Three weeks later, in the Room of Requirement.
The room had transformed into a cozy study. Two rows of bookshelves lined the walls, packed with various texts and miscellaneous notes probably left behind by former students. Opposite the door, a floor-to-ceiling window looked out onto a magically conjured storm. Despite the turbulent skies beyond the glass, the room itself felt exceptionally warm, with its expensive wool carpet and roaring fireplace.
Warren sat on a plush sofa, closed the book he had been reading, and rubbed his eyes.
"System."
[Host: Warren Weasley]
[Mana Level: 438 (Average adult wizard: 500)]
[Affinities: Charms 7, Dark Arts 6, Transfiguration 8, Potions 10, Herbology 6, Divination 2 (Max: 10)]
[Spells: Occlumency LV5 (MAX)... Obliviate LV0 (0/2), Reducto LV0 (0/2), Disillusionment Charm LV0 (0/2), Evanesco LV0 (0/3), Sectumsempra LV0 (0/3), Scarpin's Revelaspell LV0 (0/4), Expecto Patronum LV0 (0/4), Fiendfyre LV0 (0/5)]
[Potions: Elixir of Happiness, etc. New additions: Strengthening Solution, Veritaserum, Wit-Sharpening Potion, Amortentia, Baruffio's Brain Elixir, Polyjuice Potion]
[Reputation Points: 22]
Looking at his Mana Level and Reputation Points, Warren suddenly realized a month had already slipped past. Ever since Snape had authorized him to borrow advanced books from the Restricted Section, he had spent every spare moment in the Room of Requirement, buried in his studies. His intense focus was finally paying off.
Warren set down his book with a sigh, shaking his head to clear the fog brought on by hours of concentration. His heart filled with quiet satisfaction as he looked at the newly added spells and potions on the System panel. These were things he could never have learned, no matter how hard he'd tried these past years. Even relatively standard spells like Reducto and Obliviate were not easily accessible. The Ministry restricted them. Unless one attended a proper school like Hogwarts, where magical education was registered with the Ministry, learning them was simply impossible.
There were plenty of wild witches and wizards out there. Some might have been bitten as children, turning them into werewolves or vampires, while others could be undocumented foreign dark wizards on the run. Not all dark wizards were as high-profile as the Death Eaters. There were plenty of small-time crooks and shady characters lurking in the gray areas of the magical world.
What surprised Warren was that Snape had even authorized him to borrow a book on the Dark Arts. A Beginner's Guide to the Dark Arts mostly contained simple hexes and jinxes, but at the back, someone had added a handwritten page. It contained the spell Sectumsempra, its counter-curse Vulnera Sanentur, and the curse Fiendfyre. Warren didn't have to think hard to figure out who had added that page. A former Death Eater, indeed, with no qualms about the Dark Arts.
Naturally, Snape was not reckless enough to allow Warren to learn the Unforgivable Curses just yet. Regardless, Warren was more than satisfied. Without Snape pulling strings, mastering these spells would have taken him another four or five years. As for the Dark Arts, he would have had to resort to nefarious locales like Knockturn Alley or the black market, dealing with the criminal underworld. That was simply too risky. The underworld was teeming with con artists and thugs. Being swindled out of your gold was the best-case scenario. The worst case was a Dark Wizard waiting to double-cross you.
Staring at the system panel, Warren's initial excitement faded. He pressed his hand against his forehead. There were simply too many new spells. If he tried to master them all on his own, it would take forever. Ideally, he would use Reputation Points to boost them to level one or two, reaching Novice or Proficiency before practicing on his own. Twenty-two points were nowhere near enough. He needed to find new sources.
Warren made up his mind and stopped hesitating. He poured all his points into Scarpin's Revelaspell, raising it to LV2 (10/16) instantly. This spell would be crucial for developing his potions, which would in turn help him generate more Reputation Points each month. As long as he was still in school, investing all his points here was clearly the most efficient move.
After assigning the points, Warren withdrew a bottle of Cure for Boils and poured a measure into a cup. With a wave of his wand, he spoke the incantation with practiced ease, the words rolling off his tongue as if he had spoken them a thousand times.
"Scarpin's Revelaspell."
His perception shifted. The liquid in the cup began to glow. Colors danced within the light, mingling yet remaining distinct, each maintaining its own boundaries. He suddenly sensed that the finished potion could be unraveled.
He waved his wand once more. The blue solution immediately separated into distinct masses under an unseen influence. Their colors shifted rapidly, transforming from the uniform blue back to the hues of the original ingredients, such as snake fangs and dried nettles. The process that had forged the potion was disrupted, forcing the components to revert to their original state as much as possible.
Warren studied it for a moment before pouring the Cure for Boils away. It was useless now. Scarpin's Revelaspell could only reverse the process, not reconstruct the potion.
What a fascinating spell. He wondered how Scarpin had come up with it in the first place. A shame the man was long dead. His ashes had almost certainly scattered to the winds by now. He cast a quick Scourgify to clean up the mess, then stretched. It was time for bed. Tomorrow, he would start brewing and developing potions. He already had a few ideas. He was ready to make a splash.
As he left the Room of Requirement, he ran into Dumbledore. The greatest White Wizard of the age was wearing a pink and purple dressing gown and a whimsical nightcap. He stood in the seventh-floor corridor, pretending he had stumbled upon Warren by chance.
"Ah, Mr. Warren Weasley. Good evening. Out for a late-night stroll to the lavatory as well?"
Warren blinked.
Dumbledore continued, smiling. "So, you've discovered this place as well. Remarkable, is it not? I've walked this corridor hundreds of times over the last century. Then one day, I found myself in desperate need of a lavatory, and suddenly a door appeared here on the wall. Inside was a room filled with every sort of lavatory I could ever wish for. Thank Merlin. It has been my favorite spot ever since."
Dumbledore was feigning ignorance once more. Warren caught on immediately. He fixed a polite smile on his face and bowed.
"A remarkable room, indeed. Unfortunately, I didn't come here for the lavatory. I'm still young, Headmaster. I don't need one in the middle of the night."
Dumbledore, seemingly oblivious to the books tucked under Warren's arm, continued his pleasantries.
"Ah, youth. I'm quite old, you know. I can't compete with the young. But I still think you should give the lavatory a try sometime."
Warren shrugged. "I probably won't be back here for a while."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"I have finished with these books. I need to start developing new potions and refining my theories. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Headmaster."
"Severus has been singing your praises to me, calling you the Slytherin potions prodigy."
Warren smiled. "I have you and Professor Snape to thank for your support. It is getting late, Headmaster. I should get some rest. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Mr. Weasley."
Warren and Dumbledore bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways, acting as though their meeting had been accidental and their conversation nothing more than idle chitchat.