Chapter 17: CHAPTER 17
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CHAPTER 17
Elmi couldn't contain his excitement. With a mischievous grin, he decided to surprise his mother playfully. He snuck up behind her while she was sitting on the balcony, then suddenly jumped onto her lap and wrapped his arms around her. With a sweet, childlike tone, he exclaimed, "Guess who, Mum!" His eyes were wide with anticipation, and he wore an ear-to-ear grin, awaiting her response.
Elizabeth was taken by surprise as her son leaped into her lap. She chuckled warmly, playing along with his little game.
"Well, let me think," she said, pretending to ponder the question. "Is it a tiny little wizard who loves to surprise his mum or a naughty little wizard who wants something from his mum so he is acting cute to earn some brownie points?"
Elmi pouted and said,
"Che! I got caught. How did you know I wanted something?"
She smiled warmly and said,
"Mothers know, but I wouldn't say no to some kisses and hugs as a payment."
Elmi hugged and kissed his mother, then with an excited voice, he said, "Mother, you see... you see, today, I met another child wizard in school."
Elizabeth was a bit surprised. "Oh, I didn't know another wizarding family was sending their child to that school."
Elmi shook his head and said, "No, it is not a wizarding family. He is living with his muggle relatives, and he didn't know he was a wizard until I told him."
Now, Elizabeth was even more curious. "How did you know he was a wizard?"
"He caused an accidental magic. He made his cousin's hair turn pink, and I sensed the magic he released."
This revelation left Elizabeth in awe. "You sensed the magic?"
She thought, How is he able to sense another wizard's magic at this age? I know he had talent when his accidental magic was going out of control, but this is something entirely different.
Elmi described it as if it was something normal. "He released an energy that hit all of us like a wave, then it started to focus onto his cousin, then it took shape, but it was too fast, so I couldn't see what the spell was."
Elizabeth listened to Elmi with growing interest. His ability to sense and describe the use of magic was indeed impressive for someone his age. She could see the excitement in his eyes, and it filled her with pride.
Elmi had chosen not to conceal his magical abilities from his mother. Over the past two months, he had surprised her with various feats, yet he had never mentioned his ability to perceive magic.
Elizabeth's expression grew more earnest as she inquired, "Elmi, hold on a minute. What exactly do you mean when you say you can see magic?"
"I can perceive it taking shape," Elmi clarified. "If the magic is slow enough, I can read it. But I can't discern its name, which means I can't cast it directly. However, I can guess its properties."
The winds of magic had proven challenging for him to manipulate through conventional wand magic. He'd attempted a few times, resulting in explosive consequences that had left him resembling a charred figure akin to Seamus Finnigan's misadventures. Nevertheless, he sensed that, with time, he could gain mastery over the volatile forces of magic. His goal was to harness the winds of magic for chantless casting, utilizing his unique eyes to recreate a variety of spells in due course. But these high aspirations were too far away right now.
Intrigued by Elmi's explanation, Elizabeth retrieved her wand and cast a spell, then promptly halted it just before it materialized. She queried, "Can you discern what I just cast?"
Elmi furrowed his brow. "I'm afraid not. It happened too swiftly. To perceive it clearly, you'd need to perform the spell at a slower pace."
Elizabeth considered his request and decided to test his newfound abilities. She moved her wand with deliberate slowness, casting a spell that she stopped just before it coalesced into its final form. She asked, "What about now?"
Elmi observed the magic taking shape, his gaze locked on the slowly forming spell. After a moment of contemplation, he provided a guess, "It has something to do with light, but it was still too fast. It looked like the Lumos Charm, but it had more layers, and it was different?"
Elizabeth was awestruck by her son's magical talents. She had cast Lumos Maxima, and she wanted to challenge Elmi further by testing him with a more complex spell. She performed the incantation as slowly as possible and questioned, "What did I cast?"
Elmi's brows furrowed in concentration as he focused intently. "I don't know. It was incredibly intricate, with three rapidly shifting layers of magic. All I could discern were fast-moving lights, and I could only grasp that it had something to do with water."
Although Elmi's newfound ability to perceive the essence of magic had the potential to be a remarkable asset, right now, it had limited use since no wizards would cast their spell slowly. On the contrary, they would cast it as fast as possible. Elizabeth frowned and asked, "Why didn't you mention this ability earlier?"
Elmi shrugged, his expression thoughtful. "I only discovered it a few months ago, and the topic hadn't come up until now. Previously, all I could see were rapid, dancing lights around magical objects. Then it started to become readable if they are slow enough."
Realizing that the conversation was drifting away from the more pressing issue, Elmi redirected their focus to his young friend. "Mum, that's not the problem right now. This young wizard I met at school is being terribly mistreated by his family. He's painfully thin, and they provide him with only old, tattered clothing while subjecting him to cruelty."
He sighed deeply and continued, "I'm really worried about him, Mum. His parents are deceased, and his aunt tells him that they died because he's a freak and a bad luck charm."
Elizabeth's eyes ignited with anger upon hearing about the mistreatment of the young wizard. She declared vehemently, "That wretched Muggle! How dare she treat a child in such a cruel manner!"
Elmi gazed at his mother with imploring eyes and asked, "Can't we do something to help him, Mother?"
...
Elizabeth sighed and eventually gave in to Elmi's persistent inquiries. She replied with a resigned tone, "Alright, alright... (sigh) I will speak with a friend of mine at the Ministry. I'll try to arrange for them to visit this child's home. What is his name?"
Elizabeth took a sip of her tea, and Elmi couldn't resist the chance to playfully tease her. He grinned mischievously and gave himself a light, playful slap on the head. "Oh, I forgot to mention his name. It's Harry Potter."
Upon hearing the name, Elizabeth's composed demeanor shattered, and she nearly choked on her tea in shock. Wide-eyed, she exclaimed, "WHO!"
Elmi was quite amused by his mother's reaction and repeated himself, relishing the moment. "Harry Potter. Why? Do you know him?"
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