It was amazing how quickly one could see massive results in just five days, when they had magical enhancers to gorge on.
Muscle building was a simple process. Muscles tore through strenuous exercises, such as holding position like a plank for an extended period of time, doing sit ups, push ups, pull ups, lifting weights and more.
Usually it was a slow process because the human body took time to heal. So, it lowered the amount of time a normal person could train their body and they couldn't work on the same thing constantly either. So, they gained very small increases in ability that added up over time.
…But what if after immediately pushing the muscle to its limit, one took a potion that instantly healed that muscle. And then used two other potions that not only increased their stamina, but filled them with energy, a combo that could have them going for hours without pause, vastly surpassing steroids.
And what if they drank nutrition potions that were full of vital proteins and other vitamins and fuel for the body, that instantly converted those vital vitamins into the places where the body needed them?
Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom within his dorm, Faeran admired what such a cheat routine could do.
"…I can barely recognise myself." he smirked at his reflection, one bicep curled up over his shoulder, the other hand extended in a pose up into the air and flexing the muscles of his body at the reflective surface.
His shoulders were no longer narrow, but had broadened out. His arms were easily twice as thick as before. His features had sharpened out, some of the baby fat disappearing and being replaced by a more masculine cut.
And he had god damn abs. They were just a little bit more than faint, but they were there and glaring out challengingly, boasting their power.
He no longer looked like a geek.
And quite frankly…he just looked bigger.
"A few more weeks of this and I'll be a complete beast!" he laughed, clapping his hands together happily.
Fuck, he loved magic man.
And just in time, because he had a…'date' with Astoria soon. Well, to be exact they were heading out to exercise a bit together, then they would hit up Hogsmeade together.
Which was cool with him, because the first quidditch match of the season was later on in the afternoon.
And as always, it was the lions versus the snakes.
That was always good for a laugh.
"Oi, Shafiq hurry up in there!" one of his dorm mates banged on the door, drawing him out of his thoughts and admiration of himself.
Faeran rolled his eyes and made his way over to open the door, to a mousy boy with glasses, tan skin and wavy dark hair, "Morning fellow magical geek." he greeted him with a grin, before pushing passed him to swagger over to his trunk.
He was pretty sure that guy, Elon was one of the ones who started a rumour about him cheating on the end of year exams last year. The temptation was there to shove his head down the toilet and flush it, give him a little bit of payback.
But he was just in too much of a good mood right now to bother.
Time to pick out something nice to wear
He ended up deciding on a simple pair of joggies, football trainers and a sleeveless hoodie.
And with his wand in hand, he slid it into his back pocket, prime and ready to blow off a buttock, Faeran left the dorm room behind and made his way down into the common room.
Pausing briefly to admire it.
Honestly, it might have been geek central, but it was by far the best common room he knew of. And he knew well how the Gryffindor and Slytherin ones looked.
High ceiling, marble walls and ceiling. Beautifully crafted windows and ledges. A hearth in the middle of the room with a small, grandiose tower built around it. Immaculate and stylish blue and bronze drapes and carpets. Soft, plush white arm chairs and couches and of course book shelves every where in sight.
Being a Ravenclaw was worth it for this place alone, 'Could do without the stupid riddle though.' he grimaced.
That was always annoying.
There wasn't really anybody in the common room that caught his eye, besides maybe Cho Chang talking to Terry Boot.
He used to think she was cute, with her long deep black hair and exotic Asian features. And while she was still cute, her massive amount of baggage just vastly outweighed the pros of getting her in bed.
'Frankly, I'd rather shag her pal Edgecome.' he snorted to himself as he made his way on down to the exit of the common room.
Mariette wasn't pretty, but she had some decently big tits and a nice arse. He could always just slip a paper bag over her head to hide her face, there was nothing short of Obliviating the shit out of Cho that would get rid of that baggage though.
Harry made the right call dumping that needy mess.
'Though I heard she's been used more than the school brooms the past few months.' he paused and debated the pros of taking her for a ride himself.
Nah… he was hard up for a shag but he wasn't that desperate.
'Honestly, how do you go from the girlfriend of the Hogwarts Champion, to the girlfriend of Harry Potter…and then free use broom of geek central.' he shook his head and continued on.
Faeran made his way down to the ground floor of the school and through the halls towards the entrance gates.
As he did though, he was surprised to notice a familiar face waiting outside the great hall.
Hermione Granger, clad in her school uniform for some reason despite it being a Saturday, a thick tome clasped in her arms and pressed against her chest.
Well, while it was disappointing to not see her in some nice casual clothes, it was nice enough to see her outside her robe that she wore constantly. She filled out her school uniform nicely and it was easy to see she'd filled out a bit more over the summer.
The swell of her chest was ample, her hips shapely and her skirt only came down to just below her thighs, showing off a surprisingly full and toned shape. Though, maybe he shouldn't have been surprised, she was pretty spry during the duels last year and knocked him on his arse more times than he had her for sure.
Spoiler
"Alright Hermione?" he greeted her, and as he got closer he noticed her hair was a lot more tamed than usual and her face had a light dusting off make up.
…Wait, wasn't she trying to attract Weasley at this point? And would end up getting cucked by Lavender Brown after Gryffindor won the quidditch match against Slytherin and end up crying her eyes out?
'Could I perhaps use that to my advantage?' he idly wondered.
Hermione gave him a confused look at his greeting, before her eyes promptly widened in recognition, "Faeran?" she uttered in surprise.
"That's the name, don't wear it out," he grinned at her, "Not talked to you and your two extra heads since the last D.A meeting, how've you been?"
"…I've been okay, a bit busy though what with me finally starting my NEWT studies," Hermione replied, shaking off her surprise at his changes, "Not as good as you it seems though, you've certainly…filled out over the summer, I almost didn't recognise you with the changes you've went through."
"A little bit," Faeran's grin widened a bit, "Though I'm not the only one, you're looking real good yourself, probably having to beat all the guys off with a bunch of banishing charms."
Her lips twitched into a small smile, "You seem a lot more outgoing now as well," Hermione mused, shaking her head, "Though, I'm wondering where you're going dressed like that." she gave a pointed look at his bare arms.
"Going on a jog with a friend, then we're hitting up Hogsmeade," his grin was unrepentant, "Wanna come?" he offered, he doubted Astoria would mind. It wasn't like they were going on a real date or anything, they were just hanging.
"Sorry I can't, I promised to meet Harry and Ronald down here," Hermione refused, Shaking her head, "Still, you should wear a jacket so you don't get a cold, it's freezing out there."
"Well, you should wear some tights or something and cover up those legs of yours," he replied with a shrug, "Besides I can just cast a warming charm."
"Why…would I need to cover my legs? I'm not going outside, even if the castle is a little chilly," Hermione shook her head, giving him an odd look, "Besides, you just said we could use the warming charm, or do you think I can't cast such a simple spell?" she raised an eyebrow challengingly at him.
"Nah, nothing to do with that," Faeran laughed, looking down at her legs and ogling her full thighs, wondering how they'd feel wrapped around his waist, before dragging his eyes up to meet her own, "You'll just end up causing a bunch of accidents when all the guys stop and stare stupidly at them." he winked.
Hermione's eyes widened, before a flush spread across her cheeks, seeping through the dusting of make up on her face, "Faeran…you…" she shook her head and laughed, "You're a cheeky little flirt now I see."
"Guilty," he accepted the accusation happily, "Well, maybe I'll have more luck later after the Gryffindor stomps Slytherin later on, I'm sure Harry won't mind letting me sneak in to party with you guys, I need to talk to him anyway."
About a lot of things. The most pressing being though, he wanted a look at the Half Prince's book, there were a ton of great spells in there, especially Sectumsempra.
He wanted to get his hands on that spell.
"You're incorrigible now." Hermione shook her head, amused.
"It's just your good looks Hermione, you bring out the beast in me." he gave her another wink, before bidding her goodbye.
"Bye Faeran, I'll see you later then." she waved him off.
As he walked away, the grin fell off of his face and he clicked his tongue, 'Well, she'd never be the easy type.' he huffed internally.
If he wanted up her skirt and in her panties, he'd be better off trying after she got her heart broken by Weasley and Lavender Brown.
It probably made him a bit of a bad person that he was seriously considering taking advantage of Hermione's upcoming heart break to worm his way in, give her a shoulder to cry on.
And shag her absolutely rotten.
But honestly, Faeran was fine with it. Nobody was perfect and it wasn't like Hermione was a saint either. Edgecombe still had those pimples on her face from last year spelling out 'Sneak' just for selling out the D.A when her and her mother's literal livelihood was at risk and if he remembered right, even if she got rid of them she'd be left with permanent scars.
'Note to self, I should check in with Slughorn and see if he could do something about that.' he mused. If he could he could get the older ginger girl into his debt.
Besides, Hermione and Weasley were a horrible match for each other, that had pretty much confused anger and bickering for romantic feelings. And even if nothing worked out between Faeran and her, he still had much more to offer her with his backing.
Honestly, he was half convinced Harry was shagging her during the Deathly Hallows after Weasley ran off on them. There was something in the text that just gave him that feeling.
'Well, whatever that shit can wait till later.' he shrugged as he exited out of the castle into the courtyard, his eyes landing on a familiar short blonde sitting by the fountain in the middle of it.
"Wotcher Faeran!" Astoria greeted him with an upbeat grin, "Almost thought you weren't going to turn up there, I was about to leave without you."
An eyebrow raised at her automatically, "…I'm not late or anything, am I?" he wondered, pulling out his wand, "Tempus." he chanted and moments later, glowing numbers appeared in the air in front of him depicting the time.
He was right on time-
Actually he was even a few minutes earlier than the time they decided on a few days back.
"Nah, nothing like that," Astoria shrugged her shoulders, idly kicking her feet back and forth from where she sat, "Just that, the few times anybody has ever said they'd hang out with me at this school, they didn't bother with it and left me hanging, or did it just to make fun of me."
That…was depressing to hear.
"Slytherin's, huh?" he couldn't help but shake his head. Were they so adverse to exercise?
"It's not so bad," Astoria shrugged her thin shoulders again, "Daphne ended up paying a few of the upper years to get back at them for me, even if I didn't want it."
Yeah, he could totally see that.
"Next time you can just tell me," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking, "I don't mind bullying any of the Slytherin's that harass you." he needed to get around to bullying the Slytherin's soon anyway and that was as good a reason as any.
One way or another, he was going to get back at them for harassing him before and make sure they knew not to mess with him ever again.
Astoria giggled, "Probably not a great idea," she said, hopping up to her feet, and like him he noticed she was wearing a pair of jogging trousers and a green hoodie, "Your name has already come up quite a bit over the last few days in our common room."
Oh?
"Zabini and Nott aren't too happy with you kicking their arses," she explained, seeing his interest, "They were bringing you up with Malfoy and his two troll pals, but for whatever reason Malfoy told them to piss off and deal with you themselves, he barely gave them the time of day and he's been really weird since the year started actually."
Yeah, well the blonde ferret had more important things to deal with right now. Like trying and failing to assassinate Dumbledore on Voldemort's orders, otherwise he was going to get killed by ol' snakeface.
"Right, I'll deal with them later then." Faeran shrugged himself. Those two were pretty much already the top of his list, but now they just cemented themselves as his targets.
Astoria gave him a searching look, before shaking her head, "Alright, ready to go then?" she asked.
"Lead on." he grinned at her.
Minutes later, they had left the Hogwarts courtyard behind and made their way down to the Black Lake.
Astoria already had a route she had made for her own routine, and Faeran thought it just best to follow her and learn it since he hadn't gone on a run here at Hogwarts before.
Well, outside of the Room of Requirement anyway.
Besides, coming from behind was the best place to be with Astoria. Watching those huge arse cheeks of hers move as they stretched out the back of her joggers made for quite the sight.
He could stare at that arse all day long.
"By the way," Astoria struck up an easy conversation as they moved at a sedate pace around the Black Lake, "Have you given any thought to my sister's offer?"
He tore his eyes away from her backside, "You mean her offer for a…'courtship'." he asked.
"More or less," Astoria snorted, "She's a bit cross you haven't sent her an owl yet. I think she was under the impression her looks had caught your attention."
"I mean, they did, your sister is gorgeous," he replied, he wasn't going to lie, he'd had a few good wanks imagining what he'd do to her over the past few days if he actually took her up on her offer, "But, I'm not exactly keen on the whole marriage thing she's looking towards."
And that was actually a real worry. Wizarding laws were weird as fuck. Because he was basically the last of his house and the head of his house, he was literally allowed to get married right this damn second if he so desired.
He was only a fucking third year, how the fuck did that fly at all? Honestly, wizarding laws were archaic as fuck and full of loopholes.
"Meaning, you'd be all for dragging her into a broom closet and having your way with her, but don't want the responsibility that comes with it?" Astoria pointed out with a snort.
There wasn't really anything he could say to that, because she wasn't wrong.
Astoria laughed lightly, "See, I told her she came on too quick and strong with that," she said, "You'll have to forgive Daphne, for all she's dedicated to our family and knows how to run our businesses and such, she's just not a very subtle or patient girl."
Yeah, he kind of got that feel from her.
"To be honest, I don't know why she's really that interested in me, what I've done isn't that impressive," he admitted, all he'd done was clown on two wimps, "I mean, I'm not gonna deny that it's great to have an older beautiful girl compliment me and fire into me like she has, but I still don't get it all that much."
"You'd think so," Astoria mused aloud, "But actually you are a pretty good catch objectively. There's no denying you're strong magically, I can tell that from just being around you, the only student in this castle with more magic power than you is Potter. You're rich, good looking, will be way stronger than most when you're older and frankly you showed you're not a wimp that will just roll over."
Pretty much more or less what her sister said before, if not less articulated. Though, two things stood out.
One, how could she tell how much magic power he had in comparison to others? He wasn't even sure of that himself, or where exactly his magic came from.
And…
"What do you mean a wimp that won't roll over?" he asked. He could come back to the power aspect in a minute.
"Just that," Astoria slowed down a bit to run level with him, and he noted she was panting quite deeply, even though they'd not really been at it all that long objectively, "Let's say the Dark Lord wins, which seems more likely every day that passes. His main supporters are going to be allowed to do whatever they want and have their pick. Take Nott for example, his dad might have fallen out of favour, but he's still more highly regarded than my father who has never openly supported the Dark Lord. Because he's with the inner circle, if Nott wanted to bed my sister and he definitely does I can tell you that, she'd have no choice but to comply as things are right now with our family when there's no more real threats to the Dark Lord around like Dumbledore or Potter."
What? His face twisted up in confusion. He didn't understand that logic at all. "Why though?" he asked, "Why can't your dad just tell him to piss off?"
"Cuz' my dad isn't a fighter, nobody in our family is, he's a businessman," Astoria replied with a laugh, shaking her head, "Right now, they won't push something like that, because the Dark Lord needs the support and money we can provide. But once he wins, he won't need it anymore. And while he won't care, anyone with half a brain knows that, he also won't find any need to stop his strongest and highest regarded from doing whatever they want."
…Ah.
"So Daphne is interested in me because she thinks that if the Dark Lord wins, I'll be able to scare or beat the likes of Nott into submission." Faeran realised.
Which, did make sense to him. Because if one of Voldemort's followers came to him whining about another follower who beat them up…Voldemort would laugh at them, then torture them with the Cruciatus Curse for being so pathetic and wasting his time with something like that.
Yeah, Voldemort would definitely be content to let his followers fight amongst themselves once he had won and any who would whine about getting toppled, would just be looked down upon by him.
So basically, because he'd beaten down Zabini and Nott and established his dominance over them, despite being three years younger than them, he'd rocketed up Daphne's little candidate list.
Basically, she wanted a husband who could work as an enforcer, who had the power and connections to keep the vultures at bay. Him coming to Susan's defence actually in the process, probably made him seem like an even better candidate.
"More or less," Astoria confirmed, "A bit simplified but it really just comes down to her wanting a strong husband that we can basically hide behind."
So, might makes right in the end. Well, he could get behind that. He highly doubted he'd get anywhere close to Voldemort or Dumbledore power wise but getting strong enough to put the fear of god into the Death Eaters and make them learn not to mess with him?
Much more doable, assuming Voldemort did win. He wasn't too keen on letting that happen and held the mans weakness in his palms. He just needed to become strong enough to take advantage of it and not get blown to pieces in the process.
"Right, but what do you mean about magic power?" he asked, "How can you tell? Since I started here at Hogwarts, I've not seen any mention of where our magic comes from or anything like that."
"That's cuz it's not really common knowledge," Astoria replied, then jerked her head to a set of rocks along the bank of the Black River, "Let's take a break, I'm…a bit out of breath."
He shrugged and agreed.
He noticed as they sat down, her cheeks were flushed red and she was sweating pretty badly. Odd, she looked quite tired out despite the fact they'd only been running for a bit over ten minutes.
Since she said she'd been running and exercising for years, he expected she'd be able to to go much longer.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine…just my condition makes my stamina terrible," she waved off his worry, then took a deep breath, "Right so magic power, most won't know about it, the ministry regulates the information on it nowadays, I'm just in a special position."
"How so?" Faeran asked, curiosity gnawing at him.
She gave him an impish grin, "Greengrass family secret, if you wanna know you'll have to marry my sister." she teasingly replied.
"What if I wanted to marry you instead?" he retorted, challengingly.
In response, she burst out laughing, "Good one!" she replied, smacking her leg with her hand as if he told some amazing joke, "You're good, managing to say that with a straight face. You must be pretty good at Occlumency."
…What?
"Anyway," Astoria carried on after she calmed down, apparently not taking his little flirting seriously at all, "Magic power comes from the soul. You're born with a certain amount of it already, honestly it's more like our souls are magic actually and the power of our souls increase with age, it's why despite how old he is Dumbledore still stands at the top beyond the Dark Lord."
So that was it? That was kind of a let down. It was good to know though. "Why does the ministry regulate that though?" he asked.
"Dunno, they're super squeamish about anything to do with souls though," Astoria shrugged, "Honestly, my family only knows about it because of some things that happened to an ancestor of ours that gets passed down sometimes and cuz' of it I can sense magic more or less."
"Fair enough," he shrugged, it didn't look like it would be something he could learn all that easily, "So where do I stand power wise?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Honestly, you're a bit weird, I don't know how I never really noticed you until we met to be honest," Astoria replied, "As far as I can tell, you're in the top five. Dumbledore is at the top, way ahead of everyone else followed by Potter who's still way ahead of the next three which is between you, Mcgonagall and Snape, you're all around the same level, but as far as students goes, nobody else comes close except maybe that Longbottom guy, he's like a bit below half of you power wise?"
…Huh.
Faeran couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face, "So I'm pretty strong then." he commented, pride thrumming in his chest.
Even if that was probably only due to him more or less merging with his other self. Did that mean the power of his soul increased because his other self's time lived had been added to his own?
"Sure, I guess," Astoria shrugged, "I mean, it doesn't really mean everything. Like Potter might have way more power than Snape, but Snape would crush him in a duel I'm sure, he's not really known for being the best student. Despite all that power, Granger is the top of his year, at least going by how much Malfoy used to rant about her."
Well, she wasn't wrong. Which was probably the biggest problem he had with Harry. He was a pretty swell guy and a beast with a wand in hand when it came to a fight.
But, he was rich, powerful and famous. He could leverage that so much. Like, he knew the ministry was currently trying to get him to become their poster boy and he would refuse because of how he was treated by them previously when Fudge was in control.
If he worked with the ministry and spoke out with their backing, people would flock to his cause and oppose Voldemort as his own followers. And he had the charisma and ability to lead required for such a thing, but he never would. On top of that, he wasn't proactively learning what he'd need to combat Voldemort.
In his place, Faeran would be pouring over magical texts, learning all the spells he could, doing everything he could to give him even the slightest semblance more of a chance against Voldemort.
…Hell, he was already doing that himself. Beyond training his body and abusing potions to cheat his way to greater gains, he'd ordered memory potions and wit sharpening potions and had been using them to learn spells in the library during the evenings.
By time he returned to his dorm each night, he was utterly exhausted and slept like a baby.
Not long later, they got back to exercising. Though, every ten to fifteen minutes, they'd need to stop for Astoria to catch her breath.
Despite the struggle though, the girl didn't stop. She rested and went again, then repeated and repeated.
Astoria was literally dripping sweat by time they were done and began making their way back to the castle.
"Guess we won't be able to hit up Hogsmeade." Faeran commented.
"It's not even a Hogsmeade weekend, so we couldn't anyway." Astoria pointed out, as she fanned out her hoodie.
"Eh, I know a secret way to get there that nobody would notice." he waved her off. He knew a lot now that he wasn't privy to before.
"…Are you sure you're a Ravenclaw?" Astoria snorted, giving him a look up and down, "Picking fights, breaking rules and more, you really don't fit the image."
"I'm a geek and proud," he refuted with a laugh, "I can take you up to my dorm with me if you don't believe me and give you an up close look at my bed." he winked.
"Haha," she rolled her eyes, his flirting being dismissed as if it were a joke, "You don't need to flatter me, you've got way better options to choose from like my sister, or maybe Bones, I think you've got a good chance with her after playing hero for her."
…For some reason, Astoria thought when he flirted with her, he wasn't being serious and just doing it to…make her feel good or something?
He didn't get it, maybe he should ask Daphne?
"Nah, Susan's a brick wall at this point," he instead replied with, "But why your sister? You think I could get her in bed?" he asked.
"Honestly, there's a lot to say about my big sister from her poorly thought out schemes to her bluntness, but she's loyal and means what she says," Astoria shrugged, "So yeah, if you want to shag my sister, if you accept her offer she'll be all for it. Actually, she'll probably initiate it just to keep you happy and willing to be our muscle."
Man, she was just as blunt as she made her sister out to be.
…Honestly, the way she made it out to be a foregone conclusion that he would be getting to shag Daphne Greengrass rotten if he accepted the offer, really did make it ever so tempting.
But…
"Tempting as that is, I'm not really keen on getting married straight away at our age and not having the chance to have fun," he pointed out, then decided to test something, "Besides, what if I wanted to shag you as well?" he laid out bluntly.
Astoria in response snorted, "Dunno why you would, I'm nowhere near as pretty as Daphne, my tits are tiny and my arse is fat and huge, I'm completely lopsided," she rolled her eyes, and spoke as if her body wasn't appealing at all, "Anyway basically, you don't wanna accept Daphne's offer right now, because you want to have fun shagging a bunch of girls huh?" she caught on quickly.
"….Yeah…" he trailed off as he replied, trying to understand her logic. And was coming up blank.
"So who've you got in mind?" she asked, not even dwelling on his words at all, "With your money and looks it shouldn't be too hard to get some easy girls in a broom closet, especially since you have a seat on the Wizengamot, once you take up your seat and start voting, people will be doing their best to attract you to their side."
Was…was she trying to play wingman right now?
And so we return with the good ol' chapter four that continues with a small time skip revealing Faeran's cheat physical gains and the horny that still plagues him. This kid won't calm down till he gets laid, poor fuck. He meets Hermione, has a little chat with her, has some thoughts, then meets Astoria where a little bit more of the circumstances revolving her, her sister and her family are revealed and he gets a little hint towards something truly being wrong with her and his worth in the eyes of others being shown to him.
Well that's it for this chapter, I'm off to go upload another chapter of devour. Though, if any of you guys were following my Scotsman on Board One Piece story, I've replaced it with a different one called Seaside System, with the first chapter already being up if you guys wanna go check it out.
Anyway, shameless Pa-atreon plug. I've got one, go by the same username on there, easy to find and all that jazz. Support me if you want, it'd be swell, but don't feel pressured lads and ladies, I'll be uploading my stuff outside it regardless and not keeping it all behind a paywall or anything like that.