Chapter 25: The Wizard’s Instinct

On Thursday afternoon, Harry and Ron hurriedly made their way to the first-floor classroom for Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"I wonder what Professor Fawley will teach us?" Ron asked eagerly as he jogged alongside Harry.

Harry wasn't as optimistic. "What if the professor finds out we can't perform any magic? Will he be too angry to teach us?"

Ron waved his hand confidently. "Don't worry. Except for that Granger, no one in the entire first year can perform any magic. Maybe the professor will just teach us some advanced magic directly! After learning it, I'm going to give George and them a good lesson."

As they ascended the mischievous staircase, they were evidently late. They rushed into the classroom, where their classmates were already seated, working on their papers. Professor Fawley sat at the front, engrossed in a book.

"Cool," Ron exclaimed in admiration.

Even though they had heard it a hundred times before, seeing their own names appear and the fleeting golden light above their heads filled them with awe.

Harry nodded in agreement.

But Tver had already looked up at them.

"I believe," he spoke suddenly, "you two are the only ones tardy to my class."

Harry's neck immediately shrank. "Sorry, Professor, we got lost."

Tver remained silent, giving Harry a deep look.

As the two fidgeted with their robes uneasily, he finally spoke in a faint tone, "This won't happen again. As a punishment, you'll have five minutes less to complete the paper."

The first-year paper was quite simple, mainly testing their understanding of the textbook. As long as they flipped through the book, they could answer about seventy percent of the questions.

Feeling like they had been granted amnesty, the two hurriedly found seats and anxiously waited for two papers to float over five minutes later.

Tver continued to gaze at his "Wizard's Chess Basics". He had already mastered the rules of wizard's chess, and now he just needed a practice partner to test his skills.

After half an hour passed and the last grain of sand fell in the hourglass, everyone was still struggling with the final questions.

"Harry, can I see yours for a moment?" Ron urgently whispered.

Harry expressionlessly showed him his paper, which looked just as dismal as Ron's.

With two claps, Tver made all the papers float lightly toward the platform, forming a stack.

"Don't worry about your grades; I've long anticipated your level of knowledge," Tver assured them.

Hermione muttered discontentedly, but to her surprise, her soft sound echoed conspicuously in the quiet classroom, making everyone hear it clearly.

The young witch blushed, feeling embarrassed and a bit flustered as she looked up, eager to explain.

"Of course, I know that some of you have already studied the textbook well, and I didn't mean to belittle your efforts. To be honest, I prefer your blank slates, so I can lay a solid foundation for you."

Tver withdrew his wand, smiling as he addressed everyone loudly.

"So, are you ready?"

"We're ready!" the students answered excitedly.

Very good, very spirited.

Tver nodded in satisfaction.

"However, I also know that you don't know any spells yet, so the curriculum, similar to combat, will depend on your progress in spell class. Until then, you'll mainly focus on theoretical learning."

The momentum in the room dropped like a rollercoaster.

"Alright, before we move on to the formal curriculum, you need to learn a little trick."

Tver led them to an open space and, facing the white wall behind the classroom, casually emitted three beams of light in red, green, and yellow.

"This is it, a very simple little trick. It's not a spell; it's just pure magic light, and it won't hurt when it hits someone. You can also use this technique when you're in the wilderness for long-distance communication. Red light means danger, green light means safety and yellow light means there's a special situation. Of course, yellow light isn't very noticeable during the day, so green light can be used as a substitute."

The young wizards felt quite bored. They were still hoping to learn powerful and flashy spells, and then engage in an intense battle with the professor.

Tver could tell their thoughts with just a glance. "Let me remind you, this little trick is very important. Every student must master it before we can move on to the next lesson."

They then straightened their expressions and practiced the technique seriously against the white wall.

It was quite simple, and anyone who paid attention in spell class could quickly grasp the concept of emitting light. The only difficulty lay in changing the color of the light according to one's will.

However, with more practice, in less than half an hour, almost everyone had mastered the technique completely.

Except for one student.

"Mr. Longbottom, you seem quite nervous?"

Tver tried to make his voice as gentle as possible, but it still startled the round-faced boy.

His hand trembled, and the wand fell, but Tver caught it in time before it hit the ground.

The students who had already mastered the technique noticed the situation here and teased Neville Longbottom in hushed voices.

Neville became even more nervous, sweating on his forehead, not knowing where to put his hands, and even failing to take the wand Tver handed him.

"Have you all mastered it?" Tver glared at the group of idle students.

"Come on, don't be nervous," he comforted Neville. "Casting spells is as simple for us wizards as breathing. I think you might have had such an experience before. Breathing is a natural thing, but when you focus on it, it seems like you forget how to breathe naturally."

"Professor, I might not be a wizard," Neville was on the verge of tears.

Tver chuckled and patted Neville's shoulder. Through Legilimency, he had long realized that Neville's memory loss was due to being affected by the Forgetfulness Charm.

He couldn't fathom what had caused the renowned Sword Saint to experience such a thing.

"I can assure you that you are a wizard, a powerful one," Tver continued as Neville looked up in surprise. "You're just too nervous, too focused on some useless knowledge."

He handed the wand back to Neville. "Forget everything now, feel your magic instinctively, and then release it."

Tver's voice was hypnotic, almost like the whisper of a demon, enchanting Neville and causing him to unconsciously raise his right hand.

"Boom."

A burst of red light struck the wall, causing a chunk of plaster to fall off, startling the students nearby.

They gathered around Neville again, but this time, their eyes were filled with astonishment.

"This is..."

Neville was stunned by his own magic, opening and closing his mouth several times without knowing what to say.

Tver waved his wand, repairing the wall.

"This is for the damaged wall. Gryffindor loses one point," he said with a light laugh, looking at the stupefied students.

Ron burst into laughter, and everyone followed suit, laughing heartily. Neville was laughing so hard that tears filled his eyes, unable to straighten up.

"Alright," Tver brought their attention back. "Since everyone has mastered this technique, today's lesson ends here. No homework, the only requirement is to practice this little trick more. It will greatly help you in the next lesson."