Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Fellowship of the troll hunters
The morning after the events of Halloween, Klaus woke up to a group of first years gathered around his bed.
"Hey, guys, you know it's weird how you're all just standing there," he remarked.
His comment earned him a glare from Hermione and an apologetic look from Neville.
"How did you do it?" Ron was the one to break the silence.
"Do what?" Klaus asked, attempting an innocent look.
"How did you cast that fire spell without using a wand?" Hermione inquired. Interestingly, Klaus later realized that if he had used the wand when casting the spell, it would have been faster and stronger.
"That's supposed to be really difficult, and only very powerful wizards are supposed to be able to do it," Hermione continued speaking as Klaus pondered.
"That's just something Western wizards made up to feel better," Klaus interjected, deciding to explain. "You see, wands make magic much easier. My grandmother was a witch from the Balkans, and there, as well as in most parts of Eastern Europe, they do magic without a wand, although some use a staff or other focuses. It's the same in most of Asia, although the Japanese do use a wand. Most of Africa doesn't, although Egyptians do.
You see, when the wand was invented, it was discovered that using spells specifically designed for wands could skip many steps in learning magic. Romans, who had a large number of uneducated magi, decided to utilize wands. They created an army and destroyed many magical cultures. The Balkans had an advantage at the time, if you can call it that—they didn't have many magi, but instead, they had vampires who hid the wizards of the Balkans and protected them from the Romans, who didn't want to fight against a large number of vampires.
Anyway, after the Romans left, wands remained. Since Hogwarts and other magical schools in Europe primarily focus on ensuring that wizards have control over their magic and can live day-to-day and work with it, wands became the best solution."
This was the explanation that Klaus's assistant had given him so he could explain his knowledge of the "right way" to learn magic.
...
"Wait, are you saying that Hogwarts only teaches the easiest way to learn magic?" This came from a scandalized Hermione.
"Well, yes. Why do you think only three world-famously powerful wizards have come from Europe in the last three hundred years? Although Americans are even worse; they have put so many regulations on the use of magic that they might as well be a non-magical people with some magical items.
When my parents and I looked into the laws and their timeline, we honestly thought that there was a conspiracy to weaken Western magi to the point of being defenseless. The amount of magic that has been declared 'Dark' in the last hundred years is staggering." (AN: This doesn't mean that Death Eaters are weak, but they don't necessarily follow the laws.)
"But isn't Dark magic evil?" Harry interjected.
"Does a ritual that would fix your eyesight sound evil?"
"How is it done?" Hermione inquired.
"A few plants, one rune, and a drop of blood."
"How do you know that?" Hermione pressed further.
"I have my ways. Anyway, the Ministry has declared all rituals to be illegal, including many medical rituals."
"That makes no sense."
"No, it doesn't, but it is still true."
...
Some time later, as they were walking towards the Great Hall, Klaus asked, "So, do you guys want to learn?"
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"I mean, do you want to learn how to use mana?" Klaus clarified. They all took a moment to think, and a chorus of "yes" responses followed.
"Great, we'll start on Saturday."
...
On Saturday, they managed to meet in the afternoon. After finding an unused classroom, Klaus began the meeting.
"Okay, first I will give you some books that you will have to read and follow before our next meeting. Then you can ask any questions you have. If you don't have any, I will explain the basics and the difference between wand magic and wandless magic. So, any questions?"
Hermione raised her hand, and Klaus prompted her to ask her question. "You said that your grandmother was from the Balkans. Did she teach you, and when did you start learning?"
"Good question. No, my grandmother died before I was born, but she left a house full of books and other magical things. So when I started showing signs of accidental magic, my parents took me there to try and find a way to control it. They found this book." Klaus pulled out a book from his bag. "It helped me learn to feel the mana inside of my body and control it."
"You mentioned feeling the mana inside of your body. Is that like a magical core?" Ron asked.
"No, Ron, there is no such thing as a magical core. Mana is equally spread throughout a mage's entire body. That's why magi are physically more resilient than non-magical individuals."
"Can you show us what you can do without a wand?" Harry asked.
"Sure! First, let's start with the first thing you'll have to learn after you learn to control your mana." Klaus turned towards the wall behind him, pointed his arm towards it, and opened his palm. "I am going to show you the most basic magical attack. It's best described as a magical punch." He began shooting mana bolts at the wall. "This is a mana bolt. It's pure mana with a little intent to hurt. It's also the easiest way to learn to expel mana from your body."
"Awesome!" exclaimed the three boys, while Hermione pulled out a notebook from somewhere and started taking notes.
"Now, next, I will show you what is probably the most important field for spellcasters: enchantments. There are probably an infinite number of enchantments possible, and many ways to use them. But I will tell you about three that should give you the best idea of what they are."
He reached into his bag again, this time retrieving a feather. Placing the feather on the table in front of himself, he continued, "You remember we learned the levitation charm recently." After receiving nods of confirmation, he continued, "Well, you can accomplish similar things with enchantments, except you need multiple enchantments to achieve what you can do with that one charm. We actually learn enchantments at Hogwarts, but much later. Western schools seem to have turned around the learning in this field. In parts of the world that teach without a wand, you first learn enchantments, and then you learn to create entire spells. Here, you first learn entire spells, and then you learn to take them apart and learn enchantments."
"So charms are multiple enchantments put together?" Neville asked.
"Yes, watch, I will do it step by step." Klaus began applying enchantments to the feather as he talked. "First, I apply the enchantment that makes it weigh less, although this isn't necessarily for a feather, it's still part of the levitation charm, so I will add it. Next, I add the enchantment that makes it float, and then one that allows me to control it. With this enchantment, I maintain a constant connection, which will allow me to control the feather's movement as well as provide a constant supply of mana to the entire spell." After finishing his explanation, he let the feather fall down.
Everyone looked on in wonder and excitement as Klaus continued.
...
"Next, two ways to use enchantments are in combination with other schools of magic. One way is what I used to knock out the troll, and that is enchantment combined with elemental manipulation."
"Elemental manipulation? How do you do that?" Hermione asked.
"That's a bit too advanced for right now, so let's concentrate on enchantments first." Klaus wanted to avoid talking about the rituals he performed recently until he was sure nobody would go tell the professors.
"Can you at least show us?" Harry asked.
"Sure, I will even give you a demonstration to show why enchantments are important for this." Klaus turned towards the wall once again.
"First, this is what happens if I use a fireball without adding any enchantments and making it a spell. This is pure elemental manipulation." After saying that, a fireball formed in his hand and then flew at the wall. However, instead of the vortex that formed last time, they saw something different. The fire seemed to spill on the wall, burning for a few seconds before disappearing and leaving only a black spot on the stone wall.
"Now I will show you a fireball in which I add enchantments that keep the flame contained in a sphere and draw in oxygen around it." This time, it took Klaus a few seconds to create the fireball. When he fired it, a vortex of fire manifested where it hit and then exploded.
"It takes me some time to create the spell, but it's still much faster than when I started practicing. I will be able to do this as fast as I created one with pure elemental manipulation. Now, enchantments can be used together with transfiguration, but I should mention that you should use a wand when doing transfiguration because without it, the results aren't the best. It is much harder." Everyone nodded in understanding as Professor McGonagall had explained how transfiguration required a lot of detail and a lot of energy to perform.
"Now, the last part about enchantments I will talk about today is enchantment combined with runes. It's basically how you put permanent enchantments on items. There is something called the law of similarity that we will learn about later, but basically, it involves writing runes in which you place the enchantments to make them last. They will still degrade with time, but depending on how skilled you are, they can last hundreds of years, as long as someone doesn't damage the rune.
"Unfortunately, I didn't start learning this kind of enchanting, so I can't demonstrate it." After saying that, Klaus gave the book to Neville. He could have obtained multiple copies from his assistant, but that would be hard to explain, and he didn't know any copying spells at the moment.
"You should all be able to read the book until next Saturday when we will start learning. And if you're not interested in becoming a powerful mage, then please don't come. The book is just around forty pages, so it should be easy. If you have no interest, just don't come."
"What do you mean by 'mage'?" Hermione asked.
"Ah, right. I guess I can explain the different titles. In magical Britain, for some reason, they call everyone witch or wizard, but that's not how the rest of the world does it. First, people born with the potential to use magic are called homo magi, or just magi for short. Someone who learns spells is a wizard or a witch. Next, a mage is someone who learns to control mana and form spells through mana control. And lastly, a sorcerer or sorceress is someone who has mastered magic to the highest level seen in the world."
"Wait, isn't Headmaster Dumbledore a sorcerer?" Harry asked.
"I think so," Klaus shrugged.
"Anyway, we'll meet here in a week. If you have any questions, just ask when we are in private."
With that, they left the classroom.
...
Hermione Granger always tried to follow the rules. She deeply believed in the authority figures, especially her teachers. They were there to teach her, so why would they try to hinder her learning?
That's why she found herself in front of Professor McGonagall's office with the book Klaus had given to her new group of friends.
After knocking, she was called to enter. "Yes, Miss Granger, come in. What brings you here today?"
To Hermione's surprise, Professor McGonagall wasn't alone. Headmaster Dumbledore was there as well.
"Hello, Professors, Headmaster. I came to ask you if it's true that Hogwarts only teaches wand magic because it's the easiest way to learn magic, and that the Ministry has made many forms of magic illegal. It doesn't make sense for them to be illegal."
The professors and Headmaster looked a bit shocked for a second, but then Headmaster Dumbledore answered. "Well, Miss Granger, that is a complicated topic, but it's true that a wand is one of the easiest ways to learn to use magic. This doesn't mean that someone who starts learning magic with a wand can't become as skilled as someone who started with learning mana manipulation first, but it is true that it's harder for them.
As for the Ministry forbidding certain types of magic, unfortunately, the last two wars have scared the Ministry, and in their efforts to prevent the rise of another Dark Lord, they have become somewhat overzealous in their laws."
Hermione looked heartbroken at Dumbledore's explanation but still asked, "Did it at least help?"
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately, I think it has helped those who wish to break the law more, as now wizards and witches know less about how to defend themselves."
"But why didn't you stop it?"
"I am just one man, Miss Granger. Powerful, true, but just one man. I did manage to slow them down, but that is all.
But I will tell you something in secret, Miss Granger. Powerful mages don't learn their magic in school; they learn it by themselves. Schools are meant to effectively teach a large number of people, and your professors don't have time to dedicate to just one person."
After Dumbledore stopped talking, McGonagall cut in. "Is there something else, Miss Granger?"
"Well, Klaus told us all this. His grandmother was a witch from the Balkans, and he and his parents did a lot of research on the life of mages after you gave him his letter." McGonagall nodded at that, and Hermione continued, "He can do magic without a wand, and he offered to teach us. He also gave us this book." She showed the book to the teachers.
"Let me have a look at that, Miss Granger," Dumbledore asked, and she gave him the book.
As he went through it, his eyes widened. "Who all is Mister...?" He looked at McGonagall in question, and she helped him out by saying, "Ectorius."
Dumbledore continued, "Ectorius teaching?"
"Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, and me."
"I see. Well, I recommend that you learn what Mister Ectorius has to teach. And, Miss Granger, while we appreciate you coming to us, as someone who has seen many children pass through these halls, I can tell you that trust is really important in friendship."
Hermione looked a little ashamed, but she thanked the professor and headmaster, took the book, and left the office.
Left alone in the office, McGonagall turned to Dumbledore. "What is it with that book, Albus? You seemed shocked when you saw it."
"Nothing bad, Minerva. I just knew the writer of that book. He taught one of my old friends and me how to feel and control mana."
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