Chapter 54: First Time Losing

Hearing about a broken wand reminded Claire of Jacob, and so she decided to head out to the Lakeshore to meet him that night. Using her wand to cast Vermillious, Claire was met by Jacob who Apparated in front of her.

"How goes the search for a new friend to trust?" Jacob asked.

"Well, I think I've found someone," Claire responded. "I haven't told him everything, but he thinks he's helping me write a report for History of Magic."

Jacob chuckled. "That's funny!"

"But the main reason I called you is because I wanted to ask if you could teach me wandless magic, since Merula used it recently on me."

"That's troubling news, and lends more credence to her joining 'R' as they probably have people who know it well. Now wandless magic is more difficult to learn than wand-based magic, especially if you're not used to it. But, you have used it before."

"I did? The only time I used it was to try levitating a piece of bread during detention."

"No, you used it when you were really little. Children sometimes perform wandless magic, but they usually don't have control over it. You sneezed so loud that you shattered one of Mum's tea sets. I'm surprised she's never brought it up."

"Really? Because I don't remember that at all."

"Then again, she did initially think I was the one who did it. But a few weeks later, you did the same thing but shattered a vase instead of a tea set. I was in Muggle elementary school at the time, so it definitely wasn't me."

"Sounds like I was a destructive child."

"Not always," Jacob insisted. "One time, you laughed a flower back to life and I remember Mum was pleased about that. So if you want to 're-learn' wandless magic, then let's get started."

So Claire spent much of the evening practicing wandless magic with Jacob. He was very informative, as he dabbled in wandless magic after he broke his wand. It turned out to be very similar to wand-based magic, only it required more concentration and more movement in the wrists to mimic the motion of waving a wand.

"All right, now try casting Depulso on that rock," Jacob said, pointing to a nearby rock on the shore after putting Claire through several stance and wrist-movement exercises.

Concentrating her right hand on the rock, Claire said, "Depulso!"

The rock tumbled backward, but it didn't get repelled back the same way it would've if Claire had used her wand.

"I guess that's better than my previous attempt in the Kitchens," Claire admitted, trying to hide her disappointment.

Putting his hand on Claire's shoulder, Jacob said, "Wandless magic is difficult in general, and some witches and wizards can't even perform it. To be honest, Rakepick was the one who taught me wandless magic after I got expelled from Hogwarts."

"Gosh, and she was already dangerous enough."

"Exactly, so just be careful, Pip. Only use wandless magic if you have no other choice."

"Well, let's hope I don't have to resort to it tonight as Merula's waiting to duel me at the Clock Tower Courtyard."

###

Arriving at the courtyard, Claire was surprised to see not only Merula but many of her classmates. While Penny, Ben, and Corey were wearing casual clothes like Merula, others still wore their school robe. Claire, though, decided to switch her school robe at the dorms for a blue denim jacket with a Puffskein fur-lined collar she got during the summer from Penny's sister Beatrice, who wanted to apologize for her rude behavior during Sixth Year. In addition, Claire wore a magenta shirt underneath the jacket, a black knee-length skirt and matching tights.

"I hope you're ready to lose, Krystal," Merula said confidently. "And just so we're clear, this will be a wandless duel."

"That's fine by me," Claire said, trying to mimic Merula's confidence. "I took your advice and studied wandless magic before coming here."

"How considerate of you," Merula responded mockingly and turned towards the crowd. "Let's hope our audience gets their time's worth coming out here in the middle of the night to watch us duel. Now keep in mind I've studied wandless magic for an entire summer, while you only had half a day. Show me how quick of a study you are, Krystal."

"You can do this, Claire!" Penny cheered, wearing a similar denim jacket over a blue sweater with a yellow dress skirt and yellow shoes.

"Don't make the time you stood up for me not worth it!" Ben added, wearing a burgundy sweater and dark blue jeans.

"Okay, Ben, I'll keep that in mind." Claire reluctantly put away her ebony wand and held up her right hand just as Merula did the same.

Then Merula immediately cast Flipendo, causing Claire to immediately cast Protego. While the Shield Charm did hold, it wasn't as strong as it usually was. Next, Claire used Incarcerous to bind Merula but the ropes didn't stick to Merula's body for very long. Claire immediately followed up with her own Flipendo, but it wasn't strong enough to knock Merula to the ground. Merula retaliated with two castings of Flipendo, which knocked Claire down and sent her skidding backward a ways.

While the crowd was silent in shock, Merula chuckled menacingly as she walked up to Claire. "Not used to the feeling of losing, are you, Krystal? Though you did put up a good fight, so color me impressed."

As Claire got to her feet, she said, "You're being awfully nice about winning, and not in the condescending way."

"I told you, Krystal, I'm in a good mood lately."

"Even so, your good mood is unusual. Almost like you've discovered something…new."

Merula looked astray for a moment and said, "I can show you how to improve your wandless magic, if you'll let me."

Claire blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, because I want our next duel to be fair and square. It's no fun dueling someone who's not on the same level as you."

"That makes sense, I guess."

To be continued…