Adrian watched Luna and Ginny leave, their figures were growing smaller as they tramped through the snow toward the castle's walls. A smile unconsciously formed on his face, softening the thoughtful severity that had been on his expression moments before.
Chatting casually with his students was always surprisingly relaxing, he pondered. Their youthful enthusiasm and uncomplicated perspectives provided a welcome counterpoint to the more complex thoughts that occupied so much of his mental energy lately.
At that moment, just as the two girls were about to disappear around a snow-covered hedge, Luna seemed to suddenly remember something important. She stopped abruptly in her tracks, causing Ginny to stumble slightly, then turned back around.
With an unusually serious expression replacing her typical dreamy demeanor, she called back across the snow-muffled distance, "I'm very sorry, Professor Westeros. We weren't able to help you solve your troubles."
Her silvery eyes were filled with what looked like regret and concern.
Adrian shook his head reassuringly, touched by her thoughtfulness. "It's quite alright, Luna. It's not such a big problem, really. Nothing for you to worry about."
Luna tilted her head in that birdlike manner of hers, studying him with perplexing intensity for a moment. "Perhaps you could seek help from someone else..." she said slowly, as if considering. "Oh, goodbye, we really need to go now before we lose the afternoon light."
With that somewhat cryptic advice delivered, she waved cheerfully to Adrian with her free hand and continued pulling her friend determinedly toward the Forbidden Forest's dark tree line.
Adrian couldn't help but smile, shaking his head.
Although he knew that Luna possessed occasionally shocking insight and perceptiveness that contradicted her scattered exterior, had he really displayed his internal troubles so obviously on his face? Was he becoming that clear in his frustrations?
But seek help from someone else? The question lingered in his mind as he watched the girls disappear from view. Who exactly could he realistically turn to for this particular problem?
Dumbledore immediately came to mind, of course. The most powerful living wizard, legendary for both his combat prowess and his theoretical understanding.
But was that really the best choice?
Ten minutes later, having made his decision with swiftness once he'd committed to a course of action, Adrian found himself standing before the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office.
He spoke the current password—"Fizzing Whizzbees"—and rode the spiral staircase up, listening to the mechanical grinding of stone.
He knocked firmly on the door at the top.
"Come in," Dumbledore's calm voice came from inside.
Adrian pushed open the door, and the first thing that immediately caught his eye and made him pause was Fawkes standing prominently on the corner of Dumbledore's massive desk rather than his usual golden perch.
The magnificent phoenix emanated waves of comfortable warmth throughout its entire body. The ambient temperature in the office was remarkably cozy—almost tropically warm compared to the chilly corridors outside.
Adrian was almost entirely certain, observing this scene with suppressed amusement, that Dumbledore was shamelessly using Fawkes as a living heating tool and magical space heater. He hadn't even bothered to light the large fireplace, leaving it cold and dark.
"Ah, Adrian," Dumbledore looked up from examining what appeared to be an absolutely mountainous pile of parchment documents stacked precariously across his desk.
His blue eyes twinkled with pleasure at the interruption. "What brings you here on this cold afternoon? Is there something special you need? If you're here requesting more of Fawkes's tail feathers for your experiments, I'm afraid he might not be particularly pleased about another donation so soon."
Fawkes immediately ruffled his tail feathers in evident displeasure at this suggestion, spreading like a fan. He let out a soft, melodious trill.
Although Fawkes clearly didn't truly mind Adrian occasionally taking a few of his feathers, it had to be admitted that the requests had been happening rather too frequently lately. Even a generous phoenix had limits to his patience.
Adrian laughed somewhat awkwardly, feeling genuinely guilty about his repeated impositions on Fawkes's generosity. "Ah, no, not today, thankfully."
There was simply no helping it, really—practicing wandmaking and conducting experiments had consumed quite a remarkable number of phoenix tail feathers in a relatively short time. The failure rate for experimental wands was considerably higher than he'd initially anticipated.
These phoenix feathers were naturally excellent wand cores, among the very finest available. Aside from their extreme rarity and the difficulty of ethical acquisition, they truly had no significant drawbacks. They proved compatible with wand wood of almost any material—elder, holly, vine, even the experimental Treant wood he'd been testing.
Wanting to shift the conversation away from his exploitation of Fawkes's renewable resources, he deliberately moved his gaze to the truly impressive mountain of documents, folders, and parchment scrolls piled haphazardly across Dumbledore's usually orderly desk.
He raised an eyebrow slightly in genuine curiosity. "These are—official Ministry correspondence? Wizengamot business?"
"Ah, these?" Dumbledore glanced at the paperwork with an expression mixing resignation and slight horror. "These are all documents that Minerva handles..."
"Where is Professor McGonagall?" Adrian asked.
"She's attending an international symposium on advanced Transfiguration theory in Prague," Dumbledore explained, absently straightening one particularly perilous stack of parchment.
"A gathering of some of the finest Transfiguration experts in Europe. Even at our age, one doesn't foolishly abandon excellent opportunities to continue learning and exchanging ideas with brilliant colleagues."
He blinked owlishly behind his half-moon spectacles. "So, for this period, I've had to temporarily take over these duties. I must say that Minerva's usual daily workload is truly remarkable and admirable. I don't know how she manages it all alongside her teaching responsibilities."
Adrian's mouth twitched with sympathetic amusement. Professor McGonagall really was incredibly, almost inhumanly busy. How she maintained such standards while juggling so many responsibilities was genuinely impressive.
Dumbledore stood up from behind his paper-fortress desk with relief at having an excuse to abandon the tedious work, temporarily setting aside his quill and the half-written memo he'd been composing.
He looked up at Adrian with interest and curiosity. "So, what brings you here today? You have something particular you came to see me about?"
He walked around the massive desk, gesturing welcomingly for Adrian to sit in one of the comfortable chintz-covered armchairs near the currently unlit fireplace.
Fawkes gently flapped his powerful wings and gracefully launched himself from the desk. He returned to his usual perch near the window, then spun his head to observe the empty fireplace thoughtfully.
Fawkes elegantly opened his beak and exhaled a stream of golden-red flame directly toward the cold hearth.
The empty fireplace immediately ignited with warm, crackling flames that danced and leaped enthusiastically. The sudden dancing firelight illuminated the entire circular room.
Adrian sat down in the offered armchair, immediately feeling the pleasant warmth washing over him.
After taking a moment to organize his somewhat tangled thoughts and decide how to approach this subject, he spoke slowly. "I've been thinking recently about the frustrating problem of improving my magical abilities beyond their current plateau..."
He proceeded to describe the issue in detail—the stagnation he'd been experiencing, the lack of measurable progress, the sense of hitting an invisible ceiling.
After Adrian finished his comprehensive explanation, Dumbledore's expression shifted to one of surprise.
"You're saying you've encountered a significant developmental jam and don't know how to effectively improve your abilities further?" He stroked his long silver beard thoughtfully. "Could you be more specific about the nature of this plateau?"
"My spellwork hasn't shown any meaningful progression in quite some time," Adrian admitted frankly, appreciating Dumbledore's serious engagement with the question.
"Whether measured in terms of raw power output or control precision and finesse, my capabilities have remained essentially static at their current level. No improvement, but also no deterioration—just... stuck."
"I see..." Dumbledore leaned back gently in his own armchair, bringing his fingertips together in front of his chest in a contemplative gesture. His wrinkled face showed deep thought, and he was quiet for a few moments.
He truly hadn't expected Adrian to come to him specifically about this particular matter, Dumbledore pondered privately. It was somewhat surprising, actually.
In his experience and observation, although Adrian maintained good relationships with many people throughout the school, colleagues, students, even various magical creatures responded well to him—he had always been, in some fundamental and profound sense, a deeply solitary person.
This assessment wasn't meant negatively. It didn't mean Adrian wasn't sociable or friendly—quite the contrary, actually. He could and did establish excellent working relationships with colleagues, warm mentoring connections with students, and even remarkable bonds with magical creatures that most wizards couldn't approach.
But Dumbledore, with his century of experience reading people, could sense that deep down, beneath the pleasant face and genuine kindness, this young man always maintained a kind of careful independence. Like a well-equipped, self-sufficient island that welcomed visitors warmly and graciously but never truly depended on anyone for survival or validation.
Only matters concerning magic itself—the pursuit of magical knowledge, the expansion of magical capability, the deep mysteries of magical theory could make Adrian actively seek advice and help from others.
A glimmer of understanding and perhaps approval flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. This behavior was indeed very much in keeping with everything he'd observed about Adrian's character over their years of acquaintance.
"So," Dumbledore said gently, his tone carrying warmth and encouragement, "you want me to offer some suggestions or guidance?"
Adrian nodded earnestly. "I want to know if other wizards have encountered this kind of frustrating situation in their development. Whether it's a common experience or something unusual. For instance, you, Professor Dumbledore—have you experienced such plateaus?"
"Naturally, they occur," Dumbledore replied, his expression shifting to a knowing smile. "Every truly outstanding wizard inevitably experiences such jam periods, such frustrating plateaus, at various points along their path of magical growth and development. It's practically universal among those who push themselves to excellence."
"Then how should one—" Adrian began eagerly, leaning forward.
"I don't know," Dumbledore said simply. Unexpectedly, he shook his head gently interrupting Adrian's next words before they could fully form.
Before Adrian could show his surprise, Dumbledore smiled warmly and quickly added, "I'm not being deliberately evasive, Adrian. It's simply that everyone is genuinely, essentially different in how they experience and overcome these barriers."
He gestured expressively with one hand. "Some wizards gain sudden inspiration and insight through painstakingly studying ancient runes and deciphering long-lost magical languages.
Others achieve clarity and advancement while teaching students, finding that explaining concepts to others deepens their own understanding. And some—I know this sounds absurd, but it's true—even experience sudden revelatory insight while researching new breakfast recipes in the kitchen."
"It sounds remarkably simple when you put it that way," Adrian said.
"Ah, perhaps it genuinely is that simple in essence," Dumbledore said with a slight bob of his head.
"Picture this: you're standing peacefully in the kitchen for tomorrow's breakfast preparation... and suddenly while cooking or cutting, oh my, your spell power has mysteriously increased... just like that, without warning or apparent cause."
He snapped his fingers to illustrate the supposed suddenness.
What complete nonsense is this?
Watching Dumbledore's somewhat frivolous, almost playful manner. Adrian was momentarily at a loss for words, uncertain whether to laugh or feel frustrated.
"Alright, joking aside," Dumbledore said, his demeanor shifted abruptly. He suddenly became much more serious.
Adrian also immediately composed his own expression, sitting up straighter and listening with full attention. If Dumbledore was being serious now, this would be important.
"I may be somewhat long-winded in this explanation," Dumbledore began after thinking carefully for several seconds, organizing his thoughts.
"So please bear with me. First, let's establish the fundamentals. The effectiveness and power of spells depends on many interconnected factors, such as your raw magical power reserves, your wand movement speed and precision, and the accuracy of your incantation pronunciation and intent."
Adrian nodded. This was all common knowledge, basic magical theory.
"But all of the factors I just mentioned have natural limits they can eventually reach," Dumbledore continued, his voice taking on a lecturing tone.
"Physical limits, if you will. After reaching those ceilings, continued improvement depends almost entirely on two somewhat more abstract things: your deep understanding of magic itself—its nature, its function, its fundamental principles and your determination, your will, your emotional commitment when actually casting spells."
This concept was also something Adrian understood, at least in theory. This principle was particularly evident and demonstrable in spells like the Patronus Charm—the stronger and more genuine the emotion of happiness channeled into the spell, the more powerful and solid the summoned Patronus became.
"When you've also reached the peak, the absolute ceiling in these more abstract aspects," Dumbledore continued, blinking slowly, "that's precisely the state you're currently experiencing—a seemingly insurmountable blockage period. A frustrating wall that appears impossible to breach."
He paused, letting this sink in.
"But you must understand something crucial: a blockage, a plateau, often signifies not stagnation but rather the harbinger of transformation." His voice took on a poetic tone.
"Just as a phoenix must undergo the intense baptism of flames, must submit to being consumed by fire before achieving rebirth, so too does a wizard's growth require such tempering. Such trials."
Up to this point, Adrian could understand everything Dumbledore was saying.
And the critical question was precisely how one underwent the transformation that Dumbledore spoke of.
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