Magic can be applied in countless ways; it is not merely a tool for attack and defense.
From the humble art of cooking to the grand engineering of castle construction, magic leaves its mark everywhere.
Building Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a monumental undertaking.
After a month of preparation, the day finally arrived to use magic to raise the castle.
During the preparation phase, Rowena Ravenclaw had designed a colossal magic array.
This array covered the entire footprint of the future Hogwarts. The amount of magical crystalline sand required just to draw the array was an astronomical figure.
"Truly a grand gesture!"
Rey marveled internally as he stood outside the array with Helena, Rolanda Hooch, and Terence Barrow, witnessing the birth of Hogwarts.
The Four Founders stood at the four cardinal points. As the morning sun crested the horizon, they began to chant the incantation in unison.
Rey recognized every word they sang, yet he couldn't understand the meaning of the spell itself.
The pitch, the reverse order of syllables for each person, the timing—the four of them must have practiced this countless times. Their execution was flawless, their synchronization so perfect that even Madam Hooch was awestruck.
As the chanting continued, magical power poured in from four directions, converging at the center. Then, like ripples in water, it expanded outward in continuous waves, forming over a dozen concentric circles, each equidistant from the last.
Simultaneously, multiple triangles dissected these circles, eventually forming a profound and complex geometric pattern across the ground.
"A Life Magic Array!"
Seeing the final form of the array, Madam Hooch was shocked.
Among the observers, Madam Hooch had the most discerning eye. Her shock immediately caught the attention of Rey and the others.
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What is life?
The crucial component of life is the soul.
The soul is an ethereal concept. From ancient times to the present, there has never been a definitive conclusion on what the soul actually is.
Consequently, Life Magic is the most mysterious and unpredictable branch of magic. Few know it. Perhaps in ancient times, a few High Elves mastered it, but by now, it was essentially extinct.
Madam Hooch hadn't expected to see Life Magic here. It raised her estimation of the four wizards even higher.
Using Life Magic to build the castle was Rowena Ravenclaw's proposal.
As soon as it was suggested, the other three voted in favor with both hands.
Of the four, only the wise Rowena had researched Life Magic extensively. To use it for construction, a massive array was required to facilitate the spell.
Rowena naturally led the ritual, while the other three focused on synchronizing the incantation and supplying the raw magical power.
As magic flooded in, a white sphere of light formed in the center of the massive array.
The light was concentrated, not scattering—truly magical. Despite its brightness, it wasn't blinding to Rey and the observers.
Once the sphere of pure magic appeared, joy lit up the faces of the Four Founders. At that moment, they shouted a command in unison, and their magic surged like floodwaters through a broken dam, pouring recklessly into the array.
Hummmm!
With a vibrating hum, the sphere of light expanded instantly, enveloping the entire array and the four Founders within it.
The expansion was sudden. Except for Madam Hooch, Rey and the other two teenagers instinctively took a step back.
Clearly, the sudden shift had caught them off guard.
The massive sphere was semi-transparent, allowing them to see only vague shapes inside.
Various substances flew around within the sphere like ink of different colors.
They wove together, separated, crashed into the ground, and churned within the light.
Rey stood outside, watching dumbfounded.
To him, the scene inside the sphere looked exactly like the process of embryonic conception. It was identical to the documentaries he had seen in his past life.
This miraculous scene lasted until sunrise the next day.
When the first rays of morning sun hit the site, the sphere began to dim. Then, it broke open at the very top, revealing the pointed tip of a tower.
As the sphere gradually dissipated, Hogwarts Castle revealed itself, bit by bit, from the top down.
It was exactly the same as the castle of the future—ancient, elegant, and filled with a sense of history.
Rey realized then that even after more than a thousand years, Hogwarts would remain unchanged.
The sphere vanished completely, and Hogwarts was finally born.
The Four Founders were exhausted, but as they looked at the castle before them, their faces were filled with gratified smiles.
The castle was like their child. There was no doubt about that; even Rolanda Hooch agreed wholeheartedly.
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The newly built Hogwarts was teeming with vitality.
Because it was built with Life Magic, no matter where one walked inside, the flowers, grass, and trees looked incredibly vibrant.
These plants were a part of Hogwarts, much like hair on a person.
The vegetation was seamlessly integrated with the castle and wouldn't change with the passage of time. Otherwise, have you ever seen a gardener tending the castle grounds in the movies?
There were no gardeners, and no house-elves were seen pruning the trees.
Besides, who would dare try to prune the Whomping Willow on the lawn?
The layout was also identical to the future.
Four Houses, four distinct styles. The Founders had already allocated the specific locations. Even the crests of each House were already hanging in their respective common rooms.
In addition to the physical structure, three special, living magical artifacts were born in the Great Hall of the new Hogwarts.
A writing Quill, a parchment Scroll for records, and the Sorting Hat.
Rey hadn't expected these three items to be birthed alongside the castle itself.
"It's you! It's you! You're the one who left a scar on my handsome face!"
The very first thing the Sorting Hat said upon seeing Rey was a resentful shout.
The voice sounded old, but the tone was petty. Rey looked at the hat and seriously doubted if this was the same wise Sorting Hat that would sort him into Ravenclaw in the future.
The hat originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor. The memory of Rey's magic bullet slicing its brim had apparently become an integral part of its new consciousness.
The Quill was the one Salazar Slytherin used for daily writing; its handwriting for recording young wizards' names matched Salazar's own.
The parchment Scroll belonged to Helga Hufflepuff. This scroll, which had the Life Magic Array drawn upon it, was something Helga had found in an ancient ruin.
The pattern of the array had vanished, leaving a blank scroll waiting for the Quill to record names. It would record names on a yearly cycle, returning to blank after the children formally entered Hogwarts.
Each of the Four Founders had a personal magical item brought to life.
As for the item associated with Rowena Ravenclaw, that was Hogwarts Castle itself, for it was a living magical entity.
And Rey was all too familiar with its soul, for he had met him before.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone!"
A loud, mischievous voice echoed through the Great Hall. A spirit with a broad face, wide mouth, and round, bright eyes appeared in the air.
He wore brightly colored clothes, a tie, and a hat, with a pair of pristine slippers on his feet.
This was none other than Peeves, whom Rey had seen countless times at Hogwarts in the future.
He was the soul of Hogwarts—or rather, the Spirit of the Castle.
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