The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

"Did Rozier say something to you?!" Liria imagined, "I knew she had bad intentions! Don't..."

"No, I haven't seen her since I got to school. I was just guessing."

Julien interrupted her, "Whether you believe me or not, Liria, promise me you'll stay away from Professor Quirrell. Don't go to him alone, and don't tell him anything about your family, your bloodline, or the secrets of the North."

Liria looked at Julien's serious expression and remained silent for a moment. She could sense that the worry in Julien's words was genuine.

"Alright," she finally conceded, "I'll be careful. But I still think that even if Professor Quirrell is a bit strange, he's not... not a bad person, is he? Otherwise, why would Dumbledore have made him a professor?"

Old Deng? Pshaw, that old Deng is cunning.

Knowing he couldn't completely convince her in a short time, Julien could only sigh. "Anyway, better safe than sorry."

-----------------

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Ravenclaw takes Charms class with the first-year Slytherin students (unlike in the original books). The class is taught by Ravenclaw's Head of House, Professor Flitwick.

Professor Flitwick was a short, old wizard with a head of messy white hair. He had to stand on a thick stack of books so that all the students could see him.

He began the lesson in a cheerful and enthusiastic tone: "Good morning, children! Today, we will learn a very basic, but extremely important, spell—the Levitation Charm!"

“Remember,” Professor Flitwick emphasized, “the wrist must be flexible, like this—first a flick, then a snap! The pronunciation of the spell is also crucial; the emphasis is on the ‘o’ in ‘Leviosa,’ not the ‘sa’!”

"Like this," he waved his wand and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" A white feather on the platform immediately floated up and twirled gracefully in the air.

"Alright, it's your turn."

The classroom was immediately filled with a chaotic mix of pronunciations: "Wing-ardium Levio-sa" and "Wingardium Le-vi-o-sa".

When Julien entered the classroom earlier, he immediately spotted Elizabeth Rosier sitting in the front row. Today, she was wearing a dark blue robe, which made her skin appear even whiter, and the snake-shaped brooch on her chest shone brightly. At that moment, she was engrossed in reading "Standard Spells, Beginner," her expression focused, as if everything around her was irrelevant.

At that moment, in the row behind Rosier, near the Slytherin side, Malfoy was loudly chanting a spell in an arrogant tone. His feathers fluttered slightly before settling back onto the table. He glanced in Ravenclaw's direction, a disdainful smile playing on his lips.

Julien ignored him. He closed his eyes and recalled the key points of the book "Why Do Feathers Always Try to Hit Your Face?" in the Magic Resonance Library.

He adjusted his breathing, feeling the flow of magic within his body, then with a light flick of his wrist, he clearly chanted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

His feather immediately rose steadily into the air, hovering there, and could even move slowly according to his will.

Actually, this was the result of his deliberate control; otherwise, he could have made the feather dance. Like the can-can. Oh, the can-can won't work; it can't split.

"Well done, Mr. Black!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed with delight, jumping down from the pile of books and hurrying to Julien's table.

This is better than Hermione from Gryffindor, after all, she's a Ravenclaw student. "Perfect pronunciation, perfect movements! Ravenclaw, add five points!" Professor Flitwick's voice was exceptionally loud.

As soon as the words were spoken, a clear and precise voice rang out from the front of the classroom: "Wingardium Leviosa."

Flitwick turned his head and saw Rozier. Her feathers rose smoothly and cleanly, without a single unnecessary movement.

"Excellent, Miss Rozier!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed again. "Slytherin, five points! It seems we have two exceptionally gifted students today!"

At this moment, all the students applauded, except for Malfoy. Malfoy's face stiffened slightly. He secretly glared at Rozier and Julien, as if blaming them for stealing his thunder.

The class continued. Most students were still struggling with their feathers; some feathers trembled slightly, while others flew uncontrollably straight to the ceiling, eliciting laughter.

When the bell rang, Professor Flitwick clapped his hands to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Today's assignment is to write a paper on the Levitation Charm. There is no length limit. A summary will help us further improve the use of the charm, so please complete it carefully."

After a pause, Flitwick continued, "Furthermore, there's no doubt you need to continue practicing the Levitation Charm until you can levitate a feather stably for at least ten seconds. Also…" He looked at Julien and Rozier, "Mr. Black, Miss Rozier, please stay a moment. I'd like to speak with you privately."

The students gradually left the classroom, and Malfoy gave Julien a vicious glare before leaving. Julien thought his cousin was a bit off his mind and decided to avoid him.

Soon, only Julien, Rozier, and Professor Flitwick remained in the classroom.

"You two have performed exceptionally well," Professor Flitwick said with a smile, "far beyond your peers. I'm curious, had you been exposed to magic before entering the school?"

"Not much, Professor," Julien and Rozier gave the same answer almost simultaneously.

Professor Flitwick nodded, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Pure talent, indeed, is enviable. However, talent also needs proper guidance. I've noticed that your control over magic when casting spells is remarkably precise, which is quite rare. Especially you, Mr. Black, your control over magic seems... to have undergone countless training sessions."

Julien felt a chill run down his spine, but remained outwardly calm.

"Alright," Professor Flitwick said, pulling two thin booklets from his pocket. "These are some notes I compiled when I was younger on the fine control of magic. They might be helpful to you. Take them, and I hope you'll make good use of them."

The two took the notebook and thanked him.

Stepping out of the classroom, the corridor was nearly deserted. The two skimmed through the professor's notes and decided to each copy one and then exchange them.

At the moment of parting, Julien hesitated for a moment before asking, "Rozier, could you tell me something about your family and the Liria tribe?"

Rozier stopped in her tracks. She was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "I don't know much either. I only know that many years ago, Grindelwald commissioned our family to search for several ancient stone tablets throughout Europe. Those tablets were said to contain powerful natural magic, but I don't know what they were used for. My grandmother's generation did do some dishonorable things for this."

She raised her head, looking directly into Julien's eyes, her gaze sincere: "But I can assure you, those things have nothing to do with me. I hate that history, which is why I left my family and came to Hogwarts. I don't want to become like them."

Then, Rozier thought for a moment and added, "However, many years have passed since then. Ever since Grindelwald's failure, I haven't heard of my family searching for those stone tablets again. My family originally just wanted to take me to Durmstrang. After Headmaster Dumbledore negotiated with them, they agreed."

Julien looked at her and nodded. "Of course I believe you. But the matter of the stone slab is probably not as simple as you think. Let's talk about it later; for us, studying is the most important thing, isn't it?"

The two smiled at each other, and the previous misunderstanding seemed to vanish in that moment.

"Oh, right," Rozier suddenly remembered something, "I once saw an old book in a used bookstore in Diagon Alley that mentioned 'Eternal Night Forest,' 'Legion Energy,' and 'Guardian Stones' or something like that. If you're interested, that book might be helpful. I think the title was 'Magic Nodes.'"

"Okay, thank you, Miss Rozier."

"Just call me Elizabeth." She turned and walked toward the Slytherin cellar.

Suddenly she tiptoed slightly and hopped forward a small step with a light, springy rhythm, then another step, the hem of her robe swaying merrily.