Hidden by the forest trees, a black hair boy was held tight by a fragile pair of arms. Mikhael didn't want to go, to left her alone, to be alone, again. Her lilac scent didn't calm his fear, it made it grow. If he went away he would lose her, it would hurt, a lot. Abigael was the reason he wasn't broken by the years in the orphanage. Without her presence and morale boost, the orphan didn't know what he would have become.
The girl cold hands forced the boy to look into her sapphire eyes. It was true that they wouldn't be together. It was true that it would be hard for him. Still, it was an opportunity he had to grab. In order to become wiser, stronger, better and then, she would come back to him, for him to fulfill her secret wish. Until then, she wouldn't be accessible. The blood hair girl confessed to the orphan, that she had spent most of her magical energy just to see him, for years.
So many secrets, it was bitter to say farewell. Abigael gave him a last hug and cheek kiss before disappearing in front of him. She wasn't joking, she didn't lie. His hands grabbed the empty space where she stood. Never before, he had witnessed any form of magic from her. His best friend, Abigael only mentioned the first time they met that she control magic. In the end, she was like him. The orphan spent the rest of the day, alone, reviewing his and her time together.
It was Thursday morning when the deputy headmistress Minerva McGonagall came to the 'Seven Oaks Provisional Home For Orphans'. The matron discussed a bit with the teacher about the school and the procedure concerning Mikhael. Not that she was against the idea to have a mouth less to feed for months, but it had to be legal to take the child away. Reassuring the matron about any repercussion and potential trouble, McGonagall sipped her tea. The Hogwarts teacher was used to this job's part for years.
Mikhael was surprised to see a similar stick at the teacher's hand. The orphan played the fool about magic. Explaining in detail his accidental magic as what his brother did during their time spent together. McGonagall demonstrated him transfiguration turning his bed into a pig and canceled it before she engaged in a long explanation about the school, the wizard world and the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.
The witch would take him to Diagon Alley with three other muggle-born for school shopping. Apparating wasn't pleasant, but knowing that spatial moves like that were possible, opened the child's mind to new possibilities. Abigael was right. Training only the two them was limiting his progress. Magic wasn't limited, it had an infinite possibility of application.
Sitting at a table inside the pub 'The Leaky Cauldron', Mikhael waited while the old witch fetched the other first year of today. The pub owner Tom, gave the orphan a drink for free. To welcome him to the wizard world Tom said, what a nice fellow. Still, the black hair muggle-born felt like a sore thumb. All the 'wizards' here or drunken fools, wore robes and old clothes like in the history book Mikhael studied at school. All the time the clients performed magic for cleaning the table or removing stains on robes, they relied on their wands. Couldn't wizards do their magic like him, wordless, wandless.
If McGonagall didn't lie and the witches and wizards here weren't scam. The orphan boy smiled, he developed a skill with Abigael that normal wizards couldn't do. This advantage should stay hidden, Mikhael would practice in secret. He felt proud. He didn't waste his time training like a madman for nothing. Even if it was the case, he wouldn't regret it. Training was a way to spend time with Abigael.
The transfiguration teacher came back with a muggle family and their little wizard, Justin Finch-Fletchley. They wore fancy clothes, looking at him in disdain. Mikhael could only imagine the parents' thoughts about sending their son to an unknown school with kids like him, poor as an orphan. People like them came to the orphanage sometimes, not adopt but to find a cute kid in order to show off to their friends and other families how kind and great they were. The man and his wife barely exchanged words with the wizards, waiting for the teacher to bring the last first year.
At last, a couple of dentists, Dan and Emma Granger along with their child Hermione Granger, showed up with McGonagall. Mikhael was at his limit. He had wasted so much time here, waiting for the other family to come. The orphan could have practiced his magic with no restriction in the forest. He could have attempted the spacial shift called Apparating. Instead, here, the black hair boy had to limit himself to move objects in dead angle, under tables, to not being noticed.
This kid, Justin couldn't stop talking to his parents how great he would become once he started studying magic at Hogwarts. A bragging fool thought Mikhael. The magic he sensed from the rich kid wasn't great, the girl Hermione held the double amount. The orphan felt jealous of the young witch, she came from a supporting family and her magic reserve was smaller than his own, but by a little amount.
Pebbles floating under the table returned to the orphan pocket. Dust cloud behind the bar and at doors corners lost their lives and fell down. They were leaving. McGonagall opened the passage to Diagon Alley, tapping on a brick wall with her wand. The sight was wonderful, full of sober wizard and witch of all age and social category. Mikhael wanted to explore the place, see what the wizard achieved and compared it to his own discovery, getting ideas, learning more about magic.
The orphan promised himself to come back for sure. The group stopped at the bank 'Gringotts Wizarding Bank'. McGonagall needed to get Hogwarts charity fund for Mikhael's school supplies. Ashamed, he looked away. He would reimburse all of it, later, when he could and with a bonus. The orphan regretted not paying more attention to money. With the animal and fruits in the forest for food and his magic for clothes cleaning or repairing, the boy didn't see the use of money. He spent too much time alone when he wasn't with Abigael. The latter even joked on his lacking common sense. He couldn't change the past, but he could prepare for the future.
Ugly little creatures with pointed noses and teeth called goblin exchanged money, pound sterling to galleon with a ratio of 4.93 for one galleon, one galleon for 17 Sickles or 493 Knuts. Of course the Finch-Fletchley seniors tried to bargain, expecting to be heard since they were wealthy.
Mikhael didn't dare to steal here, not in open space like this, under the stare of the crowd. He planned to train in a nonmagical area. The target would be easier if no magic was present for their protection. No unknown spell would hit him if he touched a pouch and removed the valuables from inside.
The Granger, as a dentist couple, weren't poor, but they only exchanged the minimum for school supplies and two more books price for their daughter congratulation gift. The bushy girl was so insecure, asking questions to McGonagall about the school requirement and the education level from pureblood family.
The shop's display consisted of a solitary wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. The shop was tiny, empty except for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of narrow boxes containing wands were piled right up to the ceiling, and the whole place had a thin layer of dust about it.
The old Ollivander gave a 10 and 3/4 inch long, vine wood, dragon heartstring wand to Hermione. Vine wands were among the less common types, and their ideal owners are nearly always those witches or wizards who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best. Vine wands seem strongly attracted by personalities with hidden depths, Mr.Ollivander explained. Mixing it with a powerful core, it made easy to learn spells though the wand would easily be committed to another owner. The girl had trashed the store before the correct wand was found, unlike Justin who got his at first try. His parents flaunted about his fast success when they waited for the other kid to get their wand.
Mikhael tried his sixth wand when he felt the connection.
" Twelve inches, acacia wood and thestral tail hair for you mister Jones. ", Ollivander tried to grab Mikhael's arm before explaining the properties for a stronger visual impact, but failed. It worked the two first times, but the orphan was prepared and avoid contact. The boy preferred when it was Abigael and not a creepy old man touching him.
" A very unusual wand wood, which I have found creates tricky wands that often refuse to produce magic for any but their owner, and also withhold their best effects from all but those most gifted. ", the wandmaker gave up his shenanigan. " While thestral tail hair, the same core as the one inside the Elder Wand according to the legend, fits for discretion and death. A really difficult and unstable core to make. Only a few, I made like this one. Hard to get too. ", Mikhael felt a probed in his mind. He didn't know what it was, it was unpleasant. He focused his magic around his mind to make it stop. The strange feeling faded quickly.
" Long ago, wizard brought to us wandmaker, unique cores to turn them in wand but I felt it wasn't always matching the bringer. Sorry I rambled a bit. Your wand loyalty and discretion are its main strengths. The wand chooses the wizard Mister Jones, remember it. Each wizard or witch matches their wand properties... I am no seer, but is strange, this combination. Few used them and they... I fear... ", the wizard didn't finish as McGonagall came inside and paid the seven Galleons price. She had to finish her trip with the group. They already went to the bank, Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, the apothecary. All that remained was the books to get, and then she would bring them back home and end the day.
Mikhael browsed some interesting books about magic theory, rituals, ward and runes while McGonagall got him and the two other muggle-born first-year curriculum books. He understood the subject of the book but not the content. The boy lacked those field basic knowledge which would take time and experiences. Yet, rituals strongly met his interest. Abigael tried to increase his magical pool or magical core as it said in books, but the speed was slow. Rituals in theory, could help him faster and with enough preparation, had no side effect. Potions were similar, but often the effects were often temporary, it could be useful. However, in the long term, the boy could only rely on his own abilities.
The bushy hair girl chose as her extra book 'Hogwarts: A History' to which her parents accepted. It didn't bother him anymore, seeing happy families, things he didn't or couldn't have. Her hair nature was mocked in whispers by the other clients as it wasn't an usual sight. Hermione made no comments nor acted affected by it, but the orphan saw it when she carefully tried to straighten her hair when she thought no one watched.
With all his school supplies in hands, Mikhael filled the standard trunk which wasn't even half full. Dimensional space was awesome. To fit in this small container all his books, clothes, cauldron and potions ingredients were something he would love researching. The group bade farewell to each participant before McGonagall apparated them to their own house. The teacher reminded him how to get to the platform 9 and 3/4 to board the Hogwarts Express on the first of September.
In the forest clearing, a black hair kid read his first years book while spheres of fire rotated around him in a circular motion, never colliding. Lot of things were stranges and made no sense to him. For example, the fire making charm Incendio needed a flick of the wand followed by its name to cast fire on the target. 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1' specified rules and laws about magic the orphan violated when training his accidental or wandless and wordless magic.
The boy could perform the spell with the movement and chant but the power was restrained. Above a certain threshold, the spell couldn't allow the fire to grow hotter nor wider. The one who create this spell, had in mind the danger it could become so the move and chant were security measures. The fire-making charm form was difficult to alter as it just spit fire to the direction of the wand end with little to no control.
Mikhael tried without the wrist movement or the chant, focusing more on his experience and intent. The result was what he expected. The movement required facilitated the spell construction, but at the same time, it restricted the form it could take. On the other side, the chant helped to channel his magic in the spell construction to make it alive. However, the power necessary was, like dictated by the spell creator. It required a certain minimum amount of magic and couldn't exceed a certain power threshold.
The wand, as a tool helped the young wizard to perform finer work or manipulation. Transforming a fire sphere into a dozen of flames and controlling them was easier. The core wand resonated with his magical application, he spent less magic and with the wood had better control. All those first-year spells were made for beginners to feel their magic, not to be dangerous. Still, Mikhael believed that those regulated spells could do a lot more if he mastered them in different ways.
The young wizard trained the Incendio charm. At first, he could only create some flames from the spell. The longer he practiced the longer he could channel magic in the spell. The flames became a fire then a jet of fire. Without wand waving nor chant, Mikhael focused on the flames he created. His intent was on the fire itself, slowly it started to have a smaller effect zone. The flame thrower compressed its output. Still not satisfied, the orphan manipulated the fire to be constant, flexible.
As hard as it was, the Incendio charm turned into a fire lasso with compact and hotter flames which could extend at will, the current maximal length reached three meters long. The experience was a success. Yes, the boy couldn't recreate his fire spheres with this spell, but it held potential. This whip of fire was another league stronger than his old metal cutting fire ring. At that time, it was a lot harder to create and maintain.
Mikhael pure magic control with no intermediary wasn't useless, it could unleash stronger and wilder magic, it has no limit except for his own magical reserve. It was manipulating raw magic instead of using the wand as mediator, no safety, full freedom. The orphan was happy to work on spell wizards learned, however he was a bit sad, he couldn't share this experience with Abigael. He missed her presence, her comfort.
Her sapphire eyes would agree with him about the lack of magical theory on how spells worked, how they were crafted and how they influenced the world in his school books. That girl would also point out that it was just beginner's book. The good stuff would be hidden in the Hogwarts library.
Mikhael wasn't as weak as before, still, he had a long way to go. He remembered the death eater. The orphan was still weaker than his family's murder, not for long. The boy had so much to learn, so much to do and so little time. To fulfill her dream, he had to be at the top, unrestrained. The position of minister for magic was a good objective to reach. He would get influences and resources needed for her dream. Yet, he couldn't just rely on his position, he had to rise to the top, with no equal, so Abigael would come back to him.
Leaving the Leaky Cauldron after a visit to Diagon Alley and its stores, Mikhael had a better understanding of the magical world. Knockturn Alley was an interesting place, he would come back there as the dark alley had a variety of products and services not found in the regular alley. His future ritual ingredients would surely be found in those shady shops.
Since money was a necessity with a higher priority now, Mikhael was roaming the London street the weekend when he wasn't training his magic. Here, there was a lot he could manage to get with his silent manipulation. Levitating purses, opening windows or door became even easier with the unlocking charm Alohomora. Pawnshops never questioned him with his hood covering his face, but he often got lower prices thanks to his age and appearance.
The young thief could only endure the loss. Until then, he had to learn spell on illusion and feature modification, but those weren't in his first-year school books. He gritted his teeth and persevered. It became harder to enter houses unnoticed as more policemen and officers patrolled the street. The growing number of victims wasn't something he could fight against. Richer people had a harder security.
The young wizard amassed money enough to get him out of the orphanage, but it would be suspicious if he did. What if McGonagall came back to check on him, only to find he left with no reason. Buying a house without an adult appearance wouldn't do. How could he explained the money since it wasn't his at first. No one would trust him, with no parent to guaranty he wasn't a scam, Mikhael couldn't live by himself if he didn't want to sleep outside.
The orphan needed to find a way at a later date. For the moment, he converted his money into galleons and opened a new Gringott vault. He also bought a bottomless purse with blood bonding charm and runes to make it invisible and untouchable by other than the owner. Mikhael wondered how much from his two hundred pounds, he should let in his vault. Should he amassed it then invested it into a wizard shop with the goblin as intermediary or, should he used it on books and ingredients he needed for research and practices. The boy decided to half amass and half allocate to the budget for his immediate growth.
A man, in his thirty stinking alcohol approached Mikhael bus station. The bus he used to go to London, he had to stop at a village north his orphanage and walk for three-quarters of an hour before reaching his 'home'.
" HOY ! ", the stranger screamed before taking out a gun. The Colt 1911 metallic end pointed at the old couple next to Mikhael. The husband's white hair stayed still while his face turned red.
" WHAT ? I fought a WAR youngster. A war against the Nazi for YOU, to have a better FUTURE ! ", the old man stood up. His wife murmured him to stay calm and wait for the police to come, they weren't young anymore. It was dangerous. " Ingrate generation, trying to rob their own father for a drink, SHAME ON YOU SON ! ", the grandpa shouted, getting the attention of passenger by. The crowd was hesitant to get closer, but it formed a circle around the bus station belittling the drunken.
With a bang, the old man fell. The crow went silent. The murderer stared at his weapon. He didn't feel the trigger. He just wanted the old man to shut up and get his money. Sprinting policemen reacted by dispersing the crow, the protocol to protected them. Policemen didn't hesitate to confront the murderer with their own guns. They told him to lower his weapon. They shot him dead when the criminal pointed his Colt 1911 to the sky.
Such a black comedy. Kill by the gun and died by the bullet. Mikhael understood that guns were terrific weapons, lethal with cold beauty. He planned to control the muggle too, after becoming a minister. He couldn't allow such a menace to exist. He would have to get a gun and experiment on it to get some protection and counter.
A full family of redheads, more like carrot head than his best friend Abigael mounted the Hogwarts Express. McGonagald instructions about the platform's hidden entrance were useful. Without it, Mikhael would have to concentrate on his magic and sense where magic gathered to find the hidden entrance. Another method could have been to search from there a wizard family and follow them through the unknown magical barrier.
Entering an empty compartment the orphan levitated his trunk after getting a book on potions. He noted in his mind the 'Calming Draught' as his future main source of income for his years at school. This potion could calm down a person after they suffered a shock, trauma, or emotional outburst. It would become extremely sought on exam period moreover it was relatively easy to make. Mikhael had prepared some from his self-study in the Seven Oaks forest. Lavender and Peppermint were easy to find in forests so it would be at Hogwart forbidden forest limit. The only difficult ingredient to get was the Crocodile Heart. He would have to find a way to get those three ingredients.
The compartment door opened, letting a chubby boy standing with his toad in arms and a familiar bushy hair.