Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 10 Simple and Pure Happiness

After returning from Diagon Alley, Loren studied the textbook several times and began to try some absolutely safe spells.

Professor McGonagall recounted a case where someone nearly lost their life because they mispronounced a single letter while chanting a spell. Even the most resilient person like Loren wouldn't dare attempt such a spell lightly.

The introduction to "Standard Spells, Beginner" lists some absolutely safe spells that, no matter how many times you slip up, won't cause any irreversible consequences.

Loren was familiar with spells like "Daisy, Sweet Cream, and Sunshine," which had a note that could coat some items with a yellow hue similar to daisies and sunshine. "Rabbit Eyes, Harp Melody, Water Turns into Wine" could add the aroma and flavor of wine to water. The others were similar short phrase combinations, mostly household spells with limited practical use.

The format alone shows that this incantation is vastly different from the more rigorous ones like "Restore to its original state" and "Flickering Light".

In the magical world, spells are divided into four main categories: transmutation spells, enchantments, dispelling spells, and healing spells.

In "Standard Spells, Beginner's Guide," author Miranda Goshak states that spells add specific properties to objects, making them do something, rather than making them become something; the latter falls under the category of transfiguration spells.

The first-grade textbook only formally teaches nine spells: softening spell, cutting spell, levitation spell, repair spell, unlocking spell, locking spell, illumination spell, knockback spell, and fire spell. These are all relatively basic spells used to introduce young wizards to the world of magic.

The book not only describes the methods of casting spells, but also mentions the evolution of the nine spells and the era and environment in which the inventors lived.

For example, the unlocking spell "Aloho Opens" originally meant "friendly to thieves." It was brought back from Africa by a British wizard who later became a notorious thief and directly contributed to the invention of the anti-unlocking spell.

Prior to this, the more popular unlocking spell was "Open the Door," which literally means to blow a big hole in a door, and the earlier and cruder "Open Sesame."

Many spells evolved from Latin, and Loren could vaguely glimpse the patterns of spells from their origins and evolution.

After thoroughly reading the textbook, he began to try casting spells. They lived in the mountains, far from the townspeople, so they didn't need to deliberately look for a place, but Loren's favorite spot was still by the small lake.

The first thing I tried was "Restore to Original Condition".

Loren tore a five-pound note into five pieces and placed them on a stone. He then cast a spell on one of the pieces, attempting to conjure five notes. The idea was ingenious, but he failed.

The fragment of banknote that the wand was pressing against seemed to have some kind of attraction, pulling the other four fragments over and restoring them to a complete banknote, with some obvious marks still visible where they were joined together.

After trying it, aside from the regret that he couldn't get rich this way, Loren had a feeling that the intonation of a certain word should be raised a bit more. After adjusting it, he did find that casting the spell was indeed easier.

After repeatedly casting the spell with the adjusted tone of voice several times, when waving the wand, it felt better to stick the little finger up.

I tried this idea several times, and the banknote I finally restored was almost undamaged, with no trace at the joints.

This seems to be something like magical intuition. Intuition is a term he learned in his previous life. Normal people's logic is A=B, B=C, so they can conclude that A=C. However, some people with intuition can directly conclude that A=C.

Or rather, it's a matter of proficiency. With repeated practice, one can clearly feel the progress. Loren isn't sure if this is an innate magical talent or a cheat code from a transmigrator.

Each small step forward, after a period of time, made a huge difference to Loren.

Of course, this inherent self-correction seems to be overridden after a certain level of proficiency. At first, Loren's Levitation Charm required expressive delivery, elegant and rhythmic movements, but later even stiff chanting and straight-waving of the wand could achieve the same good effect.

Loren loved the spell "Open the Gates," even though the textbook didn't teach how to cast it, mainly focusing on the more sophisticated "Open the Aloho." He absolutely adored the explosive, piercing effect of the spell.

He began trying again and again, and his intuition kicked in. He adjusted his tone and posture, and his wand emitted light, but it had no effect; the red light didn't react at all when it hit the stone.

During dinner that evening, Loren had a sudden inspiration and ejaculated at the door of the cabin.

With the child's clear voice proclaiming "The door is flung open," a large hole was blown open in the wooden door that had served the Bates family for who knows how many years. A whole day of correcting course had made Loren's spell unusually effective, infuriating Bates to the point where he almost transformed into a werewolf on the spot.

Finally, Bates' anger subsided after Loren agreed to take over the kitchen work until school started on September 1st.

The story doesn't end there. When Loren realized that the condition for achieving the "open door" really did require a door, his exploration began.

At first, they built a simple door out of wood in an open space, and then easily blew it open.

Moving to the cave where Bates hid on a full moon night, he used magic to bombard the boulder at the cave entrance. At first, he could only chip a small black dot from the rock, but after Loren's tireless efforts, on a sunny morning, he blasted a hole through the boulder.

An explosion rang out, and a hole the size of a football was ripped open in the center of the boulder. It was black, as if it had been blasted open with gunpowder.

Loren felt a surge of satisfaction as he watched the scene unfold.

After that, Loren seemed to awaken, viewing the targets he bombarded as doors blocking his way, and then continuously opening them wide. In 90s England, Loren experienced the simple, pure joy of firecrackers he had felt during Chinese New Year in his previous life.

With continued practice, Loren's "Open the Gates" was corrected into a strange spell. The incantation was probably no longer the original "Open the Gates," but the pronunciation was strange and somewhat unclear.

He didn't know what to call it now, but as long as it brought him joy, that was all that mattered.

The rocks and trees on the mountain suffered. The roaring sound continued, and the scene that Bates saw when he came up was even worse than when he transformed into a werewolf.

Faced with the wizard's destructive power, Bates was shocked. This was just an 11-year-old child who hadn't even started school yet, and he was already an RPG with unlimited ammo; the power of an adult wizard was unimaginable.

Fortunately, Loren did not use the spell on the animals, which put Bates at ease. He was still just a child, and although he was a bit naughty, he was still kind.

This viewpoint lasted for less than two days.

Loren started frying fish. Bates calculated that the fish he caught in one afternoon would take the two of them a week to finish. In the end, he couldn't help but beat Loren up and took the fish down the mountain to sell.

That evening, Loren leaned back on the stool, feeling wronged, but he dared not say anything. He enjoyed frying fish, but he couldn't do it anymore.

Frustrated, I petted my goofy spectacled owl, trying to think of something to write for Hermione, but ultimately decided to give up. I couldn't very well say that I'd been playing with firecrackers for almost a month.

Just as he was about to loosen his grip on the spectacled owl to let it forage for itself, he realized that's how it's been these days. The little rascal is living a pretty comfortable life in the mountains, but the feel of its feathers is just too wonderful; Loren is a bit obsessed and keeps petting the owl.

The little spectacled owl blinked its eyes, the white stripes on its face twitching. The cat-headed creature looked aggrieved, but couldn't express it.

In addition, during this time, Loren read the book "Wandering with Werewolves," which was a good story and a good novel.

Aside from being brainwashed by Lockhart's dashing figure and perfect smile (with pictures, yes, with exquisite illustrations), the little bit of knowledge about werewolves was of little help to Grandpa Bates.

Loren spent less than five minutes from opening "Alchemy: From Beginner to Expert" to placing it at the bottom of the box.

Furthermore, it's decided that it won't be opened until at least after the start of the school year, as there's too much prerequisite knowledge required. It's not an introductory course at all; it assumes you're already proficient in several subjects, including spells and potions, before even starting to learn alchemy, which is absurd.

(End of this chapter)