Harry Potter: Bloodraven

"Tell me, little Rick, have you ever heard of a spell that can trap someone in a true illusion?"

Maverick paused, considering his answer. "You mean like a Confusion Charm?"

"Hmm… Yes, in a way," Edward replied, nodding thoughtfully. "But this is something different. I'm talking about a true illusion—a spell that goes beyond that."

Maverick furrowed his brow, digging through his memories. He recalled the spells he had learned, and spells from the Harry Potter series, but nothing came up.

"This spell... I created it myself. One of a kind!" Edward's gaze was fixed on Maverick. "I want to test your genius. If you can grasp it as you claim to have learned the entire seven-year spell set, I'll decide whether to take you on as my apprentice or welcome you as one of my students."

"I have no doubt that you can learn it... Any genius can. The spell is easy to pick up, but very, very difficult to master.

And I don't expect you to master it right away; I only want to see enough understanding to measure your potential."

Taking a few steps back, Edward raised his wand with deliberate care, his eyes never leaving Maverick's. "I've only taught this spell to a select few. You're the tenth person I've ever shared it with. It can be a powerful tool, even a trump card when you need it most."

Maverick watched closely. With his heightened magical sense, he noted even the smallest movements or deviations in the chanting. He wanted to impress Edward Garling.

"This spell... can be very dangerous in the wrong hands!" After many instructions, he finally advised caution, and adopted a serious expression he rarely showed.

"Pay close attention to my wand movements and listen carefully to the incantation."

"Illusio Lunam Lectorem!" He demonstrated with a swift, fluid flick.

"This motion must be firm and sharp, like a blade. In that instant, your mind must be entirely clear, your intent singular: to dominate! You must visualize, in detail, the illusion you want to create—the texture of the air, the light, the sound—all of it. Whatever you wish them to see, feel, or even fear, you must build fully in your mind and project it.

One requirement for casting is a grasp of the mind arts. But you have something better: your mana perception is exceptionally high, making up for that."

Maverick's expression turned into a mix of curiosity and caution. Most spells in the mind arts were not something he wanted to experience.

To an ordinary observer, Edward's movements might have seemed like simple wand flicks in the air. But with his magical sense heightened, Maverick noticed slight ripples spreading from the tip of the wand, like invisible waves.

He focused intently. One second. Two seconds. Five seconds. When no visible changes occurred, doubt crept into his expression, only to shift back to shock as he felt a tremor in the ground.

His gaze remained fixed on Edward, and he was stunned to see Edward slowly begin to disappear. That was what his senses told him.

The slight quake beneath him was consistent but not intense.

All of his senses were on high alert, searching for any abnormalities.

Along with the tremor, Edward's physical form gradually became transparent until, a few seconds later, he vanished completely.

Maverick was certain now that he had fallen under the spell—and he hadn't even noticed.

The tremors intensified, forcing him to spread his legs wider to maintain his balance.

"The victims wouldn't even realize they were caught," echoed Edward's voice from everywhere. Maverick strained to locate its source but failed miserably.

"You can change the smell..."

Suddenly, a burning scent filled the air.

"The sounds..."

A loud boom, like something detonating beneath him, erupted from below, and Maverick instinctively glanced down.

"Sight..."

The tremors grew stronger, the ground shook violently, and Maverick struggled to keep his footing.

Boom!

A burst of fire—no, lava—spurted up like a small eruption a few meters away, causing him to lose his balance and fall back.

"The sensation on your skin..."

Each declaration grew louder and echoed around him, overwhelming Maverick as he tried to make sense of it all.

He felt the heat, even the shock wave which pushed him back a bit, forming two lines where his boots dragged the ground beneath. 

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

More eruptions surrounded him—first from the east, then the west, front and back. He felt the heat radiating against his skin.

Chunks of lava hurtled toward him, and instinct kicked in. He stumbled, leaping from the cracked ground and darting toward an opening.

Boooooom!

A larger explosion erupted directly in front of him, and the shockwave sent him flying backward.

Maverick looked visibly shaken. This was the first time in both his lives that he had experienced something like this—a near-death experience. He even forgot that this was just a demonstration of an illusion.

Using all four limbs, he turned to run.

RUMBLE!

The ground directly below him began to shake, forcing him to hesitate.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

'No! No, no, no! This isn't real!' Maverick reminded himself, panic rising.

Crack!

The ground split open beneath him, creating a chasm that separated him from safety.

Crack! Crack!

The gap widened quickly, and Maverick clung desperately to either side, his arms and legs straining to hold on.

'No, not real! Not real! 

RUMBLE!

A gust of hot air rushed up from below, where the front of his body faced. His eyes widened as he saw the glow of red lava surging toward him. He could neither run nor jump. All four limbs barely kept him from plummeting into the abyss.

"Argh!"

He squinted in pain, feeling the intense heat against his body.

His eyes were wide open as he looked helplessly at the lava rushing toward him.

No! NO!

He closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

Then, nothing came. After a moment, he remembered to open them, only to find Edward standing in front of him, the scene peaceful once more.

Then—

Thump! Thump!

He felt the adrenaline coursing through him, his body reminding him that he had just experienced something intense.

Maverick subconsciously turned his head frantically, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Well, how was it?"

His frantic behavior was brought to a pause upon hearing the familiar voice.

He looked ahead at his uncle. "What just..." He struggled to speak; his voice was low.

"How was your experience?" Edward inquired again, this time showing a helpless smile, thinking he might have gone a bit overboard with the demonstration.

Maverick finally came back to his senses. He had felt curiosity, confusion, shock, and then fear, all without realizing it.

"That was... real?" he could only ask.

"Real?" Edward echoed, tilting his head slightly. "What does 'real' mean?"

"I mean, that felt so real..." Maverick corrected himself, finally getting his mind back on track.

"Do you want to feel it again, so you can grasp the sense of it?"

"Cough... That felt so real. I didn't even know when I got hit. Is there a way to break free from it?" He coughed to rid himself of embarrassment, then changed the subject and asked instead.

"Break free? Yes, there are two ways. First, you have to realize that you are under an illusion. Then, if your mana reserves are greater than the caster's, you can brute force your way free from it. Otherwise, you need to have extreme mastery over your mana sense—just as I do. Then, you can spread your mana inside your body very rapidly in an irregular manner, allowing you to break free from the illusion," Edward explained in one breath.

Maverick stood speechless, listening to the explanation. He asked the question not expecting an answer, feeling that if he were in Edward's position, such valuable information shouldn't be given away so casually.

"Why... You think I shouldn't share this information?" Edward asked, his tone mixed with amusement.

Maverick sheepishly scratched his head in embarrassment, realizing his uncle had somehow guessed his shrude little thought.

"First, you are Mike's son. I've known him for over two decades. He is one of the few people I consider a truly brotherly friend. And I've known you since you were a baby and have a general idea about your personality—enough to judge your character.

Second, you're about to become my student, and I consider my students to be the people closest to me apart from my family.

Third, I am Edward Garling!"

He explained, although the last part was more of a boast. Well, a very reasonable boast.

Maverick scratched his head again, showing an embarrassed grin before speaking. "So then, Uncle, teach me the principles behind the spell, the chanting, and the wand movements a few times. I'll learn it in an hour."

Edward gave him a disdainful look. "Boy, if you can learn this and even cast a simple illusion on me in an hour, I'll owe you a favor."

Saying that, he materialized a small, rolled-up parchment by tapping the ring on his right middle finger.

"Read this and burn it. I wrote this specifically for you, given your extraordinary achievement in mana control while you were embarrassing yourself under my spell. Whether you can start to comprehend it or not, we'll be returning in an hour. It's been half an hour already, and I don't want to get a scolding from your mother."

Hearing the Arch-Magus speak as if his mother were something dangerous seemed really silly. But that's who his uncle was—a person who truly valued those who were his close confidants, powerful or not.

Maverick caught the parchment, unrolled it, and started reading. The instructions were simple for him. The principles of utilizing magical sense, which he already knew, combined with everything else here, made him think he could get started right away.

Maverick's attention was momentarily drawn to Edward, who suddenly conjured a chair, took out a bottle by tapping his ring, and sat down casually with a raised brow.

"Go on… give it your best," he said, easily opening the metal cap.

Maverick shook his head, sat down on the grass, and returned to analyze the principles of his uncle's illusion spell.

After reading back and forth a couple of times, he used Confirngo to burn the paper.

He then stood up, took his wand from the wand holder, and closed his eyes. His memory went back to when his uncle cast the spell: the wand movements, the chanting, and the subtle cues he had picked up using his magical sense.

Combining it with the notes on the spell's detailed principles, he raised his wand to give it his first try.

"Illusio Lunam Lectorem!"

With nearly the same swing, he attempted to cast the spell on his uncle, who was sitting on a conjured sofa, one foot over the other, elbow rested on one arm of the chair, sipping from his bottle and watching him intently.

Nothing happened.

"Illusio Lunam Lectorem!"

"Here's a hint—keep it simple. Make me think you're a rock or something," Edward remarked casually, causing Maverick to pause and think.

After several seconds frozen in thought, Maverick's eyes gleamed as he tried again.

"Illusio Lunam Lectorem!"

Again, nothing happened.

Half an hour later.

The wind was calm, barely enough to make the grass flicker. Maverick stood in front of the casually seated Arch-Magus, eyes closed, wand in hand.

According to Edward, this was an easy spell to start with, and after reading the principles, Maverick understood why. At a basic level of understanding, the spell functioned much like a typical Confusion Charm.

Drawing from the notes and recalling Edward's movements when casting the spell, Maverick focused deeply as he made his umpteenth attempt.

With a glimmer in his eyes, he opened them, and in perfect timing, his wand hand moved, executing the familiar swing.

"Illusio Lunam Lectorem!"

...

Nothing happened. Or rather, something did happen. The spell didn't cast correctly, nor did it reach the intended target, but Maverick's magical sense picked up a faint ripple—one that aligned with the notes, a ripple that would occur when magic attempted to find a target.

The ripple formed briefly, only to disappear immediately, signaling a failed attempt.

"Ahaha… come on, little Rick, let's get you home. I'm starving." Edward stood from his conjured seat. He had undoubtedly noticed the subtle improvement in Maverick's last failed attempt, but to him, it wasn't enough to be considered as anything. Even getting started.

However, instead of the look of disappointment that might follow a failed attempt, Maverick's face showed nothing but ecstasy.

He did his best to suppress his emotions and watched as Edward dispelled the conjured seat, obviously ready to head back.

When their eyes met, Edward spoke first, "I said it was an easy spell to get started with, but I never meant learn-it-in-one-day easy. Even Bella took a month to cast the simplest illusion… so don't be so hard on yourself." He paused, allowing Maverick to process his words.

"Little Rick, if you can cast even a simple illusion, using the principles of my spell, within a month, I'll consider you qualified."

Maverick, however, gave a confident grin, one corner of his mouth curling upward. Edward misread it, thinking Maverick had either agreed or felt confident he could complete the challenge sooner than a month.

But what Edward didn't realize was that Maverick's smile held a different meaning, and he was about to give the man a major surprise.

After all, his system had just prompted him that his proficiency had reached Beginner level in the illusion spell immediately following his last attempt.

[Illusio Lunam Lectorem (Beginner +)]