Chapter 113: Levitating Wand Casting System

"'Alright, alright," Garrick Ollivander conceded in a soft murmur, "I might be able to produce for you a hundred wands with the same specifications, but you'll have to understand something, Sherlock. Each wand, despite being constructed from laurel wood and housing a dragon heartstring core measuring 14 inches, will bear its own unique characteristics. They are not going to be identical copies of each other."

He paused for a moment, his face thoughtful. "Moreover, producing this volume of wands isn't an easy endeavor. Crafting wands is far more complex than just stuffing a core into a stick, you see. And I'd also have to import a sufficient quantity of dragon heartstrings from Romania."

From his end, Professor Sherlock Forester didn't anticipate the need for the wands to spring into existence immediately. He also didn't harbor unrealistic expectations of exact assembly-line reproductions. He casually stroked his chin in a pondering gesture before asking, "So, Mr. Ollivander, how many of these wands can you produce for me by September?"

"Around fifty," Oliver estimated.

A thoughtful nod from Sherlock. "In that case, I'll drop by here to collect fifty around that time and then follow it up for the other fifty by the end of October. What sort of deposit do you usually take?"

"One-third of the total cost, which brings it to exactly three hundred Galleons."

Upon hearing the price, Sherlock swiftly took out three hundred Galleons from his purse. After deciding on a suitable collection date, he departed from Ollivander's shop.

Fortunately, his pockets were deep, bolstered by the high price fetched by the Basilisk's fangs which Professor Snape had bought from him. Therefore, even after shelling out 900 Galleons for acquiring a hundred wands, Sherlock's finances remained comfortably strong.

Later, he strolled around Diagon Alley for a while, looking for a suitable birthday present for Harry before he headed back home.

It was during his excursion with Harry that the news of Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban had created a stir, with reports appearing in the Daily Prophet.

Even the Muggle governing bodies had become active, spreading awareness about the event through their television news channels. They cautioned their populace, depicting Sirius as an armed, extremely dangerous killer, urging people to alert the police immediately upon spotting him, naturally they made no mention of him being a wizard.

This development stirred Sherlock's memories, especially those related to the third entry in the original series, where actual historical facts had been manipulated through time twisting. And then there was Sirius Black's eventual fate...

Didn't he morph into a rat to escape and run back to Voldemort?

With a brief try at recollection, Sherlock was unable to precisely determine the accuracy of his memory. He decided not to obsess over the actual sequence of events - they were likely to change anyways - and devoted his attention to his charms study which he had embarked on at the commencement of the summer break, his focus currently being the Patronus Charm.

Since the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban, it was inevitable that Dementors would be stationed at Hogwarts. After all, it was widely believed that Sirius had plotted his outbreak in order to seek revenge against Harry. Consequently, the Azkaban guards were naturally stationed at the castle, to defend and vigilantly protect Harry.

Sherlock distinctly recollected that the Dementors hadn't been particularly disciplined during their stay at Hogwarts and so it was paramount for him to master the Patronus Charm before the bginning of the school year.

Sherlock was perched in his study, closely inspecting his newly purchased wand. It was made of laurel wood combined with dragon heartstring, noticeably longer than his prior wand, and considerably more comfortable in his grip.

As he experimented with his new wand, Sherlock undertook Transfiguration exercises on his teacups, morphing them into a variety of shapes and then returning them to their original state. Having developed a degree of familiarity with the distinctive rhythm of his wand, he attempted the first advance spell.

"Expecto patronum," he asserted.

Instantly, a burst of silver light erupted from Sherlock's wand, covering his study in a bright glow. His Patronus began to take form, but due to some lacking element, it eventually just spluttered about as floating specks of silver.

Despite this failure, Sherlock could immediately identify the superior strength that his new wand afforded him, especially when calling forth the Patronus Charm. The only drawback was that he hadn't yet found a powerful enough to summon his Patronus. He needed more time for a build-up of joyful emotions.

Sherlock relaxed in his chair, eyes shut tight. He cleared away distractions, focusing instead on recollecting moments of great joy and contentment from his past. The triumphant feeling when he used to check his high school examination results and the moment of joy when he received his first acceptance letter from a University.

Other fond and happy memories florid too, especially the overwhelming emotion when his students expressed their gratitude, giving him credit for their successful test results and subsequent induction into Auror. There were even the small, everyday moments of joy, such as his summer vacation trips to France.

His heart brimming with an accumulation of positive emotions and a hint of a smile creeping at the corners of his mouth, Sherlock felt an impulse. Swiftly catching hold of his wand, he repeated the invocation.

"Expecto Patronum."

This time, the silver light that filled the study room didn't scatter aimlessly. Instead, it gushed from the tip of Sherlock's wand, proceeding to shape and form. Sherlock watched, anxiety writ over his face, the silver light consolidating impressively. He knew that this time his Patronus Charm was successfully summoned.

But what form would his summoned Patronus take?

Anticipation filling his gaze, Sherlock watched as the magical threads composed of hope, joy, and other positive emotions amalgamated and took the flawless form of a radiant raven that fluttered its wings under the ceiling before settling on Sherlock's shoulder.

At first glimpse, Sherlock momentarily mistook it for a crow. However, a more detailed observation confirmed it as a raven. Its species could be a bit deceiving as it was composed of pure silver light, making it hard to distinguish the exact details.

Despite that, Sherlock was fond of his summoned Patronus raven perched on his shoulder. Rather useful, he thought. It could serve as a great defense against Dementors while also functioning as an effective communication tool, especially since it could fly.

Ravens were symbolically meaningful. Although they were considered ill omens in certain places or during particular periods, in Britain they held a positive, auspicious significance. Ravens were so well-regarded that a considerable number of them were consistently maintained in the Tower of London by the British government to ensure the country's good fortune. Legend had it that as long as the ravens didn't leave the Tower of London, the country wouldn't suffer any misfortune.

Feeling satisfied with his Patronus that was not just practical but held symbolic value, Sherlock decided to experiment with his magical prowess over controlling multiple wands.

He currently only had two wands for his trials, given that it would take some time for Ollivander to create the rest. He began his test by attempting to control both wands using his magic.

Invoking his magic, Sherlock noticed everything around him floating gently before returning to their initial position, leaving only the wands floating in mid-air.

Next, Sherlock guided them towards two fresh parchment papers resting on his desk before muttering the incantation, "Diffindo."

A split second later, both the parchment papers disintegrated into countless pieces under the effect of the two wands' spells, which showed subtle differences. His new wand evidently caused a superior split effect on the parchment than his prior one.

Meaning, the wand of laurel wood and dragon heartstring was a far more suited combination for him than his previous wand.

Then, Sherlock individually held each of his wands and directed the severing charm at the parchment, comparing the difference in results when using controlled magic versus direct manipulation of the wand.

The outcome was similar to the "Petrificus Totalus" spell he had countered during his encounter with the pixies. The spell cast using controlled magic for wand manipulation, was weaker by approximately four to five times than a spell cast directly.

However, this decrease in potency was calculable and predictable, neither continuing to wane when he controlled more wands nor strengthening if fewer wands were controlled.

Consequently, this solidified the foundation for Sherlock to construct his floating wand casting system and form his wand group. But to transform this stratagem into a reliable combat weapon, Sherlock knew he needed further experimentation.

He wanted to verify whether his magic control would be affected by a general counter-spell. If he had his wand group primed and ready to rain lethal spells on his enemies but was stopped by a counter-spell invalidating all casting, then he'd be squandering his efforts.

So, he levitated his old wand using controlled magic and then picked up his new wand, targeting the free-floating old wand, casting a general counter-spell.

"Finite Incantatem," he pronounced.

The counter-spell was executed, but his old wand continued to float unaltered in mid-air, implying the counter-spell was ineffective.

Sherlock let out a sigh of relief, standing up from his chair, recalling that the general counter-spell followed a hierarchical structure. The "Finite" spell was most basic and simplistic, often employed in day-to-day situations. Its advanced application, the "Counter Curse" spell, was an unconventional counter spell that was historically known to be utilized only during large-scale wizarding conflicts. It had the potential for enhancement by multiple collaborators to multiply its effect.

Regardless of whether it was the general counter-spell or its advanced form, their incantations remained the same ("Finite Incantatem"), but required markedly distinct wand movements and emotional expressions during casting. (E/N.: Not sure if that's true..?)

Sherlock positioned his wand downwards, pointing at the ground, and pronouncing the incantation for the advanced general counter-spell.

"Finite Incantatem."

The floor was suddenly bathed in dazzling red light, which swiftly worked its way up the walls, the study ablaze with a brilliant radiance!