"Alright, Sean, let me tell you something interesting."
Before leaving, Ron said mysteriously.
At this point, the twins leaned in as well.
"Here's the thing—Percy has got a girlfriend," Ron said.
Fred dropped a stack of books onto George's head.
"What?" Fred asked.
"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater.
"Ginny told me. Last summer, that's who Percy was writing all those letters to.
"Percy has been meeting her secretly all over the school. One day, Ginny even walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom."
Ron spilled everything he knew, shrugging for good measure.
"I hope you won't tease him."
"I wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, who looked as if his birthday had come early.
"Definitely not," said George, sniggering.
And so the summer holidays began.
Amidst laughter and joy.
After the Hogwarts Express departed, Hogwarts Castle became much quieter.
It also gave Sean more space to practice the Fiendfyre curse.
Now, even if he set the entire dungeon ablaze, he wouldn't hurt the Slytherins who also resided in the subterranean spaces of Hogwarts.
Time became a blur during these days.
Sean only knew that his Fiendfyre curse had progressed from [Apprentice] all the way to [Novice].
The proficiency of Dark Arts progressed too quickly, which always puzzled Sean a little.
However, once he mastered the Fiendfyre curse, he would be able to obtain his second Grandmaster title.
Right here in this summer vacation.
So Sean's life became incredibly regular:
Early morning: Practice Occlumency and Legilimency under Professor Snape's watchful eye.
Noon: Practice a hundred ways to brew potions.
Afternoon: Become a gas canister...
Occasionally, he would be invited by a suddenly appearing, smiling Dumbledore for afternoon tea.
Soon, the afternoon of this particular day arrived.
Owls flew into the Great Hall—not many, only four or five of varying sizes.
Having stayed at Hogwarts for a long time, Sean could recognize the owners of these owls.
The short, plump owl was Professor Flitwick's messenger; the barn owl was Professor Sprout's "Fluffy"—the name the professor gave it; the elegant, snow-white one was Professor McGonagall's pet; and the one at the very front, flying the fastest, was Bai Yi.
It brought the latest newspaper. Sean gently spread the paper out, but he wasn't reading it.
His gaze fell on the panel to the side.
[Impediment Jinx: Grandmaster (1800/?)
Full Body-Bind Curse: Grandmaster (1100/?)
Sectumsempra: Grandmaster (2300/?)
Reductor Curse: Grandmaster (100/?)
Blasting Curse: Grandmaster (100/?)
Banishing Charm: Grandmaster (500/?)
Fiendfyre: Adept (10/900)...
...]
[Advancement: Seven Grandmaster-level Dark Arts spells required to unlock the title of Grandmaster of the Dark Arts (6/7)]
Fiendfyre had already reached Adept level. Sean looked back and realized only half a month had passed.
Naturally, the advancement of magic became slower the more profound it got, but this progress was indeed too fast. Taking advantage of the mealtime in the Great Hall, Sean couldn't help but ponder the key to this.
He hadn't chosen any cruel faith, so why did the Dark Arts always embrace him of their own accord?
He also thought of an even more important question: How exactly does a wizard become stronger?
In the Great Hall.
Only one pitiful little wizard remained at the long tables of the four houses, but at the High Table, almost all the professors were present.
"Another year has ended, Minerva. Spring in Scotland is too short, and winter too long. The days fly past the window like a happy bird."
Dumbledore seemed to be lamenting.
"Summer at Hogwarts is not short."
Professor McGonagall replied, then lowered her gaze to the newspaper. The moving magical photograph showed a plump Ministry of Magic employee.
The caption below read: Ministry of Magic Employee Wins Grand Prize.
"Is that so? I know wizards always use clocks to record time, but did you know that some wizards use magic to record it?"
Dumbledore winked and cast his gaze toward the focused young wizard.
He was holding a large piece of parchment, recording the progress of his magical studies and organizing the thoughts in his mind.
"In the [Blindness] era, wizards were adept at mobilizing their emotional power. They did not need to rely on incantations or wands. Magic at this time was manic and savage.
"By the [Order] era, ancient wizards burst onto the scene wielding ancient magic, defeating almost all the magical overlords of the time.
"Compared to today's magic, ancient magic inherited the ferocity of the previous epoch.
"Although wizards who fully mastered ancient magic were very rare, they were incredibly powerful.
"The most outstanding among them was the wizard Merlin."
Sean pondered continuously, his quill moving gently, constantly filling in the gaps in the Chronicle of Wizarding Magic.
"Wizards sought inward, establishing an unshakable order within their hearts. Magic was the external manifestation of the wizard's internal order.
"So-called [Wisdom] seems more like the external laws wizards found for magic...
"After a certain period of study, wizards eventually encounter non-verbal casting. And once a wizard encounters non-verbal casting, it becomes difficult for them to use incantations again."
Just like Sean himself; he hadn't chanted the incantations for the Levitation Charm or the Scouring Charm for a long time.
"After wizards encountered non-verbal casting, they immediately went on to learn wandless casting.
"For example, Headmaster Dumbledore pointed his finger at the sky to protect Harry when his broom lost control; Professor Snape only needed to wave his robes to close a window; Voldemort's ability to fly also required no incantation or wand.
"If incantations and wands could increase a wizard's magical power, why do wizards always..."
Sean thought for a moment and wrote down a few words:
"Subtracting to Emptiness."
In the Great Hall, there was only the low hum of conversation and the energetic scratching of Sean's quill:
"Did the wisdom of wizards really raise the upper limit of wizarding magic? Or did it merely raise the lower limit, allowing magic to be popularized?"
If this point could be definitively proven, then Sean would know how wizarding magic could truly become powerful.
Is it by constantly familiarizing oneself with incantations? Is it by constantly familiarizing oneself with gestures?
Or is it by using one's will to define magic—
"If wizards strengthened magic because they were familiar with its external laws, then newly created magic should be barbaric and weak.
"But the facts are quite the opposite. Take Dumbledore's Gubraithian Fire, or Grindelwald's modified Fiendfyre..."
Sean suddenly understood.
Subtracting to emptiness; order eternal.
Could this be the true essence of magic?