The Fool in Hogwarts

Seeing this, Vade became even more certain of his theory.

This room was an excellent place to improve his proficiency with spells, provided they were not too powerful. Otherwise, they would damage the room itself.

Besides that, it could also offer considerable assistance in studying divination, potion-making, alchemy, and other disciplines.

"Although it isn’t quite what I expected, it is still satisfactory," Vade thought. He then cleared his mind and allowed the room to return to its original form.

The ten target dummies reappeared, though this time they were made of steel and could withstand much more punishment.

Vade took a deep breath, aimed his wand at them, and began testing the offensive spells he knew.

Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Petrificus Totalus, Diffindo, Reducto...

For a time, magical light of various colours flew throughout the room. The dummies repeatedly went from being destroyed to repaired, then from repaired to destroyed once again.

Vade did not stop until most of his magic had been exhausted.

"I need a room where I can rest."

He concentrated and repeated the request several times in his mind. The simple training room disappeared, replaced by a lounge.

It was not luxurious, but it contained everything he needed, including a bed, sofa, tables, chairs, parchment, and quills.

He walked over to the bed, sat down, then leaned back and lay upon it.

After the tests he had just conducted, he now had a rough understanding of his true strength. He also knew what level of ability he should display during his seven years at Hogwarts if he wanted to remain consistent with the identity he had established.

However, strength was not the same as combat ability.

Although a wizard’s fighting ability was directly related to the amount of magic they possessed and the power of the spells they knew, that did not mean other factors could be ignored.

Combat experience, reflexes, and even something as unpredictable as luck could determine the outcome of a battle.

He needed to train his casting speed, spell accuracy, and reactions in combat.

Besides that, practising nonverbal and wandless magic was also necessary. He could already perform both, but there was still a considerable difference between being capable of something and mastering it.

After resting for nearly two hours, Vade recovered some of his magic.

However, instead of continuing to practise spells, he began testing several of the Magician’s Beyonder abilities.

"I need a room with candles and a pool."

After repeating the thought several times, a huge pool appeared in the centre of the room, surrounded by candles.

Vade snapped his fingers, lighting the candles one by one.

His figure vanished instantly. He flashed between the flames in rapid succession, though he never moved beyond a range of thirty metres.

After circling the pool once, he stopped and began testing his Flame Control ability.

The flames gathered in mid-air according to his will and condensed into a fireball.

The fireball then transformed into a metre-long serpent. The fiery snake opened its mouth and released a hoarse hiss, but before it could make another movement, it collapsed into scattered sparks.

Vade could not help feeling disappointed.

He could only control flames in relatively simple ways. Giving fire a defined shape involved an advanced application of Transfiguration, which was still rather difficult for him.

At Sequence 7, creating even a fire serpent was difficult. To create a fire dragon, he would probably need to reach at least Sequence 4.

For now, his most important task was digesting the Magician potion.

Come to think of it, what were the acting principles of a Magician?

Perform proactively, but never perform without preparation.

Challenge the impossible, even if the final result is false.

Strive to earn the audience’s applause.

Control the target’s attention.

Vade carefully recalled the principles for acting as a Magician, and his expression gradually became complicated.

Proactive performances, challenging the impossible, earning applause, and controlling the target’s attention. This was far beyond merely attracting attention.

If he dared act as a Magician at Hogwarts, Dumbledore would probably summon him for a private conversation within three days.

The thought of a certain white-bearded old man smiling as he exposed Vade’s identity as The Fool made him shudder.

"I can only look for opportunities during the holidays. I must be extremely cautious when digesting the potion. Even if it takes longer, I absolutely cannot expose my identity."

After calming himself slightly, Vade removed his trousers and outer robe, then walked down the steps into the pool.

He created an invisible hollow tube in his mouth and extended it above the surface to draw in fresh air. With its help, he swam an entire circuit of the pool without surfacing for breath.

After climbing out, Vade used magic to dry his clothes and stared absently at the still surface of the water.

A Magician was still only a Magician. The tube was the key to breathing underwater, but it was not long enough and could easily be affected by the surrounding environment.

However, he was not merely a Magician. He was also a wizard.

In the future, he could improve this ability and transform it into true underwater breathing. He would call it... the Water-Breathing Charm.

After dressing and tidying himself up, the somewhat exhausted Vade was about to leave the room when something occurred to him.

He tossed out a paper figure and snapped his fingers, destroying it. Only then did he hurry back towards the Slytherin common room.

He had been lying on his bed for less than half an hour when Draco entered with an indignant expression. Crabbe and Goyle, who followed behind him, looked equally displeased.

"What happened to all of you?"

"What happened?" Draco angrily punched the bed. "Can you believe it? Gryffindor won the Quidditch match."

Vade froze for a moment and looked at him in confusion. "Even so, surely that isn’t enough to make you this angry."

"He’s angry because Harry Potter caught the Golden Snitch and ended the match," Crabbe said quietly.

"Harry Potter." Draco spoke through gritted teeth. "Why should he be the one?"

"Master Malfoy, you have to admit that Harry Potter has talent for flying."

"Hah, that’s hilarious.

"You didn’t see how he performed during the match. He had barely done anything on that Nimbus 2000 before he nearly fell off."

"Surely not."

"I’m not lying. Everyone saw it. He couldn’t even control his own broomstick."

"Then how did he win?"

"Luck. He somehow regained control of the Nimbus 2000."

"And then caught the Golden Snitch before Slytherin’s Seeker?"

"He caught it," Draco said sarcastically. "But he caught it with his mouth. Since Quidditch was invented, he is the only player to swallow the Golden Snitch during a match and then spit it back out."

"Gryffindor won in complete confusion. It made no sense at all."

Vade rolled his eyes inwardly at Draco. "Next year. Next year, Slytherin will definitely erase this humiliation."

"That’s true." Draco’s mood improved considerably. "Because next year, I’ll join the House team and become Slytherin’s Seeker."

(To be continued.)