Harry Potter : Bloodraven

The alchemy classroom buzzed with the quiet murmur of students and the steady sound of activity. Most of the class was hunched over their desks, faces set in deep concentration, while others whispered to their neighbors, discussing the work they were about to start.

In their hands, each one held a peculiar object—something between a spatula and a quill, no longer than a hand, sleek and black in color, with one end pointed to a sharp tip, etched with intricate patterns that seemed to shine faintly.

They handled it carefully, eyes focused on the rectangular card in front of them, occasionally glancing at the textbook beside it, as if checking the instructions.

Meanwhile, Maverick moved steadily between the rows of desks, scanning the students' work as he went. His footsteps came to a stop beside a Gryffindor student, noticing the young wizard looking far too nervous for the task he assigned.

He saw the boy's eyes flicker nervously between the card on his desk and the glyphblade in his shaking hands, struggling to keep the sharp tip steady.

"Good afternoon..." Maverick spoke as softly as possible, careful not to startle the already nervous boy.

Despite this, the little wizard wearing the Gryffindor badge on his uniform flinched in surprise and sat up straight, like a soldier caught off guard. Fortunately, he managed to keep a grip on the sharp blade in his hand without sending it flying across the room.

Maverick frowned inwardly. This was an unusually strong reaction, as if the boy had been on edge for much longer than just the work assigned to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, keeping his tone as gentle as possible.

"Y-yes, Professor," the boy stammered, stumbling over the words.

"What's your name?" he asked, making a mental guess about the boy's identity.

"Neville, Professor. Neville Longbottom."

Sure enough, this is the hidden child of prophecy, Maverick thought, recalling the early descriptions of his character in the books. It seemed to fit well with his current behavior.

"You can relax, Mr. Longbottom... doyou have any doubts or difficulties with the carving?"

Neville hesitantly glanced up at his professor before quickly lowering his head. "Y-yes, professor... I mean, I don't have any difficulties."

Maverick didn't press further. "Then can you resume the work? I hope you don't mind if I take a look."

At his words, the Longbottom heir's hands trembled slightly before he forcibly steadied them, gulping nervously and giving a hesitant nod.

Watching the boy once again attempt to carve the symbol's delicate lines, Maverick decided to offer some assistance.

The few students who had been quietly observing the exchange saw Maverick raise his hand and open his palm. Over his palm, a ball of white mist began to form and swirl, gradually morphing until it took the shape of a beautiful raven.

Gasp!

A collective audible intake of breath rippled through the room as the students stared in astonishment. Whispers broke out among them as they pointed toward Maverick, making others turn their attention as well. Soon, the classroom buzzed with the hum of chatter, all eyes casting toward him.

Maverick sighed inwardly, thinking he might be getting too used to performing advanced magic casually and probably should watch out for any audience while doing so.

Shaking his head while ignoring the students' murmurs, he let the raven flap its wings and slowly land on Neville's shoulder.

The boy was already wide-eyed, staring at him, but as soon as the Patronus landed on his shoulder, his expression softened, and a faint smile formed.

"How do you feel, Mr. Longbottom?"

"I... I feel... happy, Professor..."

"Good," Maverick nodded. "What about your nervousness? Is it better now?"

Neville paused for a moment, his eyes lighting up with realization. "It's... gone, Professor. I've never felt this relaxed before," he said, turning his head to gaze at the shimmering raven perched on his shoulder.

Maverick smiled. "Then, could you please get back to work? I'll stay and watch."

The little Longbottom nodded and, reluctantly, moved his hand away from the raven and grasped the Glyphblade. With a deep breath, he pressed the sharp tip against the stone card and began to carefully trace the faintly outlined symbol.

"You're pressing a bit too hard there," Maverick said, kneeling beside him. "Remember, the Glyphblade channels your magic, not your strength. A lighter touch with precision is what you should aim for, not force."

Neville nodded, taking the advice to heart, and adjusted his grip, his brow furrowing in concentration.

Giving a nod of approval to the young man, Maverick stood up and glanced around. He saw that the rest of the class had now stopped working and were staring at him, whispering among themselves.

"You can all talk, but please do so while working," he said, raising his voice just enough to be heard by everyone. "If there are any difficulties, raise your hand, and I'll come to help."

Woosh!

Woosh!

Woosh!

The hands went up like a wave, and Maverick wasn't sure if it was because they were all struggling with the task or if something else was going on.

He pointed to a familiar Slytherin girl. "Ms. Davis..."

"Professor! This is discrimination! Why does the Gryffindor—"

Before she could finish, her friend quickly covered her mouth, but Maverick realized what was going on with the entire class.

He glanced around the classroom, then let out a sigh. I might end up regretting this, he thought, before raising both hands in a dramatic motion. As the students gasped, two spheres of white mist began to form over his palms, swirling before growing in size.

They grew steadily, from the size of tennis balls to basketballs, and then even larger.

Wooosh!

With a soft burst, the two mist spheres exploded outward, and the scattered smoke began gathering into different pots around the room. There were about a hundred, and as the smoke swirled, it took the shape of ravens, flapping their wings as they flew to each student, landing gracefully on their shoulders.

The murmurs in the room grew louder, and some, like the loud redhead in the front, even started laughing loudly like a baboon.

Maverick amplified his voice and spoke in a serious tone. "Don't expect this in every class. It's your first day, so think of it as a little something from your professor. Now, focus back on your work. You have only 10 minutes left of the 15 I gave you to finish the task."

"Daph... look... it's so beautiful... I feel so happy... ahaha!"

Even Daphne, who was usually aloof, couldn't help but smile at the sight of her friend, laughing stupidly while playing with her feathery companion.

She glanced at her own raven, twinkling her fingers through its form. "I've seen my father perform a corporeal Patronus," she said thoughtfully. "He would take time to gather his emotions first before casting it. But this... I don't think there are any records of anyone performing the spell this effortlessly. No wand, no chant... it was like breathing for him..."

"I know, right?" Tracy giggled. "Hey, let's ask the professor to teach us the spell."

Daphne chuckled. The Patronus charm was clearly having the desired effect on her, but she wasn't about to fall into the same level of crayzy as her friend.

"No... maybe some other time," she replied with a smirk. "The professor will still be teaching us for another seven years. We've got time. For now, let's focus on the work. I'm already halfway done."

"Ah, this is boring," Tracy pouted but complied, getting back to work.

Meanwhile, in the front row, Hermione Granger was giggling as she played with her own white bird of mist, just like most of the other students. "What an incredible spell. It's making me feel so happy and so confident." She glanced to her right and called to her recently made friend, "Susan, do you know what spell this is?"

The girl wearing the Hufflepuff badge on her uniform nodded happily. "It's the Patronus charm. A very advanced spell. Aunt Amelia once showed it to me."

A little further away, the two Gryffindor troublemakers were struggling to stop laughing. One had started, and the other, unable to control himself at the sight, joined in, both of them laughing like two little crackheads.

As all this happened, Maverick stood at the back, watching his class caught up in the chaos he had caused. A regretful look crossed his face. This was not my brightest idea, he thought with a sigh.

Fortunately, as the most sensible among the young witches and wizards began working on their cards, the rest eventually followed suit. Soon, and ten minutes later than the time he had originally set, the children managed to finish carving the runic symbols onto their stone cards.

He walked back to the front of the class and glanced across the rows of students who were all showing bright smiles.

"I take it everyone is done?"

The entire class erupted in a loud "Yes, Professor," with some even shouting it.

He glanced to the side, where the redhead was grinning like a fool. The urge to drag him to detention flared up for a moment, but he quickly buried the thought, convincing himself, It's not worth it.

The Patronus scattered around the room remained beside each student, as he hadn't canceled the magic yet, unsure of the consequences.

However, he made a mental note to never repeat such an act in future lessons.

"Now, if you could all please be silent," he said, trying to steer the class back on track. "We just had a fun practical moment, but it's time for the theory part."

Looking around, he saw the students obliging to his request, quiet, but still smiling brimmingly at him. He sighed inwardly and moved on to the next part of the lesson.

"As I mentioned at the start of this lesson, alchemy involves crafting, runes, and charms," he paced slowly in front of the class.

"The crafting was already done to the cards before they were handed to you, and what you did was... add the final rune to the runic circuit."

"You'll learn more about runic circuits in your second year, but for now, all you need to know is that as long as the rune you carved was properly imbued, the runes on your stone card should now be complete."

Finally, after pacing back to the center once again, he said, "Now, we move on to the final part—the charm."

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Author's Note:

Just a quick update — up to Chapter 113 is already available on P AT r30n!

PAT r30n [.] com / RyanFic