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Chapter 7: The Hogwarts Express.
🕑 Added 2024-11-18 07:51:10 +0000 UTCCelestial Ascendancy.
Chapter 7: The Hogwarts Express.
Elias Blake.
The burrow.
After such a good night of sleep, I couldn't help but notice the stress my body had suffered while being preoccupied with the attack on the World Cup. Now that my mind understood that there was no danger in the short term, I could feel lighter than before. It wasn't even like I was conscious about it, but my body was taking its toll.
Even while sleeping in, I was the first to wake up in the burrow. The Weasleys had always been notorious for arriving late everywhere, and I hated it.
It wasn't even the sheer disrespect they showed whenever they arrived late; I simply couldn't fathom how they were so accustomed to it that they did not see anything wrong with it. In this case, the only Weasley that didn't piss me off for this was Percy, but he was on the other side of the spectrum; he was so rigid that it was uncomfortable to talk with him.
I tried really hard to like the Weasleys, trying to see them as humans instead of the family I disliked in the Canon story, but it was hard. Even if they weren't trying to tie Iris to their family via Love Potions or something like that, like in some of the stories I read in my past life, they had so many bad habits that it made it hard for me to like most of them.
Opening my eyes, I groaned at the thought of sharing a compartment with thesnoring Pig sleeping in the next bed. While better than his Canon counterpart, he still was the most disliked Weasley.
I checked the time with a swish of my wand, and seeing that I still had an hour for them to wake up, I decided to check my new trunk and exercise a little. Yesterday's attack showed me that I still had a long way to go if I wished to survive the next war. While practicing magic was important, having a strong body capable of going on for a long time would greatly help me. For the moment, exercise was the only way I had to improve my physical condition since most, if not all, rituals were prohibited by the ministry, and they were surprisingly competent at finding out who broke those laws.
Lifting myself up from the bed, I searched for my trunk, growing increasingly alarmed when I remembered the Grimoire sucking it up before falling asleep. Deciding to check the only way I could think so, I looked around to see if the twins had woken up, but seeing them still in the realm of Morpheus, I called the Grimoire out.
The Grimoire appeared in my bed, glowing brighter than before. The light coming out was dim since the sun rose, with the first streaks of light shining through the windows. At least I didn't have to worry about the light waking the Weasleys up.
The Grimoire was pulsating, and after some time, it spat my trunk, which started innocently floating on top of the Grimoire. It was a surprising sight; every time I thought about it, my heart was filled with anticipation. I was now the sole owner of something like the celestial Grimoire, and every roll showed it was one of the most overpowered abilities I had ever seen in both my lives.
Taking the trunk, I enlarged it to its original size. I nodded, seeing that it hadn't changed in appearance, which I feared when I thought about it when I woke up. Being an orphan, it was surprising that I had a trunk like mine. Still, if everyone at school saw me carrying a different one now, people would start asking questions. Being part of the Golden Trio had its drawbacks. The attention I had in school was the biggest of them all, and this year, the attention I received from the British wizards would skyrocket. Just thinking about the pieces Rita Skeeter would write about us this year made me shiver in disgust. That woman was vile, and her tongue was sharp.
With the trunk on my bed, I tapped it twice on the handle, and it opened without flourish, feeling my magic. Taking a deep breath, I entered my trunk, almost gasping in surprise at the scene before me. Before, it was a simple trunk, even if its defenses were top-notch. It had a bedroom, a bathroom, a dining room, and a potion room. It was decent, even if it wasn't comparable to the one Newt Scamander had in Fantastic Beasts. But I knew that even that one paled compared to my new Hollow. The extension charm was massive, as I couldn't even see the ending of my new plane of existence.
My heart warmed seeing the cottage sitting in the middle of the plane. It was simple, but it had something nowhere else in the world had. It was mine, and mine alone. Thinking hard, I pictured a jungle, and with a simple wave of my wand, the back of my plane started growing trees, mahogany trees, to be exact. I didn't know if I could take them out of my trunk, but using them inside was a huge plus. Being able to control everything inside my trunk was a marvelous experience that I would cherish forever.
Nodding in satisfaction, I imagined a simple mountain, and my new Hollow followed my wishes just as I hoped. A slight tremor could be felt inside my trunk, and a hill grew to the left of my cottage after some time. Exercising in a high-altitude area would serve me well. My endurance was of the utmost importance, even more than simple strength.
Looking critically, I decided to ask for a lake on the right side of my cottage for the final change today. I didn't have a familiar, but I loved animals, magical animals specifically, so having such a wide array of biomes would be helpful in the future. There was no way I could start collecting now, but after the war, I could have a sanctuary next to my home.
I believed that since the Grimoire had changed my trunk, the dangers of staying inside were nullified since the roll description told me that this could be my home if I needed it. I couldn't say I planned to live inside my trunk for the rest of my life, but seeing the beautiful scene before me, I didn't care to argue.
Waving my wand, my sleepwear changed to something useful for exercise: a simple T-shirt, some pants, and sneakers. With that done, I started my morning routine.
100 CP awarded, 350 CP in total.
Well… It appears that my Grimoire required my attention before that. Roll.
[Ring of mental fortitude, Wizarding World]- 100 CP, can be bought multiple times.
The Ring of Mental Fortitude offers robust mental defenses, shielding the wearer's mind from casual Legilimency, psychic probes, and surface-level magical intrusions. When someone attempts to read the wearer's thoughts or memories, the ring subtly redirects their efforts, presenting fabricated but convincing false memories or harmless surface thoughts. These illusions are tailored to the situation, making them easier to detect with deeper scrutiny.
Additionally, the ring is enchanted with a charm that deflects attention away from itself. Anyone who notices the ring will instinctively dismiss it as insignificant, their curiosity fading before they can examine it closely. This effect makes the ring appear mundane, preventing all but the most determined or skilled observers from recognizing its magical nature.
However, the ring has its limits. While it provides excellent protection against casual or intermediate mind-reading, it cannot withstand the concentrated efforts of exceptionally skilled Legilimens like Dumbledore, Voldemort, or Snape. Similarly, invasive spells or focused magical scrutiny can bypass its defenses, exposing the wearer's true thoughts or intentions.
3 Bought, 50 CP remaining.
With a flash of light, the three rings dropped in my palm. This was the most important item I had ever gotten after my evolved trunk. The passive defenses against legitimacy were invaluable to me and my group. While the limits were upsetting, at the very least, I wouldn't worry about passive probes. Veritaseum exceeded its limits, too, but it was worth it even then. From what I've learned, Dumbledore wouldn't do a full probe against someone in our group, and I would do my best to ignore Snape if we ever got to that point of Canon with nothing changed. I didn't want him near Iris's thoughts if I could help it. At that point, I would already have something even more potent.
The design was cute, though.
Two hours later.
"What in Merlin's name happened here?" a shrill shout could be heard at the entrance to my new cottage.
Cringing at getting found out I almost facepalmed when I remembered that Iris and Hemione were keyed to the entrance of my trunk. Hermione sometimes used it to practice for Potion's class whenever she didn't want to go to the dungeons. On the other hand, Iris sometimes takes a quick nap. I didn't have anything to hide from them, so I completely forgot about it, and now it came to bite me in the ass. I had no way to bullshit myself out of this problem, and the act of lying to my best friends left an ashy taste in my mouth.
I lost track of time while testing all the new areas in my trunk, and when I noticed it was getting late, I hit the shower to freshen up. I intended to get out before anyone could ask where I was, but I appeared to need to be faster for my friends.
Iris was looking around with wide eyes, gazing at the impossible sight with a cocked eyebrow. Mione was the same, but she started stomping her foot on the ground, a clear sign that I knew her as well as I believed.
She didn't understand how this happened and was itching for an explanation. I loved her dearly, but she was unstoppable whenever she got like this.
"I can explain," I blurted out while rubbing the back of my head, hoping that she would start questioning me the next moment to give me time to think. To my surprise, she just glared at me, continuing to stomp her foot down.
"Go on, Eli," Mione replied with a deadpan. Iris snorted, finally looking at me instead of the surroundings.
"Ehh…" I didn't know what to say. The celestial Grimoire was something I needed to keep hidden, but if I could not trust these girls, I was doing something wrong. In my past life, I always disliked it when whatever MC I was reading talked about his powers, but in this circumstance, with the same situation happening in front of me, I finally understood their thoughts.
If I decided to hide this, I would only make a gap in my relationship with both of my friends and living alone with such a secret would make my life miserable.
"Something happened during my last days in the orphanage," I admitted, "But we don't have time for me to explain everything, mione. I promise we will talk during the train ride and do my best to explain properly."
Mione kept her glare but sighed defeatedly, "You promise?" She asked with her lower lip trembling a little, and I knew that she was forcing herself to look pitiful but damn if it wasn't working.
Sighing, I nodded, "I promise."
Mione smiled brightly at that, confirming my thoughts that she was feigning her sadness. But I had already given my word.
"Let's go. We have about thirty minutes to reach the station," Iris said in a bored tone. She was already looking around once more. I didn't know if her silence was for better or for worse.
I had escaped my death sentence, at least for a while.
King's Cross Station.
I didn't notice inside my trunk, but it had started raining quite heavily in the two hours I spent inside. Thankfully, we used the floo network to reach a wizarding establishment ten minutes before the train left, and it was just next to the station. The usual feeling of dizziness I had whenever I used the floo was surprisingly absent, thanks to my perks. I started power walking toward platforms nine and ten. After three years of doing the same, Iris, Mione, and I walked through the "Solid" barrier with no problem, which I was thankful for.
Iris did not participate in the absolute stupidity Ron did during our second year, so she had more experience than in Canon.
Looking around, I observed the crying firsties and the gloomy-looking returning students. Some were sad leaving their family behind one more year, while others abhorred going back to school. I wasn't the same; I loved being at Hogwarts, and it was shared by the Golden Trio. We all had different motives for loving the school, but we all did so all the same.
Iris loved the freedom she had at school, and the occasional murder attempt to her name didn't dissuade her at all. I didn't understand that, but she had more courage than all the schools combined. Mione, on the other hand, just loved magic, plain and simple. She missed her parents, but from what I've learned, they were somewhat distant to her, even more so when she started attending the magical school. They loved her, and she didn't doubt that, but when she was in muggle school, they were strict with her, which she didn't miss.
From what she told us, her parents had no idea of all the perils we had to survive. She kept it a secret because she feared they would take her away from school, specifically from us.
We were a tight-knit group, which is one reason we managed to survive everything that happened in the beautiful yet cursed school.
Mrs. Weasley tried to give Iris a dress for the ball, and she accepted it with a smile but confided in me in secret that she would buy another one on a trip to Hogsmeade if it was really needed. The teases of the tournament happened in the burrow, and while Iris and Mione were curious, it filled me with dread.
This year would be different than the rest, and the danger Iris would go through was bigger than usual, but I couldn't interfere yet.
The Hogwarts Express was already there, with the motor already running, so we started hurrying inside, not caring for the Weasleys who were behind us.
The Hogwarts students were milling around, and behind us, we could hear the pants of tiredness from the Weasleys who were not in good shape; the only ones who weren't panting were Bill, Charlie, and Ginny.
"Hurry up, kids," Mrs. Weasley shouted, and the kids ran toward the train behind us. We reached it first and searched for a compartment to leave our luggage in. Finding one free halfway through the train, we left what we had on hand and started walking back to the platform since we had time to say our goodbyes.
"I wish I could go this year," Bill smirked, enjoying the opportunity to Rule out the rest of the Weasleys.
"Oh, yes, my dear brother," Charlie grinned, "I will be present, and I can't wait anymore."
Iris, Mione, and the rest started questioning the pair but were left speechless when they decided to keep their mouths shut with similar smirks on their faces.
"Thanks for everything." Iris said to Mrs. Weasley with a smile, after she understood that the older Weasleys were not going to explain anything, "You have no idea how much it means to me to leave Pivet Drive."
"Oh, rubbish, my dear." Mrs. Weasley waved her hand, "It was our pleasure to host Ginny's saviors."
"We would do it again without asking for anything in return." I smiled, "We have grown fond of her." I grinned, looking at the blushing redhead.
Grunting at the feeling of a fist striking me in the stomach, I remembered that Iris told me to stop teasing the girl, and I laughed sheepishly while rubbing the sore spot.
"You have a mean hook, my dear," I replied with a posh accent, looking at Iris, who glared at me.
"And you don't learn, Eli." She grumbled, but before she could continue her tirade, the pistons hissed loudly.
"Goodbye!" Chirped Mione with a wave.
"Now you owe us something, Eli. Don't think I forgot." She looked me dead in the eyes, and at that moment, I wondered if she would get a campus cat as her animagus if she ever tried.
Iris looked at me with a smirk and started walking back toward our compartment. " See you later, guys." She nodded toward the Weasleys. "We have some grilling to do."
Sighing, I nodded in defeat, showing a tired smile at Ginny, who was looking at us confused.
"See you guys at Hogwarts." I nodded, rubbing Ginny's hair, earning a squawk from the redhead.
Walking defeatedly to the compartment, I wondered if I was doing the right thing before shaking my head resolutely. Iris and Mione would never betray me; I was sure of it.
Finally, in the compartment, Mione took her wand out and started waving it in the direction of the door, muttering up a storm in Latin.
After a minute, she smiled victoriously and tried to open the door. The door didn't bulge at all as she turned her proud gaze toward us.
"Now we will have all the privacy needed." She grinned.
"That really advanced magic, Mione," I lifted my eyebrow in her direction, "One would think all you do is study,"
"Prat," she huffed. "Now start talking, mister, " she said with her hands on her hips.
Sighing once more, I nodded, "Follow me, then."
With another tap on my trunk, it resized and opened in one move, and we walked inside. Now that she wasn't freaking out, Mione was looking around in wonder, but I could feel Iris' eyes in the back of my head.
"There was something different about you when we saw you again," Iris said idly once we were in the dining room of my cottage.
"Puberty," I shrugged with a smirk.
"Oh?" Iris grinned, "Finally, will you notice the ladies?"
I blue-screened before grinning, "Why would I look for other ladies when I have you both? Thanks to you, I will be gray in my twenties."
Iris laughed, "You better, mister." She warned me with a serious look, "You are ours, Eli." She continued with her nose held high.
"As you wish, princess." I bowed at her to finish the little interlude before the serious talk, grinning at each other.
"Eli, start explaining," Mione whined with a blush.
"It all started during the break," I grunted, "I had been dreaming of a library, but I always woke up before anything more happened in my dream."
Mione was on the edge of her seat, and Iris' eyes turned cold at hearing the word dreams.
"It wasn't until the last day in the orphanage that I noticed something in my dream. There was a time in the middle of it radiating otherworldly light." I continued, "But I woke up once more before I could touch it."
Hermione faepalmed, "And then what happened?"
"I woke up that day and felt something wrong in my room." I smiled sadly at her, "I was alert and took my wand out. I was ready to be killed, or worse, expelled."
Laughing at the blush on Hermione's face, I grinned at Iris with a twinkle in my eyes, "I felt something in the magic, so I was ready to defend myself if it was needed. Imagine my surprise when I saw the same time I was dreaming about laying on top of my desk."
Mione gasped, and Iris turned serious, "So I approached." I shrugged.
"Elias, you big idiot," Sighed Mione. "Didn't think to keep distance from something clearly unnatural?"
"Eh, I was curious," I rubbed my neck, "That's when I knew I fucked up."
"What happened, Eli?" Iris asked in a whisper.
"It took control of my body." I smiled sadly, "I didn't know what was happening, and I panicked. There was nothing I could do but allow it to do whatever it wanted at that moment. In the end, it used my body to cut my finger and push some blood to its pages."
My friends looked horrified at me, "Was it something like Voldemort's diary?" Iris asked.
"No, thank Merlin, it wasn't like that. Now that you pointed that out, I really dodged a bullet." I shook my head self-deprecatingly.
“What happened then?” Mione asked, alarmed.
"It turns out it is a grimoire that bonded with me." I said thoughtfully, "I want to remind you to keep this secret to your grave, you hear me? I will explain properly, but this has to be between us. I trust you both like nothing else in this world and even then, I know I'm taking a big risk by doing so."
"The only reason I'm even telling you this is because our mental shields are good enough to keep passive probes and because I have this." I continued seriously, taking out the three rings I got this morning, "Put it on, and swear to me that you will never take it off."
Iris did so without asking for an explanation, and after some seconds of consideration, Mione followed her lead in silence.
"That ring is called the Ring of mental fortitude, and it shields us from passive probes against our fledgling Occlumency. It won't help us against someone like Dumbledore, Snape, or Voldemort if they focus their whole strength on it, but I don't think that will affect us in the short term." I continued.
"This is amazing," Hermione squealed, "Where did you get them?"
"I was getting to that," I ruffled her bushy hair, "This grimoire is called The Celestial Grimoire."
"That sounds… important." Iris deadpanned.
"It is… and if people find out I have it, no one and I mean no one, would stop until I'm dead." I said grimly, "This is no exaggeration. Every single person in the wizarding world, and even the muggles, would kill me as soon as they could just to get this grimoire."
"What is so special about it?" Asked Mione with a tilt of her head but biting her lip, thinking of different situations.
"It gave me those rings… It evolved my trunk… and it gave me this," I said seriously. I stood up and lifted my hand in front of my face. With a thought, blue flames came to life like an inferno: "Follow me."
Both Iris and Mione gasped, seeing the flames in my hand; the only reason they were not panicking was the lack of fear on my face and my control over it, making it dance in my hand.
We walked outside, and I willed a Tree some meters away from the entrance of my cottage. When it finished growing, I threw the fireball toward it.
With an explosion, the tree bark disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Not even ashes remain from the tree. It was scary but exciting at the same time.
"It's random, but I have gotten all this in the past few days. Could you imagine what I could get in a year? Ten?" I said thoughtfully, "Girls… this could change everything."
