Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Chapter 2

Surprisingly, it only took a day for Shirou to recover. Even Xenophilius was shocked by his recovery speed, and the man had been mumbling oddities all across the room for almost a day. To be fair, Shirou's recovery speed shocked himself as well. As far as he remembered, he no longer was in possession of Avalon, as he had given it back to Saber midway through the war. So there should not have been any reasonable explanation as to why he would heal what was meant to be a fatal wound in the tiny time period of a day.

The magus within him, however small it was, begged him to look into it. Except, Shirou thought, that's gonna be a problem. He had performed structural analysis on his body countless times after gaining consciousness, both to check the state of his body and to find out his rather peculiar condition, and to his great frustration, his countless attempts had yielded no results. His newfound healing abilities remained a complete mystery to Xenophilius too, who was even more surprised than he was. The older man seemed a bit eccentric to him, but Shirou had to admit, the musings of the man were entertaining to listen to.

On the other hand, after his awkward first encounter, Shirou hadn't encountered his saviour anywhere. Luna Lovegood remained a mystery to him, and the fact that her book had a video plastered on the cover made him all the more curious to find out more. Since he had entered the grail with Gilgamesh, there was a definite chance that he had been dropped into another world. Although the nature of the wish granting device remained unknown to him, he was at least somewhat sure that it was capable of performing the second magic. If that was actually true however, he needed to find out more about the world. To stop Gilgamesh once and for all. The Hero King had already slaughtered hundreds and laid waste to Fuyuki city in the Holy Grail War, killing too many of his companions in the process.

He couldn't let the same thing happen again to this place. He would be a failure of a hero of justice if he let Luna or Xenophilius die. He had sworn there would never be another Fuyuki, as long as he had the power to stop it.

He prayed to whatever gods there were that Gilgamesh's injuries had transferred from the fight as well. Then, he would at least be stalemated for a brief moment, giving Shirou time to recover. Time. It was the biggest thing Shirou needed; the deciding factor that tipped the scales of balance in the fight.

Without time, Gilgamesh had already won. On one hand however, Shirou was sure that if Gilgamesh really tried, he could go for world domination in less than a day. Since such a thing hadn't happened, there was a higher chance that his injuries, just like Shirou's, had sustained through the grail's second magic.

That was good. It meant that Shirou had the most important constant on his side: Time.

But then again, there was the possibility that Gilgamesh had died, or had landed in a completely different universe than he had, but he wasn't willing to bet on that. It was way too risky, especially with the number of lives involved. He wouldn't let himself bet on that possibility.

Thankfully, after two days of recovery, the magus was allowed to walk free.

"Now boy, what will you do now? I welcome you to stay with us for a few days, although I would now have to set up a few house rules. Do you have any parents?" Xenophillius asked, before wrinkling his nose. "Actually, forget I asked. Seeing as my daughter found you practically stabbed to death with a sword, I doubt you have parents- or at least parents good enough to take care of you. Are my assumptions correct?"

Shirou briefly looked at the man, before finally sighing. "Yes..." he said. Although one side of him wanted to waste no time in hunting down Gilgamesh once and for all, not even he was that much of an idiot. Everything aside, he ccould acknowledge when something was possible or not. At this point, it would just be a complete waste of time.

"Don't worry, boy. You won't be too much of an inconvenience for us if you stay here. And besides, you haven't even met Luna properly yet!"

Shirou perked up at the name. Oh right. He still hadn't properly interacted with his supposed savior, with her video book.

Finally giving in, the magus sighed. "As long as I'm not too much of an inconvenience, will it be fine for me if I stay? I promise that I'll do my part around in the house. I can cook very well." Shirou said, trying not to sound too bothered.

"Don't worry boy, Luna's going to go back to school soon anyways, swish swashing that pointy stick of hers, and I would enjoy having some company. Although we may not be able to support you forever, we can right now! So until you feel comfortable moving out of this old shack, you can stay here."

Shirou bowed. "Thank you, Mr. Lovegood. I appreciate everything you've done for me." he said. In response, the wizard simply ruffled his hair, smiling.

"No need boy, the house was slowly starting to get boring anyways. I'll try and clear out the storage room for you to sleep in. Sorry if it's a bit inadequate."

"Don't worry Mr. Lovegood, I'm already thankful enough that you're allowing me to stay here. And I can clean out the storage room myself. I'll try my best not to be an inconvenience."

"That's all done and good. But do me a favor? Don't enter the basement." Xenophilius stated sternly. Where his face was kind before, now it was extremely stern. "It is for your own good, and the things there are not for your eyes." said Xenophilius, before frowning slightly right afterwards. "I'm terribly sorry for that. That was rude of me."

Shirou perked up curiously at this, but nodded anyways. "It's ok, Mr. Xenophilius. I will not enter the basement if you don't wish me to." Although it was odd that the kind- yet sad- looking man was keeping secrets, Shirou practically owed the man his life. He wasn't going to wrong him by disobeying what looked to be his only stern rule around the house.

"Good. Now that that's all done and settled, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly made you... The state you were when Luna found you? I do hear that the mug- I mean, other people, do get into dogfights, but I would think it unusual that the fighting is done by blade. Don't people have... Erm, what do they call the weapons? Ah, right. Guns! Don't they use guns? In fact, I doubt swords have been used since the age of Godric Gryffindor!" Xenophilius asked curiously. Instantly, warning bells went off on Shirou's head? Is this guy serious? Although I would hate to make any assumptions, guns are practically common knowledge- at least, the existence of them. Although maybe the concept of guns are new here, I somehow doubt that guns have just been invented. And besides, either way, guns aren't casual weapons. At least, they aren't casual enough that any fight turns into a gunfight. Of course, I could be wrong... But-

Shirou decided to play along for now. "The person I was fighting had... Erm, a rather large obsession with historical artifacts, and proposed a formal sword duel." Although it was a lazy excuse, in his defense, there was a bit of truth in there. And besides, for some reason, I think the man might actually believe me. Although he didn't like lying to Xenophilius, his status as a magus, and more so a user of a reality marble, was too much of a fatal secret. At the very least, he wasn't ready to say that yet to anyone- save for the people who already knew of its existence. Rin. Saber. Archer. Gilgamesh... As far as he was aware, those 4 individuals were the only beings aware of his reality marble. Actually, he could technically cross out Archer as well, bringing down the list to three.

Xenophilius stared at him for what seemed like a painfully long time. "Somehow boy, I feel like you are not telling me the whole truth. Your injuries were fatal that day- whoever dueled you in such a... In such an unconventional manner, meant clearly to kill you. And judging by your expression, whoever dueled you is still alive as well, or at least, you suspect him to be."

Shirou widened his eyes. How did he find out so much so easily? Rin did tell me that I wore my emotions on my sleeve, but that... That's another thing entirely! He somehow deducted that Gilgamesh- my opponent- tried to kill me, and that I suspected he was still alive.

Xenophilius frowned at Shirou's reaction. "Do not be surprised, boy. I have had an entire day to watch your expressions, and the entire time, they were coursing with fear. And judging from your grave wounds, there was only one thing you could have been that afraid about." The man sighed gravely, before finally asking. "Boy, does your... Does your opponent know where you are? Actually, never mind. Nevertheless, we will keep you safe. Forget we had this conver-"

Shirou burst out. He couldn't help it anymore. Lying to Xenophilius about his magus identity? That was fine by him. It was for his own good anyways. But the man had deducted out too much, and lying to him about Gilgamesh? A servant that could potentially wipe out entire nations and territories with the swipe of his hand? That was not ok.

Instinctively, the boy grasped the older man's hands. "No!" he yelled. "You won't be able to keep me safe. I know you might be older than me, but-"

"Don't worry, boy. I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I may be a bit past my prime, but a sword fighter won't even hold a candle to-" Shirou grasped his arm tighter, cutting off his voice. He looked up at the man dead serious, with Xenophilius's mirthful expression shifting into a frown. Good, he's taking this seriously. He'll need to take this seriously for what's coming next.

"Mr. Lovegood. With all due respect, you won't hold a candle to this man. In fact, to defeat him, you would need to have power similar to a god. He's a monster, Mr. Lovegood. He can wipe out armies with just a swipe of his hand, and if he really wanted to, he could probably single handedly become the ruler of this entire world in less than a week." Shirou exclaimed, before covering his mouth. I probably said too much.

Xenophilius frowned even more. "In that case, how in the world did a single teenage boy stand up to him then, if he's as powerful as you say he is?"

Shirou made his description as vague as possible, choosing his words carefully to hide the true nature of unlimited blade works without lying to the older man. "I have... A unique skillset that serves as an antithesis to the things that make him powerful. But regardless, Mr. Lovegood, I am not frankly sure if he is here at the moment, nor am I sure if he is still alive. However, we cannot risk that chance." Shirou paused. "So if you see a man with blonde hair and red eyes, and a black jacket, please try and escape. My unique status as a human being may be the only thing that can stop him."

Xenophilius stared at him deeply for a few moments. "I cannot find any dishonesty in your eyes, boy. However, I must admit, your story is a bit of a stretch. And yes, I will follow what you say. In fact, I have a trick that makes it extremely easy for me and my daughter to escape troubling situations."

"While that may be useful, Mr. Xenophilius, nothing short of total invisibility or teleportation would one hundred percent save you from him. In fact, I would advise you to not encounter him in the first place, although a coincidence may arise..." Shirou said. For a brief moment, Xenophilius stared at him. Having said what needed to be said, Shirou cocked his head slightly, wondering if he had said something wrong- other than the existence of a possibly world-ending entity capable of complete world domination, of course.

And then, Shirou almost jumped in surprise as Xenophilius popped out of thin air.

He jumped once more when he felt a hand touch his shoulder from the backside. The boy reacted instantly, shifting his body towards his behind, but to his surprise, Xenophilius Lovegood stood, with an odd looking wooden stick held in his right hand. At the sight of Shirou's mystified expression, Xenophilius chuckled.

"I may have made a horrible mistake, but honestly, judging by your story, I doubt you're a normal human being anyways." Xenophilius said. "In which case, I have not made a horrible mistake, and my suspicions are confirmed. Care to answer if I'm correct, Shirou?"

Shirou sighed. How in the world did this happen? How did it escalate up to this? Either way, it didn't matter. In the end, Mr. Lovegood somehow practiced magic, and had revealed it to him. It was a fruitless attempt endeavor to lie any further. The cat was already out of the box.

Slowly, Shirou replied, "You are... Correct. Although I cannot teleport like you can, I am not a 'normal human being,' as you put it, either." Xenophilius smiled, pocketing his odd wooden stick. Well if it's any comfort, at least he doesn't have the attitude of a magus. It was a small detail, but it was nice anyways.

"Sit down, boy. I think this needs to be discussed over a cup of tea."

"So, you are a wizard? And there is an entire community of wizards in England? Is that why your daughter had a moving picture on her book cover?" Shirou asked curiously. Xenophilius looked surprised that he had captured that detail, but chuckled and nodded anyway.

"Yes. You are correct. Wizards have moved past non-moving pictures- pardon the pun- almost centuries upon centuries ago. The type of magic I used just now is something called apparation. It is a rather useful ability that lets someone travel all around the world in an instant, although I have to admit- it is rather uncomfortable to use. One must get used to it before using it constantly." Xenophilius said. "But that is enough about me. What about you? Somehow, I doubt that you are a wizard similar to myself, but as you have said, you are not a normal human being either." Xenophilius leaned over the table. "So, what exactly are you?"

Shirou sighed. One day, and I'm already revealing my secrets. Great. Of course, there was the option of hiding it further, but it wouldn't be right of him to keep a secret after Xenophilius had presumably told him the complete truth about his identity. Wondering where to start, he took in a deep breath, and opened his mouth. "I am... A magus."

Shirou briefly paused to gauge Xenophilius's reactions, and thankfully, the man had no idea what the term meant. Shirou continued on. "Where I come from, a magus is... Similar to a wizard, I guess. We perform something called magecraft, which is similar to magic, but entirely different as well."

"Oh? How so?" Xenophilius asked.

"Well, while Magic depends on the creation and execution of true miracles, like things that are completely impossible, Magecraft does mundane tasks, accomplishable in the real world via science, using... Magic, I suppose. So, Magecraft could be used to say, create objects, enhance your body, but it can't do anything that isn't accomplishable by science."

"Ah, so it speeds up the process of mundane tasks?" asked Xenophilius, a thoughtful, contemplating expression sprinkled onto his face.

"Excatly. Magic on the other hand, does things that are impossible. There are a few magus in the world who are capable of achieving true miracles, but their number are extremely limited." Shirou said.

"If you don't mind me asking, could you please provide an example of... Magecraft?" Xenophilius said. Shirou nodded.

"I'm a bit of a unique magus myself, just pointing out. Do you remember how I mentioned that I had a special condition that allowed me to stand a chance against my... Opponent?" Shirou asked. Xenophilius nodded in response. "Well, to elaborate, magecraft, or the specialization of it, relies on two things: The origin, and the element of the person. There are tons of branches of magecraft, but people specialize depending on those two factors. The most accepted ones are Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Ether."

"And what is yours?"

"Sword."

Xenophilius paused. "Pardon me?"

"Both my origin and element are sword. So... My magecraft is rather... Unique. As far as I know, I am the only person in the world who has this origin and element. It makes me a hopeless fool in any other branch in magecraft, but also makes me specialized in what I can do. It makes me an extremely combat oriented magus. It's the only reason why I can stand up to my opponent."

"But aren't swords rather mundane compared to say... Summoning a tornado of water? Is that possible with magecraft?"

Shirou nodded. "That, among many other things. But, I don't just create swords. My swords are... Rather, special, you might say." Xenophilius cocked his head in curiosity.

"Special? What could be special about swords?" the older man asked. Shirou grimaced. "I think you should follow me outside for a demonstration. I think showing it to you would be much better than giving an explanation. I don't fully comprehend the mechanics and sciences of it myself, after all." Xenophilius nodded, and soon after, the duo found themselves in an open field. It was an advantage of living in what was practically the middle of nowhere. Once they had arrived, Shirou briefly wondered about what he could show. Something with a bit of flash, I suppose, but nothing too overwhelming.

"Alright. As we are here, could you demonstrate what you mean by special swords?" Xenophilius asked, and Shirou nodded in response. Closing his eyes, he braced himself to delve into his reality marble, choosing a single blade out of countless swords. A small smile almost latched onto his face when he found the blade that he wanted.

The sword in question was one called Durandal- The Ever Shining Sun. It was a blade used by a warrior by the name of Roland, that had special attributes to it. In terms of practical power, it was nothing special, but when it came down to it, it was certainly one of the most impressive looking noble phantasms. It was a blade that constantly shone with sunlight, and left behind burning hot trails of fire. The practicality of such an ability was questionable, but it would work well in proving Shirou's point.

As soon as the blade manifested itself in his hands, it became a source of light. The sword was a wonderfully crafted thing, with golden etchings decorating the blade and hilt. Xenophilius stepped back in surprise at the sight of the noble phantasm, gasping momentarily.

Wordlessly, Shirou swung the blade a few times in the air, performing a basic maneuver that was used back in Medieval England. Like he had expected, the blade left behind trails of fire that thankfully, disappeared almost instantly after he had swung the sword.

He then proceeded to dispell it, dispersing the sword back into prana. The magus turned to look at Xenophilius, who had a curious gaze, and couldn't help but slightly shrug.

"There are some much more useful ones, but that is the gist of it. I have a countless number of swords in my armory, most of them being nameless, but I have some more effective ones too." he said.

"I... I see. That certainly is quite impressive. Not even the greatest of transfiguration experts could have pulled what you have just done. And for a boy as young as you to do it is impossible. Simply impossible. I have been convinced of your words. Let us go back to the house."

Shirou nodded, and followed the older man towards the Lovegood household once more, contemplating the information that he had received. From what it looks like, these wizards are definitely capable of performing true magic, but their spells seem to be so small in scale that when it comes to combat potential, they pale in comparison to magi.

That was both exciting, curious, and frightening, especially with Gilgamesh on the loose.

Before he could procceed his thoughts any further however, he felt something crash into his back that nearly sent him tumbling into the grassy earth. Standing up, he looked towards in caution towards his assailant to find-

An owl.

An owl.

Instantly, the owl seemingly disappeared, quickly flying away into the distant sky and leaving the magus wondering what in the world was happening. Was there a purpose to that? Shirou wondered, looking around the area for any clues, or any more owls even.

Then, he found a white enveloped letter on the ground. It was seemingly addressed to him, in comically accurate details.

To: Whomever,

In the fields of the Lovegood estate, close to Xenophilius Lovegood,

Shirou was half tempted to laugh out loud if it wasn't for the severity of the fact that someone had discovered his location so easily. In the fields of the Lovegood estate? Close to Xenophilius Lovegood? Is this thing serious? The situation in itself was baffling.

Carefully, he opened the letter and read.

Only to dread the contents which he found inside.

Dear Whomever reading this letter,

Yesterday at 9 P.M, all of our signals and scanners with the traces implanted within wands have been simultaneously activated, and we have pinpointed the source of the issue down to this location. In accordance with Wizarding Law #65, you shall stand trial in front of the entire Wizengamot and explain the circumstances that led to this scenario.

Please keep in mind that no matter the intentions, overriding the trace is a serious breach of Wizarding criminal law, and punishments may range from a sentence to Azkaban to a Death Sentence.

- Amelia Bones, Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Notes

I have no excuse for how late this is lol. I got stuck writing the dialogue bits, I'm the kind of writer who prefers action to forwards the story more. :\

Anyways, I have a few possible story 'paths' planned out for this, and I would like for YOU, the reader, to answer a few questions, just to see a general vision on how you guys wanna see things proceed.

1. Make Shirou have capabilities as a Wizard? If not, what role should I have him play in the wizarding world?

2. If Shirou ends up going to Hogwarts, what would be his house? I have an idea in mind, but I would like some further insights on it avoid going OOC, since I haven't fully read the VN yet and I haven't gotten a full understanding of his character. (Or at least, as much of an understanding as I would like) :((

3. Romance subplot or no? I could see the added benefits of both having one and not having one, and both give interesting opportunities to develop Shirou's relationships with the characters around him. So, why not be a lazy ass and leave it to a poll lol.

Yep~ I think that's about it. Please leave a review if you have any constructive feedback, or anything for that matter lol.

Thanks for reading!~