Julian snapped out of the forging trance so abruptly that he had to grab the anvil just to keep himself upright.
Pain rolled through his muscles, a deep, aching throb that reminded him just how much strain he had put on his body. On top of that, he felt like someone had punched a hole through his stomach. Hunger clawed at him, sharp and insistent.
He had expected something like this, though.
Reaching into Greed, he pulled out a small wrapped piece of lembas and took a couple of deliberate bites.
The effect was almost immediate. The gnawing emptiness in his gut faded as the wayfarer's bread did its work, although he could still feel a faint lingering echo of hunger that would only vanish once his body finished breaking it down properly.
In his mind, the familiar blue text unfolded.
[RING NAME: Twin Fear (Right)
Grade: UNCOMMON
Abilities: Auto sizing, Formless, Devouring Counterattack, Fear Transformation, Resonation
Description: One half of a matched set, created as a tool of terror for its bearer's enemies. When the owner of this ring is near the owner of its twin, both gain a stronger version of their abilities. Much like a boggart, this ring has no fixed shape and constantly alters its appearance.
System evaluation: A grim and unnerving piece that only someone with an unusual mind would conceive of, crafted by a rising ring smith.]
Julian straightened slowly and turned his attention to the anvil.
Both rings lay there, endlessly shifting, their surfaces flowing through colors and textures in the same way Greed did.
He used the system to appraise each of them in turn. They were both rated at Uncommon, and each had netted him twenty two points for their creation. That alone left him very satisfied with the results.
"Tempus," he murmured, flicking his wand.
Glowing numerals appeared in the air for a moment, telling him the exact time.
10:47 a.m.
He let out a quiet breath of relief. He had not missed lunch.
The time telling charm was simple, tucked into the first year spell book, and he had mastered it early. Being able to know the precise time no matter where you were in the world was more useful than most people realized.
He slipped both rings into Greed, moved around the room to turn off the furnace, then unlocked and opened the workshop door. After one last glance inside, he stepped out and locked it again behind him.
Julian hated leaving things hanging. Since the rings were finished, there was no way he was going to sit around and wait for lunch to hand them over.
Finding the twins was not difficult, not if you remembered that the portraits in Hogwarts were an information network all their own. A few polite questions to the nearest frame and he had a direction.
He eventually tracked them down in the middle of tormenting some random Slytherin he did not recognize and did not feel any need to.
"Let the poor bloke go. I have something much more worth your attention," Julian said, strolling up to them.
"Oh? And what might that be?" one of the twins asked as they very pointedly lost interest in their current victim, giving the fleeing student a chance to bolt.
"Your half of our bargain, of course," Julian replied with a grin, reaching into Greed.
He drew out the two completed rings.
The twins snatched them from his hands almost before he had fully opened his fingers, sliding one ring onto each of their right hands.
One of them immediately frowned, clearly feeling something off, then switched his ring to his left hand. His expression relaxed at once, as if things finally felt correct.
That is interesting. I did not expect the rings to actually insist on being worn on the side the system labeled them for, Julian thought, quietly intrigued.
"So, they work the same as your ring, yeah?" one of the twins asked.
"More or less. No idea why you wanted them, though, considering that they need a thief to trigger the transformations. Your business, not mine," Julian answered with a shrug.
"The fear thing is just a bonus to us," the other twin said, grinning. "We mostly wanted them because we like how your ring never stops changing."
Julian froze for a heartbeat, then let out a soft laugh.
He had assumed the entire time that they were after Greed's fear transformation ability, already planning some elaborate and horrible prank. Instead, they had been drawn in by the formless, shifting nature of the metal.
Color me surprised. They were not planning to traumatize someone, just to play with the weirdest fashion accessory in Hogwarts, he thought, amused.
The twins chuckled along with him, even if they did not know exactly what he was laughing about.
Julian hung around with them for about an hour, trading stories and ideas, before he finally headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
He attacked his food with enthusiasm, and by the time he finished, the last remnants of that earlier hunger had finally disappeared.
Halfway through the meal, he almost choked.
Draco Malfoy strode into the Hall, radiating fury, and not a single hair on his head.
Completely bald.
The expression on his face could have soured milk. Every time someone glanced at him, the glare he shot back could have stripped paint off the walls.
As if that were not satisfying enough, Julian soon learned that Draco was stuck like that for three full days before Snape could brew up a strong enough hair restorative potion.
Julian sincerely wished he had a camera. Some moments deserved to be immortalized, and a bald, murderous looking Malfoy was definitely one of them.
-------------------------
100+ Advanced chapters on patreon. com/hpdreamer