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Professor Flitwick finished his lesson with the newbies and trotted over. He spotted Aiden's three roommates hanging upside down like forgotten Christmas decorations. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
"Finite Incantatem!" Flitwick chirped. With a flick of his wand, Edmund, Oliver, and Ethan dropped to the illusionary floor with a series of groans. Ouch.
"Ah, Severus's delightful little Bat-Bogey Hex," Flitwick mused, a nostalgic twinkle in his eye. Old memories, eh? "We discussed its… creative uses years ago." He winked at Aiden—a secret shared between geniuses, maybe?—then waved the still-dazed trio off. "Go on, lads! Help the new members practice their charms. Share what you've learned—especially about Bat-Bogeys."
(probably AU)
Once they were mostly alone, Professor Flitwick turned to Aiden. His expression got serious. "Aiden", he said, his voice a bit lower, "tell me. Are you close to completing your magical organ linkage?"
Aiden paused. That was a big question. "Almost, Professor," he admitted. "The magic in my organs is set. But making it all work together like a proper system… that needs a lot of spellcasting practice." He smiled a little. "The good news is, creating my own charms seems to speed that up."
"Really?" Flitwick's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. "Then could I—perhaps—see one of these charms you've made? The ones you've been… testing out?" He was practically vibrating with curiosity.
Aiden shifted. This was tricky. "Professor, it's a bit… dangerous. I've gone really deep into the mind stuff, the Distorted Illusion. It makes the spells I develop super strong in the mental department. Maybe too strong." He paused, then added in a grim voice, "And Professor Snape's dissection of that troll… well, it looked like one of my spells actually twisted its soul." Yeah, not a fun memory.
Flitwick listened, his brow crinkled in thought. After a moment, he asked, "Well, are there any other charms? Something less… soul-twisty? What about your old idea—the one about stopping magic? Did you perfect that?"
Aiden's face brightened. "Yes, Professor! I took apart the basic runes for Finite and Finite Incantatem. Broke them right down. Then I added the Nauthiz (ᚾ) rune—that's for need and holding things back. And then," his eyes shone, "I used my mind power to stick it all together." He took a breath. "Basically, this new charm can just cancel out the will in someone else's spell. Stops it from messing with reality."
Flitwick practically bounced. "Quick, Aiden! You have to try it! Does it have a name? It needs a name!"
"Yes, Professor," Aiden said, a hint of pride there. "It's the Silencing Charm. Or, if you want to be fancy, the Interdictory Charm."
Before Aiden could say more, Flitwick—clearly too excited to wait—suddenly shot an Expelliarmus at him. A bright red lightning bolt zipped from his wand.
But this wasn't a normal Disarming Charm. It didn't fly at Aiden super fast. Instead, it moved suuuper slowly, inch by inch, through the air. Every crackle was visible. Aiden knew this was Flitwick showing off his insane charm skills—total control.
"Quickly, Aiden! Use your charm! Let's see it in action!" Flitwick yelled, practically hopping.
"Right, Professor!"
Aiden raised his wand. Silvery-white magic flowed over it, making it glow softly.
"Silencing Charm (Interdictory)"
A shimmering halo of pure silver light pulsed out from Aiden's body. It spread out like a ripple, slow at first, then faster. As the light wave passed through Flitwick's slow-mo red lightning, the red colour just… vanished. It turned a harmless white.
Since Flitwick's magical will in the spell was gone—poof!—the now neutralised lightning bolt suddenly remembered it was supposed to be fast. It zipped forward and hit Aiden right in the chest.
But… nothing. Aiden didn't even blink. The spell, with no magic juice left, was just a harmless flash of light.
"Hmmmm—oh, my goodness—this is really interesting!" Flitwick was practically shaking with excitement. Mind. Blown. "Amazing! Simply amazing!"
He stared hard at Aiden. "And you know, Aiden, I have a very strong feeling… This spell of yours—this Silencing Charm… I think it might actually work on a certain Unforgivable Curse." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. Creepy. "Aiden, you must come to my office after classes tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about—and test!" Flitwick ordered, his eyes gleaming. No arguing with that.
"Of course, Professor," Aiden agreed. Unforgivable Curses? This was getting intense.
And just like that, with Professor Flitwick lost in excited thoughts and a bunch of young wizards grumbling about Bat-Bogey Hexes, the second Mind's Edge Duelling Club meeting ended. It was… eventful.
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The next day, Aiden went to Professor Flitwick's office as asked. He knocked. When he walked in, it wasn't just Flitwick waiting. Oh no. Dumbledore was there, looking all wise and twinkly. And Professor McGonagall was there too, looking stern and a bit worried. The small office suddenly felt very crowded—and very high-stakes.
"Good afternoon, professors," Aiden greeted. He tried to sound casual, but his scalp was definitely tingling. Three of the most powerful magic users in Britain—all staring at him. No pressure. Nope.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Prewett," McGonagall said first, her voice sharp. "At Professor Flitwick's… insistence… we are here as witnesses." She then shot a very pointed look at Flitwick.
"Merlin's beard, Filius!" she scolded, her Scottish accent getting stronger. "You can't seriously be thinking of letting such a young wizard mess with those evil, Unforgivable spells! It's unthinkable!" McGonagall looked properly angry. Clearly, she was worried about Aiden.
"Now, now, Minerva," Dumbledore said smoothly, his voice calm like always. "We all know Filius means well. And think about it—if Aiden's charm actually works… this discovery will be huge for the entire magical world. The possibilities are… staggering." He made 'staggering' sound both amazing and a little bit terrifying.
"Haha, yes! So, we all agree then? Wonderful!" Professor Flitwick chirped, trying to smooth things over. (Not really working, Flitwick.) McGonagall just glared at him. He pretended to be very interested in a loose thread on his robes. Smart move.
Aiden, caught between these magical heavyweights, didn't dare say a word. He just stood there, trying to look like he wasn't about to run screaming from the room.
Professor Flitwick, ignoring the tension, bustled over to a small cage and pulled out a little white mouse. He then—way too skillfully for comfort—cast the Imperius Curse on it. The mouse went still, its eyes totally blank.
Wizards use lab mice too? Huh. And Headmaster… how are you so creepily good at an Unforgivable Curse? Aiden complained silently in his head. Some thoughts were definitely best kept private.
"Aiden, my boy, if you please," Dumbledore said. His blue eyes were twinkling like crazy.
"Right, Professor. Silencing Charm!" Aiden focused, raising his wand.
Again, the silvery-white halo spread out. As the light wave passed over the Imperiused mouse, a tiny wisp of sickly green smoke—like the curse's ghost—was pulled out of the little creature.
The moment the smoke vanished, the mouse blinked, shook its head hard, and then—free!—started running frantically around the office floor. It really wanted out.
"Success! It worked! Brilliant!" Flitwick's happy voice bounced off the walls. He was so excited he was practically doing a jig.
Aiden, though, was thinking about how the spell felt, analyzing it.
"Range is about twenty meters, Mr. Prewett, if I'm correct," McGonagall stated. Her brain was like a magical supercomputer.
"And it seems there's a short cooldown—the charm can't be recast for about three seconds," Dumbledore added. His observation skills were just as sharp.
These two—the Headmaster and his Deputy—had completely figured out Aiden's brand-new charm in, like, two seconds. Humbling. And also kind of awesome.
"But the most important thing, my dear boy," Flitwick cut in, still buzzing, "is that it can dispel the Imperius Curse! Aiden, congratulations! From today on, you're going to shake up the whole idea of the Imperius Curse being 'Unforgivable'!"
Aiden blinked. Wow. That was… a lot. "Professor," he asked, suddenly curious, "why are those three spells called Unforgivable Curses anyway?"
"Is it just because they're evil, Mr. Prewett?" McGonagall began, her teacher-mode kicking in. "No, not entirely. It's because those three—Imperius, Cruciatus, and the Killing Curse—attack the soul directly. That makes them incredibly hard, if not impossible, for most people to resist or fight off."
"Indeed," Dumbledore added, his voice a bit sad. "In all of magical history, very few have ever resisted them. And only one person, as you know, has ever survived a direct hit from the Killing Curse." For a second, everyone probably thought of Harry Potter. Awkward.
"Well then, Aiden," Flitwick suggested, his excitement bubbling up again. "Shall we try that one more time? Just to be sure, of course!" He then, without waiting for an answer, hit the (now recaptured and very stressed) white mouse with the Imperius Curse again. Blank eyes, round two.
"Professor," Aiden said, an idea popping into his head. "Can I try to change it a bit?"
"Oh?"
"Maybe I can… shrink the spell? Make it hit just one person, instead of a whole area."
After saying this, Aiden raised his wand. But this time, instead of a big halo, he quickly drew a glowing Fehu (ᚠ) rune in the air with his wand tip. "Silencing Charm—focused!"
A thin beam of silvery-white light, no wider than his thumb, shot from Aiden's wand and hit the Imperiused mouse. A see-through, shimmering halo, much smaller this time, appeared around the mouse for just a blink.
And, just like before—poof!—the Imperius Curse was gone. The mouse was free again. (And probably traumatised for life.)
Professor Flitwick watched, totally fascinated. Then, just for kicks, he cast Petrificus Totalus at the (now very fast and panicky) mouse. The spell hit, but the mouse just squeaked and kept running. It didn't work!
"Oh, now that is interesting!" Flitwick exclaimed. "This focused way of casting lets the protective part of your charm stay on the target for a bit!"
Professor McGonagall, who was watching everything like a hawk, leaned in. "It lasts for about four… no, five seconds. Yes, the charm just wore off. A full five seconds of protection."
"Remarkable," Dumbledore said, a real, happy smile on his face. "This magic has gone from just dispelling charms to actually guarding someone. All in a few minutes. Truly exceptional, Aiden."
"Great work, Aiden! It seems this is another brand-new spell! You have to give it a name, my boy!" Flitwick declared, puffing out his chest like he'd co-invented it. He shot a quick look at Dumbledore and McGonagall—nope, Aiden (and his star Ravenclaw) was getting the naming rights for this one.
"Thank you, Professor," Aiden said, a small, pleased smile on his face. Getting praise from these three? Felt pretty good. "In that case… let's call it the Guarding Charm."
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