October thirty-first, morning, Hogwarts Castle.
If you look into the large hall, you can see an interesting picture. There was no familiar sky overhead, there was no severity inherent in an ancient castle. No, on this day everything was slightly different.
Candles were flying right in the air above the heads of professors and students. The most ordinary candles, but they were all in motion. Some moved up and down. Others drew a circle with their movement. Each one was special, slightly different from the others. They were all on fire and gave a slightly dim light that was barely enough to illuminate the large hall. That's why it was, the hall, in slightly gloomy colors. The wax that flowed down the candles, contrary to expectation, did not drip onto the heads of the students or onto the tables with food. Everything was much more interesting. Every drop of wax that dripped from the candle disappeared into thin air. Literally dissolving. It was a rather interesting picture, which you won't notice right away, but once you notice it, you won't be able to forget it. You can ask a question: candles? Everything is as usual, but no.
There was also another source of light, namely pumpkins. Yes, you heard right, it was the pumpkins, as well as the candles, that illuminated the space of the hall. Each of them was as if alive. The faces that were carved on them moved as if they were alive. As if in reality one could hear their laughter, as well as the ominous sound of these "demonic heads". And the light that came from inside the pumpkins only made things creepier. What's interesting is the lack of a light source in the pumpkins themselves. They literally gave off light from their guts. Quite a hypnotizing picture.
Also, at the most inopportune moment, you may hear an ominous squeak, and behind it you will see a flock of bats as black as the night itself. Whole flocks flew between pumpkins and candles right above the heads of the students. Some of their representatives sat importantly on pumpkins and carefully examined the hall with their beady eyes. Every now and then an ominous shine shone in them.
All this created an ominous picture of the holiday, which in the ordinary world is perceived as a tribute to the past, but in the magical world everything is a little different. Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest, purification, and also the day of the return of the dead to earth. It is on this day that the plane of death, hell, Helheim - call it what you like, most closely comes into contact with the plane of mortals, that is, our world.
In ancient times, on this day it was customary to thank the ancestors, bring them gifts, a piece of the harvest that was harvested just in time for this holiday. On this truly great day, quite a few grandiose deeds were accomplished, not only good, no, but also incredibly evil. All rituals that include sacrifices are incredibly powerful on this day, and the apogee of their power marks midnight. It is at this time that the efficiency of rituals increases at least 5 times. And this, I tell you, is incredibly high.
Of course, not everything is as wonderful as it could be. As previously mentioned, on this day the deceased can visit the earth, which means that those ghosts that were already on the earth gain even more strength and power. However, not only ghosts, anyone reasonable or not, who lives at the expense of the forces of the plane of death, will experience an unprecedented increase in strength and energy. A kind of legal doping without health consequences.
In some countries, "harvested" body parts or entire bodies of animals, both magical and non-magical, were used for offerings. But this is only under one condition - the creature that is brought as a "gift" must be killed with one's own hand, and thanks to this condition everything becomes much more complicated and interesting than it could be.
It's probably worth starting over. While reading books on rituals, I came across a book by an unknown author: "Ancient rituals that we should know exist." In this book I read about Samhain and its nuances.
An example was given there: two people brought the same gift at the same time, but one of them put a killed animal into the fire, and the other did not. And what do you think? The difference was visible from the very beginning. The victim of the first burned brightly and disappeared in an instant, and the second, as if unwillingly, began to slowly smolder.
At the end of the ritual, a complete diagnosis of the first and second participants in this experiment was carried out. No differences were found in the second, but the results of the first were different. His general condition of body and magical gift were ideal. Moreover, there were advances in their development. Prana and mana were thicker and purer, and the patient's well-being was beyond praise.
After the results of this experiment, several more were carried out, and as a result, the ritual formula was derived. The victim must be killed with his own hand; the murder of the victim must be carried out no later than 24 hours; the murder must be honest, i.e. not finishing off or stealing from someone else (essentially the same finishing move, but from under the hands of another hunter). As it was said in the book: "Breaking these rules will make the ritual invalid."
It is because of this book that I am considering the option of a victim in the form of a troll. After all, as it was written, the results of sacrificing magical creatures are much more significant. It is true that the sacrifice must be comparable; the archmage cannot sacrifice a deer. Not by status. So I'm wondering who monitors these rules? The great spirit who is in charge of the plan? Or is it more serious?
Eh, what a stupid idea. To get into the canon because of some kind of ritual, but the buns, if everything works out, promise to be simply incredible. True, it is not known whether there will definitely be a canon, otherwise, looking at Potter, it is not clear that he is the boy-who-lived, rather, he is a boy who is hiding something. Moreover, he is quite successful, he can only allow himself to slack in the presence of his peers, and he keeps his mark in front of teachers.
Eh, how difficult all this is. Can he score? But what's the chance?
- Why are you sighing, Kol? - asked Nev, sitting to my left, and it was him. We sat at the badgers table. It just so happened.
"Well, I'm looking at this," I pointed at the oatmeal with pumpkin with a fork, "and I'm falling into depression." Something doesn't appeal to me to eat pumpkin all day, for the life of me I don't like pumpkin that much. Although I have nothing against her.
"Yes, you're right," Nev answered. "I don't even understand how you can eat it?" It's a pumpkin, ugh.
"As for me, it's quite edible," Susan intervened in our conversation, and it was she. "I don't understand why you turn your nose up at her so much?" - and made such a degeneration of her face, as if she really didn't understand.
"Well, excuse me," Nev ruffled his feathers. "Not everyone is a pumpkin lover like you."
- Was our good boy really offended? — with a grin on my face, I drawled in an unctuous voice. - And who? Miss Susan Bones herself, in person. You have the greatest honor, Nev. Appreciate it.
"Ko-o-ol," the guy said threateningly, as it probably seemed to him. - Well, why are you starting again?
"Bam," the sweet lady said categorically, turning away in feigned offense.
- How can this be, madam? "You're breaking my tender heart," I said, graphically clutching my chest.
- You? Heart? You do not have one and I would like to bring to your attention that the heart is on the left, not on the right. Smart ass. — she said, puffing out her cheeks. What a sweet child. Although I am a child myself.
"Nev, she offends me," I complained with tears in my eyes.
- She? You? "It looks like I'm dreaming," he said with a laugh in his eyes, but with shock on his face.
"Nobody loves me, and you Nev are a traitor," I said in a defeated voice.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha," Nev and Susan laughed out loud at my attempt to imitate a dead swan.
Still, it's good that Nev found himself another friend besides me. Still, he is incredibly lonely. I hope this will somehow help him become more confident in himself and his abilities.
"Kol, Kol," Nev said, pushing me on the shoulder. -What are you thinking about again?
- Yes, I'm thinking, how much will I lose if I don't come to the evening feast? And every second I become convinced that the pumpkin is definitely not offended by me, and neither am I by it. Everything is positive.
"But you can't do that," Bones objected. - This is a festive dinner, and you should be at it.
"I'll bring it to your attention, miss," I began to say in a lecture tone, my face at that moment was the most serious of all possible. — We must be at the first and last dinner, that is, at the beginning of school and at the end. And for the rest it is not necessary.
- But...
"Don't worry, Nev," I interrupted him. "This charming miss can keep you company, right?" — and having received an affirmative nod, I continued. - Moreover, with my gloomy face I will ruin the holiday. So, you won't be lonely, my young friend, only a blind person would not have noticed my wink.
"Ko-o-ol," they said threateningly. The promise of all the torments of hell was visible on their faces, mixed with embarrassment.
"Ha-ha-ha, catch up," I shouted and rushed to the entrance to the Great Hall. They ran after me.
Well, the conversation ended the way I wanted. They will confirm that I was not in the Great Hall from the very beginning. And no one will enter the room, which is great. Well, it wasn't a child who let the troll into the castle, right? He will only stay at dinner to make sure that Hermione is not there, although it would be better if she was. Still, I don't want to put the girl in danger.
In the meantime, it's worth hiding from the righteous anger of this couple, their anger is terrible. Eh, after all, a child's body has a very strong influence on me, just like the presence of mana in it. I have long noticed that magicians are more eccentric than ordinary people, each expressing themselves in their own way. And I'm still silent about the concentration of prana in the body, which plays an equally important role. If it weren't for some degradation of the shell responsible for emotions, I don't know what I would have done. Scary.
October thirty-first, Hogwarts corridors, Calder.
Walking under cover and hiding in the niches of the corridors, I lost myself in thoughts. After all, the canon exists, Hermione was not at dinner, and the rumor that she was offended by the sixth, namely Ron Weasley, spread like wildfire. The girl cried for half a day in the toilet, and her absence was not noticed by the teachers, although this is debatable. Perhaps they were told not to notice, who knows?
The sixth himself did not feel guilty; on the contrary, he was proud that he had put the nerd in his place. I found something to brag about. It is not for nothing that they say that the most cruel creatures are children. Only they can offend in such a way that the trauma will remain until adulthood, and maybe beyond. And they can boast about very strange things.
Eh, how sad this is. That's why I wander around the toilet in circles and try to meet the troll before anyone else does. Yes, it's risky, yes, I'm doing something stupid. But. There is one thing.
Potter, it was clear from his face that he wasn't even going to do anything about it. On the contrary, he was proud of his "friend." And this is already strange. I'm not going to let a troll get close to a child while relying on canon. I don't need extra sin on my soul if something does happen. And don't say that I'm a child myself, morally I'm definitely not.
I have several ways to solve the problem with the troll, or rather, several ways to put him to rest. Each of them has both pros and cons. Let's see which one will show itself from the best side.
How tired I am of waiting. It's sad that I don't know the exact time the troll appeared in the corridor. How much easier it would be for me. Eh.
A moment and I stopped. Something has changed. Smell. From the right side of the corridor that led to the moving staircases, a distinct smell of rotten eggs began to emanate. It is he.
Taking off from my place, I rushed in this direction. At this moment I strained my magical vision as best I could, I didn't need another story like with Crystal. That's why I strain my eyes beyond measure.
For a minute I ran silently towards the troll. There were no souls on my way, but the corridors merged into the same type of strip. It seemed that I was no closer to my goal if it weren't for the increasing smell. With every meter it became more and more difficult to bear it, and when it seemed that everything, a little more and I would vomit, I achieved my goal.
He, a troll, slowly walked along the middle of the corridor. The same one I read about in the bestiary. Huge, about 8 meters, with ugly dirty gray skin. It was all covered with growths, warts and Merlin knows what else. His face was so ugly that it defies description. Unrealistically long arms that reached the knees. The palms are three times larger than the head. In his hands he held a huge club that was much larger than me. One direct hit and there will be no place left of me.
And am I going to shut down this colossus? Oh, the main thing is that everything works out. Grasping my wand more tightly, I rushed towards him, or rather, a little to the right.
Feeling something, the troll stopped and began to look around. He has the right instincts. There's no denying it, but it's too slow.
"Serpensortia," I said mentally, pointing my wand to the left of the troll. Obeying the spell, a snake appeared from the wand. Landing on the ground, she hissed threateningly at the troll. It's good that the transfigured snake has no fear.
Noticing the snake, the troll walked towards it threateningly. While he was distracted, I conjured two more snakes.
I pointed my hand at the claymore I was holding in my armor. Obeying my gesture, he flew up to me and hung in front of me. A wave of the wand and it turns into a thin needle. Well, now comes the hard part.
Closing my eyes, I plunged into the feeling of the surrounding world. Feeling the troll's figure, I began to concentrate on it. A couple of seconds and I see in my mind a complete projection of his body and movement.
Obeying a wave of his hand, the needle flew towards the troll. Hovering against his head, she stopped. *Sigh*. Well, go ahead. A sharp swipe and the needle hit the eardrum.
The troll's roar shook the castle vaults. Yes, the pain of a broken membrane cannot be expressed in words. Opening my eyes, I pointed my wand at the needle that was in the troll's head.
"Finite," I whispered out loud to strengthen the spell.
Aaand, nothing happened. Damn, I knew that small enchantments not only do not work on the troll, but also on objects within its aura.
- Ra-ah! - Damn, he noticed me.
With long steps, accelerating every second, he walked towards me.
Damn-damn-damn. I didn't foresee this, the spell would last another minute, I calculated that, but he noticed me. Crap. I ran headlong towards the stairs, closer to the exit. But the troll was quickly catching up with me. I pointed my wand at myself:
— Velox gradus, is a Roman acceleration spell. Obeying him, I accelerated three times. Now the troll began to lag behind me.
Minutes later, the sound of something heavy falling was heard behind me. Turning around, I saw the troll fall face down. There was a claymore stuck into his head. It went all the way through the head, from the side of that same ear. It was as if my head had been partially torn apart. The club lay next to the troll.
Phew, it worked. Well, now he needs to be taken to the Forbidden Forest. Approaching the body, I waved my wand and mentally said:
"Evanesco," all the blood that had managed to flow disappeared. There was no trace left.
Concentrating, I lifted the troll's body into the air. Now that he is dead, magical manipulations over him are possible. Having used telekinesis to throw his own club at him, I headed towards the exit of the castle. It was not easy to drag it; the mana cost to maintain telekinesis increased fivefold. I didn't calculate his weight. Well, there's enough mana, there's even some left over.
So thinking, I walked along the corridors of Hogue, not forgetting to look around, naturally. You never know.
The entire journey to the clearing passed without incident. I didn't meet anyone, I didn't have to hide from anyone. Today is my day.
The clearing itself was still the same - a perfect circle, logs were stacked in the center for us, a sharp troll's club would go there, there was no need for good things to disappear. The grass is short, as if specially trimmed. The wind that walked through the clearing. The starry night sky stretched above the treetops that surrounded the clearing. And in the center of the sky the full moon was shining. Not a single cloud, only the light of celestial bodies.
With pleasure, having lowered the troll, I stretched. It didn't seem like he was pulling on his hands, but he was so tired. Eh, he's healthy. My whole body was numb.
"Tempus," time appeared, obeying a wave of the wand. 23:30.
- Well, there is time. I'll just use it to prepare.
Having said this, I immediately got down to business.
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