Chapter Eighty-Three: The Ring of Raggadorr and the Armor of Protection

After Miranda explained the principles of combined spellcasting to Hevin, she personally demonstrated the process. She raised her wand and pointed it toward the lawn, her lips moving ever so slightly. Then, two beams of light shot from her wand in quick succession.

The first beam transformed into a snake that landed on the ground. The next instant, the second beam struck the snake, causing it to swell to more than twice its original size, making it look truly terrifying.

Quite a few young Ravenclaws nearby were startled by the display, edging away nervously as if ready to flee at any moment.

“It’s just a snake. What are you all so afraid of?” Miranda was clearly displeased with her housemates’ reaction, but she quickly recited the counter-charm. “Serpent Vanish (Vipera Evanesca).”

A flash of white light struck the snake, which then dissolved into motes of light and vanished into the air.

“Do you understand now?” Miranda glanced sidelong at Hevin and asked bluntly.

“I understand the principle, but are there really girls who aren’t afraid of snakes?” Hevin asked, twitching the corner of his mouth as he looked at Miranda’s unruffled expression.

“Didn’t I already tell you my family isn’t well-off?” Miranda shrugged casually. “When I was little, I’d often see spiders, mice, bats, and even snakes both in the house and the yard. If I were scared of every little creature, how would I have survived?”

“Which is why I wonder—since there are spells to repel Muggles and ghosts, why isn’t there one to drive away these little animals?” Hevin asked.

“There’s nothing strange about that.” Miranda replied matter-of-factly. “The Muggle-repelling charm works on their minds, making them suddenly remember urgent business and leave the area quickly. The ghost-repelling charm targets the unique nature of ghosts, sapping their will to move forward when they get too close.”

“But animals like mice don’t have the kind of mind those charms work on, nor any special qualities. How’s a wizard supposed to design a spell for them? Should we just banish all non-magical creatures? What about Squibs in the wizarding world, or family pets?”

“And besides, these little things can be quite entertaining.” Miranda suddenly grinned mischievously, glancing at Hevin. “I even invented a spell inspired by bats. Want to try it?”

“Ahem, I really don’t think that’s necessary!” Hevin quickly shook his head. Was she joking? A bat-inspired spell could only be trouble!

“What a pity,” Miranda said with mock regret. “It was quite amusing when I used it on my sisters!”

Hevin silently offered a moment of sympathy for Miranda’s sisters, then hurriedly changed the subject.

“By the way, since the advanced technique for combined spells involves using nonverbal magic, what if you cast one spell nonverbally and the other aloud? Would that count as an ‘intermediate technique’?” Hevin asked with a perfectly straight face.

“If you put it that way, I suppose it’s not impossible.” Miranda gave him a curious look, considering her answer. “But except for beginners learning nonverbal spells, it’s rare for someone to manage a nonverbal casting for one spell but not another. Beginners might master the nonverbal form of a single spell, but it takes all their focus just to manage that much—let alone combining two spells at once. So your so-called ‘intermediate technique’ doesn’t really have any research value.” Miranda flatly dismissed Hevin’s idea.

“No worries, just a passing thought.” Hevin grinned broadly.

Miranda’s reasoning was flawless, but what she didn’t know was that Hevin was a unique case—someone who had mastered both Kamar-Taj sorcery and wizarding magic!

Hevin could actually use a Kamar-Taj spell as a nonverbal incantation, then combine it with a spoken spell, thus achieving the so-called intermediate technique for combined spellcasting.

With this in mind, Hevin couldn’t wait to start experimenting.

“Oh right, which year do we start learning nonverbal spells?” he asked offhandedly as they parted.

“Sixth year,” Miranda replied.

Hevin paused, then said, “I could’ve sworn you’re a fifth-year?”

Miranda smiled and nodded. “That’s right, your memory serves you well!”

Hevin: “…”

Damn, she really pulled one over on me!

Having nothing more to say, Hevin bid Miranda farewell, intending to experiment with combined spellcasting straight away. But then he remembered—Wednesday mornings were Professor Essard’s Herbology class!

Suppressing the urge to skip, he dutifully finished his meal and made his way to Greenhouse One…

…

That evening, Hevin finally finished the day’s classes and at last had free time to practice combined magic.

The dungeon chamber, once refurbished into an opulent room by young Hevin, had now been given to Ghost Hevin by Professor Melos as compensation. Ghost Hevin arrived early with Helena, and the two were engaged in a rather odd conversation.

“So you’re trying to fuse the magic of both worlds?” Helena asked with great interest.

“Exactly. Given my own unique nature, I can take a shortcut when using combined spellcasting,” Hevin said, not without pride.

“So where are you, then?” Helena asked, then seemed to realize how odd her question sounded and couldn’t help but laugh.

Ghost Hevin also chuckled. “I’ll be here in a moment.”

Sure enough, soon after he finished speaking, young Hevin entered the dungeon room, a piece of bread in hand, eating as he walked.

“Was it so urgent? You couldn’t even eat properly?” Helena shot Ghost Hevin a reproachful look as she regarded young Hevin.

“I couldn’t help it—I’ve been planning all day and couldn’t wait to try it out!” Since young Hevin was busy finishing his bread, all the talking was left to Ghost Hevin, making the scene rather peculiar.

“You’re both you, but you look different. It’s such a strange feeling!” Helena glanced from Ghost Hevin to young Hevin, her expression conflicted. “So can your two bodies really sense what’s happening to the other in real time?”

“That’s right.” Young Hevin had finally finished his bread, and both he and Ghost Hevin answered in unison.

Helena seemed unsure which Hevin to address, so she stared at her toes and said, “Never mind, just get started already!”

Young Hevin smiled, drew his wand, and began casting the combined spell he’d been planning all day.

“Shield Charm (Protego)!” he declared loudly.

As a transparent barrier formed in front of him, a golden light flared—The Ring of Raggadorr overlapped the Shield Charm!

…

…