12 East Village
"Penny!" I could feel my yell resounding throughout the 'house'. There was a subtle anger in my tone.
*pop*"Master be calling for me." the tiny house elf squeaked timidly. Her ears were flopped to the side, and the elf refused to look me in the eyes. Elves have a connection that grows over time and allows them to feel the emotions of their masters. She could feel I was irritated and upset.
"Why am I looking at naked Greek statues and fountains, and where the hell is my office?" The sheer absurdity of what I saw couldn't be put into words.
There were pillars of white marble chiseled perfectly, and white cloth connected every pillar, creating a hazy view of the endless pillars. Fountains off into the distance, statues laid randomly across the expanse. Endlessly. The more I looked, the more I liked it.
"Master Gray ordered to redecorate; Penny picked Greek style. All rooms are in a fountain, Master Gray." I couldn't even be upset with her, but there are realistic issues, too.
"What if I have a guest over?" I asked the little elf that looked much happier. She can feel I'm not as upset through the bond; I would've already known that much based on my knowledge of master-servant bonds. However, my new Increased Magic Sensitivity let me 'feel' the bond and its connection in a way I never thought possible.
"Master does not have friends."
"...Fair point. Go clean all the statues without magic." The disappointment of not being able to use magic seemed enough to trigger whatever that bond was. It seemed to come out like waves of sound.
It was like a constant buzz that resonated from both of us. The buzz seemed only to resonate with the bonded person. Focusing on the buzz felt confusing; it didn't emanate from any one place, but after a few seconds, I felt another part of it, or maybe just the effect of the buzz itself. Faint, yet there, the magic slowly leaking out of me naturally is used to feed the connection and keep the elves' magic stable, preventing their magic from getting chaotic. Now, that sounds quite unfortunate for any animal or creature. It would be a slow and painful death.
The bond is genius in design; it isn't rejected like an outside interference would because it only takes what's already leaking. If the bond were to take magic directly from my body, my body would assume the elf bond was some parasite and reject it. But then, what about perfect magic conductivity? Would the bond break? Is perfect even possible?
**
{Main Menu}
[Statistics]
Name - Axel Theodore Gray
Age - 24 years old
Magic Theory - Master
Magic Conductivity - 44%
Magic Capacity - Early Master
**
My theory stats have gone up to Master already, and it seems it will only improve. With the mission complete, my next journey will be in Hogwarts; I must prioritize working with runes and occlumency. The first is to legitimize my new position as Runes Professor, making a living as an enchanter and warder, left me well above average in skill but still not as good as Bathsheda, who was teaching Runes for decades before.
Occlumency would shield my mind from any legilimency probes from Dumbledore and Snape. The additional improvement in my mental capability was also a significant factor in my decision to focus on the Mind Arts. With better cognitive functions, I'll improve my skills much faster.
"Penny, what fountain leads to my office?" I asked the patiently waiting elf. She's gotten used to my zoning out.
"Naked Aphrodite statue." maybe she knows me too well.
Taking one good look at my reflection, I fell straight into the fountain. A familiar pulling and I was in my office, similar but with new white curtains, a new walnut desk, and swivel chairs giving a more modern look. Taking a seat, I closed my eyes and started organizing all my new theories, focusing on mind arts. Every second, I felt my cognitive function improving.
It was like a cycle. As I organized my knowledge of occlumency, my new magic theory led me to new ways to view the same magic and new ideas, and Intuition kept me from straying off in either theory or practice. It felt addicting. The improvement was like a high I couldn't shake off, but why would I? I felt like I was above the world. No, not yet, but I will be one day.
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Hogwarts
Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor, head of Gryffindor House, and the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, walked down the hall towards the headmaster's office. Too caught up in her thoughts of losing a gifted teacher and dear friend, she just noticed Severus also walking towards the headmaster's office. She was sure they had the same purpose.
"Password?" asked the stone gargoyle on the wall.
"Sherbert Lemon," said McGonagall impatiently. Having a password when Dumbledore would know whoever gets near this hall was foolish and a waste of time. By the time the enchanted stairs appeared, Snape had arrived, and his irritation was palpable. Both were here for the same reason. It is the same reason they saw Flitwick and Sprout already waiting. They all read The Prophet that day; a fellow member of Hogwarts passed away.
"Ah, Minerva, Snape, welcome; I hope you enjoyed your summer," Dumbledore spoke with an aged voice, but it carried more life than most people in the room now.
"We can exchange pleasantries later. It hasn't even been one day since the news came out, and I've heard there's already a replacement?" Snape sounded precisely like he looked, cold and uncaring. "It seems suspicious."
"Now, Severus, this isn't the time to point fingers." Dumbledore stood a bit straighter and spoke with a severe tone. "I was with Alaster Moody last night; he came to me regarding The Butcher when he was alerted of another attack, but this time on Bathsheda. I checked the area myself but found no traces of magic." As he spoke, a grimace built up on his face.
"And of this replacement? Do you know anything about them?" Pomona Sprout seemed to want to shift away from such a grim topic.
All the while, Snape was busy thinking of earlier that day when he received a letter from Lucius Malfoy. It was an innocent enough letter, noting his condolences, just lies and flagrant words. He left a not-so-subtle mention of the new Runes Professor being an ally. That had too many meanings to interpret, very dark meanings, but one fact was indisputable. Whoever it was would be a problem.
"Axel Theodore Gray, 24 years old. He rejected the Hogwarts acceptance letter in favor of the smaller Koldovstoretz Wizarding School in the remote north. He took up traveling and enchanting after school and seems to have no other traceable characteristics. A straightforward man with only three identifying traits no matter how far you look: curious, smart, and very secretive. Then moved to the UK three years ago and has only been doing warding and enchanting jobs for families in the sacred twenty-eight. I plan on requesting a meeting before the year starts to get a feel of who he is."
No one said it, but every word that came out of Dumbledore's mouth had more suspicion than the last. Dumbledore could be named many things, but naive was never one of them. No person can have only three identifying traits to sum up their whole existence. It wasn't possible.
The discussions of this new professor lasted well into the night, but not one person in the office could foresee the chaos that would erupt with this latest change to Hogwarts.
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