HP: Fairy Tale Wizard - 145

CHAPTER 145: UTOPIA SMALL MEETING

In Utopia, Sterling's group of four sat around the round table.

They'd deliberately chosen a time when both Neville and Padma were tied up with other commitments. They wanted to discuss matters temporarily beyond those two's reach.

Sterling wanted to avoid creating a sense of disparity. He wasn't worried about Neville—that kid was resilient—but Padma had strong self-esteem. If she knew she'd somehow fallen far behind, she'd definitely feel hurt.

"So, Hermione, have you figured out what your magic specifically does?"

Terry still chaired the meeting. He looked at Hermione. They'd postponed this meeting until now precisely to wait for Hermione to develop her magic.

"Yeah, I think this is all I can currently manage."

Hermione nodded. She pulled from her small satchel a tiny wooden figure. Its craftsmanship was crude, like that used for practicing human anatomy when learning to draw.

Hermione placed it on the table. It immediately bent at the waist and knees, performing a somewhat cute bowing gesture.

"This still doesn't seem to escape Transfiguration or Charms territory, does it?"

Sterling shook his head.

The movements were nimble, sure. But refined magic power control could also achieve this.

This level wasn't enough to be called "Thirteen Magic Engraving."

"Don't rush. Does anyone have toothpicks or something? If not, I'll just transfigure one myself—but then the effect won't be as obvious."

Hermione rummaged through her satchel. The toothpick she'd prepared had somehow disappeared.

Harry pulled out a match and handed it to her. "How about this? Looks about right."

"Yeah—that'll work." Hermione broke off the ignitable end. She placed the remaining part into the wooden figure's hand.

The originally completely round "hand" suddenly grew five fingers. They firmly grasped the match.

Sterling sat up straighter. He hadn't sensed any spell taking effect just now. Rather than Transfiguration results, this change looked closer to alchemical creations.

"Let me think—Expelliarmus!"

A thin red light shot from the match tip in the wooden figure's hand. Harry, hit by the spell, felt his hand soften. He nearly dropped his wand.

Sterling's back straightened instantly. He looked at that match. After gaining Hermione's consent, he took it in hand. Azure magic power coiled around it.

Wood. Purely, without the slightest magical substance, wood.

But it had just functioned as a wand.

First, one point had to be stated. Even masters capable of wandless magic might not be able to cast spells holding a small stick.

Wandless magic's power is released directly from the wizard's skin surface, then forms the spell. A wand's role was to help guide magic power and appropriately amplify it. But an ordinary stick would have the opposite effect. Conducting magic power through ordinary wood without magical properties would cause enormous waste. It was actually worse than direct wandless magic.

Sterling extended his hand toward the wooden figure. Before azure color spread across its whole body, Sterling discovered something different.

In the wooden figure's head was something Sterling hadn't seen before. The analysis difficulty wasn't low. At his current Scholar Magic proficiency level, he'd need an hour to complete the analysis.

So he decided to just ask.

"Hermione, what exactly is going on?"

"I dripped a drop of blood on the wooden figure's head. Then it seemed—well, it became another me? Like a clone. I can control it."

"From a first-person perspective," Hermione added.

Blood?

Sterling felt somewhat surprised.

He hadn't analyzed it with Scholar Magic yet, but this thing required an hour to analyze?

That seems excessive.

However, there was another possibility. If Hermione's Thirteen Magic influenced blood, even making it the magic's core, then theoretically it could be understood.

"Then casting spells isn't strange. But how did you make it cast spells through a stick?"

"This—" Hermione scratched her head. "I still don't understand. Moreover, it can only cast spells when holding a stick-shaped wood. I figure maybe because I still can't do wandless magic, so my clone also can't do wandless magic?"

"Very reasonable explanation."

Sterling nodded.

This was very Thirteen Magic. The previous "clone" and "wooden figure using magic" hadn't given him that "this is Thirteen Magic" feeling.

But this inexplicable ability, seemingly related to subjective emotions—Sterling recognized at a glance this was Thirteen Magic.

Like Hero Magic's most obvious feature of overcoming impossible odds. Ron's "Knight Magic" repaired armor and lance, relying on conviction. Terry's "Prophet Magic" prophesied the futures of people he was curious about or cared about.

Hermione's "I reckon I need it so my clone needs it too" was also very subjective. Very "Witch Magic."

"Then, Harry, have you noticed any personality changes? And Terry, you too. Have your recent behavioral patterns shown abnormal changes compared to before?"

"I think so!" Terry was the first to raise his hand.

"I recently don't want to maintain relationships with Slytherin and Hufflepuff friends I'm generally close with. Does this count?"

Is this emotion arrogance? No, arrogance should be Scholar Magic's side effect.

"What's the reason?"

"Um, don't laugh at me... actually, I'm too lazy to bother with them."

Understood. "Prophet Magic" corresponds to laziness.

"Harry, what about you?"

Harry thought seriously, then shook his head.

Forget it. Expecting a Gryffindor to notice he'd become reckless is wishful thinking anyway. Sterling already knew Hero Magic corresponds to recklessness.

"I feel I recently seem more focused, I guess?"

"Focused?"

Could there be magic corresponding to positive emotions?

"Specifically what manifestations?"

"Just—studying, living, everything's relatively focused?"

Alright. I can't expect Gryffindors to make clear self-assessments. He turned his expectant gaze toward Hermione.

"I really want to break school rules."

"Hiss—" The Shrieking Shack filled with gasps. Everyone leaned toward the table center, scanning Hermione with disbelieving eyes.

"Sterling, did Voldemort escape and possess Hermione?"

"Is it George or Fred using Polyjuice Potion disguised as Hermione? Oh! Don't look at me like that! I've recently studied tons of potions books. I'm Gryffindor first year's third place!"

Ron irritably elbowed innocent Harry. Harry widened his eyes—what look had he given?!

"Hey! What looks are you giving?!"

Hermione, both embarrassed and angry, elbowed the person closest to her.

Thus fell Harry—The Savior—The Boy Who Lived—Gryffindor First Year Second Place—Hero Magic Inheritor—Potter.

Sterling's gaze drifted.

She's gotten stronger. He suspected Hermione's physical condition had also been enhanced. Before puberty, girls' physical conditions often exceeded boys', but Harry's was a body strengthened by Hero Magic.

Ron's elbow hadn't used force. But Hermione's just now—she'd been embarrassed and angry, yes. But she also hadn't discovered that her own strength had increased. It looked forceful.

Hermione's magic carrier seemed to be blood. Generally speaking, if blood was strengthened, the body being strengthened along with it was very normal. Honestly, much more reasonable than Hero Magic strengthening the body.

"Harry? You alright?"

Terry pulled Harry from the ground back to his chair. Harry caught his breath twice, then looked resentfully at Ron and Hermione.

Hermione embarrassedly lowered her head.

"Alright, these changes, different from before, are actually caused by the magic you're learning. Don't worry about these changes. This is normal."

"Or rather, if you want to more quickly master your own magic, you can try actively embracing these changes."

Sterling said. Hermione immediately raised her head.

"What?! You're saying you want me to actively break school rules?"

Sterling nodded.

He suspected Hermione's magic corresponded to "rebellion" or "freedom" emotions. Actively breaking school rules would definitely foster such emotions.

Hermione showed a devastated expression.

In Ravenclaw, she no longer saw school rules as supremely important or obeyed them so rigidly. But that still had a considerable distance from actively ignoring school rules.

In her heart, she still wanted to be a good student.

"Or just slowly practice magic. This progress speed definitely won't match adapting to the changes."

Seeing Hermione's resistant appearance, Sterling didn't demand she go through with it.

However... Hermione bit her lip.

Such miraculous magic sat before her eyes. Yet abandon the acceleration path within reach, choosing painfully slow learning?

Hermione's gaze firmed.

No. As a Ravenclaw, nothing could compare to knowledge's position in my heart!

"Harry! Tonight, you come find me at Ravenclaw Tower. We'll go night-roaming together!"

Harry's mouth opened slightly. He fiercely pounded Ron's leg once.

"Ow! Harry, what are you doing! That hurts!"

"Turns out it's not a dream. Ron, did you hear? Hermione actively wants to night-roam with us?"

"You want to confirm if you're dreaming, so why hit my leg! Shouldn't you hit your own leg?!"

"Hehe."

"What exactly are you giggling about!"

Ron rubbed his reddened thigh. He glared harmlessly at Harry, then looked toward Hermione.

"But Hermione, we're planning to review finals content tonight, not planning to night-roam—"

Ron's voice grew lower under Hermione's gaze.

"One Potions course notebook."

Harry and Ron's heartbeats simultaneously accelerated. Hermione had first year's second-best Potions level.

First was Sterling, but his Potions level was impossible to replicate. His notes were also useless.

The last foolish Slytherin attempting to reproduce Sterling's results had been confined in the Potions office, processing disgusting ingredients for three days. Since then, seeing slimy things, both his hands trembled. Of course, that might be aftereffects from thrusting hands into scalding cauldrons that weren't fully healed yet. Who knew.

"We already arranged with Seamus and Neville for a study group—"

Harry barely resisted temptation. His Potions level under Terry and Hermione's occasional guidance actually wasn't too bad.

"Add one Transfiguration notebook and Charms notebook."

"Respected Miss Granger, where do you plan on strolling tonight?"

Ron covered Harry, who still wanted to speak. He smiled ingratiatingly. Sterling felt his current appearance really resembled the Weasley twins courting big customers.

"I think the Astronomy Tower?"

Hermione, lacking night-roaming experience, chose a terrible place. Harry and Ron, never having night-roamed there, didn't object either.

Sterling knew better. He felt that occasionally playing harmless little pranks with friends helped build camaraderie.

Moreover, Madam Pomfrey's cold remedy was powerful. It definitely wouldn't let these three children truly develop fevers.

Sterling smiled, suddenly realizing someone wasn't speaking.

He turned to look. Terry was sleeping sweetly in his chair. Sterling pushed him. Ravenclaw still had Transfiguration class later. Other times, he'd just use Levitation plus Disillusionment Charms to bring him back to the common room.

Terry groggily awoke.

"What time is it?"

"You only slept a few minutes. When did you start sleeping?"

"When you said we could familiarize ourselves with magic by adapting to these changes. Yawn—"

Terry yawned, wiping away physiological tears from his eye corners.

"Then I thought, my change should be laziness, right? So I just went to sleep."

"Such strong commitment. Hermione, how about we now go find a random Slytherin in the corridors to fight? This also actively breaks school rules."

Harry suggested to Hermione. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"You truly want me familiarizing with magic and not making Ravenclaw and Slytherin each lose fifty or sixty points so you Gryffindors benefit?"

"Hehe."

The little lion, single-mindedly devoted to Gryffindor supremacy, shyly scratched his head.

"What exactly are you giggling about!"

"Alright—it's about time. Hermione, time for class."

Sterling stood up. He also pulled Terry up.

"Laziness hasn't made you too lazy to walk, such that I have to use Levitation Charm, right? In that case, I'd have to take the long way around through the library."

"Alright, alright. Right, Hermione, won't you give them notes first? I remember Gryffindor has no afternoon classes, right?"

Harry and Ron looked puzzledly toward Hermione. Hermione sighed. She pulled all her subject notebooks from her bag and slapped them on the table.

"I don't want the first year's top seven to have names outside Utopia. Do you understand?"

Ron and Harry solemnly nodded.

"Received! Ma'am!"