Chapter 100: Quidditch Invitation

After circling a few times on his flying broom,

Wizard Sean still hovered awkwardly before Madame Hooch:

"Madam Hooch, may I fly a little higher?"

"For those mischievous little wizards, my answer is no, but..."

Madam Hooch raised her hand, and an equally old broom flew into her grasp,

"Come on, what are you waiting for?"

The wind howled sharply; Wizard Sean hovered ten feet above the ground, able to clearly see every dent pounded into the pitch's lawn by Bludgers.

The southwestern stands, where the Golden Snitch usually appeared, lay just ahead to his right, their gilded railings gleaming gently in the morning light.

Below swept a stretch of meticulously trimmed grass, where a few young wizards could be seen peering out, gasping in astonishment at the wizard flying with Madam Hooch accompanying him.

Having received Madam Hooch's permission,

Wizard Sean rose upward, embracing this long-lost freedom; the broom trembled slightly under his control but still obeyed his commands.

When his altitude exceeded fifty feet, the entire outline of Hogwarts suddenly unfolded before his eyes:

The castle's spires pierced the morning mist, Heihu lay like a dark mirror, and the distant Forbidden Forest stretched out as a sea of ink-green.

[You practiced flying to the standard of a proficient hand; Proficiency +10]

[You practiced flying to the standard of an expert; Proficiency +50]

[A new flying domain title has been unlocked]

Madam Hooch followed leisurely behind Wizard Sean; perhaps having been away from the Quidditch pitch for too long, she had forgotten the terrifying talents of those top-tier players.

Thus, even though Wizard Sean had flown very high, she paid it no mind, instead eagerly imparting many practical techniques to him.

Under Madam Hooch's guidance, Wizard Sean felt his exhaustion fade away,

making his emerald eyes, gazing into the distance, appear even deeper.

Magic is generated within a wizard, yet further descriptions of it become vague and indistinct.

The only certainty is that its total amount, or rather one's magical level, grows alongside the wizard.

So when utterly exhausted and unable to cast spells, has a wizard's magic truly been depleted?

If this premise holds true,

then from where do emotions, or perhaps mental state, leverage even stronger magic?

While sweeping over the grass, Wizard Sean found his answer.

Just as a normal person cannot mobilize all their muscular strength at once, so too is the magic within a wizard.

And training called flying can slowly awaken the unactivated magic within a wizard,

a process destined to be slow, yet immensely meaningful.

Of course, Wizard Sean believed that daily spell practice, Transfiguration exercises, and even potion brewing all accomplished the same thing, differing only in the speed of progress.

In a room where the fireplace burned fiercely, a pair of hands endlessly grading homework suddenly paused;

Minerva McGonagall felt a gust of wind sweep in; she lifted her stern eyes and immediately spotted the young wizard flying smoothly—

His robes fluttered loudly, free as a bird.

"Quidditch..."

Professor McGonagall's lips curved upward unconsciously, just as she lowered her head to resume her work.

She suddenly raised her head again, instinctively walking to the window to take another incredulous look—

Yes, indeed, not only a first-year little wizard, but that lad Green.

The seed she had brought, that sickly seed, how could he be flying in the sky?!

"Thank you, Madam Hooch."

With limbs completely numb and tingling, Wizard Sean slowly descended to the ground; though drenched in sweat, he still retained enough strength for one Cleaning Charm,

so he could hand the freshly cleaned broom to Madam Hooch, who landed gracefully.

"Interested in playing Quidditch?"

Madam Hooch nodded with even greater satisfaction: disciplined enough, restrained enough, talented enough—such gifted children were rare indeed.

Wizard Sean froze; his memories of Quidditch remained confined to books:

[The first Quidditch World Cup was held in 1473,

where records documented numerous fouls—for example, transforming a Chaser into a skunk, attempting to chop off the Keeper's head with a broadsword;

and releasing a hundred vampire bats from beneath the robes of the Transylvanian team captain]

Wizard Sean silently shook his head.

"Even if you could become an excellent Seeker?"

Madam Hooch seemed somewhat surprised.

[The position of Seeker holds considerable allure—since they have historically been the finest flyers on the pitch,

therefore, "Take Out the Seeker" is the first rule in Brutus Scrimgeour's The Beater's Bible]

Wizard Sean shook his head even more vigorously.

What a terrifying bible...

"I think you very likely could join the national team; various teams have fine mascots and..."

Madam Hooch's words cut off abruptly.

[The Bangers once captured a Hebridean Black Dragon to serve as their team mascot]

Because at this moment, Wizard Sean was shaking his head so hard it nearly turned into a propeller.

He felt that compared to the Hebridean Black Dragon, perhaps he himself resembled the mascot more.

Wizard Sean thought,

let the Hebridean Black Dragon be the Seeker then.

He quickly fled the Quidditch pitch,

striding with light steps to verify his conjectures regarding wizards' magical levels.

He did not notice the gaze of the tall witch clad in dark green robes.

Inside the classroom,

Hermione and Jia Jia Siting were whispering about something.

Facts proved that when a topic involved a figure everyone was interested in,

stopping the conversation became a difficult task.

Wizard Sean focused intently on practicing the Water-Making Spell; at least two spells needed to be practiced to the introductory level...

"...Eight, nine... one too many!"

Wizard Sean murmured with slight excitement; although he could not determine whether this awakening of magic was permanent, it was still quite meaningful,

for Wizard Sean had never seen such descriptions in any book.

"Perhaps I've simply read too few books..."

Wizard Sean thought again, rigorously.

He opened his panel once more:

[Water-Making Spell: Apprentice Level (45/300)]

Progress increased slowly yet steadily.

[Title: Novice Flyer]

[Slightly increases perception of magic within flying brooms; greatly enhances flying talent]