So, publicly, we've crossed over 130,000 words in just three months, which is an absolutely insane number, haha. When I started writing back in December, I definitely didn't expect to produce this much content in such a short amount of time...
I'm so glad you're all here on this journey with me and that you're enjoying our darker, more realistic take on the story! By the way, if you can, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review or a comment (depending on the platform). The more interest we show, the more authors will be inspired to write the kind of gritty, realistic stories that I truly want to see more of in our fandom! :D
Thanks, guys and girls (yes, girls read our story too!), and have a great day!
***
As usual, the trio of my friends was already training in the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor. I walked there accompanied by Draco. Since I had promised him he could join, and he kept casting expectant glances my way, I decided to fulfill his wish. We moved at a brisk pace through the Hogwarts corridors up to the seventh floor without encountering a soul. Draco, however, still found a reason to grumble.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"To a brilliant room, Draco. But you'll have to keep it to yourself. It's our secret," I said, shooting him a look to make sure he understood I was deadly serious.
"Sure, cousin, of course!" he replied with a fleeting smile.
"I mean it, Draco. Just for yourself."
He looked slightly annoyed but nodded, curiosity growing in his eyes. "It must be quite the room if you're keeping it this hidden," he remarked, pausing for a moment before staring at me in bewilderment.
We had arrived. I began to walk past the blank wall—in his eyes, I must have looked like a complete fool. But as soon as the massive door appeared, he blinked in surprise. I couldn't help but smirk; while he was enchanted, I was, so to speak, used to it. After all, they say one gets used to the good things quickly.
He immediately saw the vast hall where Tobias and Theodore stood slightly to the side, unsuccessfully trying to cast Protego. Meanwhile, Agnes was firing one curse after another at mannequins that glowed red or were forced to regenerate under the onslaught of her magic. She noticed us and, with a smile, made her way toward us.
"Wow, this is some room!" Draco breathed admiringly. "How did you manage to find it?"
A beaming Agnes was already with us. She was about to say something to me when she caught Draco's words. She waited for my answer, but there was a glint in her eyes that said she wanted to savour the credit.
"No, no, Draco," I shook my head with a smile. "Discovering this amazing room was Agnes's work. She searched for it with determination until she was successful."
Agnes winked at me. "But you informed us of its existence, Patrik, so it was a joint effort."
Draco simply nodded appreciatively, still occupied with surveying the hall. Agnes couldn't hold it in any longer and blurted out, "Potter stopped me on the way here. He accepted your offer!"
Draco immediately turned to us with curiosity. He needed to be occupied somehow. I nodded to Agnes to wait a moment and started pulling Draco toward Theo.
"Protego!" Theo shouted. A faint blue outline appeared briefly, only to dissipate immediately. He pulled a sour face and only then noticed us. He nodded in greeting. "Patrik. Malfoy."
"Theo, it seems your focus is still insufficient. At this stage, you have enough magic for three ordinary Protegos," I noted with a smile, and after a short pause, I asked, "Could you teach Draco a few spells?"
"What? But I want to train with you, Patrik!" Draco began to protest immediately.
Theo looked at him as if he had just bitten into a lemon, but he nodded his consent. I quickly headed back to Agnes. I managed to catch Theo telling Draco, "It would be a waste of time for him to attend to you magically right now. You won't handle powerful spells yet anyway, Malfoy."
By then, I was back with Agnes. It was time to plan the ritual. I had to gather the ingredients, though most should be right there in the kitchen. Candles were also commonly used for festive feasts, but better safe than sorry.
"Did he tell you when he wants to do it, Agnes?"
"No, he looked as if he didn't care... So I told him we'd let him know about the time."
I nodded thoughtfully. "I'll go check the available ingredients right now so we can plan it. In the worst case, I'll write to my aunt to quickly send whatever we're missing."
"Shall I come with you?"
I shrugged. "If you like, I'll be back in a moment anyway."
"Then I'd rather stay and continue training," Agnes nodded determinedly. "I have a spell I want to try."
"Oh?"
"A secret, Patrik," she winked at me and headed back to the mannequins while I set off toward the kitchen.
***
It didn't take long before I found myself in the kitchen. A wave of curiosity swept through the room, and it fell silent for a moment, but as soon as the house-elves noticed me, the clinking of dishes resumed. With a happy squeak, a house-elf named Dudi ran up to me.
"Young master, young master, welcome! A cake? We don't have a fresh one yet, sorry! Sorry! Fresh will be in twenty minutes!" he blurted out in a second.
I smiled gratefully. "No, Dudi, thank you. I don't want a cake today, but I could use a little help."
He immediately nodded eagerly, his long ears flapping against each other. "How can Dudi help you, young master?" he squeaked enthusiastically.
"It's a secret, Dudi. I need a few things."
The elf immediately looked warily around the kitchen and pulled me by the sleeve of my robe to a far corner so no one would disturb us. "Dudi is listening, young master!" he whispered conspiratorially.
"I need two white candles and two wooden bowls," I paused and added, "Also some salt."
"Dudi has, Dudi gives!" he promised immediately and was about to run off for them when I stopped him.
"Could this be kept secret from Dumbledore, Dudi?"
He looked at me in surprise but answered immediately, "Dudi cannot hide anything if the Headmaster asks. But Dudi doesn't have to mention the young master this time!"
"This time, Dudi?" I asked, taken aback. I thought the Headmaster wouldn't be interested in kitchen visits; I certainly wasn't the only student who came here.
Dudi nodded proudly. "Dudi bragged! Young master comes to see Dudi for cake! It is a great honour for Dudi, young master." With those words, he went to collect what I had requested.
In my mind, I had to give myself a proper facepalm. So Dumbledore only knows about my visits because Dudi is proud of them. But all in all, I didn't really care. What would he tell him? That I lovingly munch on fruit cake? Unless the old man wanted to poison me, which hopefully wasn't a risk.
After a while, Dudi brought me everything I needed with a promise that he wouldn't inform Dumbledore of my request unless asked directly. With a wave goodbye, I grabbed the basket firmly and quickly headed back to the Room of Requirement.
***
On the way, I had time to think quickly. I knew Potter would accept my offer as soon as he received it. Even if I weren't a Legilimens, it was clear to me that everyone who is powerless yearns for a bit of power. For him, given his hatred for his relatives and the fact that his family was slaughtered, it was doubly true. Logically, he had to accept; the only question was when. It was April, so it didn't take him that long.
After our conversation, however, he began to act strangely. He spent more and more time in the library, and without Weasley. He was more active in classes and listened intently, which was sensible after my warning. What was strange, though, was his behaviour toward Snape. The man was, so to speak, venting his unrequited love for Harry's mother and hatred for his father on him, though he probably loved Harry's eyes (his mother's) deep in his soul... at least, I assumed so.
Potter, however, accepted every insult with a smile. He ground through Potions perhaps every free moment, more than anyone else. I understood that he wanted to feel like part of the family, since half of his lineage were famous potion masters, but why on earth did he accept Snape's insults with a smile and a thank you? In a normal school, Snape would be locked up for ten years for such behaviour. Was it some elaborate plan to drive him to madness? To smile at him and sincerely thank him? Snape's knuckles turned white and his nails dug into his palms from nerves at every one of Potter's curious questions about some detail. Nevertheless, he answered him, so Harry was progressing in Potions by leaps and bounds.
"Hm, maybe I'll invent a fat-reduction potion with him in the future?" I asked myself thoughtfully in front of the blank wall, which after a moment turned into a massive door.
I entered the room. Agnes immediately stopped casting. I just managed to catch a mannequin regenerating, missing its entire upper half. What kind of spell, for heaven's sake, is she training?
"Yes, we have everything. Now we just need to get the others out of this room and bring Potter here."
"He'll likely be in the library with Granger now," Agnes noted thoughtfully. "But during the week probably isn't a good time for a ritual. How long will it take?"
"A moment. We'll be done within ten minutes," I replied. She was right; it would be wiser to leave it for the weekend.
"Won't Dumbledore feel what we're doing?" Agnes asked with a subtle spark of hostility in her voice. Like most children of Death Eaters, she didn't trust Dumbledore and stood in opposition to him.
"Honestly? I'm not sure. But I'm counting on the Room of Requirement covering us. It's essentially untraceable, so I believe not even a trace of magic will escape it," I began thoughtfully, but after a moment I added, "Even if he wanted to break in here, I'd have time to burn all the ritual items before he could prove anything. So don't worry, Agnes."
"Fine then," she nodded in agreement. "So, this weekend? I'll let him know."
"Yes, this weekend. Preferably Saturday right in the afternoon. But definitely do not show him the way. Before you bring him here, blindfold him. So that he doesn't see the entrance and the room remains a secret only for us."
She nodded in agreement with pleasure in her eyes. She liked the idea of this place belonging only to us. I sensed a muted joy from her as well. She was making progress in Occlumency; occasionally, she already managed to mask her emotions completely.
We were agreed, so we each took our mannequin and began to train.
"Aguamenti!" In a second, a water whip appeared, which with a loud smack sliced the mannequin halfway through and simultaneously blasted it against the wall with blunt force. It was quite a blow; the cutting was already lethal at this stage.
I waited a moment for the mannequin to pull itself together and continued.
"Reducto!" A blue beam with black edging slammed into the target in complete silence. The mannequin didn't even move, but suddenly a piece of its shoulder vanished. Progress was visible. The spell, however, was magically immensely demanding, so progress was slower than I would have liked.
I continued my training further. Hard work beats talent... But what if a talented person works exceptionally hard?
***
It was Saturday, and a busy day lay ahead of us. I decided to go for a run before breakfast. The Scottish April weather was pleasant for a morning run, perfectly waking up both body and soul. The others somehow didn't fancy it; wizards have a strange aversion to running, but I believe that in time, others will join me.
I was happily running around the Hogwarts grounds a bit away from the Forbidden Forest. It occurred to me that I could make a decent money by hunting. Acromantula venom should be quite expensive, and the forest was full of them. So sometime under the cover of darkness... we'll see. It depends on how much one vial costs. If it's worth it, I'll go for it.
After the run, I did a few quick strength supersets in the grass. My arms and back were all green, but that didn't stop me. Finally, covered in dirt, I returned to the castle. Here and there I caught an amused look from other students, but no one mocked me, so I didn't care.
After a quick shower, I headed to breakfast. I was accompanied by my friends, and today Draco joined us as well. Crabbe and Goyle sat scowling a bit further away—could they be missing Draco?
Full of endorphins and with a smile on my face, I began to help myself to fried eggs, sausages, vegetables, and beans in tomato sauce. Along with a piece of loaf baked in Eastern European style. I ate like a wolf that hadn't eaten for a week. Almost like Weasley, except that I chewed with my mouth closed, though my cheeks were puffed out like a beaver's.
"Well guys, for Protego you need more of a better visualization and thought. From my experience, it requires less power than, say, Incarcerous," Agnes was explaining to Theodore and Tobias, who still weren't having any success.
I quickly swallowed a mouthful and added, "Hm, to me it seems magically just as demanding as Expelliarmus... I'm sure you have enough magic for Protego, so as I said—the thought needs to be refined."
At this, Agnes waved her fork at me in disagreement.
"You, Patrik, cannot objectively say how much magic each spell costs," she paused for a moment. "You train substantially more powerful spells, so for you, an ordinary Protego or Expelliarmus is just a drop in the ocean. Here, I can express myself more objectively as a 'weaker' witch."
"There's something to that," Theodore stated. "I don't understand, though, why it's not working for me. I've been trying to cast Protego for a long time, focusing on the shield and the thought of protection," he added disappointedly.
"Hm, you simply haven't had the need to really defend yourself for real yet, apparently," I replied thoughtfully. "We'll test it. I'll keep sending Aculeus at you until your Protego absorbs it," I finished amusedly.
Theo turned pale, but a flash of determination appeared in his eyes and he nodded. While Agnes and Tobias smirked amusedly, Draco was scowling as he poked at his omelette.
"Not a morning bird, cousin?" I smirked at him.
He just shot me a scowl and shook his head with a yawn.
After breakfast, we will continue our magical training, and after lunch, it will be the rituals' turn. Hm. I'll have a thousand galleons more thanks to Potter, even if I had the feeling I'd forgotten something important. Besides that, I still felt Blanár's pensive gaze on me...
A duel with him would certainly hit the spot for some distraction.
***
Author's note:
If it wasn't for Agnes's persistence, we probably wouldn't have made it into the Room of Requirement this quickly... By now, you've probably noticed that our MC is a total slacker when it comes to tedious tasks like searching or sorting things out. Thank God for Agnes.
Dudi is just precious, isn't he? So excited to brag about how much Patrik loves his cakes... :D
As for Harry, he's clearly lost his mind if he thinks Snape actually likes him. :D Oh well... his bad conclusion, I guess!
Btw, whose POV would you like to see next? Please let me know in the comments so I can include them in the poll!
***
Step into the Restricted Section
The shadows are shifting, and the story goes much deeper... If you can't wait for the next update, Advanced Chapters are already waiting for you.
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Upcoming Chapters – Already Written:
42. Pain as a Teacher
43. Blood and Runes
44. Blood, Sweat, and Special Editions
45. Precision of Water, Chaos of Rage
46. The Unseen Blade
47. The Blood Connection
48. The Ghost of a Friend
49. Hypothetical Questions
50. Ancient Crimes and Modern Recipes
51. The Smell of Teen Spirit and Dark Arts
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