"Hmm..." Old Tom was starting to understand. "Sounds like quite an advanced technique."
"Mm… I've actually already grasped the timing, but… I'm always just a little too slow…" Tom said in frustration.
"Well, since it's an advanced technique, isn't it normal that it's hard to practice? Aren't you being a bit too impatient?"
"No… I'm not afraid of difficulty, and I'm not being impatient, it's just… if I get used to this wrong rhythm now, it'll do me no good in the future…"
After all, the Shield Charm was an advanced spell. Even though his talent was very high and he had fully mastered the incantation, because he was still so young, there was always a bit of strain when casting.
That slight strain slowed down his casting and threw off the rhythm…
If he practiced like this, he would have to adapt to his slower rhythm.
But… once he grew up and his casting speed improved, his rhythm would be off again, and he'd have to readjust…
Breaking a habit once it's set could be even harder than starting fresh.
So, he wasn't afraid of not being able to learn it—he was afraid of growing used to the wrong rhythm!
It was like tailoring clothes… the ones fitted for him now might be perfect, but people always grow. Once he grew, the clothes would no longer fit.
If he wanted it to fit, it would have to be enlarged… but trying to make a small piece of clothing larger was troublesome…
So, Tom needed a piece of "clothing" he could wear from childhood into adulthood!
But how could such "clothing" exist?
After a moment of silence, Old Tom suddenly asked, "That Shield Charm of yours… if you cast it to cover your whole body every time, no wonder it's a bit slow… so… is there no way to make it appear only in parts, instead of covering your whole body?"
"You!!" Tom's head snapped up, staring fixedly at Old Tom.
The older man was startled. "Uh… I don't know anything, I was just speaking nonsense… I'll stop, I'll stop…"
"No! No, I wasn't blaming you… I just… suddenly heard you mention a solution, so I got excited!"
"Me? I mentioned a solution?" Old Tom asked in surprise.
"Yes! The Shield Charm… it can absolutely be cast incompletely!" Tom said, waving his wand.
Pieces of the Shield Charm appeared around his body like scattered scales, irregularly flashing in different spots!
In fact, before he had fully mastered the Shield Charm, this was exactly how he used it!
Since he couldn't cover his whole body, he could only cast partial, incomplete versions.
It was only after he had fully mastered the spell that he abandoned this method.
But now… even after mastering the Shield Charm, Tom could still split it apart and cast it in fragments!
And because he had fully mastered the charm, even when broken up, the fragments were much thicker than before!
In fact, precisely because he no longer needed to cast a full-body shield, his focus was sharper, and the fragments of the Shield Charm became even tougher!
Most importantly, casting only scattered pieces of the Shield Charm was far faster than covering his whole body.
The only drawback was… it was much more difficult, requiring him to predict in advance where the enemy's spell would land.
If his prediction was wrong, and the fragments appeared in the wrong place, he would be struck directly and lose…
But… it was something he could train! And even when he grew older, this technique would never restrict him. On the contrary, by developing the habit of constantly predicting where enemy spells would strike, he would grow even more composed in battle!
This was the "clothing" Tom needed, something he could wear from childhood into adulthood!
"Let's continue!" Tom leapt up from the ground, calling across to Old Tom.
"Alright! Of course!"
Knowing that his casual words had just helped Tom solve a difficult problem, Old Tom felt all the more cheerful.
In the next round of practice, Tom appeared much calmer than before.
With his casting speed improved, he could block each stone at just the right moment!By the end, even when Old Tom threw handfuls of stones at once, Tom handled them with ease!This gave Tom's confidence a tremendous boost.
But stones were still just stones, incomparable to real spells.
So…
Do I really still have to get beaten up by Wade? Sigh… I wonder if I'll ever get the chance in this lifetime to hit back…
By evening, Tom finally stopped practicing.
Old Tom's arm, after throwing stones nonstop, was already sore and numb.
If not for the potions Tom had given him to keep up his strength, he could never have lasted so long.
It was only after finishing the training that Tom realized this.
"Sorry… I… I… it was my oversight… I should have ended the training sooner. I clearly realized you'd get tired, but later I completely forgot…" At dinner, Tom offered a heartfelt apology.
He had been following a wizard's training habit. Wizards, with a strong body, when casting with wands, didn't tire so easily, so practicing for long stretches was never a problem.
But Old Tom was just a Muggle. When he threw stones, in order to achieve the best simulation effect, he had to use his full strength each time. Keeping it up this long was already remarkable!
"It's fine. That potion of yours works really well… and besides, I do need some exercise. And… after all these years, shut away in the study—even with books to pass the time—I often still felt lonely. Honestly, though I'm tired, today has been the most relaxed I've felt in years…"
Hearing this, Tom felt a surge of something indescribable in his chest, something he had never experienced in the orphanage.
Could this be the very emotion Dumbledore always clung to? The source of his strength?
He carefully savored the feeling, and suddenly his heart seemed filled with power…
Not magical power, not physical strength, but a kind of… indescribable vitality!
"I want to say… I feel the same way…" Tom finally said after a long silence.
Old Tom let out a quiet sigh. By all logic, he should never have been able to accept this son.
But… blood and emotion were unreasonable things.
Old Tom was thinking this as he set down his fork and picked up a newspaper beside him.
It had been delivered at noon, and he hadn't had the chance to read it yet.
But after glancing at the front page, he suddenly shot to his feet.
"What the! This is bad!"
"What's wrong?"
"War… Tom, the Germans… France may very well be one of their targets!"
Tom stared at him in shock. "But they… they just boarded a ship to France this morning! We have to find a way to bring them back before France becomes a battlefield…"
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