“I understand now, Headmaster.”
Fel nodded.
To put it simply, no matter how hard he trained, he was still only a first year student.
How many years could a bowstring stay tightly drawn before it finally snapped?
Dumbledore was still alive, and Fel didn’t believe that, with his warning, Dumbledore would still fall into the same deadly trap in the future.
Although he had made a solid plan beforehand, the rage he felt over avenging his parents had still partially transformed into fear of Voldemort.
That fear had made him overly obsessed with becoming stronger.
Dumbledore smiled.
“A balance between effort and rest is the best way for a wizard to train.”
“Fel, I don’t oppose your pursuit of strength.”
“But you still have many things to learn, don’t you?”
Fel nodded in agreement.
Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
This was a rare opportunity to spend time alone with Dumbledore.
Why not take the chance to ask a few questions?
After all, wasn’t that also a form of learning, just as the Headmaster had said?
“Headmaster, what exactly is magic power, and how can I increase my own magic power?”
Dumbledore looked slightly surprised.
Stroking his beard, he replied,
“No one truly knows what magic power is, Fel.”
“Just as every human possesses physical strength, what exactly is physical strength?”
“In a way, magic power is simply a wizard’s physical strength.”
“It is a form of energy, an innate energy, perhaps even one of the fundamental laws of this world.”
“Fel, throughout the centuries, countless wizards who considered themselves brilliant, but weren’t nearly as clever as they believed, tried to uncover the true nature of magic power.”
“In the end, every one of them lost themselves in that pursuit.”
“I’m afraid even Merlin himself couldn’t explain exactly what magic power truly is.”
“So there’s really no need to waste your time researching it.”
Dumbledore’s expression turned serious before he continued.
“However, just as physical strength can be trained and developed, there are ways to use and strengthen your magic power.”
Fel’s eyes lit up instantly.
To be honest, he had never cared about the true nature of magic power.
What he really wanted was to become stronger.
“There are generally four ways to increase your magic power.”
“First, natural physical growth.”
“As young witches and wizards mature, the magic power within them naturally grows stronger.”
“If you possess an extraordinary bloodline or exceptional natural talent, then you’ll undoubtedly be stronger than others.”
“Second, improving the quality of your magic power through frequent spellcasting.”
“Just as physical strength and muscles grow stronger through exercise, using magic repeatedly tempers your magic power like steel forged hundreds of times.”
“Third, mastering more magical knowledge, or more specifically, more spells.”
“Constant learning also strengthens your magic power.”
“You’ll notice that every truly powerful wizard is also a scholar.”
“Fourth, certain potions or magical treasures.”
“These are either extremely rare or have only minor effects.”
“Your Professor Snape has consumed quite a number of precious potions that stimulate magic power.”
Now Fel truly understood.
What had seemed like a profound mystery actually had a surprisingly simple answer.
Dumbledore added a few final words.
“But remember this.”
“Magic power is only the source.”
“The true strength of a spell depends mainly on your will.”
“Your determination must never waver, Fel.”
“That is what every wizard should always remember.”
Dumbledore took out two lemon drops.
“I think it’s time for you to head back.”
“Would you like a sweet? Muggle candy really is delicious.”
Fel smiled.
“Of course.”
Inside the library, Hermione was sitting at a long table, working on her Herbology homework.
Harry and Ron sat cautiously across from her.
The moment they saw Fel walk in, they were overjoyed.
Fel sat down beside Hermione and simply tilted his head as he stared at her.
Hermione kept her lips pouted, pretending not to notice him.
Fel didn’t say a word.
He simply continued looking at her until Hermione finally couldn’t resist glancing back.
“Mmm…”
Before she could say anything, Fel gently placed a sweet lemon drop into her mouth.
“Sorry.”
“I think I’ve been having a little too much fun lately.”
“Let’s practice magic together this afternoon.”
Fel said with a grin.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
She muttered something under her breath, but the corners of her lips slowly curled upward.
Fel didn’t hear what Hermione had said.
But he knew the sun was shining again.
(…)
Not becoming obsessed with training didn’t mean Fel wasn’t busy.
Besides attending classes, he still had homework to finish, practiced magic with Hermione, and frequently visited Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall to ask questions.
He discovered that asking professors directly was much more convenient than searching through books.
Both Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were extremely dedicated teachers.
In fact, they genuinely enjoyed it when students came to ask questions.
Unfortunately, only a handful of upper year students ever did.
After all, students naturally preferred avoiding teachers whenever possible.
Meanwhile, Fel wrapped several thick layers of sponge around the Bludger named Friday.
Its destructive power was now greatly reduced.
He planned to bring Hermione, Harry, and Ron along.
Training alone inside the Room of Requirement all the time was rather boring and depressing.
It would be much better if everyone trained and improved together.
“We could go near Hagrid’s hut.”
“It’s close to the Forbidden Forest, and there aren’t any students around.”
Harry suggested.
It didn’t really matter what they played.
The important part was that his friends had invited him.
Hermione nodded.
“Only Hagrid is usually there.”
“The Bludger couldn’t possibly hurt him.”
Ron had also changed his mind.
He figured that practicing against Bludgers would help him improve at Quidditch, and maybe he could join the Quidditch team one day.
Fel thought it sounded like a good idea.
Besides, it had been quite a while since they had visited Hagrid.
Since it happened to be another Saturday without classes, the four of them set off together.
Standing outside Hagrid’s hut, he gazed toward the endless Forbidden Forest in the distance.
The forest covered at least dozens of square miles.
Its countless black, twisted trees looked eerie even in broad daylight, enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
Yet instead of feeling cold, Fel felt a growing warmth spreading through his body.
The magic power inside him seemed to have become unusually active.
It was as though something deep within the Forbidden Forest was calling out to him.
Fel knew that entering the Forbidden Forest now wasn’t an option.
Even if he managed to avoid getting caught, the magical creatures inside would probably mistake him for dessert without Hagrid there to protect him.
He needed to come up with a reasonable excuse to enter the forest.
Preferably with Hagrid accompanying him.
“Fel, what’s wrong?”
Hermione noticed something unusual about him.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Fel didn’t want Hermione to worry, so he brushed it off.
At that moment, Harry knocked on Hagrid’s door.
“Oh, good morning, everyone.”
“I was just having breakfast.”
“Would you like some rock cakes?”
Hagrid greeted them warmly.
None of them had ever seen rock cakes before, so they entered the hut curiously.
The hut wasn’t very large, and its style was undeniably rugged.
Fel noticed all sorts of magical creature hides and materials hanging casually from the walls.
He even spotted several expensive unicorn hairs.
Was Hagrid secretly wealthy?
Fel and Hermione sat together on the same sofa.
The enormous couch didn’t feel crowded at all.
Hermione couldn’t even bend her legs properly and ended up reclining as though she were lying on a bed.
Hagrid pulled two enormous flat cakes from the cauldron hanging over the fireplace.
He broke one into four pieces and handed one piece to each of the four children.
Fel swallowed nervously as he looked at the cake in his hand.
He tapped it twice with his knuckles.
“Thunk. Thunk.”
True to its name, the rock cake looked dull gray and was covered with cracks resembling solid stone.
Ron took the first bite.
“Crunch!”
Ron immediately covered his mouth, tears nearly streaming from the pain.
Hermione was much smarter.
She carefully picked a little of the softer filling from the broken side with her fingers before placing it into her mouth.
A moment later, her eyebrows knitted tightly together.
Fel copied her approach.
All he could taste was the overwhelming flavor of burnt food.
It was as though someone had crudely wrapped dough around some filling before tossing the whole thing directly into a fire until it charred.
Honestly…
That might very well have been exactly how it was made.
“Uh… we’re actually not hungry.”
“We really came here to play with a Bludger.”
“We’ll save the rock cakes and eat them later.”
Fel stuffed the rock cake into his robe pocket before standing up to head outside.
The others exchanged glances.
You just said exactly what all of us were thinking.