Rowan stood in front of the blank wall on the seventh floor, the corridor empty and quiet around him.
He'd spent the entire day in classes thinking about the problem. His magical core was limited, wouldn't reach full strength for years. Against opponents like Hecat, trained adults with decades of experience and raw power, he would always be at a disadvantage unless there was a way to change that.
Most wizards accepted their magical capacity as fixed, something that grew naturally until adulthood and then stabilized. But Rowan had died and been reborn into a world with magic. He'd already experienced one impossible thing.
He paced three times in front of the wall, concentrating carefully on what he needed.
I need to grow stronger. More powerful. Find ways to enhance magical capacity beyond normal development.
The door appeared.
The Room had configured itself as a ritual workspace. A large cleared floor space dominated the center, marked with faint silver lines where ritual circles could be drawn. Against one wall stood a preparation table. Solid oak, its surface inscribed with protective runes. Shelves beside it held empty glass containers in various sizes, scales for precise measurement, and mortar and pestle sets in different materials. Seven candles floated in a perfect circle around the room's perimeter, their flames burning steady and bright without wax melting.
On the preparation table sat a single manual.
Rowan approached it carefully. The leather binding was old but well-maintained, its title embossed in silver: Ritualistic Magic: Foundations and Theory.
He opened it and began reading.
Rituals, the manual explained, were structured magical workings fundamentally different from standard spellcasting. Where spells drew solely on a wizard's internal magical core, rituals channeled external power sources. They used carefully selected components, ingredients with inherent magical properties, combined with precise incantations, specific timing, and complex symbolic arrangements.
Most modern wizards dismissed ritual magic. Too complex, too unpredictable, too dangerous. Wand magic was faster, more reliable, better suited to the needs of contemporary magical society.
But for certain purposes, permanent magical enhancement, for instance, rituals offered possibilities that standard spellwork couldn't match.
Rowan sat at the preparation table and read for hours, his journal filling with notes. The manual described dozens of rituals, ranging from simple protective wards to elaborate workings that could fundamentally alter a wizard's capabilities.
One entry made him pause:
The Ritual of Lunar Clarity
Purpose: Permanent enhancement of magical capacity and cognitive processing
Classification: Advanced (Tier III)
Requirements:- Moonstone (minimum 2 ounces, high clarity grade)- Powdered silver (1 ounce, alchemical purity)- Spring water collected during full moon- Properly inscribed ritual circle (silver ink)- New moon timing (optimal) or waning crescent (acceptable)
Procedure: [detailed instructions followed]
Warning: This ritual permanently restructures the caster's magical pathways. Incomplete execution may result in irreversible damage to magical core, loss of spellcasting ability, or death. Recommended only for practitioners with thorough understanding of magical theory and proven discipline in mental magic.
Rowan read the instructions three times, copying them into his journal with meticulous precision. Every step, every warning, every timing requirement.
This could work. The ritual wasn't impossibly complex. Difficult, yes, requiring careful preparation and exact execution, but achievable. And the result was exactly what he needed.
A permanent increase in magical capacity. An expansion of his fundamental power.
The components presented challenges, though. Powdered silver at alchemical purity would be expensive but obtainable. Any quality apothecary would stock it. He'd need perhaps three or four Galleons for the required ounce.
Spring water collected under a full moon meant waiting for the right lunar phase and sneaking out to the lake. Difficult but manageable with proper planning.
Moonstone was the real obstacle.
The ritual manual included a section on ingredient sourcing. Rowan flipped to it and read about moonstone.
Moonstone (Adularia feldspar with schiller effect): Forms in mountainous regions with high concentrations of lunar magical resonance.
WARNING: Ritual-grade moonstone is extraordinarily rare. Natural formation requires specific geological conditions, precise lunar alignment, and centuries of magical accumulation. Most deposits are small, heavily guarded by territorial creatures, or inaccessible due to terrain.
Commercial sources: Rarely available even from specialized dealers. When specimens do reach market (Mulpepper's Apothecary, Diagon Alley; private collectors), cost for ritual-grade clarity: 100+ Galleons per ounce—comparable in rarity and price to basilisk venom or phoenix tears. Most dealers have never stocked ritual-grade moonstone and maintain years-long waiting lists for interested buyers.
Natural collection: Primary deposits in Scottish highlands. Terrain presents extreme hazards—thornbacks, mountain trolls, and treacherous peaks. Smaller deposits occasionally form in lowland areas but rarely achieve ritual-grade quality.
Rowan stared at the text, his stomach sinking.
One hundred Galleons per ounce, minimum. He needed two ounces. That was two hundred Galleons he couldn't spare, and he'd still need to buy the powdered silver, cover his school expenses for the year, fund alchemy experiments, and maintain emergency reserves.
More importantly, even if he spent everything he had, finding a dealer who actually had ritual-grade moonstone in stock would be nearly impossible. The text made clear that true ritual-grade specimens almost never reached the open market. Most dealers maintained waiting lists years long.
He couldn't wait years. He needed to grow stronger now, not eventually.
He'd need to find it himself. The mountains, the entry said, meant thornbacks and mountain trolls. Creatures far more dangerous than anything he was ready to face. But maybe there were deposits closer.
Rowan spent another hour studying the manual's sections on moonstone formation, magical resonance patterns, and optimal collection locations. Then he closed it. The Room would preserve it for his next visit. And made his way back to Ravenclaw Tower.