"Where are we going?" Sarah asked bubbly, a skip in her step as her hand intertwined with Harry's. Her wavy almond hair bobbed up and down, let loose from their usual ponytail. "And don't say it's a surprise, you know how I feel about them."
"Take an educated guess," Harry encouraged with merriment, chuckling at her childish huff. "It is unbecoming of you to act so childish."
"I'm a child," she snarked back with a roll of his eyes.
"Only in age."
"So am I too young for a sex ritual, or old enough to be expected not to act childishly," she asked sweetly. Several nearby pedestrians did a double take, hurriedly diverting away from the duo's vicinity. Harry sighed in bemusement, ruffling her hair affectionately.
"If you still want, we'll do the ritual on your graduation day," Harry promised.
"Is that a bound oath?"
"Indeed," he assured, drawing an ear splitting smile from the girl as she hugged him tightly. "There's no one else I'd rather do it with."
"You say all the right words to win a girl's heart," she fluttered, leaning against him and giving a content sigh as he wrapped a hand around her waist. "Ooh, international?"
"Indeed," he answered with amusement as they stepped into the international portkey transit area, where they queued in one of the several busy lines. "Any guesses to where we're going?"
"Well, I doubt you'd make us leave so early for the ball in China, so that's ruled out. It can't be anywhere else in Europe with the state of the continent. You hate the heat in Africa and South America, so that leaves North America, Russia, Asia and Oceania," Sarah mused aloud, observing his reactions. He allowed an approving smile to form, encouraging her.
"Your not girlfriend would throw a tantrum if you went to any other Asian countries," she pointedly ignored his snort, "and I doubt you'd go to Russia with the current state of affairs. That leaves down under and North America, and frankly as much as I wish to get a pet koala one day, I doubt you'd go to such a backwater place, which leaves...MACUSA?"
"Good," Harry smiled, impressed, causing Sarah to beam. "Very good. We are, in fact, going to the big apple. I've been invited to speak at an armithacy panel, Ilvermony has extended an offer to visit, and I need to coordinate with Helene on some projects."
"Helene?" Sarah frowned.
"One of Albert's assistants. He's delegated the regions out," Harry explained, causing her to nod in understanding. Finally, they reached the front of the queue, and were quickly handed a portkey before being ushered to one of the private booths. "Ready?"
"By your command."
"Activate," he commanded, and the two disappeared in a flash, falling into a vortex for several moments before landing on a soft platform. Looking around, they were greeted by large posters welcoming them to MACUSA. "Here we are."
"Excellent, I believe that we should be waiting for a mister Henshaw," Harry recalled. "He'll escort us straight to the hotel where the conference is booked. Once we're settled in, you're free to do your own thing. Here's some spending money."
He pulled out a pouch of galleons and handed it to Sarah. "Here's some spending money, try not to get yourself in too much trouble."
"You know me," the girl giggled, "I might get into trouble, but I always get out."
"I know too well," Harry sighed affectionately, ruffling her hair. "Ah, here he is."
"Master White! A pleasure to finally meet you in person, it's such an honour," the man prostrated, extending his hand out. Harry shook it firmly, favouring the man with a smile.
"LIkewise, master Henshaw. I read your paper on the initial armithic regression theory. I must admit, it definitely served as inspiration for my work. I must thank you, in that way, for without you, how could I have stood on the shoulders of a giant?"
"You are too kind," the man laughed silkily. "Ah, and how rude of me, welcome to MACUSA, you'll find some of the largest magical shopping centers in the world with all sorts of goods and services. Personally, I do quite enjoy the occasional massage at the veela parlour in the Vegas strip, though that's neither here nor there. Let's get you out of this stuffy terminal and into America proper."
He led them through the expedited security queue for dignitaries, before ushering them down several flights of stairs while explaining, "In the early 1900s, when we learnt that the muggles managed to build underground railways called subways, our ministry decided to replicate the idea. Of course, with a spin of magic, you can get from east coast to west in half an hour rather than six."
"Fascinating," Harry murmured, causing the man to preen, clearly pleased with Harry's intrigue. "I presume space compression is used?"
"Right on! Right on!" the man clapped as they stepped onto a subway car, which had large, plush sofas inside. Henshaw took a seat on one side, while Harry and Sarah seated themselves across. "It's quite a bit of fascinating work. I won't pretend to understand it, but at least it makes trips much faster, especially when there are far too many people who need to commute across the country for portkeys or floo to be efficient. Ah the sub is finally starting."
True to the man's words, the subway car's doors hissed closed, before giving a slight lurch, slowly accelerating down the track. "Anyways, you'll be staying at the Communion Hotel, fully complementary, of course. Meals are delivered to your room, and you'll have the afternoon to get settled before you're due as our opening speaker in the grand ballroom during dinner. You'll be joining several panel over the next few days, but we've made sure to leave plenty of time for you to visit the various sites, and of course a visit to Ilvermony on the final day. Several tribal leaders have extended their welcomes for you to visit, quite a rare honour, I must say. I do encourage you to go, many would very literally kill for such an opportunity."
"I'd be a fool to deny such hospitality," Harry replied easily, assuaging the man's clear worry that he might decline the invitation. "I've always had a respect for tribal runes, it will be a pleasure to discuss this with them."
"Right right, of course, you're a runes master, forgive me, sometimes...it's just…"
"Hard to believe?" Harry chuckled, once again assuaging the man's fear, this time of offending him. "Don't worry, I could hardly take offense. We're all just academics at heart, afterall."
"Exactly," Henshaw snapped his finger with a smile. "Ah, and we're here!"
Sarah raised an incredulous eyebrow, to which Harry merely shrugged as their guide ushered them off the train. They entered an elevator, and he pressed the top button. "You've been given one of the executive suites at the top of the building. The view is fantastic, you can see both the magical section and the muggle Vegas. They do have the most fascinating attractions there, I must say, worth checking out."
"Ah, a gambling man?" Sarah probed gently, ignoring the askance glance Harry shot her. Henshaw stumbled slightly before chuckling reticently.
"I dabble. Being able to count does seem to give you quite the advantage, though magic is strictly monitored in the casinos, of course. Many a witch and wizard have tried to get rich by cheating with magic, it never ends well. Anyhoo, here we are," he gestured to the room revealed grandly. "If you need anything, I'm just a floo call away. I do have to go meet with the convenors, so I'll see you tonight."
Seconds after they stepped into the suite, the elevator door behind them had closed, and they were left to their own devices. As Harry began to pull out bags and unshrink them, Sarah eyed the room in amusement.
"They really went all out. This place is like a palace," she giggled, throwing open several doors to reveal even more rooms. "Ooh, the bathroom has a jacuzzi, I'm going for a dip, want to join me?"
"Maybe another time," Harry chuckled in amusement, rolling his eyes at Sarah's pout. Blowing a raspberry, she pointedly left the bathroom door open, and soon the sounds of running water filled the entire hotel room.
Unpacking everything took several hours, and by the time he was done, he was due to go down. Looking around, he found that Sarah still hadn't appeared, and wandered into the bathroom, giving a fond sigh of exasperation when he saw her snoozing lightly inside the jacuzzi tub. With a rool of his eyes, he picked her up, quickly wiped her down, and carried her bridal style to one of the two bedrooms, tucking her in and after a moment's thought, planting a kiss on her forehead. Sarah unconsciously smiled, leaning into his touch, and he forced himself to pull away before he was trapped. Harry doubted missing the opening ceremony for the conference would endear himself to the guild.
Quickly dressing in formal dress robes, he entered the elevator and pressed the button to descend to the ballroom level. In several seconds, the doors parted open, and he stepped out, immediately to find himself being ushered into a side room, where guild master Joe Williams was chatting merrily with several other dignitaries.
The man turned around, and immediately brightened at the sight of Harry. "Mister White! A pleasure to finally meet you! Your reputation precedes you!"
"Guild master Williams," Harry returned with a friendly smile, accepting the proffered hand in a firm shake, "just Harry will do fine. We're all fellow academics here, no need to get bogged down in titles."
"I couldn't agree more, just call me Joe. We're all ready for you to give your speech, just give us a minute to introduce you and then through that door," Joe instructed, offering him a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder before quickly striding through a set of doors to loud applause.
He was unable to hear the introductions, but knew it was time when an aide opened the door. Nodding in thanks, he stepped through, and was immediately greeted by a standing ovation from all the members. Stepping up to the podium, he shook hands with the guild master, both smiling for the cameras, before the man stepped off and left him alone, facing a room of more than five hundred armithicacy experts.
"My friends, it is an honour and a pleasure to speak to you today. I am still young, so I hope you will forgive my youth and inexperience in making such a speech." Polite chuckles were given. "But let us first address a grave truth. The world today is a dangerous place for us academics. Where we could once take comfort knowing our work was our own, that our bonds as fellow academics were secure, today, we are facing not just one, but hundreds of iron curtains, as various governments face increasing crises and conflict. It is a sobering truth, but one I would be remiss to ignore.
The world is becoming increasingly dangerous and unwelcoming for our kind. Truth now often finds itself unwelcome. Research only seen in the leverage they provide politicians. We stand on a precipice in which our work may very well be corrupted. And we are faced with a choice.
We can choose to allow ourselves to be divided, quarters up by politicians, oligarchs and special interest groups. We can choose the easy path. Or we can do what's right, and fight for our rights as academics to work together, to celebrate each others' achievements, to commune over our pursuit of a greater purpose in seeking a deeper truth.
An academic is defined not by the depth of their knowledge, but the content of their character. With the release of all my notes, I hope to show my conviction in this regard. I was offered several multi-million galleon offers to keep my work private, and allow it to be monopolised. I refused every single one of them, because I believe in the academic spirit. Because I believe, that our work means more than the profits for some corporation, than some accolade or prize. I believe that our work is meant to be shared, meant to be celebrated in the authentic spirit that we as academics embody.
You are all intelligent and able, and had you decide to pursue more lucrative career paths, I have no doubt you could have found far greater monetary or even political success. Yet, each one of you made the choice to pursue something far greater: meaning.
Many a time, we have been told that we are not defined by our work. I wholeheartedly agree. It is not what we achieve, but how we achieve it, and why we chose to achieve it, that determines who we are.
I tell you this not to lecture you on how you should act, or magic forbid how to think, but rather to encourage you to speak up, to defend not just your own interests, but those of your fellow academics. Alone, we might be weak and vulnerable, but together...we could have the world at our fingertips.
For those of you who are facing extortion, bullying, harassment, and I know there are many of you out there, I declare today that my door is open to you. That I will use every scrap of political capital I have gained with my recent accomplishments to defend your rights and privileges as an academic. I call on each of you, to stand up, not only for yourselves, but for each other. Stand up for your students, protect and nurture them. Stand up for your peers, commune and share with them. Stand up for your elders, honour and respect them.
This is perhaps not the speech you all expected to hear, or even wanted to. But again, perhaps because of my youthful naivety, I will speak as I believe, nothing more, nothing less. I have witnessed one too many flames of curiosity snuffed out by the cruelty of our world. One too many determined spirits crumble beneath apathetic rejection from others. One too many unique perspectives lost beneath ridicule and scorn. We have a duty as academics, to protect our field, to nurture it. Let us regain that spark of determination, and begin a new era, not just for armithacy, but as an example for all fields of magic. Thank you."
There were several moments of silence before one of the delegates burst to her feet, beginning to applaud. This snapped the delegates out of their stupor, and soon he received yet another standing ovation. Harry smiled, ducking his head in humility. He knew he had won, if not the hearts and mind of these academics, then certainly their respect and acknowledgement.
-Break-
"Avada kedavra," Voldemort intoned lazily with a flick of her wand as her force of nearly a hundred surged forward towards the imposing fortress. Several more killing curse followed hers, striking true at the wards of the fortress. She felt them fracture under her killing curse, before completely collapsing to the barrage from her followers. Inside, she frowned; very few wards should have been able to survive her spell, which meant this was a bigger target than she initially anticipated.
"Fiendfyre," Voldemort intoned, and a large, fiery serpent rose out from the tip of her wand, stretching over thirty meters high and rearing its head in an angry hiss before surging forward. She watched in grim satisfaction as several Grindelwaldians were burnt to a crisp screaming. Yet just as her flames were about to strike the manor, a large aquatic hydra burst out from one of the windows, its nine heads blowing out streams of water that began to douse her flame serpent.
Incredulous, Voldemort let go of her control of the flame. Once summoned, the exertion was mostly on controlling the flames, though seeing as they weren't serving her, she allowed them to run loose, not that it mattered as the water strangled the flames, forming large clouds of steam as she watched her fiendfyre get snuffed out. A small part of her felt fear, but even greater was excitement. This was the power of Grindelwald!
"You should not have come here," a soft voice intoned, and she saw the man in question stride out confidently, weaving his wand in an intricate motion around him. Several killing curses were sent his way, yet they splashed against his strange shield and fizzled out. Voldemort eyed it incredulously before honing her senses, realising that Grindelwald was manipulating the air around him to form a solid barrier. It was ingenious, though unsurprising in hindsight of this realisation, given the man's affinity for air. "You are powerful, but not powerful enough to defeat me."
"Old man, you're a relic of a bygone era," Voldemort snarled furiously. "Even Dumbledore could do nothing but stall my inevitable rise, what makes you think you have a chance?"
"Your foul stench reveals enough to me," the dark lord rasped. "You've fallen too deep in the dark arts, allowed it to twist your mind. You are lower than a filthy muggle, for at least they can not squander what they don't have."
"Ventum!" Voldemort bellowed, sending the curse of hellion's wrath at Grindelwald. The dark lord's eyes widened, and he dived out of the way as the black orb began to slowly expand, tendrils lashing out and impaling several Grindelwaldians. The dark lord himself was forced to shield as darkness coiled itself around him, slowly squeezing with relentless fury. Voldemort observed impassively, until shards of light began to penetrate through the darkness, like magma bubbling to the surface through various fissures. "Impossible…"
A strange, alien sound that was between a growl, a bark and a screech pierced the air, and suddenly a wave of light exploded outwards. Raising a shield around herself and the lieutenants near her, her entire body trembled in exertion as the dark lord's spell began to crack her shield. A small hole formed, and the light immediately jabbed in, impaling two of her lieutenants before she managed to fortify the crack.
Her followers quickly poured their own magic into the shield, braving the storm of light as it danced around them mockingly, slowly choking, until after a full minute, with several of her lieutenants having collapsed to magical exhaustion, and all those still conscious, including her, having fallen to their knees to conserve strength, did the threat subside.
Shakily, Voldemort willed herself to her feet, eyeing Grindelwald incredulously. The dark lord's throat had ruptured, creating ahole in the man's neck, his wand already pressed against it to slowly repair the damage. Both eyed each other in surprise, her in the sheer power demonstrated, and he at the fact she had managed to survive relatively unscathed.
As the dark lord's throat knit together, Voldemort questioned, "Why?"
"You took what was mine. Such cannot go unanswered." Voldemort 'ahhed' in realisation. So it seemed her theory that the dark lord was furious at her taking one of his two power bases rang true. With a sigh, she raised her wand, firing several arcs of dark magic, so powerful the very air around them wailed at the distortion.
Undeterred, Gindelwald leapt to the side, conjuring several javelins of air and hurling it at Voldemort, who sent a blast of flames, vanquishing the threat. Her eyes narrowed, she slashed her wand, sending a variety of curses, though Grindelwald merely stepped aside from most lazily, shielding against several others. As he opened his mouth again, she panicked, and fired off a choking hex, a simple prank spell. Yet it travelled so fast, and Grindelwald having began to gather his magic, concentrating fully on his arcane spell, that it managed to hit the dark lord, causing him to claw at his throat, eyes open in panic as it began to bulge.
Raising a shield, Voldemort watched as Grindelwald's chest literally exploded open, spraying much of his insides and revealing part of his lungs. Only fragments of his frontal rib cage remained, as he fell to the ground wheezing. The dark lady allowed a sigh of relief to escape her lips as she cautiously approached with her wand out.
"Avada kedavra," she intoned softly, the green spell soaring towards the dark lord, who merely glared as his body glowed, and with the telltale sign of a portkey, flashed away. Turning to her lieutenants, she ordered, "Scour the manor, find anything that could be of value, then burn it down."
"Yes milady," the surviving individuals, roughly twenty in all, bowed, hastily jogging towards the ruined structure. When they had moved far enough, Voldemort allowed herself to sag slightly, wincing at the exhaustion throughout her body. She grabbed the portkey on her neck and activated it, knowing she needed to rest quickly, and that collapsing in front of her followers would tarnish her reputation irrevocably. As was, she had, albeit slightly, bested Grindelwald, something she was sure would embolden her followers as those with her spread the word.
As the dark lady drifted to sleep once collapsing on the comfortable, soft bed reserved for her, she dreamt of discovering the power Grindelwald had wielded.
-Break-
Alana carved the final set of runes that would complete her work. She had studied Chinese runes with a tutor recommended by Harry, and while it was hard learning an entire language, she could not deny the results were more than worth it. It had proved the missing piece of the puzzle to her universal rune scheme, nearly matching the greatest strength of each individual language.
Understanding arithmancy had been a pain in the backside, even with Sarah's help, though seeing the results, she could ont deny its effectiveness. "Is this the old way?"
Harry had speculated to her that language could contain intrinsic power. She had been in disbelief at first...but yet...it seemed he was right again. That the Native Americans had some of the most imprecise yet powerful runes was a testament to this fact. Harry too had speculated that increased standardisation and generalisation had sapped language of its meaning and thus its power, a theory she was now inclined to agree with.
The three hundred forty three runes in front of her, each completely unique and foreign to any other runic language in existence, stared back at her. Even passively, they thrummed with power from the slight amount of magic they absorbed from the ambience, a true testament to their potential.
Satisfied, she took a sip of hot cocoa, merely taking some time to ogle her work. Harry had provided guidance while Sarah did the calculations, but she couldn't help but feel proud and slightly possessive over this. It was undeniable proof that she was valuable to Harry, that she was capable in her own right. That Sarah wanted to ally with her in the power plays of the circle was testament to the fact, and indeed since the beginning of that partnership, she felt as though Harry had been more attentive to her research.
She felt the urge to immediately begin work on her next project, for there were so many. She had fallen behind on her project to create magically powered batteries to focus on creating the runic language, so that was definitely a priority.
On the other hand, Harry had also encouraged her to explore different types of wards and to see if they could develop better protections. He had provided her an invisibility cloak not made of demiguise but rather normal silk, no doubt as inspiration for what could be possible. She simply didn't know what to start with.
Suddenly, she felt a soft voice guiding her to her bookshelf, and her hand almost instinctively reached out, palming in her hand a book entitled 'artificial intelligence: machine learning and code'. It had been a gift from Harry, though for what purpose she had yet to discern. The book seemed full of contradictions and uncertainties...yet there must have been a reason. Harry was many things, but random and sporadic were not among those traits. Her hands could certainly use a break from carving, and her mind a change of pace.
With a determined grin, Alana plopped herself on a sofa seat, opening the book and beginning to read through it, determined to unlock the mysteries. On the window sill, unnoticed to her, a raven observed with a glint in its eye, before quietly flying away into the night sky.
Author Note:
Finally confirmed my results, meaning my place in my dream university is secure! The celebratory mood seems to have improved my writing, as it hasn't felt this smooth for the past eight or so chapters. As a special treat, I even gave you a peep into esoteric and chaos magic in the duel between Voldemort and Grindelwald! I'm looking forward to more of this when we finally get to the global wizarding war, even if that's still quite a bit away admittedly. Harry's also up to his usual manipulations trying to innocent those poor, poor, innocent little academics. The summer has plenty left to happen, including the summer equinox ball in China, the continued conflict between Voldemort and Grindelwald, Ira still fighting on the Russian front...I wouldn't be surprised if it's 3-4 chapters before we make it back to Durmstrang for his final year in the castle (his seventh will be spent in the international tournament at Hogwarts) As promised, a bit less politics, with Harry having resigned from the assembly master position. He's going to be training hard with his circle, so we're also going to see more of Katerina, who thus far hasn't really come out as a character in my opinion.
Let's move onto some reader comments!
Thanks to Ignotus Redwood for pointing out my naming mistake in the previous chapter. I'll be amending that right after I post this chapter.
A warm welcome to Amp, I will admit seeing your reactions as you progressed through the chapters was fascinating as an author. I'm glad you seem to be enjoying the story thus far. I can definitely sympathise with your political disillusionment, myself feeling much the same way with many modern governments. I think an apt quote for my feelings is that "Fascism is democracy in crisis." While I don't want to full on replicate modern day COVID events just yet in the story, as I feel giving a more historical perspective allows us as readers to distance ourselves and engage with the content with less bias, I deliberately introduced the BMU as a parliamentary democracy and showed Harry exploiting such weakness at least in part to highlight the weakness of such a system. As to your question on why others haven't done this, I feel this deserves a more lengthy explanation:
1. There are other players who will be interested in the BMU. However, they lack the engrained influence and insider knowledge that Harry has. Keep in mind, as Raven he has contacts, knowledge on building layouts, understanding on emergency response protocols...etc. That and his financial resources means that he has a country mile lead on the next competitors.
2. Many people don't want to involve themselves in the BMU. As a haven for magical creatures, muggleborns and halfbloods, most purebloods, whose reach in financial assets might match or surpass Raven, have little wish to 'sully' themselves. Furthurmore, magical creatures and muggleborns are likely to distrust old money purebloods who often encouraged discrimination against them in other countries. This removes a key group of potential challengers to Harry's influence.
3. Many citizens in the BMU genuinely love their country, as it's a breath of fresh air to be free and have such opportunities. For many who would have been relegated to menial jobs no matter their qualifications, the freedoms in the BMU means they will work hard to defend it. This means that recruiting insurgents in the BMU is difficult, and often direct action has to be taken, which is why Raven was the one to sabotage the werewolf facility himself. Again, many others would be unwilling to go personally.
4. The security apparatus is efficient. There's a reason I made it a point to mention guardians patrolling the inner core of the city. Security has been a high priority, and threats clamped down on. Only because of Harry's intimate knowledge of the system is he able to pull off what he did. Any attempts to organise a group like the Death Eaters would be squashed. Lone wolf attacks, such as in the style of Harry's, are much harder to counteract, but also generally have far more limited impacts, because in the BMU, those with ability are generally content, having a decent standard of living, while those less able are incapable of doing much damage, living in resentment in the outskirt slums. To find an individual both capable and discontent enough to pull of lone wolf attacks is extremely rare.
Hopefully this clarifies a bit on the situation. It's an excellent question, and one I thoroughly enjoyed answering. I also want to mention how much joy it brings me that you're immersing yourself so much in the world as to consider these things, as admittedly I do take pride in worldbuilding.
Now onto our second reader questions from MF, who asks what magical affinities are and what the difference between charms and transfiguration are. Both are excellent questions. For the former, I concede that they probably weren't that well explained, and I completely understand where the confusion stems for. Magical affinities are like inate talents. Similar to in real life, how some individuals have a better number sense, are more street smart, or are able to write neatly, magicals generally have natural skill in some branches of magic over others. So for instance, when I say Voldemort has an affinity towards fire, it means she is more in tune with fire magics such as fiendfyre, and is able to cast them stronger than one without an affinity all other things being equal. With the Harry training in the arctic scene, I wanted to highlight how one can brute force their way through deficinecies, for instance while Harry has his affinity with energy, he is able to demonstrate the ability of air compression simialr to Grindelwald, though Harry would have worked far harder to achieve a similar result to the dark lord. This perfectly leads onto the part where Harry is able to use fiendfyre, having an affinity for a particular branch of magic doesn't preclude mastery of another. Harry is the best example of this, having brute forced his way into nearly matching the fluidity of other elemental affinities. The reason why you'll see Voldemort often use fire magic, Grindelwald air and Dumbledore water is because individuals tend to focus on what they're good at. Harry's a rare exception in which he's not specialising, but rather trying to make himself equally strong in all regards. It's the tradeoff between breadth and depth, and that's one of the reasons we see Harry get dominated by Grindelwald, because the dark lord is good at less things, but in those few things he is exponentially better than Harry currently is.
For the latter question, charms is a general term for spells which create an effect. For instance, a cheering charm makes an individual charm happy. A weightlessness charm on a book reduces the weight of an book, yet fundamentally it's still a book, merely with one of its charactersitics altered. In contrast, a transfiguration alters the inherent property of an object, for instance, changing an apple into an acorn, two fundamentally different objects. To further complicate things, transmutation, a sub-branch of transfiguration that overlaps with alchemy, is permenant transfiguration. This is because transfiguration is trying to force an object to be something its not, and thus magical power is consumed as the object is in a state of flux. As it tries to reverse itself, magic from the caster prevents this. Thus a transfiguration only lasts, depending on the power placed, for a certain amount of time. Transmutation is a perfected transfiguration, in which an object has fundamentally been changed into another, and thus is stable. To summarise: a charm changes a characeristic, a transfiguration temporarily alters an object, transmutation permenantly alters an object.
Thank you for the question, and hope this clarifiese my headcanon for this story. If you have any question, and this goes for all of you awesome readers who have made it this far into the story, feel free to either drop a comment here or join the discord and ask on there. The discord code is: 8tE6SmXETw
As always, if you enjoyed, be sure to hit the favourite and follow buttons. The former shows your appreciation, and the latter ensures you get notified the moment I update. As I mentioned in previous chapters, the next few weeks will be more erratic for me, even as I try to maintain one chapter a day. Thank you to all that have already done so, your support means the world to me! Until next time, toodles!