Chapter 3: Silent Casting, Extremely Strong Flame Affinity!
"Seven Galleons, please!" After Lynn chose his wand, Mr. Ollivander said to him.
Lynn motioned to Gale, the house-elf who was holding the money pouch, to pay.
After purchasing the wand, Lynn took Gale to Flourish and Blotts, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Potage's Cauldron Shop, and other stores in Diagon Alley to buy the required items for admission to Hogwarts.
However, Lynn did not visit the Magical Menagerie or Eeylops Owl Emporium to buy a pet. In his opinion, he did not need to keep a pet for the time being, and he didn't necessarily have to buy an owl for sending letters. After all, at Rowle Manor, Lynn could rely on Gale to deliver letters, and at Hogwarts, he could use the school owls in the Owlery on the top of the West Tower.
After purchasing all the equipment, Lynn asked Gale to Apparate him back to Rowle Manor.
"Mother, I'm back! Here's the Gringotts key!"
Lynn returned the key to Gringotts to Rowena.
Rowena put the key away and said to Lynn with a smile, "Alright, go and organize your school supplies. I know you can't wait!"
Lynn smiled.
As Rowena said, after buying all the equipment, Lynn couldn't wait to go upstairs and organize it.
Lynn returned to his room on the second floor and took out a small black schoolbag with dark red patterns from under a large desk. The schoolbag was also charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm, and the space inside was equivalent to ten large trunks.
He took out the items he had bought from the original bag one by one and categorized them: magic books, potion ingredients, magical tools such as cauldrons, protective gear like dragonhide gloves, and clothing such as robes.
The first thing Lynn placed in front of him was a pile of potion ingredients. In addition to the required potion ingredients for first-years, Lynn had also foresightedly bought ingredients for brewing Felix Felicis, such as ashwinder eggs, squill bulbs, aerated water, and powdered griffin claw.
Although Lynn couldn't brew Felix Felicis at present, he had experience with chemistry experiments in his previous life and was confident he could learn to brew it in the future.
Besides, even though these ingredients were expensive, they were just a drop in the lake for the wealthy Rowle family.
You see, many accomplished potioneers in the wizarding world amassed fortunes.
After sorting these potion ingredients into the schoolbag, Lynn began to pack up other magical equipment.
In preparation for potential trouble at Hogwarts, Lynn purchased all magical tools and equipment to the highest standards, and bought an extra set as backup. Additionally, Lynn also prepared some common healing potions such as Essence of Dittany for emergencies.
After packing these, it was time for the textbooks. Lynn did not immediately pack them into his schoolbag, but instead neatly arranged them on the bookshelf.
Although he wasn't as studious as Hermione Granger, Lynn was still eager to learn more magic before entering the wizarding world.
After all, learning magic in advance would make him more proficient in class! With that in mind, Lynn took out "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1" from the bookshelf. Lynn opened it with one hand while drawing his wand from his robes with the other. "Lumos!"
Lynn followed the wand movements and incantation in the book for the Wand-Lighting Charm.
The Wand-Lighting Charm could be considered the most basic of all charms. Lynn saw a faint white light appear at the tip of the wand when he cast it for the first time.
Although the light seemed weak, it was enough to illuminate Lynn's bedroom.
"Nox!"
Lynn recited the counter-spell to extinguish the light.
The first time he cast magic, even if it was just the simple Wand-Lighting Charm, Lynn felt an extremely wonderful sensation.
Is this magic?!
Lynn's eyes seemed to sparkle.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Lynn waved his wand in the swish and flick motion, aiming it at a quill on his desk.
Under the influence of the Levitation Charm, the quill floated up, wobbled in the air, and then gently landed back on the desk.
Clearly, Lynn's attempt at the Levitation Charm failed this time.
However, Lynn wasn't discouraged. After all, this was only his first try.
Lynn continued to practice the wand movements and incantation for the Levitation Charm.
After half an hour, Lynn could barely levitate a book two or three meters above the ground.
This was still far from Ron Weasley's ability to control a giant chess piece in the original story.
Of course, this wasn't because Lynn's magical talent was inferior to Ron's, but because magic is influenced by the caster's mindset. Ron's ability to control the Levitation Charm at a level that even adult wizards might struggle with was mainly due to his intense desire and belief, creating a momentary miracle.
An afternoon passed quickly, and Lynn practiced several more basic charms that he was familiar with from his previous life in his bedroom.
At this moment, Lynn turned to the page on the Fire-Making Spell in "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1."
"Gale, help me clear the backyard. I need an open space to practice spells!"
Lynn snapped his fingers, summoning the house-elf Gale, and then gave him instructions.
Unlike harmless charms such as the Wand-Lighting Charm and the Levitation Charm, Lynn would never dare to practice offensive spells such as the Fire-Making Spell in his bedroom.
Otherwise, even with the manor's protective enchantments, at the very least, Lynn's own bed would be reduced to ashes.
Lynn didn't want to sleep on the floor at night.
"Yes, Master!"
Gale bowed to Lynn and Disapparated from the spot.
Through the window, Lynn could see Gale, who had Apparated to the backyard, using magic to clear away some debris and overgrown plants.
Since Rowle Manor hadn't been open to visitors for more than a decade, most of the gardens outside the manor had been neglected.
Although Gale was willing to spend time every day maintaining the manor, Lynn and Rowena agreed it was unnecessary, so Gale had stopped regular upkeep.
After Gale cleared a patch of open ground, Lynn headed to the backyard.
He pulled out his wand, feeling the familiar sense of power wash over him. He instinctively moved the wand and incanted: "Incendio!"
With almost no hesitation, a large ball of red flames erupted from the tip of the wand, shooting out into the backyard and igniting.
The temperature of the flames was so high that the surrounding air seemed to ripple with heat waves.
Seeing this, Lynn was somewhat shocked. The power of this fire spell might be comparable to that of an adult wizard!
As the fire rapidly expanded and spread towards the backyard wall, Lynn waved his wand in a panic, trying to control or extinguish the flames.
But he seemed to have forgotten that the Fire-Making Spell could only start fires, not control or put them out.
But at that moment, a strange thing happened.
The flames, which had nearly engulfed the entire backyard, began to slowly recede towards the center at Lynn's desperate wish to stop them, until they finally dissipated into the air.
"This...?!"
Lynn couldn't quite believe it. As he willed the flames to withdraw, he felt as though they were a part of his own being, something he could manipulate as easily as his own limbs.
Lynn cast the Fire-Making Spell again in disbelief, summoning another large ball of flames.
This time, Lynn didn't let the flames spread out. Instead, he focused on controlling them, much like he had done when retracting them earlier.
He waved his wand experimentally, and to his amazement, the raging flames obeyed, moving in the direction his wand pointed.
"Is it because of the power of this wand made of mahogany and pine grafted wood?"
Lynn examined the wand in his hand closely. He noticed that when he controlled the flames, the reddish grains in the wood seemed to glow more brightly.
Lynn's mastery and control over the Fire-Making Spell surpassed any other spell he had attempted so far.
Even the Wand-Lighting Charm he had cast successfully initially didn't compare in power to the fire spell, which matched the level of an adult wizard's abilities.
This strong affinity for controlling flames might stem from the legendary association of pine wood with fire magic, or it might come from Lynn's own natural talent.
After all, Lynn had been chosen by this unique mahogany and pine wood wand, and his own innate affinity for fire magic likely wasn't inferior.
Of course, this could only be confirmed when Lynn learned to cast spells non-verbally and wandlessly, conjuring the Fire-Making Spell without wand movements or incantation.
Lynn continued to diligently practice the Fire-Making Spell. As time passed, he began to feel the flow of magic energy within his body more distinctly as he cast, an experience he hadn't had with any other spell before.
Three days passed quickly.
Lynn had learned many common spell-casting techniques from "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1," and the most notable improvement was undoubtedly his control over the Fire-Making Spell.
At this moment, Lynn found himself back in the backyard. Unlike before, he intended to try casting the fire spell non-verbally.
After three days of practice, Lynn had firmly memorized the path his magic took within his body when he cast the Fire-Making Spell. This allowed him to attempt to guide that magical flow silently without speaking the incantation.
Lynn felt the steady thrum of his magic and slowly directed it to move along that familiar path towards the wand as when casting the fire spell vocally.
This was a slow process, but when Lynn attempted to visualize the spell in his mind, he was surprised to find that the flow accelerated nearly a hundredfold!
Lynn was only thinking the Fire-Making Spell silently, but the intense flames erupted from his wand just as smoothly as before, quickly setting the backyard ablaze.
"Non-verbal spell success!"
Lynn felt elated.
Although the flames produced by the non-verbal spell were slightly less powerful than the verbal casting, they still reached the level expected of N.E.W.T students!
(End of chapter)