Chapter 53: Morality
In the Hogwarts Library, Claire tried to ask Madam Pince where books on wandless magic were but she claimed she was too busy to answer.
"Please, Madam Pince, this is important!" Claire insisted.
"Shh!" Madam Pince said.
"Sorry," Claire whispered.
"Why do you need to know about wandless magic anyway?"
"Because someone challenged me to a duel, and they used wandless magic to prove their point."
"I hope you're not planning to duel this person, since duels on school grounds are forbidden. Additionally, Hogwarts doesn't teach wandless magic and so most books about the subject are in the Restricted Section. Now even though you're the Head Girl, Miss Krystal, that doesn't give you special privileges."
Then Madam Pince left Claire to shelve books, when Corey walked over.
"You wouldn't be trying to study wandless magic to beat Merula, right?" Corey asked, causing Claire to flinch.
"Looks like I'm still in the spotlight when it comes to rumors," Claire remarked.
"Unfortunately, yes, though I do wonder if this upcoming duel with Merula will be among the greats," Corey said. "Like Dumbledore versus Grindelwald, Toothill versus Wiblin, Emeric the Evil versus Egbert the Egregious."
"Oh, I don't think my duel with Merula will be that interesting."
"But if you both use wandless magic, it will be."
"Well, I'm not sure if that'll happen since apparently all the books on wandless magic are in the Restricted Section and I've snuck in there enough times to where I think Madam Pince might actually catch me if I tried it again."
"Fear not, Claire, for I know a great deal about wandless magic."
As the two sat down, Claire learned from Corey that wandless magic was actually considered the norm in many countries outside of the United Kingdom and could be volatile if done improperly.
"While this information was certainly useful, I just wish I could actually learn how to use it and not just simply hear about it," Claire said to Corey when he was done talking.
"But if you know the general theory of something, it can help you better execute it in practice," Corey insisted. Then his face suddenly lit up. "In fact, I'll take you to the best wandless magic users that are right under our nose!"
"How?" Claire asked.
In response, Corey took out his wand and used Bombarda to make the books in front of him explode. This caught Madam Pince's attention, as she immediately sent Corey and Claire to serve detention in the Kitchens. Here, the house-elves were busy preparing that night's dinner.
"How could you do something like that?" Claire questioned.
"Don't worry, Claire, it was all part of my plan to get you down here with the house-elves, who frequently practice wandless magic," Corey explained. "And besides, making sandwiches isn't all bad."
"Speak for yourself," Jae interrupted. "I've been serving detention for six years, and now making sandwiches is super tedious for me."
"But I thought you liked cooking," Claire said to Jae.
"Making sandwiches isn't cooking," Jae argued. "So what brings you two down here?"
"I wanted to bring Claire down here to learn wandless magic from the house-elves, who are experts in not just wandless magic but also non-verbal magic," replied Corey. "They can even snap their fingers and make magic happen through sheer will alone!"
"That sounds neat," Claire remarked.
"Assuming this is for your upcoming duel with Merula, do you really think learning wandless magic will give you a better chance against her?" Jae questioned.
Sighing, Claire said, "While I am confident in my spell-casting abilities, I know Merula isn't going to play fair and so I want to be prepared."
While Claire wanted to talk to Pitts, he was busy yelling at other house-selves. So she, Jae, and Corey decided to make sandwiches in the meantime. It was here Claire asked Corey if any good wizards had gone bad to which Corey responded with several examples including Sirius Black, who was currently in Azkaban Prison.
"Just remember that morality is a gray area," Corey said when they were taking a break from sandwich-making. "No one is born good or bad. Hope that helps in your upcoming duel with Merula, or with that book report you're writing about Dark wizards."
For a moment, Claire was tempted to tell Corey the truth but chose not to.
"So that means I won't turn into a Dark wizard from selling contraband items," Jae said jokingly.
"No, I don't think so, because your morals are mostly good," Claire said.
"By the way, Corey, how do you know so much about wizarding history and pop culture?" Jae asked Corey.
"Well, it helps me," Corey said sheepishly.
"Excuse me, but why have Jae Kim, Corey Hayden, and Claire Krystal stopped working?" Pitts demanded as he stormed up to the three and got onto the sandwich-making table.
"Ah, Pitts, just the house-elf I was looking for," Corey remarked politely.
Pitts gave Corey a stern look. "What does Corey Hayden want with Pitts?"
"Um, I was hoping you could teach me wandless magic," Claire spoke up.
"Teaching is for teachers, and Pitts is no teacher," Pitts responded.
"But that's not true," Jae objected. "You taught me how to make sandwiches, when I served detention my first year."
"And speaking of sandwiches, you could use your wandless magic to make twice the sandwiches that are made by hand," Corey suggested. "It would be a form of streamlining."
"Streamlining?" Pitts paused. "All right, Claire Krystal, focus on the bread right in front of you and picture where your wand tip would be."
Claire followed Pitts' instruction. "Okay, and then what?"
"You perform the Levitation Charm."
Staring at the bread on the table next to Pitts' feet, Claire raised her right hand and recited, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Though the bread did lift from the ground, it only hovered for a moment before falling back down. Claire clenched her fist in frustration, while Pitts seemed surprised.
"Krystal did better on the first try than expected," Pitts remarked.
"But I couldn't execute the charm fully," Claire said remorsefully.
"Even so, it was worth a shot," Jae responded. "Maybe I should learn wandless magic too, because who knows? I might end up with a broken wand if I get into a dangerous skirmish with a Dark wizard."
To be continued…