditch, as the most popular wizarding sport, had the most number of clubs: Quidditch Mavericks, Bludger Brawlers, Beater Battalion, Cruising Chasers, Sneaky Seekers, Nimbus Navigators, and Seeker Suckers.

Yeah, she was just as concerned as any normal person about that last one…

"Nah, you guys go. I have something to do tomorrow." She was already looking forward to attempting the Trial again tomorrow. She had even pushed back most of her plans for that!