Lucien and the others looked up at the round-faced, nervous boy who had suddenly appeared at their compartment door. They exchanged confused glances.
"Is that your pet? Did you lose him on the train?" It was Hermione who spoke first. Though she often spoke with a confident, almost arrogant tone, her inherent desire to be helpful and solve problems shone through.
The boy, however, didn't seem to hear her question at first. He stood there with a blank expression for a few seconds before he slowly found his voice. "My name is Neville. Neville Longbottom. And Trevor is my pet toad." His brow furrowed in concentration, and he tugged at his blond hair in frustration. "I remember... I remember..." His face scrunched up. "I'm sorry, I can't remember clearly. I think I saw Trevor when I first got on the train..."
As he spoke, Neville's voice trailed off, becoming softer until it was barely a whisper. He lowered his head in embarrassment. He had a terrible memory and was always forgetting things. Now, he couldn't even manage to keep track of his own pet.
Hermione was at a loss. She wanted to help, but Neville was so flustered that he couldn't even recall when or where his pet had gone missing. Across from her, Ron simply spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. Harry was willing to help Neville search, but he hesitated, glancing at the others to see what they would do. His eyes landed on Lucien, who had taken out his silver-black wand and was observing the situation with a thoughtful expression.
Lucien twirled his wand gently, his mind already racing. Neville, the future Gryffindor Sword-bearer. His memory really is abysmal. It's not a major crisis if the toad is lost; it will probably turn up on its own. But if one wants to find something, what methods are available?
Whenever he encountered a problem, no matter how small, Lucien's mind habitually began to dissect it, searching for a solution. Keeping his brain active was the foundation of learning. His first thought was the Summoning Charm, Accio. It was an incredibly convenient spell for finding lost things. Given the connection between an owner and their possession, a successfully cast spell would usually bring the item flying back on its own.
But... Lucien glanced at Neville. He highly doubted the boy had mastered the Summoning Charm himself. If Lucien were to cast it, he would need a clear image of the toad to increase the spell's success rate. With Neville's memory, could he even provide an accurate description of Trevor? Deciding there was no harm in trying, Lucien asked, "Neville, can you describe what Trevor looks like?"
Neville's eyes lit up when he heard Lucien's question, thinking this classmate was going to help him. "Trevor! His eyes are big and round, his skin is a brownish color, and his back is covered in little bumps."
Lucien offered a small, strained smile. That was certainly true, but it was also a perfect description of nearly every toad in existence. If he cast the spell with such a generic image, he might summon another student's pet by mistake, which would be incredibly embarrassing. Well, if appearance wasn't a strong enough link, he could try focusing his intent when casting the spell, emphasizing that he was looking for the toad that belonged only to Neville. The magic in this world was highly influenced by belief and willpower. As long as a wizard's intent was strong enough, the power of many spells could be greatly enhanced. He decided to give it a try; it was a perfect opportunity to practice.
Practice was the only way to achieve true mastery. With the idea needing to be verified and the ability to put it into practice, Lucien would naturally try. The thought had barely formed before his wand was already moving, tracing a swift, deliberate arc through the air.
"Accio Trevor."
Lucien's voice had just faded when a series of muffled shouts came from further down the train corridor. "Merlin's beard, it's a flying toad!" "A flying toad? Is that some kind of magical creature?"
"Croak!"
With a loud chirp, a tawny toad flew straight into the compartment, landing neatly on the floor in front of Lucien's wand. After glancing at the dizzy-looking amphibian, Lucien turned to Neville. "Look, is that your Trevor?"
Neville rushed forward eagerly, his face getting so close he could have counted the bumps on the toad's belly. "Trevor?"
"Croak."
"Trevor, Trevor?"
"Croak."
Neville's face lit up with pure joy as he scooped the toad into his hands. "That's right! This is him! This is Trevor!"
Watching the exchange, Harry and the others were quite surprised. Lucien, however, was silently amused. Why does it seem like it has voice-controlled unlocking?
Neville held Trevor tightly and looked at Lucien with immense gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you! Thank you so much for helping me find him. What's your name?"
Lucien put away his wand. "You're welcome. Just think of it as practice with the Summoning Charm. My name is Lucien Grafton."
Neville nodded repeatedly, his tone full of excitement. "Oh, Lucien, thank you! I'll definitely remember you!" He couldn't bear to think about the harsh scolding he would have received from his grandmother if he had lost his pet for good. "By the way, your Summoning Charm is really powerful! My Gran said that it's one thing to summon your own belongings, but it's much more difficult to summon unfamiliar items you've never seen before." Neville scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Gran taught me the spell, but I still can't get it right. I needed your help..."
Lucien waved his hand, stopping Neville's profuse thanks. "Don't worry about it. Just practice the spell more, and you'll get the hang of it."
After Neville rambled on for a while longer and even gave Lucien a small headshake of gratitude, he finally left with his toad. Once he was gone, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all turned to stare at Lucien with wide, astonished eyes.
Hermione finally couldn't hold back her curiosity. "Lucien, how did you perform the Summoning Charm just now? And did you learn all these spells from books on your own?"
Before Lucien could answer, Ron interrupted. "It's difficult to learn spells just from books, Granger. Self-study won't get you to the level of skill Lucien just showed. I bet his family has excellent wizards who taught him."
In response to Ron's rude interruption, Hermione glared at him and raised her chin defiantly. "Oh, really? Who says it's hard to learn spells from books?" As she spoke, she drew her own wand, pointed it at a bewildered Harry, and tapped it lightly on his glasses. "Reparo."
Harry was still confused about why Hermione was casting a spell on him when he subconsciously reached up to his face. He froze. The crack on his glasses, held together by tape for years, was gone! He took off the glasses in surprise, running his finger over the smooth, unbroken lens to make sure they were truly repaired.
Lucien watched Hermione's performance with a subtle, approving nod. As expected of Miss Know-It-All, her academic genius was already well-established. For a student from a non-magical family to master spells through self-study showed a level of talent and dedication worthy of praise.
The Mending Charm really is useful, Lucien thought. If anything breaks, just wave a wand and it's good as new in an instant. He mused that most items in wizarding homes were probably repaired this way. It would certainly explain the sluggishness of the wizarding world's economy. If you never need to buy a replacement, there's no transaction, no demand, and no growth.