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Chapter 2 - Travels I

My travels took me through the entire world. I started from the place where I woke up, which I found out later was actually the future Lillehammer, Norway. From there I travelled North-East first. I wanted to see as much of the world as I could. My initial goal was simple. 

1. See the world

I wanted to see as much of the world as possible. I wanted to explore the things I couldn't and be present during important events that will shape our planet's history and humans. I just wanted to be there when certain things happened. Traveling is something that I really enjoy and this is the way for me to do it. 

2. Collection

This was another crucial part of my travels. I wanted to not only see the world but also walk my path of magic. I wanted to dive into wand-making and also herbology and care of magical creatures. And for that, I wanted to find new species of trees I could use for wands. I would travel around and whenever I found a new type of tree, I would acquire a few seeds of said tree and then plant them in the correct environment in my 'Home'. 

Only a minority of trees could produce wand-quality wood, just as a minority of humans could produce magic. It took years of experience to tell which ones had the gift, although the job was made easier if Bowtruckles were found nesting in the leaves, as they never inhabited mundane trees.

'The home can be of your design or you can let it surprise you by generating itself based on your needs and wants so it fits itself to you perfectly. As your needs change and grow the home will expand with new facilities as needed.'

So whenever I need a new environment for a certain type of tree or plant to grow and prosper, it will be generated, since that is something I need. I really think that this is a good Essence to have. It reminds me a bit of Newt Scamander's suitcase but with many additional and broken functions. And that leads me to the next part of my 'collection'. 

Magical beasts.

To truly begin my work as a wandmaker, I will need the necessary materials. The trees I will collect and plant in my home, are the wood that I will use. But apart from the wood, you need a core. The core of a wand was a magical substance placed within the length of wood, usually extracted from a magical creature. 

These magical cores enhanced the wand's magic or gave the wand wood magical abilities. The only cores able to produce magic were from a magical species. Many different possible materials can be used as wand cores. 

Different wand cores had different magical properties. Unicorn hair was not very strong, but it was stable and reliable, whereas dragon heartstring was very strong and flamboyant, but more prone to accidents. Additionally, wand cores were known to reflect the nature of the source they came from; since a phoenix was one of the most detached and independent creatures in the world, a phoenix feather wand was incredibly picky when choosing a potential wielder, and unicorn hair wands were incredibly difficult to turn to the Dark Arts due to unicorns' purity.

Another goal of my travels is to experience new magic. I know that different cultures have different branches of magic or use magic differently than what I know from the Harry Potter books or the movies. I will visit these cultures, now that there is not yet any Ministry of Magic. Magic is still quite fresh and not as controlled as it will be in the future. I am sure that I will find many hidden gems in my travels and learn a lot. 

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I have reached Sweden and after travelling for not even one month, I have already found my very first XXXXX Classified magical beast, the Swedish Short-Snout. My first dragon so soon after I start my journey. The Swedish Short-Snout is native to the uninhabited mountains of Sweden. 

The scales of the Swedish Short-Snout are silvery blue, and its powerful flame is also a brilliant blue colour, hot enough to reduce timber and bone to ashes in seconds. Its attractive skin is much sought after for the making of gloves and shields.

It preferred to live in wild, uninhabited areas. Since it rarely came into contact with humans, the Short-Snout will have fewer deaths to its name than most dragons. However, the Short-Snout is a dangerous species due to its agile flying and extremely hot fire.

I found this mine in just one such uninhabited area. I followed the feeling of increased magical energy. I developed this skill a few weeks after beginning my travel. Nothing much happened during the first few weeks, I began to collect saplings of trees and other magical plants I came across. I gave the home a very basic sentience for the time being. I had to if I wanted to take advantage and use the plants. 

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I didn't approach the Short-Snout for the first weeks of finding her. The mother dragon was brooding her eggs at the moment and it would not be smart of me to approach her like this. Especially when I don't have a want yet and have almost zero experience in using magic. But I know that I won't die, thanks to the 'plot-armour'. Still, I decided to take it slow.

I observed the mother dragon for a while. She was catching some game every once in a while and other than that she would sometimes fly around the area and check out the surroundings. That is also how I met her for the first time ... and also how I made contact with her good dragonfire for the first time. 

Yep, she scorched me, until nothing much remained of me. I was immortal though, so I survived. I continued watching her after that and didn't leave. I already decided that she and her dear children would come to my home. The Bowtruckle couldn't be the only magical beast forever. 

I admit, going from an XX-classified beast to an XXXXX one, is a big step, but it will be a while until I find another one like that. 

I tried giving her food a few times. It didn't work out at first. I got torched again and again and again. Until she did other painful things to me. However, nothing was enough to stop me from trying to befriend her. So as the weeks passed, we slowly grew more familiar with each other. 

When the time came, for her eggs to hatch, she was very anxious and I actually managed to calm her down. I don't know how I did that and how we even reached that stage, but one day, she tried to eat me and four months later, I am calming her down when her first egg begins to hatch. 

It was a joyous occasion. The dragon was the mother of five young Swedish Short-Snout chicks that day and I was ... the uncle ... in a way. After that day, the mother dragon allowed her chicks to eat some of the meat, I had the home create and prepare for them. And that way, our bond grew even closer. Until ... finally, the five dragons agreed to follow me to my 'Home'. 

There I showed them their habitat and since it was the way I wanted it to be and as large as I wanted, it was of course perfect for the Swedish Short-Snouts. I added a lot of normal animals to breed them and have them act as food for just such an eventuality. 

So that was how I acquired my first XXXXX class magical beast and my very first dragon. A good experience overall.

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I continued my travels finding new magical beasts and adding them to my home. I didn't travel through the entirety of Europe, and only the top part, but I still found some impressive beasts like the Hippogriff and a Nogtail. I didn't add the Nogtail to my home though and just killed it. There is no way that I would allow a Nogtail in my home. I preferred the normal pigs over it. 

From Sweden, I travelled across Finland and then reached Russia. Which is also where I found the Nogtail and Pogrebins. I didn't enjoy either of them. 

The Pogrebin was attracted to humans and enjoyed tailing them. When a human being tailed turned around, the Pogrebin would crouch down, and, because of its large head, resemble a rock. If the beast managed to tail a human for a few hours, a sense of despair and futility would wash over the human. When the victim sat or sank to their knees to weep at the pointlessness of it all, the Pogrebin would attack and attempt to devour them.

There was only one problem with this. I wouldn't ever despair so after a while, I walked up to the Pogrebin and stomped on it, killed it in the process. There was no way that I would deal with such bullshit for long. Quite a few Pogrebin had to die this way. Not my problem honestly. Don't choose me to tail. 

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I managed to create my very first wand. I made it out of Acacia wood and a coral core. I didn't have much experience with wand lore just yet, but I remember what Garrick Ollivander said about Acacia. 

It was apparently a very unusual wand wood which created tricky wands that often refused to produce magic for anyone other than their rightful owner, it also withheld its best effects from all but the most gifted witches and wizards. This sensitivity rendered them difficult to place. Garrick Ollivander kept only a small stock for those witches or wizards of sufficient subtlety, for acacia was not suited to what was commonly known as 'bangs-and-smells' magic.

When well-matched, an acacia wand matched any for power, though it was often underrated due to the peculiarity of its temperament. Acacia wands were not used often, as in the wrong hands it would either be overpowered or extremely weak.

As for the Coral core, I couldn't say right now. I could tell that it wasn't the core for me, but it didn't matter to me. I just used it to begin my magical path. And that's something that I did. 

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I went over the things I remember from the books and the movies. At first, I focused on Charms. According to Professor McGonagall, the transfiguration was very complex and probably not something I should do in the beginning. Thanks to the Essence of Humanity Unchained, I gained tremendous potential and talent. 

'If you would already be even theoretically capable of learning how to do something without the benefit of this Essence, whether it be a normal property of the setting or a unique power or ability you already possessed, then your ability to learn and develop that thing is now expanded exponentially.'

And since I am a wizard, my talent and progress speed are now exponentially higher than what would be considered 'normal'. Due to this, I will learn new spells very fast and without any problems. The first-year Charms that they learned were the following:

Levitation Charm

Wand-Lighting Charm

Wand-Extinguishing Charm

Fire-Making Spell

Softening Charm

Unlocking Charm

Locking Spell

Mending Charm

Box Blasting Charm

Severing Charm

Make a pineapple dance across a desk

Knockback Jinx

Ice Jinx

I planned on learning them and then continuing with the curriculum of the second through seventh year.

Second Year Charms:

Skurge Charm

Dancing Feet Spell

Disarming Charm

Engorgement Charm

Freezing Charm

Memory Charm

Tickling Charm

General Counter-Spell

Shrinking Charm

Slowing Charm

Third Year Charms:

Cheering Charm

General Counter-Spell

Seize and pull charm

Freezing Spell

Lumos Maxima

Full Body-Bind Curse

Banishing Charm

Fourth Year Charms:

Summoning Charm

Banishing Charm

Red Sparks

Bombardment Spell

Locking Spell

Box Blasting Charm

Scouring Charm

Severing Charm

Entrancing Enchantments

Fifth Year Charms:

Reductor Curse

Colour Change Charm

Substantive Charm

Growth Charm

Silencing Charm

Creating legs on teacups

Eradication Spell

Pack Charm

Slowing Charm

Locomotion Charm

Leg-Locker Curse

Disillusionment Charm

Descendo

Confundus Charm

Lumos Maxima

Sixth Year Charms:

Nonverbal spells

Water-Making Spell

Vinegar to wine

Drought Charm

Knitting Charm

Bubble-Head Charm

Gouging Spell

Blackboard Writing Spell

Cleaning Charm

Blue Sparks

Extinguishing Spell

Reductor Curse

Seventh Year Charms:

Ascension Charm

Anti-Alohomora Charm

Lumos Solem Spell

Impervius Charm

All in all, I will continue to learn these Charms and then continue. I don't think I'll take a long time to learn this. And after that, I'll continue to either combine already existing ones or create new ones. I am getting giddy to learn all those Charms and finally ascend my path to the top.