Chapter 8. Lumos!

It was the first day of classes, and I was trying to follow the herd to blend in the crowd. The only problem was, almost all of the new years were wanting to follow my direction instead. While eating breakfast in the great hall, many of them were trying to strike up conversation with me. Thankfully Pansy was keeping them at bay while sitting in the spot next to mine. After breakfast was over I checked my schedule, and map to see where my next class would be.

It wasn’t difficult to have a general understanding, however the staircases were a bit confusing. Some skipped floors, so you had to know which staircase you really wanted to get on. Luckily I made no mistakes while planning my route ahead of time, but that only had the other new years, praising my sense of direction. “Wow!” “Glad I followed him!” “I would’ve gotten lost so easily!” "I can't believe this is his first time through this maze of a castle!" I held back my words of disbelief at them all, shocked at their praise. ‘What? No! This isn’t that hard! They told us where to go yesterday in the common room. Just keep your head down to not get lost and make the turns they described.'

Pansy was still watching Lucas carefully. Making sure to not miss a single move that he would try to hide. She noticed he would still stash food up his sleeve for some reason. Also the way he moved through the halls without looking at all of the wondrous sights inside the castle, almost like he had been here before, and had already seen it. ‘You don't like to talk to expose yourself, but I can see through you already.’

Me leading the first years to the History of Magic class, got the teacher’s attention while we entered into his classroom first. “I see we have a sense of leadership already.” He chuckled while letting us sit wherever we wished. Class didn’t run long, and it mostly just explained historical wizards, and what they accomplished in their time. There were a few stories of fighting mythical beasts, and the like. However I didn’t think the stories were that accurate. All the beasts that I had met felt intelligent. Sure I would have to imagine there would be a few bad apples, but I had a feeling that humans provoked them without even knowing they had, then proceeded to kill them and be regarded as heroes.

‘People always making their own assumptions before giving these creatures a chance…’ I frowned while we were all exiting the class, I walked at a faster pace to help keep my emotions in check. I didn’t want another accident. “I’m glad that boring class is over. We just sat the whole time! I’m bored!” Val complained while he slithered under my robes, tickling me a bit causing a smirk to creep on my face. I felt my emotions calm with my new pet. “Sorry, but I think next class is just more spells for me.” I said in a sadder tone.

The halls were crowded, filled with others making their way to their classes. I knew that I could get away with doing it here. “Here. Since you were such a good boy, here’s a treat.” I said while giving him his favorite snack I made last night. “Yay! We should give more of this to our friend in the water!” I bottled the cap, and quickly continued on my way. “We’ll see her at lunch.” “Yay!!” I chuckled a bit while Val cheered inside my robe, his tail flailing about in his excitement.

I entered the charms room, and quickly tried to find a corner spot away from others that were closer from their other classes. The only problem was the teacher of this charms class had a series of seats on opposite ends of each other, and the seats were closer to stands choirs would sing on, rather than normal desks. And to make matters worse for me, all of the high places had been taken by other students.

I sighed, and decided to just find a seat that had fewer people around. I found a spot near the front that was close to an edge, so I took it without a second thought. The rest of the Slytherin followed behind me, and took seats around the area I had picked. Pansy, I noticed took the spot right beside mine at blazing speed, not allowing others to snatch it before her. I gave her a nod, and took out my book of spells for the class.

“Ugh!” Someone beside me, who I sat down close to then let out a groan. I looked over to see Hermione glaring at me, along with a red-headed boy in a worn out robe. ‘The most famous red-heads in the school are Weasley’s. Good chance he is one. I guess that makes sense. They hate Slytherin’s undoubtedly. Not that I can blame that.’ I decided to not engage, and focus on the first spell inside the book before class began.

However this was just seen through the rest of the students in the worst light possible. “Hah! You don’t even deserve his time!” “Lucas is much higher than either of you!” I sighed from all the slandering, and held the book closer to my face to evade their new, harsher glares. “Everyone! Everyone, class is beginning!!” All voices stopped as a small man in a suit and glasses came to a podium between the seats, and did roll call.

After that was done, the teacher gave a basic understanding of magic, and spells. He then quickly decided to have us test out a spell from the second chapter. “Alright students, let’s all try our first spell, alright!? Everyone take out your wands!” I did just that, and stared at the beauty, and craftsmanship of the blended wood. The kinds of wood almost seemed to move around themselves, swirling about as I held it.

“What kind of wand is that!” I snapped my vision to Pansy, pointing at my wand while yelling in a whisper at me. I sighed from the extinct creatures that helped make this wand, and shook my head. “Personally made by Ollivander. Hopefully the last that will be made." I said with a somber tone, before focusing on class. However, without my knowing, my vague description only confused Pansy, her curiosity flaring. ‘What does that mean!?’ She thought while staring at the swirling wand.

By this point the teacher had described the spell, and was letting us have a go at it. Plenty other students were having varying degrees of success, and I needed to make an attempt while I felt the teacher’s gaze on me. “Lumos!” I yelled while feeling the warm embrace of this energy being focused on the tip of my wand. ‘This kind of reminds me of that lifting charm.’ I thought while looking at the small amount of light my wand was emitting.

I frowned while staring at the shining white light, but I had a thought while thinking of the lifting charm. ‘Is there a limit? The Wingardium Leviosa charm had a limit on the amount the spell could take energy from me. I could feel that when I tried using it on myself on the train ride.’ I glanced at the book while using the light to help illuminate the page better. There was some good information about using it to ward off ghosts and spirits, along with anything that didn’t like bright lights, but nothing on a set limit like the Wingarium Leviosa said.

I tried to put more energy into the tip of the wand, and I could see the light flicker with energy. I felt the limit of what the spell would allow when the light became much brighter, but when I moved my arm away from the book, I noticed there was suddenly more the spell would allow for that split second. I stared at the bright light, and gained a smirk while moving the wand back and forth, feeling the resistance of energy lessen when I did so.

I gave my wand one last flick while chanting the spell along with the other students. “Lumos!” When I cast the spell, making sure to see how much energy I could put in, the class was suddenly bathed in the massive stunning brightness that I emitted. I was startled from the amount of light that I could produce, and thankfully the spell sputtered out a second later. Being reduced to the normal light level I had before. I breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to remember the counter charm later on the page. ‘Why don’t they have that before the spell!?’

“Nox!” I yelled and gave one last amount to stop the spell from continuing on. I noticed the rest of the class was strangely silent, and I had a feeling as to why. Frowning, I looked around to see all eyes were firmly glued to me. “I say young man, may I ask what you were thinking!?” I heard the professor yell at me across the room. I sighed inwardly while keeping my composure on the outside. “I noticed I could make it brighter if I moved my wand while casting.” I said as concisely as I could manage while I felt butterflies in my stomach.

The teacher adjusted his glasses, and placed his hand over his mouth while mumbling. “That hurt my eyes!” Val complained while he slithered around my right arm, luckily I casted with my left, letting him avoid most of the blow. “Sorry Val…” I said quietly as I stowed my wand, and the professor nodded to a conclusion.