Shadows of Wizardry
Chapter: 02
Note: To the little bitch crying about shadow extraction being nerfed, it's only temporary you fucking idiot. It can be improved pretty easily. I'd rather any idiot who can't recognize this just stop reading.
To everyone else sending me support, thank you. I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave any ideas you may have in the review :)
(Magical Introduction)
Reading through a book with the title "An Introduction To Wizardry" I found myself sitting within the Malfoy Manor library. A comfortable atmosphere surrounded me as the fire crackled from the fireplace.
It had been a day since my arrival into the body of Draco Malfoy. Things had been interesting, to say the least, once I got back from my trip to Gregorovitch's workshop I had taken time to adjust myself.
Adjusting to the memories along with the fact I was in a different world had been a little difficult. I still sometimes found small habits of the previous occupant of this body slip into my actions.
Once I had accepted the memories and allowed myself to merge with the pathetic pureblood wizard that had been Draco Malfoy, The original Draco was a genius in terms of magical ability but was held back by his pride.
After that, I went directly towards the Malfoy Library.
While I wouldn't call the library large per se, it definitely had all the best and most expensive books you could buy, some light and others less so.
Firstly, I had done a recap on the beginning first-year spells since Draco had decided it was more fun to play around with his two idiot lackeys, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe.
Not to say he hadn't learnt anything, he simply only knew a few of the first-year spells.
[Lumos]
Creates light at the tip of the wand.
[Alohomora]
Unlocks doors and other locked objects.
[Wingardium Leviosa]
Levitates objects.
[Expelliarmus]
Disarms opponents by causing them to release whatever they are holding.
[Rictusempra]
Causes a uncontrollable tickling sensation on the target.
While that may seem impressive for a first year it was about half of the spells he could have learnt, take the spell Colloportus for this instance. Its function allowed the caster to magically lock doors.
Which, while simple in its usage, sounded pretty useful if you asked me and made my curse of Mimir rage at me to learn it instantly. I had to stop myself from looking at some of the book covers around me due to this.
This curse made me want to devour all the knowledge I could but I needed to attend Hogwarts in a week. I highly doubt that I would be able to go through all these books in this restricted time.
The spell I was browsing through at this moment was an interesting spell named Reparo, which allowed one to fix basic objects. Which is why I have a broken mug I had found intact within my room. I had "accidentally" dropped it.
Now, here I was. Trying out Reparo and hoping it worked. It wasn't too difficult to grasp, but it needed a specific casting technique. The magic feels much easier to control since I had obtained my new wand.
I flicked my wand and whispered "Reparo,"
As the book stated, I needed to visualise the effect happening. Which felt pretty easy thanks to one of my perks enhancing my imagination.
I had attempted it four times before and each time I felt myself gain a better grasp on it. Perhaps it was due to my nature as an otherworlder but I had a clearer sense of my magic than the previous Draco had possessed, making it a little easier to cast.
The shards began to shake and tremble. Slowly, they lifted off into the air, drawn together by an invisible force. Piece by piece, they aligned themselves. With edges meeting perfectly and tiny fragments filling up the rest, all the cracks vanished.
Leaning back, I grinned devilishly.
Success.
Spell Learned
"Reparo"
[Reparo]
Repairs basic broken objects.
I checked over my spell list.
{Spells}
[Reparo]
Repairs basic broken objects.
[Colloportus]
Locks doors.
[Wingardium Leviosa]
Levitates objects.
[Rictusempra]
Causes a tickling sensation.
[Expelliarmus]
Disarms opponents by causing them to release whatever they are holding.
[Lumos]
Creates light at the tip of the wand.
[Alohomora]
Unlocks doors and other locked objects.
A small list it is. But it's a start. I had already found the last five spells unlocked due to my previous self but the top two had been due to my efforts.
I had come to learn that magic was more than wand waving and shouting a Latin syllable, there was also imagination and the imposing of your will required. Along with channelling magic of course.
Spells such as "Wingardium Leviosa" require more control to make an object do something more than simply making an object float.
Factors such as distance, weight, number of objects and force of levitation need to be considered while casting along with quick judgement/calculation and a sufficient amount of magical power.
Knowledge of Arithmancy and magic theory is needed for efficient casting and spell modification. In charms, this is why this is amongst the first few spells taught - so that students get more familiarised with control of their magic.
Also, practise in control can include floating objects to follow along your wand to complex motions and patterns. It can even be altered to slam something against the ceiling with high force or drop something quite heavy.
"What are you doing?" A snarky prideful feminine voice cut through the silence I was enjoying.
A glance up showed the imposing form of Lyra Malfoy, my dear elder sister. Who had a nasty look in her eye, as she stood in front of me with her arms crossed under her bust.
This had been the first encounter with another member of the Malfoy house. I had been mostly secluded during my time here and eating together as a family didn't apparently happen a lot with pureblood families.
Lyra Malfoy was an extremely curvy girl with long platinum blonde hair travelling down her back. Along with her stormy grey eyes and a heart-shaped face, she struck quite the beautiful figure.
She was in her fifth year at Hogwarts, naturally sorted into Slytherin and one of the best in her year at duelling. The old Draco had been massively jealous of her talent and power.
Lyra had also enjoyed bullying and taunting Draco, meaning she wasn't here for any good reason.
Which was why I ignored her. An awkward silence ensued as I continued reading the book. Now that I had gotten the spell down I was moving on to the next one, I could work on mastering the spells themselves later.
The book in my hands was suddenly ripped out of my hands. A heat rose in me and I closed my eyes to stop my wrath from raging at her insolent action. My hands clenched tightly on the comfortable chair armrest.
"An Introduction to Wizardry? You haven't even mastered your first-year spells?" Lyra remarked with a raised eyebrow, her tone laced with thinly veiled mockery.
A deep breath was the only answer she received as I displayed my incredible mastery over my emotions-
My wand snapped up. Lyra's eyes widened in surprise as my new wand was aimed at her and my face twisted.
"Expelliarmus" I sneered, a burst of red light erupted from the tip of my wand. The room was illuminated by its red glow as it shot towards Lyra who sidestepped it effortlessly.
She didn't even cast back, looking genuinely surprised even though she could destroy me easily as I was now.
My arm lowered as I took a deep breath. What the fuck am I doing? When have I let my emotions get the better of me before?
I frowned. it seemed this "Sin Of Wrath" was more troublesome than I initially suspected.
A subtle glance towards Lyra showed she looked concerned.
I shook my head, It was best to retreat for now after such an outburst. I grabbed the book she had dropped in her surprise, storming away without a glance in her direction.
-Scene Break-
Sweating harshly and letting out deep gasps of breath, I finished the hundredth press-up. Collapsing down as my strength failed me. I had just finished my first workout routine.
After witnessing Lyra's swift reaction and agility, I came to the realisation that I needed to prioritise honing my own physical abilities as well. It had been two days since the incident and two days since I had started my training routine.
During my three-day stay here I still hadn't encountered anyone else other than Lyra. Mostly since I kept to my room focusing on training and magical studies.
Unfortunately even with all my hard work I hadn't received any increase to my physique as of yet. Stumbling, I hobbled over to the table where a book sat waiting to be read. I took a few deep breaths and a few sips of water.
"Dobby," I called out.
Dobby appeared a moment later. Dobby was a small, elf-like creature with bat-like ears, large green eyes, and a long, thin nose. He had a slim frame. He was about three feet tall and had long, spindly fingers and toes.
The house elf's skin was a pale shade of grey, and he wore a variety of mismatched clothing, often patched and old-fashioned.
Two days ago, I had realised I could simply call out Dobby's name for help, and he would always appear within a few seconds. Since discovering this I had practically gotten him to do a lot of things for me.
Surprisingly, after giving the house elf a pat on the head it had been absolutely ecstatic to help. Turns out house elf loyalty was easy to acquire. This kept me from having to leave my room and run into my 'dearest' elder sister.
"Yes, Draco sir?" Dobby asked.
I grinned, patting the house elf on the head.
"Would you fetch me some more water?" I rhetorically asked. I knew he would of course.
Dobby's large eyes filled with glee.
"Yes Draco sir, Dobby be getting Draco sir's water straight away!" Dobby replied and popped away to complete my order.
I went back to scanning through the book I had started reading. "The Standard Book Of Spells by Miranda Goshawk." I had completed the first-year book easily enough.
The spells themselves would need refining and mastering but the main point was I had them, so they could be worked on. Plus not all of the spells I obtained would need practice.
This book was more on spell casting itself, the first book had introduced magic theory but this one had a lot more spells.
I was glad to finally be back up to date at least, I didn't know if it was due to my enhanced imagination perk making the comprehension and casting of spells easier or what but I was learning at an incredibly fast rate.
Much quicker than the previous Draco.
My sights were currently on the spell "Petrificus Totalus." Its function allowed the caster to render a target completely immobile. The second year spell seemed to be quite a bit more difficult but I was still happy with my current progress.
I lifted my wand towards my other arm which burned from excessive usage.
"Episkey," I mumbled, a green slither of mist seeped into my arm and the pain lessened just a bit.
Episkey was a first-year spell, used for minor injuries. It was meant for small cuts but I liked to use it to help mend the small cuts in my muscles. Which should theoretically speed up the process of my workout.
Muscles grew by small tears being created and healed to expand after all. I continued this process on my other arm and both my legs. I jumped a bit when a system notification popped up.
You have gained 1 PHY!
{Name: Draco Malfoy
{PHY: 4
{MAG: 15
{CHA: 10
Finally!
A smile lit up on my face. I was correct, using episkey to heal the small rips on my muscles caused my workout to produce faster results. My eyes trailed up to my magic stat, which hadn't gone up.
That was understandable though, I hadn't been completely draining my magic since I was more focused on learning spells. I should probably start working on increasing my magic pool as soon as possible.
A popping sound knocked out me of my thoughts, Dobby had appeared. I raised an eyebrow at his intrusion.
"Master Malfoy asked for you to come down to dinner at your earliest convenience sir," Dobby said.
I nodded. Shutting the book I was reading and making a mental note of the chapter I left on. Placing the book on the table I grabbed my wand, tucking it within my pocket for safekeeping.
Looking down at my casual attire, I shrugged. It would do. At least I wasn't heading to one of those dreadful social events the old Draco frequented. Though it could be fun to mess around at them.
I made my way down the large mansion stairs that were obviously there to impress.
I soon found myself walking into the extravagant dining room where three figures sat already. I must say, Malfoys didn't hold back at showing off their wealth.
The room had walls that looked like they were made of marble, the greyish colour comes into stark contrast with the red and black carpets and curtains. A huge chandelier hung on the wall illuminating the room, but mainly focused on the long dining table.
The sight of only three people sitting on a dining table that clearly has the capacity to hold 50 or so people looked comical.
First was Lucius, my father. Who I hadn't spoken to since he took me out to get a new wand, next was my sister who shot me a concerned glance.
Which served to confuse me. Since I'm pretty sure she hated my existence. Third was a curvous gorgeous woman with cold eyes. She had blonde and black hair. My mother who I hadn't spoken to for a few days.
Normally, the previous version of me would talk to her every day, but now I was here, with my focus on workouts and magical training, I hadn't made the effort to seek her out as the old me would have.
Judging by the frown on her lips, it was clear she wasn't pleased. Her eyes followed me as I walked into the dining room.
"Good evening father, mother." I greeted them both. A common greeting that matched the old Draco.
The only thing missing was the glare at my elder sister since I couldn't be bothered to play the part of a bratty child.
Lucius nodded but my mother seemed annoyed.
"Good evening Draco, come join us," Lucius replied as I sat down in my chair.
The dinner went on as usual. A strange silence reigned as Lucius occasionally asked my sister some questions. While I ate in silence. This was the norm for pureblood houses apparently, with Lucius at the head of the table. Narcissa was beside him on the left and Lyra on his right.
At least the food was good.
"So Draco what have you been doing recently?" Lucius asked.
I paused. Why was he talking to me?
"Nothing much, why?" I deflected.
Lucius smiled.
"We've noticed you've been stuck in your room and have been acting a little… strange lately."
I nearly snorted at that, by the strange he meant not prancing around proclaiming myself Merlin's gift in wizarding society for being born. I briefly considered what to respond with.
Lyra kept shooting me concerned looks which wouldn't be weird if she wasn't Lyra.
"I've simply decided to take my magical studies more seriously, Father," I responded, making him nod once in approval. Even looking slightly proud.
Lyra now looked panicked and ten times as concerned as before funnily enough, while Narcissa observed me intently.
"Ah, very good, Draco. I'm pleased to see you've finally decided to take your studies more seriously." Lucius replied.
Narcissa raised an eyebrow at me.
"So, instead of spending time with your mother, you've been reading books all day?" Narcissa inquired.
"Catching up on my studies." I corrected her, nearly smirking at the way her eye twitched.
The previous Draco and Narcissa had been extremely close, which was why it made sense she was miffed having not seen him for a few days. She frowned and didn't retort instead looking a bit worried herself.
I knew I should probably hold back on changing too much. After all, while my new behaviour might seem strange, I could attribute it to getting my butt kicked in duelling so much.
That's the excuse I would use. Along with some acting that would include frustration if the situation ever arose. However, I still made an effort to mimic Draco's way of speaking and doing those little things that only Draco did.
The rest of the dinner proceeded normally from then on forward,
Lucius agreed with my decision to focus on magic. Narcissa seemed annoyed and a little concerned at my new decision but didn't protest. Lyra was practically radiating anxiety. Pretty good reactions for our 'first' familial interaction.
About Lyra, I still don't know what was going on with her and I couldn't exactly just ask her either.
I would have to proceed with caution and perhaps tone it down a bit with the new change in attitude.
-Scene Break-
I got up with a huff of exhaustion and walked over to my wand. Casting Episkey on all my limbs, lessening the pain from my workout.
Currently, I am in my room, trying to train my body. Once again I feel blessed that my wand had no age restriction.
It would have been frustrating if I had to wait until Hogwarts to test out these spells. On another note, my magic had increased by two points over the past week. I had started draining my magic right before I slept.
The process of increasing my magic was definitely a slow process, it seemed magic took even more effort than training. While my physique gaining a stat point couldn't really be felt other than the slight tightening of my muscles.
Gaining a stat point in magic was an addicting feeling. My magic reservoir grew deeper and that sent a wave of power through my body.
Annoyingly, I hadn't been able to use Shadow Extraction as of yet. Since I needed a corpse to test it on and Malfoy Manor was always spotless. So I couldn't even find any small dead animals to use it on.
However, I planned to change that tonight.
Only two days remained until I would be returning to Hogwarts for my second year. My main focus was on training as much as possible in preparation. I already had the items I needed for my second year so there was no need to go get them in Diagon Alley.
I checked the time. It was 2:23 AM, hopefully no one was up. I quickly got up and clothed myself in a black robe, it was the best I could do at the moment. I didn't know of any sort of concealment magic so blending into the darkness was my best shot.
Finding a dark, suspicious robe within my wardrobe wasn't difficult. They were pretty common from what I knew, and Draco had dozens of them for whatever reason. It seemed a bit excessive to me, especially considering how expensive they looked and felt.
I believe the robes were made out of Acromantula silk. Which came from those big ass spiders in the forbidden forest. It felt weird knowing this robe contained material coming from a giant human-eating spider.
They felt comfortable at least, and I had a hood with it, so even if I was caught, I could make an escape without being identified.
Opening my bedroom door I popped my head outside of my room, I looked around for any sign of life. The dimly lit hallways seemed clear. Slipping out I strained my hearing and was met with complete silence.
From then on proceeded an awkward attempt at moving through the mansion undetected in a terrible imitation of a retarded ninja as I nearly slipped up being overly cautious a few times, it wouldn't do good for my family to realise I was sneaking out at night, especially Lyra.
Peeking down the long spiralled staircase, I didn't spot anyone so I slowly made my way down. A part of my soul died every time a particularly loud creak erupted beneath me.
The floo place was situated in the spacious large living room. There was nothing protecting it from my knowledge and it was always open for use, so there was no worry of it being closed during the night.
Opening the living room door, I closed it gently behind me as I entered. The entire room was only illuminated by the seemingly eternally lit fireplace. Not wasting any time I grabbed a handful of the black powder sitting in an overly designed container.
Throwing the powder down I whispered my destination clearly.
"Diagon Alley."
Green flames rose up and consumed me, a feeling of falling overwhelming me for a brief moment before I appeared within the floo place leading to Diagon Alley. I immediately put my hood up.
It was eerily quiet in Diagon Alley, with only a handful of robed figures strolling about. The contrast to the bustling daytime crowd made for a strange sight. I didn't stop to look around, slipping around a corner and coming upon the exit to Diagon Alley.
Remembering the routine, which was a certain sequence of tapping upon the wall. I performed it according to memory when Lucius had taken me out to the muggle world.
From there, I tapped the correct brick in the wall. The wall formed a small hole that grew into a large archway. After it opened up leading to behind the pub that was the Leaky Cauldron, I stepped through.
I opened up the old-fashioned and very crinkled map, which looked almost comically big. I started making my way to the nearest cemetery I had planned to go to. Twenty minutes of walking and I was here.
Standing at a cemetery full of graves with a grimace, I took the time to appreciate how fucked up this was. I rubbed my neck and sighed.
"Let's get on with this, I guess," I muttered to myself.
Hopping over the small fence, I took a moment to appreciate the neatly cut grass and pathways. Now, as disturbing as this may sound, it was time to go grave shopping.
I walked along the path, searching for someone preferably over two hundred years old, since they wouldn't have any immediate family members I would be traumatising.
Eventually, I stumbled upon a decrepit, uncared-for grave.
"Charles Pembroke," I muttered.
I guess it'll do. I didn't intend to keep him for long either way. This was more of an experiment. I took a deep breath of the cold night air.
"Diffindo," I whispered, aiming my wand at the stone protecting the grave.
A pale blue light shot out, hitting the tombstone. The spell was cast somewhat successfully. A few small cracks appeared on the surface of the stone, but it remained intact for the most part.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
This was one of the most dangerous spells in the second-year book. "Diffindo" or the cutting charm is a spell capable of making accurate cuts. I hadn't been able to practise with it for the obvious reason of its ability to slice things in half when cast.
Why they taught a bunch of second-year students a spell that can literally cut people in half was beyond me. Then again with a dark Lord or dark lady in this case prancing around with an army of blood purists I kind of understood.
More powerful.
"Diffindo."
The cracks were a lot larger in this case. Over the course of the next dozen or so minutes, I repeatedly cast the cutting charm. At the end of my little experiment, the tomb had been shattered.
I hadn't been able to test out any of the more destructive spells so I may have gone a little overboard when given the chance. The curse of mimir reared its head once more.
Then started the meticulous process of removing all the stones, I wasn't adept enough at casting "Wingardium Leviosa" to lift something as heavy as stone yet.
It didn't take long to move all the rocks out of the way due to my enhanced strength.
Kneeling down, I put my hand on the dirt. Directly above where the dead body was presumably resting.
"Arise," I spoke the word activating my special ability for the first time.
The activation word oddly seemed to echo around me unnaturally. For a moment nothing happened before inky darkness started rising up from the dirt. The next second an inky black fist shot out from the dirt.
I stood up and backed away a little to watch.
Another inky black arm shot out, pulling its body up from the depths. The figure, covered in wisps of shadow, emerged fully. Its glowing green orbs served as eerie replacements for eyes.
The humanoid shadow kneeled in front of me.
-END-