King of Lightning [HP FANFIC]

In his opinion, magical reserves were linked to a wizard's physical growth, meaning they could increase with age. Physical exercise and the consumption of magical creature ingredients could also have this effect. He had previously felt a noticeable boost in his internal magic after eating dragon liver from Hagrid, which reminded Anduin that Hagrid was a free source of resources. He considered visiting him from time to time, hoping to get his hands on some dragon meat.

Magical intensity, on the other hand, was more influenced by willpower and emotions. Related notes could be found in spellbooks, where it was stated that angry individuals often released attack spells with significantly greater power. Many wizards with dark minds also mastered dark magic with double the effectiveness. The concept of willpower was somewhat vague, but some wizards with strong determination were known to cast spells with stability and resilience. Anduin was one such person, possessing an extremely firm will.

As for magical sensitivity, Anduin had learned about it thanks to Professor Flitwick. Through martial arts practice, meditation, and his earlier weighted and delayed training with the Levitation Charm, he had discovered that controlling magic was becoming easier and easier. He hadn't understood what this meant before, but now he realized it was a sign of increased magical sensitivity. Strengthening his muscles and bones helped tighten the bond between magic and his body, meditation cleared his mind and sharpened his awareness, and weighted, extended training kept his magic in a state of constant output—all of which benefited a wizard's perception of magic.

Anduin planned to continue this training. The Slytherin dormitories were also fairly spacious; after all, the underground area was large enough for him to practice. As for spell practice areas, Anduin intended to first master most of the introductory spells before searching for a more suitable location.

Having sorted out his plans, Anduin dove into a sea of books.

Meanwhile, after a seemingly calm week at Hogwarts, the conflict between Slytherin and Gryffindor slowly began to unfold.

. . .

"The 'Century Charms Studies' journal is a monthly publication, issued once a month. The Hogwarts Library has a collection, but the number of copies is limited. You'll need to see if you're lucky enough to borrow one. Also, there's about a six-month delay. The library doesn't carry the current month's edition. If you want to read this month's issue, you'll have to wait half a year. This policy helps protect the publisher's sales. After all, no one wants newly published journals to be freely available right away. You can start by borrowing some older issues. The content is excellent. I also contribute as an editor and reviewer for this journal."

Half a moon later, after Charms class, Flitwick looked at Anduin—who had approached to ask about the journal—and explained all of this to him in detail.

"I see. Thank you, Professor. But if I wanted to subscribe directly to the 'Century Charms Studies' journal, how would I do that?" Anduin didn't want to be half a year behind everyone else, and he figured the library only had one copy of each monthly issue. He might not even be able to borrow it, which would be incredibly frustrating.

"If you're interested in subscribing, of course there's no problem. A one-year subscription to the 'Century Charms Studies' journal costs 24 Galleons, which isn't cheap. If you want to subscribe, just give me the money and I can help you send a subscription request to the publisher." Flitwick could see that Anduin was truly eager to learn, and he was happy to assist him.

Was he serious? His Daily Prophet subscription cost only 5 Knuts per copy, and that was a daily newspaper. The price of the Charms journal exceeded Anduin's expectations. Twenty-four Galleons a year meant 2 Galleons per issue. Many magic textbooks cost about the same. It seemed expensive to Anduin, but then he reconsidered and felt reluctant to pass up the opportunity, so he made a decision.

"Professor, please subscribe to a year's worth for me, and also buy a copy of the previous six issues, if possible." Once he had made up his mind, Anduin no longer hesitated and handed the money directly to Professor Flitwick.

After paying 36 Galleons, Anduin immediately felt his pocket grow significantly lighter.

"This won't do. This isn't a sustainable solution. I need to find a way to earn some money. My potion project needs to be prepared in advance." After thinking for a moment, Anduin resolved himself.

After saying goodbye to Professor Flitwick, Anduin didn't head straight to the Great Hall for dinner. Instead, he planned to visit the Potions classroom, hoping to master some potion recipes quickly after a period of intense studying.

Scavenging through old textbooks wasn't inherently good or bad. Finding some old books in the Charms classroom for self-study was approved by Professor Flitwick, but Anduin hadn't spoken to the other two professors about searching for old textbooks in the Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts classrooms. He already felt a bit guilty, and since Professor Slughorn was the Head of Slytherin, Anduin had always been too afraid to 'do that' in the classroom of his own Head of House.

But now that he had made up his mind, he couldn't afford to hesitate. He would go through with it. After a brief consideration, Anduin 'snuck' into the sixth-year Potions classroom. He had already visited the second- through fifth-year classrooms. In addition to picking up some potion textbooks, he had also discovered a Veritaserum recipe inside a storage cabinet in the fourth-year room. The recipe had been wedged between a torn-up textbook, looking untouched for years and covered in dust. Anduin pocketed it without hesitation.

Using the Unlocking Charm with practiced ease, Anduin opened the cabinet door, which held several old sixth-year textbooks. Hogwarts textbooks hadn't changed in years, so all of them were Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage.

Seeing this, Anduin wasted no time and began flipping through them one by one. When he opened an old copy with a slightly worn cover, he found it filled with notes—densely packed margin scribbles and annotations. The only book Anduin had seen with that many notes was Lily's fifth-year Charms textbook. Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel excited. It looked like he had struck gold. Every time he searched old textbooks, it was like a lottery: the same book could have completely different value depending on who had owned it.

After flipping through it quickly, Anduin was convinced that this textbook was something special. He turned to the first page to see who the owner was—hoping he could give thanks someday.

"The Half-Blood Prince?" Anduin thought the previous owner was rather arrogant, calling himself a prince.

Chuckling to himself at the memory, he quickly stowed the pretentious prince's Potions textbook and left the classroom.