Mason Aves: The Wizard(Kinda Complete.. again)

11. Summer of '31
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

Sorry for late upload. I was depressed for two days, and I took my first dose of Covishield yesterday. So, I'm going through a fever right now.

My mum's back, by the way. She's in home quarantine right now, and has a few tablets that she's taking daily. Otherwise, she's fine, but we're still taking care not to get too close. She's the one who's suggesting it, so don't worry.

Well, wish us luck, and thanks for all of your support! Thank you, really!

Read on!

---

Soon, the First year ended, without anything else happening. I progressed a bit in my powers, but not exceedingly so.

On the Telepathy and Mind Magic side of things, I'd completely memorised the 7259 paged book, Complete Mind Arts Compilation in the 10 days of Christmas Holidays. But I hadn't actually understood it immediately.

My Telepathy and the jury rigged Occlumency allowed me the ability to recall anything to the most minute detail. However, it doesn't happen instantly. I have to focus to bring that particular memory to the front. So despite having memorized the book, I hadn't understood it completely then, but I was slowly gaining an understanding of the book.

That needed me to go inside my Mindscape, and read the memorized book there. Again, only this time at the usual pace. I was just about three quarters of the way through the book, having taken to practice the instructions as I read them.

Occlumency is the subject I had studied the most, since Legilimency will only come after I've mastered my own Mind first. Granted I've already mastered my mind, I think, but I'll have to do this the Wizarding way. The last quarter, which I've just begun learning, contains the detailed instructions on Legilimency.

I tried using Legilimency on a few of the older students, and boy did I have some revelations.

Occlumency shields are strong enough that my Telepathy has some trouble going through, undetected. It means they're really strong, but the point is, they're only that strong right behind of the eyes. Honestly it was so shocking, having that revelation that I had to stop and just stare at the wall for 10 minutes.

The shields around the mind aren't weak, don't misunderstand, but when you compare it to the Telepathy shield that I put up when I was literally a child, that is a disappointment. Compared to my bulletproof glass shield, the Occlumency shields are Corning Gorilla Glass 3, not even 5, let alone Victus.

And then I remembered that Cassiopeia's mind literally had a door at the front, but the rest of her mind was surrounded by a wooden picket fence.

Granted, one had to first go through the useless distracting thoughts that the defender must have put up. But still. This made it possible for me to just go into the minds of any student in this school, and get their memories and knowledge, as soon as I learn how to use Legilimency properly.

I don't, however think that the teachers' minds would be this easy. If I cannot listen to the thoughts of the Goblins of Gringott's, while keeping my telepathy active, then I definitely can't do it to actual competent Adult Wizards. At least, not while I'm a kid. Cassiopeia was just new at Occlumency, and so were the other students I tried it with.

Speaking of Cassiopeia, it was a disappointment as well. Her knowledge was precious, no doubt, but it wasn't extensive. It was her memories, only the last 5 years of which I have, that was impressive.

Her cousin Arcturus, is the current heir of the Black Family, and she was literally his favourite. So, he shared a lot of the 'main' family's knowledge with her. Good for me, but it's not that extensive.

She knew a few Dark Curses, which I'm definitely not using this soon, and more than a few Protection spells, which were appreciated.

At least I was now able to stop anyone else from reading the books Helena would sometimes bring me, which were of a level suitable for a first to second year student. And I can now cast a privacy ward if I so wished!

Surprisingly, Privacy Wards give a form of invisibility. The spell I learned from Cassiopeia's mind created an illusion around you, that made everything you want invisible, silent, and odourless. But it was also easy to detect, and remove. Even a Finite Incantatum works, for fucks sake.

As for my magic, my progress was just as fast paced as when I was in the Orphanage. Along with the spells I learned in the classes, I also tried to learn a few additional spells. Like the Stunning Charm (Stupefy), the Snake Conjuring spell (Serpensortia), and the Disillusionment Charm (Celo), these were the most impressive of the spells I've learned that were beyond the first year syllabus.

I got all three of these spells from Cassiopeia's mind. Well, I already knew stupefy, but I had to learn it the proper wizarding way some day, right?

Other than that, I've learned about 5 Charms and Transfiguration spells from out of syllabus, but within the capabilities of a normal first year student, and 5 more from the second year syllabus.

Those I learned from the Ravenclaw House Library, so the teachers probably know that I know those spells. It was a calculated reveal, since a Ravenclaw studying ahead wasn't unexpected, and they must have already noticed I'm bored in classes, but since my magic control wasn't that impressive yet, I kept to the first two years.

Don't want to become blind or something because I tried the Patronus Charm in the first year or something like that. Hey! It's magic, anything can happen!

Speaking of magic control, I still kept with my exercises, but now, only kept to the more useful spells. Disillusionment Charm(Celo), Alohomora, Stupefy, Petrificus Totalis, Incendio, Aguamenti, and Diffindo. I was hoping to completely master them until I can cast them on instinct.

What about the Levitation Charm, Accio, and Depulso, you might ask? Well, this is my best accomplishment of my entire life. I have managed to make my body, and my magic, so used to the three spells, that I can now cast them all without a wand, without speaking, and sometimes, without even pointing my hand. The spells were completely mastered according to Wizarding standards, but not by mine.

My end goal, in regards to the three spells, was to completely combine them and every other such spell to mimic Telekinesis. It was still a work in progress, and I still had a long way to go. I'll consider it mastered when I can fly on my own.

The reason my progress was relatively small, other than my Mind Arts, and Telekinetic spells, is that I was actually taking it slow. First of all, I have homework too, as annoying as it is. Plus, I have to complete the exercises for 3 wanded subjects, and read up on two non wanded subjects, Herbology and Potions. Secondly, I literally have 6 more years inside the castle, I have no reason to speed things up too much.

So now, after my exams were done, and the End of the Year Feast was over with, I was sitting in a train compartment, with Darla in front of me, waiting for the train to start. Beside Darla, was Anastasia Greengrass, who had somehow become better friends with Darla, than with me, her House Mate. (They had met through me in the first place, when we had gotten together to study in the library.) And beside me was an empty seat. Sly was once again sleeping inside my robe, preferring to sleep through the journey.

"Hey, Mason." Tom says, walking into our compartment and sitting down beside me.

Nodding at him, I ask, "What happened to James and Lucas?"

Tom scowls, and says, "They brought their Gryffindor friends in and began arguing about Quidditch. Again. As if we don't tolerate it enough in our Dorms."

Darla snorts, and says, "You say that, but imagine sharing a common room with 100 Quidditch fanatics. It gets really annoying, the way they get so excited, and shout over a sport."

I dryly point out, "You're one of the Quidditch fanatics, Darla. You were literally yelling at your teams captain for losing the match last month. In the Great Hall, that too."

"Doesn't mean it's not annoying when someone else does it." Darla says, not bothering with denying the accusations.

"Hey, even I love Quidditch and flying, but I don't, and can't, speak about it every time I'm free! I also don't know why they're all so bloody obsessed with the professional flyers!" Tom says, defending Quidditch a little. Good thing he mellowed out a little. At the beginning of the year, he barely spoke one sentence per day to us. Now look at him, seeking us out so he can talk freely.

I snort, and just shake my head. Sure, flying is wonderful. Even if a broom is the one to support us, there's a sort of freedom in flying, which we don't get to experience outside of our flying classes. Thank God, Flying lessons will continue on for the next year too.

Only the first and second years have flying lessons. The others are expected to just use their breaks to fly around Hogwarts grounds, if they need to.

Back to the point, despite somewhat liking flying a broom, I did not like Quidditch much. I was a dude who played basketball, and seeing Quidditch, where the players literally carry the ball, quaffle, close to their stomachs, right to the goals, was blasphemy for me.

I watched the games, but would internally scream in outrage the entire time.

Soon, the topic turns to our exams, and Darla shakes her head and asks, "How the bloody hell did you manage to get O's in every paper, without studying a single Page?"

I look back at her, confused, and say, "But I did actually study."

"Not for the exams, you didn't. You were practicing some other spells, playing Chess with Goldfinch and her group, or reading that Charms Magazine the entire time." Tom points out helpfully.

The Charms Magazine was what I would pick up whenever I wanted to read the Occlumency book in my mind. Chess was just a hobby that I crossed over with.

Nodding, I say, "You're right. But did you know that every day, I would practice my spells? Without breaking the pattern, I would practice every spell, go over every Potion, and even read through all of the notes before going to sleep. So, I didn't even need to study, because I already knew everything."

Plus, my Pseudo Eidetic Memory helped with recalling the theory perfectly. I only lost a few points in Herbology practical, and Potions practical, where I made some personal errors. Otherwise, I had almost perfect scores all over.

Theory wise, I felt as if I was writing an open book test, but I did refrain from copying everything down from my memories.

Darla whistles, impressed, and asks, "And you didn't think to tell us this?"

"Hey, if I'd have told you to study 3 hours after dinner, everyday, you'd have stopped talking with me." I say, leaning back.

For 5 seconds, no one speaks, after which Tom says, "Yeah, probably."

Darla nods, and says, "Fair enough."

While Anastasia says, "Definitely what would have happened, yes."

Shaking my head, I smile, thinking what these next years might bring. The Harry Potter Universe, the Wizarding World.

Who would have thought, this would be my next great adventure, to quote the young-old coot.

~

Once back at the Orphanage, I was suddenly bored and back to my pre-Hogwarts schedule.

Waking up, helping out in chores, taking care of the new baby that was found abandoned, etc. Only now, I didn't have school to take up 6 hours of my time. Plus, the food had gotten worse, somehow.

I will definitely make use of my fortune here at least. My mother was raised here, died here, and gave birth to me here. I owe them this much. But, I can't give them money, or the children will see only a fraction of it.

Hmm.. I'll give an anonymous donation of food and clothes. That'll be alright, I think.

With that decision made up, and kept on the TDL, I return to my desk, to draw a sketch on the slate, while my mind is busy reading the Legilimency part of the Complete Mind Arts Compilation.

I'm not good at sketching, never was, but it helps relax my mind.

It takes me about 10 days of reading 10 hours a day, for me to finish the book, and about 20 more days of mental conditioning later, I decide to try the Legilimency attack. Well, not exactly. I'll use my Telepathy to try and replicate the Legilimency spell.

What is Legilimency? It is the use of Magic to go through someone else's memories, and visual thoughts by use of eye contact.

What is Telepathy? It is hearing the loudest thoughts of other people around you, without using eye contact. At least, it is the definition of my current Telepathy.

So, my thought was, can Telepathy be used offensively, like Legilimency, by using the practices of Legilimency. And can Legilimency be used by using a Telepathy probe as medium?

My mind is my own, and I can control my magic inside my body pretty well. So, can I do what I want to? Only one way to find out.

It was dark outside, the clock having crosses the 12 AM mark some while ago, and I am sitting on my bed. I've found that while I can use my Telepathy in any position, it works best, and has the longest range, when I'm calm, meditating, and sitting down.

Once I'm calm enough, and in the Zen, I expand my mind and search for a.. victim. If I fail, then there's a chance that the mind will become.. a vegetable. So, I don't want to try this on good, honest, respectable, people.

Which still leaves me about 80% of London, to be honest, but I'm not going to experiment on them either. I'm looking for the worst of the worst criminals, who wouldn't be missed much.

It doesn't take me long before I hear the trigger words that immediately bring my focus to him. His mind was pretty loud, when it says, 'Hah! That bitch cried a lot, but it was worth it! The screams even set the mood!'

While he didn't think the word 'rape', the intentions were what triggered my telepathy into finding him. And now, I have him in my grasp. All his thoughts were mine, and boy were they so many.

He's a criminal, from what he's thinking, and a crook in one of the many gangs that plague London in these harsh times. In the 2 minutes that I've listened to his thoughts, he's killed 17 people, robbed houses, raped women multiple times, and took part in kidnappings.

I scowl, and think, 'Yeah, I think I'll have to fail this one. It will be quite painful for him, in fact. So unfortunate.'

Thinking back to my experience in Cassiopeia's mind, and all the mental training I did in this last month I've been here, I mentally call out 'Legilimens!' just for the sake of Intent,

As my telepathy already had a hold on his thoughts, my magic goes through it, in stead of the Eye contact necessary, and I tear through his meagre mind shields and land in his Mindscape, which makes me confused enough to call up his memories of the any mental training.

Oh he wasn't a wizard or anything like that. He was just trained to resist torture, for some reason, which resulted in a paper thin shield around his mind. If a normal human practices enough, they can even stop normal telepaths from looking at some particular memory they want to hide.

But this one's just a beginner, and not even that when compared to me.

Just like what happened in Cassiopeia's mind, pages start coming from all over his goon's mind, forming into books. Only this time, I don't send them to my own mind, but keep them in front of me.

One by one, books start stacking up in front of me, while disappearing from their initial places. When the books stop coming, I look at the 35 stacks of 12 books, and one stack of 4 books in front of me, and frown. His mind was useless, if all he has is these books fulk of memories.

This dude was just a crook, but I have no need for the memories of a criminal.

Pointing my palm at the stack, I focus on the rage I felt after hearing his thoughts, really focus on it, and shoot flames out of them. The flames catch one book on fire, and it starts spreading from there. Soon, the entire Mindcape is burning, with the flames taking the shape of animals to burn anything and everything they might find.

The only place unburnt, is the one I'm standing on. Satisfied with the result of my first experiment, I retreat to my body, and open my eyes.

~

Meanwhile, the crook, who had just been walking towards his house from the house of his rape victim, suddenly stops, and drops down on the ground.

"AAARRGHHGH! AAARGH! ARGHH!!" He keeps on yelling in pain, while holding his head and pulling at his hair, waking the people up. Fearful people wake up to see a man screaming in the middle of the road, rolling around on the ground, without any visible reason.

Some good soul takes him to the hospital, where they sedate him to stop his screaming. Finally, when the doctors conduct whatever tests they can, they conclude that the patient suddenly suffered a brain aneurysm, and went into a coma.

When he wakes up, months from that night, they will realize that he has forgotten everything. He doesn't even remember who he is, what he is, and he can't even talk. He essentially becomes a baby in the body of a 36 year old man.

And it is just because he raped a girl minutes before a Telepath was looking for someone like him.

Bad luck, even if it happened to the right person.

~

A few days after the incident with the crook whom I played Judge, Jury, and Executioner with, I had concluded that my Offensive Telepathy, or let's just call it Legilimency, wasn't harmful, unless I actually meant it to be. That was a relief.

If I do want them to hurt, I can use what I'm terming as Mental Energy to do anything. Erase their memories, change the memories, kill them. Anything. The first crook, I burned his memories, but burning isn't the only way to erase memories.

It's just the most satisfying, and the most painful for the victim. So far.

Anyway, I'd used Legilimency on many more people, because practice makes perfect, and I've noticed something.

My mind is different.

I knew that, but I just didn't know how different it was. Hmm, how to explain?

Imagine the mind as an object which gives off radiation, and all of the radiation, no matter which mind emits it, are contained within the light spectrum. It's not like that, but just suppose it does. Human minds are fixed to one band, animals to another, and insects to another, etc. But I haven't tried animal minds yet. It's bound to be disorienting, and I'd rather have a lot of experience with human minds first.

So, let's say Muggles have their Minds at the top in terms of wavelength, between 600 and 700 nanometers, making their Minds the easiest to be sensed, or heard amongst humans. Then, the Wizards come right below them, between 500 and 650 nm, and yes, there is bound to be a considerable overlap. This is just my assumption, however, so take it with a grain of salt.

If we assume all that, then I've found that my mind is based in the 300 to 500 nm range, and this is spectacular! My mind is literally out of the limit allowed for Minds! In the billions of human Minds that are contained in the Visible spectrum, my mind borders, and sometimes even goes to the Ultraviolet region, and I have a range of almost twice that of others!

I'm definitely not the only one like that, but I do like to feel special sometimes.

Keeping to that scale though, I've noticed a few minds that are in the 400-550 nm range, and they are easily noticeable. It's as if my mind just automatically finds them if I want to.

In the city of London itself, there were hundreds of people like that, with their Minds running on higher frequency than muggles and wizards, but far lower than mine. I haven't tried hearing their thoughts yet, nor have I tried Legilimency with them.

If their minds are better than Wizards, then there's a high possibility that they could feel me in there. I was just, observing them for now, by using the other minds near them.

Invading Privacy? Yup, definitely. But I need to know this. If I didn't need this information, I wouldn't be spying on one of these different minded people right now.

I was currently riding the mind of an old woman, looking through her eyes. She was still in control, and I'm not going to change that for now, but I was also there, sitting right behind her, figuratively. This woman is completely normal, with nothing different about her mind. The old man in front of her, however was different.

In front of us, was a man of about 50, the woman's husband. He was reading the newspaper, like he did everyday since I've begun observing him. I didn't have to look through her memories to know that he followed a fixed routine.

I have no idea why his Mind is different, but since I refuse to enter his mind before knowing why, I'll just have to keep observing.

Thankfully, my mind has been able to multitask for years now, so looking through the woman's eyes, and carrying on with my own daily routine wasn't a chore.

This man also wasn't the first person I'm spying on like this. He's the third, actually. The first two were siblings, so I just possessed the mother to observe them. Nothing exciting happened though, for the 10 days I was there, so I switched the target to this man.

The man was called Fergus McAllen, who lived with his wife, Anna. They had no children, and weren't rich either. They belong to the category of man goes to work, while the wife handles the house, and they've been doing it for 30 years, ever since they married. And now, for the last 3 days I've been observing them. Spying, to be honest.

It was all going just like normal, for hours and hours. I kept following the man, Fergus, using different normal humans as my personal TV sets, and nothing was different than the last 2 days I've been observing him. He walked into town everyday, to work at the office of Daily Mail, and then went home after a drink or two.

While returning home from the bar, however, something changed. Fergus was just walking towards his home, a little bit tipsy from the drinks he'd had today, while I was looking at him through the eyes of a man, sitting in his veranda. I just had to prompt the man to keep looking at Fergus.

Suddenly though, Fergus finds himself at the wrong end of a knife, 4 young people surrounding him. I couldn't hear what they were saying, so I switch minds and go into the Mind of one of the knife wielders.

".. any money! Please, I just want to go ho-me!" Fergus pleads, choking at the end, terrified for his life.

One of the young men, their leader from the looks of it, takes a step forward and puts the knife on Fergus's neck. Suddenly, however, the leader clutches his stomach, and goes to the side to start vomiting, the knife dropping to the ground.

Fergus looks at the remaining three men, who look concerned and grossed out at the same time, and as I was observing him through the eyes of one of them, I clearly see his eyes glow a sickly yellow.

Suddenly, I feel the need to vomit, and get up, instinctively coming out of the crook's mind and running towards the toilet.

"BLEAUGH!"

After having vomited for a full minute or so, thankfully reaching the toilet before doing it, I lean on the tap, looking at the mirror. My eyes are red now, and wet, thanks to all the vomiting. Even after washing my face, I still felt the effects of whatever happened.

"What the fuck was that?!" I mumble, still feeling a bit sick.

Whatever Fergus did, made me feel sick, and the effects still haven't gone away completely.

"Mason? Are you alright?" the concerned voice of Sister Laura asks from outside the door.

Rinsing my mouth once again, I say, "I just felt sick, Sister Laura. Last night's food mustn't have agreed with my stomach."

Am I alright though? That is the question.

I don't remember anything like this in the books, nor the thousands of fanfics I've read. At least, not the ones pertaining to Harry Potter Universe. If there was something like this, I'd have known.

Oh, other media definitely had something or the other like this, but by just one example I cannot make a solid decision.

Sister Laura says, "Very well. Come down to Sister Agnes's room once you feel up to it. She'll look you over."

Opening the door, I smile at Sister Laura, and say, "I will. I just.. I need to lay down for a bit."

And that's nothing on the vomiting. I need to know, what kind of world did I get myself into?

---

A/N: Well, I'm adding X-Men, but only the movies. He won't be meeting anyone until the Age of Apocalypse happens, though. All other movies before that one(chronologically) are focused on just US of A.

Last book, my revelation about mutants was hella fast. Like one paragraph he was a telepath, and then he immediately knew he was a mutant of marvel.

That's not realistic. No one will make that jump even after having the exact talent known from some other fandom. The first instinct will be, "I have this power in this other Universe?! SWEET!"

So, yeah. He's now realising, slowly, about where he is.

Thank you for your support! Tata!
 
12. Evolution
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.

I haven't set the pace of this story yet, and am currently writing 4th year. Hopefully, chapter 20-25 will begin with World War 2, but I'll tell you again when I've actually written that much.

Thank you.

Read on!

---

Three weeks after the vomiting incident, I had come to a conclusion. Fergus has a power, that much was apparent, sort of like me. He isn't a telepath, and neither is he a Wizard. He just had a power.

This power allowed him to make anyone feel sick. He basically causes anyone he glows his eyes at to vomit uncontrollably, for at least 5 minutes. I know from personal experience that it can last full 5 minutes, once it gets hold. Doesn't matter if you weren't physically there. I didn't observe him much, but I did finally decide to try and look into his memories.

Turns out, Fergus could do this since he was 15, but he was afraid of being branded a Witch, or a demon. So, he kept it hidden, and didn't train in it, at all. He only caused the accident that day, because he panicked and used it on instinct. Counting this time, he had barely used his power for a grand total of 50 times. In his entire life.

After that, I went back to the mother of the siblings I first I observed, to see if the mother could remember them doing anything weird. Nothing had happened weird with them, though, while either of the parents were around the two.

So, then I went to the next target, and the next, and the next. Only this time, I was more desperate for answers, and went through many of their memories. For most of them, even adults, they hadn't ever used any power that might classify them as weird.

But some were like Fergus, and me, I suppose. One lady could bring life back to dead plants, or help them grow, which is damn useful in the current years. Another lady has complete control over any water that she touches. But she has to touch the water to control it, which is a bummer, to be honest.

A man, who was 90 years old, could smell and hear things from very far away, and he had used it to rob people back in his day. And one man could lift more than 10 times his own weight.

There were many more, that I found in the 6 days that I was scrolling through Stan Lee's Superhumans in real life. They ranged from as useful as super strength, super speed, to as useless as always know when some food is going to go bad, or the power to detach your limbs.

It ranged from useful as fuck, to useless as fuck, and there was no fixed pattern to it, as far as I could see.

Right now, I was in the mind of someone I've spent the last 10 days observing. Why so long, you might ask? Because this is the one power amongst all the 47 people I've observed, that I could actually benefit from.

The 27 year old man named James Snow, could learn to read, write, speak, and understand, any language within a few minutes at most. I discovered him purely by accident, but once I found his amazing brain, I did not leave.

I know, okay, I know, this is wrong, and so much immoral. But this was too good an opportunity to pass up. I had copied his memories within the first day itself, like I did to Cassiopeia. And, his mind was way better organized than hers, making it a lot easier for me.

13 languages, including Sanskrit, and I had the memories necessary to learn to understand it.

But I wanted more. I wanted to know how he does it. How does a human brain learn to completely understand a new language within minutes of just staring at it? I NEED to know this, so I can understand what is happening here, in this world.

So, I stayed with him, doing my damned best to make sure I don't give myself away, somehow. For 9 days, I've been studying the way his brain makes the connections with the language, and I can say with full guarantee, that I have no idea.

It is on the 11th day, that something happens, different from the daily routine he'd gone through. James was walking through the town of London, shopping for some groceries, when be encountered an unusual scene.

Five men, about in their twenties, were surrounding an old Japanese woman, who was terrified out of her mind. They were yelling at her, throwing slurs again and again, and just bullying her.

People did see all of that, but most of them ignored the scene, content with minding their own business, while the few that did try to get in between were discouraged by the knives the men were wielding. So no one was there to save her when she was pushed to the ground by one of the men, when he tried to take her purse.

James however, was the son of a police officer, and knew a thing or two about fighting. Within half a minute, he had the 5 men running with their tails between their legs, and helped the lady stand up.

She repeatedly said, "Arigato gozaimasu!" For more than a few times, and then spoke some sentences in Japanese that neither he, nor I understood. At first.

Suddenly though, it was like a button was pressed in my mind, and I understood everything she was saying. She says, "You have been very helpful, young man, please come with me. I'll give you some sweets as thanks."

Obviously, she said all that in Japanese, but I fucking understood it all! I didn't know Japanese beyond the few phrases I learned from subbed Anime. Fuck the dubs.

Chuckling, James answers her, in Japanese, accepting her offer for snacks, while I smile widely. I think I have what I came from.

Slowly, I retreat to my own mind and open my eyes in my own body. Just to try, I call up an episode of Naruto Shippuden from my mind, to see if I actually understood it.

Heh, Pain vs Naruto is one good fight, one of the best, I think. And sure enough, I can completely understand every sentence in the episode, even without looking at the subtitles.

Just as an experiment, I take a notebook out from the drawer, and pick a pencil. Slowly, I try to draw the character for chi, and my mind draws blank. So, I can only understand Japanese speaking now?

"Well, this is a bummer, but at least better than nothing." I mumble, and then pause. Can I speak it though? With a shrug, I open my mouth, and start, "私の名前はメイソンで、私は魔法使いです."

What. The fuck. Hell yeah! I can speak Japanese! Wait a minute.. did I just.. copy a gift? Or did I just learn this one language because of being in James's brain at the time?

Only one way to find out. The Sanskrit book on Ancient Indian History is still waiting for me in the library.

---

Soon, the months passed by, and the Hogwarts letter came to me via a small brown owl. It was cute, but I don't see the appeal in having an owl as a pet. And Sly didn't appreciate me not allowing him to it it either.

~~Why do you even care? It's not your bird!~~ Sly asks, as I slap his head when he tries to jump the poor bird.

Taking the letter, I just throw the owl out of my window, and say, ~~The school will know that the bird went missing near my house, and I don't want them snooping around any more than they usually do.~~ and it's already annoying, having to hide my talents whenever a wizard is close by.

I'd occasionally seen a wizard or two in the region, who stood too rigid and vigilant to be anything but Aurors. It was their vigilance that gave them away, ironically enough. Plus, they stood right around the corner every Wednesday since the holidays had begun.

I think they were here to make sure I'm alright, and that I don't break the Statute of Secrecy by some accidental magic. They were probably also there to detain me in case I break the Decree for The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, but there's no way I'm using my wand while no one's watching.

I know from experience that Wandless magic isn't counted in the Decree, as I would have been arrested hundreds of times before if it was.

But I didn't mind them much. They were here to protect me, and if they even think about harming me, I'll hear it anyway. They weren't that good at Mind Arts, and their puny Occlumency might hide their memories from me, but not their thoughts.

Telepathy rules!

As I look at the book list, I think over the new development that had shown itself after that day in James's mind. A second gift had awakened in my mind, or I guess, James's own gift had been copied in my mind.

But the effectiveness of my own version of his Gift was a little lesser than that of James. He could read, write, speak, and understand the language within a minute of either reading, or hearing anything spoken in that language. Whereas, I can only read and write the language if I had begun learning it by reading, and I can only speak it if I learned by speech.

It also takes me about 5 minutes to do that, and I can't just stare at the same word of a language for 5 minutes, hoping to understand it. I need to really try reading, looking over all the characters I have access to. My mind makes the rest of the connections on its own, and it also provides me with the missing characters straight to my mind.

Anyway, I hadn't gone back to James's mind, since I had more than what I had thought I would gain. I wanted to learn languages from his mind, and he literally gave me his entire gift of Languages. He deserves his privacy now.

~~It looked tasty.~~ Sly says, bringing me out of my thoughts, showing that his thoughts were still on the blasted owl.

Rolling my eyes, I say, ~~I can still see the bird you ate yesterday, in your gut. You have no need to feed yet.~~

Sly flicks his tongue, and lays back down. He really is lazy, isn't he? Gods, what kind of pet did I get?

Poking him softly, I say, ~~I'm going outside to the Magical district. You want to come, or would you rather sleep?~~

Sly just waves me goodbye with his tail, making me lightly chuckle. Yup, lazy.

Climbing down the stairs with my Gringotts Pouch in my pocket, my expanded backpack on my back, and my wand in my sleeve, I seek out Sister Agnes, and ask, "Can I go out to London? I was hoping to go buy my supplies."

Sister Agnes happily nods, and pats my head. She says, "Sure, go on, but be back before 6."

It was 10 AM now, so the curfew is way more than I expected. But, she is happy right now. You see, in the beginning of July, the Orphanage received an 'anonymous' donation in the form of sacks of grain, boxes full of bread, a dozen chicken, fruits, vegetables, some spices, and a few boxes full of new clothes, including innerwear, and some toys.

God bless the Wizarding world. Despite the official exchange rate being 3.97 Pounds per Galleon, the actual value of the Galleon is much, much more. And they aren't even going through a financial crisis!

There are farms within the Wizarding world, for almost all types of grains, fruits, and vegetables. And if they don't have anything, they just trade with other Magical countries! And it didn't even cost a fortune for me to buy all that!

One sack of wheat, weighing 25 kgs, cost me a little shy of 15 Galleons. So, for buying all of that, taxes, and paying the Goblins of Miscellaneous Services to do everything, including muggle delivery, I had paid only 3000 Galleons!

I won't be able to donate every year, obviously, but I should be able to do it if the times get too tough.

But, the look of happiness on Sister Agnes's face was totally worth it, not counting the various other smiles flashing all around, and the excitement the children had at getting new stuff.

Heck, some kids even volunteered to take care of the chicken, because that was something new for them.

As I walk towards the Leaky Cauldron, my thoughts once again go to James, Fergus, the completely normal kids, and me. The ones who had Gifts, powers, had gotten them after experiencing extreme emotions. Heh, alliteration.

Some of the Gifted had gone back to live normally, some tried to use them openly and were chased out of their homes, while some turned to the life of criminals. What the man with detachable limbs could do in the Mafia, I have no idea.

For so long, I wondered, where my telepathy came from. Because I know it's not a product of my Magic granting me wishes. My magic, and my telepathy are completely different, I know that.

And then, I spent 11 days in James's head, witnessed him use his power, quite closely, and awakened my own tiny gift in languages. While a good side effect, it wasn't the most important detail.

The people awakened the powers while either angry, afraid, or really destressed. And I know of a Universe, that is not my own, where stuff like this happens. Sure, Accidental Magic also happens during emotional destress, but they weren't wizards. They're muggles, completely.

And so, I'd come to the conclusion. Marvel mutants.

The most likely answer to my question was that the Universe I'm in right now is the Marvel Universe, which also has Hogwarts. Don't know which Marvel Universe though.

And really God? A crossover Universe? Couldn't you have just dropped me in just one of them? Now I have to worry about surviving from thousands of threats instead of just the two Dark Lords. Hmm.. Voldemort is a kid, right? Can I just get a rope and..

Nah, too dark thoughts, Mason. This ain't DC.. I hope. I barely know anything about DC.

So, yeah, Mutants. I'm a Mutant Wizard, and so were Rowena and Helena Ravenclaw. But what Marvel Universe? Aren't there like.. thousands? I only know the most about the Movie one, 199999. The rest are just glances of wikipedia pages, or fandom articles.

Well, at least I won't be caught off guard by anything. I've read a lot of useless trivia about Marvel on the fandom, and hundreds of fanfictions. I'll survive, no matter what. I think.

Soon, I reach the Leaky Cauldron, and after a nod to Mr Dodderidge, Tom's father, I go towards the back. Tapping the necessary bricks, I smile at seeing the amazing phenomenon that is the Entrance.

Really, I have magic, and telepathy. What am I even afraid of? It's not like the threats are going to drop down on Earth tomorrow. There's literally decades for that. Heck, I might even be dead before that!

Hope not, but still.

Shaking my head, I banish the thoughts for now, and go towards Gringott's Bank. Once inside the bank, I walk towards the Money Withdrawal Goblin, and wait for my turn. When he looks down at me, I pull the key to my trust vault out, and say, "I need to take money out of my vault."

The Goblin takes the key in his hands, and boy are they pointy, and then examines it properly. He then says, "Master Grungir has informed me that you're expected in his office, Mr Aves. Grabnail will take you there, and then to your vault."

With that, the Goblin runner called Grabnail runs towards me, and with a single "Come." Starts leading me towards Grungir's office. Wonder what he wants.

As soon as I'm seated in front of Grungir, he slides me a piece of parchment, and says, "Sign it."

No way I'm doing that before reading it. What do you think I am? A moron?

So, I read, and immediately facepalm. I'm a moron. I should have realized that either Hogwarts, or Dumbledore himself will know that I have money now, and am no longer a broke orphan. Well, I am an orphan, just no longer broke. Fucking idiot!

Here I was, confident in my ability to see through any plans anyone can come up with, and Hogwarts bowled a googly.

The parchment basically was a form for the return of the funds I'd gotten from the school last year, and an acknowledgement that I am able to fund my schooling myself. Stingy wizards, couldn't let go of G125?

Re-reading it, and once again for good measure, I sign the form with the quill Grungir provided me with, and mumble, "Stupid Wizards." Which also counts me right now.

Grungir just grins, and says, "Us Goblins have been saying that for centuries now. Good to see a Wizard finally come to senses."

I scowl at him, and ask, "Anything else? Or can I go on to my business?"

Grungir just points me towards the door, which opens to show Grabnail waiting for me. I follow Grabnail towards the caverns, and wonder, 'Does this mean everyone knows? Or is it just the higher ups of Hogwarts, and possibly the Ministry.'

Damn, the probability of this news getting to my family's killers(if they actually died by murder, and not just killed themselves in a feindfyre accident) just increased exponentially. Fuck!

~

Soon, I begin buying the items in my school list. I had put a budget of 100 galleons on myself, knowing that this second year won't have as many purchases as the first year. I already had a telescope, Cauldron, gloves, trunk, bag, and my hat. I just needed to buy new robes, thanks to my growing body, stationary, and my books for this year.

It is as I was buying my second year books, and seeing if I find anything interesting, that I hear her coming.

'Oh my, what a coincidence? I wonder if he's been to Gringott's yet.' Cassiopeia Black, the manipulative, Mind Magic using bitch, thinks to herself, her thoughts loud as ever to me.

I keep moving, reading the titles of the books I was browsing, when she interrupts me, this time, not by her thoughts.

She says, "Hello Aves. Already done with your shopping?"

I still, and then look up at her, looking annoyed at being interrupted, and judging by her twitching eyes, she caught the annoyance. I put the book I'd taken out back in its place, and say, "Yes. And I'm leaving now too."

I had already paid for my books, and was just shopping for some extra stuff, so I could just walk out and there would be no issue.

"Oh, but what's the rush? Have somewhere to go to? An appointment at Gringott's, perhaps?" Cassiopeia asks, leaning down as she stops me from going.

Looking in her eyes, I feel the Legilimency probe, and allow it to show her the sight of me walking out of Gringott's. I turn away from her and finally notice that there was another person standing there, trying quite awkwardly to seem unbothered.

Looking at the girl behind Cassiopeia, I say, "No, I was just going home now."

Cassiopeia sees me looking at the girl, who was most definitely another member of the Black Family, and says, "That's my sister, Dorea. She'll be starting Hogwarts this year."

Dorea smiles nervously, and says, "Nice to meet you, Mr Aves. Cassiopeia mentioned you a few times, you know. Mostly about some vault or-"

"Dorea!" Cassiopeia says, sternly, as I just snort.

Dorea's a cute kid, and looked fairly similar to Cassiopeia. Curly black hair and grey/blue eyes seemed to be the theme here. Most of all she's not at all manipulative like her sister, from the looks of it, and even her thoughts confirm that.

She's just nervous about meeting new people, which is understandable.

"Nice to meet you too. And what's this about a Vault, Cassiopeia?" I greet Dorea, and turn to Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia has a glint in her eye at that, and says, "I don't know, Aves. You tell me."

I put my finger on my chin, and say, "Nope. Nothing comes to mind. Anyway, nice to meet you, Dorea. I have to go back home for lunch."

"Goodbye!" Dorea says, as her sister just watches me leave.

I'm not going to be completely antagonistic with Cassiopeia, despite the anger I feel at her. Sure, I use Mind Arts liberally, and probably won't stop. But I don't use them to take advantage of people I think are naive. And definitely not children.

For my advantage, yes. If it also causes them misfortune, no. Of course, general assholes don't count here, they're fair game.

~

Soon, we're back at the 2nd year of Hogwarts to study some more. Dorea gets sorted to Slytherin, as expected, and that somehow caused Charis Black to call her a lucky bitch. Don't know what she's complaining about, Ravenclaw house has a Library! The only thing better would be for the Kitchen to be closer, like Hufflepuff.

Not like I can do anything about it either. For now, time for another year of boring studies mixed with hopefully exciting experiments.

I wave at Cassiopeia during our first dinner back, smiling cheekily. By now, she must have realized that I had either broken the spell she cast on me, or I was never under any spell anyway. Ah, the image of her scowling while trying to remain a stuffy bitch will remain forever in my mind.

---

A/N: Okay, I tried to write each year, but its not working out. I'll move on to the summaries of each year from next chapter. Or I'll just summarize the next two years in the next chapter. Depending on my mood while writing.

Tata!
 
13. A New Surprise
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

---

Second year was looking to be just as boring as the first year. Whatever they had to teach me for this year, I already knew, both theoretically and practically.

Every 2nd year spell, I had already mastered with the wand at least; some, I was in the middle of mastering wandlessly. Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against Dark Arts, hell I'd even learned all the potions that I was required to learn this year in the first month itself. There were some transfiguration spells that I haven't mastered though, thanks to the lack of the source material.

Plus, Transfiguration spells are way harder to cast without a wand.

Helena had shown me a room that was left abandoned, originally meant for teaching Rituals. Rituals was a subject that hasn't been legally taught for at least 200 years. I say legally, because every Wizard worth his salt knows at least how to conduct the few basic rituals.

Unfortunately, the room was completely cleaned out, so there were no mysterious Ritual books that had been left alone for centuries or anything like it. The room just had a few desks thrown to the side, a table for the teacher, and a giant table in the corner meant for brewing potions. Because, you know, rituals might require Potions.

I had claimed the room for myself, and cast the few Warding Enchantments that I know, thanks to Cassiopeia's generous donation of her memories. The wards won't stop a determined 7th year student, let alone a teacher, but it was a start in learning Warding.

I hadn't begun learning the theory behind it though, because I didn't have the sufficient knowledge of Runes, Arithmancy, or Charms yet. Meh, I still have time to do all that.

For now, however I was learning languages. Lots and lots of languages. In the 3 months that I've been to Hogwarts, I have managed to master reading 7 languages, and 3 spoken ones, not counting the three I already knew from before I was reborn.

The reading languages part was easy. I just had to borrow a book in that language from the library, focus on trying to understand it, and within a few minutes, 15 at most, I would gain a complete understanding of the languages written word. Every character, word, phrase, rules, and literally everything regarding that language would somehow take hold of my mind.

I'd noticed that whenever I mastered another language, a new book was added to my Mind palace, titled 'Complete Mastery of the Language' followed by the language name. Obviously, I was keeping the memories from James's mind alone for now.

I had already seen those memories once, but that was before I had somehow copied the Mutation.

Anyway, back to school. Merrythought had noticed me being somewhat distracted in classes, and had taken to glaring at me. But, since I actually produced what was needed, she didn't say anything.

Transfiguration had moved from inanimate-inanimate transformation, to animate-inanimate transformation. First, we began by learning to transfigure a beetle to a button, and then a rabbit to a slipper. The first one was easy, and barely took me 10 minutes to figure out, and then master.

The second one was a tough spell to master, and I had to practice for an hour before I could get it.

As for Charms, Professor Rowle was as beautiful as ever, and even if I knew everything, I made sure to pay attention in that class. Damn hormones.

Other than going to classes, I was also regularly roaming everywhere inside the castle, and sometimes outside, to see if I find anything interesting. And boy, are there some interesting places.

Like the secret path that leads to the village of Hogsmead, right beneath Honeyduke's Chocolate shop. Or the stairway hidden behind the illusion of a portrait, that goes upwards, but drops you from the 7th floor, to the ground floor. Of course, I had also seen the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and the wall in front of it, but hadn't proceeded further yet.

There hasn't been a need to go there yet. I'm still a noob relatively, so I can't even look for advanced topics yet. Maybe next year I'll be ready, but not yet.

Right now, I was standing in the dungeons, very close to the Hufflepuff Dorms. So close, in fact, that I could actually see the barrels that make up the entrance of the Common Room. If it wasn't for the disillusionment charm currently hiding my presence, I would have been caught by the 17 students that passed by here.

Looking at the painting in front of me, a Still Life painting of various fruits, I raise my hand, and tickle the pear.

"Heehee." The painting giggles, which makes me jump even if I knew it was going to happen, and the painting turns into a door, with the pear shifting to form the door knob.

Very slowly, I touch the handle, and when nothing happens, I turn the knob, and push the door in. Without a single sound, the door opens, and then there's a cacophony of noise.

Clinking of plates, spoons, and the cooking utensils, yells in squeaky voices, and a lot of banging. The voices belonged to tiny creatures, barely 3 foot tall, with pointy ears and nose, and big round eyes.

House Elves of Hogwarts.

I smile sadly at the sight, feeling bad for them. An entire race of beings, enslaved by the people that think they're the superior race. Nothing good ever came to those who thought like that, and nothing will.

But sometimes, even the enslaved race doesn't get their peace back, even if they stop being enslaved as evidenced by the current situation of those of African descent. Which just makes me pity them even more. Can't ignore that so many countries are currently under the rule of England, my current country, including India, my former country.

I shake my head, since I can't even do anything yet.

One of the House Elves, a being with a tattered Pillow case around its body, and green eyes finally sees me standing at the door, looking at them all, and freezes.

It then drops the bowl it was transferring somewhere, and yells in squeaky voice, "Yous shouldn't be here!"

I raise my hands, and say, "I'm not here to cause any trouble, I just.. heard about the kitchen and wanted to see it myself. Sorry, I'll let myself out."

As I take a step back, still facing them, I see the one that I just spoke to still once more, and widen its eyes. It speaks in a distinctly female voice, as it asks, "Yous say sorry to Dippy? To House Elves?" And then, the elf begins to cry, loudly. This gathers the attention of the other House elves, who look at me weirdly.

Well.. fuck. I'm going to try and free them, aren't I? If just a sorry can cause them this many emotions, then the situation can't be good.

Patting Dippy the House Elf on her head, I grimace when she flinches, and say, "Uh.. yeah. Dippy, right?" As she nods, sniffling, I continue, "I just wanted to meet the ones who do everything for us. I read about the House elves in my books, you know."

"Yous did?" Dippy asks, wide eyed. And now, even the other elves had stopped what they were doing, prefering to watch us talk.

Nodding, I look all around, and say, "Yeah. Many books wrote about you, about House Elves. I wanted to thank you, for everything you do around here. Cleaning, cooking, repairing stuff, and even Processor Binns's homework. I think people appreciate you a lot less than they should."

I also think that they shouldn't be enslaved in this day and age, and freed immediately. But I'm not going to say that before knowing more about how they came to be enslaved in the first place.

Dippy smiles widely now, her eyes once again tearful, and says, "Young sir is too kind to Dippy! What can Dippy be calling you, young sir?"

Damn, this language will take some getting used to. And I don't think my language mutation will help here.

Smiling at Dippy, I offer her my hand, and say, "My name is Mason, Dippy. You can call me that, if you wish."

Dippy looks at the hand with fascination clear on her face, and whispers, "Dippy can shake Mr Mason Sir's hand? Like an equal?"

Considering that she's better at Wandless magic than me, her calling me an equal is an insult to her. But, baby steps.

I nod, and say, "This is how people introduce themselves, isn't it?"

As Dippy shakes my hand, I smile at the exhilaration emitted from her, and the shock shown on the faces of other elves. Yup, I'm rescuing them, even if it takes me literally years to do so.

Enslaving is bad, and it's way past time Wizards also know that.

---

"Where did you get so much cake?" Darla asks me as soon as I bring the box full of cake out of my expanded bag.

I take one out, hand the box to Tom, and while winking at Darla, I say, "A secret."

Anastasia hands the box back after all 4 of us have one piece each, and says, "As long as you don't harm any of the books here, bring as much cake as you want."

Darla snorts, and says, "He loves books more than you do. There's no way he's harming a single book here even by mistake."

I chuckle, realising that it's true. We were currently in the library, working on our homework. Darla was the sole Gryffindor amongst us Ravenclaws at this table. She wasn't studious, nope, but she liked us as friends, and this was one of the very few hours we get for ourselves.

Sometimes, her friends from Gryffindor would join us, Mary Prewett and Bernadette Jones. Jones is a muggleborn like Darla, so they had bonded over being on the same boat. Prewett was just too friendly and they couldn't resist her charm for too long.

But, I was also her first friend, and the one she spent the least amount of time with, which is why at least thrice a week, we got together. Sometimes, Tom and Ana would be with us, when we were focusing on Homework. Other times, it would be just the two of us, and we would roam around or just relax.

A few days later, when Helena makes her weekly visit with a book on Charms, I ask her, "What do you know about House Elves? Do you know how they were enslaved?"

Helena hums, floating down to sit on my chair, and says, "I'm afraid not. House Elves have existed for as long as I can remember. Even when I was alive, they had existed for hundreds of years. Why do you ask?"

I look at the cover of the book she gave me, the title reading 'Basics of enchantment' in Anglo Saxon, and say, "I was just curious. I met them today, and the little people made an impression on me."

I think.. it's just better to keep my goals to myself for now. At least, until I'm able to defend myself properly. And Helena, no matter how much she might help me, is still a Witch, and a Ghost. She might find it offensive to her culture, if I don't explain it all properly.

Helena chuckles, and says, "Yes, the Elves of Hogwarts have always been an amazing breed. Aunty Helga made sure to buy any and all elves she could, to bring them here, and also frequently asked the freed elves if they wanted to work here. They get a lot of work, good quality food, and we get to rest from all the work."

I just frown, the casual talk of buying Elves baffling me. Shaking my head, I drop the subject, Knowing that this is not an argument I'll win right now. Plus, it's not like I don't have any time to complete all my goals. There's literally years, even with the summer's revelation about the Universe.

Mutations, honestly. Well, at least I won't be without any advantage in this Universe. A minor talent with languages? Yup, I'm mastering Runes. ASAP.

-

The next couple years pass by before I even know it. My second year passed just like my first, with no problems whatsoever from Cassiopeia, beyond the glares she sent in the beginning.

I'd thought that she would try something or the other after I didn't listen to her, but she didn't. She just stopped bothering me altogether, but she did try and sweet talk me a few times a month.

Well, thankfully, even if my hormones might disagree, I was too young to do any of it. And then, she passed out of Hogwarts last year, so there was that.

However, Dorea did somehow make her way into our group, to the open chagrin of her cousin Charis, who was also my classmate. According to her, the fact that I managed to not fall prey to Cassiopeia's flirting was an impressive feat and that prompted her to befriend me.

She was trying to be manipulative, with a lot of the students, but unfortunately for her, she's just too damn bad at it. She scares other students, just like Cassiopeia, but she hasn't gotten the trick to asking them to do stuff for you.

In my third year, our classes had a sudden jump in difficulty. Charms had gotten more fun too. We learned the Skurge Spell which cleaned up the ectoplasm that ghosts create, if they stay in one place for a long time, and the freezing spell(Glacia).

Transfiguration had us move on to inanimate to animate transformation, which was way more difficult than the animate to inanimate transformation. Making a dead thing mimic life has to be one of the most astonishing things I've managed in transfiguration class.

Same with every other subject, we were doing more written work, and our work had gotten harder. Except for History, but that was a feee period, as far as the students were concerned.

As for electives, I selected Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Sure, I could have selected Care of Magical Creatures too, but I didn't think that the subject is entirely necessary for me. I can just read the books later, if I need the subject.

Runes was the most disappointing subject in the entire curriculum. The first term literally had us learning the history of one Runic language, the Elder Futhrak. The second term at least included using Runes to create magic.

You can carve them on objects to enchant it, or you can use them on paper to carry on different effects. But we weren't allowed to carve runes yet. Our third year ended with us learning how to write Runes on parchment to create the Lumos charm. So, yeah, disappointing.

Unfortunately for me, my Language mutation did not work on Runes, no matter which type they were. Nordic, Futhrak, the Lost Greek Runes, and even the Runes of Atlantis. My mutation either doesn't recognise them as languages at all, or it has limits. Could be either, but the result was still the same.

But, I had other avenues, like actually studying them, which I was using. It's not like I had a shortage of time. I slept 6 hours a day, did my homework within an hour, and had classes for 4 hours. Even with all the goofing off I did with my group, I was still able to have a few hours for independent studies.

As for Arithmancy, it has quickly become one of my favourite lessons in Hogwarts, right behind Charms and Potions. Arithmancy is the study of Numbers, and how they relate to the world.

With the right variables, one is able to predict the future itself, so yeah, pretty damn interesting. There are complicated number charts, formulae, and even theorems, in Arithmancy. Obviously, just like every other subject, I was studying ahead in this too. It was too interesting not to!

I had also memorised the COMC book, and would read it in my mind, during lessons. And so, another year had ended, with me learning a few more secrets of the castle.

I was currently at Hogwarts, in the Room of Requirements, while Sly was showing me a new gift he awakened. I'd "discovered" the room at the start of my fourth year, when I was just roaming around. Pure coincidence, I tell you, that I just happened to walk across the same patch of wall three times.

I'd spent the last few months getting intimate with the room, checking its limits and all. The Room of Requirements can become anything the user wishes, that is true, but it also has limits.

The Dimensions of the Room are not limited, I can literally create a beach within the Room and it'll go on and on. But, at some point, I find myself back on the original position, but I don't even know it when it happens.

Then, once I'm inside the room I created, I cannot change it completely. I can change minor things about it, but nothing major. To do that, I'll have to walk out of the room and repeat the process again. I also can't summon anything from the Room of Hidden Things to any other Room. I also can't change the Room of Hidden Things in any way, not even to organise it.

Lastly, the room cannot bypass the Laws of Magic. So no food, living beings, or potion ingredients can be summoned to the Room. I still have to see if there are more limits, but I have time.

Seeing Sly excitedly hiss, I bring my attention back to him, and ask, ~~So, what is this new Magic you've awakened?~~

Sly looks pleased with himself as he says, ~~I learned yesterday that I can also do this. Which you can't.~~

With that, he closes his eyes, and suddenly, a pitch black horn forms over his head, pointed at the tip. Thinking that was it, I open my mouth to congratulate him, but then suddenly stop. Sly was floating in the air, swimming as if the air was water.

~~How the fuck is this possible?~~ I whisper in shock, looking at the flying snake in front of me.

He has no wings, but he was literally defying gravity. Wait a minute.

~~You're a Horned Serpent! Like Horny!~~ I exclaim, finally realizing what his second parent was.

~~As if! I'm far better than Horny!~~ Sly says, flying forward and coming to a stop in front of my face. The way he flies looks like he's swimming, using his tail to move himself forward.

Amazing!

I hold my hand forward, and as he climbs down on my arm, I say, ~~True. He can't turn invisible like you can. You two must be of different types or something.~~

Horned Serpent, I really should have realized when he first became invisible. Very few snakes can do that, but when Horny didn't show that power, I dismissed that talent as really rare.

But now, after seeing him fly, and form the horn on top of his head, I'm sure. Sly is a Horned Serpent. Damn, he's going to get hella big, isn't he?

~~I know. I'm awesome. Bow to me, human.~~ Sly says, straightening up in pride.

I snort at him, and silently, and wandlessly cast the levitation charm on my clothes. As I float above him, I say, ~~See, I can do it too. You're not that special.~~

Sly hisses in annoyance, and floats back down. Amused, I remove the spell on my clothes, and fall down, thankfully landing on my legs.

The Levitation charm can be cast on clothes you're wearing, however it can't be cast on the person. And even if it looked like I was flying, I was fixed to just one spot, without moving either forward or backwards. The Levitation charm just levitates, and doesn't allow me to actually fly. Not even using other spells like Depulso will push me forward.

That was still a work in progress. "Tempus." I whisper, summoning the misty clock above my right hand. Damn, it's almost 7. I should go before anyone tries looking for me.

~~You're coming? Dinner's about to start.~~ I ask, looking at Sly enjoying flying.

Sly ignores me completely, so I leave him to his fun, and leave for dinner.

Unfortunately, I don't get to spend as much time as I want to in the Room of Requirements, as I don't want to seem suspicious. I've noticed that teachers were observing me a lot, for some reason.

Well, I know the reason. I'm suspicious as fuck. I have literally 3 friends, Darla, Dorea, and Anastasia, since Tom had just.. drifted off, I top my exams with barely a token if effort, and I disappear off the face of Hogwarts for hours at a time. And Grindelwald was still at large, so I could be a spy for him, you know.

I had also felt someone scrying for me whenever I wasn't in public, which is really annoying. Scrying for people without their prior permission, or unless they're declared missing, is illegal. Really annoying.

Thankfully, the Room of Requirements cannot be seen by Scrying, I think.

And wasn't that a surprise, that I could actually feel someone scrying for me. It was like an annoying poke at the back of my head, continuously, until they stop doing it. Inside Hogwarts castle, I could allow my Telepathy to show myself to the spell. Whenever I was doing something secret, however, I use my Telepathy to hide myself. Telepathy rocks, I'll say.

Sitting in front of Anastasia, I ask, "Why're you looking at me like that?"

She was looking at me as if I'm a puzzle to be solved.

Ana says, "Professor Dumbledore was asking about you today. He wanted to know where you disappear off to."

Of course he does, bloody bastard. He's not evil, as far as I know, but he has a very annoying tendency to assume that everyone else is dumber than him.

I shrug, and say, "He can bloody well ask me himself, but even he knows that what I do outside of classes is not any of his business."

I hear a snort behind me, as Dorea comes to sit on the empty seat beside me. She says, "I thought you'd be singing his praises, Mason. He does favor the muggleborn over the rest of us."

I point out, "He's still a condescending wanker, though."

I just know, even without using my telepathy, that he's trying to make sure I don't get too powerful. The Librarian asking hundred questions before allowing me into the Restricted section, even after I showed her the pass, clued me into that.

But well, not my problem now. I can just go to the Room of Requirements and conjure a room fit to learn any subject I want.

That night, after reading a book on Runes that I'd gotten from the Restricted section, I go to sleep. The dream I have is a weird one.

I was floating around Hogwarts, moving through walls and doors as if they didn't exist, invisible to all, while feeling drunk as hell. Well, all but one. The dream Helena saw me, and just froze. My dream self giggled, (GIGGLED!), and did a back flip, and fell head first into the ground.

It became even weirder then, when I kept falling underground, non stop, and only stopped hours later, when I appeared in an underground cavern. The cavern had a pool of water, and the flowers on the cavern walls, glowed a yellow light, giving me enough illumination to see everything.

As I flew towards the pool, and impulsively jumped in it, I woke up.

Huh. That dream was trippy.

"How did you do that?" I hear as soon as I am done showering, and as I am about to put on my clothes.

"JESUS CHRIST, HELENA!" I yell, putting my towel back on in a panic.

Helena sees the condition I'm in, and just turns away after rolling her eyes. She repeats, "How did you do that?"

As I wear my clothes, I grumble, "How am I supposed to answer that question if I don't even know what I did?"

Helena turns back, thankfully after I'm done, and says, "You were flying, as a spirit. But you're alive. People who are alive aren't supposed to become spirts and return to their bodies!"

I lift my hand and raise it in front of me. Looks solid. Just as an experiment, I put the hand on the desk near my bed. Definitely solid.

"I don't know how to break this to you, Helena. But I'm not a spirit.. yet." Can't discount me dying today itself, can I?

Helena scoffs, and says, "Now you aren't. Just.. allow me."

With that, Helena takes a floating step towards me. I let her, and close my eyes as she puts her two fingers of both hands on the two sides of my forehead.

And then, I see it. I see me, drunker than Slughorn during the Slug Club meeting, floating around, transparent as hell, giggling every few seconds and just.. flying around.

Helena had followed me a little while, and somehow, no one could see me. Not the paintings, not the squib caretaker, not Peeves the Poltergeist, and definitely not the teachers. Hell, even the other ghosts couldn't see me, at all. Except Helena, but she was different, a mutant like me.

"How?" I mumble, recognizing the state I was in at the time, but still not able to believe it.

Helena shrugs, still worried, and says, "Whatever happened isn't supposed to happen. Wizards cannot just separate our Spiritual forms from our body to go on a journey, and even if they do, they don't just return as you did."

Hearing the slowly clearing thoughts of my roommates, who hadn't awoken when I fucking yelled, I say, "We'll discuss it later, they're waking up."

Helena nods, and says, "Be careful. And don't experiment without me there. You were behaving like a drunkard in that state, and I don't know if it'll be safe to do it again."

I nod, as she leaves the room, allowing me the time to think.

Astral Projection. Honest to God, Astral Projection. How the fuck is this even possible without the literal years of learning Sorcery?


Another Mutation hax? Could be, Xavier could do it, couldn't he? Well, whatever it is, I'll have to look it up, properly.

---

A/N: So, he awakened Astral Projection. This is a power that comes with telepathy, since their minds are so strong or something like that.

Sly is a horned serpent, but he looks like a normal serpent. His invisibility doesn't change his body, but when he wants to fly, he'll go through a temporary metamorphosis.

Tata!
 
14. Runes
A/N: HelloDarkness07

A small announcement. I have managed to contract Covid, and am currently in recovery.

Don't worry, I'm alright, mostly, but these meds are really fucking strong. They keep me awake, but just sleepy enough that I cannot write anything. Plus, the WiFi here is shitty, which is the reason I hadn't posted in a while.

I'm hoping to be fully recovered in about 10 days, so see you guys then! Until then, good luck, and take care.

Don't forget to take precautions just because you're vaccinated. I had my first dose for 10 days before my RT-PCR came back positive. Take your bloody precautions!

Anyway, good luck! Read on!

---

I had noticed something about my Astral form. Like the Doctor Strange movies, my Spirit had a soft golden glow to it, as opposed to the silver glow that the ghosts have, and the white shine that Helena boasts.

Our running theory was that it is because I'm actually alive. This way, I can at least distinguish which ghosts are living, and which aren't. Helena definitely isn't, even if she's more solid than the other ghosts.

A few weeks after finding out that I can separate my Spirit, or my Astral form, from my physical self, I was practicing doing it voluntarily.

In the first week, I could only enter the Astral Plane when I sleep. Meaning, I had to sleep while meditating, and only then would I become a Spirit. And I also used to feel drunk most of the time, so there was that. 3 weeks after that, I could enter the Astral Plane while actually awake, and then a week after that, I stopped feeling drunk.

It was a slow progress, but progress all the same. By now, I'd at least managed to go to the Astral Plane and back, if only for an hour or two at a time. I can't do much for a couple hours now, can I? By the rate I was going, I could probably stay in the Astral form for the entire night by the next week, or the week after.

As I was reading a book on rituals that I got from the Room of Requirements, while in my Astral form, Helena floats in through the door.

She sees my body sleeping peacefully, and says, "Good to know you're not slacking off."

Snorting, I say, "I never slack off." Mostly because I know that slacking off will mean my death, or worse. Not expulsion, but complete destruction. At least Death can mean rebirth, or entering the Afterlife, whatever the hell it might be.

Helena smiles, and says, "I know. How long do you have till you have to go back to your body? And it still sounds weird whenever I say it."

I look at the time on the pocket watch I found in the RoR, and say, "About an hour and 15 minutes. Why?"

I expected it, but it was still disappointing to find out that I cannot use Magic while in the Astral Form. Not even a simple Lumos charm works, let alone a relatively complex Tempus charm.

Helena smiles, a little bit sadly, but a bit proudly, and says, "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Curious, I float up into the air, and fly after her, through the wall. Thank God Gravity doesn't work here. Flying in the Astral plane didn't take much effort. You just push yourself once, and then move to adjust the path.

Helena takes me flying through walls, portraits, and even a few suits of armour. And then, she stops in front of a blank stretch of wall. Since I wasn't actually used to flying this much, I'm a bit out of breath.

I ask, "Why are you showing me this? I already know about the Room of Requirements, you know."

Helena chuckles, and says, "What you've seen, although an impressive piece of magic, is just the tip of the iceberg. Wait, and see."

As I absorb what she just said, and the Come and Go Room is just the tip? Damn, what more secrets could the room be hiding?

Helena floats towards the wall that usually shows the Room, and stops in front of it instead of pacing. She then places her left palm on a seemingly random part of the wall, fingers close together.

Pausing a second to allow me to watch, she taps her right hand's index finger on the patch of wall right above her left middle finger. Then, one by one, Helena taps the wall in 16 more spots, seeming random to me.

She then slowly whispers to the wall, "Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena." And then, the wall shimmers the way it always does, and shows a plain wooden door.

Helena turns towards me, and says, "I really hope you remembered what spots I tapped, because you will have to do the same."

I snort, thankful for my perfect recall of memories. Helena takes the reaction with a smile, and says, "Now, after I go through, put your hand on the handle, and whisper your name, and your relation to my mother. After that, you'll be able to enter the Room."

And then, Helena holds the doorknob, twists it, and then floats through the open door. As soon as she's through, the door snaps shut, and the wall reappears.

Now, I would have tried going through in my spirit form itself, but I know from experience, that the Room doesn't work like that. Those on the outside cannot enter inside through any means save the door. I can exit the room in my Astral form, but I cannot enter the room, since it needs me to tell it which room I actually want.

'The one Helena just went to' won't cut it.

Placing my hand in the exact same spot Helena had her left hand just a few seconds ago, I tap the required 17 spots with my other hand, once again thanking my perfect recall, and then whisper, "Mason Aves, descendant of Rowena."

I feel wind blow in my face, as the door emits magic towards me, and then the door appears. Twisting the handle, I enter the pitch black room, and then gasp, suddenly able to see everything.

Books. As far as I could see, books, books, and more books. There were shelves as tall as the room, mountains of scrolls, and even a few boxes full of pieces of parchment all around. And the best part, there was no end to the room in sight. It went on as far as I could see.

"What the hell is this place?" I whisper, looking around to have my fill of all this knowledge, in one spot. This is like.. paradise! Did I die in my sleep or something?

Helena looks at the books with fascination in her eyes, and says, "This is my mother's legacy. Her Library."

I turn to look at her, and see her staring at a book with sadness clear om her face. I let her have her time, and browse the books closest to me.

Greek, Latin, Anglo Saxon, Norse, Egyptian, there were books in many different languages, but they were sorted. The ones on my left related to household spells, while the right one contained memoirs of different Wizards.

All of these books were probably one of a kind, or really, really rare. I think a few must be even banned outside the room. But the weirdest part was, I recognized some books. Some of them were as new as 50 years old, while some looked to be literally a thousand years old. How the hell did Rowena manage to add the 50 year old book to this library, if she's been dead for 900 years?

Helena comes out of her sadness, and then explains, "My mother was a complex person, with as many good things about her, as there are bad. One of her quirks, is something that is good or bad, depending on your own morals."

"What?" I ask, coming to stand beside Helena to look at the book she was staring at. 'My Life- Rowena Ravenclaw.' Written in Latin was the title of the book.

Well, no wonder this book makes her sad. Her own mother's life story, written by herself. It also shows why she's reluctant to show this place to anyone, this is dangerous knowledge.

Helena turns away from the book, looks at me, and says, "My mother, like you, was hungry for knowledge. She wanted to know everything, about everything. Gods, Demons, mortals, didn't matter to her who you were, if you had some knowledge of Magic she didn't know of, she would try her hardest to get it. But, she didn't show it publicly. She gained the knowledge through the Mind Arts, or by stealing it."

"But, after mother and her friends built this school, she had to show restraint." Helena chuckles, remembering something, and then adds, "It was really amusing, seeing her act the all-knowing woman everyone now knows of, when you've known her as a knowledge-hungry Witch for 5 years of your life."

Heh, who'd have thought? Rowena Ravenclaw was a thief! Well, I understand her theft of only knowledge though. I have also used Telepathy to gain some advantages, and didn't care about the morality much. James the language mutant comes to mind.

Helena continues speaking after a short break, and says, "Well, despite the fact that she had to keep a benevolent, strict but kind face on, her hunger for knowledge stayed the same. So, she created this room."

Smiling wide, Helena spins around herself, her arms spread apart. She says, "This.. is the original Room of Requirements. The Room of Knowledge. Everything that has written word upon it, that has passed through the Wards of Hogwarts, is here. Every book, scroll, Grimoire, Tome that any visitor to the castle has ever brought with them, is copied and added to this room."

Holy. Shit. This.. is way more that what I expected! No wonder there are newer books as well as older ones.

"How the fuck did she manage that?" I whisper, looking at the already impressive collection in new light.

Helena chuckles, and says, "Do not underestimate the hunger for knowledge, Mason. If mother wanted something, she got it." She then gets a bit sad, and says, "Her stubbornness had even forced my sister to run away, but mother still didn't stop going for her goals."

Her sister, that's the first I'm hearing of her. My ancestor perhaps, because I know Helena died childless. She's mentioned that part a few times now.

Shaking her head, Helena says, "To be honest, even after all these years of trying to study this Room, I haven't found a single secret regarding to it. I don't know how the room works, I don't know how it stays hidden from those not of our direct bloodline, and I don't know how the room does this."

Before I can ask, Helena closes her eyes, and I find myself somewhere else. The room I find myself in is smaller than the one before, and was more a Study than a Library. There were two shelves, standing side by side, a pair of comfortable looking chairs, and a burning fireplace that warmed the room.

Helena just gestures me towards the two shelves, smiling and standing back.

Curious, I walk towards the shelves, and pick out a hardcover book in random. Opening it up, I see that it's written in Greek in a flowing handwriting. Reading the first page, I freeze, and look up.

"You wrote this book?" I ask, surprised at Helena. The title of the book, written on the first page, in Greek, said, 'Mind Enhancement Rituals- An Overview.'

Helena nods, looking at the shelf fondly, and says, "These are all the books that either I, or my sister authored. That one was written when I was 7. You can just see how young I was from my writing."

I keep the Ritual book back, and take the one she pointed out. It was a small book, barely 50 pages long, and looked more like a notebook than an authored textbook. Chuckles sound out as I see the magical drawing that portrayed a log catching fire and burning. It was a moving drawing, so it was just funnier.

I smile at the title reading, 'Fire Conjuring charm', and ask, "Your sister.. you have mentioned her a grand total of 3 times, and two of them were today. Was she my ancestor?"

Helena sighs, and says, "I knew I would have to explain this sooner or later. But, you have a right to know. Please, sit down."

I sit on one of the chairs, while Helena takes the other one. She says, "Morgan was my older sister by five years. She was just as smart as me, and just as knowledge hungry as our mother. Alas, even she could not handle staying in our mother's shadow. And mother's own behaviour did not help matters."

Smiling morosely, she says, "We were both always known as Rowena Ravenclaw's daughters, not Morgan and Helena Ravenclaw. Our accomplishments were never our own to celebrate. 'Of course she can apparate at 13. She's Rowena's daughter, after all.' They would all say. And mother.. well, she had us practice writing Grimoire's since the age of 6, so you can judge how much she loved us."

Shaking her head, Helena says, "Morgan had enough of being compared to our mother, even by the ones we called friends, and ran away when she was 17. I was 12 at the time, and Hogwarts was still in its 7th year, so still new. I didn't know at first, where she went off to, but then, when a girl named Melanie Aves came to Hogwarts, almost 50 years after my own death, that I knew. My sister had created a family for herself, married, most likely, and took on the name Aves. So, yes. Morgan was your ancestor."

All through the tale, I sit in silence, just listening. Rowena sounds like a real piece of work, but it could be the fact that Helena herself told me this, that's colouring my opinion.

Did the fact that her daughters didn't inherit her Psionic talents, cause Rowena to push them harder? Could be, those days weren't exactly as calm as they are now, let alone in the future.

Women were branded Witches by the Church left and right, and the need for protection was really high. Rowena could have been trying to help the girls protect themselves or something, I wouldn't know.

I change the subject, and ask, "So, what can the Room of Knowledge do?"

Helena gives me a look, having caught the topic change, but says, "Well, there are different parts in the bigger library. Depending on what subject you want to learn, you can switch rooms. Whatever subject you can think of, chances are, there is at least one book here related to it, probably more."

"So if I wanted to study Apparition?" I say, and just before I even finish the word, we find ourselves in another room, still sitting on the chairs. The room had a single shelf, but was almost twice as large as the previous room.

On two sides, there were two circles drawn on the ground, probably for target practice. I haven't tried Apparition yet, so I don't know if the Anti Apparition ward that surrounds the Castle grounds will work in here or not. Probably not, since the room was made by Rowena herself.

Helena explains, "Whatever subject you want to learn, you will get almost all the stuff you'll need. Of course, for Potions, Rituals, and Alchemy, you'll have to bring your own ingredients. Same for Herbology. My mother wasn't able to break the Laws of Magic, you know."

I nod, amazed at the capabilities of the Room of Knowledge. The Room of Requirements could do it, but I don't think it could circumvent the Wards of Hogwarts, or call the books from the RoK.

"Helena.." I say, making her look at me, and when she does, I say, "I know it's not my birthday, but this makes up for each and every birthday I'll ever live through. And Christmases. But, I have to ask. Why did you show this room to me? I don't think you showed this into every one of my ancestors."

It's not that I don't appreciate the room, heck, this room will give me everything I'll ever need to survive in this wild world, and I'll still have a lot left. But, this is literally her private space, her mother's Room. I wouldn't show this to me!

If I was the only person to know about this room, then I would never even mention it to anyone, let alone invite someone there.

Helena smiles at me, strangely looking at me, yet not, at the same time. She says, "You might not believe this, Mason, but you're a lot like my mother."

Gee, way to insult a guy, Helena. You could have directly called me a bitch too, you know.

Seeing me scowl, Helena laughs a little, and says, "You're not as bad as her, yet, don't worry. But you are a lot like her. You have a hunger for knowledge, you don't mind using less than moral means to get it, and you also won't allow any harm to come to your friends. My mother was like that. Even if a little distant, she didn't think twice before helping me deal with something hard, or protect me from the occasional kidnapping attempts."

Wow, that was spoken way too casually.

I nod, slowly, and say, "Thank you.. I guess?"

I know why I have a hunger for knowledge. Before, I wanted to make a life for myself, be actually successful in life. Fighting in the war would have made me a better person, more disciplined, and given me some amount of public respect.

Fighting Grindelwald and Voldemort, meanwhile, would have ensured the same in the Wizarding world.

But then, I found out that fucking Marvel is also mixed in, and my goals became one of survival. Could I survive as a simple Wizard at the level of say.. Severus Snape?

Hell, no. I'd die by the hands of the wannabe Sorcerers themselves.

So, the hunger for survival, for knowledge, was so I can better myself. Train better, improve my body, and just get to relax later in life, without fear.

Helena then asks, "Do you think you can finish reading the entire Room of Knowledge within these 3.5 years you have left?"

Snorting, I say, "Not a chance. But I'll figure something out. Now, I'll have to leave to my body now, but I'll be back soon."

My Astral Projection just took over everything else as the first priority. Spending entire nights here? Yeah, I'm doing it.

I still have three years anyway.

---

The next few months, I spend almost all of my nights in the Room of Knowledge, in the Astral Form, studying Runes.

You see, I had to do the unlocking thing on the wall just once, while in the physical form, and I could just enter it after just placing my hand upon the wall the next times. But, when I go there in my Astral form, I have to do the entire tapping sequence each and every time. Thankfully, it barely took a minute, so I wasn't wasting too much of my time.

So, yeah, Runes. They're not easy, that much was apparent even in the beginning, but I underestimated just how complex it was! And my Mutation doesn't even allow me to master them within minutes! How unfair.

I'd memorized most of the different Runes, and their meanings that I'd found in the Introduction books in the Room of Knowledge. But using them was a lot harder than just writing what you want to happen and hope for the best.

There are three main varieties of runic script: Early, or Common, Germanic (Teutonic), used in northern Europe before about 800 AD; Anglo-Saxon, or Anglian, used in Britain from the 5th or 6th century to about the 12th century AD; and Nordic, or Scandinavian, used from the 8th to about the 12th or 13th century AD in Scandinavia and Iceland.

But, there are other varieties that are variants of the main three. Like, Nordic Runes evolved into the Hälsinge Runes, Manx Runes, and the Stungnar Runes. They are somewhat similar, but have different meanings.

All in all, I had memorized about 5000 Runic letters, and their meanings, and was just beginning to use them in casting magic.

Runes are the letters of the old languages that have been used for so long, that magic has seeped in them. Any Wizard, or Sorcerer, with a good enough concentration and knowledge of Runes, can use Runes instead of Spells to create magic.

A group of Runes creates a Runic array, and a group of Runic arrays creates a Rune Cluster. Rune clusters are what makes Magic possible using Runes. If I had waited to go the normal school speed, I would have passed out of Hogwarts with learning just the first year spells in Runic format.

But now that I'm studying individually, and with the help of this Room, I can hopefully master Runes completely before 7th Year.

Alas, it's really hard to get the right results. The parchment that I wrote my Runes on to experiment can have spectacular effects ranging from burns, to electric shock. And those are just the mild ones. Hopefully I won't have to experience the more severe ones.

"Stop." Helena says, as I was writing another Runic array on another parchment, my 32nd of the day.

It was Sunday today, and I had spent the entire day in the Room. My friends are definitely wondering where I am, but they've gotten used to me going missing for a while.

I stop immediately, since Helena is a Master at using Runes that makes the current smartest Masters look like thumb sucking morons.

She says, "Look at Perth, you wrote the stroke from the opposite direction. Make it a clean stroke, without lifting your hand, and keep your focus on what you want to happen. Don't just write, feel what you're writing, so that you don't make mistakes."

Sighing, I crumple the parchment and throw it in the fireplace behind me. Until I actually activate the Rune cluster, they're completely harmless, so burning them doesn't make the parchment explode or anything like that.

Trying once again, I begin writing with a Quill, thankful that I'm now used to using a quill as well as a pen. Once done, this time without any mistakes, I check the cluster over, allow it to dry, and hand the parchment to Helena.

She does the same, checking it over, and then hands it to me. She won't tell me if its wrong, though. Can't learn Runes without getting hurt a few hundred times, she'd say.

The next step is crucial. Placing the Parchment on the ground, I kneel down near it, leaning my head back just in case, and focus on the intent of the spell that I'd written down.

Touching a finger to the Rune that will charge the entire thing, Sowilo, I inject my magic into it like I'd do with a wand. For a second, the Runes written on the parchment glow in a white light, and then there is heat.

The entire room had gotten hotter, just as I'd wanted, and there was no explosion! Now excited, I lean forward and try to pull the parchment off the ground.

Nope, it was stuck!

"I succeeded!" I yell, excited to finally create the Warming Enchantment using Runes.

Helena chuckles, bringing my attention to herself, and says, "There's still a few steps until you can say you've succeeded, Mason. Don't forget, the Rune Cluster is only successfully used if you can control everything you've designed it to do."

Nodding, I focus on my magic, and snap my fingers. Immediately, the Enchantment drops, making the room as cool as it was before. Snapping my fingers again turns the Enchantment on again, without me touching it.

Going towards the wall, I touch a stone with my index finger, and then drag the finger upwards. As my finger rises, so does the temperature, and when I drag my finger downwards, the temperature drops.

So, the on/off switch works, and so does the temperature control. Now, the final part.

"Can you try raising the temperature, Helena?" I ask, turning towards Helena.

Nodding, Helena floats towards another wall, and does the same as I did before. Her snaps do nothing, and neither does her finger dragging.

I sigh in relief, and drop down, exhausted. I whisper, "It worked! I created my first Ward!"

Well, recreated. The Temperature Control Ward already exists, but I did it using different arrays than the ones already used in the standard one. But still! My first actual Ward!

Looking at the parchment, still stuck on the ground, I raise my hands, and clap thrice. Immediately, the parchment burns in it's place, not even ash remaining in its place.

The Ward was designed so that only the one who provides the Magic can control it. Others cannot change the temperature, turn it off, or remove the Ward entirely.

Turning to Helena, I smile, and say, "It worked. See?"

Helena chuckles, and says, "Congratulations. 5 more years and you'll be a certified Master."

I drop my head and groan. Damn, I'll have to figure something out for returning here after Hogwarts. No way I'm losing a collection such as this one.

-

".. and that's all with today's agenda, from me. Anything else?" Headmaster Dippet asks, looking at the four Heads of Houses sitting in his office.

It was usual for the Heads of Houses to meet with the Headmaster, every Saturday, while the full Staff meeting was called every other Sunday. It gave them time to decide over management issues, and the progress reports on the students.

Professor Merrythought speaks first, "I would like to offer Mr Aves a chance to give his OWLs this year."

"Mr Aves is just a fourth year, Galatea, no matter how smart." Dumbledore says, before Dippet can even say anything.

Merrythought rolls her eyes at his condescending tone, and says, "Don't forget, Albus, that I was the one who taught you how to hold a wand. I know when one of MY students is smart enough to pass the OWLs, and Mr Aves, is smart enough to pass his NEWTs if I have him take them tomorrow!"

"Truly?" Dippet asks, to which Merrythought nods once. Dippet rubs his chin for a second, and says, "What do you all think of this? Should he be given this offer? Herbert?"

Professor Herbert Beery, the head of Hufflepuff house, straightens up, and says, "I'd say it's Tea's decision, Aves being her student, and none of our business." He pauses to glare at Dumbledore, who frowns, and Merrythought nods thankfully at him. Slughorn chuckles a bit uncomfortably, and loosens his bow tie.

Beery continues, "But, since I've been asked my opinion, I'd say what I've seen. Mr Aves is an exceptional student, and he's a genius in anything he studies. He has most definitely studied ahead, and already knows most of the 7th year material, and some of it even more than that. That said, he doesn't show any interest in Herbology beside the plants that might be used for Potions and Healing."

He pauses, again, and continues, "A thing to note, is that despite not having taken the Care of Magical Creatures elective, Silvanus mentioned seeing Mr Aves near the animals. He particularly enjoys spending time with Hippogriffs, Thestrals, and the Nifflers."

Dippet nods at the detailed explanation, and turns to Slughorn. He asks, "Horace?"

Slughorn gets excited, glances at Dumbledore, and starts rambling praises, "Genius! I'd say he could take the NEWTs in Potions, right now and still pass with distinction. He is simply an amazing student, and even helps others sometimes, if he notices anything wrong. But, like Herbert said, he does seem to favour Healing. Just last week, I caught him brewing a Wiggenweld Potion! And he made it perfect! I'd say let him!"

Dippet nods, and turns to Dumbledore. He says, "Your turn Albus, but be honest."

Albus nods, and sighs. He says, "Mr Aves reminds me of myself. I too, went through my studies, as fast as I could. And look at how I am now. Forced to stay here and not even say one word, while my former friend tries to take over Europe. I simply don't want Mr Aves to turn out to be like me. It's a no from me."

He slumps back into his chair, looking somber. Everyone is concerned for his feelings, knowing about the blood pact he'd stupidly made when younger.

Merrythought finally sighs, stands up, and says, "I understand your feelings, Albus. But he's getting bored in his classes. How long do you think before he turns to the Dark Arts, simply because we had nothing left to teach him, and he had nothing to learn while in school."

"I'm not saying he will go to the Dark Arts, but as his Head of House, I can't ignore the possibilities. So, it's better that we offer him the chance to give the exams, and maybe pass out of school. He can apprentice under some distinguished wizard, and even the Flamels would pay for a chance to take him under their wings." Merrythought says, and sits down, finished with her argument.

Dippet hums, pulls up a parchment, and starts writing on it. He says, "Very well. Galatea, you are permitted to make him that offer. I will write to the Department of Magical Education, and inform Griselda of an additional student appearing for this year's examination."

He finishes writing, and stamps it. Waving a hand, he summons and melts sealing wax, and seals up the letter with the signet of Hogwarts. He gives the letter to a elf that appears without being called, and turns to the four Heads of Houses.

He says, "While I would like it if Mr Aves studied at Hogwarts for 3 more years, he's as you say, a genius. He wants to be a healer, so lets do our best to make him one. Horace? Can you talk with your contacts at St Mungo's and get him an apprenticeship if Mr Aves agrees?"

Slughorn nods, getting excited. He says, "Oh yes, Mia owes me a favour anyway. If Mr Aves agrees, I'll send him right over to them."

Dippet nods at that, satisfied. He says, "Good. Galatea, talk to Mr Aves, I need an answer tomorrow. Dismissed."

The three Heads of Houses stand up, and immediately leave, with only Dumbledore staying. Dippet begins working on another letter, and says, "You've already been dismissed, Albus."

"But Armando- " Dumbledore begins to argue, keeping the same tone as before.

Dippet slams his hands on the table, pushing Dumbledore back into his chair with a wave of magic, and freezing him in place in the same instant.

He glares at Dumbledore, and says, "Do not presume to be superior to me, ALBUS! I've been a professor here for 250 YEARS, AND HEADMASTER FOR 25! IF GALATEA SAYS HER STUDENT IS READY, HE'S READY! Now, you've been dismissed! GET. OUT!"

Dumbledore finds himself loose and walking again, before he even realizes he's walking. He walks out, barely managing to nod at Dippet, and hiding his fear of the old Headmaster. He never would have guessed the old man still had it in him.

'He pushed me aside like I was a fly!' Dumbledore thinks, calming his heart.

This was the day, that Dumbledore learned the importance of being old, and looking frail, and kind. Everyone underestimates you. Always.

'Just like I did with him.' Dumbledore thinks, grimacing a bit. He makes a motion with his head, that says, "I get it now." And thinks, 'At least now I know why Herbert was so afraid of him during my first year of teaching. He must have made the same mistake I did.'

Finally calm, Dumbledore walks towards the kitchen, intent on having some soothing lemon tea. Maybe with a splash of whiskey. Preferably something stronger.

---

A/N: The last part is taken from the old fic, edited to look better. Not much was changed anyway. Whatever they say Mason did happened off screen. We all know he wants to be a doctor, so let's just assume he did try to read something about it.

Updates will be slow, since.. well, read the announcement. Just.. please understand if the updates are slow.

Okay, I might not pair him with Dorea either. But, if I do pair them, it'll be in the future. Probably after the war or something.

Anyway, tata!
 
15. Chamber of Secrets
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

Welp, I'm back home, back to being as miserable as ever. Vacation's over, even if I was in a medicine induced sleep for the most of it.

I'm alright, no symptoms as of now, my smell and taste have returned, so don't worry too much! I'm Fine!

Anyway, read on!

---

"I beg your pardon?" I ask, looking at Merrythought incredulously.


I had just gone through the DADA class, when Professor Merrythought asked me to stay behind. DADA was the third period of the day, after Charms, and Potions, so there was lunch after this and I didn't have to hurry for my next class.


She frowns and says, "You heard me quite right, Mr Aves. You're being offered the opportunity to sit your OWLs one year early, and if you manage to keep up, your NEWTs next year."


I had to use all of my control to not freak out. I literally just got so much new knowledge and my time here is being shortened even more? FML. I haven't even mastered one subject yet!


Not showing all that on my face, I ask, "Why me? I don't think this has ever been done before."


"It has been done before, a lot of times. But the practice of moving students up was abolished once the Ministry came into being. And you're being offered this, because, and let's be honest here, you're bored Mr Aves. 4th Year studies are too easy for you. Every Professor thinks so. So, what say you?" Merrythought says, in her Irish accent, and asks.


I nod, and say, "I.. don't have any issues with it. I can sit the exam tomorrow, and still pass, I know that. But can I think on it?"


Professor Merrythought nods, and says, "Very well. But, I need an answer by the end of the day. We need to inform the DME of our decision regarding your attendance before 9. But, also consider this, there's an apprenticeship offer waiting for you, in St Mungo's after you've passed your NEWTs. Think on it."


I nod, and go out of the classroom. Once I'm out, I scowl. Bloody nosy teachers. They already know I'm interested in Medical magics, so they've prepared an Apprenticeship for me, which, while good for me, is also annoying.

Granted I wasn't hiding my interest, I did have to request Madam James for access to medical books. But still. It is annoying.


Why the hell do they have to keep such a close eye on me? Probably Dumbledore thinks I'm going Dark or something. Bloody manipulative old coot- well, young coot for now.


"What did Merrythought want?" Tom asks, as I sit down for lunch.


I start eating, and shake my head, saying, "Later. I'm going to eat first."


25 minutes later, my group, with the addition of Tom McAvoy, was sitting in an abandoned classroom, because there were so many of them, and I tell them of the offer I just received. There was just me, Tom, Darla, Ana, and Dorea in here.


Tom didn't spend much time with us anymore, since breaking all expectations, he had joined the Quidditch team last year. He was our Chaser, and was pretty good. We weren't winning the Cup every year, but we did win last year. But this meant he had to spend more time studying and practicing Quidditch, than he had to spend with us. We didn't have a fight or anything, he just.. drifted off.

But well, since he asked, I was including him in this discussion.


"Do you want to take the exams?" Darla asks, once I've finished explaining, while Dorea looks upset for some reason. Tom and Ana were just thinking.


I nod, a bit hesitantly, so Ana says, "Well, then go for it. The last one to give their OWLs early, was a student in the 14th century. That's 200 years before the Ministry restricted this practice. You won't get a chance like this again. Plus, if they're serious about the Apprenticeship in Mungo's then you have nothing to worry."


I sigh, and look at Tom and Dorea, who haven't said anything yet. I ask, "What about you two? What do you think?"


Tom shrugs, and answers, "No offense mate, but I always knew you were a genius. You take this chance, or not, you're still smarter than the whole school. But, I'd rather you take this chance. As Greengrass said, you won't get an opportunity like this again." Then, as a joke, he adds, "Plus, it might give me an actual chance with the girls out there."

I just chuckle, having seen him fail to get a girl to go out with him to Hogsmead, just last week. I wasn't the best looking in our class, but for some reason, Ravenclaw students found my intelligence attractive. Who'd have thought?

Yeah, I didn't date anyone though. Feels too weird, even considering dating these kids. Maybe once I'm 20 or something, I'll start dating. I'm comfortable remaining a virgin till then, not like it's a new experience for me. And I mean dating those of my age then, not.. now.


Dorea sighs, looking sad, and says, "You're already one year ahead of me, and you'll go even more ahead."


I snort, and shake my head. Damn her and her crush. She is cute, but she's literally 13. She's still the annoying little sister of Cassiopeia the Bitch for me. At least she accepted when I said I won't date while in school, which was a relief. That doesn't stop her flirting though.

For her, I'm the guy that somehow defied her sister, whom she thought to be invincible. And that makes me an attractive target. Her thoughts are really loud, you know.

Patting her head, I say, "I'm one year ahead of you and we're still friends. What makes you think we won't be if I'm another year ahead, Dorea?"


Dorea pouts, which still only feels cute on her, and mumbles, "What if you get a girlfriend from the upper years then?"


I look at the others and they're almost laughing now. Controlling my own laughter, I answer, "Well I'll make sure to tell you all about her then. Each and every detail. Not leaving a single thing out."


That does it. Dorea blushes red, while Darla and Ana laugh at her expense. Tom just shakes his head, and mumbles, "Is he blind or is he doing it on purpose?"


I wink at Tom, who chuckles, and hug Dorea close. Purely platonically.

While this.. opportunity for passing out.. came out of nowhere, I can still take advantage of it. I'll have to take care of the Room of Knowledge sooner now. Damn, what can I even do?


That night, after telling Merrythought of my decision to accept the offer, and going to the dorms, I make sure everyone's asleep and walk towards the 7th floor Corridor. Putting my left hand on the wall, I turn the knob as it appears immediately, and enter the gigantic Room of Knowledge.

"Time." I state to myself, because for now, that is what I need the most. Time.

Suddenly, I find myself in a new Room, with a little over 100 books kept in shelves. Either the study of Time isn't as expansive as I'd thought, or I'm really underestimating these 106 books.

Picking the first book at random, I sit down on a chair that forms behind me, put my legs on a footstool, and mumble, "Lets get to it."

Time, according to this author, is a fundamental concept very closely attached to Space. She literally said that Time and Space cannot exist without each other. Where there is Space, there is Time, and vice versa.

The book was written in 15th century, so this is really surprising. A Witch hypothesized Space-time before it was a concept in the muggle world!

The first few chapters were just an introduction, while the others gave some stories of people trying to mess with time. She had even personally met with a few Wizards that had successfully travelled through time.

One of them, unfortunately, tried to something he really shouldn't have. The wizard went back 200 years, and tried to prevent his family losing a property that would have been burned down in an attack by a mixed army. There were wizards, as well as muggles in that army. And he stood alone, against them.

The House was empty, his family having evacuated when they got the news of the approaching army.

Well, he quickly realized something when he used Fiendfyre against those attackers, to stop them from burning it. Yeah, the Fiendfyre went out of control and took the house with it, meaning that he caused the tragedy he was trying to prevent. When he returned to his time, nothing had changed, but he was a lot more miserable than before.

The others had the same stories. Either nothing they tried worked in changing what they wanted to, or they were the reason it happened in the first place.

No matter what Magical method of Time Travel Wizards use, it won't work in changing anything. For us Wizards, Time is a closed loop. It has already happened, so of course it'll happen again. Our Magic ensures it.

Well, there was one witch who went back to stay indefinitely, just to study. She went back from the year 1472, to the year 616 AD. She stayed there, and lived there, for 856 years.

And you know the best part? She didn't age a single friggin day! She couldn't even die there by any physical or Magical means! The woman claimed to have survived a Killing Curse to the chest, and being stabbed, burned, drowned, all while in the past. Each and every time, she found herself waking up far away from her death site, naked as the day she was born, or so she claimed.

Sure, she could be lying, but what's the need? Plus, the Room would have erased any false parts thanks to whatever enchantment Rowena cast here.

Conclusion? The Magic that allowed us Wizards to travel through time also allowed the Wizards to retain their age, as well as prevent their deaths. Well, at least until they return to their own time, because the woman died 30 years after her return, of old age. But, it also prevented Wizards from changing anything. Everything that you cause to happen, has already happened.

There were no names mentioned, for the sake of protecting the Time Travellers, and no methods were given to even the Author, but she had her theories.

She mentioned how the first Time Travelling spells were inspired by the invention of Portkey Charms. Then, the discovery of a mystical dust that they named the Sand of Time, brought forth a multitude of Rituals meant to turn back time. Obviously, no Ritual was shared with other Wizards, since the Time (heh) was not a very happy, or safe one.

The Author of the book didn't know of any other methods of Time Travel that'll allow for a change to happen, and what effects it'll have on the Timeline, but I know. The Time Stone can definitely send someone back in time, and change it.

Then there's the Quantum Time Machine that the Avengers built in Endgame, that definitely changed time. These two did not(or is it will not?) follow the closed loop of Time Travel. They literally changed a lot of things, to a lot of consequences, that I wasn't alive to see.

Speed- reading the first book takes me barely 15 minutes, and I keep it back, knowing just a little bit more about what Time is.

Time is rigid. It follows a single Timeline, according to Magic, and no one can change what's already happened in the past. You can go back, observe events, but you cannot change anything. Heck, you can talk with the people of the past, but nothing you do will change anything. It has already happened!

There's bound to be loopholes, probably depending on the methods of time travel, but I'll have to keep reading to find them. Maybe in other books in this room, I'll find something that'll allow me to Time Travel.

Until I know what methods they used, and where I can find them if they're not in this room, I'll have to keep on reading.

-

A few days later, the month of March starts, which brings with it an increase in work load. I had been given time off from my classes, so that I can prepare for my exams.

I took this to mean that I had more hours to do my own research in my different projects.

There was the Time Room, which I was learning every Monday and Tuesday. Runes came next, for three days, and the weekend was for anything I want, which is usually looking through the Room of Hidden Things for hidden treasures. Just an FYI, I did not find much.

I had spent this entire day in the School Library for once, studying up on the Patronus Charm.

Hey, if I'm being forced to sit my OWLs, I'm impressing the Examiners as much as possible. Being able to cast the Patronus is something that'll show my Charms genius. You know, just in case the Healer/Doctor thing doesn't work out. I am keeping my options open.

When night came, however, I exited my dorm, with a skip in my step. I was finally going to do something that I had delayed for as long as possible.

The Mythical Chamber of Secrets.

Well, not so mythical, since I know it exists. I'd even confirmed it once by sneaking into the 2nd Floor Girls' bathroom, obviously at night, when it isn't in use.

Which is where I was now. Invisible, thanks to the Disillusionment charm I'd cast on myself, and with a subtle telepathic field around myself that discouraged anyone from looking too closely.

This wasn't a new development, but I realized that I had it, embarrassingly late. The passive mode of this ability allowed me to seem like I belong there. I could be standing in the middle of this bathroom, in the middle of the day, while girls are using it, and no one will find it wrong.

Obviously, I don't use it for that. I'm not that desperate, nor that immoral. Plus, this ability is not infallible. Like the Notice-me-not Charm, which Dumbledore had used during our trip to Diagon Alley, if someone was really vigilant, or really tried to find something that didn't belong, they can definitely see through it.

Which is why, I had an enhanced mode of this ability. The Forget-me-not mode, as I called it. Inspired by the mutant of the same name, that I remembered reading about, I purposely use my Telepathy to make People's minds completely ignore my very existence.

They don't see me, hear me, nor do they smell me. Completely broken, if it wasn't capable of being defeated by the simple use of the Mind Arts.

Anyway, entering the Second floor Girls' bathroom, I first use my Telepathy to listen if anyone's there. Hearing no thoughts for at least a hundred meters, I approach the tap which I'd checked out before.

Like the books said, one of the taps didn't work, at all. It didn't matter how many times they tried to repair it, both magically, and physically, the tap didn't turn on. Using my hand, I feel for the side of the copper tap, and sure enough, I could feel the very tiny snake etched on it.

It was so small, that one might even dismiss it as a scratch. And it probably did fool everyone else, since despite the tap not working for literally centuries, no one bothered to find out, why.

Huh, I wonder what the entrance was like before the pipes were installed. Hogwarts plumbing was installed in the year 1765, you know.

Feeling Sly shift on my shoulder, visible for once, I ask, ~~You ready to meet the biggest, most dangerous snake we might ever see?~~

Let's be honest, the basilisk might be the most venomous, but it's definitely not amongst the most dangerous snakes in this world. Jormungandr the World Serpent comes to mind, along with all the mythical snakes like Gorgons and all. And every Myth has to have a little bit of fact behind it.

Sly hisses, angrily, and says, ~~Like I told you that day. I'll show this one who's the strongest!~~

Snorting, I mumble, "Sure you will, Sly, sure you will." He does understand English, but unfortunately for him, he doesn't understand Sarcasm much.

Turning towards the tap, I focus on parseltongue, thankful that I at least managed to distinguish my two main language categories (human and snake), and command, ~~OPEN!~~

At once, the tap glows in a brilliant white light, and begins to spin. Then, the entire sink begins shaking, grinding, it sends a lot of dust flying, making me wonder when he Chamber was last opened. It must have been decades, if just opening it is sending so much dirt flying out.

I cast the Bubble Head Charm on myself, and do the same for Sly, wandlessly. While I do use my Wand while in school, sometimes, I like to use my hands so that I don't get used to the Wand. Don't misunderstand, I love my wand, but wandless magic is.. freeing.

The charm covers my head with a protective bubble, that provides me with a continuous supply of fresh air to breathe in, and can withstand amazing pressures. So much so, that even if I directly punch the bubble head charm, it won't break. But it will send some of that pressure onwards to my head.

~~TAKE IT OFF AT ONCE!~~ Sly yells, trying to bite the bubble around his head. That makes me snort, since his mouth doesn't even reach the bubble, no matter how much he tries. Sly glares at me, and slaps his tail on my neck.

~~OUCH! THAT FUCKING HURT, YOU MORON!~~

~~THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE LAUGHED! NOW TAKE THIS MAGIC OFF! I CAN'T SMELL ANYTHING!~~ Sly yells back, hissing angrily.

Oh, right. His tongue.

~~Sorry!~~ I say, and with a bashful look at my favourite snake, I remove the Bubble head charm cast on him, by using the Finite spell.

Turning towards the sink, I see it.. sink into the floor, showing a hole in its place. Watching the newly formed hole, where the sink used to be, I ignore Sly's anger, and approach it. Being careful of falling down, I peek through, and see no end in sight.

There was just a wide pipe, that could fit me horizontally too, and then darkness. Holding my left hand out, I cast the lumos charm, and hold the orb of light above my head. Still darkness. With the twitch of my finger, the orb moves away from my hand, and goes down tlowards the opening.

Now I can see a little bit deeper, and see that the pipe is slowly inclining away from the steep drop. So, even if I drop hard, I'll slide through quite safely.

Sly was observing the hole from beside my head, and says, ~~See you down there, you flightless wizard.~~

And the fucker jumps from my shoulder, and floats in front of me. He sticks his tongue out at me, and it's definitely for teasing, and then flies towards the opening in the floor.

I gape for just a second, and then shake my head. Bloody bastard snake. Taking my wand out, I transfigure the wall within the pipe into a platform. Jumping on it, I order, ~~CLOSE!~~ because there's no guarantee the chamber won't stay open.

And then, as the sink begins closing again, just to try it out, I order, ~~STAIRS!~~

Nope, nothing happened. Thank God I bought a broom this year. If I don't find another exit, preferably with stairs, I'll have to fly with the broom.

With a leap of faith, and a prayer to all the Gods, I jump down the platform I transfigured for myself, and into the pipe.

For a couple seconds, I just fall down, without touching anything, but then, my butt touches the still inclined wall of the pipe, and I just feel my clothes getting wet. Ugh.

Slowly, the incline gets less and less steep, and I find myself sliding along with the pipe. But, my speed was still too damn fast. I don't have to worry about me turning into a pancake, however, as I automatically decelerate, despite the still significant slope.

"Probably some enchantment on the pipe." I muse, as I observe everything that's in the pipe thanks to the Lumos orb following me. Grime, worms, and a lot of fungi.

And my shirt and trousers would have been covered in all of it, if I hadn't cast the impervious charm on them as soon as I'd felt the first wetness.

There were also more pipes, branching out from this one. But none of them were as wide as this slide. They were at most half the size.

Soon, I find myself seeing the exit of the pipe, right in front of me, and before I can prepare, I crash down on the ground, sending a lot of rat skeletons scattering about.

Thankfully, my lowered speed meant that I only slid a little bit away from the exit, and did not crash into the slimy wall that I could see.

~~HAHAHAH! AGAIN, AGAIN! DO THAT AGAIN! I WANT TO SEE YOU CRASH ONCE MORE!~~ Sly yells, laughing to himself to my accident.

Groaning, I stand up, ignoring the bones for now, and remove my wand from my wrist holster. With a single twitch downwards, I cast, "Tergeo!" which vanishes the grime that had gotten on my pant in the beginning, along with anything that might have gotten through the Impervious Charm.

The entire cave was damp, which means I was definitely under the lake. How far? I have no idea. Hey, Magic can make it so this cave is 2x2x2 inches in dimensions, from the outside, and I wouldn't know.

Seeing Sly enjoying himself, I say, ~~Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Not like you could fly until a few months ago.~~

~~I can fly now, and that's more important.~~ Sly counters.

I look at the only direction the cave extended in, and say, ~~Shall we?~~

Sly simply starts floating forward, finally allowed to be freely visible, and unhidden. I can't help but smile, seeing him float everywhere in excitement, even if he doesn't show it on his face. As we take many a turn, my Lumos orb preceding us to show the light, I try to see if there's anything else recognisable. Unfortunately, there were just damp walls everywhere.

The first look at least doesn't find any secret entrances, or something like that. I'll check more extensively later.

Soon, we reach a point in the tunnel, where the end is blocked by a Metallic gate, that has two snakes entwined on it. The snakes were also made of the same metal, and had emeralds for eyes.

Damn, if I didn't trust Salazar Slytherin to at least curse the emeralds, I might have tried to remove them.

Shaking my head, I once more order, ~~OPEN!~~

The emerald eyes of the two snakes glow once, in an earie green glow, and once more, the sound of grinding occurs. The two entwined snakes separate, as if alive, and slither out towards the edge of the metallic door. One at the east, and the other at the west.

Once at the edge, both the snakes start circling in counterclockwise direction, and as soon as they touch the other snake's tail, the door unlocks with a hiss.

Rolling my eyes at the dramatic flair just for the entrance, I pull the heavy metal door open, and walk through. I look around, and just stop in awe.

I was in a dimly lit chamber, that was a bit gloomy and awe-inspiring at the same time. The chamber floor was of stone, and there were high pillars supporting a ceiling that I couldn't see from here. The pillars had snakes carved on them, but these ones didn't look enchanted like the ones outside.

There was a pathway that led to the end of the Chamber, surrounding which were pools of water on both sides. The water looked clean, but I'm not dipping there anytime soon.

Finally, at the end of the chamber, was a familiar statue of the creator of the Chamber. Salazar Slytherin. Walking silently, I look up at the bust, allowing Sly to do what he likes.

Standing about 15 feet high, the statue was made only of his head. It wasn't anything noticeable, but since I knew his mouth opened to allow the Basilisk an entry and exit point, I could see the place where it might detach.

The mouth was also just a foot above the ground, so I won't have any trouble going in.

Hmm.. will just opening the door call the Basilisk? I don't actually want to meet it, since I have no idea how I might be received by it.

Wouldn't know unless I try it, right?

~~OPEN!~~ I command, looking at the mouth of Salazar Slytherin. This feels weird, no matter how I phrase it. Damn Salazar, and his weird ego.

Unfortunately, nothing happens, even when I repeat the order a few times.

Sighing, I say, ~~Four? Hogwarts Four? Greatest of the Hogwarts Four?~~

Nothing.

Hey, it was worth a try. Not like I only have 3 tries before my access gets locked or something like that.

Tom Riddle could have been arrogant enough to assume that the only possible password is "Speak to me Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts Four" while the password was just the last word.

"Looks like I'm going to have to say this." I mumble to myself, and then order, ~~Speak to my Slytherin! Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!~~

At once, the familiar grinding sounds, making me wonder how long it took for Tom Riddle to figure the password out, and how he did it, and the statue's mouth slowly opens. But that wasn't all, with the opening of the mouth, I hear what sounds like a giant being moving inside there.

Sly immediately flies towards me and settles down on my shoulder, both of us staring at the opening. Remembering that this is a Basilisk, I run backwards a few dozen steps, to the other side of the chamber, and close my eyes. I ask Sly to do the same, and wait.

I don't have to wait too long, before a soft thud sounds, as the Basilisk falls out of the mouth, head first. It was about 50 feet away from me, so I barely hear the first hissing whispers.

It starts crawling towards us, and then I hear it, ~~Food.. kill.. rip.. tear.. blood.. food!~~

~~STOP!~~ I yell, stopping it in its place. Still with my eyes closed, I say, ~~We are not food. We came here to speak. I'm a descendant of your master.~~

I hear a hiss of annoyance, as the Basilisk says, ~~Food.. lies.. No.. master.. kill.~~

Frowning, I ask Sly, ~~Can you try and talk to it? I don't want to be eaten, you know.~~

Sly, in response, jumps in my shirt, and curls up in his pocket. I hear him say, ~~Nope, I was wrong. He's the strongest, good luck!~~ before I have to pay attention to the now once again moving Basilisk. Fuck you, Sly!

Turning my head downwards, I open my eyes and focus on our shadows. Thankfully, my Lumos orb was still hovering above, casting a very bright light into the chamber, and showing really clear shadows on the floor.

Seeing the basilisk coil around itself, I remove my wand, and with a small spin around myself, I yell, "Praesidio Totalum!"

The Praesidio spell is a variation of the Shield charm, but where the Protego stops most mid level spells, and only a limited amount of Physical force, the Praesidio stops all the physical force thrown at it, and only the low level spells. Doesn't matter what hits it, if it's a physical object, and not a magical spell, then it's stopped.

So, when the Basilisk snaps at me, hoping to either swallow me whole, or to inject its venom in me, it gets stopped by the shield. I look up for a moment, to see that its fangs had actually managed to pierce the shield.

Clearly, it has a few weaknesses, besides the Magical spells.

"Bloody Basilisk venom." I mumble, and put my hand in my pocket. When my hand exits the pocket, I bring my broom out, a Comet 110. It almost slips out of my hand, thanks to the sweat on my palms, but I manage to clench it tight, and bring it out.

The Venom of the Basilisk starts destroying the shield from the inside, as the Basilisk struggles to force it's jaw to close. Before it happens, I mount my broom and fly high up into the air, while cancelling the Shield, sending the snake crashing into the ground, head first.

~~I don't want to kill you, Basilisk, but I will if I have to.~~ I say, preparing myself, my fast beating heart almost deafening me. It feels like it's literally beating in my ears.

The gigantic snake snarls in anger, throwing a lot of venom flying, and looks up. I had not forgotten the fact however, and I manage to close my eyes before it can look up, let alone in my eyes.

~~Food flies!~~ the basilisk hisses, almost surprised, and tries to snap at me again.

Since I was floating up, however, it doesn't reach me, calming me down somewhat.

~~So be it.~~ I say, resolved to do what needs to be done.

The Basilisk is old, 900 years in the least. I am definitely reluctant to kill it, since it's the only snake of its kind, I think. But now, it's crazy! It thinks I'm food, and I don't think convincing it otherwise is possible.

Flying higher, I avoid being caught in the Basilisk's jaws, and focus on my Telepathy. I know I can use it to control humans, the criminals come to mind. But animals? I hadn't tried yet.

With a focused expansion of my Telepathy, I enter the snake's mind, and order, ~~STOP ATTACKING, YOU BLASTED SNAKE! I AM NOT FOOD!~~

The Basilisk doesn't stop, and keeps attacking me, failing to reach me thanks to its limited height.

Frowning, I say, "Sorry for this. It seems you're beyond even Mind control."

Pointing my wand at the water in the pools, I cast a spell that summons a blob of water from the pool. The water then moved according to my wand, and I send it towards the Basilisk.

It hits the Basilisk on its head, and gets dispersed thanks to the Magic resistant hide. But, instead of just falling down, the water rises up again, and reforms into an orb of water. Only this time, it is smaller, and denser.

I send it at the Basilisk, throwing it back from the force.

With the twirl of my wand, a few more such orbs, all of them bigger than me, rise from the pools, and start getting thrown at the Basilisk.

It gets angry, and starts attacking the orbs instead of focusing on my. Which proves to be its downfall.

Keeping an eye on the Basilisk I keep a water orb near me, and transfigure it into a stone spear. And then, I wait.

You see, transfiguring water to stone is not hard, but it is very rare to find someone doing it. Why waste perfectly good water? The spell needed me to just tap my wand on the water's surface, and it'll be transfigured according to my wishes.

The Basilisk, still repeatedly calling me food, gets tired, with the multiple water orbs hitting its body again and again. Head, tail, body, there wasn't a single spot that wasn't wet.

Finally, the snake is enraged beyond measure, and it swipes its tail, destroying most of the water orbs. The snake catches the next approaching water orb in its mouth, and bites it.

Which is what I was waiting for.

As the Water orb bursts like a balloon, the giant, 30 foot long snake finds itself impaled on a stone spear, right through its brain.

I had taken the opportunity of an open mouth to send the stone spear flying with a Depulso charm, right through the water orb, and into the brain of the snake.

With a thud, the Basilisk falls down, and twitches for a few seconds, after which, it dies.

I sigh, having regretted killing it. It was necessary, but the snake is a beautiful specimen. Too bad, its old age had made it crazy.

Wonder what Tommy was going to do to make it listen to him?

Well, not my problem now. The snake is dead, he can't use it to kill anyone now.

Pointing my wand at the ground, I burn the runic cluster necessary for a Preservation Ward into it, around the Basilisk, and activate the ward. I'll deal with the body later. But now, I'll explore the mouth of Salazar Slytherin.

Yup, still gross.

And then, I drop down on the ground, my hand on my chest, hoping that my heart doesn't give out after everything I've just been through. Oh, the shame I'll have to go through, survived a Basilisk, killed it, nd then died because his heart gave out.

Goddamn, that was frightening. Those fangs look bigger than my fucking head!

I'd ignored it as well as I could, but I'm fucking terrified right now! I should have planned this all more extensively. One single cut would have had me dead, with no one to know what happened to me.

~~Oh. You survived.~~ Sly says, coming out of the pocket he was hiding in.

I pinch my nose, and say, ~~You could at least pretend to be relieved, you dumb snake.~~

Sly climbs my shoulder, and says, ~~Too much work. Now, the big one is dead, huh? Good job.~~

~~I remember someone saying they'll show this snake who the strongest is. Wonder what happened.~~ I say, entering the tunnel.

~~I don't remember. Must be Ash. Or Horny.~~ Sly says, turning his head away from me for some reason.

I just snort, and stand up, having calmed a little. I have an entire Chamber of Secrets to explore, and just about 6 hours remaining until everyone wakes up. I can get by one day without sleep, but I'd prefer sleeping a few hours at least.

At least no more monsters to fight now.

---

A/N: Basilisk is dead, which is the first Major change. I could have had it join him, but its unnecessary. Horned serpents get big, so one big snake is enough, I think.

Well, anyway. Enjoy!

Tata!
 
16. Exploring the Chamber
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.

---


15 minutes after having begun exploring the tunnel inside Salazar's mouth, I rub my forehead in frustration. There was nothing here that could require the Basilisk as a guard, which makes me wonder why the Chamber is even known to be of Secrets, and not Secret.

The tunnel went for about a hundred meters, leading through a few turns, towards what was obviously the nest of the Basilisk. There were a few rocks enchanted to stay warm in a hall, covering about 100 sqft, and Sly stopped there to enjoy the bigger nest.

There were a few more tunnels from there, that led to other pipes. The pipes were too steep for me to climb, which means they were only for the Basilisk to climb, and not for Salazar's own use. Which is what I'm currently assuming, since it's possible he figured something out to walk on walls.

Other than that, nothing. I even tried a few spells meant to detect hidden magic in an area, but nothing came up. Not even a supply closet. But, considering that I knew only a few spells that I learned only recently, just for this purpose, there's a very high possibility that there could be something else hidden in there.

Walking out of the last tunnel, I enter the Basilisk's.. pardon, Sly's new nest, and say, ~~Welp, I'm done here. You coming out?~~

Sly doesn't even raise his head, and says, ~~No, I'll make my own way back. The last path also a failure?~~

~~Well, that one leads to a steep drop, so that's different.~~ I say, and walk towards Sly to rest my own back on the warm rocks. Ah, this is really nice! No wonder Sly loved it here almost immediately.

Sly raises his head from the rock he was resting on, and says, ~~Why didn't you try using your broom, you wingless human?~~

Rolling my eyes, I say, ~~Flying brooms were invented in the 11th Century, and the Carpets weren't a big thing outside the Arabian countries.~~

~~I have no idea where that is.~~ Sly interrupts, to my annoyance.

~~You don't have to know. The point is, it's highly unlikely that Salazar Slytherin would make his Secrets accessible by just some flying equipment.~~ I explain, and getting up, I start making my way back to the outer Chamber, and let Sly have his rest.

Plus, I didn't have enough time to explore every tunnel here to where they go. Maybe next time, I'll search more thoroughly, but now, a quick look is all I'll have.

Walking back into the outer chamber, I have a look around, and sigh. This chamber was big, and it would take me days to examine every corner of it with spells, if I want to be thorough.

So.. I won't use spells.

I have a look around, and finding a suitable spot near Salazar's mouth, I cast a few Scourgify charms, and sit down with my back resting on the wall behind me.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, and get OUT. With a sound that reminds me of dipping my head underwater, I find myself in the Astral Plane, my body sitting in front of me. I float forward to see my body from the front, and smile.

My breath was slowed down. It was as if I was breathing half as fast as before.

I've noticed this only recently, and, man, it was a very pleasant discovery. Time is relative in the Astral Plane, that much was true. But it all depends on the person too. A better understanding of Time, means a better control over the flow of time.

And since I've been reading about time for a few months now, my understanding of it has been improving slowly, but steadily. I have been able to slow down the flow of time to half it's speed, and that's evident by the slow moving ripples in the water. This has also been terribly helpful in reading books, and I was almost done with Runes and Enchanting.

Then, I look around. Only one thing left to do now. Use my Astral form to pass through walls. If there's a hidden room, I'll find it pretty easily.

Is it possible to block the Astral Form from entering? Nothing I've read has told me otherwise, but if Rowena can block ghosts from entering her Room of Knowledge, then it's highly likely. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

Bending my knees, I push off the empty air, and fly through the wall behind my physical body. Finding the tunnels from before, I speed up and fly everywhere.

Again and again, I go through different walls, and back, searching for a room that was hidden from my physical form. Left, right, front, back, top and bottom, I fly through every wall, pillar, and even the lake, to see if anything resembles a secret room.

But for over half an hour, all I find is either rocks and water everywhere I see, or an empty cavern that has nothing special about it.

Heck, I even find the cave I recognised as the one I first accidentally Astral projected into. It was beautiful, a small pond, bioluminescent plants, and a few insects that also glowed. They all were definitely magical, but it's better for them to be left isolated in their ecosystem.

Don't want to destroy it, or myself, by changing something. Hey it could have poisonous air, you know.

The only thing of interest, was the stairway that was hidden behind an illusion of a pillar. It took me over 3 minutes of flying to find that it just leads to the Dungeons, 2nd floor, and the 7th floor.

As I was checking near the statue of Salazar Slytherin, I am stopped suddenly, and quite forcefully, by a solid wall.

"Ow!" I wince, rubbing my head. That shit hurt.

Slowly, I raise my hand forward, and tap the rock in the exact spot where I hit my head. Still solid. Moving my hand a bit to the left, I tap it, and see my hand pass through it.

A few more taps reveals that there was a small patch of the rock, about 1x1 foot at most, that was solid to my Astral Form. It was placed about a meter above Salazar's head, which means about 25 feet above the ground.

"Well, at least I found another secret."

With a whoosh, I dive back into my own body, and open my eyes. Smiling wide, I get up, get rid of the kinks in my body, and summon my broom.

~~Open.~~ I say, after reaching the height of the solid wall.

Welp, that was a bust.

~~Speak to me, Slytherin! Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!~~

Still nothing.

~~Salazar Slytherin~~

~~Slytherin Salazar~~

~~Pureblood?~~

~~Godric's a bitch?~~

~~Oh, for fuck's sake, just let me in, you old cunt!~~

Finally, this gives me a reaction, and a click sounds from the rock. With that, the rock changes its form from a rough rock, to a plain wooden door, at most 2 meters in height.

"Seriously?" I whisper, shocked at all this, and astonished at the password.

Opening the door with my hand, I close it once again, and see it change into a rock once more. A few more tries allows me to know what the exact password is. It's "Let me in, you old cunt" in parseltongue.

Salazar was creative, that much is apparent. But I wonder what inspired this password.

Keeping the door open, I float back down, and go into Sly's nest. Seeing him still lazing on the ground, I say, ~~I found something possibly interesting, Sly. Wanna come?~~

Sly sighs audibly, and drops down from his rock. Slithering towards me, he says, ~~Can't even let me have a few minutes of rest, can you? Always, Sly come here, Sly go there. Learn to be independent, human.~~

~~Yeah, yeah. We both know you want to see it too. Now, get on.~~ I say, and offer him my hand.

Scoffing, Sly starts floating in the air, and swims out of the nest. I follow after him, and once more mount my broom. There was a way to reach there on foot, but it wasn't even, and I am too lazy.

As Sly flies towards the Basilisk body, I fly towards the door, and open it, leaving it open for Sly to come in whenever he's done observing the dead Basilisk.

The first thing I find, is a living room, from the looks of it, with a couch, a human sized fireplace, and a pot of floo powder on top of it. Which is really weird, since Floo wasn't even invented until 13th century. I shrug it off. Maybe one of his descendants put it up, highly possible.

I can't be the only descendant to have found this room.

There was a hallway going towards the back, and I follow it, making sure to keep vigilant. Salazar was from a time when muggles knew about Magic, and attacked wizards for it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were traps here to kill them in one swoop. Thankfully, I find nothing of the sort.

The next room was on the left side of the hallway, opening the door to which showed a Potions lab, and through the Potions lab itself, was the kitchen. I really hope there are spells to prevent contamination.

There were a few ingredients and potions on the shelves, but I ignore them completely. Even with Stasis Charms, Enchantments, and Wards, the shelf life of potions is very low. The most a Potion can stay ok to use is 10 years, after which it starts losing its magic. Doesn't matter what type of Stasis effect you try on it.

Then came a Ritual Chamber, which was highly appreciated since I actually planned on going through a few Rituals. I haven't decided which yet though, since I still have time. This way, I can do it away from the Room of Requirements, which the Headmaster probably already knows about.

Finally, the last room was the bedroom, with a single four poster King's size bed, and a table beside it. Within the Bedroom itself, were two doors, one leading to a bathroom and toilet, and another to a small library.

The 200 or so books in the library look alright, with no sign of ageing, which was fortunate. Walking closer, I squint my eyes, and sure enough, the shelves had a lot of Norse Runic schemes carved. At least the Preservation wards work on books.

Ignoring the bed, I wave my wand at the bedside chair, and cast a few Scourgify charms, just to be safe.

And then, I start looking over the books. Taking a random book in my hand, I look at its cover, and frown. There were just squiggles on the cover, with no pattern to denote an alphabet.

But.. I could.. read all of it? Not read, but.. understand? I have no idea how something like this could be possible, to be able to hide knowledge like this is.. amazing.

It's like, the book was enchanted to be seen in only squiggles and lines, and read by a select few people. Probably Salazar's own descendants, or something. Is this an actual written language, or is this just the effect of an Enchantment to protect the knowledge?

The first book was about Rituals, but it was too complex for me. So I pick another book, and another, and another, keeping them back almost immediately.

Well, the entire library was too complex for me right now. I'll have to visit this library again, after mastering the basics.

Keeping the latest book back in its spot, owing to my lack of completely understanding the material, I pick the next book, and freeze.

"My journey in learning the Mystic Arts of Kamar Taj" the title of the book said, written in the same script.


Welp, this was unexpected, but not unappreciated. I thought the Wizards and Sorcerers, if they actually existed in this Universe, would have been ignorant of the other's existence, since I didn't find anything related to it in the Library. But, this disproves it.

"Gemino!" I whisper, casting the copying charm on the book. This creates another physical copy of the book, which is similar to the original in encryption.

Wonderful! I wonder if I'll be able to learn how to do this.

Gemino was originally a curse, but a few decades ago, a Charms master managed to create a charm based on it. It was useful as hell, but most of the stuff found in the current market is charmed to resist the spell. Those Books cannot be copied that way, they just turn out blank. Thankfully, Salazar was from a time before that.

Putting the book in my pocket, I remove my pocket watch, and see that it's 4 AM right now, and I need to go back. I'll have to sleep a couple hours at least. After which, I'll have something to entertain me.

Chuckling, I have a once over, and finding nothing, walk out. Sly was still near the Basilisk's corpse, now on the ground, staring at it.

I ask, ~~What are you staring at the snake for?~~

Sly says, ~~Thinking.. How long would it take for me to eat it?~~

Shrugging, since I already know that snakes are cannibalistic in nature, I answer, ~~A long, long time, Sly. Well, it isn't going anywhere, so you can just return later and eat it, one piece at a time.~~ Here's hoping he doesn't become too fat.

Sly slowly nods, and then turns away from the Basilisk. He then climbs my shoulder, and says, ~~I'm glad this one's dead. He was a threat to my title as the superior snake. You're a good pet, human.~~

I just shake my head, and ignore Sly. I don't mind it, since I have a new subject to learn. Heh. Mystic Arts and Salazar. Who'd have thought?

-

Mystic Arts. Sorcery. Magic. Only this one, even Muggles are capable of learning. This made sure that Wizards either hated them, or left them alone.

Salazar first learned about these Sorcerers in the year 786 AD, when he was just about 40 years old.

No, he wasn't born in 8th century, but he was born in the year 920 AD. What does this tell us? Yup, Salazar Slytherin was a fucking time Travelling Wizard. This.. is getting old right now.

He had figured out how to travel through time through a ritual he created himself. It did not stop his ageing, like the other methods, but it did allow him to travel to the future and back, which the Time turners didn't allow. Time turners, and the spells that came before it, could only be used to go to the past, and not the future.

This did explain the inconsistencies with the Chamber of Secrets.

I think, that he meant the Chamber, or at least the hidden room, to be for his sole use, and never told any of his heirs about it. But, he must have died some day anyway, and that put the Chamber into disuse.

Anyway, Sorcery. In 786 AD, Salazar encountered a minor demon trying to make a deal with a muggle, and attacked it. Not because he wanted to save the muggle, no, but he wanted the demon so he could study it. His subject of speciality was Rituals, you know.

Well, he failed to capture it, and was forced to kill it to prevent his own death, so tough was the minor demon. And then, the Sorcerers walked out of their glowing magic portals, to find the demon already dead, and witnessed Salazar Slytherin pushing the 8 foot tall, red skinned Demon into a wooden trunk. That must have been hard to explain.

They.. allowed it, is all he wrote in regards to the demon.

Salazar, being a pursuer of knowledge, asked them about their Magic, and then requested to be taught, which they accepted. And then, he learned from them, a lot.

He stayed with the Sorcerers, at Kamar Taj, for 10 years, and then left for his own time, with new knowledge in tow. Amongst the knowledge he brought back, was something he devised by himself, for his students, which was going to be really helpful for me.

He devised a ritual, that will allow his students to begin learning the Mystic Arts.

Mystic Arts can be used if one has access to at least two of the three kinds of Magic. Personal Magic, Universal Magic, and Dimensional Magic. Since most Sorcerers are muggles first, they need to borrow Magic from the Universe, or other Realms, before they slowly, very slowly, evolve to produce their own Personal Magics. The rate of this evolution might be the reason why only some muggles have an affinity to it, but nevermind that.

Wizards are... different. Wizards already have Personal Magic, and they already take their Magic from the planet underneath them, which can be a less potent replacement for Universal Magic. As for Dimensional Magic, Wizards cannot use it, or so Salazar said.

Our Magic doesn't allow us to take any Magic from any other Dimensions, but our own, as he explained it. I think he was just afraid of the Dimensions, because why would having Personal Magic get in the way of Dimensional Magic? Merlin was a Sorcerer too, wasn't he? And I remember some Gods being Sorcerers in the comics too.

But, I understand his fear, if it is fear. Giving some omnipotent Demon/God access to your own Magic? Your own Soul? No thank you. I'll stick to using my own magic.

Anyway, Planetary Magic. Since it doesn't actually count as Universal, Wizards, like muggles need to go through an initialisation ceremony to ensure their connection with the Universe.

A stroll through the Dimensions, which you generally need a Master for. Travelling through the Dimensions, no matter how briefly, ensures that your connection to your own Universe is strengthened.

But it's really easy to get lost in the Realms, and for someone else to capture us mid transit. A Master ensures our return to our Universe, and they can control where we go.

Salazar's ritual was a replacement for the Master. It will anchor us here, and make sure we don't go into Realms too dangerous for us.

Well, he did try the ritual on a few of his students, and it worked. Going through with the Ritual allowed them to learn the Sorcery spells that they couldn't do before. But it did change a few things, just like it did for Salazar himself.

The Universal Magic began changing their Magic, evolving it. Their Sorcery spells had no effect, but their Wizarding Spells, ooh boy. Salazar said that just the connection to the Universe had a startling effect of doubling the potency of his magic.

Every spell he tried, he had to tone back his efforts because he would always overload the spells. Wands still worked, since they evolve with the Wizard, but his control was a bit shot.

A minor setback, in the grand scheme of things, I'd say.

Which is why, I was back in the Chamber of Secrets, the next Sunday. Only this time, I was in the Ritual Chamber. Helena was with me, due to my own insistence.

Hey, a Runes Master is a necessity when dealing with Rituals like this. No way I'm risking a mess up, because I wasn't observant enough.

Helena sighs, looking around, and says, "Sal was always so secretive about this Chamber. Even 900 years of haunting this castle didn't allow me to see this. Thank you for this chance, Mason."

I shrug, pausing in my Rune drawing, and say, "Hey, I might be his descendant, but you actually knew the guy. I felt that you of all people.. souls?.. should visit this Chamber at least once."

Helena smiles, and says, "Still, I appreciate this. How far along are you?"

I focus back down on the floor, and continue drawing Runes with a brush, while using crushed Charcoal, mixed with the ink of an octopus in a 1:4 ratio, as the ink.

I say, "Almost done, just half a circle left."

Helena had already checked the Ritual circle over, and had deemed it risk free. But it was to be expected, since Salazar did claim to specialise in Rituals.

There wasn't a need for a Potion for this Ritual, but I did need a single ingredient. Cannabis. A medicinal plant, that has uses in various potions that mostly deal with the mind, or the spirit.

For those who don't know, the plant is Marijuana.

It is also used in the Wiggenweld Potion, which is used to reverse the effects sleeping potions, and a few healing potions. Guess Weed is the answer to a lot of things.

Finally done, I step back, and allow Helena to examine it. She takes her time, a few minutes of it, and then finally nods. She asks, "Did you do the strokes in the correct direction?"

Nodding, I say, "I memorised it and then practiced writing, like, 50 times, Helena. I did not mess it up."

"Are the circles of the correct dimensions?" She then asks.

I roll my eyes, already having checked the circles before even beginning the next part, and nod. Helena then nods, and says, "Very well. Now, we wait."

Sighing, I take my clothes off one by one, keeping them outside the Ritual circle. There was a square around the Ritual Circle, meant to signify the isolated part. Nothing magical other than the ones taking part in the ritual are allowed inside the square. Even Helena will have to stay there.

It was a bit embarrassing, being naked in front of what amounts to a great aunt, many times removed, but she was literally 900 years old. Plus, it was needed for the Ritual, so yeah. Here I am, sitting in the middle of the Ritual circle, with a glass bowl in front of me, with a single Cannabis flower within.

My wand was in my right hand, and my left hand was poised above the Acticating Rune array. There was a clock hanging on the wall in front of me, showing the time to be just 11:59 PM.

As soon as there's just 3 seconds till Midnight, I snap my wand, silently cast Incendio in the bowl, slam my hand on the Activation Rune and chant "Ostende mihi regno et detrahet me in domum suam."

At exactly 12 AM, my hand slams down on the ground of the Ritual chamber, activating it.

There's a brief flash of pain, which makes me gasp, coincidentally allowing the smoke of the burning Cannabis to enter my mouth, nose, and eyes at the same time.

And then, I feel a pull. Before I can even react, I feel my Astral Form get separated from my body, and thrown at very high speeds. I don't see my body anywhere, but I do see Hogwarts underneath me, getting smaller and smaller, as I'm pulled further, and further away from it.

Whatever was pulling me away from Earth, keeps taking me up towards the skies, and doesn't stop. The pull was too strong, and it took me high up, above the ritual circle, and through the walls and wards of Hogwarts, all within a single second.

"AARRHH FUCKING HELL!" I shout, at the speed with which I am being pulled. And I can feel every moment of it.

I keep going up, and up, until I reach space, and even then I don't stop. Thankfully, I don't feel the need to breathe, nor do I feel the effects of the lower pressure, but the movement is still enough to make me sick.

I am almost ready to hurl, when I finally stop right in front of the Sun. I could see the surface of the sun, burning just a foot in front of me. Funnily enough, I don't feel the heat, nor do I get overwhelmed by the light.

"Is this actually real?" I whisper to myself in astonishment, as I try and touch the Sun.

Before I can touch it though, I feel another strong pull, and I find myself thrown through various tunnels. First all black tunnels, then green and black tunnels, and then they become even more colourful, becoming rainbow like. All the while, I'm screaming in excitement, at the rollercoaster ride I'm experiencing. As scary as this is, I can feel my blood pumping!

Finally, I get out in a void filled with colours, and again start speeding up. This time, I can see clearly, as a few different coloured magic strands float towards me, and enter my body. Purple, gold, green, yellow, blue, red, white, and even pink. All those colours combine, and surround my body, making a cocoon. It sort of reminds me of the Dragon scale from Dragon Tales.

Scene changes, again, and I'm now going towards a burning star, or is it just our Sun? As I'm about to touch the Sun, a tunnel opens up right in front of me, swallowing me whole. And then, there's an unpleasant itch.

I feel my body being destroyed, and reconnected, again and again, but somehow, I don't feel any pain. What I do feel, along with the itching, is some more magic entering my body, and settling down within my heart.

The next scene, as I screamingly exit the disintegration tunnel, is one I recognize. The Quantum Realm. I see organisms bigger than our buses, but which are actually sub atomic. I see energy blasts happening a few miles in front of me, and I keep staring at them.

This feeling, this feeling of power, along with the feeling of content, is amazing! I could sit here all day, and just watch! It is awesome!

But, I can't. I have a home, people to get to. Dorea, Darla, Ana, Helena, Sister Agnes, Laura. I need to get out of here soon!

Immediately, I am pulled once again, and crash through a mirror, which I recognize as the Mirror of Erised. I come out, and look around at only my own reflections. The whole place was surrounded by mirrors, and reflective surfaces. Is this.. the Mirror Dimension?

I am pulled once again and pass through one of the mirrors, entering a place so bright, I had to squint my eyes to see. There was yellow light, and fire everywhere. Just being here for a few seconds felt so refreshing!

I feel that I can take this energy for myself, and then live for millions of years!

This feeling ends as soon as it came, and I find myself in the polar opposite of the Realm from before. Where that one was bright, this one is Dark as hell. Is this Hell?

It is dark. Oh, I can see colours, but the way the colours looked to me, I only had one word. "DC."

A giant eye staring at me breaks that misconception, as I recognise it. The eye was purple, and as big as a planet. The being it belongs to was even bigger. Dormmamu, and the Dark Dimension. Fuck.

'Oh whatever mysterious force, pulling me everywhere, take me away from here please? I don't want to encounter Dormammu! Not now, not ever!' I pray to myself, frozen in place because of fear. A lot of fear. Dormammu doesn't do anything, though, he just keeps staring at me with his giant eyes.

Does he even see me? I'm literally smaller than an ant for him, right now.


After what felt like hours of him just staring at me, I feel myself slipping again. Once again, I pass through the Mirror Dimension, and end up in front of a bright nebula.

Peace, that is all I feel, looking at the spectacular view in front of me. Just me, floating around space, with no need to eat, drink, or breathe. Just.. peace.

I then feel myself being pulled once again, and before I can even object, I find myself in front of different places. Planets, stars, Asteroid belts, everywhere I go, I stay for barely a second, before the mysterious force pulls me away.

I even see a planet with a giant face on its surface, before finding myself facing what's definitely a white giant sun. And then, finally, I find myself teleported back over the planet Earth, before its gravitational force takes a hold over my soul.

"Hey, wait a minute!" I yell, before I start dropping down, my speed increasing by the second.

Within a couple minutes, I see Hogwarts getting closer and closer, and then I land down, harshly.

"Cough, cough." I cough, gasping hard for breath, using my hands to support my body.

"Are you alright?" Helena asks, floating towards me.

I raise a single finger towards her, and cough some more. Once done catching my breath, I summon my clothes towards me, and start putting them on.

I say, "That.. was the best, and worst experience of my lifetime."

Helena chuckles, evil witch, and says, "You knew what would happen, didn't you?"

"Doesn't make it any less traumatizing, standing still in front of a Gigantic evil being." I shudder, remembering Dormmamu. I'm going to avoid him, forever. Dr Strange can handle him.

"Tell me everything." Helena says, ordering me to sit down on a chair, as she brings out the tea.

Taking the cup graciously, with shaking hands, I begin telling her about the Realms. Maybe I should actually read the Primers now. Or try and find them, at least. Salazar only wrote the titles of the books he'd read, but he did not have the books themselves.

Hopefully, the Room of Knowledge has them. I'll try them tomorrow. For now, I'll rest.

Sorcerer! I'm a Sorcerer and a Wizard! Brilliant!

---

A/N: Literally every MC learns Sorcery in Kamar Taj, so, I thought of doing something else. Salazar did learn from Kamar Taj, and he learned a lot. But he didn't stay there, since he had to return to his own time.

Time Travelling Slytherin does not have a Magical portrait, though.

And his library doesn't contain anything basic. Mostly journals, and a few high level books.

Thank you for reading!

Tata!
 
17. Untitled
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.

---

A few days after my first Ritual, the one that gave me a better connection with the Universe, I was sitting in the Room of Hidden things.

In front of me, standing innocently, were two trunks, filled with useless junk. There are literally hundreds of trunks in this Room, and I just chose two at random. These two were special, though.

These two trunks were two of the very few trunks that had lost all the spells cast on them. They were so old, that right now, the trunks were just plain wooden trunks. Which meant they were perfect for me.

Waving my hand, I levitate the trunks and walk outside the Room of Hidden Things. I'll go through it more thoroughly later. But now, I have an experiment to carry out.

Summoning a new Room by walking across the corridor three times, I open the door and walk through. Keeping the two trunks on the ground of the almost empty Room, I remove a pair of glasses from my pockets, and put them on.

These glasses were my own invention, based on a few pre-existing enchantments. There are enchantments that can help the glasses focus on a distant object more clearly, or on a closer object. Sort of like, telephoto and Macro. I combined the two charms to give me both.

One tap on the left side turns the Telephoto feature on, while another tap 5 millimetres below, turn the Macro on.

A single tap on the right turns the glasses into normal glasses. The activation of Homenum Revelio, and the Specialis Revelio was also just a tap away.

Taking a Rune Carving Scalpel out, I tap the frame of my glasses once, and then drag my finger backwards to zoom out. And then, I get to work.

You see, in these few days, I had finally finished reading everything the Room of Knowledge had, on Runes. I was about halfway through the Time Room, but I'm just a couple weeks away from finishing that too. After that, I'll have to experiment to learn more about Time.

Anyway, Runes. Runes are amazing, and that's me saying after reading just a few languages worth of it. God knows how many Runic Languages we've actually lost forever.

I'm not a master yet, at least, not at the level of Helena, or the Wizards of old. But, by today's standards? I'm as close to a Master as I can get, without earning an actual Mastery. And it's just my experience holding me back.

I had already finished designing, and verifying the Rune Scheme I was going to use here, using Arithmancy. If my prediction holds true, and if I do everything right, I'll have two Trunks, connected internally.

An hour later, I put down the Scalpel, and remove my glasses. Rubbing my eyes, I stretch a bit, and then check the Runes once again. Both the Trunks were entirely identical, and now, even the Runes were the same.

Taking a step back, I let a breath out, and spread my legs. As I bring my arms closer together, wrists touching, I focus on my connection to the Universe, believing with all my heart that I can do this.

And then, with a snap, I separate my arms and bring them in front of me. When the arms separate, I smile. On my palms, were two Tao Mandalas, with Sanskrit writing floating in circles, glowing an orange glow.

Not losing my focus, I slowly step towards the Trunks, and tap my left hand on one trunk. The trunk glows for just a moment, and the Runes flash orange, as the Sanskrit writing on my hand transfers over to the Trunk, and gets absorbed completely in the wood.

Similarly, I place my right hand on the other Trunk, and watch the same happen. This way, I don't have to worry about the enchantments losing power, since the Universe itself is powering them now. I turned my artefacts, into relics.

Almost giddy now, I open the left trunk, and seeing just darkness inside, jump in. I had full faith in my Enchantments, so I didn't worry. Without prompting, my Lumos orb floats out of my body and gives me light, as I land on a hard ground barely 10 feet after the jump.

Looking up, I can still see the ceiling of the Room I was in. I'll have to add some stairs, or a ladder later.

Then, I turn around, and see that I was in a corridor, similar to the ones in the school. Cobblestone made up the ground here, in looks at least. I simply pick a direction at random, and walk forward.

Within a few seconds, I reach a dead end, and look up. Sure enough, I could make out tiny pinpricks of light coming from up. Bending my knees, I jump up, a Depulso towards the ground throwing me further upwards, and with a silent alohomora, open the door.

As I drop down on the ground, back outside, I smile widely. My test, was a success!

I created a gateway between two trunks, like the Vanishing Cabinet! This.. this will definitely help me finish my studies even after I'm out of Hogwarts.

Progress might be slow, but it's good!

-

Soon, the months go by, and I leave for the summer once again. I had sat my OWLs with the fifth years, and aced all of them.

Runes and Arithmancy were easy, I had had a lot of practice with them in these last few months, while experimenting with my Vanishing Trunks. I definitely got the top marks in those two papers.

Charms was easy too, along with DADA. I showed off the Patronus Charm for both of them, which definitely guaranteed me a few extra marks. As for Transfiguration, I was amongst the top. I didn't mess anything up, but even the Examiner could see that Transfiguration wasn't my best subject.

Potions was interesting, but not anything I worried over. I had practiced every OWL level potion at least for two days each, continuous. So, yeah. I'm passing.

And now, I was in the train, on my way to London. I had kept one of the Vanishing Trunks in the Room of Knowledge, thankful that it stayed there, and brought the other with me. The summers were going to see a lot of use for them.

I was done with Runes, at least on the theoretical side. The only thing left now, was practicing everything I know until I Master them completely. Right now, I was going to be focusing on Time.

While the issue of not having enough Time to read everything was solved, with the invention of the Vanishing Trunks, I have found Time an interesting subject to study.

And what's not there to find interesting! It's Time!

I was even almost ready to create my first spell related to Time! It's nothing complex, not like turning time back or anything like it.

I'm aiming to speed up the flow of time. Cast the spell in a room, and the time inside will pass faster than the time outside. Like, Time dilation, only on a higher scale, and without going anywhere. It's still a work in progress, but I'm getting there.

"So, what are your plans for after Hogwarts?" Darla asks, holding my hand. This was unusual for her, showing affection.

Don't get me wrong, we're good friends. We've held hands before, and even hugged. But it was very rare for her to initiate it.

We were the only two people in the room, Dorea and Ana having gone to meet with their own friends for a few minutes.

Shrugging, I say, "I had planned on going back to the muggle world, to become a Doctor. But now, Slughorn has offered me an Apprenticeship at St Mungo's, which is a really big deal. So.. I'm still thinking. Why?"

Darla looks up, and I finally see how upset she looks. Her eyes are tearful, as she says, "You were my first friend, you know? Even when I was in Primary school, I didn't have any friends. And now, even you'll leave school, two years early. I'll just.. I'll miss you."

Smiling softly, I hug Darla towards me, and say, "You're an idiot, Darla, if you think just because I won't be in school with you, that I'll stop being friends with you. You're my first friend too, and I won't just leave you. Plus, you have Dorea, and Ana, and what's her name? The Prewett?"

"Mary." Darla mumbles from my chest.

"Yes, Mary. You have her too. You won't be alone, Darla. Don't worry." I nod, and pull her away. Looking her in her eyes, I say, "Plus, I'm just a letter away. One letter, and I'll come meet you during Hogsmead weekend. I can sneak in during classes, too! You know I can."

Darla smiles at that, knowing that I have many ways to sneak out and into the castle if I want to. And we still have a year for us too! It's not like I won't even return this next year.

"Tell you what. Give me your address, and I'll come to your house this month. We'll go to Diagon Alley, my treat." I say, hoping a trip to Diagon would cheer her up a bit.

"Really? No offense, but do you even have money for that?" Darla asks, which just makes me realize that I never told her about my.. heritage.

Rubbing the back of my head, I say, "About that…"

"You're telling me, that you're a rich pureblood? And you still stay in the Orphanage? Why??" Darla exclaims, once she's heard of my parents. She's 14, almost 15, so I forgive her for the narrow minded thought.

I shrug, and say, "I don't mind the orphanage. It's the only home I've known. The extra money is a help, sure, but I can't just abandon my Home, Darla."

Darla nods, accepting the answer, and says, "Sorry.. so.. you're rich."

I nod, and explain, "Not as rich as the Blacks, not even close. But yes, I'm rich enough to live out the rest of my life in luxury. My children won't have anything left for them, though, if I do that."

"You know I love you, right, Mason?" Darla asks, twirling her hair, and batting her eyes at me.

I scoff, and say, "Stop that. You're family, just don't.. make that face again."

Darla is gay, I'm sure of that. But.. I don't think she wants anyone to know that. And I'm not mentioning it until it's needed. She can pretend to be straight until then, I'll just make sure she doesn't hurt herself in between.

Darla laughs, and I chuckle with her. When Dorea and Ana return, Dorea scowls at me immediately. I don't get it at first, but then I realise that Darla and I were still as close as we were before, while hugging.

I just chuckle, and go back to reading the book on Time Turners. Time Turners were invented in the year 1857, and the Wizards who did it stupidly brought their journals to Hogwarts to show their Charms teacher. Good for me, I guess.

They returned many times, after that, and I got to know what happened. The Department of Mysteries recruited them after their invention, and had them inducted in the Time Department. Their knowledge from then on belonged to the Department, and the study on Time became restricted to only the Department.

The inventors of the Time Turner were the last people to publicly experiment on Time, just because the Department of Mysteries recruited a group of 25 year olds. Thankfully I have all of their research, thanks to the wonderful Room of Knowledge.

So, theoretically, I can build a Time Turner for myself, if I want to. Practically, it isn't possible right now. Time Turners use glass created from something called the Sand of Time. The sand isn't found just anywhere, and the Creators found a few big rocks of it in Norway, which are now in the hands of the Department.

So, unless I find a few chunks of this Time Sand rock, my Time Turner is just a pipe dream.

-

A few days after the Summer Holidays began, I and Darla visit Diagon Alley, just the two of us. As I promised, I let her buy a lot of stuff, and paid for it.

She'll already have a hard enough time in this world, thanks to her blood status, and her sexuality. I can at least make sure she has enough enjoyment to balance the hurt.

I helped her buy a broom too, by adding 20 Galleons to her savings. As we left for our homes, I gave her a copy of the Mind Arts compilation book, so she can defend herself. Am I doing too much for her? Probably. Does she deserve it? Yup, definitely.

Anyway, a month into my summer, I get my OWL results, and that brings a cause for celebration with the gang. I came second in the entire year, because one Hufflepuff girl had taken OWLs in every subject offered. But my marklist had O's all over.

Dorea once more tried flirting with me, as we were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer, and I just shrug it off. But she did stop once I stopped her advance the first time for the day.

"So.. Mason. Now that you're a NEWT student, will you continue to grace us juniors with your presence?" Ana asks, taking a sip of her drink.

Laughing, I say, "Let's see, I'll have to study for my NEWTs, additional homework, my extracurricular studies, and make sure to keep some time away for broom cupboard activities. I think I can make some time for you lowly juniors."

"Seriously? I reckon you won't even spend one night in the Broom cupboard." Darla says, leaning forward.

I look her in the eyes, and ask, "Oh? And why is that?"

Smirking, Darla says, "Because you don't like these girls. You're a guy who likes.. older women."

"You're kidding." Dorea says, sounding shocked.

Well, damn. Maybe Darla does pay as much attention to me as I do to her.

Shaking her head, Darla says, "Mason here is a bit careless when he's ogling Professor Rowle." Her eyes glinting, she whispers, "You should have seen him in the Charms corridor that day. Rowle had bent down to pick up some fallen parchment, and our boy Mason couldn't keep his eyes off of her arse."

Ana nods along with her, to my embarrassment, and says, "Your 6th year Prefect, the Nott what's her name? Even she dropped something in front of Mason, and she had two buttons open. He didn't even glance at her!"

Groaning, I say, "Please stop discussing my likes with someone as innocent as Dorea."

Completely ignoring me, Darla whispers, "She wasn't even wearing any undergarments, and he still ignored her!" Although I do detect some fascination in her voice, I don't point it out.

Dorea pouts, and says, "Damn. No wonder he doesn't look at me, I'm too young for him." Pausing, she asks, "What about Professor Merrythought? Does he like her too?"

"I'm literally right here, you can't just ask them if I like Merrythought! She's literally our grandma!" I whisper, hoping no one else over hears.

"Nah, he doesn't like her like that. He respects her actually." Ana says, shaking her head.

I just sigh, wondering when they decided to just ignore my celebrations and keep embarrassing me.

"Glad to hear you respect me, Mr Aves. And allow me to say, that I'm thankful your eyes don't wander when talking with me." We suddenly hear, making us all freeze.

"You didn't cast the privacy charm?" Darla furiously whispers to me.

I whisper back, just as furiously, "I didn't feel the need to, because we weren't discussing my lack of love life before."

"Oh, I'm so screwed!" Dorea whispers, while Ana is just frozen in her place, both of them looking behind me. Thanks for the warning Ana, Dorea.

"Stop that, now. Ignoring a lady is considered rude, don't you know, children?" Merrythought says, her voice making us sweat now.

Slowly, I turn back, and see Merrythought standing behind me, along with Professor Beery, the Herbology professor and the Head of Hufflepuff House.

"Good morning, Professor!" We all call out in unison, our voices clearly forced.

Surprising us, Professor Merrythought smiles, while Beery just chuckles in good nature, and they both sit down at the table next to ours.

"Celebrating Mr Aves's results, I presume?" Professor Beery asks, while Merrythought starts talking with the waitress.

Nodding, I say, "Yeah. Got straight O's. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Professors."

The three girls sitting at my table, meanwhile, become silent and focus on the snacks in front of them.

Merrythought waves her hand, and says, "Nonsense. You deserved the chance, Mr Aves. Your marks are your own. What subjects are you going to take, may I ask, for your NEWT years?"

I shrug, and answer, "I haven't decided yet, but I'm thinking of taking most of them. The only ones I might drop are History of Magic, and Astronomy."

"Good, good. But I hope you'll keep your studies up just as diligently as you did these 4 years?" Professor Merrythought asks, raising an eyebrow.

I nod rapidly, and say, "Of course, Professor Merrythought! Wouldn't dream of letting this opportunity pass by just because of my own negligence."

Merrythought stares at me for a few seconds, and then stands up, Beery right behind her. She says, "Very well. I'll leave you to your celebrations. And Ms Black? Maybe next time, don't ask such stupid questions? At least, keep them limited to places no one can overhear you."

Dorea, who had tried to remain unnoticed, groans silently, and says, "Yes, Professor."

The Professor hums, and then leaves for another table, giving us a measure of new Privacy. Immediately, I remove my wand and cast a few Privacy charms. One for sound, one for recognition, and another for lip reading.

I slap my face, and say, "Thank you Darla, for embarrassing me in front of my Head of House."

"Hey I wasn't the one who asked if you liked Merrythought!" Darla defends herself, smiling a bit, although I do sense her nervousness.

"But you were the one who spoke up about him ogling Rowle." Dorea points out, before I can. She then gasps, and whispers, "You think Merrythought will tell Rowle about this conversation?"

I scoff, and say, "We'll find out soon enough. If I survive my first Charms class next year, she didn't mention it to Rowle."

Ana just snorts, and asks, "Can you imagine, though? She might not kill you, but every time she bends over, she'll be thinking of you."

Dorea has a horrified look on her face, while Darla laughs openly, now not afraid. I shake my head, and say, "Not in the way I'd want, Ana, never in the way I want."

Soon, we finish our food and drinks, and I pay for all of it. It was my treat, you know. And then, we all leave through the floo. Darla and I go to the Leaky Cauldron, from where I take the bus home, while Darla takes a different bus for her home.

All in all, it was a good day.
 
18. Patronus
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

Two chapters today. This is the first one.

---


My 6th Year of Hogwarts. Well, 5th year of learning, but the 6th Year of the Hogwarts Curriculum. It had begun with just introduction to NEWT level classes, and in the middle of December, we had begun speeding things up. It was February now, and my 6th year was just a few months shy of ending.

My last summer had gone just like usual. Only this time, I used the Vanishing Trunks to move between Hogwarts and my orphanage, learning different things. I brought the trunk with me, obviously, since I don't want anyone to find it and use it. The RoK won't stay hidden if anyone does. Granted, the protection spells might delay them some, but there's nothing like a perfect defence. Other than the Fidelius Charm, which I can't cast yet.

So, yeah, I learned, a lot. I finally managed to create my first Time Spell! Well, I modified an existing Time spell, but same thing. It's just as exciting!

The original spell was one I had learned to study for 5-6 hours inside the Room, while only half an hour passed outside. Damn useful when I had to study different Sorcery Primers from the Room of Knowledge for 9 hours a day, and still have 6 hours of sleep.

That was an Enchantment Ward, called the Time Slowing Ward, and was basically a charm that you cast on the Room you want to affect.

My own spell was a Runic Ward combined with a charm. The Runic Scheme had to be carved in metal, and worn around any single body part. But the thing is, the metal ornament had to be enclosed, and not stay open.

I had found a set of Gold Bangles, uncarved, in the Room of Hidden Things, after a lot of searching, and used them for the ward. A really weird thing to lose in Hogwarts, really. The owner must've really gotten punished when they returned home.

Carving Runes wasn't hard, I just had to heat the scalpel, a lot, and cast a metal softening charm on the un-enchanted gold.

11 errors, and 4 melted bangles is all it took for me to carve the Runes perfectly on the bangle currently around my left wrist. The bangle was too eye catching though, and the Runes visible, so I covered it by rolling a strip of leather around it, and shrunk the bangle till it fit perfectly around my wrist.

I could have carved runes on the inside, I suppose, but I didn't exactly mind doing so on the outside either. I'll figure out a way to completely hide it later, though, or improve the enchantments.

Once the Time Slower is activated, it makes you twice as fast as everything else. Or everything else moves half as fast as you. So, it's practically useless in public, unless you want to be known as a Speedster or something.

But, for learning, it is a Godsend. It can also be used in parallel with the Time Slowing Ward, meaning I got 10 hours every half hour.

I've already managed to learn to access the Astral Planes through Sorcery, with the help of my Time Slower.

My telepathy allowed me to only enter the Astral plane, travel to places, and stay awake without needing to sleep.

Sorcery, however, allowed my Astral Form to do a lot more than that. Searching for specific Magical signatures, possession, and entering dreams of other people. I could also now use my Magic while in the Astral form, which happened only after I connected with the Universe.

Plus, I was now learning to bring my Astral Form in the Physical Realm, although it'll only be for a short while. Before that happens, though, I'll need to master the Mirror Dimension, for which, I'll need a Sling Ring. Slytherin, for some reason, didn't have an alternative for the Sling Ring, (or if he does, I haven't read about it yet,) even if he did say that after some time, Wizards can stop using them.

Which still meant I had to actually use one before getting used to the feel of creating portals.

Yeah, it's on the back burner for now, since I don't want to be stuck in the Mirror Dimension, even Astrally, without a Sling Ring on hand. Portals will be handy too, I'm sure of it. So, my Personal Magic was currently limited to Astral Projection, Mind Arts, and the now slowly developing Telekinesis.

Yup, my constant use of the Accio, Depulso, Wingardium Leviosa, was finally getting paid off. The control over those spells was slowly, but surely evolving. Soon, in a few years, I won't even have to cast the spells to use the spells.

Meanwhile, for the Universal Energy, I was just practicing different spells for Sorcery, and hand to hand fighting. The second was needed, because a lot of spells were actually dependent on my footwork, hand gestures, and my physical form.

The strength of my shield depended on how well I can hold a physical shield to defend myself. Unsurprisingly, this also makes my Wizardry spells better, who'd have thought?

But it wasn't just shields I was using. There were other Mystic spells to create weapons like whips, swords, fans, threads, chains, etc.

Then there were the elemental spells, which don't summon elements like Wizarding spells do, but they can help you manipulate the elements. There are actual spells that can conjure the elements, but that's only possible if you make a pact with another Dimension related to those elements.

Yeah, no. I'm definitely not doing that. Like Salazar wrote, a Wizard's magic is his own. Another being cannot be allowed to access it. And I agree with it. I'll use my own Magic, and the Magic of my own Universe. Other than that, if I do somehow end up becoming the Ruler of an entire Dimension, then I'm using only that Dimension's Energy.

Cyttorak, Raggador, and the rest can depend on the Sorcerers to use their magic.

Finally, there was Transmutation, but I was waiting to completely master the other Sorcery spells available to me, before trying Transmutation. Plus, I think, learning Wizarding Alchemy before that will be helpful.

There were a lot more spells, rituals, and other practices in Sorcery, but most of them depended on getting Magic from other Dimensions. And we all know how I feel about that.

Along with that, however, I was trying to learn something else.

Apparation. The Magical art of disappearing from one place, and reappearing at another. Every 6th year student has the option of taking the Apparation classes, and the classes start in February.

Luckily enough, age is not a constraint here, at least now. So, just being in a NEWT level class is the requirement for taking the Apparation lessons. Which means, despite being just 15, I couldn't be barred from Apparation lessons, thanks to their own laws.

Granted, I couldn't apply for a license until I turn 17, or pass my NEWTs in at least one subject, which immediately makes me eligible to emancipate as an Adult Wizard. But that was okay.

There's no way I'm waiting another year to learn teleportation, so obviously, I elected to take those lessons this year as soon as the notice was put up.

"You sure they'll let you?" Ana asks, incredulously, seeing me sign my name on the sheet.

I shrug, and say, "There's nothing in the laws that prevents me from taking the lessons. They can, however, prevent me from having a license before I turn 17."

"Right, and they're not exactly stupid enough to have a Wizard capable of Apparition go out there without a licence? Which means they'll be forced to give you a license too, if you pass the test." Ana says, and shakes her head.

The need for Apparition license is two fold. One, it allows you to legally apparate wherever you want, other than the places specifically warded against it. And two, it helps the Ministry determine which one of the Licence holders was there near a Magical crime scene.

The Licence given to you can track your Apparition, if the ministry tries it within a few minutes. After that, the trail goes cold, and the spells fail. But they can only do it in cases of crimes. Public won't trust the government at all otherwise.

There's an entire sub-department in the Department of Mysteries, that works together with the DMLE to track Apparition in cases of crime. So, no robbing banks by apparition when you have a license. They can, and will track you down.

And refusing to get a license isn't an option. The punishment for apparating without a licence is 5 years in Azkaban, along with a 5000G fine. 'That's if they catch me.' you might say, but don't forget, they have Time Turners and an entire army of Aurors.

That's not even mentioning that splinching in Muggle areas incurs even more fines and punishments.

I put my 12 Galleons in the pouch provided for the Apparition lesson fees payment, and say, "The only thing the Ministry might try, is making sure that I don't pass my test this year. But they're not stupid enough to fail me without any cause, so they'll have to find a valid reason to fail me."

Well, that's assuming that they allow me to sit my NEWTs this year. If I don't pass my NEWTs, I'm not an adult, and I don't get to even try the test. Which means, I'll have to convince Merrythought that I'm ready to sit my NEWTs this year itself, skipping another year at Hogwarts. Should be easy, given my OWL results.

Ana just shakes her head, and goes back to writing on the parchment in front of her. We were currently sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, on a table near the walls. Looking at the parchment, I ask, "What are you working on?"

Sighing, Ana says, "Rowle gave us an assignment, to write 9 inches on the Patronus Charm. I've gotten three inches, and I don't know enough about it to write more."

Hmm.. the Patronus Charm.

"You're hoping I teach it to you, aren't you?" I say, seeing Ana discreetly look at me with her quill just poised over the parchment.

Ana just pouts, seeing me smile in amusement, and says, "Can you blame us? You haven't even told us what your Patronus takes the form of?"

Ah-hah! "So, it's not just you then. Dorea and Darla too?" I ask, because of course it's them.

Shrugging, Ana says, "We offered Charis, well Dorea did, but Charis refused to study under a privileged cheater like you."

I blink, and then snort. Charis Black is a Ravenclaw, the same age as me. She had taken the offered Time Turner to study all the classes in the third year, and managed it pretty well. But in 4th year, she was forced to give it back after some psychological issues she faced. Not getting enough sleep was one of the major reasons for that, along with her snapping at a teacher out of frustration.

And she absolutely hated, how without even a Time Turner, or hours and hours of studying, I was offered the chance to give my OWLs early, and how I came second in the entire year. My marks were at the top in every subject I sat, but I simply did not bother with Muggle Studies, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures, which ensured the Hufflepuff girl came at the top.

"God forbid, she burns herself out again, and blames me. Anyway, when's the assignment due?" I say, deciding to finally let them in on some of my secrets.

"Next monday." Ana immediately answers, straightening up.

Looking around, I ensure that no one's paying attention to us, cast a simple Notice-me-not on us, and say, "Come on, I'll show you something."

"Ooh! An adventure! I feel like a Gryffindor right now!" Ana says, whispering to stay silent.

Shaking my head, I start walking towards the Gryffindor common Room to get Darla. On the way, I stop in an empty corridor to Ana's curiosity, and call out, "Dippy?"

Almost immediately, a loud crack of Apparition sounds in front of me, and a pillow case wearing House Elf stands in front of me. Dippy the Hogwarts House Elf.

"Young Mason Sir calls for Dippy?" Dippy says, happily looking up at me.

My heart aches for her once again, at how much the Wizards have messed with their psychology. My studies haven't gone well, when it comes to House Elves. Not even Rowena knows about how they came to be.

Bending down, I pat Dippy on her head, and say, "Thank you for coming, Dippy. I wanted to ask for a small favour, if you will?"

Dippy rapidly nods her head, excited, and says, "Dippy always be ready to do small favours. What can Is be doing for young Mason Sir?"

Ana giggles, which I ignore, and say, "I need you to send a message to a girl in the Slytherin common Room. Dorea Black is her name, and she should be in the Fourth Year dorms, or the Common Room. Can you do it?"

Dippy nods again, rapidly, and bangs her fist on her chest. She exclaims, "Of course! Dippy be sending the message secretly!"

Sighing, I say, "Thank you, Dippy."

With the wave of my hand, I summon a piece of parchment from my bag, and with another wave, cast a spell to write on it.

'Come to the second floor girls bathroom. And wait- M.L.A'

Handing the note to Dippy, I see her apparate once more, and marvel at how powerful they are. Wizards have been trying to stop their apparition for centuries now, and the only one successful was whoever built the Azkaban prison, which no one now knows how it works.

Nothing Wizards tried every worked in stopping the Elf Apparition, not even the darkest of the wards. Well, they do harm the ones who aren't allowed in, always very darkly, but they can't be stopped.

Ana's voice brings me out of my fascination, as she asks, "Since when do you have a House Elf? I thought they'd all died in the fire that killed your family."

I correct her, and say, "Dippy isn't my House Elf. She's a free Elf, who has bonded herself to the Castle of Hogwarts. This is only the 2nd time I've ever asked her to do something for me."

"You're a weird Wizard, Mason Aves." Ana says, shaking her head, and starts walking agait.

While better than most, Ana still has some prejudice against Elves. She thinks of them as Servents, and nothing more. Racist, yes, but she's mostly a product of her raising. I'll change her opinion, slowly.

About a minute later, Dippy pops back in front of us, to tell us that she delivered the message, along with the order, "Young Mason Sir be coming to eat Dinner tonight. To repay the favour?"

I really need to teach her how favours actually work. She just asks me to spend time with the Elves! I just nod, and agree to it, as Ana looks on in open amusement.

Soon, we reach the Gryffindor Entrance hall, and stand in front of the Portrait that hides the Common Room. The Lady in the portrait looks at us two Ravenclaws in distrust, and asks, "What is it?"

Ana takes a step forward, and says, "We're here to meet our friend, Darla White. She's in the Fifth Year."

Narrowing her eyes, the Lady turns around and walks away from us, going deeper into the painting. Soon, she returns, and a few seconds later, the Portrait opens. Darla steps out, sees us, and sighs.

She says, "I won't even ask how you found out about the entrance, bloody Ravenclaws."

As we begin walking towards the stairs, Ana snorts, and points her thumb at me, and says, "This one here's hiding a lot of things, it seems."

"Did he agree to teach us?" Darla asks, ignoring me, even if I was standing in between them.

I say, "HE can answer for himself, and yes, I did. When's your assignment due? Wednesday?"

Darla nods, lifting her shoulders in an apology. After some small talk, we reach the 2nd floor Girls bathroom, and see Dorea standing there waiting for us.

I cast another Notice-me-not around us, and wait for the Bathroom to become empty once again. Say what you will, but Myrtle's death would have been really helpful in keeping this Bathroom unused. Hope she doesn't die this time though.

While waiting, Dorea asks, "So what are we waiting for? You aren't going to perv in there, right?"

I look at her with disbelief, and say, "No! Gods no! Where I'm going to take you has it's entrance inside the bathroom."

They look at me as if they don't believe me, so I say, "I promise! I'm not being a pervert."

"If you say so." Dorea mumbles, while the two nod in acceptance.

Bloody hell, what's taking those girls this long.

Sighing, I extend my telepathy, and without entering their minds, prompt the subconscious minds of the girls inside to leave. One by one, the three girls leave the bathroom, and the bathroom becomes empty once again.

Entering it, I go towards the main sink, while the girls look on in curiosity. Since they are not that close, they don't hear me whispering in parseltongue to open the Entrance, and only see the Sink sinking into the ground.

"What the bloody hell is that?!" Darla exclaims seeing the tunnel.

Smirking, I say, "Follow me and find out."

And then, without any warning, I jump into the tunnel, happy to hear three simultaneous yells of my name.

"MASON!!" the three girls yell, a lot of fear in their voice.

Within a few minutes, I drop down on the cushioned ground at the end of the tunnel, and look around.

I'd changed this cave a lot since the first time I'd found it. Now, instead of a rough ground completely covered in skeletons of different animals, mostly rats, the ground was covered in a smooth cobblestone like pathway. The spot of ground, along with the patch of the wall right in front of the Pipe opening was softened with the help of Runes, to break the fall. Although, it's not needed much, thanks to the Enchantments on the pipe itself, which causes us to slow down at the bottom.

Above us hung a few of my Lumos orbs, which I'd enchanted to always stay lit. I just had to renew the spells every few years.

I'd done nothing to the walls, other than the initial softening and cleaning, because they did set the mood somewhat.

Soon, I hear the screams of the three girls, not of fear, but of exhilaration, and they exit the wall with a slowed down speed. They land on the ground, and laugh a little.

The adrenaline goes away, however, and they turn to see me smiling at them.

I say, "You lot sure took your time."

As one, the three girls jump at me, and hug me together with a yell of, "MASON!"

"Well, aren't I a lucky guy today." I quip, to soften the blow I'll inevitably face.

The punch on my chest dissuades me of the notion, however, as Darla yells, "How dare you, you bloody prat! You scared us!"

Ana takes a step back, and folds her hands in front of herself. She says, "You could have given us a warning, Mason."

Dorea stays in my hug, and I say, "You can let go now, Dorea."

"5 more minutes." Dorea mumbles from my chest.

Sighing, I use my minor telekinesis and gently push her away. Ignoring her complaints, I say, "Well, I wanted to surprise you with this. Plus, tell me you didn't enjoy it."

"We did." The three girls in front of me mumble.

Darla says, "We were just going to leave to get a teacher, but the sink started rising again, and we had no choice! We had to jump, you twat."

I chuckle, remembering the nifty little piece of Enchantment. It was already there, I just didn't know about it. As soon as the first person enters, a countdown starts. 30 seconds later, the sink starts closing unless specifically given an order in parseltongue.

"Just be thankful that I clean the pipe frequently. You wouldn't believe the types of fungus that's born in them. One mushroom tried to eat my bloody shoes." I exclaim, and start walking.

As the girls follow behind me, Ana speeds up to stand beside me, and asks, "What is this place anyway? I don't think I've ever heard of such a place."

"In a minute, Ana. You'll soon find out, don't worry." I say, and pat her head.

Ana pouts, and starts looking around, joining Darla and Dorea in examining the cave.

A few minutes later, we come across the second door, and this time, I loudly say, ~~Open~~, to the shock of the girls, and walk through. Inside the room, was the still mostly intact corpse of the Basilisk, and lounging in its empty eye socket, was Sly.

"Welcome, ladies! To Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets!" I say, walking inside.
The three girls just remain shocked, staring at the corpse of the Basilisk in fear. Ignoring them, I walk towards the Basilisk, and poke Sly awake.

I'd taken the eyes out, along with the venom glands, and the tongue, after I'd read about a few rituals that could use them. The meat was practically useless for humans, since the Venom inside the flesh is too potent for us to eat, and there's no ritual that uses them.

So, Sly was using the Basilisk corpse as a home that he can eat. I did plan to keep half the meat stored away, just in case. Sly spent most of his time in the chamber, nowadays, and only came up through the various tunnels if he needs something, or to crawl around the forest.

~~What?~~ Sly asks, annoyed at being woken up.

As he yawns, I say, ~~I brought guests.~~ and point him towards the frozen girls.

Frowning, I walk towards them, and snap my fingers a few times.

Jumping in place, the girls come out of their shock, and immediately start firing questions.

I smile, my heart feeling a little bit lighter over the single shared secret. A group of secrets. I'm a parselmouth, I'm a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, and I have access to the fabled Chamber of Secrets.

Other secrets might come out in their own times, but there's one secret that won't ever come out. Not to them, not to anyone. The secret- that I'm a reincarnated soul.

-

"The Patronus Charm, is one of the Purest forms of Magic. The spell, when cast correctly, forms a shield of Light in front of us, a shield of happiness, that can stop Dementors as well as Lethifolds. When cast perfectly, however, the Shield takes the form of an animal." I explain the next day, standing in the Chamber of Secrets with Dorea, Darla, and Ana standing in front of me.

The last day had gone into explaining my Slytherin heritage, along with what I've found till now in the Chamber. They also met Sly, but he didn't like anyone of the girls touching him, so he was just a sight to see for them.

I'd also shown them the Room above Salazar's head, but since they couldn't read the books in his library anyway, we mostly stayed in the main chamber.

I didn't need to worry about them inadvertently sharing my secrets, since the Chamber highly appreciated its secrecy. Turns out, Salazar Slytherin made it so no one can share the secret of the Chamber, other than a Slytherin, which I am. It's not Fidelius, but it is enough for now.

The Corpse of the Basilisk was in the back of the chamber, close to the exit door, while the part of the chamber near Salazar's head was used by us for our lessons. I'd brought a few chairs, and a few mattresses down, so the girls can rest in between casting.

Ana raises her hand, and asks, "What does the animal depend on?"

I smile wide, and say, "Haven't a clue. No one knows, but speculations are aplenty. Some say it depends on personality, some say it depends on what we think will protect us, while some say it depends on our Spirit Animal, our potential animagus forms."

Waving my wand, I focus on a happy memory, a very personal one, and chant, "Expecto Patronum!"

Immediately, the tip of my Acacia wand glows white, and a glowing white mist starts coming out of it. Within a second, the mist condenses and forms into a ball, which then begins taking shape.

I was purposefully keeping the process slow, so the girls can observe it happening and they can get an idea of what is expected of them.

The orb of white light first forms two legs, and then wings, immediately clueing them in, that my Patronus is a bird. Slowly, the shape becomes more defined, and the orb of light starts flying around us with its wings, showing itself to be an Eagle.

My Patronus Eagle had a white head, and breast, while the top was completely grey, although on the darker side. The under wings were black, and its eyes were golden. White bellied Sea Eagle was the breed.

The eagle screeches a high sound, and looks around for any threats to itself, or its caster, me, and then finding none, comes towards me. I raise my hand to allow it to land, and smile.

I turn towards the girls, and see them looking just as fascinated with it as I am, and say, "Just being in the presence of a Patronus is enough to bring a tiny bit of happiness to everyone, as you can feel."

Seeing them all staring at my eagle, I gently dissipate it, and ignoring their disappointment, I say, "You all can learn how to do that too. It took me 3 days to learn it, and then 2 more to master it. So, let's see how long it takes you, shall we?"

Dorea eagerly nods, while Darla looks at me expectantly. Ana was smiling, still staring at the place my eagly had dissipated from.

Taking a step back, I have them stand an arm's length away from each other, wands out, and say, "First, close your eyes, and begin by digging deep into your mind. There has to be one memory, could be anything, that makes you happy as soon as you think of it. The happier the memory, the better. Once you do find it, keep that memory in your mind, don't think too much, just let it play out."

The girls close their eyes, and I see all of them smile one by one.

Softly, I say, "Now, say the incantation."

Ana is the first one to try, and she raises her wand hand in the air. Smile still on her face, she opens her eyes, and yells, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The wand tip glows white, and for a few seconds it stays like that. Unfortunately, not even a wisp exits her wand and she drops down, exhausted.

"Be careful, the spell takes a lot out of you." I say, handing her a cup of hot chocolate I'd already prepared.

Chocolate wasn't actually a cure for Magical exhaustion, but it did provide a bit of Placebo effect. Chocolate is good after Dementor exposure, and wizards quickly connect Dementors to feeling tired, and drained.

Now discouraged, even Dorea and Darla fail their attempts. I sigh, looking at the three girls silently staring at their cups.

Maybe I should have had them learn it one at a time. That day, I have them try 2 more times, both of which only cause their wands to glow at the tip, and then take them back up through the stairs. I do have them meditate at night, so they can calm their minds, and tell them that the spell is difficult. Doesn't mean there's a reason to discourage yourself.

The next day, Ana and Dorea manage to produce a transparent wisp of smoke, but Darla still stays stuck on the wand glowing stage.

The day after that, Ana produces a shield, but no matter how much she tried, it didn't progress from there. Already knowing the solution, I say, "Try another memory, maybe something happier than this. It should immediately fill you whole being with happiness."

The next day is Saturday, where Dorea manages to produce a shield, while Ana's Patronus stays in the shield form. Although, it did look like it will start taking shape soon.

Seeing them have another go at it, I say, "Remember, this isn't a test. Many adult witches and wizards fail to cast this charm. Heck, many Aurors can't cast this spell, and they're the ones protecting us. But don't let that discourage you, ladies. If I, a 15 year old can do it, you can do it too."

Darla sighs, dropping her wand on the ground after another failed attempt at even a wisp, and says, "Easy for you to say. You're a bloody prodigy at everything you learn!"

Frowning, I nod at Dorea and Ana to continue, and approach Darla. Sitting down on the ground, I look up at Darla expectantly. She drops down on the chair in front of me, and says, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Yup, you shouldn't have. But I get it." Picking her wand, I hand it to her gently, and say, "Do you know why I find Magic so easy? Compared to you lot?"

Darla shakes her head, so I say, "Because I didn't get used to it. I didn't get used to the novelty of Magic!"

"What do you mean?" Dorea asks, sitting down on the ground beside me, while Ana joins Darla on the chair beside her.

Great job continuing your practice, girls.

Seeing them looking at me in expectance, I purposefully keep my wand on the ground, to the curiosity of the girls, and say, "I've been reading about Magic since I was a child. Legends of Arthur, Merlin, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz. For years, I've wanted to be a Wizard, use Magic! And then, I found out I was actually a wizard. I wasn't just a normal kid that lives in an orphanage! And I was so damn excited"

It was the first time I'm speaking about my life like this. They knew the basics, but not my actual thoughts at the time.

I say, "But then, I found out that Magic isn't all it's cracked up to be. There are rules on how Spells can't be cast, rules on what can't be done, and rules on what shouldn't be done. And you know what, most of them are actually true. Food cannot be conjured, nor transfigured out of anything but food. There's no coming back from the Killing Curse. You can't create permanent matter out of nothing, etc."

Smiling, I say, "Oh but there's so much more Wizards are entirely wrong about. Like the fact that only the most powerful, most Learned Wizards can use Wandless Magic. You must've learned that, right?"

The girls nod, to which I smile.

"I'm no where near the strongest Wizards, heck a newly anointed Auror with barely any training can outperform me in every way, when it comes to magic. Nor am I the most Learned, because obviously, there are teachers who have forgotten more magic than I have ever read about." I say, and see them nod once again.

Standing up, I ask, "So how is it that I can do this then?"

Without any prompting from me, the water from the pool behind me rises into the air, scaring the girls into standing up. I lift my arm up, and the water rises even more, now completely in the air. The orb of water then freezes, starting from the inside, and once the surface is frozen, it starts melting back to water.

Behind the girls, the ground transfigures itself into different miniature animal shapes, and they start circling around us which prompts the girls to huddle together. My Eagle Patronus comes out of my back, and joins the transfigured animals in circling us.

Out of my left hand, fire starts pouring out, and forms into a circle. The circular halo of flames rises up and stays in the air, with no fuel to burn it.

I ask, "How can I do this, you may ask? Let me tell you. I don't believe anything is impossible, until I've actually failed to do it. I used to believe Transfiguration can't be done without a wand, and now look at me!"

"Okay, OKAY! YOU MADE YOUR POINT!" Darla says, and then yells, looking at the animals in fear, and me in a new light.

I drop my hands back down, and immediately, the spells dissipate. The water falls back down with a splash that soaks us all with a heavy shower, while the flames just dissipate in the air. The transfigured animals, meanwhile crumble to dust, which is then washed away by the water.

I snap my fingers, and with a plop sound, the water gets sucked off our bodies along with any dirt that stuck to it.

I prompt the girls to sit back down, and this time, Dorea sits on the chair, glaring at me. I say, "My point was, if you believe something to be impossible, or even hard, you won't ever succeed in doing it. You need to let go of the notion that there's anything impossibile. When it comes to magic, everything is possible! You just need to try it yourself!"

Now with a new zeal, Darla stands up and lifts her wand. She opens her mouth to cast the spell, but before she can do that, I stop her with my hand on her open mouth.

She glares at me, so I say, "Good thing you're motivated, but maybe try it tomorrow? Preferably, do it with another, even happier memory."

Darla pouts, but I just shake my head. She was tired, I could see it in her eyes. Dorea and Ana were alright for a few more attempts, but it's better to stop now itself. We still have a weekend before the assignment is due for them.

When we exit the Chamber of Secrets, and enter the castle proper, Dorea immediately joins me at my side, while Ana pulls Darla away. I look at her in curiosity, but Ana just says, "You guys go on. I and Darla have to go over our assignment once again."

Okay, that's a lie, but anyway. I nod, and raise an eyebrow at Dorea, who watches them go with barely hidden joy. She says, "Well, looks like Fate has some plans, doesn't it?"

I snort, and say, "You already know what I'll say, Dorea, don't even try."

Dorea pouts, but drops the subject. Instead, as we start walking towards the Slytherin common room, she asks, "I was always curious. What went on between you and Cassie?"

"Hmm.. why'd you ask?" I ask, wondering why it took so long for her to breech the subject.

Shrugging, Dorea says, "She kept asking me about you this summer, wondering if you've gotten rich all of a sudden or something. When I asked her why, she scowled and dropped the subject. I know she tried something against you, which failed, but since you never did anything about it, I thought it to be just minor. But now, after knowing about your Slytherin heritage, I wondered if it's related to that."

I shake my head, thinking if this is the new plan of Cassiopeia. Try and get her sister to find something about me. I trust Dorea not to share my Secrets, and Cassiopeia is not the kind of girl to try the Mind Arts on her own sister though, so maybe I am actually safe.

Still, better start the girls on Mind Arts training, Ravenclaw style.

I say, "Cassiopeia tried to manipulate me, not with talks, but with spells. It failed to take hold on me however, and I managed to fight her spells off."

"THAT'S ILLEGAL! Oh my God, if Father, or God forbid, Uncle Sirius finds out, she'll get thrown out of the family!" Dorea exclaims, slapping her own forehead and holding her head in frustration.

I drily point out, "I hardly think Sirius Black will punish your sister for using Mind Arts against a muggleborn. She can just say, 'I thought he was a mudblood' and the topic will be dropped. Well, she might be punished for failing in her goals."

"You have a really weird image about my family." Dorea says, frowning.

Well, I did get most of it from Cassiopeia's mind, so I wonder how Dorea remained so sheltered.

I say, "I am a Ravenclaw, researching is my thing. And after Cassiopeia tried that shite with my mind, I sought everything related to your family. No offense."

Dorea shakes her head, so I continue, "Your sister didn't like that I defied her orders, and I didn't appreciate her trying to mess with my mind. But, since I was a little first year student at the time, I let it go. And since what she did was a crime, she let it go, in case I told anybody. She did try to obliviate me, but obviously, it didn't stick."

I shrug at the end, in a 'What can you do?' manner. Dorea looks at me in disbelief, and asks, "My sister's Obliviate Charm… failed on you? What the fuck did you feed your brain?"

"Knowledge, lots and lots of knowledge. Oh, and learning Meditation helps. My Mind cannot be messed with, without my knowledge. And I know that to be a fact." I boast, with some additional fake pride thrown in.

I'd originally planned a soft revenge against Cassiopeia, but Dorea began seeking me out at the time, and then the teachers began looking too closely, so I had to drop it. Not like I haven't done something like this to others, although not to someone so young as me. She'll get her due, but not yet.

For now, I'm just happy with learning at Hogwarts.

---

A/N: How was this? Comments and reviews please!

Thank you! Tata!
 
19. Smith
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

Second Chapter!


---

The next day, when we gather in the Chamber of Secrets again, Darla is the first to try the Patronus Charm.

Curiously enough, she first throws a look at Ana, and then raises her wand. Taking a deep breath, Darla closes her eyes, and we see her smile wide, her face slowly reddening.

Okay, now I'm definitely curious.

"Expecto Patronum!" Darla says, very softly, and almost immediately, white mist starts pouring out of her wand tip, which then starts to form into a shield. The shield holds for a few seconds, and then, it slowly starts dissipating.

Darla, now tired, immediately sits down on the chair, sipping on the Hot chocolate, leaving us to look at her, impressed.

"Good job, Darla. See, nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it." I say, patting her on her head.

Ana has a proud smile on her face, which makes me realize that they really must've had some talk yesterday.

Soon, Ana has her own attempt at the spell, and in the first try itself, her Patronus takes the shape of an animal. An Arctic wolf was her Patronus. Dorea managed to form her own corporeal Patronus that day, albeit after a few attempts, with hers being a Lynx.

Darla, meanwhile just manages to form her Patronus at the end of the day, taking the form of a Lioness. When we leave the Chamber that day, Ana and I walk Dorea and Darla to their House common rooms, and start our walk towards the Ravenclaw common room.

While walking, I cast a privacy charm around Ana and I, and ask, "Did you force Darla into anything she didn't want to do?"

Ana snorts, and mumbles, "Oh, trust me, Mason. Darla wanted to do a lot more than what we did."

Sighing, I say, "Ana." in a warning tone.

Ana stops in her place, making me stop too, and looks up at me. She crosses her hands in front of her, and says, "What, Mason? You think that I will force myself on Darla? How low do you think of me, hm? Darla is my friend, she needed help in remembering a good memory, a happy memory, and I gave a new one to her because her family didn't give her enough of them. Is there anything else?"

I keep staring at Ana for a while, and then just drop my head. I say, "I apologise, Ana. I was out of line."

"Damn right, you were." Ana says, none too quietly.

Nodding, I say, "Darla is my friend, my first friend. I don't like her getting hurt. And she already has it hard in the muggle world because of what gender she likes. I don't want her to face the same problems here."

"And you think I don't? Mason, it might be hard to believe, but I don't like just boys. I like girls too, and I will have to hide it from everyone for the rest of my life. Like it or not, Wizards and Muggles agree on this one thing." Ana says, and starts walking towards the common room alone, leaving me to think.

Same sex relationships aren't common in the Wizarding World. I'd go as far as to say they're rare. They don't openly get cursed at or anything like that, but everyone always looks at them differently. Ana has it a little bit easier, since she's a bisexual, by her own statement. But I don't think anyone would like to hide half their identity for their entire life.

I care for Darla, a lot. But even I can admit that I was a dick to Ana right now. Sigh, I'll have to talk to both of them.

-

A few days have gone since that incident, and I apologised to Ana, once again. Along with that, I spoke with Darla about her sexuality, and told her that she has a home with me, if things don't go right with her parents. Well, as soon as I have an actual home that is.

She cried, we hugged it out, and then I teased her about getting it on with her secret crush.

Right now, I was in the Potions Lab, with Professor Slughorn standing in front of us. I was with the 7th year students, listening to him talk. NEWT classes don't divide the students by the houses, since so few of them managed to get into the classes. My own class just had 15 students, of all houses.

"Usually, I do this at the start of your 7th Years, but some things had come up, which caused me to postpone this." Slughorn says, happiness oozing from his body. How one person can be so smiley, God knows.

Pointing at the three Cauldrons sitting in front of us, he says, "These three Potions are all above your level, but you should be able to recognise them if you've read Chapter 79 as I told you to. Now, who can tell me what this first potion is?"

The first potion was easy, and just by looking at it, anyone should be able to identify it. The potion was a gross green in colour, and even without being on the fire, bubbles were erupting on the surface.

Polyjuice Potion.

"That's the Polyjuice Potion, Professor." Some girl from Gryffindor says, without raising her hand.

Slughorn claps a few times, and says, "Wonderful, Ms Tofty! Take 5 points for Gryffindor! Although, I'd appreciate if you raise your hand first."

Soon, the other two potions are also identified, as Amortentia, and the Wiggenweld Potion, which I identified. I'd already managed to brew it a lot of times, one of which I allowed Slughorn to see. Hey, I might not have planned my early graduation, but I did plan to be in as high image as possible, when it comes to the Slug Club founder.

The Wiggenweld Potion is a cure for all sleeping potions, and it is also the only known cure to the Draught of Living Death, and the Draught of Peace, both of which put the drinker in an unbreakable sleep. Draught of Living Death puts them in the false death state, with every test showing them as dead, while Draught of Peace just puts them to sleep.

After that, came the part I was looking forward to. A fourth cauldron, sitting inconspicuously behind Slughorn. The sly smile on his face, when the same Gryffindor from before pointed at the Cauldron told me that he was waiting for someone to mention it.

"Ah, that is a bit above your level. I'm not going to lie, it'll take you being a Certified Potions Master to even attempt brewing that potion. Can anyone guess what it is?" Slughorn says, and then looks at us expectantly.

Seeing no one take the leap, I raise my hand, and once he nods at me, I say, "That's the Felix Felicus. Liquid Luck. It gives the drinker an hour worth of good fortune for every drop they consume. Of course, repeated use is harmful, and large quantities of the potion can cause recklessness, and extreme bad luck."

"Correct! Take 5 points, Mr Aves. The Felix Felicus was invented in the 1570s, by Zygmunt Budge. I've only taken the potion once in my entire life, when I was 23. I'd brewed it myself, and I drank 7 hours worth of the potion. Best 7 hours of my life!" Slughorn says, and then stares at empty space, lost in thoughts.

Someone clearing their throat brings him back, and he says, "Ahem, yes. Sorry for that. Today's task for you, is to brew the Draught of Living Death. The best attempt at the potion will win them a single vial of Liquid Luck. But be warned, the use of Felix Felicus is banned in any form of competitive sport, as well as your exams. So, I better not find out you've used it to cheat in exams. Now, you have 1 hour and 20 minutes. You may begin."

-

"Well, that was easy." I say to myself, entering Salazar's room and keeping the vial of the golden potion on the shelf.

I wasn't yet good enough to try brewing this Potion, which is why I was waiting for Slughorn to offer it in his competition. Every consecutive year, he offers it as a prize to the 6th and 7th years. I can only guess that he must've had something important come up that prevented him from brewing the potion earlier this year.



~~What's so special about this Potion?~~ Sly asks, flying around my head.

You know, I liked him a lot more when he couldn't fly. Bloody annoying noodle.

Turning my head towards him, I say, ~~This potion makes you lucky. Doesn't matter what you try to do, you will have only good luck.~~

~~So, I can drink it before fighting a big snake, and I'll win?~~ Sly asks, looking at the vial with undisguised greed.

Slapping his head, I say, ~~Don't even try it. It doesn't work the same for animals.~~

Even a single drop will be like an overdose for Sly, or any other small animal. Bigger animals might get some benefits, but what do they even need good luck for?

~~Pity. I wanted to eat the squid in the lake up there.~~ Sly says, and lays down on the King's size bed that once belonged to Salazar.

You know those kids, who are smaller than everyone around, but want to fight every single person around them? Sly is like that. Except he wants to kill every other dangerous animal, and eat them.

Ignoring Sly, I enter the library, pick up the next book needed for Sorcery and sit down on the chair. At first, I'd ignored the other books, thinking that the "My Journey in learning the Mystic Arts of Kamar Taj" would have everything I'd need.

But then, I found out that it was just a journal, and was mostly focused on Salazar's own personal experiences. He did have Primers though, some of them enchanted into what I'm calling Parselscript, since only parselmouths can read them, while some were written in other languages.

I'd also found many primers in the Room of Knowledge- Sorcery, which I'd copied and brought down here. Few of them I'd already memorized, and read in my free time, while others I read whenever I come down here, or go to the Room of Knowledge.

The book I'd picked up right now, was a thin book, barely 50 pages long, but it looked promising.

'Portal Rings and How they work- Saraswati' the title page said, in Old Sanskrit. Honestly, this makes me want to slap myself really hard. I can't believe I dismissed this book just because it was thinner than most.

Sighing, I lean back, rest my feet on the footstool, and start reading. The one thing that'll make my life extremely easy, and I ignored it for so long. Well, I won't make that mistake again, that's for sure.

Now, better find out how Sling Rings work, so I can either create one for me, or find an alternative.

-

A few days later, I'm in the Room of Hidden Things, Helena with me, and Sly hiding in the Chamber. Both of us were staring at the heaps of junk in front of us in contemplation. I was just staring at everything that amazed me.

"Why do you even need Silver for?" Helena asks, making me turn away from the amazing marble statue of a woman holding a clay water pitcher above her head.

"I need it for my Sorcery project. And I don't need just Silver, I need Goblin's Silver." I say, wondering why I'm wasting so much time. Right, because I get distracted by all the different things I keep seeing here.

Helena sighs, and says, "Mason, I don't think anyone is stupid enough to lose Goblin's Silver, let alone in Hogwarts."

I shrug, and say, "Doesn't hurt to look for it, does it? Plus, I don't need much, a few rings worth of it is enough."

Creating Sling Rings, or as the Sorceress Supreme Saraswati called them, Portal Rings, is fairly easy. It does need a highly magical metal, though. Lady Saraswati used Orichalum, but she wrote that other Magical metals worked well too. Orichalum was just the one she had easy access to when she invented the Rings.

But, even still, I know that just any magical metal won't work. It has to be something that's right at the top, something that can conduct Universal, and probably even Dimensional Magic, if needed.

And what metal do I know, that can even adapt to something like Basilisk venom?

Helena frowns, and asks, "Do you even know how to reforge Goblin's Silver into Rings?"

"I've read a book or two about the process. How hard could it be?" I say, distractedly waving my hand at her.

Helena just shakes her head at me, and says, "Maybe one day, you'll regret asking this question."

Maybe I will, but as I said just a few days ago, nothing is impossible. Plus, I have memorized the entire process of reforging Goblin's Silver magically. I won't even need to touch a single hammer to do that!

"Let's get this over with." I say, more to myself, than to Helena, and point my two hands towards two directions. Sending as much magic to my hands as they can handle, I yell, "ACCIO GOBLIN'S SILVER!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Did you seriously think this would work?" Helena asks, looking at me incredulously. Slapping her face, she groans and says, "The Ravenclaw bloodline is doomed!"

I drop my head, and groan myself. I actually thought this would work. I really should have considered the fact that almost ever Goblin weapon is enchanted to resist the Summoning spell. And Goblin Enchantments don't just.. go away.

"Shut up. I didn't see you coming up with a better plan." I grumble, kicking a dust bunny away from me.

Helena humphs, and says, "As a matter of fact, I do have a good plan. But for that, you'll need to find something that actually has Goblin's Silver."

Find Goblin's Silver to find Goblin's Silver. Jeez, really helpful plan, but if it works, good enough for me.

"You sure?" I ask, because finding one Goblin's Silver item won't be as hard as finding every Goblin's Silver item here. I think.

Helena waves me away, and removes a solid chalk from her robes. What the hell is this? She's a bloody ghost, and she has a solid chalk in her gown?

She begins writing Runes on the ground, and says, "Yes, find me a single Goblin's Silver piece, and I'll give you everything that's in this room that has it. Don't get your hopes up, though. As I said, people aren't stupid enough to lose Goblin's Silver."

Sighing, I sit down with my back to the wall, and enter the Astral Plane. With a single glance at Helena, who was moving half as fast now, I jump into a heap a few piles behind the first one, and start looking.

If someone lost Goblin's Silver, or if they wanted to hide it, it won't be at the exact forefront of the room.

20 minutes and 7 piles of different junk later, I return to Helena with a single broken Armour plate, made of Goblin's Silver. The armour plate was just a couple inches big, and had a crack right down the middle. It also had brown blotches of blood, which leaves no doubt that it was purposefully hidden here.

'Someone took a school fight really seriously, me thinks.'

By now, Helena had finished writing the Runes on the floor for whatever she wanted, and was waiting for me. Taking the armour plate from me, she says, "Go back to your body. I need your blood."

"Excuse me?!" I yell, taking a few steps back, floating a few steps back.

Helena rolls her eyes, and places the armour plate in the centre of the Rune Scheme. She points at one Rune, and says, "Don't be a jessie. You want to find a lot more Goblin's Silver to satisfy your hoarding tendency, yes? Then drop 5 drops of blood on the outer edge of that Sowilo."

Grumbling about the bossy ghost lady, I float back into my body, and then walk towards the Rune Scheme. Looking at it, I can tell that it is a higher level Summoning Charm. But, this one needs a sample of what you want to summon, along with a small sacrifice of blood. No wonder Rune Spells are almost unused, right now.

Whether I'll use them or not, depends on how this spell goes.

Pointing my right index finger upwards, I conjure a burning orange dagger around it, using a Sorcery spell, and nick my left thumb with it. Carefully, I drop 5 drops of blood on the outer edges of the Rune, so as to not ruin it completely.

Helena nods in satisfaction, looking proudly at me, and says, "Now, stand back."

Can ghosts use Magic like this? I didn't know that. I mean, I know Helena is a different kind of ghost, thanks to her Mutation, I think, but using Magic as a ghost? That's literally supposed to be impossible.

Without saying anything, as I walk a few steps backwards, Helena floats towards the back of the Rune Scheme, at the point closest to the door, and places her hands on the same Rune where I poured my blood.

Closing her eyes, she intones, "Accio Argenti!"

Almost immediately, things from all around the room start rising up into the air, and come shooting towards the Rune Scheme. Banging my fists together,(Boom boom whoosh!), I create a single orange Tao Mandala shield in front of me, stopping a single dagger that overshot it's target.

"Don't you already have a spell to stop physical objects?" Helena asks, still kneeling in front of the Rune spell.

Rolling my eyes, I say, "I've got to get used to using both kinds of Magic, Helena. Just because I'm a wizard first doesn't mean that I'll completely rely on Wizardry spells."

I can't use Sorcery spells in public though, at least, not the Wizarding public. Sorcerers are hidden, and there's almost no likelihood that the normal everyday wizard knows about them. The Government, Department of Mysteries, or the ICW, however, most definitely know about them.

Fighting demon's and evil Sorcerers in muggle world doesn't make them inconspicuous, and it probably just increases the workload for the Obliviators. Speaking of, the Government probably hates the Sorcerers.

"Suit yourself." Helena says, and focuses on the stuff flying in towards her, and sometimes even through her.

Swords, daggers, rings, necklaces, a crown, cups, plates, shields, and even Armour. All in all, once the things stop flying in, Helena and I have in front of us about 30 various items, all made of Goblin's Silver.

Most of them were broken beyond repair, which is really surprising, considering that Goblin's advertise their Silver as unbreakable, but there were a few items completely intact. And they were Goblin's Silver, not fake either. I could just feel how magical the metal is.

"Is this enough?" Helena asks, waving at the pile of my new possessions.

Rubbing my hands, I say, "Oh, yeah. This is definitely enough. Helena look at that sword! And that arrow! Sometimes I think Wizards can't be too stupid, and then someone loses something as precious as this!"

"And you say you don't have a hoarding tendency?" Helena asks, shaking her head.

I choose to ignore her, since I have a new item to study. And I have to repair the sword, because I want me a sword.

-

About a week after I'd.. liberated a stockpile of Goblin's Silver from the Room of Hidden Things, I was once again in the Room of Requirements. Only now, the Room was transformed into something else.

A Forge.

I know nothing about actual Metal working, but I have an eidetic memory, Telepathy that I'd already used on a muggle blacksmith a while back, and I've read Rowena Ravenclaw's notes on reforging Goblin's Silver.

But, I'm not stupid enough to start metal working directly on something so precious as Silver, let alone Goblin's Silver. Which is why, I was starting with steel. I'd returned to the Room of Hidden Things to find a few items made of steel, and brought them here just for that purpose.

Lighting the furnace with a simple Incendio charm, I wince at the high amount of heat I immediately feel. The enchantments on the Magical furnace ensured that the temperature would reach as high as you want them to, but it did nothing to prevent me from feeling the heat. Can't work with fire if you can't feel the heat.

How the Room of Requirements managed something like this, I'll never know. Did Hogwarts once teach metal working? I'd have to ask Helena that, but I haven't seen her ever since that day.

"First things first, put the steel in the crucible." I whisper to myself, speaking out loud so the instructions reach my own mind properly. The first items to be melted turn out to be a couple of owl cages.

Throwing them inside the crucible, I cover it up, and wait. A few minutes at the absurdly high temperature is all it takes for the two owl cages to melt completely, and I make sure of it by stirring them with a spell.

"Next, lift the melted metal out of the crucible, and shape it with your magic." I repeat the instructions from Rowena's manual.

Granted, that her instructions were for Goblin's Silver, but it can't be that different.. can it?

Shrugging, I use a spell specifically required for Metal working, called the Upliftment Charm. The only thing it can do, is lift up completely melted metals, and nothing else. If the metal wasn't melted completely, only the melted part would lift, while anything that wasn't melted, or metallic in nature, wasn't lifted at all. In a way, this spell was also useful in getting rid of the impurities.

"Vitae Metallum!" I intone, pointing my wand at the crucible.

Slowly, very slowly, the melted metal rises out of the Crucible, and floats aimlessly in the same spot. Then, once it's steady, I focus my magic through the Wand, again, stare at the slowly cooling lump of steel, and intone, "Diffingo!"

This spell is what actually reshapes the melted metal according to the user's wishes. I had the image of a small dagger in my mind, since the steel was just enough for that. Again and again, I cast the same spell, "Diffingo." And the melted metal slowly starts changing shape.

From a shapeless lump of molten steel, the steel becomes elongated at first. At the next spell, it becomes pointed at the top. At the next, it takes the rough shape of a dagger, handle and blade.

And finally, just before the steel completely cools down, I cast the final spell to give it some detail.

Now, in front of me, was a dagger 10 inches long, pointed at the tim, with a steel handle and steel blade, and had two edges. The problem was, the blades were blunt, the point was crooked, and the handle was twice as large as the blade.

"It's a good first attempt, I'd say." I speak out loud, trying to convince myself.

The Upliftment Charm stops working, now that the steel has completely become solid again, and the roughly shaped first attempt of a dagger falls down on the stoned floor of the Room of Requirements.

With a clang, the dagger drops on the ground, and almost immediately breaks into 10 different pieces. I just stare at it, some part of me amused, while the bigger part of me relieved.

"Well.. thank God, I didn't use Goblin's Silver directly." I whisper, gathering the broken pieces of my first project, and keeping it away. I'd read that failed projects cannot be used again immediately, they need to be kept as is for a week or so.

Not like I have a shortage of time with this handy bangle on my wrist. Time Slower, baby. And now, I could slow time for me to the quarter. For every second that passes for anyone other than me, 4 seconds pass for me.

-

An entire month, I took, to learn how to successfully reforge metal, and then reshape it into anything I want.

Kinda arrogant, when I say that I expected it to take a week at most, doesn't it? It is a Magical process, so I did actually expect a lot less time than a month.

Most of it was a game of focus, and Intent, but a lot of it also included my Magic's behaviour. At first, my magic was not being used to Metal working, and so, despite my perfect focus, and focused intent, the daggers failed, almost a dozen times.

I'd almost given up hope, but then, on the next try, the dagger came out better shaped, looking exactly like what I wanted to look like, except it's handle was still a bit on the larger side. A few more days later, it became perfect.

And then came the hard part. Sharpening the dagger. There was no spell for it, to my great sorrow, although there were spells to grind a whetstone on a sword/dagger without you doing it. But that needed the dagger to actually be sharp. There was even a spell to sharpen the quill tips, but nothing for steel weapons.

So, I had to jury rigg a wheel grinder, using a Penny-farthing bicycle, transfigured stone wheels enchanted to stay that way, and a lot of charms to keep the wheel spinning, and to prevent the stone wheel from breaking. A few more spells were used on the bicycle to prevent the cycle parts from breaking too, but that was pretty much a given.

A week after that, I managed to successfully sharpen my first dagger, and a week after that, I became adept at sharpening weapons.

And while I didn't actually need it for my Sling Ring project, it was too useful to not try to learn while I had the opportunity. I also practiced hammering the items I'm making, just for that purpose.

And so, after I'd gone a week without messing up a single thing while creating spoons, daggers, kitchen knives, rings, toe rings, helmets, and literally anything that caught my eye that day, I moved on to trying reforging Goblin's Silver.

You know how I said the Magical furnace maintains a temperature according to your wishes, and you just need to cast the Incendio charm once? Well, that plan got thrown out the window almost immediately.

Goblin's Silver needs a temperature of 4000° Celcius, while the maximum temperature that my furnace can give out without exploding is 2000° C.

So, I had to create a new furnace, all by my own hands and magic, and enchant it myself using the Old Atlantic Runes that I was learning. These Runes are a lot better at achieving extreme things than the Nordic Runes, so of course I'm using them.

5 days were taken up by building a forge in a tunnel in the Chamber of Secrets, since if I'm going to build a forge, I'm making it only for myself. I'm a Ravenclaw, we're selfish.

The chosen tunnel was under the Basilisk's sleeping area, and I had to use my broom to fly down to reach there. At the end of the long tunnel, there was just a single cave, with no secret about it. It was just a tunnel, that I repurposed for my forging needs.

The Cave was expanded to the size of the Great Hall, with one corner taking up the furnace, while another taking up the hammering and grinding area. The opposite side had the rack, where I kept all my finished projects from before most of which were just for show.

The room was also Enchanted to purify the air and provide me with oxygen, so I don't suffocate and die because of the fumes, or because of a lack of oxygen.

Another Vanishing Trunk was placed there, connected to the network of the first two Trunks, so I can come and Go as I please. And then, I began working on Goblin's Silver.

The first thing I did, was create another Artefact for myself, that allowed me to regulate the temperature I feel. I still allowed some heat to seep through, but nothing close to the 4000°C that was needed for Goblin's Silver.

The first few attempts were failures, since my Magic was not used to reshaping Goblin's Silver, and I had to allow it to get a feel for it. And when I finally succeeded in creating a small butter knife, perfectly shaped, made of Goblin's Silver, I became ecstatic.

"Oh boy, oh boy!" I whisper, looking at the butter knife in fascination. Goblin's Silver, even without hammering, was a naturally durable metal. But just how much stress it can handle, can only be determined by a durability test.

Chuckling, I pick the butter knife, and speak in an exaggerated sweet, loud voice, "Hello, my name is Mason, and welcome to my Youtube channel! Today we're going to be testing the durability of my first butter knife! Don't forget to hit subscribe, and click on the bell icon to get regular updates."

"What are you doing?" Helena asks, suddenly making herself known.

"AAH!" I definitely did not yell in fear, and I ask, "What the hell, Helena? Can't you give a guy a warning?"

Helena gives me a look, and says, "You've been here for hours, Mason. It's almost time for breakfast… did you even sleep?"

I wave my hand, and say, "Sleep is overrated when it's night. Now, day sleep, however, ah, that's the stuff."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Are you okay?" Helena asks.

"I.. actually don't think I am. I haven't slept in two days. I'm just.. so excited to finally create a Portal Ring, Helena!" I exclaim, looking at the knife in wonder, eager to start my tests.

Helena sighs, and says, "Today is sunday, believe it or not, so you're extremely lucky. Now, I'd like to see you sleeping in your room before your roommates wake up. Sleep for 10 hours and no less."

I open my mouth to complain, but Helena glares at me like I'm a bloody child, and says, "No buts. You're burning yourself out, and it's not just the effects of the furnace. Take a break, and then return to your tasks. But don't forget to do it in moderation. Too much fire, even if you don't feel it, will mess with your head."

If that's true, no wonder the Goblins become this grumpy.

Gasping, I ask, "Am I turning into a Goblin?"

Helena shrugs, and says, "If that works, then yes. Now, get going. The dagger will be here when you get back."

Sighing, and agreeing that she's right, I snap my fingers, extinguishing the furnace, and start my walk towards the rack that holds my loving creations.

A complete set of armour, completely non magical, spoons, daggers, a useless giant spoon, two swords, a shield, and a steel cage. And along with all that, was the Vanishing Trunk. Helena floats outside the Forge, while I go towards the Trunk.

The Forge was already hidden behind an illusion of a solid wall, that needs a Parseltongue password to reveal itself. There were also wards there that will warn me if anyone enters the Forge, or tries to do so.

As I leave the Forge, the Wards activate all on their own, and I exit the Vanishing Trunk in my Dorm Room. The 7th Year Dorm Room, since I do actually sit my classes with them. I fall asleep as soon as I rest my head on the pillow, leaving me just enough time to conjure a simple note for my dorm-mates.

'Too tired, too sick. Don't wake me up.'

---

Thank you for your support!


Tata!
 
20. Apparition
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

Two Chapters today, again. This one's the first.

---

Focus.


Focus.


Focus.


I keep chanting in my mind, while wearing the Enchanted Goblin's Silver ring on my finger. This Ring was made according to the instructions of Lady Saraswati, the first Sorceress Supreme of this Universe, and the second Sorcerer Supreme after Agamotto himself.

Agamotto, being a literal God, didn't need any device to create portals to everywhere in the Multiverse. Saraswati, however, was just a priestess of Oshtur, and hence she needed something to facilitate her Teleportation. Sure, there were spells, but they were too drawn out, and took too much energy out of her, and the other mortals.

God, it feels so weird to know that Gods actually exist here, or existed. At least, Saraswati wasn't the Goddess from Hinduism that I was familiar with, she was just another human with the same name. Although, she must have been an impressive one, to be named the Sorcerer Supreme.

Anyway, Lady Saraswati devised the first Portal Ring, that allowed her to create Portals to anywhere in the Universe, and if one becomes capable enough, even out of this Universe.

Her Ring was meant to be worn by two fingers of your non-dominant hand, preferably the Index and Middle fingers, and was Enchanted to connect to the Universe. This connection, the Universal Magic, along with the Enchantments allowed the Ring to create Portals.

But it wasn't enough to just wear the Rings after the enchantments were cast. You need to have an image of your destination, do the required Hand gestures, and actually be good enough at channelling Universal Magic. You need to be actually good at Sorcery.

Which, I pretty much am. I mean, I'm not the most powerful, nor the most knowledgeable, when it comes to Sorcery, but what I do know is I'm good enough to channel Universal Magic without a problem.

Taking a deep breath, I raise my left hand up, straighten it in front of me with just my index and middle finger raised, while the other fingers were half closed. Then, I lift my right hand and hold it in the same position as the left hand.

Focusing on the destination I'm hoping to reach, and focusing on the intent of opening the portal there, I channel my Magic into the Ring, and start moving my right hand in a clockwise direction. My right hand moves in a circle, barely one foot in diameter, as the left hand stays in it's spot, at my chest height.

For the first few seconds, nothing happens. Slowly, however, sparks start forming in the air in front of me. I smile, immediately becoming ecstatic, and then scowl, as the sparks disappear.

Well, no one said it'll be easy.

Lifting my hands once more, I continue to practice. Until the Apparition lessons reach their practical portion, which will happen beginning next week, I'll have to rely on Portals for travelling.

If I succeed, that is.

-

A week later, I fly through the wall of the Room of Hidden Things, in my Astral Form. I couldn't sleep today, and so, left my body to rest on my bed, and came here to try and find something interesting like I usually do.

Since I could now use Magic while in the Astral Plane, thanks to the increased Potency of my Magic, I just kept what I found aside, to take later.

I'd already mastered the use of the Sling Ring, which should make me a proper Sorcerer according to the current Rules of Kamar Taj, I think. After mastering the Sling Ring, and after knowing that the Enchantments were perfect, I did something else to it.

I melted a little more of the Goblin's Silver, and dipped the Sling Ring into it, so that other people don't manage to decode the Runes. For anyone that sees it, it'll look like a normal ring, or so I hope.

I wasn't going to hide the Ring, but wear it always, since it was so damn useful. Really, it was literally a Portal Ring, why would I ever remove it?

I even added a Resizing Charm, so it always fits me no matter how buffed up, or thin I get. Thankfully, Resizing Charms don't interfere with other enchantments.

Anyway, the Ring was already Enchanted. Covering it with another layer of Goblin's Silver did not mess with the Enchantments even a little. Good thing I researched it though, or I'd have left the Runes open for anyone to read and decode.

As I drop from the 7th floor to the 6th, I suddenly freeze, seeing Headmaster Dippet looking out the window. This is weird, it's literally 3 AM right now, why is he still awake?

I'm one to talk, I'm awake too.

I watch him for a few seconds, but then turn around to leave, knowing that he probably wants to stay alone right now, for some reason. I've spent a lot of my days, both in this life, and the last, staring out the window, crying, listening to music, just staring at the stars.

He might not be crying right now, but his reflection does look a bit contemplating.

As I turn away and float just a bit away from Dippet, he suddenly says, "Going somewhere, Me Aves?"

.

.

.

Well.. fuck.

I freeze in my spot, unmoving, most of it because of shock, but some of it because of fear. He's the headmaster, and almost 300 years old! I could be 10 times as strong as I am now, and I'll still be a literal ant in front of him.

Seeing me frozen, in the reflection on the window, Headmaster Dippet turns around, and looks at my Astral Form, top to bottom. He nods, for some reason, and says, "You've been practicing I see, a lot. Good, don't get complacent in the Mystic Arts, or the consequences will be dire."

"You can see me?!" I blurt out, ignoring his weird tip, and still staring at Dippet with equal amounts of fear, respect, and curiosity.

Fear, because I don't know the rules regarding using Sorcery in Hogwarts, and I was literally just breaking Curfew. He didn't say anything that might hint at me being punished, but still.

Respect, because he was the first Wizard that I've seen noticing my Astral form. I've literally done the worm in front of Professor Merrythought's eyes, while she was teaching our class, and she didn't even twitch.

And curiosity, because he wasn't immediately throwing spells, or punishments at me.

Dippet snorts, and says, "You overestimate yourself, Mr Aves. Every spell can be seen through, you just need the determination to do it. No spell is perfect. And separating your Astral Form, as complex as it might be, is still a spell. It might come under Sorcery, but it is a Spell all the same."

That.. makes sense. Nothing is perfect, no shield is a perfect defence, no sword has a perfect blade, and no spell is a perfect spell. Everything has a counter, and that's the one rule of Magic that even I had forgotten to take into consideration.

I'm just glad he didn't catch me doing anything embarrassing.

I gulp a little bit of saliva, and ask, "You.. aren't going to expel me.. are you?"

I wasn't afraid of being expelled, but I was afraid of the Consequences that come with it. I won't ever be able to sit my NEWTs, and no NEWTs means I won't go anywhere in the Wizarding world. Granted, I can still find my place in the muggle world, but still.

Contrary to my expectations, Dippet just laughs loudly, and says, "Expel you? My boy, breaking Curfew is not that serious of a crime!"

Seeing my disbelief openly showing on my face, he laughs again, this time silently, and says, "No, child. I won't expel you for learning Sorcery. Hogwarts is a place for learning. And no matter what the Ministry stooges might want to happen, Sorcery isn't forbidden to learn." He then winks at me, and says, "Besides, you aren't the only Wizard who dabbles in Sorcery."

And with that, he simply creates 4 circular Tao Mandala shields around his body, without even moving from his place, that then spin around him at a steady pace, and then vanishes it into golden dust with the snap of his fingers.

I simply gape at the spectacle, since I still wasn't able to conjure, let alone control more than two items at a time. I could either conjure two weapons, two shields, one weapon and a shield, or a single spell at a time of a different category. But, I always need to use my hand to guide where I want the spells to go. He literally did it all without even moving.

Seeing me gape at him, Dippet chuckles, and says, "Ah, the joy of exceeding your students' expectations and surprising them. Never gets old. Let's have a cup of tea in my office tomorrow, after lunch. The password is Draconis. And Mr Aves? I'd appreciate if you don't break the Curfew too frequently. It's not a good habit, you know."

Before I can do more than nod at him, he didappears from right in front of my eyes- bloody show off- leaving me with the extremely worrying revelation. Headmaster Dippet can see into the Astral Plane.

If Dippet can, who else is able to do that? Can Merrythought? Or Dumbledore? Hope not, the worm was the least embarrassing thing I did when trying the Astral form out.

Turning around, I go back towards the Room of Hidden Things. I won't be able to sleep even now, not with this hanging over my head.

-

The next afternoon, after lunch, I walk towards the Headmaster's office, my hand clenching every few seconds, thanks to my nervousness.

I know, after seeing yesterday's show of strength, that there's nothing I can do as of now, to escape Hogwarts, if Dippet wants to harm me, or have me arrested. Portals are an option, but they don't work inside Hogwarts. The Wards were just that good.

I'll have to go down to the Chamber of Secrets first, and then create a portal from down there. Salazar, being a Sorcerer himself, had made it possible to create portals while inside the Chamber.

Not exactly secure, since anyone who knows about it can come here, but it's the bloody Chamber of Secrets! Those who know about it, and are alive right now, could literally be counted on one hand.

Dorea, Darla, Ana, Me, and the Ancient One. I'm not stupid enough to dismiss her knowing about the Chamber. She might also know about me using the Chamber, thanks to the bloody Time Stone she has access to. Fucking cheat.

Soon, I reach the Gargoyle that guards the Entrance to the Headmaster's office, and after giving it the password, I walk up the stairs.

Knocking on the door, I wait to be called in. I don't have to wait too long, as within a few seconds, Dippet's voice calls out, "Come on in, Mr Aves."

Taking another deep breath, I push the door open, and walk into the Headmaster's office for the first time in my life. It was similar to what I remember seeing in the Movies, with the absence of the Phoenix, or even the perch for it. Some parts were different from the movies, because this wasn't Dumbledore's office. This office was Dippet's, who was sitting there staring at me with a lot of open amusement.

Dippet was sat behind a table, and behind him was a wall, that was covered almost entirely in portraits. The portraits were obviously of the old Headmasters and Headmistresses, going back about 600 years. They must have some stories, won't they?

Dippet smiles at me in reassurance, snaps his fingers, freezing the Portraits and covering them with a curtain, which does work in calming me down a little, and points towards the chair on the other side of the table.

I sit down on the chair, and wait for him to talk, while looking at everything that catches my eye. Books, lots of books, many of them I've actually read in the Room of Knowledge. Huh, didn't know Dippet was interested in Rituals so much.

"An impressive collection, is it not? I've found these all over the world, and spent 200 years of my life collecting them." Dippet says, bringing me out of my observations.

I nod at him, and say, "Yes, sir." Pausing, I ask, "Am I going to be punished?"

Dippet smiles, and ignoring my question, he asks, "Sorcery is wonderful, is it not? Wandless Magic, pacts with Gods and Demons, they're something else altogether."

"I wouldn't know, Headmaster. I haven't made any pacts, and don't plan on making them" I slowly say, wondering when he'll get to the point.

Dippet claps, and exclaims, "Wonderful! Your teacher must've had a good head on their shoulder."

Ah, fishing for details.

I shrug, not answering the unasked question.

Dippet smiles amusedly, and says, "Mr Aves, I'm not going to punish you for learning Sorcery, because as I told you yesterday, it isn't illegal, or forbidden. However, Sorcery or not, breaking school rules is still punishable. So, you'll be spending 1 hour for the next three days with Professor Slughorn, cleaning his Cauldrons for breaking the curfew."

I sigh, a bit relieved. This could have been a lot worse. Nodding, I say, "I understand, Headmaster. I will take care not to break curfew again."

Well, I'll take care not to get caught.

Dippet chuckles, probably already knowing my thoughts despite not actually hearing them. He says, "Now, let's talk business." And then, turning entirely serious, he asks, "Who taught you Sorcery, Mr Aves?"

"Would you believe me if I said no one?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

Dippet just keeps staring at me, and slowly says, "This.. is no joking matter, Mr Aves. In this entire school building, as of this moment, there are only 4 people who know about the Mystic Arts, and only two of them have learned it. Those two are currently in this office. And I know for a fact, that no one in Kamar Taj taught this to you."

"And why do you still not believe that no one actually taught me, and that I learned it by myself?" I ask in return.

Dippet says, "I learned the Mystic Arts at Kamar Taj, Mr Aves. I spent 3 years there before my Master deemed me ready to learn Astral projection, and I was already 70 years old when I begun learning it. I know how hard it is to learn, with a teacher, so I know what I'm saying. And you can't just start Sorcery without a Master to guide you, I've seen better Wizards than you get lost in the Multiverse."

I literally can't get away from answering him, can I? He's too knowledgeable for me to fool. I'll probably have to speak the truth, or as much truth as I can spare.

Sighing, I say, "I didn't learn Astral Projection on purpose."

"What do you mean?" The headmaster asks, looking curious, but I can see he was also becoming a bit frustrated with me.

Shrugging, I answer, "I was sleeping one night, and I somehow instinctively did it in my sleep. I behaved like a drunk, and only after I returned to my body, I began learning Sorcery."

"You're not lying." Dippet says, surprised. As I nod, he whispers, "Fascinating. This.. is unheard of. But still, someone must've taught you Sorcery." Pausing, he softly asks, "I beg you, Mr Aves. Please, tell me who taught you, because this is the matter of our School's security."

Okay, I can understand that. If a muggle has access to Hogwarts, it'll be a bad thing, Sorcerer or not. Hogwarts was literally built to be a defence against the Muggle armies of the time, to be a stronghold.

I open my mouth to answer, but I don't need to answer, because something else happens. Helena, appearing right in between us, rising from the ground, gives me a look that says, 'Just go with it' and turns to Dippet, who had gotten a bit defensive, jumping at her sudden appearance.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dippet asks Helena, glaring at her.

Helena looks at him a bit apologetically, and says, "I apologise, Headmaster. I came here to help my student, who was being illegally interrogated by you."

"I'm not interrogating anyone." Dippet says, frowning at her.

Helena points her thumb at me, as I was just gaping at the going ons, and says, "This sure looks like an interrogation to me."

Dippet frowns, his eyes getting unfocused, and then widens them. Turning to me, he says, "Well, this is awkward. I did not mean to scare you, Mr Aves. It's just.. I really need to know who taught you Sorcery."

I open my mouth to answer, but once again Helena gets in between us, and says, "I think it's obvious, innit? I am the one who gave Mason the knowledge of Sorcery, and I am the one who guided him through learning it."

Dippet gapes, switching his eyes between us, and then asks, "But.. but.. you're a Ghost!"

"Thank you for pointing it out, Headmaster." Helena gracefully says, making even the Headmaster feel ashamed. Nodding in satisfaction, while I internally laugh at how the tables have turned, Helena says, "I didn't personally teach him, Headmaster. I simply guided him. I helped him find the knowledge necessary for learning Sorcery, I helped him connect to the Universe, and I helped him understand everything that he might not, he is a smart boy, you know. That's all. No other being, Wizard, Sorcerer, God, or Demon, had a hand in Mason learning Sorcery. It was just him, me, and a lot of books."

Dippet slowly nods, accepting the answer, although his face shows that he isn't completely believing it, and then asks, "Why would you even do all this?"

Helena smiles, making me realise that she's going to reveal something that I'd rather stay hidden. I pray, with all my heart, that she doesn't say what I think she's going to say.

Proving my fears right, Helena says, "That part's easy. Mason here is my sister's last descendant. I want him to get as strong as possible, so he doesn't die too soon."

The sound of a slap is heard, as my hand reaches my face, while Dippet just keeps gaping at us. He's doing that a lot, is he okay?

"You- you're a Ravenclaw descendant?" He softly whispers, in shock, because of course he knows who Helena is.

By Gods, this day just keeps getting better and better.

-

Soon, the situation is all cleared up, and I'm allowed to leave the office, although my detentions still stood. Cleaning Cauldrons, all because I broke curfew and got caught. At least he didn't punish me for all the times that I didn't get caught.

Dippet did warn me about Sorcery, he said, "Remember, Mr Aves. Some Realms may offer you great power, beyond what both Wizards and Sorcerers know of, but the power always comes at a price. And it always, without any exception, corrupts. So, be careful of whomever you make pacts with."

I'd just told him, "I'm a Wizard first, and Sorcerer last. The only Magic I'm using, is my own."

And by my own, I mean my Personal Magic, and the Universal Magic, both of which are completely non corruptive. And sure, there are many Realms out there that don't corrupt, some even ruled by literal Demons that don't give a fuck, but I don't trust them, I don't like them.

I'd rather just use my own magic, thank you very much, even if it might mean I'm giving myself a disadvantage.

But there were a few things that I learned in this conversation. One, not many Wizards who know about Sorcery actually learn it. Wizards don't like using anything other than their own Magic, just like me, and they probably wrongly assume that Sorcery is all about outer dimensions.

And the number of people who know about Sorcery are low in the first place. Maybe only just the higher ups in the Ministry, and a few Obliviators, Aurors, etc.

But well, at least now I know that I'm doing nothing illegal, and so, I can continue with my daily routine. Without a single worry.

"Well, that was fun." I say, looking at Helena while walking towards the stairs.

Floating right beside me, Helena says, "Yes, yes it was."

Using my telepathy, I say to her, 'So when did you decide that I'm your student? I think I must've missed that discussion.'

Helena smiles amusedly, raising her eyebrow, and says, 'I was watching over your interrogation, and I knew that other than showing him the Room, or the Chamber, nothing would have convinced the Headmaster about you learning by yourself. So, I made a decision.'

I nod, impulsive decision it might have been, but it did save me from revealing more of my important secrets.

'But now he does know that there's a secret stash of books here, somewhere, that only you and I have access to. He might keep a closer eye on us now.' I say, musing over the possibilities. Good thing I'm a guest of just a few days now. But I should probably get my friends started on Occlumency now, can't dismiss any of the teachers(cough Dumbledore cough) using Legilimency on them.

Helena smiles, and says, 'There's already a rumour of a secret library, Mason. But since I proclaimed you a descendant of my mother, the Headmaster would rightly assume that the Library can only be accessed by those of my mother's blood.'

Heh, true. Dippet did seem a bit disheartened while sending me off. Could be that, or it could be something else. The main thing is, I'm not in trouble anymore.

I'm free to study again!

-

My first practical Apparition lesson begins with a small lecture, repeating what we were told the last time. The lesson before this one, the first lesson overall, was a purely theoretical one, and every other lesson from now on will be a practical one.

"The Wards around Hogwarts usually don't allow for apparition, or disapparition. You cannot apparate out of Hogwarts, nor can you apparate inside Hogwarts, that's just how it is, and that's how it's always been." Wilkie Twycross says, pacing in front of us.

We were all 6th and 7th year students, with me being the only one not yet 17. Boy, everyone must be jealous of me right now, I know Darla is.

We were standing in the Great Hall, inside small two feet wide circles that were drawn on the ground. Each circle was separated by a distance of about 8 feet between them, while every odd circle was left empty. That empty circle on the ground in front of us was going to be our target for apparition.

Twycross turns around, pacing the other way, and says, "The Headmaster, however, has generously decided to lower the wards around the Great Hall, for the two hours that we will be here. So, don't waste this fine opportunity, or our efforts."

"Now, you know the three D's. What are they?"

"Destination, Determination, Deliberation." We all chorus together, many of us rolling our eyes, despite our nervousness.

Nodding in satisfaction, Twycross says, "Good, now. You have your destination in front of you. Focus on it, and be determined to Deliberately go there. Simple as that."

And then, there's a sound of shuffling shoes, as different students spin on their feet to no effect. They were probably the ones who just know that twisting feet equals apparition. Idiots.

Closing my eyes, I calm myself down, and then open them. For a few seconds, I keep starting at the circle drawn on the ground in front of me, keeping the location as my sole Focus.

Then, holding my wand in my hand, pointed downwards, I send my magic towards it, and twist myself around my right foot. I feel a tug, as my body bends within itself, and then, I feel a pressure high enough to make me almost black out.

It was similar to what I'd felt that day, when I'd done the ritual to go around the Realms, only the pressure was way higher this time. Probably because it's actually my physical form this time.

And then, the pressure disappears, and I come out of the very narrow tunnel, and drop down on my knees, breathing hard. Ugh, I feel like puking.

"Bravo! A first attempt, although unsuccessful! Good job, Mr.." I hear the sound of paper shuffling as I focus on breathing through the mouth, and then "..Aves. Huh, he's not 17, that's.. odd. Next time, focus on actually going to your destination, and not just think about it."

What the fuck is he talking about? I managed to apparate.. didn't I?

Opening my eyes, I find myself staring at the ground, still kneeling down on the ground, sweat dripping from my chin. Unfortunately, I was still in the same spot.

So.. I apparated to the same spot? How does that even work? Implications.

Shaking my head, I stand up and stumble towards the table full of refreshments, to drink some water. I think I'd best rest for a minute or two. Didn't know apparition will be this hard.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

As I'm resting, I hear a loud crack, followed by a loud scream, and then more screams of fright from around the first scream. I immediately snap my head towards the sound, to see a girl from Slytherin had managed to apparate to her Destination. Unfortunately for her, she had left her entire left leg behind, and was currently screaming out in pain.

Ouch, that's.. painful to watch.

"BLEEEUGHH!" This sound echoes all around the Great Hall, making me immediately close my eyes, and cast a Bubblehead Charm around my head.

And there goes the lunch of half the class. This.. is going to be a long, long subject to learn.

-

Sighing, I sit down on the table, remembering what had happened this afternoon right in this room.

I didn't try apparating again, since I had felt a sliver of doubt creeping up behind me. And I know, that Apparating in doubt, even if it is unconscious, is a mistake waiting to happen.

From beside me, Dorea asks, "What? Failed in apparating in the first try?"

While her question was asked as a joke, I couldn't help but snort. I say, "Yes, actually. I apparated in the first try, but I apparated to the same place. So it didn't count."

"Damn, Mason. You're just.. jumping steps 5 at a time, aren't you?" She says, shaking her head.

I smile at her, a bit half heartedly, since my doubt was still in my mind, and go back to my dinner. I'll have to meditate tonight, a lot.

Darla and Ana take that moment to enter the Great Hall together, walking as if they weren't just snogging somewhere 5 minutes ago.

They weren't exactly dating, but they were snogging quite frequently, using the Room of Requirements, or one empty room or the other. Depending on their mood.

As Darla sits down in front of me, with Ana taking the seat to her left, I ask, "Did you have fun.. studying?"

Darla blushes, and nods rapidly, while Ana answers, "Oh yes, we studied for a long time today. I think Darla left a mark on my shoulder though. Is it still there?"

And then, shamelessly, Anna pulls her robe a bit away to show us her shoulder, and sure enough, Darla had left her a love bite.

Smiling amusedly, and seeing Darla turn even more red-faced, I say, "That's one hell of a Stinging Charm, Darla. How did you manage to get it this strong?"

"Practice." Darla mumbles, still blushing.

Dorea looks impressed, having no idea what we're actually talking about, and says, "Damn, I really need to work on my offense, don't I? I've been using this spell since I was 8 and I still can't get the wound to be this pronounced. Can I join you girls in your training?"

This just causes Ana and I to laugh, and Darla to blush even more, while Dorea just looks on silently, not understanding what the joke is. Dorea doesn't know about Darla and Ana yet, she's still too.. innocent, but opinionated.

We don't yet know how she'll react.

But till then, they're happy together, and that's all that matters. Now, if only the public was a bit more tolerant.
 
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