Chapter 203: Halloween Plans

For much of the time that followed, Wizard Sean was making plans for one thing.

That thing was the approaching Halloween.

Early in the morning, Wizard Sean smelled the sweet, tempting scent of roasted pumpkin drifting through the corridor.

He gazed out the stained-glass window; under the gray sky, the Quidditch pitch looked exceptionally empty.

An unusually massive figure was crossing the withered lawn like a moving small mountain. Clutched in his arms was a huge pumpkin—so large it was astonishing, its orange-yellow skin already carved into a grinning ghostly face, through whose hollow eye sockets one could see the furry mole-skin coat behind him.

Few people knew that the source of the jack-o'-lanterns at Hogwarts during Halloween was the pumpkins Hagrid grew, each one as big as a small shed.

Hope Cottage.

It had already been decorated with bats; Jia Jia Siting was rushing to make some candies, and a faint milky scent rose from the tabletop.

The room door opened gently, yet no figure could be seen, and so the door closed again.

Hermione was striving to practice the silent Levitation Charm, but whenever she could not speak aloud, she invariably found her mind wandering.

This distraction soon made her notice Neville, who was trembling; he watched the doorway nervously, shivering, his lips quivering as if he wanted to say something but could not.

"Wizard Sean!"

"Wizard Sean?"

Hermione and Jia Jia Siting spoke at the same time; Wizard Sean appeared in his seat as though shedding an Invisibility Cloak.

He cast a slightly curious glance at the two, as if waiting for something.

"The scent, Wizard Sean; your smell is very easy to recognize."

Jia Jia Siting said with a smile, looking up while shaping the soft candy dough.

"The light, Wizard Sean; at night I certainly would not have spotted you."

Hermione frowned, somewhat unwilling to believe it.

"Is this... the Disillusionment Charm?"

Wizard Sean nodded.

"It really is—I thought it was some magical artifact... This is a charm only older-year wizards can learn! I've only seen it in 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6'..."

Hermione exclaimed, then, looking at the feather that still refused to levitate silently and then at Wizard Sean, she appeared troubled.

She had not even finished studying her own 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1', let alone 'Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6'. There were two whole books between them!

Neville, who had been trembling continuously, suddenly stopped; the moment he saw Wizard Sean, he relaxed.

"Oh, it's Wizard Sean..."

This brief interlude ended quickly.

Wizard Sean gazed at the Snargaluff on the table; it always liked to make a "squeak-squeak" sound and had never left his side, accompanying him as he practiced the Muffliato Charm.

Today, Wizard Sean's proficiency in the Muffliato Charm was about to advance.

[You practiced the Muffliato Charm once to the Expert standard; Proficiency +50]

[A new title in the Charm domain has been unlocked]

Wizard Sean opened the panel with anticipation:

[Title: Charm Adept]

[Greatly increases perception of charms; greatly enhances charm talent]

Has perception increased?

During the afternoon's practice of the Disillusionment Charm, Wizard Sean profoundly experienced the effect of this heightened perception:

With stronger perception, Wizard Sean could better feel the variations in intensity when casting a charm and adjust his pronunciation and hand gestures accordingly.

Thus, he very quickly reached the Introductory level.

Opening the panel again at this point, there was now some visibly noticeable strength:

[Name: Wizard Sean Green]

[Identity: Wizard]

[Title: Charm Adept]

[Proficiency]

[Levitation Charm: Expert (600/9000)]

[Spell-Ending Charm: Expert (120/9000)]

[Muffliato Charm: Expert (10/9000)]

[Disillusionment Charm: Introductory (6/300)]

[Advancement: Twelve Expert-level charms or five Master-level charms are required to unlock the Expert title in the Charm domain]

How many?

Wizard Sean thought he had misread it.

He silently closed the panel and opened it again, feeling that his method of opening it must be wrong.

[Advancement: Twelve Expert-level charms or five Master-level charms are required to unlock the Expert title in the Charm domain]

Now Wizard Sean saw it clearly and accepted it calmly.

He had now deeply comprehended Madam Miranda's words in 'Magical Theory':

"One fact about learning magic is to master as many spells as possible, including many ancient ones; the more magic you know, the more you can accomplish;

another fact is that after mastering a spell, one must practice it constantly; skilled casting and unskilled casting obviously differ greatly."

Simply put—

The more one knows, the stronger the wizard;

The more proficient one is with charms, the stronger the wizard.

The panel's charm advancement combined these two points.

However, it seemed that becoming a Charm Expert was not an easy task.

According to previous analysis:

[Adept] corresponds to the charm level of some older-year wizards and adult wizards;

[Expert] likely corresponds to the level of an Auror.

Looking at it this way,

[Master] should correspond to the level of a professor.

As for the ranks beyond Master, Wizard Sean had no idea at all.

In front of the Snargaluff.

Wizard Sean took a sip of steaming pumpkin juice while his Quick-Quotes Quill scratched away, recording.

It would not be long now until Halloween.