Professor Flitwick glanced over and said, "Oh, a very clever guidance method—not quite traditional, but it can indeed help you master this spell more quickly. Vid, this must be your idea."
Vid lowered his eyes, revealing a bright smile.
Professor Flitwick, who was originally serious, also smiled. He waved his magic wand to duplicate the parchment into a dozen copies so each group could have one, while warning them: "This is a reference, but you must truly master it. I will collect the parchment in ten minutes; hopefully, by then, you've all mastered the Levioso spell! Those who have already managed to make the feathers float—why don't you try to make it spin in the air?"
The students in the classroom resumed practice, with Professor Flitwick walking around to guide them.
Vid directed his feather, making it draw circles and squares in the air, then began transcribing verses. Anthony glanced at him enviously but didn't get ahead of himself; he continued practicing the Levioso spell repeatedly.
After class, the Gryffindors rushed to their Magic History class, while the Ravenclaws had no other classes in the morning, so Vid habitually went to the library. Michael planned to join him, but was stopped just as he was about to get up.
"Hey, Michael." His roommate Terry put an arm around his neck and asked, "You've been disappearing after each class lately, going off with Vid for independent study, haven't you? I hear Gryffindor's Granger and Longbottom join you too?"
A circle of little eagles looked at him intently.
Michael raised his hand in a gesture of surrender, "That's indeed the case, I wasn't hiding it from you! What's with this gathering?"
"So even Longbottom can master the Levioso spell, which is the result of your independent study?" Lisa asked eagerly, "I thought you were just doing homework together."
"Michael, could you spare some time to teach me as well?" Padma asked, "I'm still not very proficient with the Fire-Making Spell."
Padma is a very pretty Indian girl, and Michael has always been quite fascinated by her. However, when it comes to learning spells, Michael wouldn't take credit for someone else's accomplishments.
"Though I'm happy to teach you the spells I've mastered, it's Vid who's really good at teaching, not me—we're all learning from Vid," Michael said honestly.
"Vid—"
Everyone paused in silence.
In their eyes, Vid Gray was rather aloof, strikingly handsome but not prone to smiling, exceptionally talented but detached from the crowd. Despite being the same age, he didn't enjoy joking, playing games, attending gatherings, or even discussing Quidditch. He would disappear right after class and not return to the tower until curfew. Normally, other students would chat and do homework in the common room, but Vid rarely appeared there, making the little eagles feel they were unilaterally isolated by Vid.
Overall, he's a person with a strong sense of distance.
That's also why few people usually take the initiative to speak to Vid—the young wizards were a bit afraid of him.
...
The library was quiet and cold, and Madam Pince wasn't watching the students but slowly flipping through a book. Upon seeing Vid enter, she merely glanced over and then continued reading.
In two months since the school year began, Madam Pince had already familiarized herself with all the first-year students who frequently visited the library and knew which ones could be trusted to stay without fuss, and who needed constant supervision otherwise they'd cause noise, damage books, or even fight.
Vid was one she could trust completely.
Vid skillfully made his way to the alchemy book section—recently he began to spend time studying alchemy.
Alchemy involves the study of the composition, structure, and magical properties of the four basic elements and material transformations, closely linked with Magic Potion, Spellcasting, Ancient Magical Runes, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. At Hogwarts, only students scoring "Good" or above in their Ordinary Wizarding Level exams can take alchemy as an elective, making it a very challenging subject. Younger students often struggle to master this subject through self-study due to the lack of requisite knowledge reserves.
Yet, in their lives, alchemy's traces are everywhere—the ever-burning candles in the Great Hall, the 142 moving staircases within the castle, the lifelike portraits on the walls, the door rings that pose different questions, and items such as flying broomsticks, Golden Snitches, Sorting Hat, Wizard's Chess, and Memory Balls.
Basic alchemy isn't really difficult to start with; it's just that alchemists love using obscure vocabulary, cryptic expressions, and fantasy-laden exaggerations that unintentionally raise the learning difficulty.
Vid's reading comprehension skills had been honed and trained over twenty years in his past life, along with ample knowledge reserves and vocabulary, making it tough yet manageable for him to delve into alchemy books one by one.
Recently he had been reading books published years ago by Nicolas Flamel—"Alchemy Basics" and "Alchemy Analysis." Now he started reading "The Book of Nature's Mysteries: The Fifth Element."
This book was written by the twelfth-century alchemist Raymond Lulle, and the so-called fifth element is the Philosopher's Stone.
"This book is actually a bit outdated because Nicolas Flamel succeeded in creating the Philosopher's Stone, proving that many theories in this book are inconsistent with reality."
A voice suddenly came from beside him, startling Vid. He looked up to see the twins from the Weasley family standing nearby, with George Weasley as the speaker.
"Are you a first-year freshman?" Fred casually pulled a chair to sit opposite him, saying, "It's still a bit early to be learning this."
"But honestly, you have an eye for it! Alchemy is the most captivating subject in magic!—Muffliato." George said, waving his magic wand to prevent Madam Pince from coming over.
"But Hogwarts won't teach it until the sixth year—"
"A really foolish decision, why not start teaching alchemy from the first year?"
"Then most students wouldn't dare return home during the summer." Fred said seriously, "Because their end-of-term exams would inevitably include a 'T' (Troll)."
"Except us—"
"We're naturally skilled at it—"
"So we started self-learning a year ago!" George said, "I'll give you some advice as a senior, little Ravenclaw, you should begin with 'Alchemy Basics!' Nicolas Flamel is the greatest living alchemist! His books are truly worth studying."
Vid spread his hands, "But I've finished reading that book."
"Wow!" Fred raised an eyebrow, "Then what about 'Alchemy Analysis'?"
"Read it."
"Then—'On the Diversity of Species'?" George asked.
"Twelfth century Thomas Aquinas' work?" Vid hesitated, saying, "I've seen it, but I haven't read it closely because it seems not to involve magical applications in his writing."
George said, "That was due to the restrictions of that time, forcing him to have the book published by Muggles, with magical contents written very cryptically. Of course, we highly recommend the 18th century version revised by Esner Vargas, which adds more than two hundred types of magical creatures and thousands of magical materials, much more comprehensive and accurate."
The Weasley twins had apparently read and deeply studied at least thirty books on alchemy, discussing them with familiarity.
Vid was thrilled and quickly took out his parchment to jot everything down. If it weren't for having a lesson later that afternoon, he wouldn't want to let them go at all. They were so engrossed in their conversation that, upon parting ways, they didn't even notice that they hadn't inquired about each other's names.