Inside the Room of Requirement.
Lucien sat behind the podium, rapidly correcting Ron's blueprints with a pen.
Ron stood beside him, hands clasped nervously, his gaze shifting between his own blueprints and his best friend, Harry.
Harry was hunched over a desk, gripping his pen tightly as he wrote and paused repeatedly over a test paper.
It was the paper Lucien had given him upon arrival—a pop quiz to check his recent progress.
The exam included fill-in-the-blanks, multiple-choice, and short-answer questions.
Harry's head felt twice its normal size as he kept pushing up his glasses and scratching his hair in frustration.
Ron couldn't help but glance at him with a flicker of sympathy.
He had thought Harry only needed to cut materials and tend cauldrons, but he hadn't expected this...
"No need to envy him—you'll have your turn too," Lucien said without looking up.
At that, Ron's face instantly stiffened, and he subconsciously pointed at himself.
"Huh? Me too?"
"That's right. You'll need to memorize the mechanical principles, complete the drawings, and all of that will be on the test."
Lucien continued reviewing Ron's blueprints, his tone calm and matter-of-fact.
Judging from the drawings, Ron did show some talent for mechanical work—certainly better than his performance in traditional magic.
However, as the descendant of a Pure-Blood wizarding family and not a Squib, Ron could never become an actual mechanical engineer or anything of the sort.
If he hadn't come to Lucien to learn Alchemical Mechanics, this talent might never have been discovered.
Phew, fate really was unpredictable.
After correcting the blueprints, Lucien patiently explained the issues to Ron, overseeing him as he made the revisions.
"Hmm, very good."
"Alright, we'll set mechanical theory aside for now—it's time to learn Transfiguration."
Alchemy itself already involved elements of both Transfiguration and Potions.
And in the field of Alchemical Mechanics, which Ron wanted to master, Transfiguration was even more critical—especially the transformation of one inanimate object into another. It was something that had to be thoroughly understood and mastered.
Hearing that they were about to seriously study magic, Ron immediately brightened.
Although he was interested in mechanical knowledge, as a boy raised in a world of magic, Ron still felt more at ease with spells and wands.
In fact, not only Ron—even Harry, who had been struggling with his test, couldn't help but perk up his ears and glance over when he heard that.
Under Lucien's guidance, Harry had truly begun to focus on Potions and had gradually come to appreciate their charm.
But still, dazzling, spectacular magic was far more appealing than the dry study of ingredients and cauldrons.
Ron drew his wand eagerly and asked, "What kind of Transfiguration are we going to learn?"
Lucien pulled a matchstick from his pocket.
"Turn this into a silver needle."
"Ah? But Professor McGonagall already taught us that," Ron said, a bit confused. He had been hoping to learn some new, more exciting Transfiguration.
At his words, Lucien merely glanced at him.
"Oh? So you've already mastered it then? You can fully turn a match into a silver needle?"
"Uh…"
Ron awkwardly rubbed his long nose, his tone a little sheepish.
"Well, it's still a little off—just a little bit."
"Alright then, try it once. Now. Turn it into a silver needle," Lucien said, placing the matchstick on the desk in front of him.
Ron could only brace himself and give it a go.
He waved his wand, and a faint white light flickered at the tip, the magic stirring weakly from the unicorn hair core.
Lucien watched as the matchstick remained perfectly still.
Well—almost. The red tip of the match seemed to have turned slightly silver-white.
So it wasn't that Ron was a little off—he simply knew a little.
"Sorry, sorry, my—my Transfiguration…" Ron stammered, his ears turning red with embarrassment.
Lucien's tone remained calm, without a hint of reproach.
"It's alright."
"When performing Transfiguration from one inanimate object to another, you only need to clearly visualize the object you want it to become…"
Lucien patiently explained the key points and techniques of this basic Transfiguration.
Throughout the process, he paused from time to time to let Ron practice.
But Ron's progress was painfully slow—the matchsticks he transformed always came out looking strange.
While Lucien continued breaking down the details, Ron's face grew increasingly red with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, Lucien… I'm really not very good at magic…" he muttered.
Lucien shook his head.
"There's no need to rush to deny yourself. Everyone learns at their own pace—it's perfectly normal."
As his gaze fell on the wand in Ron's hand, Lucien seemed to recall something.
"You mentioned before that this wand used to belong to your brother, didn't you?"
Ron nodded.
"Yeah, it was my second brother Charlie's. I… I haven't gone to Mr. Ollivander to buy my own wand yet."
As he spoke, his voice grew quieter and quieter.
The Weasley family was large—and though an old wizarding family, they weren't well-off.
However, they really were struggling financially, and most of Ron's belongings were hand-me-downs from his older brothers.
Ron's response made Lucien understand immediately.
Of course—every wizard had a wand that suited them best.
Mr. Ollivander always said that the wand chooses the wizard.
Lucien remembered how he himself had spent almost an entire day trying countless wands before finding the right one.
For Ron to inherit his brother's wand directly, it was no wonder the compatibility was poor.
And…
Lucien glanced at the wand in Ron's hand. The unicorn hair core was already exposed at the tip.
If the wand couldn't even be taken to Ollivander for repair and maintenance, then it was no surprise Ron's spellcasting was unstable.
Wandmaking involved the field of Alchemy. Crafting one from scratch was complex, but a simple repair… that might be possible.
Lucien began considering possible solutions, even though the issue wasn't his own.
This habit of analyzing and finding practical applications for his knowledge had long become second nature to him.
Seeing Lucien fall silent, Ron assumed he was disappointed in his abilities and said gloomily,
"My talent isn't very good… I learn magic slowly, and as for the wand… Maybe I shouldn't keep learning… that book on spellcasting techniques can just be a gift. We're friends, after all…"
Not learn?
That sentence pulled Lucien back to the present.
How could anyone give up learning halfway?
Lucien listened as Ron rambled on—everything he said boiled down to the same thing: he lacked talent and couldn't afford a proper wand.
With his family's financial situation, and when compared to his five brothers—each skilled in their own way—Ron felt he had no talent at all.
"Humble origins are not a disgrace; a true man can bend and stretch when needed."
"Wh-what?"
Ron blinked, completely lost at the unfamiliar saying.
Lucien shook his head, his voice steady.
"It's a saying from the Muggle world. It means that no matter what your talent or family background is, there's no need to feel inferior or ashamed. The one who keeps learning, keeps improving, and bursts forth when the time comes—that person is the real hero."
Seeing that Ron still didn't quite understand, Lucien continued gently:
"You might think my words don't mean much."
"But the saying itself is true."
"You may believe your magical talent is poor—but you do have magical talent."
"Compared to the vast majority of people in this world, you have the natural ability to use magic. You have the qualification to pursue knowledge like this."
"So don't give up so easily, and don't look down on yourself."
"Being able to learn, to gain knowledge—that alone is a kind of fortune."
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11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1