Harry Potter: Bloodraven

After ordering some food, Maverick dove into his studies and kept at it until evening. He finally closed the book Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling and let out a sigh of relief.

Now he had a decent grasp of the magic in this world. By comparing his memories from his past life with what he learned in the book, he figured out that for wizards to successfully cast spells, it wasn't just about waving their wands or having the right emotions; there was another key element: "Magical Energy."

He was 99% sure that the "Magical Energy" mentioned in his system panel was the same as the energy he read about.

This realization helped Maverick understand why many adult wizards struggled to cast advanced spells effectively. Even if they knew the spell and felt the right emotions, the actual spell output depended on how much Magical Energy they had.

For beginners, all three elements—incantation or wand movement, Magical Energy, and emotion—were crucial for casting a spell.

But experts like Dumbledore or Voldemort could skip the incantation or wand movement, relying solely on their emotions and magical energy. For them, the wand movements and spells felt instinctive, deeply ingrained in their subconscious.

The role of emotions was especially important for spells like the Unforgivable Curses and the Patronus Charm. To cast an Unforgivable Curse, a wizard needed to summon intense malice toward their target—enough to actually kill them. Only then could the curse's true power come out.

On the flip side, the Patronus Charm required very positive emotions. When young wizards learn this spell, they're asked to think about their happiest memories because that's the best way to tap into those positive feelings.

Apprentice Mages could cast both kinds of spells, since emotion acted as the catalyst. But ultimately, if a wizard didn't have enough Magical Energy, well, as Alastor Moody would say, they could just end up with a nosebleed.

Of course, these were just Maverick's logical guesses based on the book he read and his memories. He could only confirm them later.

Setting aside Magical Theory, Maverick picked up Standard Spells: Elementary to continue his studies. As a complete beginner, he had to start with the basics.

He turned to the first page, calmed himself, and took out his wand. Closing the book, he set it aside on the table.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Maverick said, waving his wand at the book.

To his surprise, the book slowly floated up as he moved his wand.

'First try? Am I a genius or what?' he thought, feeling pretty pleased with himself.

Afterward, he set down his wand and repeated the incantation, this time pointing his finger at the book. No surprise here: the spell worked just as well.

With two successful attempts under his belt, Maverick couldn't help but grin. This meant he really was a wizard now!

At that moment, the system panel popped up again, showing him some new info. Next to "Spells," the "Levitation Charm" appeared, along with his proficiency level in it.

Even better, just like the "Magical Energy" indicator, there was a (+) sign next to it, suggesting he could invest his points to boost his spell proficiency.

[ Name: Maverick Caeser ]

[ Class: Wizard ]

[ Rank: Mage Apprentice ]

[ Magical Energy: 11+ ]

[ Points: 19 ]

(Increases by 10 points per day)

[ Extraordinary Characteristic Points: 0 ]

(Increases by 1 point per year)

[ Extraordinary Characteristics: Excellent grade spellcasting ]

[ Talent: None ]

[ Spells: Levitation Charm (Beginner +) ]

He focused on the (+) sign next to the Levitation Charm, and sure enough, another pop-up panel appeared.

[ Spend 10 points to increase the proficiency of spell "Levitation Charm"? ]

Note:

Spell proficiency promotion:

Beginner — Intermediate (10 Points)

Intermediate — Advanced (100 Points)

Advanced — Master (1000 Points)

Master — Ultimate (5000 Points)

Talent proficiency promotion:

Beginner — Intermediate (10 Points)

Intermediate — Advanced (100 Points)

Advanced — Master (5000 Points)

Master — Ultimate (10000 Points)

[ Proficiency can also increase through practice, but the points required to advance levels stay the same. If proficiency improves with practice enough to meet the system's standards, it will update and show the new level. ]

'Hmm... I should note downsome of this.'

[ Spend 10 points to increase the proficiency of spell "Levitation Charm"? ]

[YES] [NO]

Without thinking twice, Maverick hit "YES," and a rush of information and muscle memory flowed through him.

It didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, it was like recalling something from his past life, like skills he already had—like swimming or speaking a language. He just knew he could do it.

The sensation lasted only a few seconds before fading away. To test his newfound knowledge, he waved his wand while saying, "Wingardium Leviosa."

This time, the book floated up with much more speed and smoothness than during his first attempt.

Maverick then glanced at the Magical Energy indicator and frowned. It still showed 11.

He tried casting the spell again while watching the virtual screen, but the value didn't change. He repeated the action several times, but still nothing.

Practicing the spell didn't affect his Magical Energy at all; it was like it wasn't used up.

Maverick plopped back down on the bed, thinking it over. 'That's right! In this world, it seems wizards don't actually use up their "Magic" when they cast spells. It's more like a workout. Sure, it makes you tired, but you're really just burning stamina, not magical energy.'

He dug into his memories from the Harry Potter series and the Fantastic Beasts movies. He couldn't recall a single time a wizard ran out of magic. But it made sense; anyone who focuses on something for hours is bound to feel tired eventually.

So, Maverick added another task to his list: he needed to confirm whether wizards used their Magical Energy or something else when casting spells.

Then another thought popped up, making his curiosity spike.

'If casting a spell doesn't use up Magical Energy, then what decides who's more powerful? Is it the number of spells they know, their Magical Energy, or both?'

According to the Magical Theory book, wizards were ranked from Novice to Mage Apprentice, then Magus, Great Magus, Arch Magus, Warlock, and finally Supreme Magus.

That was clearly different from the magical world in the movies he remembered. There was never any mention of wizard rankings or classes. Did J.K. Rowling just simplify it too much?

Back to the topic, his system also showed wizard rankings just like the theory book he had just read. But it didn't explain why; it just said that higher ranks meant more powerful wizards.

So, Maverick decided he needed to find answers. That way, he could make the best use of the points he earned daily and level up as quickly and efficiently as possible.

'Let's take it easy. I still have three years before the plot kicks off...' he reminded himself.

'Today, I'll try to figure out what gets used up when casting spells. Even if it is magic, the law of conservation of energy still applies, right? Probably...'

After pondering for a few minutes, Maverick stood up and faced the bed in his room.

He paced back and forth a few times before squatting down and grabbing the wooden planks.

Using only his physical strength, he tried to lift the bed, only to nearly let out a fart when he released it.

The bed only lifted slightly—about five centimeters—from the side he gripped.

'Super heavy.'

After taking a minute to catch his breath, he tried using magic. Standing about three feet away from the bed, he pointed his wand and focused on the Levitation Charm to lift the whole thing.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Immediately, he felt a wave of heaviness wash over him, while the bed very slowly lifted. It only went up about ten centimeters, but at least it was the entire bed this time, not just one side.

He felt like he could keep the bed levitated for at least half a minute before the heaviness made him really tired.

Sure enough, when nearly a minute had passed, he slowly set the bed down, feeling the fatigue catch up with him.

Taking a deep breath, he checked for any changes, and as he guessed, there was no change in the Magical Energy unit.

From this, he confirmed that casting the spell didn't use his Magical Energy; it was something more logical: his stamina!

Once again, he got ready to repeat the experiment, but this time he added nine points to his Magical Energy, bringing the total to 20.

A feeling of comfort washed over him, and his fatigue faded quickly—in just five minutes.

Another important point he noted from the last experiment was that he could use points to recover from fatigue faster.

However, that seemed really inefficient—using points just for that—so he quickly dismissed the idea.

He tried lifting the bed by hand again, like last time, and noticed it felt a bit lighter. Before, he could only lift it about five centimeters, but now he could manage about ten. It wasn't a huge height, but it was definitely a noticeable difference.

After taking another quick break to make sure he was fully rested, he repeated the process using magic. This time, the bed rose much higher—at least twice as high as before. The heaviness he felt was still there, but it was much less intense than it had been earlier.

After about a minute and a half, he gently set the bed back down.

"Haha…" Maverick chuckled to himself, feeling satisfied.

He could finally confirm what his Magical Energy represented: it was basically power. The more Magical Energy he had, the stronger his body—and his spells—would be.

Feeling relieved by this realization, he remembered that his system automatically accumulated ten points every day. He could use these points to either boost his spell proficiency or increase his Magical Energy. This meant his overall strength would grow every day.

Maybe it wouldn't be long before he could take on Grindelwald and kick Voldemort's—

Cough