Chapter 77: Magic Level
The two of them moved rapidly through the empty castle late at night. Their loud footsteps woke many magical portraits sleeping on the walls and drew curious gazes from numerous ghosts.
Even Peeves was attracted and showed himself, but upon seeing these two, he vanished with a pop.
Filch, of course, wouldn't miss this chance to catch a student. He chased them with Mrs. Norris, but eventually left in disappointment.
Mrs. Norris actually wanted to follow for a while to get close to Ethan, but Filch carried her away.
Through the third-floor gargoyle statue, they reached the headmaster's office door.
Bang, bang, bang! Snape knocked vigorously. Ethan stood silently nearby, subtly massaging his sore calves.
"Coming, coming. Who is it, visiting an old man so late?" Dumbledore's voice drifted through the door before it swung open.
"Severus, what brings you here? Oh, and Ethan too—I didn't notice at first." Ethan peeked out from behind Snape's black robes.
Dumbledore, in purple pajamas, welcomed them in, yawning as he sat on the sofa.
"What could be so important you had to come in the middle of the night? When you're old, a good night's sleep is hard to come by, you know?" the old man complained.
"It's very important," Snape said in a low voice, glancing at the headmaster portraits on the wall.
Dumbledore understood instantly. He cast Muffliato, causing a group of former headmasters eager for gossip to leave their frames in irritation, grumbling as they went to chat elsewhere.
"Go ahead," Dumbledore yawned again.
"Drink this first. Stimulant Potion—it'll perk you up, not a Wide-Awake Potion, so it won't cause insomnia." Snape came prepared, placing a small gray potion bottle on the table.
"Fine, fine." Dumbledore was somewhat resigned, knowing his hope of catching up on sleep after they left was dashed.
While waiting for the potion to take effect, he also brought out some candy, inviting them to help themselves.
"Alright, I'm completely alert now. Go ahead."
Snape spoke slowly: "Ethan has experienced a second magical outburst, exactly one year after his first, on the same day."
"Hmm?" Dumbledore, who had been somewhat languid, thinking nothing could surprise him, suddenly sat up straight.
He looked at Ethan. "A second outburst? Just now?"
"Yes, though I didn't feel anything unusual. I was asleep. Let Professor Snape describe it to you." Ethan nodded.
This time, Snape's description was more detailed than what he'd told him, so Ethan also added some details from his first outburst.
Dumbledore nodded occasionally, then fell into thought.
"Your situation is truly unprecedented, Ethan. I don't know if this is good or bad for you.
I have a magical item that can detect a wizard's magical level. Wait here while I find it, and we'll test what level your magic is at now."
The old man went to another room to search. Ethan slumped on the sofa and began to doze off.
He was at an age where he needed plenty of sleep for growth.
Just as he was drowsily on the verge of sleep, Dumbledore returned.
He held a crystal ball that had clearly just been cleaned.
"A Magic Level Crystal Ball, my creation from my youth. Its main function is to help young wizards test their levels.
Unfortunately, I later discovered most wizards never truly deplete their magic, so the level became less important, and it's been idle ever since.
Come try it and see if it still works."
It looked like an ordinary crystal ball from a shop, except for a base embedded with two rows of hollow stars.
"How does it work? Do I press and channel magic, or something else?" Ethan asked, forcing himself to stay alert.
"Just place your hand on it. It will draw some of your magic naturally, though it takes a while (three to five minutes). You look tired. Want some Stimulant Potion?"
Dumbledore wouldn't be able to sleep tonight himself, so he urged Ethan to stay alert and keep him company through this sleepless night.
"No thanks." Ethan quickly waved his hand away, placing his other hand on the crystal ball and closing his eyes.
He felt as though he'd already fallen asleep when someone shook his arm to wake him.
"Alright, Ethan, wake up! You can let go now."
He was now completely sprawled on the table, one hand still on the crystal ball, his head resting on his arm, maintaining this position for five minutes.
Since the stars indicating his magical level were all blocked by his body, Dumbledore had no choice but to wake him.
"Oh." Ethan was already muddled. After removing his hand, he collapsed back on the sofa and fell asleep again.
"Honestly." Dumbledore chuckled, shaking his head as he turned the crystal ball around.
Seeing five golden stars lit up, he exclaimed, "What an extraordinary magical level!"
"This means he has the average level of a fifth-year student?" Snape glanced at the sleeping boy.
"Yes, one star represents one year. The top seven represent student-level magic."
Because a wizard's magic grows very slowly after reaching adulthood, I only designed seven positions on the second row, each representing a multiple of a seventh-year student's magical level.
Dumbledore nodded. "Severus, would you like to test your magic level?"
Snape's curiosity was piqued. He nodded and placed his palm over the crystal ball.
Dumbledore glanced at it with a smile. "One purple star lit up on the bottom row. Not bad. Twice the level of a seventh-year student."
"What about you, Professor Dumbledore?"
"Me? Let's keep that a little secret." Dumbledore didn't answer.
"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. I need to ask Cyril if this relates to his family bloodline. I believe Cyril would know the reason for this change."
"As for Ethan, take him back to bed. He has class tomorrow."
The old man seemed sleepy again, planning to seize this opportunity for some rest.
"No, let him stay here tonight. His bed was destroyed; a new one can only be delivered to the dormitory tomorrow." Snape refused Dumbledore's request, stood up, and left the headmaster's office.
"Oh dear. Fine, let him rest here tonight. I should get some sleep too." Dumbledore reluctantly turned off the lights, laid Ethan flat on the sofa, and returned to his bedroom.
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