Monday. The first lesson of the week. The second week since I had arrived at this school. My father had already returned back to Japan. He had assured me we would see each other semi regularly. He was often needed to oversee the bureaucratic duties of the school. He had his responsibilities. It was fortunate that I would get to see him as often as I would. In such an unfamiliar land, unfamiliar situation. It didn't quite scare me or set me on edge, it was just the slow creeping feeling of alienation. The Japanese population of the students was rather small, within the same house of this year I only had 3 other students. None of which particularly grabbed my attention. One of the girls was far too standoffish and stoic to interest me. The boy was as easily stoked as an open-air fire, reminiscent of the dyed red hair he sported. The last girl was pretty run of the mill, she was friendly in a meek and easy-going way. The type that would run along with friends playing tag laughing all the while. I wonder if I would be like that…
The hallways were quiet this time of the morning. Perhaps it was the pathway I had taken. I wasn't far from the third floor and its numerous entrances. Even though the time for my lesson was soon approaching, there wasn't anyone in sight. I had timed it so that I would arrive just before the beginning of class. I didn't care to gather everyone's attention by joining late, nor did I want to engage in the bore of sitting idly waiting for the professor to arrive. My cane continued to clack against the cold floor.
The second week. That means we would share classes with a different house. Last week was the Hufflepuffs. Was it Ravenclaw or Slytherin this time? Not like it matters. The classes would continue to be as boring, unchallenging and drab no matter which house was involved. When would I finally be challenged in this dull school? I couldn't get involved in the sports, so the house cup wasn't even a thought in my mind. There were other concerns for the school, but I didn't care much for them…
Whether it was the obvious segregation of classes, the coming competition between students, the obvious way in which every house is equal or even the blatant partnership between the study buddies. I was remiss that these next seven years would be occupied by such tedium. I just wanted to see… I don't know what I wanted to see.
Something interesting, that was for sure.
But the only idea that manifested was an impossibility. A dream. One that would be crushed as soon as it risen to the surface. Even now I was counting down the days since I had last seen him. How would he change if I were to see him again? Would he have become even more impressive?
…Ahhh. I feel like a lover pining for their partner. How romantic. And utterly shameless.
My mind reverted to the mental image of the student calendar. Specifically, the copy given to each and every first-year Gryffindor student. What a unique teaching method.
We were given a week with each different house, which amounted to three weeks out of four in a monthly schedule. Rather than repeat that schedule indefinitely, instead they stuck to a four-week itinerary. One week was with each house and the last was individual house learning. This week would be focused on the foundational skills handled by the Japanese instructors along with self-study. Apparently, this was to encourage students to find their specialty topics and interest and also become more accustomed with the school grounds, this time was also heavily used for sporting competitions.
I couldn't help but focus on that last week of the schedule. It was as if the school was deliberately forcing the schedule like this rather than a natural progression of learning being the main focus. To learn was to repeat and continue a topic over days and months. Learning was a product of repetition, focused practice with affirmation and sleep. As such it wasn't the most ideal to cram all the foundational skills into the last week. Instead, it came off as if this was an afterthought and the main consideration was something else instead. What that was? I had a few ideas. All of them stemmed from the thought of equality and fairness.
We were purposely given the same amount of learning time with each house, minus our own. Of which we were given extra, the extra time given during a time of sporting competition. They were forcing or rather eagerly encouraging intraclass communication and friendship. The question was, why? We were already incentivised to work together for the house cup prize and access to the Room of Requirement. This on top of it just seems excessive. Like they're trying to divert attention from something else.
Whatever it is they are trying to divert attention from… must be at the end of the month. The surprise and diversion would only last that long.
My thoughts were scrambling. It had some potential, but I couldn't help that my ideas would probably sound conspiratorial to anyone I shared them with. Besides that, I wasn't particularly interested in whatever was happening here. I could do with just learning the magic that I came here for. I still needed to find exactly what my father said would interest me here. So far, the people and the events have been unassuming. It wasn't that I didn't trust my father. I did. Just, I struggled to find what exactly was so impressive or important about this place, or even the people here. I had already met the so-called saviour of the West. And I can say I was unimpressed. Rather than the heroic boy reminiscent of fairy tales, the impression of an abandoned pup was more in character with him.
My thoughts had taken me all the way to the last turn. There was a fork in the corridor, to the right lay the classroom that was my destination. However just before I turned, I met a boy coming from my immediate left.
It was like I had seen a ghost.
Clank.
My cane dropped from my hand, making a stark contrast to the previous silence eminent in the hallway. My eyes met the golden orbs of a young boy, taller than me by a head or so. He had auburn hair that framed his face delicately. His robes were drifting behind him, as if a shadow crept up from the ground. He continued on his path, grabbing the cane and handing it to me. I grabbed it without thinking much, the only response I could utter was a confused blink at him. Seeing I had taken the object he once again continued down the hall without another look at me.
There's no way…
Kicking myself out of my stupor I turned around the corner.
He was gone…
Yeah, there was no way.
Sigh… I might need to check my head. Am I dehydrated? Maybe I didn't get enough sleep?
Whatever, let's just get this class over and done with…
Entering through the open doors, I sat in one of the closest seats. Not really caring whether it was a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw student that would be my partner for the lesson.
"Good morning, everyone! I see you're all on time. I've covered the theory and motions. Now we'll have a practical class. Now please remember the incantation. Wingardium Leviosa. Swish and flick. Please give it a try on the feathers provided." A half-goblin stood atop several thick books addressing the class. The professor's wand was equally small; however, he was poised and confident. It was as if watching a conductor order his orchestra. In demonstration a feather was pirouetting in the air, multiple complex manoeuvres took place.
Last week we had been instructed on the laws of levitation charms. For some I suppose it was a first with that information. In contrast I had already researched some of these things when I was much younger. I remember as a child, laughing at the story of the spell's first use. It ended with the spell's creator nude, breaking a few bones and utterly ashamed in public. He had forgotten to account for what was actually affected when he cast the spell. It was his clothes rather than the human body. Rather amusing.
Levitation charms, this one in particular was useful for most objects, it even allowed the user to move the objects in space as they cast it. Although the mass, volume and spellcaster's experience/strength were the most important factors. Theoretically anything could be lifted so long as the caster was strong enough. But theory was theory, the largest implements were things like bridges, which took a seasoned wizard a lifetime to reach.
A feather was child's play for the initiated. Well, I guess we are children…
All that to say. I wasn't quite interested in lifting the feather. Being the first wasn't interesting, it was inevitable if I had chosen to do it. How boring it is to win, when you know you will. My motivations lay elsewhere. I was scanning the classroom for the student that would be first. I already had a person in mind, specifically a girl. I had spoken to her before, what with sharing a room. It was kind of predetermined.
"Stop. Stop! You're going to poke someone's eye out. Besides it's Leviooo-sa. Not Levio-saaa." The girls frumpy hair shook from side to side as she accosted her partner exaggeratedly.
"Go on then. If you're so clever…" A certain red headed boy responded to the jab.
She responded with a snooty grin and turned to the feather. "Wingardium Leviosa." The feather immediately took to the sky. It was impressive, though I wasn't sure if it warranted that much praise. This was a common spell, often the first charm taught to young witches and wizards. A studious person like Ms. Granger would have probably already practiced this particular spell in her free time. I suppose that still deserved commendation, she was dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge so much that, that was all she had known. In her I could find a kindred spirit. Maybe. If some things were a bit different…
"Oh, well done, Miss Granger! 10 points to Gryffindor!" The charms professor shouted exuberantly. Meanwhile the partner of the celebrated student had a clearly hostile look on his face. He crossed his arms and emptied a large sigh into the air of the classroom, though the other students were too taken by their assignment to notice.
"Sakayanagi-san are you not going to attempt the exercise?" A voice had spoken to me from my left, my partner. In my carelessness I had sat with the stoic girl from my house, I was surprised she had even attempted conversation. I imagined the only reason was because this was related to schoolwork, otherwise she would ignore me like she did everyone else. That was why she had been left alone even now, even though I was the last student to arrive.
"I'm terribly sorry, I seem to be feeling a tad weak this morning. Would you mind showing me how it's done?" Although not entirely truthful, there must have been something wrong with me today, I was seeing visions that shouldn't be possible earlier.
Fwip. She shuffled her hair behind her in an almost exaggerated display of self-confidence. The black locks cascaded from where they rested on her shoulder down to her lower back.
"Hmph. Wingardium Leviosa." She snorted in pompous affirmation. The feather had slowly, joltingly raised into the air, over time it became more controlled and fluid and gently set back down onto the desk. Exactly where it sat beforehand. Controlled almost to the centimetre where it would land. How poetic. She looked over at me, not so much with apprehension for my own spell, but to check her own abilities against mine.
I'm flattered, but you can't be called a playmate.
I could just perform the same spell, but… That was boring.
"Levio." Her eyes scrunched up slightly as she regarded the feather that was slowly raising into the air. It sat suspended at a certain height. I wondered whether she knew exactly what I was doing.
"…That isn't the assignment."
"Hmm. But if I make it do the same thing and no one is aware that I incanted differently, does it matter?" Perception was reality for some.
"…Of course. The mechanics of the spells are different. The levitation charm is the most useful of all the levitation spells, the professor says it himself." She says as if pointing out that the sky was in fact blue.
I despised that sort of understanding of the world. To argue some ways may be more effective or compatible with a certain situation, that was one thing. But to argue there is only and always a single effective measure to every possible situation is ridiculous, and completely predictable. Two sins I will absolutely never lower myself to.
"Really? I think it depends on the use."
"…" Her eyes continued to narrow as she stared at me. She was doing a bad job of looking uninterested.
"For example, what is the difference between the levitation charm and what I just used?" I had stopped paying attention to the feather but made a show of looking at it all the while.
"It seems to be a simple hover charm. Meaning you can't manipulate the object freely." So, she knew that much at the very least.
"Not all objects can be moved freely with the levitation charm either."
"Of course they can. That's the point of the spell." That wasn't true, though I suppose that depended on the definition of object in the eyes of the user. The original creator of the spell posed that the spell was affecting the person's body, this however, was not the case, it was his clothing. Meaning the human body was not effectually rendered as an object in this spell's case. There were other instances where this could the case. For example, an object with a similar spell cast on it by another magician wouldn't be manipulated, unless the strength of the incantation surpassed the other. It was also possible to treat objects with hexes, runes and the like to resist such spells, though this was much more costly to attempt.
"If that's the case are all the related spells obsolete?" The hover, rocket, levitate etc. All of these spells were related but had their own specific use cases.
"I would argue that's correct. If this is the most useful version of the spell, then it would be an exercise in futility to learn the others, when it would be more useful to master this one instead." She nodded quietly to herself in satisfaction of her explanation.
"I wonder. Professor Flitwick was an accredited duellist master, would he use the same charm in combat?" I nodded towards the small, but composed man stood atop his jittering ladder of books.
"What does that matter?" She looked down towards me.
"If it's the greatest spell for that effect, then he wouldn't use another in a duel, would he?"
"…That isn't the same."
"Losing confidence, already?" I could already feel a smile tugging at my lips, fighting against it was futile. Not that I really wanted to hide my amusement.
"No such thing. It could just be a matter of the incantation, in a duel every single second counts, he might not use levitation spells at all." Her frown was getting deeper as she attempted to appear bothered less and less. It wasn't working.
"That's a weak argument considering seasoned magicians use wordless magic, as well as the fact he's half-goblin. They specialise in it."
"Well then I'll just ask him, won't I?" My smile deepened as she took the bait. In a huff she turned and raised her hand to the professor.
"Yes?" The half-goblin turned towards where we were sat, twiddling his wand between his fingers as he answered.
"I believe you were a former duellist, would this be an example of spell you used in your arsenal?" Her English was remarkably decent. The theory and vocabulary were all there, but she clearly had difficulty with pronunciation, indicating a severe lack of speaking practice.
"Interested in duelling, are you? Excellent question! This is not a spell we would use in a duelling setting. The reason being is its lack of utility. The incantation is too long in the case you chant, and other spells can do the same job against a living opponent. Since we can't move the opponent after casting with the levitation charm, we opt for other similar spells such as the hover charm or rocket charm."
A boy raised his hand from across the room, he had raven black curled hair and gaunt face as if he didn't get much sleep. "Is that the case even if you were to use the spell without a chant?"
"Yes, indeed. It takes more strength than other spells with a similar effect. The other reason is a bit harder to explain if you haven't performed magic without a chant before… Let's see… There is a refractory period in the brain, even without a chant some magic is more complicated to perform than others, especially wordlessly. The levitation charm is an example of that."
"All this isn't to say that the levitation charm is useless! Far from the fact! In most cases other than duelling this is the most useful of the levitation spells, it just isn't specialised for duels. Or moving living targets. Duels won't be a part of your lives for some time yet, so it's important to learn these things."
Although she had looked dejected for a second a brief moment of reprise allowed a little more pride to well up in her chest as she looked at me. I simply smiled at her in response. I couldn't quite catch the snigger as it escaped my lips.
"…What is it?" She regarded me in abject revulsion.
"Nothing." I responded with none of my usual firmness.
"…"
"…"
"I was basically right, you know." Those words came from her.
"Of course. Whatever you say." If she wanted to live in delusion, then so far be it from me to stop her.
"It's the most used in any setting that isn't a duel. That makes it the most convenient and useful to learn."
"You sure have to preface that a lot, don't you?"
"ONLY in duels, is that not the case?"
"It's okay, don't worry about it. You were just wrong. It happens."
"…"
"Well not to me, but I've heard of it happening before." She made a disgusted noise before turning away.
How amusing. Perhaps Father was right. There are one or two things worth pursuing here. Let's see if I find anything more…
---
Word count: 3180
A chapter from Sakayanagi's perspective, a bit of a change but hopefully a welcome one. I'm kinda getting used to the different characters, so perspective shift like this might happen from time to time.
Hopefully it was entertaining and or interesting to read. I felt like the Horikita and Sakayanagi interaction practically wrote itself, their dynamic is pretty fun. Horikita with her stern, stoic behaviour and bookish learning tendencies. Compared to Sakayanagi's compulsion to push people's buttons and the wit to do it, that and the lackadaisical attitude she takes when she doesn't have any competition.
As always let me know you thoughts so far. Hope you enjoyed.
Patreon.com/Shir0249
For three chapters ahead of the public releases. Joining as a free member isn't a bad way to get updates on time if Wattpad isn't sending notifications. Whether a free reader or paying member of the patreon, your viewership and support is appreciated greatly. Thanks as always.
Until next time.