"You asked the professor?" Michael exclaimed, astonished. "After Professor Snape's class, you still dared to ask a professor?"
Theo chuckled, "Professor Sprout is different; she's especially kind. And I thought, instead of practicing secretly, wouldn't it be better to get the professor's permission first? Besides, practicing spells isn't a bad thing."
"And then? Professor Sprout found us a place?" Wade asked.
"Yes," Theo nodded. "An abandoned empty classroom. Professor Sprout said it would definitely meet our requirements."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! Let's check it out together!" Michael said cheerfully—he was already fed up with the stifling library.
Wade was about to leave when he suddenly turned back.
In the vast library, Hermione was engrossed in her books, looking quite alone.
Wade remembered that at this point in the story, Hermione didn't seem to have any friends yet.
"Wait a moment," he told the others. "I'll call someone else."
He lightly tapped on the table where the books lay. Hermione looked up to see Wade smiling at her. "Hermione, we're going to practice spells together. Want to come along?"
"Hogwarts was the earliest magic school established. A long time ago, probably all underage wizards in Europe studied at Hogwarts. But later, other magic schools were gradually built, and many wizards chose to migrate to America to live, their children attending Ilvermorny," Theo said, panting as they climbed the stairs. "So... Hogwarts can normally accommodate one or two thousand students and hundreds of professors. But now there are only two or three hundred people, so many classrooms are unused. For the students' safety, the school has hidden most of the abandoned, empty classrooms."
"Professor Sprout told us about an unused Charms classroom. It should be quite spacious," Ryan added. "It's behind the portrait of Miss Claudia with the umbrella on the third floor."
The group searched along the corridor for a while and finally found the portrait on the corridor side near the West Tower.
—In a meadow full of flowers, the wind blew gently. A blond girl held a white umbrella with pink flowers, gazing melancholically into the distance, her side facing the group.
Ryan tapped his wand three times on the left side of the portrait and spoke the password: "Sunshine, golden daisies."
The girl lifted her skirt and moved aside, and the portrait swung open. They walked in one by one. After the portrait closed, the blond girl changed her position, holding the umbrella in a different direction, and rain began to patter within the painting.
It was unknown how long the classroom had been unused. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, some tables and chairs were scattered haphazardly, and a few old books and discarded pieces of parchment lay strewn about. Along one wall was a row of wooden shelves, mostly empty and even damaged in several places. In the corner, targets for practicing spells were piled up, most of them broken.
"Alright, it looks like we'll have to clean up before we can practice," Hermione said, rolling up her sleeves. "Who's going to get some water?"
"Me!" Theo volunteered. "I'll go find some cleaning supplies first."
"Why don't we ask the school house-elves to clean it up?" Michael said lazily. "You know Hogwarts keeps house-elves, right?"
Ryan was already bent over, righting a fallen chair.
"Wait a moment, everyone." Wade stopped Theo, who was about to leave, and asked the others, "We're here to practice spells—why don't we start by cleaning this classroom?"
"What? No way!" Michael looked at him in disbelief.
"Scourgify and Reparo, let's start with those two spells," Wade said, looking at Ryan. "And to move the tables and chairs, we can only use the Levitation Charm."
"Alright! It's a big project! But it sounds interesting," Theo said, grinning.
Ryan thought for a moment, then put the chair he had just righted back down. He waved his wand, "Scourgify!"
A table became slightly cleaner, but noticeable dirt still remained in the crevices.
Wade blinked.
"Ryan, cast it again," Wade said.
So Ryan used the cleaning charm again, but the effect wasn't very noticeable.
This time, Wade was certain he saw it clearly—when Ryan waved his wand, he vaguely saw another arc, and the two superimposed, similar yet different, making him clearly realize why Ryan's spell hadn't worked as it should have.
It was like playing a game, and the cheat program calculated the optimal path and attack angle for him.
"Ryan, when you cast, do it like this: raise your wand a little higher, and make the ending more decisive," Wade demonstrated. "Also, for Scourgify—pronounce the 'gi' a bit lighter. Try it again."
Ryan paused—perhaps Hufflepuffs naturally trusted Ravenclaw intellect more. He didn't offer any objections but followed Wade's revised version, waving his wand: "Scourgify!"
The table instantly became sparkling clean, as if not even a fly could land on it, and even the floor beneath it became clean too.
Ryan's eyes widened. He looked at his wand, then at Wade, murmuring, "How did you do that?"
The others had similar reactions, gathering around the table. Theo even bent down and touched it repeatedly with his hand, exclaiming, "Ryan! I had no idea! You're a Charms prodigy!"
"No—it's not because of me—" Ryan said, somewhat bewildered. He waved his wand again, but because his mind was too muddled, the effect wasn't as good as before.
Wade didn't speak. He cast the spell himself but didn't see the extra arc—just as his eyes could only see names above others' heads but not his own.
However, guiding Ryan had shown him precisely what was correct, so his own spellcasting was flawless, and the cleaning range was even larger.
Wade thought for a moment, then had the others also use the cleaning charm. Unsurprisingly, he again saw the faint golden arcs. Even Hermione's spell wasn't perfect, though it was closer to the standard than the others'.
He guided them one by one, bringing their spells closer to perfection. In this process, his own understanding deepened, until later, with a casual flick of his wand, he could perform a perfect cleaning charm without even needing to utter the incantation.
If his golden finger had a name, Wade felt he might have acquired a "Good Teacher System"—a glance at a student's head would tell him whose name to call; even if a group of people cast spells simultaneously, he would know who was serious and who was slacking off; in one-on-one guidance, he could make targeted micro-adjustments, allowing students to master a spell in the shortest time.
Unfortunately, his golden finger was a taciturn one. Wade didn't know if it had other undiscovered functions waiting to be developed, so he could only explore slowly.