Harry Potter and the Rise of the Ordinary Person - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Shameplay

Now that he was at Hogwarts, Charles had benefited far more than he had expected.

Originally, his only target had been the restricted section in the library; most importantly, Magick Moste Evile. The information it had on Horcrux and the other black magic was a literal goldmine of information. And it was here that Lord Voldemort had gleamed information on Horcruxes.

But to Charles, even the trifling lessons he went through had brought him plenty of benefits.

In the past a college senior had told him that the most important thing in college was to foster the way one thought. He had said that the biggest determining factor in a person’s decision making ability was dependent on the way they thought. In the past, Charles had snubbed his nose up at that. But now that he was in Hogwarts, he had truly understood that the college student was right.

This did not mean Charles’ study in the past was very smooth, it had been his eidetic memory and quick-learning speed that allowed him to excel now. In truth, he still was still researching magic with the scientific angle he had in the past. However, the many years he had spent researching magic had accumulated and led to him forming a new way of thinking. It had opened Charles’ eyes, and every single bit of knowledge from the past had gained a completely new perspective. And with the professors of Hogwarts giving their explanations, Charles’ study on spells had gained a whole new level of understanding of the basics.

Research by force would only leave many open-ended loose ends. Learning required the proper method and touch.

Today’s class with professor Flitwick for example had opened Charles’ eyes up by a considerable amount. Combined with the erudite knowledge Charles had, attending the class had improved his skill with the levitation charm by a considerable amount.

“Don’t forget, a nice wrist movement, just like we practiced!” Flitwick would occasionally jump from the large stack of books he was on top of. “Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. Remember, the pronunciation of a charm is extremely important! In the past there was a wizard who loved to say ‘d’ instead of ‘b’. When he said the word “buffalo”, it would instead be spoken as “duffalo”. In the end, he found himself on the floor with the butt of a buffalo sitting on his chest!

Charles excluded, all the other wizards and witches had thought the levitation charm to be excruciatingly hard to learn. Charles watched as Seamus swished and flicked his wand at the feather, but there had been no movement! Unable to wait anymore, Seamus prodded it with his wand, forcing it to catch fire! Charles quickly committed Seamus’ incantation and action to mind.

Within every single failed experiment was an intrinsic reason behind it. The greatest inventions of history had all been born from the knowledge gained from failed experiments. The way Seamus had failed in his attempt was filled with value that would help Charles understand magic. For example, he could learn why that combination of movement and incantation had caused the feather to catch fire. There was no saying if he could possibly create a whole new charm from this! Charles’ neighbor, Ron, wasn’t doing too well either.

“Wingardidem Leviosa!” He shouted, waving his long arm like a fast windmill.

Under Charles’ guidance, Neville hadn’t made any mistakes. He had staked his life to follow Charles’ words and had managed to make the feathers float up by just a little bit, causing no small joy for Neville.

By his side, Charles had waved his wand elegantly before silently speaking, “Wingardium Leviosa”. And with that, the feather began to float high up into the air.

“Oh, well done!” Flitwick clapped his hands in praise. “Everyone see here, Mister Goole’s done it, his feather is levitating!”

Looking at Charles’ feather float into the air, Hermione who had been helping Ron began to look a little anxious.

“You’re saying it wrong,” Charles heard Hermione snap, “It’s Wingardium Leviosa! Make the ‘gar’ sound nice and long.”

“Charles already did it. If you’re so clever, then you do it!” Ron snarled.

Rolling up her own sleeves, Hermione flicked her wand and spoke, “Wingardium Leviosa.”

Their feather began to twitch before slowly floating up from the table and hover about four feet above their heads. On the way, the feather had smacked Ron in the face.

“Well done!” Flitwick began to clap his hands once more while also seemingly not noticing Ron’s predicament. “Not only has Mister Goole succeeded, Miss Granger has as well!”

At the end of the class, Ron’s mood was at its worst.

“It’s no wonder no one can stand her!” Charles could hear Ron speak to Harry after class. “She’s a nightmare, honestly!” Suddenly, Charles could see Hermione quickly push her way past the two, her eyes brimming with tears.

“I think she heard you.”

“So what?!” Ron didn’t look convinced, but he hadn’t looked very comfortable either. “She must’ve known she doesn’t have any friends.”

“I reckon you should calm down, Ron.” Ron’s actions had made Charles feel a little unaccepting of the results. “Making a girl cry isn’t anything you should be proud of.”

Charles had thought that Ron would retort back with a word or two, but unexpectedly, Ron had shut his mouth when he turned his head back to glare at Charles. The outburst Ron just had had surprisingly made the childish boy to feel guilty. Furthermore, Charles’ strong spell that had protected the four of them had left a deep impression of him onto Ron.

Hermione hadn’t showed up for the next class, and neither was she seen by anyone for the entire afternoon. During the passing period after a class, Hannah had secretly made her way to Charles to say, “Hermione was seen crying in the girls bathroom and had wanted to be left alone for a while.”

“I believe you should tell that to Mister Weasley.” Charles said to Hannah, “A gentleman should take responsibility for his own actions.”

“I thought you two were friends.” Hannah blinked her eyes at Charles. “Everyone knows that the know-it-all of Gryffindor only gets along with you.”

“”Who said the badgers of Hufflepuff were so sophisticated? How do you gossip so much?”

“The sorting hat said so. I was always sophisticated, don’t you say, Mister Goole?” Hannah pulled and shook Charles arm repeatedly.

“Forget it, you win.” Charles took back his arm helplessly. “ Go and tell Ron, let him find an opportunity to fix his relationship with his housemates.”

“Bro, you’re the best.” Hannah smiled with satisfaction as she walked away.

Miss Granger, your “good reputation” as the know-it-all is known to everyone! How annoying, even sis Hannah has entrusted his mission onto me. Don’t people know that whoever started it should end it? Ugh, forget it, forget it! Charles thought. Who knew that I would be forced to enter the girl’s bathroom one day.

Charles was unlike her other peers. He was the only person Hermione felt utterly defeated by. Although Charles would usually never reveal his strength, time after time again, Hermione would realize that his knowledge of magic far exceeded her own. Hermione wasn’t some sort of stingy person, but whenever she compared herself to Charles, she gradually begun to lose all her pride and her headstrong nature had completely flowed away from her. There was only a slight amount of respect and admiration that made her treat him warmer than usual. And when she learned that Charles and Hannah knew each other, Hermione would always treat Hannah nicely as well by repeatedly helping her. Thus, Hannah had naturally treated her well as well.

Walking by himself to the girl’s bathroom, Charles took out a cosplay mask from within his bag. With a wave of his wand, he transformed into a little girl, and with another rap of his wand on his throat, his voice became high pitched. Even if anyone familiar with Charles stood right in front of him, no one would be able to make a connection between the pretty girl and the magic-enthusiast Charles.

For a male like Charles, entering the girl’s bathroom was an incredibly exciting thing!

But…this…this…cosplay…It was…it was too shameful!