"First, w-we'll practice the hand movements for memory extraction. Th-they are the most basic support. The w-wand tip needs a subtle, small shake."
Just as Ethan had read in books, Quirrell waved his wand. The posture was somewhat similar to extracting one's own thoughts to place in a Pensieve.
Ethan mimicked Professor Quirrell's movements. The light brown hornbeam wand drew a graceful arc in the air, accompanied by a slight tremor. The movement was perfect, without a single flaw, and extremely standard. His movements were graceful and precise, like an elegant conductor, a stark contrast to Quirrell's shaky demonstration.
"...V-very well done, Mr. Vincent." Quirrell's mouth twitched.
Although he was slightly amazed that Ethan mastered it in one go, he just assumed Ethan had practiced beforehand, so he didn't pay much attention. The difficult part was about to begin.
"Th-then let's move on to the next stage. Learning the auxiliary spell for memory extraction. Th-this isn't mandatory. In fact, it doesn't have a simplified version of the spell... B-beginners must recite it repeatedly u-until they can cast the magic proficiently even without speaking the incantation. It contains ancient runes, which a y-young wizard of your age is far from having learned."
Quirrell raised his wand and wrote a long, complex spell in the air, stroke by stroke. This was the first time Ethan had seen Quirrell write on the board. It was easy to imagine how watered-down his usual classes were.
Ethan observed the words. Some of them were similar to the Erised spell he had learned. "Listen to me read..." Quirrell cleared his throat and, pointing with his wand, drily recited the words like a child reading from a textbook. Utterly devoid of beauty.
Ethan frowned. He looked up, examining the floating incantations. The strange forms were reflected in his cobalt-blue eyes. Part of it was ancient runes. It hadn't yet evolved into a spell more suited for modern wizards. It reminded Ethan of the Erised spell, giving him a sense of familiarity.
Under the effect of "Erudition," though Quirrell had only read it once, those tongue-twisting pronunciations were deeply imprinted in Ethan's mind. Combining the spell with the knowledge he usually learned, those tadpole-like ancient runes gradually revealed their intended meaning.
"Th-this spell is very, very difficult. So you don't need to rush, I will teach you slowly..."
Seeing Ethan staring at the spell in silence, a smug smile crept across Quirrell's lips. So what if Ethan was praised by everyone as a "genius"? The gap in age and experience was right there. How could Ethan compare?
Quirrell felt no shame in competing with an eleven-year-old child. If Ethan could recite this spell completely by the end of tonight's lesson, Quirrell would have to praise him as "talented."
"Ahem, come, I'll teach you again, word by word..."
Before he could finish, a young voice interrupted him. Like the chanting of an elf under the moon, a beautiful and ethereal spell flowed from Ethan's mouth.
"Qiluo Shi Dachunzhu..."
(Translator's Note: The Pinyin "Qiluo Shi Dachunzhu" sounds like "奇洛是大蠢豬" (Qíluò shì dà chǔnzhū), which means "Quirrell is a big stupid pig." If this type of content isn't what you enjoy, please let me know, and I'm happy to change or remove it.")
As he recited, the surrounding air began to stir, as if resonating with him, glowing with specks of brilliant light.
"..."
Quirrell's eyes slowly widened. He stared in astonishment at the fluently chanting Ethan, as if looking at a humanoid monster. Only when Ethan finished reciting the spell completely and looked at Quirrell with a smile did Quirrell snap back to his senses.
Not a single word missed! Ethan had truly learned the spell after hearing it just once! He even recited it better than him!
Regarding souls and memories, although it was for research on living portraits, it was already borderline Dark Arts! Why was Ethan, a first-year wizard, so proficient in Dark Magic?
Was this still Hogwarts?!
[Marvelous talent...]
In his mind, Voldemort suddenly spoke. His tone was filled with deep admiration.
[To remember and understand all the words after hearing it just once, even if this child had studied in advance, he can only be described as a 'monster'... Heh, if I had been in his year, what kind of sparks would we have created...]
His tone changed, and Voldemort began to put him down:
[You useless trash! You can't even compare to one of this child's toes! If not for having no other choice, I would never have considered coexisting with you!]
"..."
Quirrell lowered his head deeply, his whole body trembling. Jealousy, resentment, and all sorts of twisted and dark emotions filled his chest.
Ethan quietly watched Quirrell's state, as if he were about to mutate in the next second. Just now, Voldemort must have been putting pressure on Quirrell. With his pursuit of desire and power and the corrosion of Dark Magic, Quirrell had long lost the pure pursuit of knowledge characteristic of a Ravenclaw.
Pah, trash!
However, Ethan was quite satisfied with the current teaching pace. Quirrell is running out of steam, Voldemort, you push him harder...
"...W-wait a moment, Mr. Vincent, I'll go get the teaching aids!" Quirrell looked up, forced a smile, and then hurriedly left the classroom. As he turned, his face was filled with uncontrollable resentment.
He had to prove that he was stronger than Ethan, more useful to his Master! Even if he had a good memory and could recite the spell completely, when it came to actual casting, gestures and incantations were far from enough.
Soon, Quirrell returned with several glass jars. Inside were a few lumpy toads.
Cute little things. Ethan's eyes curved in delight.
The toads shivered.
"Alright, let's practice with these toads," Quirrell said hoarsely. He raised his wand, pointed it at a toad, and his lips moved silently. A wisp of white smoke drifted out from the toad's head, coiling around Quirrell's wand. Visibly, the toad's eyes became dull and vacant.
"This is the toad's memory and a fragment of its soul... It's somewhat similar to one of the three Unforgivable Curses, the Imperius Curse. It's just that the thoughts are extracted. Here, you try."
Quirrell said, deliberately not telling Ethan the spell model for this magic. Without the model's assistance, success was utterly impossible!
Ethan was well aware of Quirrell's little tricks. But he had already learned the spell model for soul magic from the restricted books. All that was left was practice.
Ethan waved his wand, reciting the spell. As expected, nothing happened.
"Croak." The toad remained as still as a rock.
"Phew..." Quirrell couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, a happy smile appearing on his face.
Good, good. There were things Ethan couldn't do. His attainment in Dark Magic was still much stronger than Ethan's!
At this moment, Ethan's attention was not on Quirrell. His gaze was slightly fixed on the air...
[Through practice, your mastery of knowledge has progressed further]
[Continue practicing, and you will gain new "Erudition"]
[Chapter Complete]
***
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