Grass grew greener. Flowers and new buds flourished the moment the wizard feet left an imprint on the earth. Shooting toward the sky, they rose and fell. The life force wasn't perpetual. The vegetation faded in color. Brown followed by black painted the now crooked remnants. Seconds later, the wind blew all evidence of their previous presence.
Unable to tire himself with the regular running, the ritual adept added the use of the green healing on each of his steps. Barefoot, he sprinted among the trees and bushes. Disillusioned fire and weapons wreaked havoc in his path while the same magic conjured lights to mend the damage. Deploying his wings, the wizard further the process. He knew he was ready. His magic could sustain it.
Condensed tendrils of magic wrapped along his lower back. It started with ethereal bones. The structure flapped in a similar fashion of the existing wings. Fibrous tissues with white ligaments clothed the bones after they were engraved with runes for speed and stability. Taking forms, the new limbs covered its new flesh with hundreds of runic feathers that followed the model of the first wings.
Flying above The Forbidden Forest, the ritual adept tripled his speed in a direct line and increased his mobility. Changing direction in the air eased with the additional pair of wings. They were smaller, frailer, but the runes on them amplified the previous set up. Shadows hid the moonlight. Bob and his herd enjoyed the wind. Catching up the group of death horses, the orphan enjoyed their company.
Clouds covering the sky became a floor of whiteness. The lack of oxygen and the cold temperature made the wizard smoke white vapors. His body, helped by magic negated the cold but the air needed the wizard input. Similar to the bubble charm, the green robe conjured an oxygen bubble around him to breath. The vast sea of colorless floors made the orphan minuscule in comparison. For a moment, he forgot who he was. It was peaceful.
Bidding goodbye to the horses, the wizard conjured falcons, ravens and phalaropes. Ordering the ravens to fly according to some determined paths, spells covered by layers of disillusionment shot from the wizard body and hit the other birds. Some missed, but the count kept decreasing. The magical reserve decreased with intense use. Keeping a tenth of his magic in, the wizard descended.
" Winky, food please. ", the green robe removed his clothes and bathed in one of the forest rivers. Water reached the student's torso. The coldness only vitalized the wizard. The current washed away the sweat and massage his muscles. Infusing the ambient magic with his intent, the wizard forced the water to speed up. A small pop resonated at the shore.
" Winky's there master. ", the new house elf jumped up and down with two plates of raw meat. Seeing the clothes the creature waved its finger to remove any stains. Black lines formed under the big eyes. Despite the increase of accessible magic, the elf seemed more tired than weeks ago, thought the orphan.
" Thank Winky, you can return to your other duties. Don't forget to feed and rest. ", the wizard levitated the food above the water.
" Winky's so happy. Winky won't disappoint master Mikhael. ", bowing low the elf dissipated in thin air.
Cracking noise reverberated in the empty room. No furniture nor any equipment were present, only stone walls, roof and floor. The small child's skeleton grabbed two lost phalanges in the stone's hole and one on the ground. Keeping it in his other hand, the small skeleton sprinted to the room center. The speed it demonstrated surpassed the one expected from its short frame.
Silver blade stopped carving magical lines. The green robe made the blade float around him while he put away the headless skeleton and pulled the small one into his arms. Telekinesis maintained all the lost hand's bones in the right position next to the damaged servant. The green light engulfed the bones. Cracks and tears closed up. The injured fist returned to its original state.
Patting the small skull, the wizard mended the hole that pierced the reinforced stone wall. Summoning ten spheres of fire, the ritual adept made them followed determinate paths around the room for the first half and gave chaotic behaviors to the rest. The small skeleton and his three comrades had to run as fast as possible across the space while avoiding any contact for the time being as the wizard focused on his runic work.
The strengthened mental link the ritual adept shared with his servants allowed him to see what they observed. The instantaneous inputs and repetitive actions helped the green robe to mold his skeletons' instincts. They weren't alive, but the magic filling their bones could react faster when it used the same path over and over. The smallest skeleton got burned by a flame coming behind it. The orphan recalled this servant to mend its injury.
The green robe wondered again what was the limit of magic. Some great wizard hypothesized that the magic was an semi-sentient entity. That would explain why some inanimate objects or receptacles could gain souls. The love, the hatred, any strong emotions given to an object for a long time could grant the latter a breath of life or something similar like for the wands. The glass orb on the orphan necklace felt warmer.
The lines carved decorated the headless skeleton feet when the smallest servant reached one corner of the room. There were no scorch marks. The orphan stopped his work and glanced at the skeleton. For a moment, the white jaw fell and rose. The move was short. It didn't repeat. The servant sprinted again across the room. The devotion from the mental link seemed brighter noticed the wizard.
Red liquid drooled from the bucket. Iron filled the air. Near the Forbidden Forest, a student pulled dead chickens from the container. Invisible creatures bit the flesh. A small death horse rubbed its head against the green robe back. Turning around, the orphan recognized it, Betty's child. This little horse had grown up by half a meter since the last time they met. Bringing out the fattest chicken, the orphan fed the magical horse.
A lone blue robe was strolling this way. The green one stood up, but continue to empty his bloody bucket. The witch from Beaubatons didn't slow down before facing the wizard. She hit one of the invisible horses. Unhappy with the unjust treatment, the young horse kicked the newcomer. Propelled to her right, the girl let a small scream escaped. Unbalanced she percussed another death horse.
Perturbed by the invisible creature, she stepped back by ten feet and waved her wand. White mist flooded from her magical tool. It winded up around the place and covered the creature by a white layer. Discovering the true aspect of the thing that touched her, the blue robe paled. Wings like bat attached to famished bodies of scales, the death horses present all fixed the impudent witch.
Concentrating his own magic, Mikhael removed every stain the intruder had made to calm the creatures. His bucket was void of dead chickens. His hands were red. He walked past her. She gritted her teeth. She waited. His steps got further away. She turned back. He wasn't looking at her. She took a deep breath. Her expression bore a forced smile. She cursed loudly. He didn't react. Biting her lips, she sprinted and caught up with the green robe. " No, good to see you again ? ", the girl blocked the wizard's path.
" What do you want ? ", the orphan couldn't help but twitched the corner of his mouth.
One of the girl's eyebrow rose up. She stepped forward. Her hand flashed toward the wizard's face. It stopped. Magic shield prevented her limb to move further. " Still as rude as that time. ", the white-gold haired witch sighed. The shield dissipated. " I just wanted to give my thanks for then and a bit of my mind. Hope, we won't meet again. ", the allure amplified. The foreign student leaned forward, slowly. Moving her lips next to the wizard ear, she said without any French accent, 'bitch' and kissed the orphan's cheek.
She laughed before leaving.
The first lesson with the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts started on Thursday. Alastor Moody rested his body on his desk to not pressure his wooden leg. Large scars decorated his face, but the students noted first the large eye. This artificial limb allowed the professor to move it independently of his other eye. The electric blue iris twirled back and forth between each student's robes, bags and the room's furniture. Three jars covered by tissue decorated the professor's table.
The professor stepped forward when the last student sat down. With a hand's wave, he dismissed the hand risen. " Ministry malcontent. And your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions ? ", the wizard focused both his eyes on the previous student that lowered his arm. Gulping a sip of his drink, the professor glanced toward the rest of the class with his magical eye. There was no question. The professor wrote his name with a chalk on the blackboard.
" When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are ? ", the professor nodded at the hand shot up. The bushy-haired girl was correct with the count of three, but he didn't give any points. He proceeded with another question about the curse's nature to encourage the rest of the students to participate. The same girl began to speak. He cut her short. His hand wrote the word unforgivable and the legal consequence on the blackboard.
" ...Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. Now the ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different ! You need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared. You need to find somewhere else to put your chewing gum other than the underside of your desk Mr Finnigan. ", the chalk flew and hit true. The student massaged his head while cursing low about his bad luck.
" So, which curse shall we see first ? ", the wood leg hit the floor, coming closer to a redhead. Shouting the lion name, the professor obtained a first proposition, the Imperius Curse. Standing in front of the Weasley's desk, Mad-Eye summoned and popped open a jar with a spider in it. " Hello. What a little beauty. ", the sweet voice didn't match the teacher's expression as he used his wand to land the said curse on the enlarged specimen.
The spider danced with its eight legs on the wood desk before jumping around the class tables. The atmosphere warmed up. Some girls found it cute how the spider could pivot on itself. Draco laughed. The snake received the spider to his face. He screamed. " Talented isn't she ? What shall I have her do next ? Jump out the window ? Drown herself ? ", the professor ordered the arachnid to sprint into a conjured basin of water. It wriggled. The cheer stopped. It drowned. The body floated one last time before it hit the basin's bottom.
Satisfied with the full attention, the professor rambled about the use of this curse as an excuse for some wizards' actions during the last war. Cracking the floor with his wood limb, Moody retrieved the last jars. The two of them also contained a spider inside. Facing the class, the professor called for Longbottom to stand up and give another of the three unforgivable.
The student paled. Words couldn't form under his tongue. He looked away. Right and left, his neighbor kept their mouths closed. Two containers hit the lion desk. Neville gulped. He noticed the frown forming on the professor's forehead. Stuttering, the student succeeded to recall the Cruciatus Curse. " Correct ! Correct ! come come. Particularly nasty. The torture curse. ", Moody released the spiders.
Under the dark curse the arachnids could only squeal and twitched. The ritual adept noticed the short instant when the professor's lips twisted and rose as the spider contorted. Keeping a grave expression, Moody intensified the spell. One of the spiders couldn't bear the overload. With one last noise, it froze. Sweat pearled on Neville's head. " Stop it ! Can't you see it's bothering him, stop it ! ", Hermione screamed.
One eye locked on the living spider, the professor faced the interrupting girl. " Perhaps you could give us the last unforgivable curse Miss Granger. ", the wand continued to feed the curse on the arachnid with a lesser intensity. The bushy-haired student shook her head. She turned toward the savior and lowered her head. A green light formed at the professor wand tip. It touched the squealing eight legs. Its movement ceased.
" The killing curse. Only one person is known to have survived it. And he's sitting in this room. ", all the spiders, container and the basin banished under the professor's general counter spell, Finite Incantatem. Moody shook his gourd, paced in the classroom and stopped at the savior desk. Jerking his head back, the professor took another sip of his drink.
" Class dismissed. Mister Jones, stay behind. ", Moody returned to his desk, cleaning some insects' containers. The door closed when the last student exited the classroom. Keeping his wand in hand, the professor targeted the green robe, but didn't cast any spell. The big eye scanned the student from the head to the feet. It lingered on the necklace under the shirt, the neck, the back, the heart, and the hands.
" Dumbledore is a fool. ", Moody invited the student to turn around. The green robe didn't. The orphan didn't show his back to the professor and stood still, facing the older wizard. Moody cursed. It didn't force the student to obey. " I don't know why you are not under the bars. My eye there, can see many things, but you are a mystery. There is nothing that stands out nor noteworthy. And yet... ", a red light flew from the wand. The green robe sidestepped.
" As expected, my guts are always right. ", a spell chain erupted from the wand. A small shield appeared and deflected each of the incoming magic. " Quite talented for your age mister Jones. ", Moody laughed. The spells stopped. He lowered his wand. Both eyes focused on the green robe. " I can recognize a dark wizard when I see one. Nothing escapes me, understood ? ", Moody half-smiled half-grimaced.
" Is that all professor ? ", the green robe left the place, always keeping an eye at the sitting wizard.
Fire liked the bottom of a saucepan. Putting inside a third of a cup of sugar, the orphan mixed it with two tablespoons of cornstarch and one-eighth of a salted teaspoon. The dry part stirred with two cups of milk added gradually at medium heat. The mixture thickened and boiled in a minute. The orphan gradually stirred half of it into two eggs yolks. He was almost finished. For one more minute, he put all back into the saucepan and stirred again after cutting the fire. For that step outside the heat, he added two tablespoons butter and two other of vanilla to add the flavor.
Conjuring small pots, the wizard levitated his dessert into the two containers. Instead of waiting an hour for it to chill down, he put them in a basin of water not reaching the pot's top and froze it. Claps applauded him from behind. One corner of his mouth lifted up. The basin followed behind him. The blond witch brightened when the orphan sat next to her. Dissolving the glass, he summoned two pots with spoons.
" So good Micky. Next time, add more sugar please. ", the girl finished her first pot of pudding. Her thumb wiped her mouth of any pudding remnant. Getting up she faced the orphan. Stepping back, she jumped as high as possible. Her body leaned backward. Hand lift toward the back, she rotated almost all the way. Her head got closer to the ground. Her nose neighbored the stone floor.
Throwing away his dessert, the orphan sprinted forward. Before her forehead met against the ground his arms wrapped around her waist. " Well, thought I could. Not this time, hehehe... ", the third-year didn't waste her position and grabbed two pots of pudding. Pulling her back in place, the orphan accepted the dessert she proposed. Waving his hand, the floor became soft with Cushioning Charms.
Winky staggered a second. The elf rested a moment before jumping on the new texture and cleaning the wasted pudding and kitchen. There was so much to clean and recuperate in the room of requirement for the master.
Trees howled in silence. Deep holes ravaged their brown trunks. White bones gripped the sapling. The earth trembled. Uneven, the grasses fell apart from the new protuberances cracking the ground. Hairy bumps rose from those cracks. Taking with them mud and rock, roots caressed the night wind. Swung for a full rotation, the nine meters long oak broke in two parts when its branches and top trunk percussed the surrounding vegetation.
The skull-less servant followed its master order and planted the oak's remnant in its original place. Sitting atop of Ace 2, the orphan appreciated the performance shown. After countless strengthening ritual, his servants went from piercing a few centimeters into a hard wooden trunk to uproot and swing with no difficulty a nine meters tall oak which weight around half a tonne. There was no other emotion except for devotion coming from the skeleton's mental link.
Patting the three heads dog, the wizard recalled his servant into his silver hand ring. The carves runes of Algiz for protection on the bones were successful. The load and pressure from the activity didn't damage the skeleton's structure. Calling out one of the child-size servant, the green robe conjured a silver knife. The animal sniffed the air. Jumping above a dead tree, Ace 2 sprinted forward. Heavy paws trampled the many bushes.
The bladed didn't falter. It pierced the bones. Carved lines on all the ribs cage formed the rune of Algiz on the white surface. The Nordic letter filled with the wizard magic glowed blue. The light dimmed, but the bones darken. The gray color on the undead body was the only side effect of the rune. Repeating the process of engraving each body part with that magical symbol, the wizard turned his servant full gray like the headless ones.
The Cerberus stopped. One of its head growled. Ace 2 wagged its tail. Feeling the tension, the green robe summoned a third eye while his main focus stayed on his engraving. Sticky silks and wrapped carcasses decorated the many branches and trees from this forest part. Scanning the surrounding, the magical eye detected the presence of dozens arachnids. Giant spiders lift and dropped their hooked legs while their eight eyes observed the group that stayed at their territory's border.
Acromantulas weren't strong on a one to one confrontation. Their venom could become lethal, but it needed to be injected first. Waving his hand, the ritual adept summoned his four other servants. Only the headless one was of gray color, but all of them radiated with power. Falling from the dog height, they stood without any unbalance steps. Following their master's will, the skeletons sprinted forward.
Climbing the trees in second, they left behind deep marks into the wooden trunks. The headless servant was the first to face one of the spiders. Plunging its dust color fist into the creature's head, the servant kept its corpse to slam the closest spider on the same tree. Watching their kind being flattened, the still alive eight legs, percussed their mandibles to call for back up. The smallest one flew away.
The forest resonated with the spiders' calls for help. Ace 2 bared its teeth south. The green robe almost finished carving the rune on the last vertebra of his current servant when his third eye noticed the sea of arachnids that hurried this way. The tree heads dog wagged its tail faster. Its ears all erected. It wanted to flee. Magic filled the surrounding. The air resistance pressured the pet to stay in place.
The servant fell from their trees and knelled before the green robe. The spiders were a hundred meters away. The dog lowered its tail between its legs. Fifty meters separated the arachnids from the trespassers. The four skeletons formed a wall before the animal. The green robe activated his magic. Acromantula of car size approached the ten meters distance.
The orphan's eyes focused on the incoming wave. Fires rose from far away. His pupils contracted. The flames propagated around the group position. The black orbs changed into a vertical slit. The spiders couldn't escape. The ring of fire closed up. Some eight legs stopped moving. Any of them gazing at the towering wizard fell to never get up again. The orphan, from his top position, witnessed how the dead spiders piled up.
Climbing the corpses from the firsts ranks, the new arachnids, whatever their sizes, small like a nail or tall like a car, fast or slow, all of them added up on the mountain of immobile eight legs when the vertical slit captured their sight. Feeling that something wasn't right, some smarter ones tried to ran away. They found the fire. It propelled itself forward. Those that avoided it, watched the flames devouring the unlucky one. They had no way out. They couldn't flee. They couldn't fight. Unable to close their eyes, the eight legs only waited for their ends.
Around the stone supporting the goblet of fire, there was a ring of blue flames. Older students were placing their names into the flame and others applauded. The crowd cheered up for a Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory. Following his example, a pair of redhead twins gulped a potion and stepped forward. Despite their aged face, the flame fired up and they were flung across the room on the floor. When they get up, they had full heads of gray hair and beards.
Instead of high-five, the brothers started to summon the goblet. The object didn't move. Wrapping their name on a paper around some rock, it required more throws, but their names entered the goblet. They hugged each other, crying hot tears. Seeing that, McGonagall ordered the students to leave the room while she reprimanded the Weasley and brought them to the headmaster's office to explain the situation and increase the goblet security.
New charms and mechanisms surround the goblet when Viktor Krum walked in and put his name in the flame. He looked at Hermione and she smiled. Separated from her house-mate, the girl hesitated to follow the Durmstrang student. She and the savior exchanged some words before departing on their own. The green robe waited for the room to be empty before getting up. Under disillusionment, he scanned the surrounding with his third eye to be sure.
Under his gaze, the age line moved away. The blue fire contorted. Forming a solid arm of flame, the thing grabbed the goblet and brought it to the student. Waving the wand of the late ministry executor, the wizard confused the goblet while putting one name inside. The goblet returned to its original position and the student left.
Days later, on the 31 of October, the headmaster retrieved the goblet to show it in the Great Hall. " Sit down please. And now the moment you've all been waiting for, the champions selection ! ", Dumbledore approached the blue flame. It glowed red. A name came out. Everyone looked on anxiously. " The Durmstrang champion is ... Viktor Krum ! ", the headmaster invited the latter to wait inside another room for the other champions.
Another name came out. The crowd cheered. " The champion from Beauxbatons... Fleur Delacour ! ", repeating the same offer as before, the headmaster congratulated the witch. The Beauxbatons girls clapped their hands mechanically as Fleur walked up. Passing by the snake table, she stopped a second and threw a kiss in the air. The action shocked a particular redhead from the lion house who almost choked on his own saliva.
" The Hogwarts champion... Cedric Diggory. ", with a small tap on the shoulder the headmaster acknowledged the student. Hogwarts pupils cheered as Cedric waved at his house table. The Hufflepuff all rose their fist and screamed his name. Their feet hit the ground in tandem. The leader of light allowed them to display their encouragement until the school's champion left their sight.
" Excellent ! We now have our three champions ! But in the end only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory the tri-wizard cup... ", the old wizard saw the goblet ignited red flames. Another name flew out. Dumbledore took it and read something that made his face pale. " Harry Potter. Harry Potter ? ", the headmaster found the savior muttering words.
" Go on Harry. Harry for goodness sake ! ", Hermione shook the boy's shoulder. The latter slowly walked up. Dumbledore gave him the paper. Voices in the crowd shouted out. " He's a cheat ! He's not even seventeen yet. ", similar complaints flew among the students' ranks. Before the savior could leave the Great Hall, the goblet ignited another red flame. A piece of paper flew from it. " Ava Jacob. ", the headmaster waited to see if the goblet would play another sick joke, but the object stopped burning.