Three days later, George successfully got a copy of "A Guide to Hand Casting" from the clerk at Flourish and Blotts Bookstore. Ten days after that, George stood in the yard, waved his wand at a locked box, and chanted, "Aloho!"
A blue beam of magic shot out from the top of the wand and hit the box accurately. Most magic spells are accompanied by beams of light of different colors when they are cast, especially offensive and directional magic, such as the Unlocking Spell, the Disarming Spell, and the Killing Curse. But there are also some magic spells that are silent when they are cast, with no obvious signs, such as the Surging Spell, the Mending Spell, and the Levitation Spell.
"Click." A crisp sound rang out from the lock, and the lock popped open automatically.
"Finally succeeded." George saw this and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. After ten days of intense study, and with occasional advice from Tonks who always came over for free meals, he was finally able to successfully cast the Unlocking Charm.
Through these days of study, he also realized that he wasn't a so-called magical genius. The real genius is like Hermione, who had no exposure to magic, no one to guide her, and while spending most of her time learning the history and common sense of the wizarding world, she also took time to learn spells and yet easily mastered several kinds of magic before school started. Even more talented people like Snape could create powerful spells during school. As for Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Voldemort, they could no longer be described as geniuses.
But fortunately, George had his own methods. He said he studied for ten days, but in fact, he studied for twenty days. When his body couldn't take it anymore and needed a rest, his original self in the Marvel world took over. The most important thing in learning magic is talent, followed by diligence. His talent wasn't enough, so he made up for it with diligence. At the experimental base, his original self had nothing else to do except training, so he had plenty of free time. He could have found a stick similar to a wand to practice with. Through constant practice and understanding, he could accelerate his learning of spells. He just had to avoid surveillance or turn his back to it to avoid being spotted. Even if he was spotted, it wouldn't matter, as no one in this world would know what he was doing. Once his original self was free, he would learn magic even faster, because he would have twice as much time as others to study and research magic.
In reality, if one wasn't cheating, learning a spell in ten days would be considered genius among wizards. Most young wizards wouldn't master many spells in a year, and some might only master a few.
"Next, practice the hand gestures repeatedly until you succeed, and then you can move on to the next spell."
After several attempts, George confirmed he had mastered the Unlocking Charm. He immediately discarded his wand and began practicing the Unlocking Charm according to the instructions in the "Guide to Hand Casting."
After another eight days, through continuous practice with both his original form and his clone, he finally managed to cast the Unlocking Charm without a wand. However, while it takes one or two seconds to cast an unlocking spell with a wand, using hand gestures instead of a wand takes about seven or eight seconds. Even with practice, it's estimated to take five or six seconds. In a duel between two wizards, five or six seconds is enough for the other wizard to unleash three or four offensive spells with their wand. It's no wonder this method of spellcasting has fallen into disuse.
"August 21st, today is the day Lockhart signs books at Flourish and Blotts."
George ate breakfast that morning, looking at the date on the magical calendar, slowly calculating in his mind. He naturally had no interest in that great con man Lockhart, but if he remembered correctly, today was also the day Harry Potter and the Weasleys came to Diagon Alley to buy supplies for the new semester.
After completing his first year, Harry returned to his aunt and uncle's house during the summer vacation. Because of Dobby the elf, his uncle had locked him up and forbade him from attending Hogwarts. It was his good friends, Ron and the Weasleys, who secretly drove their father's magic car and took him back to the Burrow to live.
"Then let's get in touch with them for a while."
Ultimately, he decided to take the initiative. Compared to Voldemort, who wouldn't be resurrected for years, he felt he could gain more from being with Harry and the others. There were many places and things in Hogwarts that he couldn't access if he wanted to, but with Harry and the others, there was no problem. For example, the restricted areas of the Hogwarts library, where the spellbooks were, would have been practically impossible for him to browse secretly. But if he were with Harry, Dumbledore would have been completely oblivious. The same was true of places like the Room of Requirement.
So, after breakfast, George didn't continue his spell study as usual. Instead, he stood at the window of the potion shop's main hall, observing the scene. About an hour later, he saw a blond father and son, walking gracefully into Borgin and Burke's across the street.
"That must be the Malfoys. It looks like Harry Potter is already in the shop."
Daring to bring the child into Knockturn Alley at this time, coupled with the expensive wizard robes and the aura of a superior, it was easy to judge their identities. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, not long after the father and son left Borgin and Burke's, a thin boy wearing glasses and covered in dust hurried out of the shop.
"Where is this?"
Harry stood in the narrow and dark alley, feeling a little creeped out as he looked at the shops around him that seemed to be full of dark magic. In the window of the shop next door, some shrunken human heads were displayed eerily, and in front of the door of the shop two doors away, a large cage was filled with huge black spiders. He turned to look at a dark doorway to his right. Two ragged wizards were watching him and whispering to each other.
"I need to get out of here quickly. I hope I can find my way out."
Today was his first time using Floo Powder, and for some reason, it had gone awry. Instead of reaching Diagon Alley, he'd ended up in a strange, eerie shop, where he'd stumbled upon the Malfoys' illegal dealings.
"Are you lost?"
Just as he was about to evade the dark doorway and grope in another direction, a steady, yet slightly childish, voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
Turning, he saw a boy, as thin as he was, but with a resolute expression, standing behind him, holding a magic book.
"This is Knockturn Alley, where Dark wizards gather. It's not safe for you to be alone."
"Hello, my name is Harry. I accidentally ended up here because of Floo powder. I wanted to go to Diagon Alley."
Perhaps sensing the boy's kindness, Harry hurriedly explained.
George smiled at this: "Hello, Harry, my name is George. You probably pronounced Diagon Alley as Knockturn Alley. But it doesn't matter, they are connected. I'll take you out."
(End of this chapter)