Hogwarts' start date was September first.
This meant Harry still had nearly a month of vacation left.
For this month of vacation, Adrian had naturally arranged some learning tasks for Harry.
Of course, he didn't want Harry to spend all his time on this. After all, children need appropriate playtime too, don't they?
The only pity was that Harry didn't seem to have many friends. At least, Adrian had never seen any.
On the first Sunday of August, Harry was helping Adrian process the harvested dittany—turning it into dittany essence, as usual.
While carefully pouring the dittany essence into bottles, Harry looked up at Adrian and cautiously asked, "Sir, when can you start teaching me spells?"
Adrian was bent over examining the quality of Harry's dittany essence. Hearing this question, he paused for a moment and looked up at Harry.
"I remember mentioning that only after you've passed your eleventh birthday would you be able to..."
At this point, Adrian suddenly realized that Harry had already had his eleventh birthday.
"Time really does fly," Adrian couldn't help but sigh.
Harry nervously watched Adrian, his fingers tightening slightly around the bottle he was holding, afraid that Adrian would refuse.
"Of course," Adrian put down the potion bottle in his hand and said thoughtfully, "Since you're already eleven, you can certainly formally learn magic now. However, technically speaking, you should only be able to cast spells after you get to Hogwarts, and there are only a few days left."
Hearing that Adrian hadn't refused, Harry's face lit up with delight. "I can't wait, sir!"
Seeing Harry so eager to learn, Adrian naturally wouldn't dampen his enthusiasm. And no wonder he had noticed Harry bringing his newly purchased wand when he arrived today. So, this was what he had in mind.
"Hagrid took you to Diagon Alley to buy textbooks, right?" Adrian asked, putting down the potion bottle in his hand.
Harry nodded.
"Then I assume you must have previewed your new textbook, 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1,'" Adrian said matter-of-factly. "I believe that's the name; I can't quite remember."
"...Actually no, professor."
Harry replied somewhat embarrassedly. That book was still under his bed.
After he returned home from Diagon Alley, he had been too busy foolishly waving his wand around and playing with Hedwig.
Books? What were those? Harry wasn't very familiar with them.
"..."
Adrian was silent for a moment. He had thought all children were like him when he was young. He still remembered that summer when he first got his Hogwarts textbooks, he had practically tore those books out from reading them so much.
Clearly, Harry wasn't part of the studious group of students.
"Should I go home and bring my textbooks?" Harry hesitantly suggested.
"No need." Adrian waved his hand and got up, walking toward the storage room. "I think my old textbooks are still here somewhere."
Due to the Undetectable Extension Charm, Adrian's storage room was very spacious. Combined with his lack of organizational habits, things were genuinely difficult to find.
However, in the end, he did manage to find his school-era textbooks in a cardboard box in the corner.
A few minutes later, Adrian emerged from the storage room with a thick layer of dust covering his wizard robe and holding a somewhat worn copy of "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1."
When Harry carefully took the book, he was choked by the dust covering it.
"Cough, cough—thank you."
He coughed while opening Adrian's old book. The pages were slightly yellowed, but the text was still clear and readable.
What surprised Harry was that almost every page was filled with notes, which was sufficient evidence of the previous owner's dedication to learning.
When Harry turned back to the first page, he found a message written in distinctly different handwriting:
"Mom asked me to remind you not to forget lunch, brother. —Cecilia."
The ink had faded slightly, clearly a trace left many years ago.
'Cecilia?'
This was a name Harry had never heard before. 'Could it be Mr. Westeros' sister?'
He had never heard Adrian mention this name.
Though somewhat puzzled, Harry quickly put this matter aside. After all, he was already impatient to start learning magic.
"Where should I begin, professor?" Harry put down the book and picked up his wand.
Seeing Harry's eagerness, Adrian couldn't help but chuckle softly. He casually patted "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1" on the table.
"All the spells in this book are specially prepared for beginner young wizards," Adrian sat down in his chair and waved his hand casually. "Just pick any spell that interests you and give it a try."
Harry flipped through the textbook with his wand in hand but couldn't decide.
"How about... the Wand-Lighting Charm?" Adrian raised an eyebrow. "That's a good choice."
As he spoke, Adrian waved his wand in the air.
"Lumos."
Harry was amazed to see a small ball of light appear at the tip of Adrian's wand, emitting a soft glow.
"Now, you try, Harry," Adrian waved his wand again, and it darkened once more. "Remember to concentrate, and look at the book in front of you. I should have recorded all the important points in there."
The Wand-Lighting Charm was a very simple spell, but it still required the caster's full concentration. A moment's distraction could potentially set one's wand on fire, causing irreversible damage.
Miranda Goshawk, the author of "The Standard Book of Spells" series, once said: If you have any doubts about your abilities, you'd better just buy a magic lantern.
For the next while, Adrian brewed potions while guiding Harry's practice of the Wand-Lighting Charm.
"Harry, raise your arm a bit higher."
"Wave your wand a little faster."
"The incantation? Don't forget to say the incantation!"
After half an hour of practice, Harry finally managed to make the tip of his wand light up.
Harry's eyes widened as he stared at the small glow at the tip of his wand, his face showing undisguised excitement.
Although it only lasted for a moment, it was enough to make Harry ecstatic.
"I did it!" he exclaimed excitedly.
Adrian smiled slightly, leaning back in his chair. When he had first successfully cast a spell, he had reacted much the same way as Harry.
"This is just the beginning," Adrian said, applauding. "But indeed, you did very well."
Harry's face was full of excitement as he gripped his wand tightly. "Professor, what will we learn next?"
Adrian smiled mysteriously and, under Harry's expectant gaze, uttered the word: "Potions."
"..."
The excitement on Harry's face instantly froze.