Harry Potter: The Legend of Nero Ravenclaw-Chapter 115: Elemental Convergence (1)

The morning sunlight filtered through the wide, circular windows of the classroom, casting a mosaic of soft blues and greens across the polished wooden floors.

Nero paused at the entrance, taking in the unfamiliar yet inviting atmosphere.

The classroom itself was unlike any he had seen at Hogwarts.

Instead of rigid rows of desks, the students sat on tiered platforms arranged in a half-moon around a spacious, open practice area.

The ceiling overhead had been enchanted to resemble a tranquil sky, complete with drifting clouds, and the occasional crackle of miniature lightning.

As he stepped forward, a voice called out from the center.

"You must be Nero Ravenclaw, our exchange student from Hogwarts," said a woman standing with effortless poise.

Nero's gaze shifted to the speaker: a striking woman who looked barely older than a student herself, eighteen or nineteen at most.

Her long silver hair cascaded like moonlight, catching the light with every movement.

But it was her eyes that drew immediate attention, brilliant, crystalline, and impossibly sharp, as if they saw straight through illusion, hesitation, and truth alike.

They shimmered with a cool, almost ethereal glow, the kind of gaze that made you feel both exposed and intrigued.

She had the effortless beauty of someone born to stand out, a blend of elegance and danger, like a blade wrapped in silk.

And beneath her calm, poised exterior, Nero sensed a spark of irreverent mischief, the playful confidence of someone who knew she was untouchable, and enjoyed proving it.

"Please, take a seat," she continued, gesturing toward the platforms.

"I'm Gojo Satoko, your professor for Elemental Convergence this year."

Nero inclined his head respectfully and turned, just as Gojo added with a sly smile: "Ah, I see Mio has saved you a spot. How considerate."

A ripple of laughter moved through the room.

Nero followed her gaze to the window-side platform, where Mio sat with her chin resting on her hand, expression flat, but her cheeks slightly pink.

"Looks like you're already famous," she muttered as Nero slid into the seat beside her.

"Famous for all the wrong reasons," Nero replied with a resigned sigh. "Thanks to you and your cousin."

Mio gave him a sideways glance. "You think Ayaka is the only problematic one? You attract trouble like a magnet."

Before Nero could retort, Professor Gojo clapped her hands twice, drawing the room's attention.

She was casually leaning against the edge of her desk, arms crossed, grin playful.

"All right, everyone. Time to stretch those brains a little."

She turned and tapped her finger in the air.

Five glowing kanji ignited behind her, 木, 火, 土, 金, 水: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

Each character pulsed gently in turn, like a heartbeat.

"Let's rewind for a second," Gojo said, pacing slowly. "Onmyōdō, you've been breathing it in since your first day at Mahoutokoro. But let's remind ourselves what it really is."

She gestured to the characters, now shifting in a circle.

"These aren't just elements. They're phases, expressions of energy in motion. Wood feeds Fire. Fire returns to Earth. Earth bears Metal. Metal enriches Water. Water nourishes Wood. A cycle. A rhythm."

She traced a smooth arc through the air with her finger, the symbols following her motion in perfect harmony.

"Onmyōdō teaches that control doesn't come from force, it comes from understanding.

You don't cast fire by pushing harder.

You find the right balance of Yang to let fire take form without burning out of control.

You don't force water, you let its Yin flow guide your intent, not drown it."

Her voice softened slightly, but her grin remained.

"It's all about attunement. Magic doesn't obey you because you force it, it listens to you because you make sense to it."

She let the silence hang, then snapped her fingers once.

"Yin and Yang. The Five Phases. All of that? It's your foundation. But the moment you start feeling them in motion, once you sense how they interact, everything begins to shift. That's when real magic starts to open up."

Gojo raised her hand and traced a slow, fluid arc through the air.

A faint shimmer followed her fingers. As she moved, the air seemed to respond.

"Fire bends when wind brushes it."

A flicker of flame bloomed in her palm, then twisted sideways as a current of air spiraled through it, turning the flame into a corkscrewing flare.

"Water compresses into ice when the flow slows."

She closed her fingers, and a droplet formed midair. It hovered, pulsed, then crystallized into a smooth sphere of ice with a sharp crackle.

"Lightning erupts when tension builds and releases between opposing forces."

She spread her palms. A small arc of electricity snapped between them with a sharp hiss, dancing for a moment before vanishing.

She turned to the class, her silver hair catching the light, eyes gleaming with energy.

"Wind, ice, lightning, lava... these aren't separate elements. They're transitions. Reactions. Moments where forces meet and evolve."

She paused just long enough for the silence to settle.

"The more your understanding deepens, the more you'll see it, how the boundaries blur."

She snapped her fingers. The air shimmered again, and for a heartbeat, a ribbon of steam coiled through a spiral of frost, a perfect paradox of motion and stillness.

"That's Elemental Convergence. Elements aren't fixed categories.

They're dynamic forces, always shifting, always responding."

A subtle pressure shifted in the room, like a gust of wind beneath still water.

"Now, most of you learned magic the Eastern way: feel first, act second. No incantation. Just intent shaped by internal rhythm."

She tapped her temple lightly.

"Structure comes from understanding. You don't force a shape onto magic, you let it reveal itself through harmony with your own flow."

Then, with a flick of her eyes, she turned to Nero, flashing a grin.

"But our transfer student here? He trained differently. Western magic, especially Hogwarts-style, starts the other way around. You're handed the structure first: incantation, gesture, intent. If you follow the sequence, the magic responds. Doesn't matter if you understand why."

Her tone stayed light, almost teasing, but her words were clear.

"It's efficient. Accessible. Even a complete amateur can cast something decent by memorizing the template. But it's also rigid. If something shifts, if the moment demands more than the predefined pattern, most spellcasters can't improvise on the fly."

She turned back to the class.

"Neither method is wrong. They're just... tuned differently. One is like playing an instrument from sheet music. The other? Improvising by ear."

She turned to Nero again and gestured toward the practice circle.

"Nero~" Gojo said, drawing out his name with a teasing lilt.

"Since we've been graced with a living, breathing Hogwarts spellcaster in our humble classroom, why don't you show everyone how your side conjures water and ice?"

She winked. "Consider it a cultural exchange, and a chance for my students to see western structured magic in action, so they know what it looks like when you follow a standardized, efficient spellbook instead of your understanding."

Nero nodded and stepped forward, his movements smooth, unhurried.

He drew his wand in a smooth arc, a statement of control.

The air around him quieted slightly.

His posture was impeccable, spine straight, shoulders squared, his focus razor-sharp.

There was no gathering of energy, no aura flaring to life. Just stillness.

Then.

"Aguamenti."

His voice was clear and steady.

From the tip of his wand, a stream of water surged forth, precise and focused, coiling through the air like a liquid ribbon before arching into a perfect curve.

It held its shape unnaturally still, hovering midair, not a drop out of place.

A few students leaned forward instinctively, eyes wide.

"Glacius."

The tip of Nero's wand shifted, as he took aim.

No shift in tone, no change in breath, just a second command, as clean as the first.

A pale blue beam shot forward and struck the hovering arc of water dead center.

The reaction was immediate: a burst of frost spread outward from the point of impact, racing along the curve.

In a heartbeat, the entire stream hardened into ice, clear, sharp, gleaming, frozen mid-motion, like a wave stopped at the peak of its crash.

Tiny flecks of frost drifted down, catching the morning light.

A breath of silence passed through the room.

One boy whispered, "He froze it...midair."

Another muttered, "It didn't even ripple."

Gojo nodded, eyes twinkling.

"Clean. Efficient. That's the Western playbook. One spell to conjure, one to freeze.

Each spell acts as a closed system.

Each with a distinct gesture, incantation, and intent.

Magic delivers the result exactly as designed."

She glanced at the students, some still staring at the frozen arc.

"Thank you Nero. A beautiful demonstration, and a good reminder that there's more than one way to shape the world.."

Nero smiled and gave a polite nod. "A pleasure, Gojo Sensei".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

50 Chapters ahead on Patreon (Suiijin): Chapter 165: Nero vs Malrik (2)