Chapitre 74: CH74 - Fundamentals of Summoning
Stone walls loomed around him, arching inwards to form a perfect dome above his head. Although the room was clean and well-maintained, it retained an earthy musk to it that was unmissable. Together with the wax dripping from the candles dispersed evenly along the sides, Edmund imagined that the area was the stereotypical image any child would think of when picturing an evil wizard's lair.
'And it's not exactly like Marvolo isn't evil,' he thought to himself amusedly.
After Edmund had eventually slogged through all the societal knowledge Voldemort wanted to impart to him, the duo finally moved on to performing actual magic. Given the dangerous nature of the things the dark lord wished to teach him, they had been convening within Marvolo's own personal training room for the past week or so.
The space was bare, an empty playground meant to be utterly unrestrictive for its user's needs. Edmund's only indication that the chamber was designed for the dark lord's purposes was the thickly woven layer of wards that encapsulated it, focused entirely on spell containment. Even if Fiendfyre were to be released within its boundaries, it would do little more than burn continuously until it snuffed itself out after being deprived of magic.
It was in this gigantic, rocky fortress that Voldemort's voice echoed as he lectured. "Animal summoning charms are prime examples of spells that can vary from incredibly simple to monstrously complex. Yet, when they are taught, that concept is oft avoided for fear of overwhelming new practitioners. Like all magic, summoning is dependent on intent. Confusing eleven or twelve-year-olds with countless facets about its mechanics is more liable to make them execute it incorrectly."
The dark lord paused then.
"However, for us to proceed, you must have a basic foundation," he explained. "Let us consider the most common iterations of these spells taught at Hogwarts. Those being the bird-summoning charm, Avis, and the snake-summoning charm, Serpensortia. Tell me, Edmund, what are the two methods by which these spells can be completed?"
"The first is purely through transfiguration," Edmund immediately answered. "By using the precise incantation for the animal you desire to summon, you can conjure them from the end of your wand, bringing them forth into existence from nothingness."
Voldemort nodded approvingly, gesturing for him to continue.
"The other is the less standard, true form of summoning. The caster implements the same magic as the previous scenario but instead pictures an already alive animal being called from elsewhere in the world," Edmund finished.
"Correct," the dark lord congratulated. "But why does it matter? Other than the option just being present, what difference does it make to use one strategy over the other?"
"Power," Edmund replied, confused why Marvolo was asking him such a basic question.
"Yes," his mentor rolled his eyes, silently asking Edmund to bear with him. "That is the obvious answer. Conjuring a large or complicated beast will require more power. Similarly, summoning something intricate from a far distance is also difficult. That is why you tend to see canaries or garden snakes when Avis or Serpensortia are involved. Both are small and found in large quantities in Britain. What else?"
"How the summoned construct responds to an opponent's spells changes?" Edmund guessed hesitantly.
"Good," Voldemort commended him. "Live animals will react as you would expect. They are flesh and blood and will behave like it. Conjured ones, on the other hand, will vanish into a cloud of black smoke. In the majority of situations, it matters little. Most respond to summoned snakes and birds with specific counter-spells, which will vanish them regardless of the method the original caster used. However, if the battle is fast and chaotic, your foe may not have the time to dedicate several seconds to dispatch a single construct. In that case, broad-effect spells such as Bombarda or Incendio are likely to be favoured."
Edmund pursed his lips in consideration.
"That is all easy enough to understand once you think through the logic of it," Marvolo waved away. "I mentioned it only so you could recognize the catch in today's lesson; Serpensortia using parseltongue. If you want to summon magical snakes, conjuration will not be an effective tool to do so. If one attempted the transfiguration approach, they would have to create a replica with the magical creature's inbuilt magical abilities, many of which are not duplicatable with a single spell. That is not to mention that the summoned beast would possess none of the original's magical resistance and would merely be a pale imitation of it. The proof of that lies within the Draconifors spell."
"Draconifors is a third-year transfiguration spell used to transform objects into dragons, which the caster can then control. Their size depends on the object from which they were transfigured—a smaller object will produce a smaller dragon, and a larger object will produce a larger dragon," Edmund summarized from memory as he scrunched up his eyebrows.
The dark lord hummed in agreement. "Yes, but the dragons produced from the spell are much smaller and less powerful than true dragons."
"So why is there no magical summoning charm for dragons if that's the case?" Edmund asked though he was only trying to confirm what he already believed to be true.
"Because the amount of power it would require to summon a dragon against its will would be ludicrous—far too much for a single witch or wizard," Marvolo explained, even as the corners of his mouth turned upwards. "But with parseltongue in play, the energy needed to summon magical snakes plummets drastically. Oh, it will still be a challenge, unlike anything else. However, when have we ever backed down from that?"
Edmund grinned.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Voldemort warned, though his excitement was palpable. "Even as parselmouths, there are some limitations that we must be aware of. Just as before, summoning large creatures would be foolish. Sea serpents in the Mediterranean grow up to hundreds of feet in length. Attempting to call forth a beast like that would be no better than suicide. Furthermore, we cannot summon creatures that do not exist. It sounds silly, but it is important. With the death of Salazar's basilisk, the noble beast is yet another serpent that is lost to the world and us."
The mood turned gloomy then, but the oppressive atmosphere did not last long.
"Enough!" the dark lord decided as he drew his wand. "We begin!"
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État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone