Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 17 Christmas Eve

November passed quietly, and with a heavy snowfall covering the entire school, Ike's illusion spell finally succeeded.

This was the longest spell Ekko had ever used, and upon reaching level 1, Ekko finally understood exactly what made the Illusion Spell so difficult.

Unlike other spells, the Illusion Charm, although mostly cast on the caster, affects others. The reason why others cannot see the person or thing that has been cast is actually due to interference from the spell's magic.

In other words, this spell will affect both the target of the spell and the person watching the target.

The former is similar to other spells in its casting process, but the latter is more difficult, requiring a high degree of control over magical power.

Because of the existence of the Waste Notebook system, although Ike has achieved the level of casting spells without a wand and without sound in many spells, it is actually due to the effect of the spell level in the system. Ike himself does not have that strong control over magic power.

The problem remains: the existence of the system means that Ike's foundation is insufficient to support his spell power.

If the foundation is not solid and the house is built too high, problems are bound to arise.

"Being impatient for quick success and instant benefits is unacceptable."

Having learned his lesson, Ike picked up "Standard Spells" and "Theory of Magic" again.

The wisdom of our ancestors in reviewing the old to learn the new, and reading a book a hundred times to understand its meaning, is absolutely correct.

Putting everything else aside, with the help of the "Magic Affinity" talent, Ike can clearly feel his control over the magic power within his body constantly increasing.

Just like when he met Professor McGonagall for the first time at St. Mary's, what made the pen fly in mid-air was not a spell, but Ike's own magic.

Now, Ike is simply picking up that feeling again and practicing it continuously.

Shortly before Christmas, Ike was able to control nine pens to fly rapidly within a two-meter radius of himself, and change their flight path at any time.

To achieve this using only magic is undoubtedly quite difficult.

Unfortunately, Ike cannot control a double-digit number of pens; that is, nine pens is the current limit.

In the second week of December, Ike asked Professor Flitwick for permission to stay at school during the holiday. He had already informed Julianne of this through the school's owl. Julianne was disappointed that Ike wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with her and the children of St. Mary's, but she respected his decision. She even sent him a brand new sweater.

This is a tradition at St. Mary's, where children at the orphanage receive one every Christmas, donated by a local factory in Gloucester.

As for the style, all I can say is that it has a very festive atmosphere.

Ike was incredibly relieved that Stuart and Terry had already left school by the time he received the sweater; he didn't want to experience the feeling of being socially dead.

For students staying on campus, the Christmas holidays weren't as relaxing as they had imagined.

Professors often assign a lot of homework before the holidays, which already takes up a large part of the holiday time. In addition, the prefects will decorate the entire castle, and a young wizard with excellent grades like Ike is undoubtedly a great help.

Moreover, since only a minority of students remained on campus, it was undoubtedly easier for the prefects and professors to keep an eye on them. In addition, with the extra patrols added due to Filch's strong insistence, it was not as easy as during regular classes.

With the help of the Levitation Charm, Professor Flitwick was able to hang the decorations on the Christmas tree, and Ike was finally able to relax a bit.

Only three students remained at Ravenclaw in their first year: Ike, Padma, and Morag.

Ike had absolutely no desire to communicate with Morag and Padma, or rather, they had no intention of speaking to him at all.

Half a semester later, Ike had successfully made himself the weirdest one in Ravenclaw, a place full of "weirdos". Apart from Stuart and Terry, even Michael and Anthony rarely spoke to Ike, let alone Morag and the others.

Of course, this outcome was largely due to Ike, who kept using "Snape's Gaze" to scare people.

You reap what you sow.

On Christmas Day, when Ike woke up, he received only a paltry five gifts. Professor McGonagall gave him a whole year's worth of "Transfiguration Today," folding up all the articles she deemed worth reading; Professor Flitwick gave him a pair of exquisite glasses enchanted with lenses that would slowly change color when worn.

Stuart gave her a brand new notebook, which perfectly matched the new quill pen Terry had given her. As for Hermione, she gave her an old book, *Curses and Anti-Curses*, a gift that was unmistakably Hermione's.

Ike put on the Christmas-themed sweater Julian had sent him, covered it with a winter robe, and wore the optical glasses Professor Flitwick had given him, before heading towards the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was bustling on Christmas Day, as most of the young wizards staying at school spent the day there. Ike saw Harry and Ron playing wizard chess at the Gryffindor long table, while Padma, Parvati, and Morag were chatting and laughing about something.

At the professor's long table, Dumbledore was recommending a cockroach pile to Snape, seemingly oblivious to Snape's long face. Even Trelawney, who was rarely seen, was sipping her wine nearby, her eyes half-closed in enjoyment.

Ike smiled and declined Roger's invitation, then sat down at the far end of the Ravenclaw table and casually picked up a mango pudding to eat.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will keep eating until the dinner party ends.

Compared to usual, the Christmas dinner was much more lavish. In addition to the usual roast beef, steak, mashed potatoes, and roast chicken, there were also a hundred plump roast turkeys. Judging from their appearance alone, they were undoubtedly tempting.

Unfortunately, Ike has never been interested in turkey, as it doesn't taste very good.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Ike spent a very peaceful Christmas. He walked back to his dorm, burping contentedly, feeling quite satisfied.

The common room was bustling with activity, like a party. Roger kept handing out his specially prepared magical fireworks to others. These fireworks, purchased from Zoko's Magical Joke Shop, could conjure up all sorts of animals and put all kinds of hats on people. Roger wandered around the common room wearing a dazzling lady's top hat, with a French Bulldog floating on its back, looking quite comical.

Smiling, he accepted the fireworks Roger handed him, opened them, and released colorful sparks. Then, a lazy British Shorthair stretched and lay down on Ike's head, which was quite a good match for Roger's firework French Bulldog.

Watching Roger run off to deliver fireworks to someone else, Ike quietly returned to his dorm. Lying on his bed, he picked up the book Hermione had given him, "Curses and Anti-Curses," and idly passed the time.

When the clock on the wall struck twelve, Ike put down his book, skillfully cast the Disillusionment Charm and the Silent Word Charm, and quietly left the Ravenclaw Tower.

Target: The Forbidden Book Zone!

(End of this chapter)