On the third day, the weather shifted from clear skies to overcast, and a light snow began to fall.
Last night's roast whole sheep had been absolutely delicious. Eating his fill had left Richie feeling warm all over, making his sleep that night even more incredibly comfortable.
However, today Richie still couldn't get his wish to stay in his room and read, because Annabelle planned to practice magic with him.
As it turned out, it wasn't just Richie who had noticed the glaring flaw in his magical repertoire—his extreme lack of spell variety during a duel. Annabelle had noticed it too.
Even though Richie was only a first-year and his current skill level was already insanely impressive, Annabelle still felt he was "picking up Bronze Knuts while dropping Gold Galleons". He was entirely too obsessed with theoretical knowledge and was completely ignoring the actual, practical application of magic.
Because of that, she strongly demanded that he put some serious time into practical spellcasting.
Hearing her plan, Dawson fully agreed and even chimed in, saying he wanted to tag along and watch Richie practice.
Left with zero options, Richie dutifully set his books down, grabbed his wand, and followed his aunt and grandfather out to the farm's warehouse to train.
Since Godwin Farm wasn't actually producing any crops, the massive warehouse was completely empty.
Given the snowy weather outside, it was the perfect indoor training ground for Richie.
They pushed the heavy doors nearly shut, leaving only a small crack for ventilation, lit a warm bonfire, and brushed the snow off their clothes.
"Alright, Richie, what kind of spell do you want to learn?" Annabelle asked. "The Disarming Charm, the Shield Charm, or the Fire-Making Spell?"
As she spoke, she shrugged off her bulky black winter cloak and casually tossed it into the air. Mid-flight, the heavy fabric seamlessly transfigured into a black raven that fluttered up into the warehouse rafters.
Richie watched the display with deep envy.
Tragically, at his current skill level, he could only transfigure inanimate objects into other inanimate objects. He couldn't turn living creatures into objects, and he definitely couldn't turn objects into living creatures.
Taking off his own heavy winter coat, Richie handed it over, and Annabelle effortlessly transfigured it into a white dove that flew up to join the raven.
Gripping his wand, Richie thought for a second before answering.
"I want to learn the Disarming Charm."
The Disarming Charm, exactly as the name implied, violently forced an opponent's weapon or wand out of their hand.
It was an incredibly powerful and practical piece of magic. During his duels at Beauxbatons, the third-year student had tried to hit him with it. Even though Richie had countered it with a Body-Bind Curse, he had instantly recognized how threatening the spell actually was.
"Oh, excellent choice," Dawson chuckled, nodding in approval from the sidelines.
He clapped his hands together. With a sharp crack, Geeth the house-elf materialized right in front of him.
"Master..." Geeth muttered, wringing his hands together as he looked nervously at Dawson.
"Go fetch the young miss's old spell-practice dummy," Dawson ordered.
"Oh... oh... right away," Geeth stammered before vanishing with another loud crack.
"Wait, a dummy?" Annabelle blinked, genuinely surprised. "Dad, don't tell me you mean the dummy I used when I was a kid?"
"That was over ten years ago. You seriously still have that thing?"
"Of course I do," Dawson replied, his tone heavy with implication. "I originally kept it for your future kids, but having Richie use it for target practice works perfectly too!"
Hearing that, Annabelle scoffed teasingly. "Well, it's a good thing Richie showed up. If he hadn't, that dummy probably would have rusted and rotted away, and no one would have ever cared!"
Watching Annabelle act completely unbothered, Dawson just shook his head helplessly.
A moment later, Geeth popped back into the warehouse, dragging a battered practice dummy with him.
It was a completely standard tin dummy holding a crude iron sword, its surface heavily dented and pockmarked from years of spell damage. The most eye-catching part, however, was the incredibly faded, brightly colored graffiti scribbled all over its tin body.
"Ho ho! Seeing this brings back memories," Dawson laughed heartily. "I suddenly remember the name you gave it when you were little. It was... 'Little Floral Skirt', wasn't it?"
Hearing Dawson say the name out loud, Annabelle's face flushed a deep, embarrassed red.
She silently raised her wand and pointed it dead at Dawson.
Seeing the threat, Dawson slowly raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright! You focus on teaching Richie the Disarming Charm, and I'll just stand over here and quietly watch."
Annabelle rolled her eyes hard at him, lowered her wand, and motioned for Richie.
"Come here, Richie. Let me walk you through how to cast it."
Richie watched Dawson give him a helpless shrug. Richie mirrored the exact same shrug back at him, then put on a totally blank, expressionless face as he walked over to Annabelle.
But on the inside, he was highly amused.
Little Floral Skirt?
Ha. That's incredibly girly.
Richie took his position next to Annabelle, facing the dummy.
"The Disarming Charm is essentially an active defensive spell. At its core, you're releasing a highly directional shockwave of kinetic energy," Annabelle explained.
As she spoke, she raised her wand and aimed it at the tin dummy.
"Expelliarmus!"
Bang!
The iron sword was instantly ripped from the dummy's grip and sent flying, stabbing deeply into the dirt floor several feet away. A few seconds later, the enchanted sword automatically flew back into the dummy's hand.
"Of course, if you actively channel your emotions into the cast—similar to what you do with the Summoning Charm..." Annabelle continued.
"...then the spell triggers an extreme secondary effect: massive knockback."
She cast the spell a second time.
This time, Richie watched as the sword flew out of its hand, and the heavy tin dummy was violently blasted off its feet, crashing hard onto the ground.
"However, for younger wizards, achieving that knockback effect is incredibly difficult because it actually requires a significant overflow of magical power," Annabelle explained.
"Most kids simply lack the raw magic reserves to push the spell that far."
"As for you... honestly, I have no idea."
Looking at Richie, Annabelle thought back to his flawless performance during the duels and the insane natural talent he had shown when he first discovered his magic. She genuinely couldn't accurately gauge his limits.
"Repeat after me. Ex-pel-li-AR-mus! Make sure you stress the 'AR' syllable!"
Annabelle started the lesson, and Richie obediently followed her rhythm, practicing the pronunciation.
Once they ran through the correct wand motions and the core mechanics, Annabelle offered some final encouragement.
"Alright, Richie. Give it a try."
"This is a highly safe spell to practice. Even if you completely botch the cast, there aren't any dangerous blowbacks," she said, stepping off to the side to give him room.
Richie took a breath, focusing his intent. He raised his wand, aimed squarely at the dummy, and snapped his wrist.
"Expelliarmus!"
BANG!
The iron sword was violently launched across the room, embedding itself deep into the heavy wooden doors of the warehouse. Meanwhile, the tin dummy was blasted entirely off its feet, flying a solid ten feet through the air before violently crashing into the ground.
"Oh, by Merlin's beard!"
Standing on the sidelines, Dawson's jaw dropped in absolute shock.
"With that kind of raw power, that doesn't even look like a Disarming Charm. It looks like a damn Blasting Curse!"
Seeing the sheer destruction, even Annabelle—who had mentally prepared herself for him to be good—was completely startled.
Nailing it perfectly on the first try was one thing, but producing that level of explosive force?
Was this even a Disarming Charm anymore?
The spell was supposed to disarm the enemy, not completely eradicate them!
Meanwhile, Richie just stood there, slowly waving his wand as he analyzed the cast.
In reality, he had felt a distinct, jarring sense of magical recoil—almost like hitting a coiled spring. He figured it was likely caused by a slight imperfection in his wand motion.
"Let's go again!" Richie announced, his expression dead serious.