Weeks passed after the conversation between Natsu and Lucy, and every week end and free period was spent in the library. The two Gryffindors were seated by their specific table, now accompanied by the rest of the first year Gryffindors and Levy.
Lucy observed her housemates and smiled at their efforts in helping her connect with her magic. She then recalled the moment they had found out of her dilemma. It was quite chaotic if she could describe it in one word.
She and Natsu had spent most of their free time together in the library, with or without Levy to peruse books in searching for more information. It was Sting and Gray who had suggested for the other Gryffindors to spy on the two, and Erza had enthusiastically agreed. She had been excited at the time to see their budding friendship grow.
So while Natsu and Lucy had discussed to themselves, thinking they were alone together, they had done so without whispering as their table was places away from the libraries lobby. With the rest of the Gryffindors hidden in their places, they were able to overhear of Lucys unfortunate magical disconnection. Erza had then approached the two, startling them and confronted the duo.
Lucy had burst into tears when they found out. She didn't want any of them to see her differently, and the thought of it sent her to another wave of despair. And she continued on crying when her newfound friends vowed to themselves into helping the golden haired girl. They stood by her, even when finding out the truth she so desperately hid from them.
And now they sat beside her, books and parchment spread around with shared notes and findings.
However, even with more people searching for information, none were able to find any previous cases or theories of magical disconnection. But none of them lost hope. Even with this disadvantage, Levy was able to make a plan together with her golden haired friend.
Levy had two plans, one long term and another short term. Their deadline was the first week of November where practical tests will be held.
Levys long term plan was based on the Control Program the government started for children magicals. There were three parts to the long term plan, which were: Meditation, Breathing Exercises and Slow Emanating of Magic. Although these are three parts, these are all done in one action.
With the first week of November steadily approaching, Levy had concocted her plan and while others spent some time research, Lucy had pleaded her friends to discontinue with their research and focus on the preparation for the practical tests on November.
They never stopped their research and it was October already.
The first weekend of October sent chills down Lucys spine as the cold air passed by. She was seated on one of the free classrooms with Levy. The blue haired girl had instructed Lucy to sit comfortably, preferably in a lotus position with her wand close to her chest.
This part was improvised by Levy, as she had researched that magical connections would heighten with the wand close by. A beginning wizard must have four things for a smooth flow of magical output, the blue haired girl discussed the first day of meditations. Their person, their wand (with the wood, core and magical core bonded) and their magical core. As of now, Lucys person is disconnected from her wand and magical core.
It had always been emphasized in the early days of the Control Program that a wizard child must always bond with their magic at an early age. Bonding occurs when the child releases bursts of excess magic. Levy scanned her brain, recalling the various readings and theories on the burst of excess magic. A magical child grows with their magic alert and, as the child matures, their magic does, too. A way for a child's magic to mature in age is when the child uses their magic, or in a young child's case, for their magic to release in bursts. These releases would vary from small outbursts to massive emanates.
In Lucys case, with her magic locked for more than a year (locked nearly her entire life), the excess magic that was produced to be released had been forced into compression. And so, it is most likely that her excess magic had compressed itself and fused into another layer, shielding Lucys magical core, and thus separated Lucys person from the magical bond with her core.
Levy had paused from her readings to observe her golden haired friend. Lucys face was relaxed, and Levy peered closer to the seated girl. Lucy was slowly expelling magic in golden sheens. Levys eyes never strayed from her form. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours, but Levys eyes stayed on her form and observed the light shimmer that left her friends body.
Levy knew without a doubt that Lucy was powerful. Her core was light, bright and it burned. It was warm, like the home Levy desperately craved for. Lucy might not be gifted like Erza, Natsu and Gray for their practical work, or like Levy with her intelligence, but Lucy was more than magical outputs.
Levys thoughts then ended when Lucys eyes opened up. The blue haired girl smiled at her friend and approached the girl to pull her onto her feet. Just before Levy could reach a hand out to her friend, Lucys eyes glowed a bight blue and a powerful gust of wind left her.
Levy then fell onto her bum, her book on the floor forgotten as she reached into her pocket for her wand. Before the girl could wrack her brain for a spell, her eyes were pulled to the direction of her friend.
Lucy was on the floor, her position exactly the same, save for her face which now was raised, her chin up and eyes golden. Her body shone a bright gold and her wand floated over her head.
Levy could not move from her position on the floor. She was stuck by the beautiful and powerful pull of magic Lucy was releasing. A steady flow left her body, and moments later, her wand, which was floating above Lucy, slowly descended, the gold and wooden carved rose lightly touching the skin of her forehead.
When wand touched skin the powerful release of magic abruptly ended.
Lucy panted, her chest heaving for breath as if stuck without it. With how Lucys magic positioned her just moments before, it could be likely that the golden haired girl had been releasing magic without the instinctual breaths. Levy had not changed from her position on the floor, and just like her golden haired friend, she was amazed by the event.
"That was amazing," Levy had whispered. She slowly rose off the floor, grabbed her wand from where she hadn't known fell and approached the girl who was still heaving for breaths.
"Lucy, you okay?" Levy had reached over to the girl; her wand pocketed and eyed her friend for any sort of negative reaction.
A puff of breath left Lucys lips as she broadly grinned at her petite friend. Lucy said no words, her mind taking in and absorbing what had just happened.
She was able to use magic.
She was able to feel her magic.
She made a connection with her magic.
A squeal of delight left her lips. Lucy bounced off the floor, her legs wobbly and numb, and before she could meet the floor once more, her petite friend quickly rushed to her aid, grabbing her torso before her knees could clash against the cold floor.
"I did it."
"You did it! Oh Lucy! It was amazing," Levy waved her hands about as she showered her friend with words and compliments, describing how the magical display was from her point of view.
Lucy, on the other hand, had begun to zone out. From the back of her mind, she recalled the physical aspect of her magic, she thought about how she had actually made physical contact with her magical core. She thought about how powerful she had felt as she emitted magic.
Lucy recalled how her magic thrummed in her veins, how she swam in the depths of her magic, how she breathed in her power, and released magic in return. Lucy smiled to herself. The way her heart pounded in her ears, the sensation of her blood singing in her veins, and the weightless feeling on her chest. Lucy loved it. She truly did.
Lucy's eyes landed on her blue haired friend, who went on about Lucy and her observations. All of this wouldn't be for her friend. She wouldn't have been able to do so without any of her friends. Lucy's eyes prickled with tears, the golden haired girl thanked the stars above for their blessing, for sending Levy to Lucy's side.
Expressing her gratitude, Lucy pulled her friend into a hug, her tears freely falling from her eyes. She sobbed herself into Levy's warm embrace, mumbling words of gratitude into her chest.
Levy tightly hugged her friend. She herself was unable to put herself into her friends shoes, and although guilty for being so, Levy was thankful that she would never have to experience what Lucy went through. Levy reached into herself, and softly caressed the magic wound in her; although the inner scholar in her would want to, Levy would never want to put herself into Lucy's shoes, unable to connect with her magic.
Magic swims in a magicals veins. It is part of their entire being. It is only pure torture to part with what is already a part of you.
Levy had vowed to herself when she had realized of Lucy's magical disconnection, that she'd do everything in her power to aid her friend.
…
Lucy went to bed happy that night.
The next few days went on like so, meditations during any free time, and during the morning where Lucy woke up an hour earlier and nights where she slept later than the rest. The golden haired girl made a schedule, a routine, and kept it until she could properly harness her powers, and bond with her core.
The next meditations weren't as dramatic as the last one, the same one when Lucy had expelled a large amount in one session. No, Levy had advised against Lucy doing that, thinking of negative outcomes if Lucy were to release large amounts at a time. And so, following the instructions and guidance from her Ravenclaw friend, she reached into herself, relaxing her body and softly reached out to her magical core.
Lucy had her eyes closed, her breaths soft and deep, her body on the carpeted floor in a lotus position. Erza and Bisca had left to sleep a tad earlier that night, right after finishing the homework assigned to them with the boys. Lucy had done hers with Natsu in the library, opting to use her free time for meditations.
Soft snores and mumbles left the lips of her sleeping dorm mates, light sounds mixing in the air, creating a relaxed and calming atmosphere. Meditations were never easy for Lucy, her thoughts had always distracted her, especially since she had spent most of her years with only her mind as a friend (if you would exclude her family at the estate, her mind had been the only source of comfort and communication) and closing off her mind for mere moments had been a taxing job.
Lucys mind relaxed the voices in her head lowering in volume and little by little, she let her magic free.
Within the depths of her core, Lucy was able to make a light connection with the tightly wound magic of hers. She softly caressed it, reaching out in hopes for it to make way for Lucy to connect with her magical core. It made no such motion.
It had hurt at first, her magic rejecting her motions of bond. The rejection had resulted with Lucy passing out, mostly in emotional pain rather than physical pain; the knowledge of magic within rejecting the witch. It was as if her magic had deemed Lucy incapable of controlling her powers, or as if she was not worthy to do so. Lucy had voiced this out to Levy once, and immediately, the girl had protested otherwise. Levy told her that rejection was done due to the fact that Lucy and her magic were still strangers, since they had yet to bond. Lucy desperately hoped it to be so, and not that she was unworthy of her magic.
Lucy had ended her meditation after that, knowing well enough that she shouldn't force a connection. She had ended it with an inaudible sigh. Lucy stood up with a yawn, stretching her limbs from staying in the same position for a while, and checking the time, the golden haired girl laid herself on the warm bed, and nestled herself into the red covers. She grabbed her wand from where it rested and tucked it under her pillows, keeping a tight grip around it.
She'd connect with her magic soon, no matter how long it would take her, now that she'd started, she would end it with her and a fully bonded connection.
…
Erza and some representatives of other houses of first years had made plans to gather as one, in preparation for the practical tests for the first week of November. The red haired girl and the others had made plans to study, to help one another pass the tests.
Erza's eyes surveyed the entire room, with a tiny grace of gratefulness for their set of having the least number of students. Right now, every single first year had their wands out, their minds sharp, and bodies at the ready for some spell casting.
The Ravenclaws were up front, leading the group with their collective notes and research in hand, beside them were the Gryffindors, who were in charge of experimenting with wand movements and pronunciations. Across those two houses were the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, who were hunched over their bound parchment, on it were the noted practical test from the previous years.
The Badgers and Snakes refused to mention where and how they got that information, as it surely wasn't in the library. It had been quite a shock, upon seeing the extensive and detailed descriptions of the happenings of the practical tests, the two houses had asked for none to question how they'd come upon it, and thus, none had asked.
Everyone did their best, with the goal to pass with flying colors. At another table, Lucy and Levy were hunched over, eyes on the written observations from Lucy's meditations. With the practicals so close, Lucy's concentration had been wavering, from both fear and anxiety. It was so close, and yet, success seemed so far.
Lucy bit her lip, eyes on the detailed writings. She had yet to make proper contact with her core; the excess magic was more than what she could release in one meditation session. It was years' worth of magical bursts, and both Levy and Lucy knew that it would take more than meditation for the blonde haired girl to release it.
Levy fidgeted with her quill, her other hand on the desk with her fingertips tapping at a beat in her head. They need more time. There was more to Lucy's magic than what she'd observed and hypothesized. It was more than what she'd read, and so much more than what meditations can let out.
And they are running out of time.
Lucy eyed her blue haired friend. She's really blessed for having Levy by her side. Although she couldn't bond with her magic, she's glad for the bond she had created with Levy.
She nudged at Levy's side, "Hey, Levy. It's okay," she nods at the bound parchment, "I may not have bonded with my magic yet, but at least I can do proper spells now," Lucy held onto Levy's hand, as if consoling her, "And it's all thanks to you that all this happened."
Levy shook her head, as if disagreeing with Lucy's words. "All of this is possible because you were able to acknowledge it, the magical disconnection, that is. You were afraid, and so was I, but you didn't give up, you went to the basics and started from the bottom, and I'm sure it was more difficult for you than it would have been for us." Levy chuckled. It was so like Lucy to undermine her own success.
Lucy rolled her eyes, "I went to the basics because of you, Levy. You helped me from the start, with your plans, research and observations. All of this is because of you; all I've done is do what you told me to do."
The two girls went on, gushing about how the other had been the reason for success, with their collective voices rising with every compliment. The two had only stopped their intense and extensive show of vocabulary, in terms with compliments, when Gajeel stepped up and approached the two with a scowl on his face.
"You two shrimps better stop showing off your fancy-ass words and come over here and actually help by using those brains of yours with all these wordy shit," the burly boy growled. His face was covered in soot, his eyebrows furrowing more so as he cleaned his face and saw the dirt on the cloth.
"Language!" A couple of students voiced out.
Upon hearing it, Gajeel sighed and eyed the two girls in front of him,"All this pronunciation stuff is really getting on my nerves."
The two girls eyed one another and giggled at his expense, and followed the tall boy as he walked back towards the table where the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors banded together.
…
The Halloween Feast was on the night of October 31. And the few days after that would be the practical exams on the first days of November. Lucy and the rest of the first years would meet up every Saturday to review their notes and practice their spells, all in preparation for the first week of November.
However, today, as it was Halloween, the students had opted not to do anything related to academics, as it would be the perfect day to relax, and wait with excitement what would come on the feast later on.
Lucy started her day just as she would on any other day. She did her morning meditations, however, just this time; she tried a gradual release of stronger magic than the slow output from before. Luckily nothing exploded, or burned. But it did leave the eleven year old a little loopy and tired afterwards.
Since the day was all about relaxation and nothing about academics, the golden haired girl spent the day with her friends; they chatted, played chess and roamed around the large halls of their school.
She and Natsu spent an hour, almost two in the library, where the girl read books about protective spells and shields, and the boy on magical creatures and their myths. The two enjoyed their quiet afternoon and when they left, they passed by the kitchens, waving to a couple of their Hufflepuff friends and left with snacks in their hands.
The two had brought a lot of snacks, only because of Lucy's illegally enchanted bag (the golden haired girl had only found out so when both Erza and Mira scolded her when they found out of the illegal extension charms on her two bags). Within were a couple of containers of juice, sandwiches and chips. The pair then quickly bounded off to the Gryffindor Common Room where they shared it with friends.
All in all they day was as lovely as it could be. Lucy need not to worry about her fluctuating magic, she did not have to worry about her spell casting, and although it was not as proficient as her other peers, she's grateful enough to be able to cast anything at all.
Although the day was meant for rest, it didn't mean that Lucy stopped with her meditations, no, instead the girl tried to increase the intensity of her release, trying with all her might to go beyond her current limit, but only to what she feels she is capable of doing. Hours before the feast, she and Levy were on the stone floor, the same classroom used during their previous sessions.
Levy was her constant support and pillar. Whenever Lucy felt like she couldn't do it, or when she doubted her capabilities, Levy was there to tell her otherwise. But the girl didn't overly shower her with compliments; the Ravenclaw was honest and blunt with her words, offering her praise when deserved, and criticisms when needed. She was everything Lucy needed in her difficult time.
Her first friend, Lucy was more than grateful to the heavens, to the stars she and her mother would pray to, for blessing her a friend as loyal and brilliant as Levy McGarden.
...
Hello Everyone! Happy New Year and May we be blessed with a better 2021!
So sorry for the very late update. This chapter has been in my computer for quite some time. Apparently, as I guessed it would be, college is really difficult, and even more so as its conducted online. Imagine having so many questions to ask your teacher but being unable to contact or approach them as to not be seen as informal? Or so that you wont be a bother? HNNGGG,,,, Anyways, I've revised and rewritten this chapter a number of times, and to tell myself honestly, I'm not really proud of my work? I'm not so sure as to how I feel with this, but anyways, I've pinky promised myself to finish this story, and I've never broken a pinky promise.
While I would like to say that there's an updating schedule, I've got to work around with getting some rest and preparing for the next semester, so as much as I can, I'll write and update whenever I can. I would like to say that I will update every Monday, but even then, there's no guarantee to it. At least, this story will be updated sporadically, and it will not be abandoned!
Thank you for reading my story and as usual, please review, write anything may it be criticism, your feelings about this story, theories and whatnot, I really realllyyy realllllyy appreciate reviews, or even send me a pm, its fine.
Love, luckylucy77.