A Wizards Misadventures

~~Level Two~~

"Then... why don't..." Harry seemed lost.

"Because it wouldn't make a difference," I told him. "Such armour would be expensive and it could still be circumvented by a cut at the right place, a pit falling under the person, or just tripping. Wizards aren't cut out to be all that powerful in most cases. I'm the exception, not the rule, and people like Dumbledore are too. Wizards are deadly because they're versatile. They can always take the easy path and that means that there's a lot of spells to make things easy. Cleaning, crafting, travelling, whatever. Taking the easy path is more than easy for a wizard."

"I can see that," Harry agreed.

"Good, now I'm not going to be teaching you to take the easy path," I said, enjoying the grimace Harry sported. "What, did you think you have an easy path ahead of you? Ridiculous. Now, wand up." Harry obliged and fished his wand out from the back pocket of his jeans. I had to get him a wand holster, immediately.

"Think of an effect. Something easy that you do verbally, and close your eyes." Harry closed his eyes. "Think of how you make that effect happen. How your magic feels. Reach for that feeling and pull on it, expelling the magic through your wand. Give it actual effort and push your desire into it. You have to want this to happen. Oh, and ignore those silly wand movements. Do what comes naturally. Magic is natural. If it doesn't feel right, it's not right. Swish or flick or jab or whatever. Now focus and act when you're ready."

Harry closed his eyes and I focused on his magic. I saw his magic morph a little, some mana and world affinity mixing together inexpertly. Sometimes it moved one way but jerked another. It was like Harry was fighting something.

"Stop fighting. Your magic wants something to happen. Let it act as it pleases. Your magic is you. Channel it and let it enact your desire. Don't mold it." I told him. The process stopped for a moment before restarting and becoming more smooth, those kinks less common and less intense. I nodded, not that Harry could see me. It took about thirty seconds before Harry actually cast the spell.

When Harry moved he stepped forwards and slashed his wand. A red bolt appeared from the tip and flew through the air. It went for about a hundred yards and hit a hill, making a little dirt fly up into the air far away. So there was a kinetic force in it.

"That was a stunner, right?" Harry nodded, his chest moving to his breathing.

"That was... harder than I thought it would be," he said, pausing to take a breath in the middle of his sentence.

"It was slower than I thought it'd be too," I commented. Harry gave me an annoyed look. "I also thought you'd take four or eight tries to get any result." I told him. He paused and his lips twitched into a small smile.

"Don't get too prideful. You took twenty eight seconds. I want you to have it down to one, preferably less, and be able to do so without focusing on it too hard so you can dodge while you're forming spells." Harry's face fell into disappointment.

"Now for drilling. This is going to boring for both of us and grueling for you so lets get started. We'll shift to a different spell in an hour, an hour on telekinesis, which should be extremely useful for solid projectiles, and spend the last fifteen minutes sprinting back to the castle. If we get back early you'll have extra time to get ready for breakfast. Consider a shower motivation. Oh, and you'll be doing this all on Saturday, by the way. Sunday's free, though."