The Halloween Celebration continued at the individual houses, so today's common room was lively. Christian, Harry, Hermione, and Ron discussed what had just happened. Christian knew the troll incident cemented the trio into a group of friends, and it seems now he was part of this event.
'I guess it's not bad to have people you call friends. Didn't Mum tell me to make meaningful connections?' he thought.
"Christian, I wanted to apologize for how I treated you and say you were right—I crumbled under pressure."
"Oh, that's fine. I probably shouldn't have been so direct."
"No, you were telling me the truth, and I wasn't willing to listen."
"Well, it's now water under the bridge."
"Can…can you tell me how to fix this problem? I mean, how did you become so calm and confident under pressure?"
"Me? Well, meditation for more than three years granted me better control over my emotions. Plus, my mother trained me harshly. I once had to fight like three trolls together, and they were wearing magic-resistant armor. However, I don't think that approach fits you well.
"You could try challenging yourself in the Dueling Club by fighting older students."
The others looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean you faced more than three trolls?" Ron asked.
"Well, it was part of my training."
"What kind of training is that?" he continued. "Are you sure someone wasn't trying to kill you?"
"I agree," Harry nodded. "That creature alone was terrifying, let alone facing three of them, in armor."
"It's not as bad as you think," Christian shrugged. The true challenge of that training was the goblin with the wand.
"I think I'll try the meditation and dueling," Hermione muttered.
"Maybe that's for the best."
After this event, Christian spent more time with those three. However, his constant disappearance to the Room of Requirement and late-night return received their attention. They asked him, but he said it was a secret. Christian was a little selfish and wanted to keep the room for himself.
But he felt guilty about keeping secrets and decided to tell them eventually, just not now.
November had arrived, and the first Quidditch Match was coming soon. Despite promising Harry he would be there to support him, he was focused on his magical training in the Room of Requirement.
Christian stared at the dummy before him and waved his wand, but nothing happened. "So, closed. Which one is it?" He had long discovered the secret to nonverbal casting — creating a mental image associated with the spell to replace the incantations. The mental image cannot be anything or simply thinking of the incantation in his mind – it had to fit with the spell. His mental image of the Shield Charm was a shield with two swords fused to the front. Now, he was trying to find an image for the Disarming Charm.
"Disarming…Disarming," muttered Christian repeatedly. He had tried many images, including a figure with its arms literally missing. 'How about trying an image I already did?' He did not know why he had this thought, but decided to test it. So, he pictured a knight with his weapon on the ground, the first image he thought of for this spell.
Christian focused, and with the correct wand movement, a light flew from his wand to hit the dummy, sending the wand away from its hand. His eyes lit up, and he tried again, succeeding each time—he had found the correct mental image. He soon frowned as he wondered why the mental image worked this time but not the other time.
Christian knew every spell needed a mental image to cast silently, and everyone's mental image was different. He remembered his mother telling him her mental image of the Shield Charm was a mother protecting her child with her body.
Christian took his journal and began writing entry 18. He talked about the possible relationship between mental image and self-hypnosis and the fact that magic, or advanced-level magic, is more individualistic; everyone must find a mental image that fits them or the spell they want to cast silently. He also mentioned his unique circumstances.
According to his mother's explanation, people's magic or magical ability will grow as they grow up. It's nothing like the "mana" Christian saw in Jim's memories, but more along the lines of the development of the body and the mind; the innate magic inside a person will grow, allowing them to wield it with greater ease. This fact could be considered one of the Fundamental Laws of Magic.
Sadly, this is bad news for Christian because his mind is much more developed than his body, which restricts his magic in some capacities. That's why, despite his knowledge being on par with that of the sixth or seventh year, he cannot use nonverbal magic like those students.
[AN; Nonverbal magic is taught from the sixth year.]
This is also why Flitwick or McGonagall will not teach him some spells (besides safety reasons).
Tiara advised Christian to keep practicing magic and even nonverbal casting, as that would accelerate the growth of his magical abilities. And every time he can cast a new nonverbal spell, it's proof of his growth, and when his body catches up to his mind, nonverbal spells will become easier for him.
This theory fascinated Christian, who remembered a philosophy in Taoism called the unity of Essence, Spirit, and Qi. This philosophy discussed the balance between the body, the mind, and the energy flowing through the body, which he interpreted as magic.
From Jim's memories, he learned that the human frontal cortex will not fully develop until age 25, which also fits this theory.
According to his mother, nonverbal spells are often weaker than incantations unless a wizard dedicates years of training to elevating them to the same level as incantations. Such a feat requires hard work and talent, meaning few wizards can do it. However, if Christian continues working hard, the moment his body and mind become balanced, his nonverbal spells will be on par with his Incantation Spells.
Christian closed the journal while muttering, "Which spell should I try to cast silently?" He groaned, thinking that finding the correct mental image would cause trouble since the image did not work the first time around. He added that he needed an image for the spells he knew, and he hoped this process would become easier as his body developed.
'I could try Jinxes or weak spells that are naturally easy to cast nonverbally,' he thought. He knew certain spells, like Levicorpus, were easy to cast nonverbally and only needed to recite the incantation in the mind to cast.
'No, since the goal is to train, let's try something challenging,' Christian concluded.
Finally, he decided on Revelio, Homenum Revelio, to be precise. When he dealt with the troll, he used his mother's advanced handweaving (long casting) to silently cast the spell as he had an inkling that Dumbledore might be following him, and he was correct. So, he plans to learn how to use this spell wandlessly and nonverbally.
Christian continued practicing the Disarming Charm until he felt he grasped it well. Then, he changed to Revelio. On Saturday, Hermione, Ron, and Christian stood together to watch the match. Before the game started, Ron was already bugging Christian.
"Why can't you tell us who Nicolas Flamel is?" asked Ron.
"How many times did you ask me this question?" said Christian.
"I just want a straight answer."
"You guys are messing with things that do not concern you. Plus, you'll find it eventually, so stop bothering me." He regretted accidentally revealing this name. However, he cannot blame himself; he was extra busy with his strict schedule and had no time to pay attention to the 'plot,' so he said something to them by accident.
"That's not a valid answer."
"Is your plan to annoy me until I tell the truth?"
"Basically."
"Then you'll fail. Even if Voldemort was before me and trying to intimidate me, I would not say a word."
"Shhh, don't say his name," said Ron, looking around.
"Stop bothering him since he doesn't want to say anything," said Hermione. "By the way, Christian, I haven't found any books about meditation. Can you suggest some?"
"I don't think the library has any, but you could participate in my morning meditation. However, you would need to wake up at 6 AM daily."
"I have no issue."
"Alright, bring a clock tomorrow, and I'll see you in the common room."
"Waking up at 6 in the morning? You people must be bloody crazy," commented Ron. The match soon started, which made Ron finally shut up. Their house had the lead, so Slytherin decided to follow their usual tactic — playing dirty. Midway through the game, Hagrid came to see them.
"Christian, yer hanging with these fello' now?"
"Yeah, they can be pleasant company," replied Christian. "I'm sorry I haven't visited you."
"It's fine. Yer can come nex' time."
The match continued, and Hagrid soon mentioned how Harry's broom was getting out of control. Hermione took her binoculars and mentioned how Snape was the one jinxing Harry. Christian took the binoculars and looked. Hermione had already rushed, but it would take some time. Christian frowned as he pondered. Every time he experienced one of these events from the books, he felt like things were surreal; he questioned the existence of fate and whether everything was predetermined.
The game ended with Harry swallowing the Snitch, and the four leaving with Hagrid to his hut. Christian was in a momentary daze as he watched things unfold precisely as in the books. Ron accused Snape, but Hagrid disagreed before accidentally revealing his connection to Fluffy and Nicolas Flamel. The only difference was that the trio already knew of his existence.
"Christian, why aren't you saying anything?" asked Hermione.
"Oh, I have nothing to say except Hagrid is right. Snape did not curse you."
"You're on his side?" asked Ron.
"Do you think I would be on Snape's side, of all people? I'm just telling the truth."
"That's fair."
"But I saw him use the jinx said Hermione."
"He was using an Anti-Jinx. I read his lips."
"So, someone else jinxed him. Who?"
"I don't know," replied Christian. He was not about to oust his favorite DADA teacher. He plans to learn as much from him as possible for the entire year.
"Even if Snape did not jinx me, he's still suspicious," said Harry, and Christian said nothing. After the visit, the quartet returned to the common room to play chess. As usual, Ron won, even defeating Christian after he made a passionate speech to motivate his pieces.
The next day, Christian waited for Hermione until she walked down from the girls' residential area. He had already conjured two mats for their meditation.
"Since this is your first time, I recommend lying down instead of sitting, which can numb your legs and distract you," explained Christian. Hermione nodded before following his advice.
"Relax your body and choose a Focal Point, which can be anything. I used the Greek Alphabet, but I suggest you use the mantra: I will be calm in any situation."
Hermione closed her eyes to follow instructions, and Christian continued, "Every time you're distracted, calmly rein your mind with the mantra. Approach your thoughts from the point of non-judgment; they are thoughts, not necessarily judgments of your character—that's the job of your decisions. This is your first meditation, so you only need to last 10 minutes, but it's okay if you cannot last that long. I couldn't when I first started."
As Christian watched her breathing become smooth, he nodded before closing his eyes and entering a calm state. He woke up 10 minutes later when her alarm rang.
"How was it?"
"Not…so good," replied Hermione, a little embarrassed; she thought the 10 minutes would be easy.
"Let me guess: your thoughts kept distracting you, your body felt uncomfortable, you wondered whether this was working, and you felt embarrassed because you couldn't last the 10 minutes. Did I miss something?"
"How did you know?"
"That's how I was when I first started," explained Christian. "However, I was used to most of these issues after a month. After three months, it became a natural part of me. After six months, I saw the benefits. I could focus easily and had more energy. After two years, I could enter deep sleep and function with only 6 hours of rest without fatigue or health problems. And that's not mentioning all the mental benefits like being in tune with my emotions or being calm in times of stress."
"I understand. I won't give up."
"That's good. In that case, I'll see you tomorrow morning," nodded Christian before closing his eyes and meditating. Hermione watched in shock as he stood perfectly still for 50 minutes before opening his eyes when his alarm rang.
'His eyes looked so bright — and purple,' thought Hermione as she watched him.
Christian exhaled deeply. He used to hate sitting cross-legged to meditate, but ever since his enlightenment, he found this pose very suitable for calming down and entering a state of focus, so he's been using it ever since.
It was 7 AM, and some students were already up. Christian and Hermione separated as they returned to their room.