Chapter 15

Over the next few weeks, my routine continued as it generally did. Magnus Gamp ran me through a series of lectures on various potion ingredients and Dark Creatures to finish off my First-Year education in Defense and start the Ingredient Lecture portion of Second-Year Potions, while also teaching me a few second-year practical lessons for Charms, Potions, and Defense, namely, Tarantellagra, Immobulus, the Fire Protection Potion, Strengthening Solution, Homorphus, and Fumos Dua.

Aside from that, he kept up the sparring and practice duels, at least three hours out of the fourteen he had me every week by default was spent on those. I never got a single win, but then, I wasn't really expected to, not off Magnus Gamp. I did last longer and longer each time, though it was far from an even contest, even with him sandbagging like he was.

In my own time, I practiced things I'd gained from the Cross-House Study Group or out of the various rare tomes I'd been given as part of my Mother's inheritance. Primarily, this involved runes and alchemy. The Wuxing-style stuff I'd gotten from Sue Li, the Sadhana stuff I'd gained off the Patil Twins, Sanskrit Runes from the Patil Twins, Ogham Runes from Morag MacDougal, and Aramaic Runes from Anthony Goldstein. The actual casting of spells I saved for meetings of the Study Group.

As I studied the different types of Runes, I found that different Runic Alphabets were good at different things. Ogham, for instance, was very good at enhancing materials and anchoring enchantments, while Aramaic Runes were better for construct creation and Sanskrit Runes were better at producing magical effects on-demand as if they were a Wizard's Scroll from Dungeons and Dragons.

Likewise, Sadhana Alchemy was very different from Wuxing Alchemy. While Wuxing Alchemy was primarily focused on the elements, Sadhana Alchemy was focused on making changes to living beings. If you wanted to make an oil that would catch fire on contact with air, you would be better suited to using Wuxing Alchemy, however, if you wanted an Elixir that could give you the ability to breathe underwater, Sadhana Alchemy was a better bet.

Of course, there were ways to make changes to living beings with Wuxing Alchemy and to alter elements and elemental forces with Sadhana Alchemy, but they both came at the process from very different directions which made it more challenging to do than if you simply used the appropriate system.

Wuxing Alchemy would enhance a person's body by drawing alchemical associations between the five classical Chinese elements and yin and yang, from which they could then draw alchemical associations to various organs and body parts and begin to make changes from there. As an example, associations could be drawn via complex alchemical diagrams that go from Metal to Yin to Skin and would then be capable of being turned into an elixir that was capable of alchemically toughening the skin of the drinker to better withstand blows.

Sadhana Alchemy on the other hand would generally require the user to make changes within themselves first and then use the changes that were brought on by the practice to alter the elements. For instance, utilizing Sadhana to give yourself the ability to breathe fire that was hot enough to melt metal, which could then be shaped as desired normally.

In either case, such practices were beyond what I could pull off by myself. At least for now, anyway. I would have to stick to utilizing the proper field for the proper effects I wanted to create for the foreseeable future.

In any event, I had other training to do outside of those systems in my downtime as well. I took Sundays to devote time to such things. Occlumency, Leglimency, the Dead Moment, Remote Viewing, and Psychometry all got varying degrees of training, as did my attempts at spell modification. I was able to modify the knockback jinx to hit with some serious punch. Flipendo Aries was what I liked to call the Battering Ram Curse, it could easily break a wizard's ribs if it hit them right. Next, I was able to modify the Ice Jinx from shooting blocks of ice to shooting icicles, Gelum Stiria was an attack spell that took far less effort magically than using the normal Ice Jinx as an attack spell.

Beyond those, I also had my first real foray into the less medicinal section of the Azarinth Healer's Treatise, figuring out the steps necessary to go through the Ritual of the Bluemoon Garden, the necessary first step toward greater power.

Apparently, the Bluemoon Grass that was the active ingredient in the Bluemoon Grass Elixir which refined the body enough to begin to make permanent changes and allow for the casting of a form of ancient magic that allowed any number of effects wasn't something natural even to the wizarding world. It was, in effect, a plant created entirely through magic, filtered through a specific ritual.

Apparently, the ritual had been granted to a specific order of Taoist Alchemists and Healers in ancient China by the Moon Goddess Chang'e thanks to some unspecified good turn done to her by the order's Master. The Treatise didn't go into specifics, as it had been written some three hundred years later by a man named Gaius Claudius Antiochus Philopappos Archelaus living in the Azarinth Order's Fortress in the mountains north of Artaxata in the Roman Client Kingdom of Armenia as the Order's Chief Alchemist. It did mention that the order had been forced out of China during the Early Han Dynasty and forced to migrate westward, but that was all.

Regardless, the ritual seemed to require a full moon, several silver mirrors, and earth fertilized with strong blood. That was a term that had come up before in other things as well, strong blood. Apparently, certain powerful mystical rituals and alchemical processes required the blood of a creature strong in magical power. These would be things like Dragons, Powerful Wizards with Bloodline Abilities, Phoenixes, Unicorns, and the like.

Of course, Dragon Blood was very tightly regulated by the ministry, and the others were infeasible for different reasons. Bleeding a Unicorn was considered to be a very dark act, and for good reason, as blood forcibly taken from a Unicorn would often curse or otherwise ruin whatever undertaking it was used in. While unicorns have been known to consent to bleeding, it was always due to some service rendered, and always by a young witch of some sort. As I was not a young witch, that wouldn't fly either. Meanwhile, while there was a Pheonix in the castle, I couldn't very well go up to Dumbledore's office and ask for a vial of Fawkes' blood without having to answer a lot of questions I'd really rather not have to answer.

Fortunately, as a Wizard who has two bloodline abilities, my own blood counted for the purposes of being strong blood. That would allow me to do an end-run around all the restrictions and other drawbacks by simply bleeding myself. That would have to wait until the full moon, however, as I'd missed my chance for September already, unfortunately.

In terms of the Study Group Sessions themselves, well, a lot of that was tied up in me giving more Occlumency Lessons, occasional Italian Lessons, and teaching my own modified spells. After thrashing him with it in Dueling Club, Terry practically demanded I teach him the Battering Ram Curse, for instance, while Hermione surprised me by asking for Italian Lessons. Apparently, her mother had booked a trip to Tuscany for her family over the Christmas Holidays, and Hermione would very much like to be able to speak to the waiters at the restaurants. Teaching her how to order her favorite pasta dish, ask for the bathroom, and other things like that took up a decent chunk of time as well.

Of course, I also did a bit of practice in those sessions as well. I picked up a few household charms from Hannah, such as the fitting charm, the heating charm, and the cooling charm, and grabbed Coloshoo, Sequentia Telum, and Depravatio from Millie's Grandad's Duelling Spells. The first was a Hex that stuck one person or object to the floor or wall, the second was a version of the Arrow-Shooting Spell that created a homing arrow that would follow the target at a consistent speed, and the last was a Curse that temporarily weakened the stamina of whoever it was cast on.

Finally, I picked up a few highland charms from Morag MacDougall, the Climbing Charm, with the incantation Sreap Àrd that allowed the caster to climb sheer surfaces like Spider-Man, Sgian Falaichte which would allow the caster to hide small objects about their person, usually a knife or wand, and the Water Breathing Charm, with the incantation of Anail Uisge that allowed the caster to breathe underwater.

Classes of course continued as well. Transfiguration was a three-week course on the Flintifors Spell, which was turning anything into a matchbox. It was the first, large-application Transfiguration we would learn, as it could turn literally anything into a matchbox no matter the size or composition. As such, it was more complicated than learning how to turn one specific thing into a different specific thing. That's why we were spending three weeks on it. I was the first to manage a partial transfiguration the first week, earning points, but got stuck on that until the second week when I got it down, only being beaten by Parvati Patil and Tracey. I earned more points by helping others who were still figuring it out afterward.

In Herbology, I kept partnering with Susan and helping others plant their various magical plants once we finished with ours. We learned about the properties of and how to care for, Asphodel and Stinging Nettles. We also were finally formally taught the Incendio Spell during that time and I was able to help the whole class out, earning me a whole mess of points. It also tripled the number of Silver Points I'd gained in the Slytherin Rankings for taking an active leadership role for two entire houses.

It was good that I earned those silver points because we learned about two more rituals in Astronomy Class. The First One was the Ritual of Mars' Valor, which was one that needed to be cast when the Planet Mars was in the morning sky and required the person undertaking the ritual to sacrifice the heart of a bull into a burning flame under the light of the Planet Mars and breathe in the smoke. When that was done, the caster would be protected from magical compulsions and terror for a year and a day, the traditional period of ritual usefulness for fixed-outcome rituals.

It was apparently the only known proof against the Imperius Curse and Veratiserum, which was one of the reasons why it's still taught at Hogwarts despite the potential for the Ritual to interfere with Veratiserum Interrogation. The only known Wizard to ever manage to successfully use the Imperius Curse through the protection of the Ritual was Gellert Grindelwald. Even Voldemort never managed that much, though he rarely used the Imperius Curse when the Cruciatus Curse would serve just as well for motivating people to act how he wanted them to.

Other than that, we learned about the Ritual of Ullr's Grace, which had to be done during the night of the Autumnal Equinox and involved a mixture of ice water, the blood of a game animal that had been hunted fairly, and wood shavings from an arrow. The supplicant had to mix a basin of this under the open sky of the night of the equinox and then upend the basin over themself while shirtless in the center of a specially constructed runic circle. Doing so would grant the supplicant immunity from cold and the ability to move in snow as if on skis for a year and a day.

Aside from that, however, we spent the last lesson of the three-week period simply learning about the Moons of Saturn, their names, and their mythic connotations. It was just as well, after reserving the Slytherin Ritual Chamber three times, once for Mars' Valor, once for Ullr's Grace, and once for Leiðarstjarna, I was running low on Silver Points.

As to those rituals, while most of my friends were willing to join me for the Rituals of Mars' Valor and Leiðarstjarna, the Girls refused to join me for Ullr's Grace.

"We're not taking our shirts off in front of you, that's hardly proper." Sniffed Daphne.

"Aye, you'll just have to do the ritual without us." Confirmed Susan.

"But what about you guys?" I questioned.

"Daphne has some silver points she can use to reserve a space for just us girls." Pointed out Tracey.

"And you're all right using them like that?" I queried.

"I don't see why not." Nodded Daphne.

"Besides, if some of the boys who were at the Leiðarstjarna Ritual are going to be at this one, I think I'd rather stay cold this winter." Frowned Millie.

"Oh Gods, can you imagine Ron Weasley being present for having our shirts off?" Added Hermione.

"Thinking about the sorts of comments he'd make?" Asked Tracey.

"He's not the canniest lad around, aye." Agreed Susan.

"You mean he's a total git." Scowled Millie.

"That sounds like there's a story there. If Ron said something to you, let me know. I'll have a talk with him." I intoned.

"You didn't hear? Half the girls in the school have heard by now." Frowned Hermione.

"Hear what?" I questioned.

"Ron called Millie a fat, ugly, snake the other day. He'd been angry because she had pointed out that Ron was about to lose a game of Wizards Chess against one of his brothers and then he did in the way she pointed out. He still hasn't apologized." Answered Daphne.

"I can't help that my shoulders are so broad and my nose looks like it does. It's not fair." Sniffed Millie, looking like she might cry.

"Aye, he's a bit daft. Radge or no, that's no way to talk to anyone." Affirmed Susan.

"Millie, look at me. You are not fat or ugly and I am going to have a talk with Ron Weasley when I see him next." I promised.

"Really?" Queried Millie.

"Really." I nodded.

"Just don't do anything permanent to him, all right?" Sighed Tracey.

"Yeah, you could get expelled!" Hissed Hermione.

"There are worse things than being expelled, 'Mione." I pointed out.

"True, but it's hardly very cunning to get caught, now is it?" Pointed out Tracey.

"I suppose not." I agreed before heading out to try and find Ron.

I didn't wind up finding him that day but suffice it to say that Ron Weasley didn't get invited to the rituals of Ullr's Grace or Mars' Valor. Both needed to be performed in the same week for maximum effect, so he missed out on both. Serves him right, the git. Honestly, just when I start warming up to him, it's like he says something insensitive about someone I'm close with and it sets us back a few steps. Twice now it'd happened, the first time he'd mentioned my mother at the Train Station and now this thing with Millie. I'd honestly forgotten how much Ron could stick his foot in his mouth.

By the time the first week of October rolled around, I still hadn't seen Ron. He'd ducked out of the last Cross-House Study Group Session like he was dodging someone he owed money to. It proved he knew what he'd done was wrong, but he was being a stubborn prat about just admitting it and going to apologize. Fortunately, he wouldn't be able to duck me for very long. Sunday, there was a mandatory flying lesson for all first years being held by Madame Hooch on the Quidditch Pitch. I'd talk to him there, among other things. After all, if my visions had been true, that would be the day that Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel and I would leverage my visions to save him and Ron from a beatdown, thereby accruing favors to cash in during Halloween.

And really, there wasn't a better apology Ron could offer Millie than being part of a team that saved her life from trolls. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, bit of a time-skippy chapter here. Now that we're in the first week of October we can start getting into the meat of the plot of the First Book a bit more. First up is the flying lesson and subsequent duel between Harry and Malfoy in the Trophy Room. You guys all know what the plan is there, but whether that can be pulled off or not remains to be seen.

As for Ron being an asshole, Early Ron was struggling with both an inferiority complex as regards his older, more accomplished, brothers, and a lack of filter between what he's thinking about saying and what he actually says. He grows out of it eventually, at least in the books. The Movies have him stay a git through Deathly Hallows for some reason.

At any rate, the next chapter will be the flying lesson.

Stay tuned. . .