A Charming Lesson

Time passed by quickly as I continued to read within the Dining Hall. Other students who were just waking up, yawning as they walked in, sat down at their own tables, and began to eat.

I noticed quickly that when the number of students increased in the dining hall, Chef Wynants was not venturing out of the kitchen anymore to deliver meals personally.

As a matter of fact, everyone was getting more generic breakfast dishes, with the tables being filled with a spread 'buffet' style, rather than the specific meal I got when I first sat down a bit earlier.

Sylviana continued to hum a calming tune on my shoulder the entire time which heightened my comprehension of the charms book in front of. I digested as much information as possible until I had reviewed the main parts of the book multiple times over, taking note of parts I found useful.

Closing the book, I looked at Sylviana on my shoulder.

The little nymph's eyes were half shut, barely open anymore but she continued to sing a tune as sleep tempted her.

Using my fingers, I patted her on the head. "Thanks Sylviana, you can go rest now".

Sylviana's eyes widened as she looked up at me.

"Are you leaving?" she said, with a sad expression.

I smiled. "Well, I have class coming up soon… Also, I want to wander the school halls a bit as well beforehand to get a feel for the place more".

Sylviana praised me with a grin. "Yep, yep. What a good Axel. You know I did the same when I first came to this school".

"You wandered around the school halls?"

Sylviana nodded. "Of course! Did you think we nymphs were confined to this dining hall? Whilst most of us nymphs won't ever leave our homes here, a few of us have explored the school grounds to see what's out there!"

"I see… how long have you been here at this school for now?"

Sylviana's expression darkened instantly as I questioned how long she had been here. Walking across my shoulder she pinched my cheek and spoke with a fiery gaze.

"Don't ask a woman her age".

I felt a bit wronged at first and I was about to make a rebuttal towards the fiery nymph but realised soon after that she only made that comment because she had been here for much longer than I could imagine… at least long enough to get so angry.

Despite her innocent looks and playful tone, she could be even older than my dad or Randolph… what a weird thought…

Huffing to herself, she flew up in front of my face and scrutinized me as much as possible, trying to dissect what I was thinking.

"If you even have a single thought about my age, I'll 'Yell sing' in your ears next time you study! You got that?!"

I nodded with a wry smile. Seeing the nymph get all fiery was entertaining I had to admit. After seeing me nod, Sylviana yawned again.

"That's a good Axel… now I'm going to head to sleep. Don't cause any trouble!"

Flying back into her shrub home, Sylviana faded into the greenery. As she disappeared, I got up from my seat and walked out of the dining hall.

.

Walking around the school halls, I couldn't help but compare them to what I knew of Hogwarts's halls that I'd read about years ago now. The Hogwarts Halls were depicted as confusing, with many different passageways and areas to walk into.

Beauxbatons on the other hand was so linear and straightforward. The halls themselves were vaster, allowing for more students to wander through them and even stop for a chat with the bonus of being able to locate classes easier and quicker.

You could argue though that some charm was lost with how straightforward and simple it was...

After walking around the school halls for a little while, I felt I had a decent grasp of how to navigate them. Feeling satisfied with my recon, I headed towards my next class.

Walking up to the door of the charm's classroom, I saw a couple of first years enter the class, reassuring me that this was the right place to be at.

Entering the classroom, I noted that the design of the room was the same as the dining hall. Shining white walls, giving the air of nobility with chandeliers dangling from above. The smell of the room was flowery, a calming sense for all those who walked in.

What made this classroom unique was the textbooks and charmed items spread around on different tables. Some students were looming over a couple already, excitedly commenting on what they thought it was for.

Whilst this was happening, I found myself a nice seat and pulled out my charms book again. Reading back through the contents, I revised over everything I had read whilst in the Dining Hall with Sylviana.

As my eyes glossed over each page, I couldn't help but mutter.

"Was my memory always this good?"

I knew myself well, at least I used to think I did. My memory was average as far as I can tell but reading back through the charms book, the content I had read earlier had ingrained in my mind.

Closing the book, I fell into deep thought and came to one conclusion… Sylviana.

Wood Nymphs were magical creatures that serenaded the students of Beauxbatons usually during dinner times. Sylviana however had personally come to serenade me whilst I was reading, something that wasn't so common considering the nymphs natural behaviour.

I could only guess that a nymph's melody didn't just have the properties of being able to calm someone but also enhance their mental aptitudes. I did feel like my reading became faster when she sang as well… is it possible their voices were imbued by magic in a way?

It feels a bit selfish to think but… I need to use this to my advantage.

Sylviana's ability is a great way for me to learn faster and retain information. If I go to breakfast as early as possible from here on, I may be able to benefit more. I'd also get my own personal dish from Chef Wynants which was a nice bonus.

With that in mind, all my personal magic practice will have to be in the evening or during free periods form here on. I couldn't pass up this chance to learn quicker.

As I started to form a roadmap in my mind of how to gain strength fast, someone sat down next to me. As my eyes glanced up at them, the girl shook slightly and then smiled awkwardly.

It was Bianca Oracoli, the first girl to be sorted in the ceremony.

As our eyes met, she stuttered out a sentence. "G-Good Morning Axel".

I responded calmly. "Morning Bianca".

I closed my eyes after responding to Bianca, trying to piece together my plans whilst at this school. I could sense that Bianca next to me was fidgeting the entire time, constantly wondering whether she could talk to me or not.

 As Madame Cosette finally entered the class as all students filled the seats, I heard a slight sigh of relief from Bianca.

Madame Cosette's eyes glanced over all of us first years. All of us… except me. It seems she is still feeling guilty or maybe even wronged about what happened yesterday…

Clapping her hands to stop the idle chatter, Madame Cosette spoke clearly. "Welcome First Years to your first Charms Lesson!" Speaking with a beaming smile she continued. "As you all may know already, my name is Madame Cosette. In this class today we will start with going over the very basics of spell casting, specifically wand movement, before getting into anything else. After all, this is not only your first Charms Lesson but your first Lesson ever!".

Hearing Madame Cosette speak, she really gave off this feeling of an 'Innocent teacher'. She constantly means well and wants the best for students, but her expectations and mindset could lead to roadblocks as it did with me yesterday.

"Now, let's get started with basic wand movement-"

Continuing with the lesson, Madame Cosette started to demonstrate how to do proper wand movements. Starting with the theory behind it, all students around me jotted notes in their books as she spoke. I did the same, homing in on the specifics I saw as important.

Taking notes like this was reminding me of my college days…

As she got to the more practical demonstration, I couldn't help but praise her teaching abilities. Whilst her idealistic tendencies may mirror my views of the world personally, her ability as a teacher was undoubtable.

She carried the lesson well, making it engaging and enthralling whilst explaining everything in an easy to understand way.

"Now then dears, take out your wands and practice the same movement I just did! This movement is what we will use to try and cast our first charm shortly".

All the students around me started to pull out their wands and practice. Some of them swished their wands around brutally, whilst others moved incredibly slow trying to match Madame Cosette's movements as picture perfectly as possible.

I slowly took out my own wand, starting to practice the movement myself. As my wand came into view, I heard Bianca mutter under her breath, her eyes peering my way.

"Pretty…"

I smiled wryly as she commented on my wands design. Seeing me acknowledge her absentminded words, she jumped back and started to practice her own wand movements again, cursing herself for being so distracted.

As I started to mimic the wand movements that Madame Cosette showed us, I felt as though something was off constantly. I couldn't explain what though, which frustrated me to no end. I felt as though I was doing the same as her, but there was just something different.

Madame Cosette walked around the classroom slowly, commenting on each student's ability so far. I heard phrases like "Too rigid dear" and "Not fast enough dear" consistently for a while. As she started to walk towards my end of the class though, her eyes peered at me for a moment.

Speaking calmly, she commented whilst looking at my wand movement. "Too harsh… Axel charms aren't always going to be used to attack someone, try and relax yourself more".

As my eyes met with hers, she seemed to sweat slightly as if expecting me to reprimand her. Was she seriously this afraid of an 11-year-old? What does she even see me as at this point?

Naturally, I just nodded, acknowledging her statement. Seeing me be so obedient, she smiled happily and continued helping other students.

Still… 'too harsh'. Was my mindset leaking into my movements? Were my 'movements' naturally violent due to everything that's happened?

As I mulled over these thoughts, Madame Cosette started to speak again. "Good, very good dears! I can see you all becoming fine stars in our enchanted sky! Now, the wand movement you have been practicing is 'Lumos'. This charm allows the user to create a light at the tip of their wand. It's helpful when you are in a dark place".

Hearing the name of the charm, I wasn't shocked as I had noted this charm as a useful one for its survival aspects. The wand movement I had ingrained in my mind from the charms book I had but seeing that movement in person and trying to emulate it was much harder than it initially seemed.

Lifting her alluring wand, Madame Cosette followed the wand movement we had all been practicing once again, doing it perfectly. She then uttered calmly. "Lumos"

As the spell was cast, the tip of the wand lit up, illuminating Madame Cosette's features. She smiled as she looked around the room, giggling at all the shocked faces of the first years.

Mainly the muggle-born students were the ones shocked though, with most 'pure-blood' witches and wizards calmly watching as if they had seen this a million times before.

Waving the wand around for a moment to show the 'Lumos' off to all the students, she eventually did another wand movement and uttered, "Nox".

As the charm was cancelled, Madame Cosette spoke again. "That charm was 'Nox', a charm that works well with 'Lumos'. It cancels the 'Lumos' charm, stopping your wand from glowing. If any of you can learn 'Lumos' in the remainder of this lesson, try and look up 'Nox' in your charms books and tackle that spell as well."

Looking at all the hesitant students, Madame Cosette warmly asserted. "Don't worry about messing up dears. Failure is the mother of success after all! Just keep at it until you succeed!"

All the students in the class nodded as they began to try and cast 'Lumos' on their own.

This resulted in a cacophony of sparks, crackling and all manner of issues. Some students were getting the hang of it quicker than others, with their wand tips glowing slightly already.

Looking at my own wand, I mimicked the wand movement a few more times to get it as perfect as possible before attempting my first proper spell… minus my random attempt on the barge.

Imbuing my wand with my obscurus energy, I attempted to withhold as much as I could only letting a little slither of energy in. When I tested on the barge, I realized that this energy amplified spells to a ridiculous degree so limiting the amount of energy was necessary.

With all preparations in place, I waved my wand as smoothly as I could and uttered.

"Lumos"

Looking at my wand, nothing happened for a while, making me feel as though I failed completely. However, that thought was stifled as my wand began to emit light.

Far too much light.

The entire room was flash banged by my 'Lumos', causing all the students in the room to shut their eyes immediately. I heard a few yells in the chaos, specifically things like 'Merlin's beard' and 'My eyes!'.

Realising my mistake, I moved to fix it by casting another spell quickly.

"Nox!"

Thankfully the bright light bathing the room vanished as I casted 'Nox'… and then all other lights within the room followed suit. Every 'Lumos' cast was snuffed out by my rushed attempt at the 'Nox' charm.

All eyes once again glued onto me, and I attempted to ignore them as I looked down at my wand with frustration.

I imbued it only slightly, yet it was so damn violent… Why?

Madame Cosette caught the attention of the class again, speaking clearly to everyone. "Continue practicing dears! Mistakes are bound to happen as I said before!".

As the rest of the students went back to practice, I saw Madame Cosette walk over to me. As she looked into my eyes she spoke with a calm voice.

"Axel. It seems you possess some immense magical capacity and power within you to pull that off… as you know though, charms like 'Lumos' and 'Nox' are not supposed to be that chaotic. Your challenge looks like it will be centred around controlling that chaos for a while. Remember, 'intent' is also important when casting a spell".

I nodded quietly again, acknowledging Madame Cosettes words.

Was the cause of all this still my obscurus? After all, it was originally a dark and chaotic power that I managed to make my own after some time. With me imbuing it into my wand and casting a spell through it… Is it turning the spell into an 'attack' by instinct?

After all, when I attempted to cast 'Wingardium Leviosa' on the barge the same situation happened, with the spell being violent and causing the cup to smack into the ceiling instead of being lifted gently.

Maybe this whole time the 'amount' of energy wasn't an issue, but the 'nature' of the energy was. If that was the case though, then that meant all spells I'd cast would always be violent…

Or could I just be missing some other perspective towards this? What is causing this to happen?

I spent the rest of the lesson, not casting another spell and just reviewing everything I knew about my obscurus and its properties. I couldn't come to a clear conclusion as to why it always ended up violent and as the lesson ended with Madame Cosette sending us all off, I was still none the wiser.

All the other students started to leave with me still lost in thought. Bianca surprisingly tapped me on the shoulder, awakening me from my stupor.

"U-Uh… It's time for the next lesson Axel".

"Thanks".

Responding quickly, I left the room with thoughts still plaguing my mind.

What use was having large reserves of magic power when I couldn't even control it? It was starting to feel like I was back in the forest all over again, back to when I first brewed this obscurus.

"Still a poisoned chalice... for the moment at least…"