What the hell did he just hear?! There's a headmistress at Hogwarts?
"Who is this Headmistress?"
"You don't know… oh merde," Miss Fontaine put a hand to her forehead as if blaming herself. "I'm sorry Lucas. I've been terribly neglectful about your knowledge of the outside world. "You have no contact with the outside world, and you don't have any memories of your life before you came here. That's why, I've had so much to teach you that I forgot about the basic knowledge."
"It's all right, Miss Fontaine. You've already done your best," said Lucas. Lucas was beginning to feel comfortable interacting with Miss Fontaine now.
From the memories, it's pretty clear that Lucas was like a newborn baby when he had come here at the age of 10. It was Miss Fontaine who had helped him every day and taught him things bit by bit.
"Wait a moment." Miss Fontaine got up from her seat and went to a nearby bookshelf. When she returned, she had a book in her hand. Unlike the other books, this one looked quite fresh, and it was printed in color instead of black and white.
Lucas read the title. "The Most Notable Witches and Wizards in Recent History"
Miss Fontaine nodded. She opened a specific page in it that was dedicated to the Headmistress of Hogwarts.
Lucas's jaw dropped open. On the page, there was coloured illustration of the headmistress of Hogwarts. He was expecting McGonagall, but this… definitely wasn't her.
It was a woman of enchanting beauty, much, much younger. Her exact age could be… 20?...30? Maybe 40, or even 50. It was difficult to put a finger on it, but her skin was porcelain smooth, with barely any wrinkles. She had soulful blue eyes, and long white hair that seemed to create halo around her.
But that's not what dropped his jaw. It was the name written in the Headline.
"Ariana Kendra Dumbledore."
Lucas wiped his eyes, trying to ascertain whether he read right. The text was French of course, but Lucas could read it like English. 'How can it be her?!'
In the original, Albus Dumbledore was the Headmaster of Hogwarts. His sister, Ariana Dumbledore, had died as a collateral in a three-way duel between Albus, Gellert, and Abberforth.
"Lucas, you are watching Headmistress Dumbledore, the most powerful woman in magical europe."
Lucas: What? How? When?
Lucas quickly read through the information written in the book.
"When it comes to the most notable Witches and Wizards in this century, Ariana Dumbledore, without a doubt, comes to the top with distinction. There are many things to remember her for, but the most outstanding is her vanquishment of the centuries' two most feared Dark Lords, namely Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort.
Another thing she is equally popular is for being the prized disciple of history's most celebrated Alchemist, Nicholas Flamel. Her most famous innovations are the Vitae Vitalis, also known as the youth nectar, Wolfsbane Elixir. Which helps werewolves control their transformation, and the Sanguine Serum, which quenches the Vampires' bloodlust, just to name a few.
Such achievements have resulted in her getting decorated with multiple honors like Order of Merlin first cl…"
Lucas looked at the words, dumbfounded. What the hell?! How did this happen? It seems that there is no Albus Dumbledore in this world. And all of Dumbledore's accomplishments, and more, have been achieved by Headmistress Ariana.
Nicholas Flamel's prized disciple? Even Dumbledore had only been able to work together with the man, but not become his disciple.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Miss Fontaine seemed to take his reaction to that of a teenager stunned by looks. "Can you believe she's more than a hundred years old?"
Lucas closed his mouth. "Really? Can you tell me more about her?"
Miss Fontaine nodded. "Not much is known about her earlier years, but she suddenly rose to fame when she defeated Grindelwald, the reigning dark lord that had been trying to take over the whole of Europe! Many say that it was an act of revenge for killing her eldest brother. She became a war Hero, celebrated throughout Europe. With her new found position, she got the opportunity to work with Nicholas Flamel, and impressed by her talent, he made her his disciple."
Miss Fontaine seemed to be talking like a fangirl girl right now. Her eyes were bright and her voice was tinged with admiration.
"Her discoveries have helped so many people! Thanks to her, the Vampires and Werewolves can now integrate with the society. And the youth nectar, it can even make older women look young!"
Lucas tilted his head, looking at her. "Oh, is that why you look so young, Miss Fontaine?" He asked innocently.
Miss Fontaine waved her hand. "Oh no! I wouldn't take anything like that! My main duty is managing this household. I don't have time to care for my appearance," she said, brushing her hair back in bashfulness. But the sweet smile couldn't be hidden from her face.
"Oh, look at the time! I need to go now, Lucas. You did great today as well," Miss Fontaine said, ruffling Lucas's hair affectionately, after which she left in a hurry. She was, after all, the head maid. She has numerous things she must attend to.
Lucas sigheḍ. He didn't know how long it had been since he had had a conversation like this with anyone. It's uncomfortable, but at the same time, quite soothing.
Lucas sat alone, in the Library, the smile slowly fading away from his face.
'This isn't good. Miss Fontaine… she reminds me too much of her.'
A brief flashback of his mother came to him, but that only made him clench his jaw. In his previous life, since he was sick all the time, the only person to truly care for him was his mother. She used to work 3 jobs just to pay for his medical expenses, and still had the capacity to smile at him when she returned home.
Too bad, she died in a car accident when he was 12. Maybe it was suicide, he wouldn't know. He did make life pretty miserable for her with his chronic illness.
After that, he has been surviving on his own. He was a scholarship student, so his studies were taken care of. The rest, he had to figure out on his own. It was due to this that he developed certain… skills. To help him survive.
To put it in brief, he became a sort of conman, or con-boy. He couldn't really work with his body so weak, nor was he educated enough to get a non-labour job, so this was what he could do to pay for food and medical bills. He learned to read people, how to play to their emotions, how to act, and how to manipulate them.
It started with small cons, like a kid pretending to be lost, needing money to go home, or selling some useless trinkets. But when he got the hang of it, he started pulling more elaborate cons. It did help with the expenses, but there was no one he could really get close to.
After his mother's death, he had always kept a certain distance between himself and other people. He died alone in a hospital room, and then found himself here.
That's why, adapting to be here has been easy enough. In fact, this is much better than what he could have hoped for. No chronic illness!
But that doesn't change things. He is still going to live the way he lived in his previous life. Just play to people's emotions, and don't involve your own.
The previous host died because he was a naive, trusting, submissive guy. Lucas wouldn't be the same. This world is nothing like his previous ordinary world. It's much more dangerous. And there's no one he can depend on but himself.
'I need to be serious about this.' He can't just keep living like the previous Lucas. Since this is a magical world, the first thing to do would be to learn magic. Lucas now knew that he was not a squib. He could do magic.
He doesn't yet know exactly how it works, but he definitely has something uncommon. So now he just needs to explore and develop it. Only then does he stand a chance in this world.
Thus, he got up from his seat and examined his hand. While practicing with Fleur, he had somehow managed to do magic. Back then, he didn't try to do it again in order to keep it a secret. But now that he had some time to himself, he decided to explore that power.
But… how to begin?
'Alright… here goes nothing,'
Lucas closed his eyes, reaching deep within himself. In the beginning, he just felt like an idiot believing in magic. But after some time, he finally felt something. It was that familiar stifling feeling of having something stuck in his chest.
He focused on it, trying to access it.
… But no matter how much he tried, it wouldn't move.
Lucas thought about it. How was it able to do it back then? Lucas was no expert in magic, but he could tell that his emotions probably played a part in it.
He was pretty irritated with Fleur the harpy back then and wanted her to have a taste of her own medicine.
Lucas shook his head. He can't bring out such strong emotions every time while doing magic. There has to be another way.
But then he bonked his own head. He was being an idiot. 'Incantation,' He realized.
Lucas concentrated again. "Acuspico!" He muttered. This was the incantation for the stinging spell. Fleur was using it chantlessly today, but he did remember from past sessions.
This time, there was definitely a response. It was very faint, but it was there. But still no magic came out of Lucas's hand. Lucas was not at all discouraged. He knew he was on the right track. You usually need a wand to cast magic.
Lucas would venture that even good wizards can't get a response as clear as he got. Otherwise there would have been many wizards doing magic wandlessly.
'I can do this.' He decided. Lucas got up and browsed through the bookshelves. Since he had the memories of the arranging books here with Miss Fontaine, he quickly found the books he was searching for.
'Theory of Magic'
'Spell Casting for Beginners'
'Magical Spells and How to Cast Them'
Lucas wasn't to blindly charge forth. He rather prefers to maximize his efficiency. He sat down and began perusing through the books for the information he needed.
Lucas sighed. 'Wish there was a chat gpt for this…'
These books… They weren't very professional. The information was clear and concise and the authors would randomly go on tangents that differed from the original topic.
But of course, he still continued. Lucas was no stranger to hard work. This, he can do. At least he now didn't have to worry about his living and medical expenses, neither were there doctors proclaiming he didn't have long to live.
After a while, he got up again. There was loads of bullshit in the books, but he had gotten the gist of it.
For complete novices, these things have to be kept in mind.
Pronunciation+Wand Movement, intent+visualization. It's simple enough to understand.
Firstly, you have to pronounce it right. Specific magic is invoked through specific words, so you have to speak it exactly as it is. Wrong pronunciation can lead to deviation in magic. Same goes with the wand movement.
Then there is intent. For novices, spells without any intent would be mere words. When you firmly and concisely exert you will, only then will your magic listen. Along with that, you have to visualize exactly what you want. The more precise the visualization, the more effective the spell would be.
Lucas checked the wand movement and incantation for the Stinging hex.
He tried the spell again, this time having checked the exact incantation. Since he didn't have a wand, he moved his hand in the required pattern.
Lucas imagined Fleur to be standing in front of him, looking ridiculously sexy in her tight training suit while looking at him with contempt. He imagined the spell hitting her and making her feel as if pricked by a sharp needle.
"Acuspico!"
!
He felt it! There was definitely a much better reaction from the magic inside him. Still, the spell was unsuccessful. But Lucas was satisfied.
According to the books, the main thing about spell casting is repetition, or you could say, practice. The more you practice, the better you get.
The three books had different reasons behind this.
First is Muscle memory. Simply the more you practice, the better you'll subconsciously be at doing it and you'll need to put less and less effort to cast the spell.
Then Mental pathways. It is believed that we need to form magic pathways in order to cast magic. When a wizard repeats a spell, they reinforce these magic pathways. Over time, this mental pathway becomes so robust that just the thought (intent) might be enough to produce the desired magical effect, leading to better casting.
Third is Connection to magic. With each casting, the wizard might form a deeper bond with magic. A more profound connection might result in more potent spells and more refined control over magic.
Lucas didn't know how much of it was true, but it all seemed quite plausible to him. It explains why some wizards in the series are able to cast non-verbal, and sometimes, more powerful spells. It's because they fit at least one of these three criterias.
'Let's go!'
Lucas immersed himself in practice, casting the spell again and again, even trying out different ones. While at it, he didn't notice that someone had been watching all along.
"Lucas!"
Lucas didn't know how long he was immersed in his training, but he had to halt his training when a sweet voice called out his name.
A petite figure skipped into the Library. "Oh, there you are! I've been trying to find you everywhere!" Who could it be other than Gabrielle.
Gabrielle approached with her delicate fists clenched and mouth pouted. "We were supposed to play!"
Lucas nodded. "I'm sorry, Miss Gabrielle, I have been busy."
Gabrielle nodded generously. "I'll forgive you this once. But you have to call me by my name: Gabby," she said, looking really cute.
Lucas had the urge to pat her head. But he settled for a smile. "Alright, Gabby."
Gabrielle's eyes widened. "You! You actually did it!" She exclaimed, pointing her finger at him. It was clear that she expected Lucas to cower out again.
She smiled. "Say it again."
Lucas raised his eyebrows. "Gabby?"
"Yes!" Gabrielle smiled in accomplishment. "There is hope for you yet," she said, grabbing his hands.
"Let's go!" Gabrielle began dragging him out.
Once inside her room, Gabrielle picked up one of her teddy bears and put it on one side of the room. She then proceeded to stand on the other end of the room under Lucas's puzzled gaze.
"What are you doing?"
"Just watch me." Gabrielle didn't explain drew her wand and pointed it at the soft toy. "Sorry Mr. bear. Acuspico!" She said, firing the same spell he had been practicing.
"Stupify!"
"Petruficus Totalus!"
Gabrielle began firing different spells at the poor teddy bear one after another, each of them being cast perfectly.
Finally, she fired a Reducto which completely destroyed the teddy bear.
Gabrielle flicked her hair back and turned to him with a 'praise me' look.
Lucas clapped his hands. "You're really good at this."
He meant it. This little girl is what, 11? 12? And she's already able to do all this. She seems much ahead of Harry Potter in his third year.
Gabrielle nodded proudly. "I'm really strong!"
Walking over to him, she grabbed Lucas like one would grab their teddy bear, hugging him tightly. "So, it doesn't matter whether you can do magic or not. Gabby will protect you!"
Lucas's eyes widened as he realized what this was about. 'She must have seen me practicing!' He thought in embarrassment.
How idiotic he must have looked, practicing spells without a wand or magic. At least that's how it must have looked to Gabrielle.
She didn't know… that if Lucas had a wand in his hand, those spells wouldn't have been blank.
But oh well, Lucas was touched. This little girl is so pure!
Lucas decided that whatever he's going to do to Fleur and Appoline, he's going to keep Gabrielle out of it.
…