Ted had been acting strange for the past few days, and his friends were quick to notice.
Especially Hermione—she had seen him sneaking off to practice magic alone in an abandoned classroom, buried in books even she couldn't recognize in the library.
It worried her.
To Hermione, this was self-destructive behavior!
The Gryffindor pals, being a little less observant, only picked up on it four or five days later when they realized Ted was barely paying attention at meals.
He was too deep in thought, even as Anzu was stuffing his face with french fries right next to him.
"Is something bothering him?" Ron asked, looking at Ted as he absentmindedly poked at his food.
"It doesn't seem like that. More like he's obsessing over something," Jerry noted.
"Yeah!" Hermione nodded.
"He told me he's researching new magic."
"New magic? Wait… is it some kind of prank spell?" Neville asked, his eyes widening.
Harley, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. "Why are we sitting here guessing? Let's just ask him! I have a plan—"
The group cut him off immediately. "Forget it, Harley! No need for a plan this time!"
That evening, as they ate dinner together, Ted finished quickly, muttered a quick farewell, and left the table.
The moment he was out of sight, his friends exchanged glances.
Ron hurriedly shoved the rest of his chicken leg into his mouth, Jerry stuffed some cheese into his lunchbox for later, and Harley nodded.
"Alright, let's go! Follow him!"
Ted made his way to the abandoned classroom on the fifth floor of the left tower.
He stopped at the door and turned slightly.
Without looking back, he called out, "Come on out. I know you're there. What do you think you're doing, sneaking around like that?"
From behind, five very guilty-looking friends stepped into view.
Harley frowned. "How'd you know?"
Ted grinned. "There are five of you. Your footsteps together sound like a marching band."
Harley sighed. "I had such a great plan, too…"
Ted chuckled. "Right. So? What's up? Why are you lot following me?"
Hermione stepped forward, arms crossed, looking worried. "Ted! You're not researching something dangerous, are you?"
Ted looked at her and the others, their faces a mix of concern and curiosity.
He couldn't help but laugh. "Hah! Thanks for worrying about me, really. But come on in—I'll show you."
The six of them stepped inside.
Ted walked up to an old training dummy at the end of the classroom, raised his wand, and pointed.
"This one's a freezing spell. Watch closely."
A light blue spell shot from his wand and struck the dummy.
In an instant, a thin layer of frost spread across its surface, coating it like ice on a winter morning.
"Whoa! Cool!" Jerry exclaimed.
Harley clapped. "Nice! So this is what you've been practicing? That's brilliant! I'll have to use it on Malfoy next time!"
Ted shook his head, amused. "Not just this one. Watch this."
He cast another spell—this time a reddish light hit the dummy.
The effect wasn't as visible, but Hermione gasped.
"That's an Impedimenta jinx, isn't it? It slows movement!" she said excitedly.
"Yep. It usually lasts about ten seconds." Ted nodded.
"I haven't fully mastered the Shielding charm yet, so I won't demonstrate that one."
Ron looked at him in disbelief.
"Wait, so you've just been… learning all these spells? On your own?"
Ted grinned.
"Not quite. I'm not just learning—I'm developing a new one."
The group fell silent, stunned.
"Wait… what?" Neville finally broke the silence.
"You mean, like, creating a spell?"
Ted nodded.
Although spell creation wasn't unheard of in the wizarding world, it was usually done by experienced wizards—or by sheer accident
Having a first-year student, who had only been in school for a little over a month, claim he was developing a spell? That was something else entirely.
It was like casually finding out your classmate had a million subscribers on YouTube.
It just didn't feel real.
Hermione's jaw dropped.
"You're serious?"
Ted didn't answer.
Instead, he raised his wand again.
This time, instead of aiming at the dummy, he traced a complex pattern in the air.
Then, he spoke: "Frost Armor!"
For a brief moment, a shimmering shield of ice appeared around him before vanishing.
Instantly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.
The group shivered as if they had just walked outside into a snowstorm wearing only T-shirts.
"Hhgh—!" Ron hugged himself and shuddered. "B-Blimey, what was that?!"
Harley rubbed her arms. "You definitely did something. What kind of spell is that?"
Ted smiled. "My own invention. And now, let me explain…"
...
Ted muttered an incantation, his wand moving in a precise, practiced motion.
A shimmering layer of frost spread across his body, forming an almost invisible armor.
This new spell was a fusion of the Freezing Charm, the Impedimenta Jinx, and the Shield Charm.
The transparent icy shield hovered just above his skin, offering protection against minor spells and, more importantly, physical attacks.
Anyone who struck him would not only be blocked but also slowed by the numbing cold.
The effect lasted for about six minutes.
"Alright, someone hit me!" Ted announced eagerly.
"Oh, let me!" Harley, ever the bold Gryffindor, grinned as she stepped forward, clenching her fist.
Without hesitation, she swung a punch straight at Ted's face.
A dull "thud" echoed as her knuckles met the icy barrier.
Instantly, a layer of frost coated Harley's arm.
"Merlin's beard, that's freezing!" Harley yelped, pulling back her arm and shaking it.
"My whole arm's gone numb!"
Ron and the others burst into laughter while Hermione looked intrigued, already analyzing the spell in her head.
"This is brilliant! You've got to teach me!" Harley said, eyes gleaming with excitement.
The others nodded in agreement, eager to learn.
Ted, however, shook his head. "It's not ready yet. You saw how long it took me to cast, right? The wand movement is too complex, and the spell drains a lot of magic. I need to refine it."
"Not fully successful?" Ron raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly. The theory is sound—frost as the spell's attribute, body protection as its form. But I'm still struggling with the wandwork. I might even try replacing it with a gesture-based cast, making it usable without a wand."
The development of the Frost Armor Spell sparked a short-lived but intense interest among Ted's friends.
The group spent extra hours in the library, practicing and refining their magic. But after a few days, enthusiasm waned for most of them.
To even attempt the Frost Armor Spell, one needed a solid grasp of the Freezing Charm, the Impedimenta Charm, and at least some knowledge of the Shield Charm.
The Freezing Charm was a second-year spell, the Impedimenta Charm a third-year one, and the Shield Charm was fifth-year material—far from simple prerequisites.
Ron and Jerry struggled for four days with the Freezing Charm before giving up.
"You finish perfecting it first," Ron said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Then you can just teach us the easy way.
Harley and Hermione, however, persisted.
Both had mastered the Freezing and Impedimenta Charms and were now studying the Shield Charm.
One afternoon, as Ted was enjoying his lunch in the Great Hall, the Weasley twins approached him with mischievous grins.
They whispered something quickly before dashing off, leaving Ted puzzled.
Ron, having noticed the exchange, immediately rushed over.
"What did Fred and George say to you?" he asked suspiciously. "Why didn't they tell me? I'm their brother!
Ted smirked. "They found something suspicious and want me to check it out with them."
Harley's eyes lit up. "Suspicious? What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"At least let me finish my food first," Ted laughed.
After a hurried meal, the group followed the twins down a series of winding corridors until they reached a secluded passageway.
Fred and George stopped in front of an old, oval-shaped mirror hanging on the wall.
Its silver-plated relief frame was covered in a thick layer of dust, untouched for years.
"A mirror?" Ron said, frowning.
Fred slung an arm around his younger brother's shoulders, smirking.
"My dear, simple-minded brother… Don't just use your eyes. Use your instincts!"
Ted chuckled. "He means magic isn't always visible. You have to sense it. Try focusing."
Hermione, always quick on the uptake, reached out and ran her fingers across the glass.
"There's definitely magic here… And this dust—it won't wipe off!"
"Brilliant!" George exclaimed.
"Genius!" Fred added dramatically.
"It's weird, though," Ted mused.
"Everything else in the castle gets cleaned—portraits, suits of armor, everything. Why has this mirror been left like this?"
Closing his eyes, he tried to sense the magical flow within the mirror. The patterns were intricate, unfamiliar.
"This is different from any spell I know…" he murmured.
"My magical knowledge is still limited. I can't figure it out."
He turned to the group. "Does anyone know the Revelio Charm?"
A brief silence.
"Uh… isn't that a fourth-year spell?" Ron muttered.
"Guess we'll have to learn it first," Ted said with a grin.
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