Saturday started early. For me. I spent half the night in deep meditation, but without going to the spiritual level — there was so much noise there now that it was impossible to rest and get my thoughts in order. Even in my normal state I can hear the whispers of many voices, so screw it. Two powders and a nourishing potion, three hours of sleep, and I woke up at seven in the morning, brimming with energy. The first thing I did was retrieve the freshly grown crystals from the orb. It's worth adding that even with a bunch of extra features and fine-tuned controls, sometimes the results are unexpected.
Like this one. The task was to create a dozen correct crystals measuring twelve centimeters in height and four centimeters in width. That's including waste. And it turned out to be a druza with a large central crystal of almost forty centimeters in height and thirteen in width, and ten very small crystals of 5x1.5 cm.
It was good that it wasn't an outright rejection, but it took the next hour and a half to recalculate and rebuild the artifact. It was supposed to be a printing system, with the storage on top. Now it had to be reworked into an antenna catcher with a storage device in the center. It took another hour, two hundred grams of gold, more than a kilogram of silver, and all the small crystals of this druza.
The ritual will be very powerful, the riot of energies is expected to be monstrous, because a huge number of spirits and souls can't wait for the feast. So I thought, what's the point of wasting it? So I started using powerful storages, but the result was even better than I expected. I still have to protect my land, not to mention the ritual to create the Ancestral Altar, I won't have enough for everything, and here's such a chance.
Of course, I didn't go to breakfast, but I ate a hearty sandwich without taking a break from my work. I couldn't do it earlier because the crystals only grew in the morning. Luckily, Luna decided to help me with another task. As my apprentice, I told her about the upcoming riot of energies and what I could get out of it. Ancestral curses, of course, can be sharpened, even torn from a particular family and altar, but only if all the power of the ritual is focused on one point.
I think that's a little too much for a measly five thousand galleons. For this money, participants will receive by default partial rejuvenation of energy channels, restoration of not-too-serious damage from dark curses and sorcery, and removal of small and minor curses. All of the above can be obtained through regular rituals that I can perform at any time.
The main focus of this ritual will be to improve health. The thing is that, as it turns out, particularly powerful rituals of this kind have not been performed on the territory of Great Britain for a long time, but here dark and even frankly black magic has not been afraid to indulge.
To this day, echoes of this evil can be felt in the spiritual planes, severely affecting and clogging the natural flows of magic. As a result, local ancestral curses only grow stronger over time, and it is more difficult than usual to weaken them. This ritual should shake up the "stagnation", disperse the "sludge" from the weak natural outlets of magic, and the main driving force will be just nature spirits, magical forests, and just old corners of pure nature. These currents will not only be able to restore health, but even slightly rejuvenate.
Luna has started to calculate a ritual system for something else, important and only applicable to those who practice spiritual magic. If all goes as planned, the push of spiritual energies will accelerate our developmental progress.
Our preparations with Luna weren't exactly discreet, but they weren't too discreet either. Granger, of course, made inquiries, and when she got an answer, she immediately began lecturing on dark magic and the Ministry's prohibitions. We were working in the Numerology Room at the time: I was calculating the trap net and Luna was calculating her task under the guidance of the teacher. I put up with it for about ten minutes, and then I threatened to erase her memory of the conversation if she didn't calm down.
The Septima Vector didn't even say a word against Obliviate, and later advised Hermione to read up on the meaning of Samhain. If that didn't help, the woman promised to enforce Obliviate herself. Oddly enough, the girl went along with it, even asking to join in exchange for help with the calculations. Later, the rest of the company arrived, but they were useless, so it wasn't until October 31st that they got real work — collecting firewood and cobblestones.
I even smiled as I watched not only Potter, Weasley and Longbottom, who I had summoned, but also Malfoy and the squires working honestly. Even though Malfoy used his wand to work, which caused the resentment of one redheaded student, in my eyes the boy only proved his superiority in this company. There were no inhibitions, so why not?
The girls worked in the kitchen. Gathering firewood and stones with magic is allowed, but baking bread, preparing vegetables and fruits, and putting them into hand-woven baskets is a job for hands without magic. It was also no problem to buy sheep for the number of participants and to put them in the barns of the school.
At noon, when I had finished with the artifact and was leaving the apartments, I found the Delacour sisters unguarded, the Patil sisters, Daphne and Tracy on the landing in front of the door, all of them trying to disperse my dean. Off to the side, almost on the stairs, were my female relatives and the Chinese women. For the first few seconds, I was even surprised by the attention, and then I began to sort out my problems and questions. Coughing loudly to attract the attention of those who had not yet noticed me, I spoke.
— Silence! Now everyone in turn will state their purpose for coming, and we'll sort everything out quickly. Let's start with the Dean.
— Mr. Hoshino, Headmaster Dumbledore has summoned you. — McGonagall acted as if this was supposed to happen and my behavior was normal.
— Did he happen to tell you the reason for the summons? — I decided not to explain when I saw his lips tighten in displeasure. — It's just that I'm busy all day, and if it's something unimportant or something that can be postponed until later, the director will have to wait.
— That's rude, young man! You should have more respect for your elders!
— Professor McGonagall, would you like to answer the question? — I had to make an effort not to say what I thought.
— A letter arrived from the Board of Trustees, and the Headmaster wanted to discuss it with you.
— There's nothing to discuss. — I shrug. — Lord Malfoy and Lord Greengrass have assured me that they will handle everything themselves, and I can't waste an hour of my time with idle chatter.
— How dare you say that? — The woman was very angry, it was hard not to notice, even if she tried to maintain her usual appearance.
— Professor, the principal isn't the only one who has his own business. — There was irritation in my voice. — Today is a special day that comes only once a year. If I don't do something in time, I'll not only lose a rare opportunity, but I'll also fool a lot of people.
— Hoshino-san, you can't do whatever you want. You can't hold any activities, let alone rituals, without permission from the director.
— I have the official permission from the ministry for the event (ritual), what else could be wrong? There is even a list of participants.
— And can you prove it?
— Last night, Headmaster Dumbledore and I received the same letters. — I'm beginning to get a headache. — Yes, it was my initiative, but all the official arrangements and approvals were made by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, a well-known and respected man — Lucius Malfoy. That's who you should address your questions to. That's it. — I turned my head defiantly toward the Patil sisters.
— Mr. Hoshino — the Dean said in a cold, steely tone, — you will come with me to the Headmaster's office now, or I will consider your self-administration a danger to the school. Do you understand me? — The woman tried to push with her eyes, but her eyes were as good as mine, but it wasn't worth taking the conflict to the point of no return.
— Padma, can you help me? — I turned to the girl with a heavy sigh.
— With what? — I ask in a calm voice, a true Ravenclaw student: intelligent and thorough. A wave of her hand, in which a folder of papers immediately appeared.
— Here, here are the details. — I handed the folder to her. — Find Luna — I've already discussed the details with her, and in the folder is the final version. Here. — I give the girl a paper talisman. — It's a binding seal. — It's actually a universal seal with a communication add-on. — Touch it with your wand, then put it to your ear, like a telephone receiver, and we can talk. — I put the second seal on my neck. — If you have any questions, ask. When I'm done, — an angry look at the Dean with a stony expression and tight lips. — I'll let you know.
— Good. — Padma nodded gravely, clutching the folder to her chest, and the sisters left, followed by the Slytherins, casting VERY angry glances at the Dean.
— Follow me. — The Dean tossed dryly and walked forward.
The Japanese and Chinese girls stepped aside, just watching silently, but the Delacour sisters came with me. After a few minutes, Fleur spoke in her native tongue.
— Sora, are you sure all the paperwork is in order? The Magic School is one of the most important parts of any state, and every ritual requires many signatures from officials. — I could see that the Dean was listening to us — she moved her head slightly to hear better.
— Yes, no problem. Lord Malfoy is the Minister's economic advisor, and since his family will be attending, permission for the celebration was obtained directly from the Minister of Magical Britain. — He glances at the Dean. — There's a third of a page of signatures, even the Aurors have signed.
— Then I don't understand why your headmaster insists on this conversation. — The girl looked at me in surprise. — If the official authorities have given their permission and the event isn't amateurish, what's the point? — Fleur waved her hand insecurely. Gabby just listened in silence.
— I have my suspicions, but I'm not going to voice them.... — and only with my lips. — Now. — McGonagall couldn't make it out, but the girl was fine.
— That's odd... — Fleur stretched.
— Tell me about it. — I sighed heavily. — I'm late enough as it is, and then there's this. Hopefully, with the help of the boys, we'll make it on time... .....
— Come in, Mr. Hoshino. — said the Dean as the Gargoyle opened the door. — The girls will have to wait here.