Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

On the second Wednesday of August, Xavier left home half an hour earlier than usual.

The subway wasn't crowded, and he leaned against the handrail at the connection between the carriages, lost in thought.

Xavier also wanted to find something else to do on the subway to pass the time, mainly because there wasn't much else to do at that time.

At that time, mobile phones were not yet widespread, and the current 5G network is at most just entering the 2G era. Moreover, even if mobile phones become widespread later, there may not be a signal on the subway.

The Metro newspaper won't be established until around the year 2000, so there's nothing to read about it now;

The knitting guerrilla activity that sparked the trend of knitting sweaters on the subway wouldn't start until 2005.

Therefore, taking the subway in this era is indeed very boring.

Upon arriving at Charing Cross Road, he skillfully located the Leaky Cauldron's narrow door, nestled between two buildings and easily overlooked by Muggle eyes.

Pushing open the door, I saw Old Tom still wiping glasses behind the bar. It seemed like he always did this; it was as if Old Tom had an endless supply of glasses to wipe.

Seeing Xavier come in, he gestured upstairs with his chin: "Ethan, you're here. They've arrived."

As Xavier went upstairs, he heard a burst of exaggerated laughter coming from one of the rooms.

Pushing open the door, she saw Ernie gesturing wildly in front of Hannah—or rather, being forced to gesticulate wildly, accompanied by loud laughter.

"Stop! Stop!" Ernie laughed until tears streamed down his face. "I'm sorry, I take back what I said—"

Hannah smiled smugly, and Ernie collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"Wow, that's amazing. You can even use the Dance Charm and the Tickling Charm together." Justin leaned over from the side.

"This is a spellcasting trick I saw in 'Practical Curse Defense'." Hannah put away her wand, a smug look on her face.

(Tickling spell: grin and whew, dance spell: Tarantella dance, oh dear~ why does this translation feel a bit off?)

Ernie caught his breath and asked with some doubt, "Is this how the Dance Spell works? I thought it could only make people dance."

"It's still a curse, after all, forcing someone's legs to spasm wildly, making them lose control." Xavier closed the door and put his backpack in the corner. "It just makes it look like he's dancing."

"However, it's best not to use it on classmates in formal settings. Professor McGonagall wouldn't like it."

Moreover, the feeling of crazy leg cramps and spasms is not pleasant; don't ask Xavier how he knows.

Susan looked up from a book—judging from the cover, it seemed to be Lockhart's "Breaking Up with the Ghost"—adjusted her non-existent glasses, and, with a stern face, imitated Professor McGonagall's tone: "Miss Abbott, attacking a classmate with a spell, Hufflepuff deducts thirty points."

"Then Dumbledore will bring it back at the dinner party because he finds it very interesting," Justin added.

Everyone laughed, and Xavier laughed along, though he didn't underestimate these low-level curses.

He clearly remembered that the description of the Dance Spell mentioned a sorcerer named Zachariah Innocenti who, in 79 AD, abused the Dance Spell, causing a "dance" inside Mount Vesuvius that led to a volcanic eruption, ultimately destroying the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing at least 1500 people.

Yes, that's right, that's exactly what the history books of magic and spellbooks say, that the sorcerer made the volcano "dance" (●'◡'●).

So, well, don't underestimate any spell.

Although there is a suspicion that the wizard is exaggerating.

-

They said they were gathering together to practice spells, but for Ernie and his friends, that was just a secondary goal.

They came all this way just so they could have more fun together.

It has everything from Wizard's Chess and snacks to books, and even the books are mostly storybooks—like the complete works of Lockhart.

Xavier sat reading to the side. He turned his head and looked at the group of people who were practicing in a flurry of activity. Suddenly, he felt that this scene was worth remembering.

In the room, sunlight streamed obliquely through the south-facing window, illuminating the young wizards waving their wands, frowning, and occasionally laughing at their own spells.

Hannah was adjusting Susan's wrist angle when the button in front of Ernie transformed into a feathered ball—not quite a bird, but more like some undiscovered species. Justin was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

"At least it has feathers," Ernie retorted stubbornly.

"Does it have eyes?" Justin leaned closer to look. "It doesn't even have a head."

"Then you give it a try!"

Justin rolled up his sleeves and chanted a spell over his button. The button vibrated violently a few times, and then—

"puff."

It turned into a button.

The laughter in the practice room almost lifted the ceiling. Hannah later said it was the worst Transfiguration spell she had ever seen, while Ernie said at least his version had hair.

After a while, someone knocked on the door.

Old Tom walked in smiling, carrying a tray with some fruit, several glasses of pumpkin juice, and a plate of cookies.

"Halftime," he said, placing the tray on the table. He glanced at the mess the room had been in, and at the unknown creature still growing feathers in the corner. His wrinkles tightened, and his smile froze.

"Oh, well, kids, I hope you have fun," Old Tom said, and walked away with the empty tray.

As everyone ate cookies, the topic shifted from the curse to the start of school.

Ernie said he saw a stage being set up in front of Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley for a book signing event by Gilderoy Lockhart.

“My mom loves him very much,” Susan said. “We have the complete Lockhart books at home, and every single one of them is covered with a book cover.”

“My mom is too, but my dad says he’s all show and no substance,” Justin shrugged. “But his books are really good. I also read ‘Breaking Up with the Ghost,’ which has a section about how he used a forgetting spell to break the curse of an entire castle’s vengeful spirits—though I don’t really believe it.”

"A forgetting spell?" Ernie ate a cookie. "Can that thing do that?"

Xavier remained silent for a moment, then said, "Perhaps Lockhart really could..."

After all, Lockhart's skill list should include the Oblivion Spell specialization.

Lockhart: (￣y▽￣)╭ Ohohoho.....

"Do you think Lockhart is really as amazing as he's portrayed in the book?" Hannah asked Xavier, biting into an apple.

"A book is a book, and a person is a person." Xavier held his cup and thought for a moment. "But Mr. Florin is right. Even if Lockhart really embellished things, the strategies behind those stories are still useful."

After the break, everyone continued practicing.

Although silent spells are advanced spellcasting techniques that sixth-grade students learn, Xavier has already practiced basic first-year spells, including many second-year spells, to the point of silent casting—such as "Grow Larger" and "Expelliarmus."

However, Xavier only dabbled in spells like "Oblivion," which are difficult to get feedback from and are quite dangerous, without finding a suitable target to cast them on.