Not only had Alex bee profit in the spell, but his years of discipline had also boosted the total amount and strength of his magic, making him stand out among others his age.

  Eager to solidate what he’d learned, Alex spent the rest of the day practig the charm in various ways—sometimes with his wand, sometimes without, sometimes saying the intation aloud, and sometimes casting it silently. With each attempt, he felt his trol and fidence growing. Just as he was about to tinue practig, his stomach growled loudly. Gng at the window, he realized it was already evening—he’d pletely missed lunch. Smiling to himself, he decided it was time to take a break and go downstairs for dinner.

  As Alex ehe Leaky Cauldron, Tom, the innkeeper, looked up from his neer and called out. “Young man, you ’t just hide away all day and skip meals! You didn’t even e down for lunch!”

  Alex chuckled, raising an eyebrow with a pyful smirk. "You’re not mad that I missed cooking for you at noon, are you?"

  Ever since he had cooked a meal for Tom the day before, Alex had taken over making their dinners. He’d even handled breakfast that m, whi seemed more than happy to let him do. Tom grinned, crossing his arms as he leaned against the ter. “Just worried you might end up starving yourself up there! Then you’d go bming me for it!”

  Alex ughed, feeling at ease with the innkeeper’s teasing. Tom’s warmth made him feel right at home, as though they’d known each other much longer. "Alright, alright," Alex said with a smile. "How about I make it up to you tonight with somethira special?"

  Tom’s eyes lit up. "Now that sounds like a pn. Go on, then—show me what you’ve got, Chef Alex!"

  With that, he headed into the kit and prepared a hearty dihe air filled with the rich aromas of roasted vegetables, tender meat, and fragrant spices. Tom even poured Alex a gss of butterbeer, a drink Alex was beginning to enjoy for its smooth, buttery fvor.

  As they ate, Alex’s eyes drifted to the neer Tom had been reading, left open oable with a headline in bold letters. "Anything iing in the news?"

  Tom’s expression turned grim. "It’s getting worse. That dark wizard—they call him You-Know-Who—and his Death Eaters attacked the Ministry of Magic again. They say an Auror was seriously hurt this time. It just feels like no one is safe anymore, and who knows how long we’ll have to live with this fear hanging over us.”

  ‘Death Eaters?’ Alex he term in his mind, deg he’d o learn more about Voldemort’s followers. After dinner, Alex waved his hand, and the empty dishes floated from the table, drifting into the kit sink with a soft k. Tom’s eyes widened in shock.

  "Did you just—? Without a wand?" Tom excimed, astonished. "Even the Levitation Charm is difficult to cast without a wand, and here you are, doing it like it’s nothing!"

  Alex shrugged casually. "That’s what happens when you skip lund spend all day practig." Tom just shook his head in disbelief as Alex headed back upstairs to tinue his studies.

  Over the few days, Alex threw himself into learning new spells. He practiced basic utility spells like Alohomora (Unlog Charm), Lumos (Light Charm), and Scify (ing Charm), along with defensive spells like Protego (Shield Charm), Impedimenta (Impediment Jinx), and Expelliarmus (Disarming Charm). Some were easy to pick up, while others took a bit longer.

  Tom, who had grown ied in Alex’s magical studies, uidance when the instrus weren’t clear, especially with tricky pronunciations, which proved invaluable.

  Despite his rapid progress, only the Levitation Charm could reliably be cast without a wand. Alex suspected this was because of his years practig mind trol, which helped him with spells involving movement and lifting objects. He still felt he was on the right trad began drawing some clusions.

  First, Alex realized the same spell could vary depending on who cast it. For instaom’s Lumos was far brighter than his own, thanks to Tom’s experiend deeper knowledge of the spell. Sed, he noticed that emotions aermination could impact a spell’s strength. This insight came from one of Tom’s lessons: the stronger your will or feelings, the more powerful the result. When Alex focused his emotions while casting Lumos, he saw a noticeable increase in brightness.

  He also learhat certain dark spells could influence a wizard’s mood, deepening his uanding for the dangers of bck magic. After thinking over everything he’d learned, Alex cluded that three main factors affected spellcasting: willpower, emotions, and skill level. Additionally, the amount and strength of a wizard’s magic set a limit on how powerful their spells could bee.

  With this uanding, Alex adjusted his training. His main priority was defense, so he decided to specialize irong defensive spell he could rely on. He narrowed it down to three spells: Impedimenta (Impediment Jinx), Expelliarmus (Disarming Charm), and Protego (Shield Charm). After careful thought, he chose to fopedimenta.

  It was a decision based on his old philosophy from his gaming days—he preferred to master one skill until it was overpowered. And here, in the magical world, he po do the same. Impedimenta was described in his textbook as an essential spell for any dueling wizard. It could slopo or halt a magical creature’s advance, ag as both a shield and a tactical tool. But when Alex began practig it, he discovered it was much more versatile than the book suggested.

  When he cast the spell, an invisible barrier formed in front of him, solid like a wall. Its duration varied—sometimes it held for ten seds, other times over a minute.

  What surprised Alex most was how the wall’s density could ge. By adjusting his magical power, he found it didn’t always have to be solid. Sometimes, oppos could pass through, but it slowed them down as if they were moving through thick mud.