"Increasing your magical power doesn't improve the precision of your spellcasting. This is basic first-year material. What, have you seventh-years already forgotten it?!"
At that moment, the classroom was bathed in a deep blue glow. Everyone stood neatly within the areas marked out by Tver, directing the imps in front of them.
After two months of study and practice, most of the club members had learned how to control the imps to cast spells.
But the actual results were obvious at a glance. Their frantic fumbling said it all.
"But if we don't do it this way, we can't even cast the Disarming Charm," Fleur complained, even though she had been the first to succeed.
Viktor and Cedric, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.
Among the students present, aside from the professor, the three of them had the strongest talent for magic.
Even so, after finally managing to control an imp to cast the Lighting Charm, they had eagerly moved on to trying more advanced spells.
The outcome was exactly what you would expect. What they produced could hardly be called magic at all. It did not even have enough force to scratch the floor.
"Think back to when you first started learning magic. Wasn't it just like this? Clumsy and chaotic?"
Tver spoke in a guiding tone, helping them readjust their approach to casting.
"The only difference now is that there is an extra step in between. It is just like how professors teach you magic. What you need to do is teach the part of your soul you separated to cast spells!"
Staring at his own sluggish imp, Davies suddenly slammed his fist into his palm in realization.
"Now that you put it that way, I finally understand why professors used to roll their eyes at us…"
The students all let out a collective sigh.
With students like that, any professor would eventually lose their patience…
Now that they understood the principle and grasped the technique, they quickly quieted down and slipped into a serious teaching mode.
"Come on, imp, show everyone what you can do."
"No, no, no. I mean cast the Impediment Jinx. The one we practiced!"
"That is right, the hand movement is correct. The incantation… well, you cannot exactly say it, but everything else is fine. So why is it not working?"
"Do not rush. Feel what it is like to cast the spell. Think back carefully to what just went wrong and see what was different from when we practiced."
"Good, looks like you are starting to get it. Let us try again!"
Tver, however, frowned deeply, his expression turning strange as he watched George. George looked like he was talking to himself, patiently instructing his imp as if he were guiding a child.
"What exactly are you doing?"
There was no way splitting off a fragment of his soul had scrambled George's brain, right?
Impossible. A fragment that small should not have that kind of effect.
Hearing Tver's voice, George turned back, looking slightly confused.
"Is this not what you said, Professor? To guide the imp like teaching a student?"
"Before Fred and I started school, that is exactly how Mum and Dad taught us at home."
Students from pure-blood families, or more broadly wizarding families, would usually begin practicing magic under their parents' guidance after receiving their wands, but before starting school.
Since the Ministry of Magic's notice had not yet reached these young wizards, they could not really be considered in violation of the Statute of Secrecy.
Besides, there were adult wizards in their families. Even if they cast spells, it would be difficult for the Ministry to determine who had done it.
No, that is not the issue!
Tver planted his hands on his hips, clearly annoyed.
"I told you to guide the imps. Not to literally teach them, but to pass on the principles and techniques of magic to them, and then…"
"Biu!"
George's imp suddenly fired a red beam of light, striking Fred, who had been watching the show, and knocking him straight to the ground.
A perfectly executed Impediment Jinx had just been cast in the strangest way imaginable…
"What is it, Professor?"
Tver had spoken a bit too quickly, so George did not catch it clearly. Seeing him suddenly stop, he asked in confusion.
"…Nothing. You did very well."
Tver lowered his hand expressionlessly and quietly walked away.
With George's success as an example, the other students immediately began copying him, earnestly coaching their own imps.
"You did great just now, but I think you can do even better!"
"Keep it up. We will succeed soon!"
"No, please repeat the incantation for the Impediment Jinx a hundred times in your mind. How can such a simple spell… Sorry, I forgot you cannot actually recite it."
...
Tver stood off to the side, deeply shaken, watching as they used this almost childish method and yet succeeded one after another. The sensing magic he had set up continuously fed him all kinds of feedback.
Emotional fluctuations did not seem to transfer to the imps, but the imps themselves appeared capable of simple emotional responses.
Did that not mean the imps could perceive external emotions and react to them?
Realizing this, Tver finally understood why George's strange approach had worked.
Imp magic was like a weak, simplified version of a Horcrux, and the separated imps were like the soul fragments inside Horcruxes, such as those of Marvolio. They actually possessed a certain degree of autonomy.
It was just that the separated soul fragments were too weak, so that autonomy was extremely limited and required guidance from the original body. But that did not mean it was nonexistent.
So…
Back in seventh year, he had already created something akin to a Horcrux spell?
Tver scratched his head, feeling a lingering sense of unease.
Fortunately, he had chosen Durmstrang back then. If he had gone to Hogwarts, Dumbledore would probably have studied him inside and out by now.
Of course, imp magic and Horcruxes were still very different. Just the connection between the separated soul and the original body alone was far stronger than that of a Horcrux.
At most, it could only be considered the most rudimentary form of a Horcrux.
Although Tver's current strength was enough to create a Horcrux using imp magic, there was no need for it.
He was not as afraid of death as Voldemort, nor did he want to risk irreversible consequences from splitting his soul.
Still, this proved that the upper limit of imp magic was likely higher than he had originally expected…
Watching the students happily showing off all kinds of simple spells, Tver stroked his chin and fell into thought.