With my businesses up and running properly, it was time for me to finish preparing myself for the coming troubles at dear Hogwarts.
My magical cores surpass McGonagall and Snape's in amount of energy stored, produced and the speed at which I can wield, my final estimates being at nearly double of theirs in those departments. The magical strength is equal to them though and that limit will not break until I find out how to go through to my third magical maturity, to step into the domain of Dumbledore and Voldemort.
With my cores not going to progress for a while without a good catalyst, I believed it was finally time to add two new options to my ever growing skill set: becoming an animagus and finally enchanting my knife, which I've put off doing until now for two reason. The first was for me to do proper research into flight enchantments and second was to plan out how the enchantments would meld with the pre-existing magic of the knife itself.
The animagus process is long and annoying, but I didn't have the time to go around the world in search of groups famous for their skills in the subject. So I'm stuck with the British one.
My skills and abilities are more than enough to make things work, I was just wishing for a less time consuming method. And so, on the next full moon I stuck a mandrake to the roof of my mouth with a small sticking charm so it wouldn't move and lose my progress. Everything else was already prepared, just needed to keep the leaf in my mouth for the next month. Yaaaaayyy.
During that month I decided to spend some time helping Susan prepare for Hogwarts since she is quite nervous about the upcoming year. It doesn't matter who you are, going at a boarding school at the age of 11 is something you'll get nervous about no matter if you already know a lot about it. It's just how children are. They worry about making friends, fitting in, missing their families, not wanting to disappoint or fail. These are thoughts most children will have until they experience it for themselves. But, I'll be there until she's fourteen, so if anyone bullies my sister they will suffer.
Aside from that, I had plenty of spare time to work on my knife. The beautifully crafted combat knife, with its Phoenix engraving, ruby eyes and comfortable leather wrapped hilt. As perfect as always and I expect nothing less from a goblin made product. My plan at this point is to link it to the ring I received as a sign of friendship from said goblins i received when I got the name Bones-crusher from them. It's made of the same materials as the knife: goblin silver and ruby. This will allow me to form a very strong link between the two objects since they even went the extra mile and used silver of the same vein and pieces from the same ruby. The knife will receive some of the enchantments typically found in brooms such as the flight, acceleration, brakes, control system and anti-tampering protections. I have already modified them for the knife itself, taking into account the weight, aerodynamics, center of gravity and material. I will also add enchantments not typically found on brooms as well, such as notice-me-not and shrinking charms. I tried to test the fidelius charm, but I couldn't make it work. Imagine a knife people can't see or remember unless told about it by a single person. It was sadly not meant to be. Everything regarding the magic was calculated before hand and all that truly remained was to make and adjust it. The ring will serve as the controller. I used a base of the firebolts extremely sensitive response charms, mixed in some of my quills minor legilimantic abilities, to make a hybrid system that is linked to my mind on a minor level. I will not allow it to have true access to my mind, since that would leave a back door into my defenses. It will simply activate when the thought command 'bolt' is directed at it and receive orders from there.
To make sure nothing was rushed or done wrong, I spent a week slowly weaving the layers of magic into the knife. Interconnecting everything into one perfectly enchanted hidden weapon, to serve as one of my aces when danger truly arrives.
It took a few tries to get the flight working perfectly, since knowing how something will react in theory is very different from the real thing. But after it was done I was able to put In my add-ons one at a time. Until a week later a knife hovered in front of me, awaiting my command. It stably floated, no fluctuation, no unwanted rotations or tilting. It was waiting in the air perfectly.
I made it go back into its sheath on my left arm, headed downstairs and out to the backyard. Aunty was still at work and Susan was at the Abbotts again, so I could freely set up some targets and make them float. With but a thought, my knife flew out of its resting place without a sound. If I wasn't expecting it, I might have actually missed it. It was that quick and subtle. It was simply cutting through the air as if it wasn't there as it pierced the centers of all my targets in quick succession, all hitting the bullseye.
"YES! Hohoho yes! It feels so good when a project like this gets such magnificent results! Almost no better feelings in the world!" I yelled out in satisfaction. I mean can you blame me? Everyone's felt that wave of relief after a paper or exam. Imagine that, but times 50 at least.
Tilly just took a glance out the window and returned back to her work. She's seen this kind off scene a lot with me around. I create or improve things so much that she's gotten used to it. But she did notice that I'd seemed more excited than usual.
After a few more rounds of testing for control, speed, accuracy, long term use and power, I finally let the knife return to its home.
It had an almost instantaneous burst of speed of at most 90 m/s, for which I added a modified cushioning enchantment to the sheath to offset, but it's hard to control at that speed so I will most likely not use the max often. It's piercing power is ridiculous and I used dragon hide and leather to test it out, as well as a variety of magical creature parts to thoroughly understand it strength, but nothing could stop it and only slowed it down a bit at most. This is not even mentioning that there isn't a scratch on the knife and that after I'd figured out my limits in controlling the knife perfectly, It was a result that could bring tears to a weapons fanatic.
I am not ashamed to admit I was very giddy for a while because of my new toy.
I still had some time before my month with a leaf in my mouth was over, so I decided to buy a few things as Micheal Folster. Nothing too weird, just a few creature reserves. You know, like the one with Dragons in Romania and a few around the UK itself, a few Hippogriff breeders and some Acromantula farms. I'm also currently negotiating with some Veelas to set up a protected territory in Britain and I tried to talk to some proper vampire families, but nothing came out of that one. Centaures are too prideful and reject humans because of the constant oppression they have to deal with and their own beliefs, so no go there. But an interesting little project started brewing in my head as I talked to a colony of Merpeople open to setting up a home near the isles of Scotland, in exchange for the area and help in legitimizing it, I'm hoping to have them farm aquatic herbs of various kind and form an exchange system.
Look, I like creatures and non-humans, don't judge me. Plus I'm sending my acquired creature homes new wards and protections for them to set up. It'll stop muggles from finding the places and the creatures they hold. This will help slow the over killing of magical creatures for ingredients or because they were spotted. I'm also trying to sponsor laws to help the protection of creatures through ministry officials. So that's how I spent my month.
After the month was over I could finally move on to the next steps of the animagus process, involving me putting the leaf in a crystal vial that bathed in pure moonlight and adding a hair. Then I had to add a silver teaspoon of dew from a place that neither sunlight nor human feet have touched for the next week, while also adding chrysalis of a Death's-head Hawk Moth, then storing it in a dark and quiet place until the next electrical storm. Ok small break here, but who the hell figured out all this crap and how? I mean it's ridiculous. It's a thought that comes in my mind a lot when I work with potions with long brewing times, but this is still weirdly specific. Sigh. Back to the process, I started to get up at sunrise and say 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus' as needed before exercising, doing it at sundown as well and I felt the recorded second heartbeat, so at least I'm on the right track.
I had to wait for half a month before an electrical storm arrived. I used Sol to flame us both over to it in a rush and took out the now blood red potion for its container. I placed my wands tip over my heart and chanted 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus' once again then chugging the potion. The fiery pain spread through my body as I could feel it trying to change me. It was painful to be sure. But I looked down on this amount of pain as my heartbeat doubled. I had suffered through much worse and remembered every moment. I stood proud and resilient in the face of this transformation. I suddenly felt a third heartbeat in my chest and grinned at what this signified. But suddenly my body started to change. My clothes started to meld into me and hair started to grow out of me. I was forced to bend down as my hands and feet changed into large paws, with strong claws accompanying them. I felt my head and bones change as I slowly became the predator I seemed to be. As I stood on my new paws, I felt the strength in my legs, the sharp claws in the earth, my eyes being improved even further. I took everything in and let out a victorious roar, since I had become a mountain lion! Not only that, but my Whampus cat parts influenced this form as these eyes boosted my Legilimency and my spell resistance was enhanced.
After feeling the changes in my body, I reverted to my human form flawlessly. I then focused of the third heartbeat and started to change again. This time wasn't nearly as violent as the other. I became smaller, my arms slowly turning into wings as my clothes turned into feathers, my feet becoming claws, my mouth into a beak. I felt myself become lighter as my transformation was competed. As it ended I took a second to check myself out and with a sharp cry I realized what my new form was: Golden Eagle. One with reddish-brown feathers, golden tail feathers and sharper beak and claws. It's seemed like my bond with Sol affected the transformation as well because I felt like I could lift a person or two. A far cry from her ten, but it's downright impossible for normal birds.
With a very excited heart, I stretched my wings and learned how to fly as a bird. And after an hour of doing so I have to say it's intoxicating to have that feeling freedom. I've flown on a broom sure, but this is so much better. You feel the wind through your feathers, let yourself be carried by the breeze and control your flight through minute changes in your wings. It was brilliant.
So I returned to my home with a wide smile on my face and a happy heart at my achievement.