A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 8 Ether?

The Charms classroom was already quite full, with Slytherin and Ravenclaw students sitting on either side, the room filled with the buzzing of conversation.

Owen found an empty seat and sat down, flipping through his notes on spells he had kept during his years of self-study. The thick, black notebook was filled with neat, beautiful handwriting, and annotations and additions in different colors. Blaise sat next to him, frantically fiddling with a Galleon, trying to learn the magic tricks Owen had taught him.

Daphne pulled Pansy, who had been looking around anxiously as soon as she entered the classroom, to sit behind them. Pansy looked disappointed because she hadn't seen Malfoy and the other man arrive, which made Daphne both annoyed and amused.

Harry and the Malfoy trio arrived at the classroom almost at the perfect moment, drawing everyone's attention instantly. Malfoy proudly raised his pointed chin, while Harry, looking like a wilted eggplant, silently found a seat and wished he could bury his face in his Charms textbook.

When the bell rang, the unusually small Professor Flitwick entered the classroom. He seemed to struggle to climb onto a tall stack of books so he could reach the lectern, then took out the roster and called out names one by one. When he called Harry's name, Harry screamed excitedly, lost his footing, and fell behind the lectern, disappearing from sight.

Harry watched this scene calmly, looking as if he had lost all desire and pursuit, while Malfoy secretly covered his mouth and laughed.

"Hmm, Potter's calm and composed demeanor is really impressive, he seems very trustworthy... No, no, Pansy, how can you think that? Draco's carefree and unrestrained nature is much more charming..." Owen heard Pansy muttering behind him.

"Pansy, you didn't have to say these things..." Daphne groaned, covering her cheeks with her hands, her fair forehead turning pink.

"Huh? Did I say that?" Pansy looked startled, her face flushing bright red. "No, I was just joking!"

Irving couldn't help but glance sideways for a moment, then coughed lightly before staring blankly as Professor Flitwick stood on the stack of books again. Blaise curled his lip in annoyance, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair.

Bres Zabini's mother was a renowned beauty, perhaps even a venomous viper. She had been a widow six times, each husband leaving her a substantial inheritance. Well, Mr. Zabini is her seventh husband and is currently alive.

Perhaps due to some psychological trauma left by his mother since childhood, Owen always felt that Blaise had a strange misogyny. Although Blaise had always been very popular with girls, because of his excellent appearance inherited from his mother, even the dark brown skin inherited from his father could not hide his unique charm.

Irving had always suspected that Blaise and her son had Veela blood, but the two did not show any obvious Veela mixed-race characteristics, such as silver hair.

During a brief pause in his thoughts, Professor Flitwick had finished taking attendance and began explaining today's spell: the Illumination Charm. Owen listened attentively for a while, but didn't hear anything new outside the textbook; after all, the Illumination Charm was indeed a very basic and simple spell.

It must be said that Professor Flitwick's curriculum was quite reasonable. After learning the Illumination Charm, even if the students were expelled for some reason, they could then focus on physical training and martial arts, smoothly embarking on the orthodox wizarding path of dual-wielding berserkers. Professor Flitwick truly put a lot of thought into it.

Owen's eyes were glazed over as his thoughts drifted into a mental space. He glanced at the lifeless rabbit huddled in the corner, ignored it, and began copying his textbook and notes, practicing the spells he had already mastered in theory.

From the most basic unlocking spells, cleansing spells, and petrification spells, to advanced spells like the Spring of Water, Fire Spell, and Repair Spell, and then to spells like the Summoning Spell, the Stopping Spell, and the Revival Spell that can only be learned and mastered by higher-grade students, as well as disarming spells and obstacle spells that can be used in wizarding duels...

Having mastered advanced magical theories, and with this high-level understanding, all Kyrie Irving lacked was the ability to practice systematically.

"Hmm, I've almost succeeded in casting them, but I'm not skilled enough. I need to practice more consistently." Owen assessed the power and proficiency of his spells. "At most a month..."

In fact, Owen found many spells to be quite easy to cast. He only needed to pay attention to the pronunciation and pauses of the incantation, the gestures of waving the wand, and concentrate to complete different spells. It was like solving a math problem; you just needed to follow the formula step by step, write out the equation, and you could get the final result.

As the wizards delved deeper into the theoretical knowledge, they began to understand the meaning of each "formula," learned more concise problem-solving techniques and developed proficient mental arithmetic skills, and were able to gradually omit some steps, such as spells and gestures, thus completing spellcasting without incantations.

Therefore, casting spells without incantations requires more effort and often consumes more magical power, and it is difficult to achieve the original power of the spell.

When a wizard deeply understands the principles of a spell, or possesses extensive knowledge sufficient to apply it to other spells, he can greatly reduce the consumption of various spells, extend the duration of spells, and enhance the effects of spells.

Knowledge is power, and this is an absolute truth in the realm of magic, which is why Owen has never stopped absorbing knowledge.

However, the more advanced the spell, the more the caster's emotions are required, such as black magic represented by the three Unforgivable Curses and white magic represented by the Patronus Charm. This is another realm altogether, one that Owen hasn't even begun to study yet.

Fortunately, Owen had his own advantages. As a mature transmigrator, he had long ago discovered that his magical abilities were comparable to those of many adult wizards, which was why he was able to cast spells that he shouldn't have been able to master at his age.

The magic of wizards is actually a very idealistic thing.

In this world, the magic of wizards is clearly not the tangible power described in some novels Owen read in his previous life; at least, he couldn't find any trace of magic in his own body. As long as wizards have the energy, they can continuously cast spells, and there is no issue of running out of magic.

A high-level spell, if the wizard's magical power level meets the requirements and he can barely cast it, he can cast more and more without stopping until he is so mentally exhausted that he can no longer concentrate.

In many of the materials Owen reviewed, wizards generally believed that so-called magic was the wizard's mental will, and the strength of magic was the strength of the wizard's will.

As young wizards' bodies and minds are still developing, their magical power grows rapidly with the development of their brains and the refinement of their will. However, once they reach adulthood, the growth of their magical power slows down significantly, may even stagnate, or even regress.

This is why some wizards can often unleash power beyond their own level in battle, because of the burst of willpower, while wizards who are without fighting spirit and panicked often fall far short of their usual standard.

Of course, a wizard's burst of power isn't usually that exaggerated; it's more likely just that the person experiencing it feels like they're in a great state at the time. This is because what determines a wizard's potential isn't just magic power, but also their accumulated knowledge, and even the strength of their will itself, which determines their magical power, varies and can be enhanced in various ways. These differences cannot be bridged by a single burst of power.

For example, the magical power levels of figures like Dumbledore and Voldemort far exceeded the realm of human willpower, something that couldn't be achieved through normal growth alone. They must have undergone some kind of magical stimulation and transformation. In this process, knowledge, strength, talent, opportunity, and luck were all indispensable.

Owen, as a child with the mind of an adult, is no less determined than an adult wizard. However, because his body, especially his brain, is not yet fully developed, he may be slightly inferior in terms of mental strength.

Because his magic was too strong, before the age of ten when his magic was unstable, Owen's attempts to forcibly restrain his magic to practice spells had particularly serious consequences, leaving him with some psychological trauma...

"Magic..." Owen rubbed his temples wearily after practicing too many spells. He sat down at the desk he had copied and took out a new notebook.

Opening the notebook to the first page, Irving pondered for a moment, then wrote in neat handwriting:

"If the essence of magic is the will of the wizard..."

"Does a wizard use magic to influence reality through their own will? Then is the essence of magic simply wish fulfillment?"

"How did the unseen will change during this process, ultimately becoming a visible curse that influences reality?"

"Where does the energy of the spell come from? Was there any third-party involvement that allowed the spell to take shape?"

"If there exists a medium that connects the wizard's will to the final spell, could it be said that this is the cornerstone of the world's magnificent magic?"

As Owen wrote this far, his mind racing, he suddenly shook his head and chuckled: "I'm still a first-year wizard. Isn't this thinking too far ahead? Aiming too high isn't a good habit."

He carefully read through the few lines he had written, and before closing the notebook, he couldn't help but add, "If it really exists, let's call it 'ether' for now." Irving chose a name that had once been quite mysterious in the history of science with great interest.

"Ether?" Irving circled it carefully before closing his notebook.

"If I want to increase my magic power, I need to find a way to strengthen my willpower... Hmm, magical transformation? Magical creature bloodline? Meditation?" Owen's thoughts wandered, and he looked up at the space around him, suddenly chuckling, "That's it! In this walled space, I don't have to worry about getting hurt or dying, so isn't it perfect for me to experiment on myself at will?"

He glanced at reality and realized it was almost time. Before leaving, he glanced at the white misty writing in front of him.

[The connection point collection port has been deployed; please prepare to collect data.]

The original "soon" announcement has been changed to "already"...

Irving's expression changed, and he was immediately brought back to reality.

(End of this chapter)