The third-floor corridor had become a no-man's land, a place where nobody dared to tread. The headmaster's ominous warning about a "painful death" had made sure of that, and as a result, the area had been all but forgotten. Which was exactly what Arthur was counting on. He was on the lookout for a room that had completely slipped off the teachers' radar, a place where he could operate without being noticed. The fact that the corridor was now a tactical dead zone, avoided by everyone, made it the perfect spot for Arthur's needs.
He discovered it hidden behind a massive oak door, which had been stuck shut for years due to the building's gradual shifting. He carefully applyed the right amount of force and casting the unlocking spell, the lock suddenly clicked open.
The air inside was stale and thick with the smell of old books and a dry, chalky dust that filled the mouth. Broken desks were stacked up in the corner like a pile of bones. The room was quiet, with no sense of wonder or enchantment - just a deep silence.
'Ideal,' Arthur thought. 'No disturbance'
He began by doing a security check that took about thirty minutes. First, he looked for any magic traps on the floor, like pressure-sensitive spells. Then, he checked the door to see if it had any alarms that would go off if someone tried to break in. After making sure he was alone in the room, he cleared a big space in the middle of the floor, about 5 meters across, to make sure it was safe.
Arthur began with the simple things, recalling the spells he had learned not long ago. He pulled out his wand and positioned himself quietly in the middle of the room, ready to start.
"Lumos"
He started with the wand lighting charm, then moved on to the severing charm, and after that, he tried the softening charm. One by one, he tested every single spell he had learned, and even some he was still trying to learn.
....
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Two days later
Arthur focused on a heavy stone paperweight he had discovered in the rubble, trying to lift it with his mind. The paperweight rose into the air, but it didn't stay steady - it wobbled. Arthur's eyes narrowed as he concentrated. He knew that it wasn't enough , a sign that he needed more practice.
He cast it again. And again. Ten, Fifty,One hundreds, One hundred and forty-two times...
As he practiced, Arthur no longer casted the spell out loud. Now, he was concentrating on getting his energy just right. He imagined the magical power flowing from inside him, through the wooden patterns on his wand, and out into the air around the stone.
As time went by, Arthur became just another face in the crowd to his fellow students - a shy Ravenclaw who seemed to live in the library. But what they didn't know was that he had found a new home in an old, abandoned classroom. It was here that he would spend hours, meticulously tracking his progress.
[Magic: Beginner(08%)
• Mana Sense: Beginner(45.19%)
• Lumos: Beginner(49%)
• Wingardium Leviosa: Beginner(39.07%)
• Alohamora: Beginner (41.56%)
• Reparo: Beginner(38.62%)
• Spongify: Beginner(39.75%)
• Diffindo: Beginner(21%)
• Tempus: Beginner(22.6%)
• Disillusionment charm: Beginner(17.09%
• Imperturbable charm: Beginner(24.07%)
Verbal casting: Beginner(20.05%)
Non-verbal Casting: Beginner(19.10%)
Wandless Casting: Beginner(0 .001%) ]
As the proficiency approached the halfway through, Arthur noticed a shift . His wand no longer felt like a stick of wood; it felt like a Peripheral Device. The heat spike in his palm had leveled off. He felt like, no longer "casting spells"; he was executing functions.
Two nights before Christmas, Arthur stood in front of a broken chair, his wand held out in a straight line, no fancy waving needed, just a sharp point.
"Reparo."
It happened really fast.
The chair didn't just magically fix itself, the wood pieces merged back together seamlessly, with no signs of any joints or cracks. Then, the legs clicked into place with a sharp, mechanical sound, like a lock snapping shut.
"Tempus" He whispered.
A screen displaying a digital clock appeared in front of him.
Arthur glanced at the clock, realizing he had been cooped up in the room for a whopping five hours. As he checked his mana, he was dismayed to find that his mana reserves had dwindled down to a little bit.
Arthur let out a breath, his voice barely above a whisper in the quiet room. "I'm almost done with the beginner stage," he said, his words rough and dry.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his face a picture of seriousness. But little did he know, his quest for perfection was about to take a drastic turn. For the first time, the magic was responding to his commands, and he had no idea what was coming next. The air was thick with anticipation, and he was completely unaware of the catastrophe that was looming on the horizon. His focus was solely on mastering the magic, and he was determined to push it to its limits. But as he delved deeper, the magic began to stir, and the consequences of his actions were about to become devastatingly clear.