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"Perhaps I was looking at this wrong," Alaric mused out loud, closing the book on wandless magic that his grandfather had given him. "But the idea has merit so it might just work,"
He had been looking for anything out of place when asked to call upon his magic as if his body structure had been changed upon his reincarnation, hoping that something might have changed inside of him because of magic.
He thought about it for a moment before extending his arm towards the feather he had been trying to move for the last few days once again but instead of trying to manipulate the object physically through an unseen force, he decided on another approach this time. Taking a deep breath, he centred himself and grasped for the rhythm of his own body
He focused intently on the feather, studying it using unwavering focus as he had been for the last few hours, and imagined the object moving towards his palm— wanting it to happen with all the focus and intent he could muster.
It happened instantly— a tender heat enveloped his body, as gentle as a mother's touch. It coursed through every part of his being, dusting his cheeks and driving away any cold doubts he had.
It took some moments for the gentle warmth to completely fade away and it was like being plunged into the dark after standing under the noon sun. Where once he felt that he could turn imagination into reality and do everything he could think of, now all he now felt was what lay before him and even that was limited to the meagre spectrum of human senses.
He slowly opened his eyes and laughed out loud, joy dancing in his gleaming bright eyes as he glanced down at the feather that had moved halfway toward his outstretched palm in response to his unspoken thoughts. The sounds of the manor began to register in his mind now that he was no longer so focused on his sight.
"Yer a wizard, Alaric!" he declared, playfully invoking the iconic phrase he once yearned to hear, awaiting the Hogwarts envelope with dreams of embarking on a magical adventure.
It took some time for the vertigo of wonder and nostalgia to recede as Alaric resisted the urge to jump around the room and brought his racing mind to order after an embarrassingly long period of amazement.
He was finally able to settle down with some help from the meditation exercises his grandmother had given him upon learning that he was interested in exercise, slowly breathing in fresh air upon clearing his mind was an unexpectedly comforting experience and it helped settle his raging emotions down rather quickly.
Magic was not a quantifiable force that could be measured or understood, rather it was closer to an event.
A phenomenon that manifested as an unseen force for no apparent cause other than the intent of the caster— Alaric could not find any other words to describe what he had just felt, now understanding why all those wizarding books had been so vague.
It instantly became apparent how important a wand could be if it shouldered the burdens of all that he had experienced just for a botched experiment, required an external tool to bypass imagine and gather all that focus.
He could finally understand why his grandparents had started frequently using magic after his first bout of accidental magic when they had always been so cautious around him before, his grandfather even going as far as to use various kinds of magic right on him during his playtime when he would refuse to even show him his wand before.
They had been trying to teach him the feel of magic, advertently encouraging him to use magic more frequently by making him subconsciously mimic them.
To say he had been confused when frequent bouts of emotion had started making the very world around him bend and change randomly was saying it moderately. At the time he had no idea what he was supposed to do, only that every time he used accidental magic it felt as if he was being dipped in running water.
Now he finally realized that what he had been feeling was pure magic as it poured out of his body in soothing streams of power, a sensation unique to his magical being.
Perhaps the reason why he had been unable to use magic properly was because he had thought of it as something already inside of him that could be manipulated. The thought of magic once again brought an amazed gleam to his eyes and he grinned, unable to help himself and not wanting to.
The kids of his generation were nowhere near his current mental age, making him ahead of the group by a large margin but that alone could not ensure he had perfect control over his emotions which had a vastly fluctuating spectrum because of the natural age of his body.
Alaric might be a reincarnate who had awakened fragmented memories of his previous birth, but he remained a small boy when all was said and done. He had considered toning down his natural emotions and trying to act more mature but had discarded the thought just as quickly.
It may have been better in the long run but he wanted to experience this second change to its fullest, and growing up was just a part of the experience. He would not abandon his youth just because it might prove to be more convenient for his dabbles in magic.
He wanted to go on grand adventures, make friends and foes, explore lost ruins, and enjoy a life full of excitement and adventure. He wanted to change the world and leave behind a legacy that would be remembered for eons.
In this magical world, such a dream certainly appeared imaginable, even more so now that he had proven that he could consciously use magic without a wand.
Sure, this single use of wandless magic had made him understand the importance of wands all too well. It had made him understand he would be able to do much other than practice wandless magic and observe adults perform miracles that would take him years to recreate but at least he had the opportunity to watch something useful, something that he could learn from.
He had asked his grandparents to allow him to study most of the rudimentary subjects on his own and they had been reluctant at the beginning, but he had thrown a tantrum and declared that he would go back to tutoring if he could not score well on his own.
He pleaded that he would learn everything required of him but he wanted to do it on his own and his grandmother had asked him to learn elementary mathematics by the evening of the same day.
Alaric could see how biased the test would have been against a normal kid but he had aced it regardless. He now only had to take weekly tests and complete his homework regularly and that had freed him from most of his annoying lessons and given him more time to explore magic on his own.
Alaric wanted to know everything about magic as soon as he could and was upset when he learned that he could not get a wand before he went to Hogwarts, something about focused magic being dangerous to wizards whose powers had not yet matured.
But he had other means of learning and though it was not anywhere near as good as actually practicing, he now understood that he had to make sure to observe his grandparents whenever they used magic. He might not be able to understand everything they did, but he would make sure to watch and take everything in.
He could at least memorize how they spoke their incantations and waved their wands.
His knowledge regarding practical magic was almost non-existent at this point, but what he did know was that basics were essential and even the smallest of flaws could make all the difference. He could practice wandless magic but his body was far too underdeveloped for anything advanced, and would probably break under the strain if he tried. As far as he understood, magic more or less emerged fully at birth, but it took time for it to mature.
So he decided to watch how adults moulded their magic and learn, even though he knew he would not be able to do the same things they did for a long time. But he could learn basic magical theory and master wandless magic in the meantime, it was the one thing that the memories of his former life could not help him with so he was understandably desperate for any information he could get his hands on.
He had four years before Hogwarts, and he would make full use of the time. If he could not train his spellcasting, then he would train his mind.
Knowledge could truly become power equal to any other if used properly.
Thanks for reading.