The chill quickly turned to cold and snow started to fall as winter came. Some students went home while others stayed in Hogwarts. And with Christmas on the horizon, a festive mood descended lighting up the castle.
' protego'
Richard however did not let life move him. Looking at the thin shield he let out a sigh, puffing white smoke from the cold." Still not good enough"
Setting his target to silent casting, Richard continued his training regardless of snow or wind. He didn't go to the room of requirements as often because he knew all his required spells by heart. And so he went to his usual spot, infront of the black lake where he was able to practice.
Looking at his pathetic shield charm with disgust, Richard waved his wand dispelling the transparent membrane before he tried it once more. This time focusing on the intent rather than the actual name of the spell making a more stable golden sphere appear around him. However it broke down just as quickly.
"It's alright" Richard assured himself as he took a deep breath, the cold air stinging his lungs. "I can't do it in one try. I just got to keep on trying. So when I reach full magical maturity, i should be able to do it easily." Richard pulled out a small notebook before writing a point with freezing fingers.
'Full shield charm_faliure. Need more growth magically'
He felt his Od react to the spell as it appeared, giving him a new direction to move in. However he put that in the back of his mind before proceeding with his tests once more.
'Protego'
This time he only manifested a part of the shield charm, and thereby sucessfully creating a small but sturdy shield slightly larger than the lid of a trash can.
"I can work with this" a smirk found it's way into Richard's face as he moved the shield with his wand. Richard spent the entire day playing with the shield.
Time quickly passed by in Hogwarts and Christmas arrived. And Richard was honestly shocked to find a present under the foot of his bed. He guessed the sender to be Hermione which turned out to be right. However it was just another magic book.
Opening it, he realised that it was another book he had already read while he spent time within the Room of requirements. And his disappointment grew, and yet his face didn't change. He merely placed it on his side as a memento.
He realised for the first time how truly alone he was in the halls of Hogwarts. He was too old mentally to understand others his age and he was physically too young to interact with people of his mental age. They were all beyond his reach.
'No,
' Richard clenched his hand feeling the wand perk up at his touch.
"Merry Christmas to you too little one"
Richard said as he got up from his bed, somewhat weirded out of his choice in companions, but still happier, only to see Harry's floating head.
'Hmm.. the invisibility cloak, one of the deathly hallows, should I...?' Richard had long since pondered on how to define the character death before coming down to the world. A powerful wizard? maybe a god? Or perhaps some other mystical being?
In the end, he opted for a wizard. However the truth was different from what the Tales of Beetle the Bard depicted.
'Death' was a wizard and so were the Pervell brothers. However that was where the story went sideways. The so called death, was a wizard from the future and a powerful seer who was able to obtain glimpses through time. He would meddle in time constantly, twisting the fates of people to his own benefit. However, Arrogant, he made the mistake of underestimating wizards of the past. And the Peverell brothers, who were three of the most capable wizards of that time were able to notice this and followed him through the river of time.
'Death' saw these three brothers and panicked. They were important people of the past, and their existence could potentially change the course of history and therefore affect his future.
And so, he made an Unbreakable vow promising to give whatever the three brothers needed to make them return. The eldest asked for a powerful wand capable of winning him any duel which was easy for the man from future. They had long since improved the art of wand making to great heights so he quickly made a wand from a nearby tree.
The next brother asked for something to speak with his dead beloved. And so the man of the future used a gem and filled it with runes and magics and enchantments that made the past of the person temporarily invalid, and therefore create something of a pseudo timeline. Thus capable of bringing phantoms of people who were long gone.
However unlike the first two brothers, the last and the youngest was the most clever. He noticed how panicked the other person was and how he seemed to hold onto his cloak as if it was his lifeline. So the youngest asked for the invisibility cloak, and 'death ' who had made the oath had no choice but to hand it over to him. Before returning them back to their own timeline.
However 'death' did not want to leave things as they were. He was a great wizard, and the only reason the three brothers had an advantage on him because of his cautious nature, not fear.
He quickly tried to patch things up. Since the eldest killed the strongest duelist at that time, he made the duelist's son's kill the arrogant elder brother and take the wand to himself, thereby becoming the greatest duelist at that time.
The second brother died as well, driven to take his own life after he was kept so close but yet far from his love.
However he wasn't able to find the third brother who had hidden himself using the invisibility cloak. He tried and tried for years without succeeding, until the youngest Peverell gave up the cloak to his son, finally catching him. But that was a trap, which took down one of the strongest wizards of the future.
Richard pondered a while on whether to or not to analyse the cloak before giving up on that idea. It did not suit his style. And he did not want his legacy to carry the marks of some wizard from the future. Nor did he want his tale to revolve around those three relics and waste his time chasing three things when he could become so much more in the future. And, most importantly, it didn't fit his style.