Chapter 109: The Summoning Charm

Magic never opens itself to wizards without talent,

but wizards with even a sliver of talent are not always clever.

Wizard Sean silently put away the quill lollipop, while Hermione fell silent, somewhat at a loss.

When Wizard Sean placed the real quill down, he turned to see Hermione glaring at Justin, who was stifling laughter,

as if she would turn him into a skunk the moment he laughed out loud.

"Laugh if you want to."

Wizard Sean sighed.

"Hahaha—Wizard Sean, Hermione, tell me, you didn't actually think that was a real quill, did you?

This is the second funniest joke I've heard today..."

Justin laughed until he could barely stand upright.

"Jus—tin!"

Hermione puffed out her cheeks.

Upon hearing this, Justin instantly wiped the smile from his face:

"Oh, Hermione, teach me. I've been learning the Summoning Charm recently but haven't succeeded yet. Do you think it's a problem with my hand gestures?"

"...Your wand movement is too hesitant."

Hermione quelled the shame and anger that came from nowhere and began earnestly instructing Justin.

Wizard Sean, meanwhile, shifted his gaze to the quill.

He took another broken quill from his bag; one of a quill's characteristics is its durability,

but this did not hold true in Wizard Sean's case.

Although he had skillfully used a knife to trim the quill's shaft, thereby constantly extending the quill's lifespan,

things destined to break will eventually break; the part worn away from the quill could never return.

"Accio—Quill!"

He pronounced the incantation accurately; the quill trembled violently and gently flew into his hand.

[You practiced the Summoning Charm once to an Apprentice standard; Proficiency +1]

At that moment, Wizard Sean froze.

Summoning Charm?

The panel used this name,

so why wasn't it the Flying Charm?

Coincidences are rare in the world of magic,

Wizard Sean pondered seriously.

"Because what determines the strength of the spell itself is the wizard; the wizard's will to summon acts upon the target, creating the Summoning Charm.

Accio—Quill!"

As soon as Wizard Sean spoke, every quill in the classroom began to tremble, then flew before him.

[You practiced the Summoning Charm once to an Entry-Level standard; Proficiency +3]

And what landed before Wizard Sean was not just quills;

Justin, who was holding a quill, stumbled and finally collapsed onto the wooden desk in front of Wizard Sean.

Just as Wizard Sean watched Justin calmly, considering whether to help him up,

he heard Hermione let out a snort of laughter, then ask while suppressing her mirth:

"Looks pretty good. Is this a new dance you've learned?"

Soon, Wizard Sean saw Justin's face turn red.

Wizard Sean roughly understood the characteristics of the Summoning Charm.

Just as Hermione had said: when a wizard summons an unknown item, they need not know the specific name of the object, but must know some attribute of it.

For instance, Hermione might not know the title of a book, but she knows that the book introduces the Summoning Charm.

When Hermione cannot name the book because she knows too little about it, she only needs to determine the object's attribute in her mind (a book introducing the Summoning Charm), lock onto a scope (the school),

and then items within that scope matching her intent will fly toward her.

However, at the same time, the drain on mental energy increases dramatically.

If living creatures could be summoned, the power of this spell would be terrifying,

but clearly, they cannot.

Harry had once tried to summon Hagrid, and naturally, he failed.

Wizard Sean believed that failure was perhaps a good thing; otherwise, if Hagrid came flying...

Of course, Wizard Sean also believed that no matter what Harry muttered, Ginny would never come flying.

As Wizard Sean's understanding of the Summoning Charm became clearer, his progress improved:

[You practiced the Summoning Charm once to an Entry-Level standard; Proficiency +3]

[You practiced the Summoning Charm once to a Skilled standard; Proficiency +10]

[Summoning Charm Unlocked]

Exhausted, Wizard Sean put away his wand,

turned his head, and saw equally exhausted Hermione and Justin.

However, Justin recovered quickly and once again produced three steaming cups of honey jasmine tea from Wizard Sean's blind spot.

To this day, Wizard Sean still did not know where Justin retrieved food from.

He only knew that the honey jasmine tea tasted delicious.

When dusk enveloped the entire castle, Wizard Sean set off for the dungeons.

The long corridor was sliced by the setting sun into alternating fragments of light and shadow; the portraits hanging on the walls began their busiest yet most leisurely moment of the day.

The Fat Lady appeared beside her best friend, Lady Violet; she was clearly slightly tipsy, leaning elegantly against the frame and humming an off-key tune:

"Look, it's Wizard Sean Green, Sir Cadogan, your 'Trump Card of Mischief'."

She said with a certain teasing tone.

The portraits of Hogwarts were never merely paintings—they liked to find amusement for themselves.

The figures in these portraits could run into other paintings, concoct passwords, offer life advice, or provoke students into duels...

Privately, they also plotted all sorts of other mischief.

And among these schemes, the most important involved the young wizards known as "Trump Cards of Mischief."

It did not sound like a complimentary term, yet it truly expressed a portrait's affection for a young wizard.

"In the name of a knight, Fat Lady, ten centuries of experience rarely lead one astray.

Young Green will make a great name for himself in the magical world; I guarantee it."

Sir Cadogan's words caused the Fat Lady to glance at him repeatedly, after all, a knight never lies.

There is no time in the dungeons;

Severus Snape had been there for who knew how long,

until the rainstorm ceased.

The dungeons remained that cold, isolated place.

The scent of potions still lingered heavily, and parchment still piled up like mountains.

Severus Snape stood there, like a statue merged into the shadows of the dungeon itself, unmoving for a long time.

A note unfolded in his hand; if Wizard Sean had been there, he would have recognized it as hidden knowledge from Master Libatius Borage's book.

However, unlike Wizard Sean's note, this one bore a faint character "One."

"Click—"

Wizard Sean pushed open the door, breaking the silence.

Upon seeing Professor Snape, a clear flash of joy passed through his emerald eyes.

Thus, he quickly walked to his cauldron, set down his notes, and went to the specimen cabinet to retrieve materials.

Wizard Sean felt slightly excited, after all, today he carried two tasks that would excite any wizard,