Beside the desk in Professor Flitwick's office.
The warm aroma of black tea and the sweet scent of pastries permeated the air.
Seeing Lucien complete the Undetectable Extension Charm on his own, Professor Flitwick nodded with satisfaction:
"Well done, Lucien."
Lucien looked away from the tea and said genuinely:
"Professor, thank you for your patient guidance."
Flitwick chuckled and pointed to the pastry stand,
"Have something to eat first, take a break."
Picking up a small pink cake, Lucien ate it gracefully in small bites.
"Lucien, regarding using an Undetectable Extension Charm on an object to contain living creatures, what conditions do you think need to be met?"
Hearing the Professor's question, Lucien had just swallowed the last bite of cake and thought for a few seconds before answering:
"Firstly, it's definitely about ensuring a suitable living environment: climate, food, water sources…"
"Secondly, the stability of the space; there can't be sudden spatial contractions or collapses…"
"But beyond that, I haven't thought of anything else for now."
Professor Flitwick nodded at Lucien's answer.
"You've considered it very comprehensively. Actually, there's another issue if you're containing different species."
"If their environmental needs differ greatly, you'll need to set up different spaces, which involves deeper problems of spatial folding."
After Professor Flitwick's pointers, Lucien was thoughtful.
Indeed, compared to simply applying the Undetectable Extension Charm to an item, creating an item capable of housing living creatures directly escalates the difficulty.
The amount of knowledge and magical skill required cannot be met currently.
Professor Flitwick added helplessly:
"I'm sorry, regarding the Undetectable Extension Charm for containing living creatures, I cannot help you."
"This technique is closer to complex magic arrays."
"In this regard, only the Scamander family has researched it in great depth."
The family name Flitwick mentioned immediately made Lucien look up.
"Scamander? Are you referring to the family of Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"
"Yes, that's right, the author of that worldwide bestseller."
Lucien immediately recalled Newt's suitcase from the movie he watched in his previous life; inside were layers of small worlds, containing several distinct environments and housing a large number of fantastic beasts.
That was a small paradise!
"It's a pity, if it were a few years earlier, we could have tried to contact Mr. Scamander, but he has already retired and is living in seclusion. Few people know where he lives or how to contact him."
Flitwick spread his hands helplessly, expressing his regret.
"Oh, by the way, Lucien, how did you come up with the idea of trying to use the Undetectable Extension Charm to contain living creatures?"
Facing Professor Flitwick's curiosity, Lucien scratched his head:
"Uh, actually, I just felt the bed in the dormitory was a bit small and wanted to make it bigger."
Hearing that Lucien merely wanted to enlarge his bed, Flitwick was stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha, you truly are an interesting and proactive young Wizard."
Of course, Lucien had an additional idea that he couldn't confess to the Professor.
That was to contain some fantastic beasts for observation, in preparation for future research into Transfiguration of magical creatures.
Hmm, if I had a case like Newt's, I could reduce my trips to the Forbidden Forest and it would be much more convenient.
Lucien and Professor Flitwick then discussed some variant applications of common spells and advanced techniques.
He also interjected with questions about spells like the Disillusionment Charm and the Tracking Charm, which he might need later when searching for fantastic beasts in the Forbidden Forest.
As they chatted, Lucien noticed the time; it was already nearing noon.
So he stood up to take his leave:
"Professor, I won't disturb you any longer. Thank you for clarifying things for me."
Flitwick waved his hand, his expression very satisfied.
"Don't mention it, I'm delighted to see students who love to learn."
Flitwick suddenly remembered the conversation he had with McGonagall at the sorting ceremony.
Hmm, Ravenclaw certainly gained a good student!
"Oh, by the way, Lucien, wait a moment."
Professor Flitwick waved his hand, and paper and a quill floated over to the desk.
The quill quickly wrote a few lines of words, finally signing Flitwick's name at the bottom.
Flitwick handed the paper to Lucien, who took it with both hands.
"These are a few advanced Charms books. If you're interested in them, you can go to the school library and give this to Madam Pince; she will help you find them."
Lucien's face showed clear delight:
"Thank you, Professor."
He had planned to go to the library to borrow books tonight, and Professor Flitwick's recommended booklist came at just the right time.
Lucien left the office with the booklist.
…
A few minutes later, Flitwick again examined the teacup with the Undetectable Extension Charm. Although he felt there was still room for improvement, for it to come from a first-year student was already incredible enough.
Suddenly, a resonant voice entered Flitwick's office.
"Filius, are you there? I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Flitwick looked up and saw the tall Dumbledore already sitting opposite him.
"Oh, did you just brew black tea? It's still hot."
"Filius, your treasured black tea is the best in the whole school."
Seeing the black tea on the table, Dumbledore picked up a cup.
He opened the sugar bowl, took several sugar cubes, and dropped them into the teacup.
Flitwick's eyelids twitched at the sight.
Dumbledore took a sip, but found it wasn't sweet enough.
He used to put in about this much sugar.
With a quick glance, Dumbledore noticed something amiss.
"Heh heh, Filius, why did you decide to apply an Undetectable Extension Charm to the teacup and add so many minor household spells?"
"But the effect is quite interesting."
Dumbledore also noticed that the combination of these spells wasn't perfectly refined, but he merely assumed it was a little toy Flitwick had created on a whim.
"Filius, I came to talk to you about that boy, Lucien Grafton. I wonder if he has already attended your class?"
Flitwick nodded, his expression slightly peculiar.
"That makes it easier to talk. What do you think of Lucien's talent?"
"I mean purely in terms of Charms."
Hearing Dumbledore's question, Flitwick's expression became even more peculiar.
If not for Dumbledore's serious expression, he would have suspected whether his old friend was playing another joke, or perhaps had been eavesdropping outside the door for quite some time.
Reaching out and pointing to the teacup in Dumbledore's hand, Flitwick tried to keep his tone calm:
"Uh, Lucien's talent in Charms, you ask."
"All the spells on that cup in your hand were cast by him."
"Hmm. Hmm?"
Seeing Dumbledore's clearly surprised expression, Flitwick confirmed that he hadn't been eavesdropping outside earlier.
From Lucien's initial questions to the completion of the spell application, Flitwick recounted his entire conversation with Lucien to Dumbledore.
As Flitwick spoke, Dumbledore became increasingly convinced of the Sorting Hat's accuracy in evaluating Lucien.
A talent seen once in a millennium.
"It's a pity, the boy originally wanted to try using the Undetectable Extension Charm to contain living creatures, but I also told him that Newt Scamander, who mastered this technique, has already retired and is living in seclusion."
Newt?
Suddenly hearing that name, Dumbledore wanted to say that he knew him well!
An old friend!
It had been a long time since they last contacted each other, so he could write a letter to say hello.
Hmm, and he could also ask Newt about this matter for Lucien.
"Ahem, Filius, thank you for sharing."
"I just wanted to tell you about this; Lucien's talent is quite outstanding."
"But he is, after all, from a Muggle family, and his understanding of magic is still insufficient. He might accidentally try some dangerous magic."
"Such a genius needs proper guidance even more. You are the Dean of Ravenclaw, and I hope you will pay more attention to Lucien…"
Flitwick nodded repeatedly, he strongly agreed with Dumbledore's view.
For students with high aptitude who progress quickly, teachers should provide even more correct guidance to prevent them from going astray.
But Flitwick quickly caught a particular phrase.
"Wait, Albus, are you saying that Lucien is from a Muggle family, and there have been no Wizard elders in his family?"
"That's right."
"Then, where did he learn these spells he has already mastered?"
The two old men suddenly exchanged glances, both seeing the same unspoken confusion in each other's eyes.
How did a simple check reveal such a big problem?
…
At the same time, Lucien was heading to the Great Hall for lunch.
He happened to pass by the Potions classroom.
The crisp sound of the class dismissal bell rang.
"Bang!"
The classroom door burst open, and a gloomy Old Bat walked out.
"Professor Snape, good day."
Facing the student's polite greeting, Snape merely grunted and quickly walked past Lucien.
Hmph, who made him angry again?
Oh no, Snape always seems to be this angry.
Noticing Snape's sullen face beneath his greasy black hair, Lucien suddenly had a guess.
He turned his head to look at the open classroom door.
Sure enough, among the Wizards who were gradually coming out.
He saw Harry's frustrated and resentful face.