Adrian felt a twinge of disappointment. For a moment, he'd hoped he could learn wandmaking and craft his own wand. That dream died quickly.
But it made sense. If making wands was easy, Diagon Alley wouldn't have just one shop like Ollivanders.
"By the way, Mom, how good are you with the Patronus Charm?" Adrian asked instead.
"Not bad. Why, planning to learn it this summer?" Irene looked surprised, then frowned.
"The Patronus Charm is advanced magic, but it's not particularly useful in most situations. You should focus on basic spells first."
"Basic spells? You mean these?"
Adrian waved the borrowed wand several times, muttering incantations under his breath. A sandwich on the table floated up first, then split into several large pieces. The pieces transformed mid-air into small birds that circled the room, chirping.
The cheerful bird song filled the hall for just a moment before flames consumed them, turning them to charcoal in seconds.
A smell like burnt meat drifted through the air.
The charred remains quickly turned to ash as the transformation broke down, disappearing in a draft from the window.
Adrian noticed this and shrugged, giving up on demonstrating more basic spells. He looked at Irene expectantly.
See? I think it's time to learn the Patronus Charm.
Irene stared at the scene, her expression blank.
Adrian had told her he'd done well at school, outstanding grades in every subject except History of Magic. But he was only a first-year student. No matter how good his grades were, how could his practical spellcasting be this strong?
What he'd just shown her went far beyond her expectations. In just a few seconds, he'd cast Wingardium Leviosa, the Severing Charm, a transfiguration, and Incendio without any pause between them. His foundation was solid.
That transfiguration alone was better than what some adult wizards in Knockturn Alley could manage.
Adrian watched Irene, who still hadn't spoken. Had he been too obvious? Maybe he should have hidden his abilities better.
He was still regretting it when someone pinched his cheek. He let out a yelp of pain and realized Irene was rubbing his face with both hands, leaning close to sniff him. She fired off questions one after another.
She was checking whether he'd been replaced by someone using Polyjuice Potion.
"What are you doing?" Adrian's words came out muffled from having his face squeezed. The whole thing startled him, but he tried to sound appropriately surprised and annoyed.
"I can't believe I gave birth to a genius!" Irene propped her chin on her hands, her green eyes staring straight at him. How had she not noticed before?
"Well, geniuses can't be explained by normal logic. Just like Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, who defeated the Dark Lord as a baby," Adrian said confidently.
He mentioned Harry deliberately, testing the waters. Irene's dislike of Dumbledore still bothered him.
"I don't remember you being special when you were born!" Irene ruffled his hair roughly and rolled her eyes. "And next time, practice magic on something other than food. Don't waste it."
Adrian nodded. Irene hadn't overreacted, which was a relief. He tried again in a quiet voice.
"So... about the Patronus Charm?"
"Wait until we finish breakfast," Irene said, stuffing a sandwich into his mouth to shut him up. She still hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
___
After rushing through breakfast, Irene finally accepted that her child was exceptionally talented. Then she got excited, eager to see exactly how strong he was.
"Come on. Let's go to the practice room in the basement. If I'm satisfied with what I see, I'll consider teaching you."
Adrian followed Irene reluctantly down to the basement. It turned out to be much larger than the two floors above, the entire space was divided into three areas: storage, workspace, and practice room.
Irene had apparently been doing some illegal expansion work over the years.
She went into a side room and changed out of her nightgown into her usual dark green wizard robes. She pulled on black gloves for her right hand, silver thread outlined strange patterns across them, and slipped several rings onto the fingers of her bare left hand.
"All right, stand over there," Irene said, walking to the right side of the room. She turned to face Adrian and gestured for him to make the first move.
Adrian looked around at the empty space. There were a few practice dummies scattered about, and some wooden tables and chairs pushed against the walls or tucked in corners.
Honestly, he wasn't used to this kind of face-to-face duel with wands, especially against a wizard who was clearly more skilled than him.
How was he supposed to fight like this?
Adrian felt stuck. After a moment, Irene started looking impatient. She frowned and opened her mouth to speak—
The instant he noticed her changing mood, Adrian drew his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
A flash of bright red light cut through the air.
Irene stopped mid-sentence. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she tapped her wand lightly, creating a magical barrier that blocked the red light.
By the time she looked for Adrian again, he'd already cast Protego on himself.
Then bird song filled the practice room. With a sweep of Adrian's wand, dozens of small birds materialized in the blink of an eye and flew straight at Irene.
Irene didn't bother attacking back. She was testing Adrian's abilities, so she moved toward him slowly. The magical stream in her black silk glove flashed briefly.
Without even speaking an incantation, Irene simply tapped with her right hand. A small spark flew from her wand, then expanded into a wide purple flame barrier. The birds slammed into it continuously, turning to ash before they could pass through.
At that moment, Irene tilted her head. A brilliant white light shot through the flames, passing right by her hair and hitting the dummy far behind her.
"You're too obvious about where you're aiming," Irene said with a smile, but her expression changed the next instant.
Wind rushed from behind her. She ducked her head to dodge, then twisted her waist forcefully to turn her body. Her leg kicked out, striking one of the practice dummies that had somehow come to life behind her.