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ZhaWarudo
He's not taking much joy in magic because his mind is occupied on preparing for the future, and because he's worried about danger, once he relaxes more he'll start to enjoy himself.
The big bad doesn't appear in the Harry Potter part of the CYOA, unless I misread something, however the MC doesn't know that he is a CYOA or that the bad guy actually has no idea where the world-seed is at this time.
There's a whole selection of worlds towards the end of the CYOA that the MC can visit, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, the CYOA limits it to three of those, but since I'll be skipping the anime worlds I can use those universes instead.
I haven't read Mother of Learning. Hopefully I will be able to get around to it. I read some of Carl the Jumper as that story is part of the Community I made to bring together Jumpchain stories.
Crossworlds 1 - Harry Potter
Part 5
Hogwarts School. Wizarding World.
The power to create illusion was much greater than I'd first imagined it to be and this was something that put a smile on my face as it resulted in me spending hours in the training area the Room of Requirement could provided with me testing the limits of this power, so that I could figure out useful it was now as well as what I might be able to do with it in the future.
My illusions I'd discovered could fool all five of the senses, but they had limits, for example if I created a brick wall that could block a corridor (and make a group of students late for class as as a minor prank) it sure looked real you could even reach out and touch its surface, but as anyone tried to occupy the same physical space as an illusion the magic would fade.
Interestingly when I assumed an adult form and changed my clothes via an illusion the illusion of the clothes wouldn't fade if someone bumped into me. This must be because I was only changing the appearance of something that already existed rather than trying to make it seem as if something was there when it couldn't be.
Charms, a branch of magic that could affect an object without altering its nature, was much easier than Transfiguration, magic that attempted to change the nature of an object or even to create something out of nothing. Perhaps that was just how magic worked.
If so then I might have been failing to show the subject of Transfiguration the respect it deserves. Then again Charms were useful right from the start. I'd proven that when levitating objects so that I could store them safely. Aside from that, Charms was simply a more enjoyable lesson.
I'd been experimenting and I had discovered that my illusions broke down if they were hit by a spell. This did not apply if I shapeshifted because I'd placed a few harmless spells on myself while in front of a mirror and nothing happened. Perhaps if I was stunned or hit by a curse while not in my base form I might revert back, but I had no way of knowing for sure since I was willing to hit myself with spells that might do me real harm.
One of my more recent discoveries was that while illusionary fire felt hot it didn't actually burn. It could fool the senses it just couldn't do any actual damage so firing illusionary spells at people would be pointless as anything other than a distraction and since I was a Red Mage it would be better to earn some XP so that I had to real spells that I could call upon when I didn't have my wand.
Another interesting aspect of my Loki given powers was that I could assume the form of anything living thing I'd seen in person, including other people, and this should in theory not be limited to non-magical creatures, as such I should think about taking Care of Magical creatures if only so I can see some magical animals in the flesh.
Perhaps I should stay in this world long enough for the Triwizard Tournament as the First Task involved dragons. Being able to turn into a Horntail could be very useful.
Horntails were also known for being one of the most vicious and aggressive breeds of dragon, and that was saying something since all dragons are known to be ferocious; even Rubeus Hagrid commented on their ferocity saying that the Horntail was a "right nasty piece of work" in the Goblet of Fire book.
Along with their viciousness, tail spikes and fiery breath, Horntails were shown being extremely fast in flight while able to keep up with a Firebolt model of broomstick, a broom capable of going from 0 to 150 miles per hour in 10 seconds. Horntails were also seen able to keep up with Harry Potter's flying skills; a very impressive feat considering Harry's talent as a seeker.
To make it more awesome I kept my human mind when in animal form so I'd remain able to plan out my actions rather than just reacting as an animal would.
In the short term there were bound to be some interesting creatures in the Forbidden Forest. Being able to turn into a unicorn could be useful because when I shapeshifted I didn't just take on the appearance of the creature I turned into I got their abilities as well. So if I found some way to remove tail hairs from my unicorn form I might be able to sell them as wand cores.
Aside from that I could well imagine that my ability to turn into a unicorn would make me very popular with the ladies. It was such a shame that I wasn't actually an 11 year old boy because even once I became interested in girls again I'd feel wrong about doing anything with them. Then again maybe I would feel that way four years from now if I got used to being a child. I'd have to re-examine my feelings at a later date.
For now I wanted to test out how my illusions could aid me. If they could fool the sense of touch, then what would happen if I threw an illusionary knife at someone. It should fade away if it comes into contact with someone's body, however if they believe that they have been stabbed it could be a good distraction given the mind's power over the body.
Another thing I wanted to test was if I could fool people into failing to see something that was there. In the Thor movie Loki is able to walk around as if he is invisible. Could I do that by creating the illusion of me not being around that fooled a person's senses as long as they didn't bump into me. This I would like to experiment with as it could be very useful.
I added to the mental list of things to look into that Cortana kept for me knowing that I would get to it sooner or later.
(Line Break)
Hogwarts. Wizarding World.
"I'm an idiot," I said from behind an issue of the Daily Prophet.
I'd not wanted to say that out loud, it was just that sometimes things just slipped out when I was upset or happy because I didn't have the same level of self control I'd had when I used to be an adult. Thankfully I'd not blurted out anything that mattered.
"Why are you an idiot?" asked Cho Chang.
As the gossip queen of our school year she had to know everything or she got very upset.
"I just realised that I made a mistake in the last bit of homework I handed in" I told the curious young girl.
Cho's interest faded away fast as despite being a Ravenclaw she didn't care much for the theoretical stuff much preferring the practical lessons as most of the students tend to.
As for why I was telling myself off, I'd suddenly realised that the news report about a wealthy unknown wizard doing a lot of business with Gringotts could be used to my advantage.
I had plans to take care of myself as an adult during the summer holidays, however there was a chance that I'd be exposed and forced to return to the muggle orphanage or even placed against my will to live with a magical family. That sounded like the kind of needless interference that made Dictator Dumbledore happy.
Now that I'd set myself up as an adult wizard via Gringotts, who could do quite a lot for someone with my kind of money, I'd realised that I could try to adopt myself.
Tom Hiddleston, I kept using the name because I was terrible at coming up with them, could claim to be looking for distant family and that he'd come to the magical part of this country because he knew that he had a young and distant cousin who should have started Hogwarts recently.
With my ability to create illusions we could even be seen together and in my adult form I could buy a home somewhere as planned so that I didn't have to live at the Leaky Cauldron all summer. I could even go home during Xmas and have time to study away from everyone else. It was a brilliant plan and since Fate seemed inclined to help me fit into this world, I figured that it should work.
Perhaps if I sent a letter to myself from my adult self, explaining that I might be the lost heir of a wizarding family and my parents placed me with the muggles because they were being hunted by Death Eater. It could also say that my adult self wanted to adopt me and make the heir to his vast fortune.
That was the sort of thing which should only happen in fiction, but it felt right for the magical world and it would shake up the status quo as Loki wanted if only a little. Granted it might also attract the attention of the person who was hunting me, and for all I knew that person had also entered this school as a student, but if I didn't appease Loki he might expose me anyway during one his own pranks.
Besides, becoming my own legal guardian would solve a lot of problems for me. I could sign my own permission slip for Hogsmeade visits at the very least and I could easily elevate myself to the status of half-blood at least by having an adult me claim that child me was a member of an old family.
As I put down the paper, which contained a long article that speculated about who this rich young wizard who'd been seen coming out of Gringotts was, I took out my mind arts book as I figured that I was going to need the practice if I wanted to pull off my scheme.
I knew that I would need to keep trying to perfect this art as Cortana could not clear my mind for me. I was reading here as it was supper time and I didn't feel like slogging off to the library, not when I might fancy some pudding before they finished serving dinner.
While reading I realised that I'd have to look into how adoption worked in the Wizarding World and then send my Head of House a letter, best to avoid including Dumbledore if possible, at least until I had a better handle on Occlumency which was the magic of closing one's mind against Legilimency which I knew Dumbeldore would use on me without any concern for my privacy or welfare if he thought something worthwhile could be found in my mind.
Tom and I would have to be seen together so perhaps if I met with people in my adult form I could as planned create an illusion of me as a child for such meetings that way my illusion wouldn't be expected to do or say much. That would be worth spending some time practicing before I took any steps into getting myself a guardian.
"Mr Smith come with me" I heard Professor Snape say.
I'd been so caught up in my own thoughts that I'd not even realised that he was standing next to me and as he took me to his office I realised that this might be about me turning into a lion to scare off those bullies. But there was no way he'd believe that I could do that as even an adult wizard would have trouble transfiguring something into a lion.
"Tell me Mr Smith what is Occlumency?" Snape wished to know.
Ah so he'd seen the book I was reading. The subject was not forbidden or anything like that, it was just not taught here.
"The most basic form of Occlumency involves clearing one's mind, trying to make it as blank as possible in order to prevent a Legilimens from perceiving one's emotions and thoughts" I said "The more advanced form of Occlumency involves being able to fill your mind with what you want a Legilimens to believe you really think and feel. That way you can lie directly to them".
I knew that it required a great deal of willpower, same as with resisting the Imperius Curse, as well as a high degree of mental and emotional discipline. It was also one method of resisting the influence of Veritaserum although the book did mention that this hadn't been well tested.
"And why would a first year student wish to master such an obscure branch of magic?" I was asked.
While speaking I made sure to avoid eye contact as doing was the first thing that book told me to do.
"I don't like the idea of having my mind messed with," I answered.
Cortana was unsure if she could run interference in my mind by dredging up old memories that I didn't care if others saw, but she was doing so and since Snape wasn't stunning me right now before dragging me off to the Headmaster, her efforts, along with me carefully avoiding eye contact, seemed to be working as far as I could tell.
"Listen to me Mr Smith" Snape strongly advised "Those fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked easily, children for example, can not hope to master this subtle art and I do not think a first year student can, however your work in class is above even the low standard I expect from First Year students and I am willing to spare a little of my time for a few lessons if you are serious about learning the subtle art of Occlumency".
Snape didn't pay much attention to the first year Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff class, he clearly didn't care for teaching, but I could have sworn I heard some eagerness in his words, perhaps one on one sessions when he could impart wisdom was more appealing to him than dealing with a room of children.
The teacher moved over to the desk and wrote out a quick note.
"That book you are working on would be fine for an older student" he told me "You will require something aimed more at the novice".
He began writing something.
"Do not attempt to peer into the mind of anyone without their contest" he warned "We will discuss that branch of magic when you have proven that you can protect your own mind".
He handed me a permission slip to take a book out of the restricted section of the library.
"Protection Charm Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Counter Legilimensy by Franciscus Fieldwake" was what the note said.
"Take that note to the librarian and remove that book only. Study it carefully" commanded the teacher "When you feel you are prepared I will test your defences. That will not be any time soon. Now go".
Snape was being if not nice to me then at least decent and I couldn't help wondering why. Was it because he empathised with me for my less than stellar childhood? Did he see something of himself in me?
"Yes Professor" was all I said.
No matter what, I would take his help and learn to shield my mind before Dumbledore took a peek and I got into some real trouble. And if he saw something he shouldn't then I would have to deal with him.
(Line Break)
Diagon Alley. The Wizarding World.
The Gringotts Bank had already started sorting out many of the interesting items that I'd found in the Room of Requirement, and while my new vault was now full of valuables that others had been foolish to somehow lose over the ten centuries, there were a few items I didn't wish to keep because they were dark items, but not so dangerous that the curse breakers employed by the goblins had seen the need to destroy them.
I had no need for lists as that was what Cortana was for, however I kept the parchment since I intended to use it to prove to anyone buying my cursed items that they'd been checked out by the experts.
The items inside the pouch I was carrying were cursed, just in ways that only made them dangerous to non-magical people, and even then they weren't lethal, or at least they weren't to the curse breakers who'd figured them out.
Once the items that could not be easily disenchanted had been returned to me I'd decided to visit Borgin and Berks to sell as many of them as I could. Anything that business didn't want I would destroy myself once I figured out how to do that safely. That would be years from now, so I would have to find somewhere in the Room of Requirement to safely store these horrible items.
Some way down Knockturn Alley at number 13B lay Borgin and Burkes, the most notorious of the alley's shops, which specialised in "objects with unusual and powerful properties", at least according to the aid in the Daily Prophet and particularly concerned with the buying and selling of items that were both "'unusual and ancient'.
As for Knockturn Alley itself, the wizarding communities' children were instructed by their parents not to venture inside. I even remembered that Molly Weasley banned her twin sons Fred and George from setting even one foot down Knockturn Alley, due to the dangers present. And she didn't do that simply because she was sort of a control freak.
The shop was quite large, dusty, and dimly lit, with a large stone fireplace that remained free of flames, something that didn't help with the ambience in here, and I knew that the store was known to be frequented by families like the Malfoys.
I recalled that just before starting his second year at Hogwarts, Harry found himself in the shop, after accidentally exiting the Floo Network one stop beyond his intended destination of Diagon Alley. When the older Mr Malfoy entered the shop to sell some things, Harry hid in a Crushing Cabinet.
Upon seeing Tom Riddle's Diary, Borgin or Burke wanted to buy it because of its 'magical qualities' Malfoy, however refrained from selling it, having other plans for it. He planned to use it in an attempt to discredit Arthur Weasley after he conducted raids on his manor home.
Mr Malfoy either didn't know or didn't care that he'd be placing the students at the school in danger, including his own son. Perhaps he thought his son's Pureblood status would protect him.
As for the big snake monster I was going to have to see that creature in person at some point so I could mimic its form. How I would do that I wasn't sure since if we made eye contact I'd die.
Thinking of the diar made me wonder if the store owners knew about Horcruxes and what they would do with one if they got their hands on one. I doubted that it would be anything good given how dangerous they were and it might be possible that one of those horrid items had already made its way to this store as Voldemort and Herpo the Foul might not be the only magic-users to create one or more of them.
Normally that fact alone would be enough to keep me away from such a place, but I needed to make as much money as possible and I didn't intend to purchase anything from this place or hang around afterwards so I should be okay.
Its proprietors, Mr Borgin and Mr Burke, were known to buy magical objects for much less than they were actually worth, and sell them for far more. Voldemort's mother learned this when she sold her only possession of worth, which was a heavy golden locket engraved with a serpentine 'S', which was once the property of Salazar Slytherin, her direct ancestor.
One dangerous item that the shop carries was the Opal Necklace, that was on display in the front window. This necklace had a label that I'd read before coming inside
"Do not Touch! Cursed. Has claimed the lives of nineteen Muggle owners to date".
I wondered if the witch or wizard who enchanted the item would be proud of that.
"How can I help you?" asked an old wizard who I assumed to be Borgin or Burke.
I took the roll of cloth out of the pouch, already having put on my dragonhide gloves, and then unrolled the piece of material to show the cursed items. These items included a golden pocket watch that that made people obsess about being late, a silver fountain pen that would cause you to write very insulting words, a silver chain which strangled people but not to death, a silver teapot that would work to spill hot tea on people, and other stuff that even the goblins didn't want to melt down for the metals.
"Yes you can" I replied "I'm looking to rid myself of some items left to me by a distant relative and I hear you might purchase such things".
I'd come in the guise of another rich looking pureblood, someone that Borgin or Burke, I didn't care to find out whom of the two I was dealing with, shouldn't try swindling me too much. Not that I really cared about getting ripped off as long as I got rid of the goods and ended up with more coins in my pouches.
The businessman took his time examining the merchandise and I knew better to act as if I was in a hurry even if it would be wise to return the school as possible in case anyone noticed my absence, as if I appeared desperate that would only cause the salesmen to lower his offered price. I also tried not to look bored for the same reason.
After some time a sum of money was offered and then he bartered a little with me demanding a higher amount than what he was willing to part with. In the end we reached an agreed upon sum.
"A pleasure doing business with you Mr..." said Borgin or Burke.
I couldn't resist having a bit of fun at this point.
"Mr Dresden" I replied as I took my money and turned to leave "Harry Dresden".
I could use this name and appearance again should I need to return and it wasn't as if the name would mean anything to anyone in this world.
(Line Break)
Hogwarts School. The Wizarding World.
After leaving the room, once I'd gotten bored of sorting out junk, and upon re-entering The Room of Requirement I found that the castle had provided me with a training area much like the space that had been used by Dumbledore's army in the Order of the Phoenix movie/book. Not shocking considering that was what I'd been keeping in mind when requesting a location for training and because it had provided me with a similar room before.
There was a moving dummy here, which upon inspection I figured was a piece of magical machinery designed for the purpose of helping a professor to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. It had a likeness of a follower of the Dark Lord Voldemort and it was bewitched to roll around on its own accord when active, as such it was an excellent target for those who sought to improve their combat spell-casting.
It was limited since while it held what looked to be a wand it couldn't fire back, or shield itself either with magic or by using something in the room. As such it was only a very basic training tool and that was a good thing since I was still a novice to using magic, and when I did become more advanced I would hopefully be able to find someone to train with.
Judging by the information that was painted on the back of the dummy this device had been produced for Hogwarts by some company that I had never heard of back in the 1970s. Which was when Riddle had been at the height of his power.
As such it made sense that the students would have trained to protect themselves against these dummies at that time, and judging by the state of the dummies they'd seen some action. I wondered how many students had batted this training device around while it was used in many a Defence Against The Dark Arts class.
It seemed likely that sometime after the dark lord's downfall, the dummies had been put into storage, and while I was only making use of one of them for now I imagined that they'd see use again before my time in this world were up. Perhaps I had no need to take on dark wizards unless I wanted to, others would be drawn into the war once Voldemort returned, and it was a matter of when not if, unless my idea of using a certain stone proved effective.
Thinking about it further I wondered if I should think about starting up something like Dumbledore's Army a few years from now or encourage Potter to do it so that the students could better defend themselves, but first I'd need to learn to protect myself, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to get that much involved.
"Stupfy"
I was practising the stunning spell, also known as the Stupefying Charm, or simply as a Stunner for short, it was a charm that stunned the target, rendering them unconscious. This charm was exceptionally useful in duelling, as it could quickly end a duel without causing lasting damage hence it was favoured by Aurors who wished to make arrests rather than create corpses.
The spell also had the ability to halt moving objects and the counter-charm to the Stunning Spell was the Reviving Spell, which was something I would need to learn once I found someone to train with me and started casting the stunning spell at each other during a practice session.
An important thing to remember about this spell was that the use of multiple Stunning Spells cast simultaneously will amplify the effect. This was a particularly useful feature when dealing with creatures that had resistance to spells, such as dragons, trolls, giants and half-giants like Hagrid, but might result in injury for ordinary individuals.
Aside from that, it was rather easy to reverse the effects of the spell so I would need something more dangerous when it came to proper fights as I might end up facing more than one foe in a battle.
I'd learned to cast the spell whenever I wished, but it didn't seem to do much to the dummy and I didn't think it would do much to a person or magical creature. My magical power seemed to be lacking even if I could quickly learn to cast a spell and have Cortana help me recall the spell when it was needed.
This could just be because I was new to magic and that my power would grow over time. This made sense to me, yet I couldn't help thinking about the armband I'd gotten from the Mall at the Crossworlds.
It was supposed to convert energy taken from people and creatures that I killed and turn them into XP. I'd simply assumed that it would unlock new spells as I levelled up, but now I was wondering if it would also give me more magical power and make it harder to kill me as well, as it would in a video game.
I would have to start taking lives sooner or later to see if I could level up. I wondered if there would be a sudden increase in power or if I would just grow stronger over time. I should be able to unlock new spells either way. Another concern for the future as I wasn't ready to take on any dangerous magical creatures right now and I didn't wish to slaughter the innocent.
Another wand spell I was intent on learning was the Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus) this was a charm that forced whenever an opponent was holding to fly out of their hand. It was common to see this spell used in duels to make an opponent lose their wand.
Since most wizards and witches couldn't do much in the way of wandless magic, disarming them meant they were next to helpless and from there it was pretty easy to finish them with something more lethal or confine them in some way once they were defenceless.
I had a knife that could cut open the fabric of reality and dump someone in the Nexus of the Crossworlds and since they wouldn't know which gate to use they might die or they could end up anywhere and become someone else's problem. They might also end up becoming a multiverse traveller such as myself so upon further thought it seemed like a bad idea unless I could learn to control where I went I cut open the fabric of reality.
Offensive spell casting meant for use in a fight wasn't the only thing I was focusing on during my time of self study. Before too long passed I wanted to master the Shield Charm (Protego).
This was a charm that protected the caster with an invisible shield that reflected spells and blocked physical attacks as well. Conjurations may sometimes rebound directly off it back towards the caster, or in other cases, may ricochet off in other directions or dissipate as soon as they hit the shield, it was hard to predict which but as long as the spell kept me safe then I'd be happy with it.
However, this shield isn't completely impenetrable, as it cannot block the Unforgivable Curses and there were likely a few more dark spells that would defeat this sort of defence.
A clock on the wall chimed letting me know that it was time to head back to the Common Room. I'd started learning to move about unseen, but if someone noticed that I wasn't in Ravenclaw Tower when I was supposed to be then I could get into trouble and that would make people notice me, which was still something that I didn't want.
