Waiting in front of Snape's office, Loki knocked on the door as he was inside the dungeons.
Having spent all day trying to get in contact with his body of heart and mind, Loki was tired and he decided he did not have any great skill in occlumency.
'Useless book.' Loki exclaimed inside his mind as he cursed at the book, 'Why am I even trying to protect my mind through occlumency? Shouldn't there already be an item in the Black Family basement that can protect my mind from someone else?'
"Come in." A soft voice spoke from inside Snape's office which was no doubt a little angry and a little tired, but Loki opened the door fearlessly.
"Good evening Professor Snape! I hope I'm on time for my detention! I forgot to bring my pocket watch along with me this morning and haven't been able to get to it since." Loki said with a friendly smile on his face like he had known Snape for decades.
"Your familiarity in conversation with the Professors is unneeded Mr. Loki."
"No professor, don't worry I only do it to you! Since you've been the best professor. At least for now." Loki mumbled the last part but it was clear enough.
"I heard what happened today, Mr. Loki. Care to explain yourself?"
"About what? Did you figure out I was sleeping in class or playing tic tac toe with myself while you were teaching?" Loki mumbled.
*SNAP*
Snape snapped the book he was reading shut as he glared at Loki.
"I'm talking about Professor Quirrell." Snape spelt out slowly.
"Ah." Loki had a look of realisation immediately followed by a show of dread. "I said a bit too much didn't I? Being alone for most of your life does that to you. I apologise Professor Snape! But didn't I make a perfect potion in class today so please excuse me!"
Snape's eyes hardened as he looked at Loki like a lamb ready for slaughter but held back by clenching fists and he said, "Your time in detention increases from today Mr. Loki."
"I'd rather spend longer with any of the other professors than the garlic-headed man!" Loki complained spontaneously, "Look, I don't understand half the things he says and then there's that abominable stench that turns my eyes watery. But I could've born all that if not for the fact that he isn't good at teaching at all."
"And how would you know that? You weren't in the classroom when he did."
"Hermione told me, oh a student from Gryffindor. She became friends with me on the train, she told me he just read the textbook during class."
As soon as Loki finished his sentence, he found Snape looking at him with an indiscernible expression, as if he'd just done something incomprehensible and pitying.
"What? Can't I make friends from other houses Professor?" Loki asked but Snape's expression didn't change.
"Oh if you're worried about other people attacking her, don't be, I told her not to come close to me in public until things are sorted out on my end."
Seeing Snape's expression still stuck at what felt like someone had gutted him, Loki became silent.
'Did I say something wrong?'
After a few minutes of silence, Snape cracked open the spine of the book he was reading and emotionlessly said to Loki, "Continue sorting the ingredients." Which Loki promptly got to doing.
After another night of toiling away at ingredients while learning about them occasionally, Loki finished his detention and ended up in the Slytherin common room where Dominic was waiting for him.
Dominic was playing with a beautiful silver locket around his neck, it looked like it was carved out of something ancient and felt weighty.
"Thank you as always Dominic." Loki nodded gratefully while Dominic just waved it away with a casual expression. "Nothing to thank me about, I'm just doing my job."
"That's a nice locket, where did you get it from?" Loki asked as they walked to their rooms.
"Family heirloom. Mum gave it to me before she passed away, said grandpa gave it to her before he did."
"Huh…I see. Good night Dominic!"
"Good night Loki."
Loki worked on his occlumency skill for a little while longer before he slept for the night, but nothing seemed to happen.
He decided he would wait until he was at a sequence that gave him the ability to come in contact with ihs body of heart and mind to begin his hard work in forming a mental defence.
'I'm sure some item will let me protect my mind until then in the Black Family treasury.'
'I just have to remember to check when I go back for summer.'
'Or I could just ask Kreacher for it.'
Waking early the next morning, this time before Dominic knocked on his door with the help of Sunny the Niffler, Loki got dressed perfectly and even took his pocket watch and fixed it inside his robes so he wouldn't be late for anything today.
Loki found himself in front of the charms classroom after a light breakfast and ended up seating himself in one of the higher chairs that were around the podium in the centre.
"Hello students! I'm going to be your charms professor for this year and hopefully for as long as you will spend learning at Hogwarts."
Flitwick's short stature did not surprise Loki after having noticed it during his feasting in the Great Hall, but his surprisingly cheerful attitude did.
'He's so eager to teach!' Loki smiled gladly at finally having found a teacher who was eager to do his job.
'Hopefully, he's as good as he's eager.'
Flitwick took attendance by standing on a short stool to raise his height, but he also tumbled down when he came to Harry's name on the list, yet it did not diminish Loki's expectations for the class.
'If professor Snape can give Harry 'special' attention and still teach so well, I'm sure someone as eager as Professor Flitwick can!'
"Alright, class! Today we will begin with learning the Lumos spell! Can anyone tell me what the Lumos Spell is!?"
Several hands shot up in the air but Loki was the fastest so the half-goblin professor picked him first.
"It is a charm that lets us use our spirituality to create a small ball of light at the tips of our wands." Loki explained.
"Five points to Slytherin because that was a perfect answer Mr. Loki. Now that Mr. Loki has explained to us what the charm does, can someone else tell me how the charm works? What wand movements does it use?!"
This time he picked on Hermione who looked at Loki competitively and she explained.
"Sir, the Lumos charm is activated upon performing a full circle using the wand with the intent of creating a ball of light."
"Perfect answer Miss Granger. Five points for Gryffindor. Now that we know how to perform the spell, everyone can try once we begin, please remember, as Miss Granger said, the charm will only be a success if you have the intent to create a ball of light! Focus on creating the image of a ball of light while twirling your wand to trace a circle and it should work fine!"
'How did Walburga eliminate the need for a wand movement when she performed the shield charm?' Loki wondered and thought if he should ask Professor Flitwick about it but thought otherwise.
'I better experiment with it myself first. I want to see if I can figure it out on my own without external help.'
With a nod from the professor, everyone began to start practising the spell, but most students only had the tips of their wands flicker with nothing concrete at its end.
It was only Hermione, Loki, and Malfoy that managed to complete the spell in a single try.
"I see that you have achieved the spell, ten points to Slytherin and Five points to Gryffindor!" Professor Flitwick clapped. "If you would help your colleagues I will add to your houses another five points!" he exclaimed and set both Hreminoe and Malfoy to teach and explain to their seatmates and those around them about the spell.
Since Loki had nothing to do, as everyone was still avoiding him like a plague, he began to play around with the spell.
'Hmm….what happens if I only do half the wand movement and have the clear thought of producing only half the light, will that work?' Loki wondered and gave it a try.
And to his surprise the light at the end of his wand was invisible to him but visible clearly to everyone else since they were all looking at him and he could see the deep shadows it cast.
'Huh!? How did that happen?'
'If it was so easy how did it never happen all the other times I tried this spell while learning it? And what about when the other students tried it out, what then!?'
Loki felt stumped.
'How did this happen?'
"I see you've begun to modify the charm Mr. Loki. A perfect demonstration of how intent shapes magic. A perfect use of the Lumos spell to create a spotlight. Ten points to Slytherin!-" Loki instantly smiled with some pride.
"-But please don't try it with anything else. It might be dangerous." Professor Flitwick warned strictly but Loki was already giddy and thinking something else after hearing the first part.
'Intent?'
'So as long as I think something else while modifying the charm it'll work?'
'But then what about all the runes and things?'
'Hehe, who knew it was so easy to modify a spell, could it be!? Could it be!? Could it be that I am a genius at charms!?'
And while Loki was absorbed in his imagination the time quickly passed and the class finally came to an end with Hermione jealous that Loki had done something before her.
Later she walked past Loki in the corridor leaving behind a faint whisper, "Wait for me next time! I'll beat you to it!" causing Loki to chuckle as he replied, "I'm not going to let you steal my genius in charms!" confusing her and walked away.