When the excitement of recovering his lost item subsided, Neville stared at Roger for a few seconds, recalling that he had seen him before.
Back at St. Mungo's, during one of his visits to his parents, he had accidentally encountered a young wizard around his age. He had looked at him a few times, and in return, the boy had turned around and given him a friendly smile.
Although he remembered, Neville didn't use this as a reason to strike up a conversation with Roger.
Neville was a somewhat introverted child.
After settling his luggage and as the train started moving, Roger pulled out two books and began reading.
Seeing how focused Roger was, occasionally underlining, circling, and making notes in both books, Neville felt it would be inappropriate to disturb him just to pass the time.
Even when the equally bored Hannah tried to talk to him, he responded in a quiet voice, afraid of disturbing Roger.
Until…
Roger lifted his gaze from his book, stopped his pen, and looked toward the compartment door.
He had sensed a gaze on him.
A girl with thick, curly hair and delicate features stood at the compartment door, eyes wide as she stared through the glass window—at Roger's book.
Since Neville had been watching Roger, he noticed his movement and followed his gaze.
Then, he stood up, opened the door, and asked the girl at the entrance, "Are you looking for a seat?"
Neville's introversion only made him bad at socializing, but he was a kind-hearted person who was always willing to help others. He was also brave.
"No, I was just curious about that. Is it a spell? A magical object? Or…" The curly-haired girl gestured toward Roger.
"My name is Hermione, Hermione Granger. Could you tell me?" She was always respectful when asking questions.
To her, knowledge was a precious thing, not to be treated lightly.
Her respect for knowledge suppressed her natural nervousness when speaking to unfamiliar young wizards.
"You mean this?" As Roger spoke, the book in front of him flipped a page on its own.
"Yes!" Hermione's face lit up with curiosity.
Hannah and Neville, however, weren't surprised at all.
Like Roger, Hermione was a Muggle-born wizard. Having never encountered magic before, stepping into this unfamiliar "new world" filled her with curiosity.
As a top student even in her Muggle school days, Hermione believed the best way to understand a new community was through reading.
She had bought many books from Flourish and Blotts and read them daily, often cutting her fingers on the paper edges. If she had Roger's ability to flip pages automatically, that would be much more convenient… It was summer now, and wearing gloves was too hot—she didn't want sweaty hands.
But Neville and Hannah, who had been raised in the wizarding world—one from a pure-blood family, the other with partial pure-blood lineage—weren't fazed at all.
Books that could flip pages on their own? They had heard of books that could bite.
Curious? A little, but not enough to dig deeper. The wizarding world had too many strange and magical things. Unless something was extraordinarily bizarre, they wouldn't bother investigating.
Roger didn't keep Hermione in suspense. He answered plainly, "The Levitation Charm."
"Open the first-year Hogwarts textbook, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1. The very first spell in the book. It's very simple, low risk, and perfect for young wizards to start with."
"The incantation is Wingardium Leviosa." As he spoke, Roger flicked his finger, causing the book to float slightly before flipping a page.
Roger didn't mind answering questions. Teaching others was also a way to organize his own knowledge and identify any gaps.
If you find yourself unable to explain something clearly to others, it usually means one of two things: either you haven't fully grasped it, or the gap in understanding between you and the other person is too large.
"You're casting the spell? But… you didn't use a wand or say the incantation!" Hermione, who had been a Muggle just recently, looked astonished.
"Wandless casting. A wand significantly enhances your connection with magic, but you can perform spells without one if you focus more during the process.
"Silent casting. It requires a deep understanding of the spell and can be performed by mentally reciting the incantation. And if your concentration and comprehension reach the highest level, you don't even need to think of the incantation—just the intent is enough to manifest magic."
This was similar to how Harry Potter, while visiting the zoo with his cousin, accidentally made the glass in front of a snake vanish due to an uncontrolled magical outburst.
However, in practical combat, it wasn't very useful. Enchanted spells cast with a wand were always stronger. Silent casting was useful for concealing one's battle intentions, but thought-based casting was unnecessary.
"Of course, I haven't reached that level. What I used was just silent, wandless casting, and I can only do it with the Levitation Charm."
"???"
The moment Roger finished speaking, not only Hermione but also Hannah and Neville were dumbfounded.
They had heard of both wandless and silent casting—but those were advanced techniques only a few powerful wizards could master!
To them, Roger's words sounded like: "Want to become a music master? Just learn music theory, memorize instrument tones, grasp rhythm, and inject emotion to enhance tension."
It sounded easy, but it was incredibly difficult in practice!
Seeing their expressions, Roger shook his head and continued, "Don't over-mystify things. Magic is close to a miracle—it connects with your mind."
"Believe in magic. Believe in yourself. Align knowledge and action. Magic will never fail those who love it."
"If you don't believe you can do it, then you really won't."
To Roger, the magic of this world was quite special.
Unlike cultivation or martial arts, which depended on talent, spiritual roots, or elemental affinity, this magic relied purely on willpower.
It was somewhat similar to One Piece's Haki: if you believed in yourself, it could create miracles. But if your will faltered, you'd end up like those washed-up Warlords of the Sea, getting beaten down by rookie pirates.
Take Snape, for example—after the "Chosen One" appeared, his drive disappeared. The Half-Blood Prince who once soared in magical prowess became just a regular Potions professor.
"If you want to delve deeper into magic, I suggest practicing the Levitation Charm more often," Roger said, shifting his gaze from Hermione to Neville and Hannah.
"This spell requires continuous casting, which helps train magical focus. Once you master wandless casting, it becomes advanced 'weight training.' And learning silent Levitation Charms will help refine your magical control."
After answering their questions and offering his advice, Roger raised his hand, and the two books on the table floated back into his bag.
Hermione, lost in thought, thanked Roger and left, concluding their brief encounter.
The two books Roger had put away—one was the Hogwarts: A History textbook for first-years, the other was a Muggle World History book. In his free time, he enjoyed comparing the two, referencing his past-life memories and hints from Professor McGonagall's books to see how much of the history had been "altered."
It was like a puzzle game, providing him with endless amusement.
"Neville, Hannah, I have a question," Roger said, now that his reading had been interrupted.
"When we arrive, we'll be sorted into the four Hogwarts houses. Which one do you want to be in?"
The train was about to reach its destination. The Sorting Ceremony was just around the corner.
This ceremony would significantly impact the next seven years of Roger's life at Hogwarts. Though he was fairly confident in his placement, he wanted to make one final confirmation.
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