I'm sorry for the confusion, I made a mistake when scheduling the episodes.
***
Today is the day.
The moment has finally arrived when I can summon my own familiar. After spending so much time with my head buried in a book and hours practicing spells, I finally managed to meet the standards Grandma required for the familiar summoning ritual. At first, when I learned it was a ritual, I was surprised, as I thought it would be some kind of advanced spell. But after thinking about it carefully, I realized it would be absurd to expect a small child to perform an advanced spell, especially since I haven't had my first staff for very long.
To perform the ritual, Grandma had to draw a circle almost two meters in diameter, forming an intricate pattern composed of at least 100 runes. To draw the runes, I needed to mix a little of my blood with the ink. It wasn't much blood, just a few drops. Then she had me channel a little of my magic into the ink to activate it before I began drawing the runes.
Grandma took almost 10 hours to finish drawing the runes since she did it alone because Mom couldn't help her as she's very pregnant. I think my little brother or sister will be born very soon, which makes me very happy.
When everything was ready for the ritual, Grandma had me stand in the center of the circle while she and my uncles channeled magic through the rune circle, making the runes glow. When the circle was completely illuminated, I felt a warm sensation spread throughout my body, and when that sensation faded, the runes' glow intensified, making me instinctively close my eyes.
When the glow disappeared and I could open my eyes again, in front of me was a light brown eagle that was almost as tall as me; I think it was about 70 centimeters. The eagle was calm as it watched me. I was fascinated watching the eagle when I heard Grandma speak.
"To finish the ritual, you need to introduce yourself and ask its opinion. If it accepts you, you will have to smear a drop of your blood on its beak while you envelop it with your magic."
I nodded to my grandmother to show I understood, then looked the eagle in the eyes again before speaking.
"I am Selene Elein Revenclaw, and I would like to know if you are willing to become my familiar so we can grow and strengthen together until the great magic calls us to its presence."
The eagle watched me intently as I spoke, and when I finished, it gave a small nod as it approached me and touched my palm with its beak. When the eagle did that, my grandmother spoke:
"It has accepted you as a familiar. Now complete the ritual so that it may also be accepted by the great magic."
When I heard she accepted me, a wave of happiness washed over me, and I couldn't help but smile broadly. Then I took the small dagger Uncle Godric had given me and cut my finger, dabbing the drop of blood onto the eagle's beak as I guided my mana through its body, just as Grandma had taught me. The eagle glowed for a few seconds.
When the glow faded, my familiar shrank to about 20 centimeters. I extended my arm so she could climb aboard, and with a small flap of her wings, she did. As I stroked her and brought her closer to my face, I said,
"From now on, I'll call you Artemis."
Artemis nuzzled herself near my face, closing her eyes, and I giggled because her feathers tickled me.
When we finished the ritual, Mom told me that Artemis was the same type of eagle as hers and my grandmother's. She also explained that its color would change over time, becoming darker with golden highlights when it reached adulthood, and that for now I couldn't use it as a flying mount like her and my grandmother because it was too young and its size didn't allow it. She said I could only do so when I was older or when my magic power was strong enough to allow its growth using my mana.
After Artemis's ritual, my grandmother and Mom took me to an underground room in the center of the castle. This room was enormous, with glowing runes on all the walls. There were also five huge, light blue crystals floating in the room, one in each corner and one in the center. The one in the center was three times larger than the others and as tall as a three-story house.
The three of us approached the crystal in the center, and Grandma told me to place my right palm on it while letting my magic flow into it until she told me to release it. I had to do this until my mana was almost gone; I felt like I was about to faint when the crystal glowed, and Grandma told me to stop.
When the crystal stopped glowing, I saw my name written on it below my mother's name.
A few weeks later, my younger sister Helena was born, and I officially became a big sister. I was very happy and wanted her to grow up quickly so I could take her out and explore the castle for dangers with Uncle Godric.
During one of my explorations, I encountered the house-elves who looked after the castle for the first time. It was a big surprise to find them in the kitchen since they hadn't been there the previous times I'd come with Uncle Godric.
There were five elves in total, and as soon as they saw me enter, they surrounded me and began offering me snacks. I was so surprised until Uncle Godric came in and pulled me out of there, teasing me about my expression. But I didn't pay him much attention since I was in the precarious position of trying to keep all the snacks the elves had given me in my arms without dropping them as I walked. And since Artemis was on my shoulder, she also got some bacon.
Since Uncle Godric came to my rescue, I was kind enough to share my spoils of war with him.
After my encounter with the elves, I understood how it was possible for such a large castle to stay perfectly clean. When I asked Mom about the elves, she told me they had always been there; it was just that I hadn't noticed before. So I started thinking about it and realized that there were times when it seemed like things tidied themselves up, or moments when I thought I heard pops when they appeared or disappeared. I just hadn't paid much attention and thought it all happened by magic.
She also told me that house-elves are intelligent magical creatures who need a magical bond to live. Without this bond, their magic leaves their bodies, causing them pain and disorders until their bodies can no longer endure it, leading to death. She said that the longest an elf can survive without a bond is five years, and in some cases, even less. She also told me that they find great happiness in performing tasks like cleaning or cooking, and if denied these tasks, they can become very sad, even resorting to physical punishment because they feel useless for not being able to help the wizard or the person with whom they formed the bond. She
also said that the elves in our family are bound to the magic of the castle. Since there are so few members of the Ravenclaw family left, it's safer to keep them bound to the castle than to us, ensuring their health remains stable should anything happen to the family members. However, she emphasized that their loyalty lies with those who possess Ravenclaw blood in their veins.
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