บท 137: 16
Chapter 16: Magic Competition
"You were born into a wizard family, so you must have been exposed to magic since childhood. Can you show me how to perform it?"
Hermione was both eager and anxious about her life at Hogwarts.
She had always been an excellent student and never had trouble with her studies, which had cultivated a strong competitive spirit in her.
The only time she was defeated was by Ethan. Now, after working hard to study during the summer, Hermione believed that if they competed again, she wouldn't be any worse than Ethan.
However, Hermione had no confidence in her magic skills. It was difficult to learn magic on her own without guidance. Over the summer, she only managed to learn three spells: the Lumos Charm, the Unlocking Charm, and the Repairing Charm.
For this reason, she was very worried that she would not be able to keep up with Hogwarts' teaching pace and would be left far behind by the children who grew up in wizard families, becoming a so-called poor student.
Now, given the opportunity, she wanted to see the level of those who grew up in wizard families, so she could plan her future studies.
"This..."
Neville stuttered and couldn't find the words, not knowing how to respond.
He had seen magic every day, but he couldn't perform it himself.
Puff!
Ethan couldn't help but laugh out loud. Hermione followed suit, while Neville was too timid to say anything.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing to laugh at!"
Ethan spread his hands and put on an innocent look.
"I'll show you what magic is."
Cassandra stood up. Though she didn't think much of Neville and even less of Hermione, a Muggle-born witch, she still wanted to show off her strengths.
Under the gaze of Ethan and the others, Cassandra elegantly drew out her wand and pointed it in the air.
"Incendio!"
As she spoke, a hot orange-red flame gushed from the tip of her wand, forming a tiny vortex in the air that lasted for a while.
Afterward, Cassandra looked at Ethan with some pride.
In her opinion, only Ethan was worth her attention.
Ethan must be a half-blood wizard, as she knew all the pure-blood wizard families in Great Britain and had never heard of the surname Adrian.
Additionally, the last time Ethan bought books, he spent over 100 gold galleons, which didn't match the characteristics of a Muggle family.
Eliminating all wrong answers, there was only one result.
"This is the Incendio spell. I've tried it many times, but it didn't work."
Hermione stood up suddenly, staring at Cassandra's spell.
Sure enough, students from wizard families were far ahead of her.
Ignoring the excited Hermione, Cassandra still stared at Ethan and said seriously:
"What magic have you learned during this time?"
Because of Ethan, she bought extra textbooks for higher grades and studied hard to surpass him and become the brightest star in Slytherin and even Hogwarts.
She wondered how talented Ethan was. If he was diligent and hardworking, she might pay a little attention, but if he wasn't talented, he wouldn't qualify as her opponent.
"Incendio!"
The same magic came from Ethan's wand, with the vortex of flames matching Cassandra's in size.
Although Ethan hadn't studied the Incendio spell in depth, he could learn it just by observing.
With good magic control and more powerful magic than ordinary young wizards, Ethan could easily reach this level.
Even if his proficiency in the Incendio spell wasn't as high as Cassandra's, he could achieve the same effect.
"Ethan, you can do it too?"
Hermione widened her eyes in disbelief.
Although she had lost to Ethan before, now it was magic—a brand new track. She didn't expect to lose again.
Cassandra's mouth curled up slightly. This was interesting. If Ethan were mediocre and untalented, it would be really boring.
Immediately, Cassandra swung her wand, and the flame in the air seemed to come alive, turning into a fire snake rushing toward Ethan, as if to swallow his flame.
She wanted to show Ethan that she was the best.
But reality is often cruel. As soon as the two spells collided, Cassandra's flame began to collapse.
Because they were in the compartment, neither dared to expand the fire. In the end, Cassandra could only watch Ethan's flame come within about 30 centimeters of her before dissipating.
Although the flame's form relied on magic, there was no burning material, and it wasn't the eternal flame born from the Fiendfyre spell's destructive mood.
The final competition still came down to the operation of the Incendio spell and magic.
"Ethan, we are both Muggle-born and have never been exposed to magic before. How did you do it?"
It's not shameful to ask if you don't understand. Hermione had to admit she couldn't compare to Ethan in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds.
"We are geniuses, that's all!"
Ethan said with a smug face.
"You must have some learning skills. Teach me, please!"
To avoid being a poor student and to graduate from Hogwarts smoothly, Hermione decided to go all out.
It's also a genius to pick the Muggle world by yourself!
Why can't you do it!
Hermione could only tell herself that it was just because no one taught her, and she couldn't master the learning method of wizards.
"Wait, you said he was Muggle-born?"
Cassandra interrupted the conversation between the two and looked at Ethan with some doubt.
"Yes, I know him."
Hermione nodded affirmatively.
"I lost this competition, but the situation here is not right. I will definitely win next time." As the pride of her family and a genius in others' eyes, Cassandra did not think she was inferior to Ethan. If she could let go of the competition, the victory would definitely be hers.
---
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง