Halloween Eve at Hogwarts was filled with the scent of roasted pumpkins everywhere.
In the Charms classroom, they were learning the Levitation Charm today.
Professor Flitwick stood on a stack of books, explaining the lesson in his squeaky voice.
"Don't forget that wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick waved his wand enthusiastically. "Swish and flick! Remember, swish and flick!"
[Quest: Master Basic Telekinesis]
[Objective: Make the target object defy gravity]
[Difficulty: E (Easy)]
"And pronouncing the incantation is crucial! Don't be like Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and ended up flat on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
The little wizards around were practicing like crazy.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The classroom was full of all sorts of weird chantings—some sounded like singing, others like arguing.
Rove didn't touch his wand.
A true Maia, or like Gandalf or Saruman, didn't need those fancy gestures.
Power came from will. From bloodline. From absolute control over the physical world.
Rove took a deep breath, staring hard at the feather.
[Skill activated: Telekinesis (Attempting)]
[Mental energy input: 10%...20%...]
Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was building up a force in his mind, trying to grab the feather and lift it.
"Move..." Rove muttered. "Come on... move..."
Next to him, Seamus Finnigan's spell did something, but it just set his feather on fire—he was frantically beating it out with his hat.
The feather in front of Rove didn't budge.
"Maybe I need more anger." Rove thought. "Like Sauron staring down Mount Doom."
He ramped up the "output." His eyes bulged like saucers, face turning beet red.
[Warning: Mental overload!]
[Magic circuit: Blocked]
[Energy release path: Error]
Just as Rove felt like his brain veins were about to burst,
Bang!
A sharp crack rang out.
The feather in front of him stayed peacefully in place, but the ink bottle nearby exploded like it'd been hit by a bullet.
Blue-black ink splattered half of Rove's face and some on Hermione too.
"Oh no!" Hermione yelped, quickly wiping her robe with a handkerchief. "What are you doing, Rove? You didn't even say the spell!"
Rove smeared the ink off his face, still looking dead serious.
"It's an ancient technique." He said gravely, totally ignoring how ridiculous he looked. "No incantation needed. Just pure will. Too bad my power's not focused enough yet. That was... a side effect of the telekinetic shockwave."
Hermione rolled her eyes, thinking this guy was beyond reasoning.
"You should listen to the professor." Hermione lectured. "Watch. Swish and flick. Wingardium Leviosa!"
The feather floated up lightly, hovering four feet above their heads.
"Oh, well done!" Professor Flitwick clapped. "Everyone, look—Miss Granger's got it!"
Rove watched the floating feather, lost in thought.
"Channeling energy through an external tool (wand gesture)?" He murmured. "Less efficient, but more stable. Looks like right now, I can't handle pure raw power."
The bell rang for the end of class.
It should've been a fun morning, but Ron's big mouth ruined it.
In the hallway, the crowd was surging toward the Great Hall.
"No wonder nobody can stand her." Ron said to Harry, loud enough for everyone around to hear. "She's a total nightmare! Seriously, she's got zero friends."
Just then, Hermione rushed past them. Head down, like she was wiping away tears.
Harry gave Ron an awkward look. Ron squirmed a bit.
"I think she heard." Harry said.
"So what?" Ron said, but he looked guilty. "She must've noticed—she doesn't have a single friend..."
A hand suddenly clapped onto Ron's shoulder.
Ron jumped, turning to see Rove's face.
"You made a mistake, Sam." Rove's voice was low and heavy.
"Who's Sam?" Ron looked totally confused.
"You're Harry's sidekick and buddy, like Sam was Frodo's gardener." Rove didn't explain much. "Back home, if you wanna court a girl like Rosie, you can't talk like that. You'd get smacked upside the head with a frying pan."
"I'm not trying to court her!" Ron's face went red. "And she's no Rosie!"
"That's not the point." Rove sighed, glancing where Hermione had vanished. "The point is, she's our mage (healer). In an adventuring party, pissing off the support is the dumbest move. If you get hurt in the Moria mines, who's gonna bandage you up? Who's gonna cure your poison?"
Ron opened his mouth to argue, but it kinda made sense.
"Plus," Rove pointed to his chest, "she's a lady. Even... a fallen elf princess, even if she's stubborn like a dwarf sometimes. Ron, making a lady cry brings bad luck."
"So... what do I do now?" Ron looked a little panicked.
"Pray." Rove patted his shoulder. "Pray nothing goes wrong tonight. Otherwise, you'll carry that guilt forever."
Rove turned and headed down another hallway.
"Where you going? Not eating?" Harry asked.
"Patrol." Rove waved without looking back. "I've got a bad feeling. The air smells like old socks. That's troll stink."