HP: The Salazar's Heir Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Magic Practice

“Incendio.”


Magic was of different types.


“Incendio Maximus!”


There was magic whose properties were imbued in a spell and casting the spell would display that specific property.


“Not good enough…”


Then there was the superior form of magic.


“Elemental control is better.”


The other form of magic included bending and manipulating elements and concepts according to the wish of the wizard. This freed the user from being bound to the limits set by the spells.


Everything from the form to the intensity could be controlled through grasping the element by its root. 


“Even Incendio Maximus is not comparable to a simple fire manipulation magic.”


The Incendio maximus that he casted was capable of severely injuring, and possibly even killing an average non-magic user.


However, when Sebastian followed the instructions of the book –the result was scarier.


Grabbing the flowing and cackling essence that he felt, he could conjure flames in his palm –flames hot enough to melt steel.


Even Sebastian, the one casting the spell, felt nervous holding the fire. He knew that one misstep, one slip and he would possibly lose his hand.


But with his control, he could manipulate that fire.


And he did just that, quite perfectly.


“Imagine, feel and then mold.” 


He molded the fire, the steel melting flame into a long and sharp tipped arrow. 


“Do not lose control.” 


He reminded himself and slowly pointed the arrow towards a test dummy that was kept to the far corner of the open training area.


It was not the usual hay dummy, it was made of a form of steel and was tested for blunt forces. The enchantment on it helped for it to go back to its original shape after taking a blow.


But Sebastian’s arrow was different.


“Aim.”


His arrow was not meant to test the strength or the sharpness.


“And… release!”


It was meant to test the peak of temperature, the absoluteness of heat.


“W-Wow…”


And it did just that.


“This is ridiculous…”


The fire did not melt or break the dummy. It did nothing that short.


“How is this even possible…” 


The arrow did something much scarier.


“It is gone…”


The arrow erased the entire dummy. It burnt it, vaporized it, including the enchantment –leaving nothing but a puff of vapor flying upwards. 


And Sebastian was not the only one marveled by the sight.


“Incredible!!!”


There was another.


“That is one of the purest and possibly strongest fire arrows I had seen in all these years!”


There was someone else, someone quite short who was taken aback by the sight.


Sebastian for a second was taken aback by the sudden voice, but as he looked at the person, he immediately gave the man a respectful nod.


“Good evening, professor.”


The man that praised the arrow was none other than the professor of charms, Filius Flitwick.


“Sebastian Slytherin,” The professor smiled, a sense of pride glittering in his eyes. “It was truly an eye-opening display.” The professor praised, “I assume it was a form of ancient magic, after all, no fire charm that I know of can vaporize enchanted steel.”


The magic that Sebastian used was more of a concept than the traditional ancient magic. However, the Slytherin heir decided it was for the best to not tell the truth.


“That is correct, professor.” Sebastian said, “I apologize for training out at such late hours and for ruining a test dummy. I did get permission from professor Dumbledore to test my spells as he had already seen my skills.” Sebastian clarified, “But I might have gotten a little too carried away in trying out the spells that I caused a bit of damage.”


This made Filius chuckle, “Oh, do not worry about such small matters. As long as you are able to prioritize your safety and improve your magic, everything is in fair cause.”


Sebastian was rather pleased hearing this, as he expected a bit of scolding but the professor seemed not to care about any of that. If anything, he was instead quite happy to see Sebastian practicing.


“I might have scolded you if you were someone who had never casted a spell before, but seeing that spell I am certain your spell casting and charms are quite good. So, I will not deduct any points or punish you.” Filius said with a laugh, “But that spell was truly amazing.”


Sebastian felt a bit awkward at the continuous praises but also a bit disappointed that it took him only the basic manipulation to impress the professor.


‘Once again, I am reminded of how much magic has degraded.’


“If it is not a family secret or offensive, I would love it if you can share the spell or even the concept for the spell.” Filius asked, a bit of hope prominent in his voice.


Truth be told, it wasn’t that sacred of a magic that Sebastian could not reveal to others, but he did not have a lot in his current arsenal.


“I… apologize, professor. But this was something my grandfather created, so it is a kind of familial secret.” He lied.


While it wasn’t that special, he did not have every magic and knowledge that he could acquire from the book. So, he did not want to share the progress he made with others.


‘Till I learn enough magic that sharing this little does not hurt, I will have to keep these magical skills to myself.’


Filius was slightly disappointed to hear this, but he did not take offense. 


“Unfortunate, but familial magic is sacred and thus I can understand you.” It did not take long for Filius to regain his smile. “But if it is not too much, do you mind telling me when you started learning spell casting?”



“I think…” Sebastian recalled his first spell casting lesson, “It was a little over three years, around the time I just reached four years of age.”


“Huh?” Filius paused, believing to have heard wrong. “Pardon.”


“I was four years old when I started spell casting, sir.” Sebastian said, rounding off the years.


For a straight minute, Filius stared at Sebastian, hoping for the boy to say that it was a joke. But as he saw him unbothered, he realized that it wasn’t a joke.


“Oh, you poor child.” Filius’s heart felt heavy, “No child should have been made to go through spell casting at such an age.”


His face was sorrowful, “But I can understand, since you are the heir to Slytherin. The responsibilities you are expected to carry is not something most can understand.”


Sebastian didn't feel much as to him it was a necessity. He understood that it was needed to keep the Slytherin name alive and thus did not feel sad or angry.


“But that helped me in learning the basics and so I have a better start at learning the advanced topics than the rest,” Sebastian said with a smile, “So, it is not all bad.”


Filius couldn’t not help but feel blessed to have a student in the school who did not feel burdened in learning magic, instead felt happy.


“You are a wonderful child, Sebastian.” Filius said, “And… it is not something I say often to others, but if you want to learn about advanced charms or spell casting or even dueling, I do not mind teaching you.”


“Dueling is an advanced topic, but I believe I can make professor Dumbledore make an exception just this once.” He said with a grin, “It would be a crime not to train you in the art of dueling.”


Sebastian was taken aback. He knew dueling, he had trained in it, but for a professor to offer him lessons.


That was too good of an opportunity to miss.


‘I can learn about the current state of magic duels…’


There was no way he was going to say no.


And so, he agreed. 


“I would lo–”


*Boooom!*


Or at least he tried to.


“Everyone run!” the duo heard yells echoing, “There is a troll in the girls’ washroom!”


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[[A/N: Imagine the arrow that Sebastian used to be the same as Sukuna. The same damned arrow that burnt a literal volcano curse.]]