Shadows of Wizardry
Chapter: 07
This will be the last of the classes for the foreseeable future, I know some people didn't like it but I wanted to show people the magical schooling system before I got into the action - thank you for reading.
(Hogwarts Library)
We stood across from each other, Padma wearing a teasing smile on her lips. Both of us were in the standard duelling stance. Instantly, as Snape called out the beginning of the limited duel, I waved my wand.
"Expelliarmus," I calmly but quickly pronounced.
I had worked on pronouncing them so I wouldn't get tongue-tied when in the heat of the moment, which was apparently more common than you would think it would be.
The tip of my wand exploded red as a bolt of red light streaked through the air and into Padma's hastily formed shielding charm. My aim was a bit off but close enough that it splashed against her 'Protego.'
Padma skidded back, looking at me with wide eyes full of surprise. My wand performed the necessary, albeit annoying, pattern and I quickly cast another disarming spell with more power. The red light was noticeably brighter.
This time she was forced to hold on to her wand for dear life as the shielding spell gained cracks, skidding back to the edge of the platform. Having a heavily magical bloodlines did wonders for my already existing magic reserves.
I had studied more on that since I was curious about how a magical bloodline was formed. Unsurprisingly, there was barely anything on the subject. The origin of the wizarding world was something that no one really knew or questioned, which I found highly suspicious.
I quickly focused my wandering thoughts back on the battle as I prepared another disarming spell.
Unfortunately, this duel couldn't be counted as skill since we were heavily restricted to two spells and no movement.
Even as exciting as this was and learning what would become a vital spell for defending against magical attacks, I hoped we would be able to perform a real duel at some point.
As Snape seemed much calmer and cooler than his movie counterpart, I can hope that he would be better at teaching too.
"Expelliarmus," I hissed out, only to scowl as the spell missed its mark by a few metres.
She was much further back since I had sent her skidding back with the force of my spell, meaning she had become slightly harder to hit.
God fucking damn it. My Sin of Wrath felt insulted at my own shitty aim. Apparently, getting angry at myself was possible. What would happen when we were actually allowed to dodge and use more than two spells?
I had been practicing, but alas, I was still relatively new to shooting spells from a further distance. Padma blinked and went to cast a disarming spell at me, only to find herself shot off the platform, her wand landing in mine.
Shitty aiming or not, I hadn't stopped preparing a second spell the second I knew I had missed. The spell name had already been on the tip of my tongue and thus led to my victory.
"Winner, Draco Malfoy by knockout," Snape drawled, a look of amusement dancing in his eyes. He gave me an appraising look.
I let a grin cross my face. Uncaring of everyone watching.
Pansy, being the ever-supporting friend she was, clapped her hands excitedly for me. Blaise was next to her, giving me a thumbs-up. I faintly smiled at their support instead of the surprised looks from everyone watching.
Walking down, I joined my little friend group and talked for a while as we watched the other duels play out. All classes had a large number of students, so we were stuck watching for a while.
Some of my classmates stood out due to the fact that they cast quicker and more powerful disarming spells than me. It wasn't surprising; I couldn't catch up immediately in just a few weeks. There was also the fact most of them were from pureblood families, meaning they were probably specially tutored before Hogwarts.
Having the backing of an old family that stood on mountains of gold had its benefits.
Padma looked shocked that she had lost, speaking to her friends who seemed to be teasing her for it, which made me lightly frown. It was annoying.
She caught me looking at her and frowned at me. I stared at her with a look of boredom. Not willing to let anything slip.
While the more practical side of me said it was better to be underestimated for now while I built my strength, the part of me that had promised to be something more with this new life and opportunity to use magic wanted to prove its superiority.
I shook my head minutely, letting out a breath and clearing my thoughts. I listened to Pansy and Blaise idly chatter about who was better at the disarming spell and made notes of all the strongest people in our class.
Typical Slytherin things.
The lesson soon ended and we were finally let out for our two-hour break to get some food. I stretched as we left the dueling class. That had been fun, and the new addition of the shielding spell to my repertoire made it totally worth it.
"Finally, I'm starving," Blaise yawned.
Pansy looked at him in disbelief.
"How? It's only been a few hours since breakfast," she asked, prompting Blaise to shrug in response.
"I'm a growing man, I need food for all the awesomeness that goes into improving someone as great as myself," Blaise replied.
Before they could continue, I made a brief decision and decided to speak up.
"You guys go ahead without me, I want to go visit the library," I declared.
Pansy frowned in displeasure.
"Why? Draco, you've already improved by leaps and bounds. You were even the first one to get the shielding charm somewhat correctly," Pansy retorted.
"Yeah man, you've totally upped your game. No need to rush," Blaise quickly added when Pansy sent him a prompting glare.
I sighed as more students started pouring out into the hallways, taking a glance through the window which showed a massive landscape. Hogwarts truly was an awesome place, especially for someone who had previously lived a non-magical life.
Truth be told, I wasn't really hungry. I had forsaken eating quite a few times in my rush to learn before coming to Hogwarts for my second year, which had made my body grow accustomed to less food.
Also, previous Draco hadn't visited the Hogwarts library, and my curse of Mimir was screaming at me to visit the legendary library where young wizards gained knowledge from.
I gave Pansy a smile.
"I appreciate your concern, but I'm not really hungry, and I've been meaning to check it out. I might even come join you after a while if I'm feeling hungry," I reassured my friends.
Pansy nodded reluctantly.
"I'll see you in a bit then?" she asked.
"Sure," I replied with a smile, going down a separate corridor.
I sighed in relief; sometimes having friends was troublesome. Don't get me wrong; it was nice having people that cared for me, and I couldn't dislike them for caring, but the anonymity I would have had if I was alone would have been appreciated.
They didn't understand my hunger for knowledge.
While I didn't exactly want to get a reputation as a bookworm, simply sticking to classes, while good, won't put me above the normal. Even if I am able to pick up spells extremely quickly when taught practically, I wanted more.
That could be my curse of Mimir skewering my thinking or just a need to show that I am special. Either way, it didn't change the fact I needed to grow quickly.
Finally, I arrived at two grand doors, looking down at the small map of Hogwarts I had been given. You didn't just think they let people try and find their way around Hogwarts alone, did you? It's a fucking massive magical castle.
The two doors were already opened to reveal the magnificent Hogwarts library. The vast expanse of towering bookshelves stretched endlessly into the distance.
A comforting atmosphere enveloped me as I entered the library, and the noise from outside faded away. The flickering fires cast a soothing glow. It certainly made the Malfoy library look shitty, even if it contained much more powerful spells.
I didn't know where to start.
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" A voice from behind me made me jump.
Spinning around, I was met with an older Slytherin girl who I could only describe as being a hot goth. She had long black hair and black eyeliner, along with pale, milky skin that made her look pretty unique. Her eyes were aloof with little care as she stared at me.
She raised a black eyebrow.
"You mind moving? You've been blocking up the entrance," she asked boredly.
"Oh, my bad," I replied coolly, not showing my embarrassment and moving out of the way.
She walked in with a few books in hand before pausing.
"You might want to go speak to Madam Pince over there if you're new to the library. She's the Hogwarts librarian. It can take a while to find anything when you aren't used to the library," she informed me, walking off without sparing me another glance.
I didn't bother responding. I would only make myself look more of a fool with the way I had been gawking like an idiot at all the books. My eyes did involuntarily watch her large swaying ass that not even her tied-up robes could completely cover.
God damn puberty.
Shaking my head, I glanced over to a woman collecting a pile of books in her hand. That must be Madam Pince.
Madam Pince seemed to be a older woman, a thin, severe-looking witch with a sharp gaze that scanned around the room. She had her hair tightly pulled back and wore a high-collared, dark dress.
My eyes drifted to all the books piled up. How much information was stored here? Obviously, it wasn't all spells. I doubted even 10% of the books had actual spells within them, but the theory behind magic was extremely helpful too.
-{Pansy Parkinson}-
Pansy frowned, stealing a glance towards the grand hall's doors, only to shake her head in annoyance and go back to eating the lunch set out by the Hogwarts house elves. There weren't as many students compared to last night's feast.
Lunch was more optional, and most people would rather spend it doing other things.
Blaise rolled his eyes.
"Ok, can you stop that?" he grouched. "You're hurting my pride."
"What?" Pansy blinked in confusion.
"Your constant search for Draco's arrival. Give the guy some space; he isn't going to magically get hurt without your presence," Blaise snorted.
Crabbe and Goyle nodded in agreement. Despite what people thought, they weren't that stupid. Just silent and anti-social, despite their large bodies and tendency to act as Draco Malfoy's lackeys.
They could fight against it, but they both genuinely saw him as a friend despite his father's unlikeable persona in the past few years.
Pansy deflated, twirling a strand of her silky, well-maintained hair absently.
"I'm just worried about him."
Blaise tilted his head in confusion.
"Why? Because he's studying? Don't you think it's good he's finally decided to be a bit more serious… I mean, after last year?" Blaise asked.
"He wasn't that bad," she snapped.
Blaise raised his hands in mock surrender, a fork and knife held in each hand.
"It's just, I can't help wondering what caused this change. Did something drastic happen that made him feel the need to skip lunch with us? To make him so much more reserved and quiet?" Pansy asked.
Blaise thought about it before nodding.
"I can see how that would worry you. He normally always comes to lunch with us, if not to badmouth mudbloods," he muttered.
Pansy ignored his use of the slur the more radical blood purists used; he didn't really mean it in a harmful way. While she held onto the belief that magical bloodlines of older age were more powerful, since that just made logical sense.
She didn't believe in all the eradication or enslavement of all Muggleborns, another thing Draco had used to be vocal about. He didn't believe in the death of all Muggleborns, of course.
He hadn't been that far gone, but he did believe purebloods to be way above Muggleborns and that respect should be due for letting them into magical society.
There had been a few instances of him trying to bully Muggleborns who annoyed him, so he wasn't perfect.
"Now he's spending the lunch break reading," she said, annoyed.
She was all up for Draco's new improvement, but she wasn't happy that she had to spend less time with him due to it.
"I suppose all we can do is wait. There's been a change, and I doubt he will tell us anything beyond his self-improvement speech. We will do what Slytherins do best: observe and proceed," Blaise said, going back to eating.
Pansy nodded, oddly weirded out by how mature Blaise was acting.
"Although it could be due to getting laid; I heard that chills blokes right out," he idly mused, only to duck as a fork was sent at him.
-{Draco Malfoy}-
Approaching the strict elder woman who was moving some books, I gently cleared my throat. Gaining her attention successfully as she turned around, her sharp eyes appraising me.
"Yes?" She asked, her eyes flickered to my robes which had the classic green Slytherin colour around its edges.
"Hello, I am new to the library and I'm not sure I can navigate my way around here without looking like a fool. Would you be willing to show me the second year area?" I questioned, keeping my tone polite.
The elder woman's lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes narrowing slightly. "New to the library, are you?" she rhetorically asked, her tone crisp and no-nonsense. "Well, we certainly can't have students fumbling about aimlessly."
She set down the books she had been moving and fixed her gaze back on me. "Listen closely, young Slytherin, as I won't be repeating myself."
She gestured for me to follow her and began walking briskly, her neat-looking robes swishing with every step.
"The Hogwarts Library is organised in a way that Books are categorised not only by subject but also by year and level of difficulty. This ensures that students can find appropriate materials for their studies."
I nodded, making sure to listen.
She paused briefly, pointing to a section we passed.
"First-year students will find their texts in the far left corner of the library, organised by subjects such as Charms, Potions, Herbology and more. These books are basic, intended to build foundation leve knowledge."
As we continued walking, she led me to a large, more central section. "This is the area for second-year students," she said. "Here, books are slightly more advanced, with each subject divided into subsections. Pay attention to the labels on the shelves; they will guide you to the correct topics."
The librarian turned to face me directly, her sharp eyes boring into mine. "I expect you to remember this layout and not waste my time. Third through seventh-year materials are further back, each section progressively more advanced. Restricted Section," she added, her voice lowering a fraction.
"is off-limits unless you have explicit permission from the headmaster. Attempting to break in there is absolutely prohibited and will result in an immediate expulsion. Don't bother trying, much more talented have tried before you and failed all the same. "
I was taken aback by her downright threatening tone, though something told me she was being a bit biassed due to my house.
It would probably be hard not to be, given that Slytherin was widely known to have produced more dark wizards than any other house, and likely the most students attempting to break into the Restricted Section, if her warning was any indication.
She straightened up. "If you have questions, ask one of your elder… peers instead of bothering me. Do not wander about aimlessly. Understood?"
I nodded, narrowing my eyes just a bit as her rude demeanour started to grate on my nerves. Which was further enhanced by my Sin of Wrath.
"Good," she said curtly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Do not disturb me unless it is necessary."
With that, she turned on her heel and resumed her task of moving the books, leaving me standing in the second-year section.
Well, that was interesting. A bit rude if nothing else and her judging gaze pissed me off more than I would like to admit. At least I knew my way around.
Looking around I noticed a lack of curse section which was to be expected, there was also no transfiguration section since I'm guessing it would probably lead to overly ambitious students like myself killing themselves if they failed a transfiguration spell.
Which as Mcgonagal warned was deadly.
It still didn't stop me from trying, though I did make sure to be cautious.
My eyes caught something in the corner of the large room, partially hidden in shadows and covered in webs. It was a small, humanoid-like creature that I could only glimpse from my awkward sitting angle.
The creature was covered in dense black hair and had an extra pair of arms and legs. Its wings were thick, curved, and shiny, much like those of a beetle. Its ears were massive.
Out of morbid curiosity, I walked over and leaned down to inspect it. The creature had clearly been here for a while, obvious by its slightly rotting features. Since magical creatures typically decayed much more slowly.
As I stared at the strange creature, an idea struck me. It wouldn't hurt to have a small creature I could use for tracking and I could always withdraw my shadows from any corpse at will, so it wouldn't be a waste of my currently limited shadow space.
Glancing around and making sure no one was in my immediate area. I spoke the words.
"Arise." I whispered.
The creature was consumed by liquid shadows, getting up on its two legs and looking at me with its large fiery green eyes. Its wings buzzed with an audible buzz and it landed on my shoulder.
It was kind of terrifying but also extremely cute. A weird mix. The new magical world I found myself in was strange, the fact this was just sitting in the corner was baffling.
I smiled and it smiled back at me, razor sharp black teeth glinting back at me as its little tail swung behind it happily. Yeah, how this little creature was just laying down in the middle of a school full of magical children was beyond me.
Maybe it was just my mundane mind, but nevertheless it was still awesome. It simply made me want to learn even more.
I'll have to play around with you later.
It seemed to understand my intent as if sunk into my shadow. Huh, neat.
I stood back up and dusted myself off.
I guess I'll check out the charms section while I'm here.
There were dozens to read in the second year section alone. I let out a wicked grin, it was boring work but the curse of Mimir surprisingly helped negate the bore of reading so many books.
The urge to devour all knowledge and my power hungry tendencies made it bearable. I sat down on a comfortable chair, stretching my back to get comfortable.
No rest for the wicked I suppose.
-Scene Break-
"Hey." I greeted Pansy and the others as I joined back up with them.
I had just finished up in the library and found them on my way to Charms, which had been harder than expected with my Curse of Mimir fighting every step away from the large library.
Pansy smiled back at me.
"Hey." She greeted me back.
"So, I'm assuming you weren't feeling hungry." Blaise drawled from behind her, giving me a lazy smirk.
I shrugged. "You should check the library sometime, it's actually pretty cool."
Blaise grimaced.
"The only time I'm even going near there is when exams come up. I would rather learn in class, it's not like we need to rush." Blaise replied.
I just didn't understand his logic, did he truly just want to be on the same level as a normal student? Don't get me wrong Hogwarts was good and released many skilled wizards when they graduated but they could be a lot more.
Where was the ambition? Was it due to the fact I had experienced a life without magic that made me disappointed at his lack of care for the limitless power of magic?
"Why must you be so lazy Blaise? I would be happy to join you Draco, in fact I believe I remember asking you to join me last year." Pansy joined in.
I gave her a smile, at least Pansy was willing to learn more outside of class. Having a teacher was great and all but there was so much to be learned that Hogwarts would forbid from learning.
Pansy smiled back only to suddenly trip over, face first into the cold stone ground of the castle. I quickly picked her up and looked over her in concern, ignoring the laughter coming from around us.
Unfortunately we shared this class with Gyffindor so we were all walking the same path towards charms.
Pansy had a flush of embarrassment and shame as she looked away from me. My eyes trailed over the smooth floor and sure enough there was nothing that would have made her fall.
My confusion cleared up as I saw Ron Weasley stuff his wand back into his pocket and roar in laughter with a bunch of his other friends. Rose next to them with Hermione in toe laughing.
A tripping charm I presume, a common spell taught in the first year. Mostly due to its easy to cast and safe usage.
The only people who weren't laughing were the Slytherin members, who all glared. Despite what people thought about the big scary house full of blood supremacists it was surprisingly united.
They had that whole "everything that happens in Slytherin stays in Slytherin" but when it came down to it they weren't opposed to giving a helping hand to a fellow member of their house.
A surge of anger filtered through me. Pansy had quickly proven herself a good friend to me, and seeing her so embarrassed made my blood boil. My eyes grew colder as I debated sending a spell back at Ron. My hand clasped around my wand which responded.
I didn't know of any truly malicious magic since I hadn't delved into the Malfoy family books yet, but a nice Diffindo to the neck seemed reasonable. My fingers itched to cast a spell.
My shadow distorted just a bit, two fiery green eyes opening. My shadow soldier reacted to the anger I felt. I instantly tried calming myself down, commanding my shadow to go back to sleep.
I would be branded a necromancer if people found out about my ability.
My war with the anger inside me was distracted as I felt Pansy pull on my robe, her eyes wide and filled with unspoken plea. She shook her head ever so slightly.
"They're not worth it." She mumbled.
Bullying wasn't exactly unheard of in Hogwarts and especially in Slytherin. Giving children magic and superhuman capabilities didn't stop them from acting like cunts.
This wasn't even close to the first case of it occurring between the two houses with the biggest rivalry in Hogwarts.
Both Slytherin and Gryfindor usually found themselves causing problems for each other like this, a common occurrence. I hadn't even seen the spell hit her, how did he perform it so subtly in a hall full of students?
I let out a breath. Trying to clear my head as I did with the practice for occlumency. Their laughter continued to echo in the corridor, grating on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
I grabbed Pansy's surprisingly soft hand, helping her stand up and giving her a confident but reassuring smile. Briefly letting my subdued mask I had been putting on slip.
I purposefully Ignored the massive blush my actions caused. Blaise was sneering at the Rose's little group that had been the loudest in their laughter.
Much to my surprise even Crabe and Goyle looked ready to start a brawl.
The laughter died down as we finally entered the Charms classroom, Professor Flitwick already awaiting our arrival as the first students to enter. Still holding Pansy's hand we walked over to the further right corner.
I ignored the way Ron snickered at us.
Letting the anger I felt subside I focused in on the lesson.
"Welcome students for your second year back in Charms." The half-goblin greeted us cheerfully.
Professor Flitwick was a small man with a long nose and pointed ears which were inherited from his half-goblin half-human heritage. Despite that he wore a friendly smile even as many Slytherins scoffed at him.
He hobbled onto his desk.
"Today since it's our first day back we shall be learning quite a fun spell, the dancing feet charm or 'Tarantallegra'. Quite the funny name it is as the name suggests, casting this on someone will force them to start dancing. While this may seem useless it can be used in a variety of ways in duels." Flitwick started, his wand in hand.
Immediately I lost interest. I had already learnt the dancing feet charm since it had been in the second year book of basic spells. While it seemed useless and a bit impractical when compared to much more useful spells, I could think of a few uses with my enhanced imagination which made it worth learning.
Still, This had been bound to happen with my quick advancement in spells. It was disappointing but expected.
The class blurred by as I only half paid attention as he went into the middle of the classroom and gave multiple demonstrations using students from Gryfindor. Since none of Slytherin wanted to be used as a demonstration for a spell.
I would have volunteered if I hadn't known the spell's effects or how to cast it.
Soon I found myself walking to the last class of today that was taught by Lily Potter, Potions.
Which we again had with Gryfindor…
I sighed, keeping Rose and her friends in the corner of my eye, unwilling to let my guard down around them again. That tripping jinx could have easily been used on me if I hadn't been lucky.
It might not seem like a big deal, but it could have been a more dangerous spell and that annoyed me to no end.
Why couldn't I have been reborn into Draco when he was starting in the first year. It would have made some things a lot easier. Especially this strange rival bully bullshit relationship I had with Rose and her friends.
On the subject of my next class, Potions were held down in the dungeons. Near the Slytherin common room. Naturally due to my perk I was interested to see if potions would also come as easily as it did for transfiguration.
"Welcome welcome" Professor Potter greeted with a beaming smile.
I sat with Pansy as Professor Potter walked to the front of the class, those robes barely restraining the hourglass figure and the bubble butt that most male students seemed fixed on. Her robes billowed with her regardless of the outline that was her body being noticeable.
She clasped her hands.
"Now, I know normally we would do a slow reintroduction for our first class back this term but that's boring. Plus potion making is mostly skill and experience. So I thought we would start with some brewing. Specifically the fire protection potion" She announced happily.
Interesting, I had read about it. That was a cool way to start the term. It was basically a potion that made you more resistant to fire, mostly mundane fire since magical fire was on a whole different level.
"The fire protection potion is good for resisting large bodies of flames and is normally used by Aurors who are forced to enter an environment alight with flames." Lily explained.
She walked up to the podium and picked up a cylindrical bottle holding a blue liquid.
"This is what we will be looking for today, can anyone tell me the side effects of drinking this potion?" Lily asked.
A few people raised their hands.
"Hermoine dear, would you care to explain to the class?" Lily asked cheerfully.
"Yes professor." A girl with bushy hair happily responded, standing up.
"When drunk the fire protection potion will cause the drinker to feel a sensation of ice flowing through their body." Hermoine answered.
"Perfect response! Five points to Gryffindor," Lily said, clapping her hands. "Now, if you will all select partners and find a cauldron, we can get started."
We moved over to our cauldron.
"Slice bursting mushrooms with a knife," I muttered, reading the textbook. I felt unusually confident, especially with Lily Potter intensely watching the room for any accidents. A potions mishap could easily become deadly.
Delicately holding the strange mushroom, I began slicing into it. Once done, I passed it to Pansy, who added it to our cauldron.
"Stir clockwise until it turns blue," I instructed, taking out the salamander blood.
"Got it," she replied, using the massive spoon to stir the potion.
As it started turning blue, an impulse made me add the salamander blood early. The potion briefly turned purplish before settling into a dark, faintly shimmering blue.
Pansy looked at me in alarm but kept stirring, ready to dive away if the potion exploded. I grabbed her hand and started stirring counterclockwise. She froze as I entered her personal space, but I paid her no mind.
"Keep stirring like this," I said, and she nodded quickly.
"Crush wartcap powder with the pestle," I read from the instructions.
Grabbing the wartcap powder, I crushed it with the pestle. It wasn't hard with my enhanced wizarding strength, but I imagined a normal human might have some difficulty.
"Add to the cauldron and infuse pure magic into the potion until a light green shimmer appears above it. Stir clockwise until the potion turns red," I read the last instruction.
Ignoring the loud bang that rang out as a Gryffindor kid was sent flying back by his exploding cauldron, I chucked the powder in. Pansy began stirring clockwise once more.
I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the cauldron, letting my magic seep out. A few seconds later, a gentle green shimmer appeared above it.
I continued to infuse the potion with magic, watching the shimmer grow brighter before pulling back.
"Oh my." A voice whispered right next to my ear, making me jump. I spun around and Lily Potter smiled kindly at me.
"It seems like we have a hidden prodigy with potions on our hands." She laughed gently.
I looked at her in confusion, and she gestured to everyone who was still in the process of adding the Salamander blood. Ignoring those who's potions had even exploded or melted.
Oh.
Rose was glaring at me as if I had booted her child in the head. I had been caught up in making the actual potion, I guess that answers if my alchemy perk transferred over to my potion-making.
The lesson soon ended, with Rose scowling at me even as she finished her potion in second place. Just as we were about to leave Professor Potter called out my name.
"Mr Malfoy, if you would please stay behind." She asked, with a smile.
Rose glare intensified.
I sighed.
-END-