Chapter 5: Ritual and Letter

It's been a long time since the last time I had to budget my money. In my past life, after 2 years of working after my graduation at Hogwarts, I made enough money to last me my whole life, even if I lived a luxurious life. 

I gained that money through a lot of effort and working day and night ... stealing from people. It wasn't my money originally, but couldn't say that I worked less than what the lords of the noble houses I stole from did. 

For around a month, I focused on my study of Mind Arts and Ritual magic. I also practiced Hogwarts curriculum up to third year as well. 

I had to rush practicing ritual magic in order not to miss one of the most important rituals that I have never done in my previous life, and I should say it was one of my biggest regrets. 

The ritual is called "The rite of the first star" and it's only supposed to happen at 11th birthday. This ritual was the reason the tradition of starting age of school appeared. 

The origin of it goes pre-Founders era and only some of the magically powerful families still performed it. 

The purpose of this rite is to make the body more magic friendly. Bestowing a better control over magic and increasing the wizard's affinity to nature. And the ritual was on the "four refined rituals" that work as a reference for all ritual masters. These rituals require only the sacrifice of materials, and does not even need an animal to be sacrificed to achieve the perfect effect. 

That's where I spent around 50 Galleons. Acquiring the materials from owl service without letting anyone noticing me.

This past month was helpful for my studies, my body adapted further to magic and the results were shown by the system.

Meditation [Level 9/50] -> [Level 13/50]

Mind Arts [Level 15/100] -> [Level 23/100]

(Occlumency [18/25] |Legilimency [5/25] | Mind design [0/25] | ??? [0/25])

Potion making: [Level 1/80] -> [Level 6/80]

Charms [Level 1/80] -> [Level 6/80]

Transfiguration [Level 1/80] -> [Level 6/80]

Ritual magic [Level 1/100] -> [Level 21/100]

(Astronomy[13/25] | Ancient runes[8/25] | Ritualistic Potions [0/25] | ??? [0/25])

Arithmancy [Level 6/100] (New)

Wandless Magic [Level 6/200] -> [Level 15/200]

It was my birthday tonight and I had to prepare for the ritual. It wasn't a difficult ritual to perform, which spoke in length of the ingenuity of its creator. If his/her rituals could perform that well, I didn't know what other rituals he/she could've perhaps created. Maybe that person is still alive due to the power of rituals.

The way I saw thia school of magic was as a low level programming language. It talks directly to the system of magic, instead of using another language and cluttering the communication. Also rituals held more authority towards magic than other schools.

I casted a subtle sleeping charm on Michael. I didn't want him to know about my ritual. No one could say that there was no wandering Legilimency expert in the Diagon Alley.

- I'm going to sleep a bit early tonight Tom. I feel tired of reading all these damned books.

- Alright buddy. have a good night rest.

- Wizards are weird I say...

His tone got quieter and quieter as a nice dream seeped into his mind. 

- Alright, where were we.

I looked at the pouch I kept my materials in. It was around 8p.m and I had less than two hours to prepare my ritual.

I opened the window of our room first to have a clear view of sky. 

I took a solidified essence of starflower that worked like a chulk. I drew a big circle right in front of the window with it and it left a fluorescent blue line behind. 

Circle was the base of most rituals, it is a universal symbol with extensive meaning. It represents the notions of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness. Perfect basis to start with. 

Then the smaller circle in the middle of the big circle was drawn by me. That's where I was supposed to sit. After that I began deawing different shapes and lines between two circles. Modern ritual masters use ancient language to bring meaning to their ritual, but this one used some obscure artistry that even I haven't fully comprehended yet. 

I tip toed around the lines, makeing sure I didn't step on any of them, and after one hour, it was complete. I double checked the time again. 

Focused my mind and took of my clothes. I glanced back to Michael, making sure he was still sleep. I reapplied the sleeping charm to prevent an embarrassing explanation. Then stepped into the small crcle and sat there. I summoned my pouch and out of it brought out 4 different small jars filled with powders. With a slow movement of my point finger, I opened the first jar. 

One of the most powerful magical items in the present world, the blood of dragon. I purchased this one directly from goblins and asked them to get the money from our income on the potions, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get such a powerful and pure blood. Blood of an ancient black dragon. I owe around a thousand gold to goblins for this.

I dipped my finger into the blood and started to paint on my body. One circle on the heart, one on my forehead, one on my abdomen and one at each of my palms. Then I controlled an enchanted brush to connect the circles with intricate lines that mirrored my veins. 

I went into a meditative position because if I didn't want to ruin the ritual, I couldn't move my body anymore. 

Then went on to the second jar. 

Ash of the burnt eggs of Ashwinder. I slowly emptied the jar on my shoulders, letting the ash settle on my body.

The their one was a powdered mixture of 50 different woods. I carefully tilted the jar with magic and the powdered wood fall onto the circle in specific locations. 

The last one was a bit tricky, a seed of a Mystic Maple tree. I put the seed in my mouth and moved my items in a corner of the house and focused on the ritual. This one would start automatically when the birthday arrives. 

I solemnly sat in Burmese position. Thanks to my proficiency in meditation I didn't even feel the passing time, until I felt a surge of energy in my abdominal, like a container full of oil that was suddenly lit. 

Next one was in my chest. A sudden release of magic, then in my hands, and the last one in the middle of my brain. The last one took me by surprise. It sent my mind into an ecstasy of overdrive. Everything made sense. Magic made sense. 

I felt magic moving in my body in clear pathways without a problem. Instead of a chaotic movement, now everything functioned properly. A small portion of my magic was fed to my body and the rest circulated without leaking from me. 

[DING!]

I slowly opened my eyes and saw the system message. 

[Congratulations on completing the first step of a series of a divine level ritual. Rite of magic. 

1. Rite of the first star, until 11 years old. (Completed)

2. Rite of moon, until 13 years old. ()

3. Rite of sun, until 15 years old. ()

4. Rite of earth, until 17 years old. ()

5. Rite of life, until 20 years old. ()

For each completion you'll get: 

+10 to all stats, +20% control of magic, innate power] 

[Ding!]

[Through the rite of the first star you gained: 

1. +10 to all stats

2. +20% control of magic

3. Trait: Dark Vision]

I felt a surge of power through my whole body, I didn't have a lot of stats so I felt it clearly. The blue messages disappeared and suddenly I felt something at the window. My heart sank for a mere fraction of second, until I recognized the owl, holding a big letter with its beak. My second letter to Hogwarts.

************************************

The night went by smoothly. I read the letter and it caught me off-guard. No mentions of the wand. Titles of the books were different, it seemed the curriculum changed completely. 

It read like this:

 Dear Mr Riddle,

 We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

 Term begins on 1 September. One of the staff will hold an introductory meeting with you and your fellow students in the upcoming weekend. 

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Then on the second there were many changes. It usually was required to bring 4 set of clothing. But now there was a fifth one. (First I wanted to write the whole purchase list but that was too many words, so I'm just writing the parts that are different.)

5. One battle robe (preferred color)

On coursebooks section, aside form the change in the titles of the books and their writer, I even saw a book written by McGonagall, I saw some new subjects appearing for first year students.

COURSE BOOKS

 All students should have a copy of each of the following:

 Introduction to magic

 by Rogers Elm

 A History of Magic modern and ancient wizards: a brief overview

 by Simeon Quilt

First step to Transfiguration

 by Minerva McGonagall

Understanding Magical flora and fauna

 by Newt Raven Poisonwood

 Mastering your magical foci

 by Suzanne Willows

 Introduction to magical smelting

 by Glegsai

A book on goblin smithing! Mastering your magical foci! What happened. Even now after a month in this world I focused on regaining my past knowledge. I didn't pay much attention to the bookstore in Diagon Alley. Even though I read the newspaper from time to time the news was just filled with how Ministry of magic was winning the war against the Darklords. It was such a push to increase morale of people that was near pointless to spend money on.

And there wasn't even a book on Magical Theory for the first year. I felt a headache brewing in my mind. Did I make a mistake by not gathering information as fast as I could? I wanted to have enough magical powers to protect myself if I asked a wrong question. Maybe I was right. 

The shock didn't stop there.

 OTHER EQUIPMENT

 1 wand for utility magic(optional), 1 other foci (Hogwarts courses cover Orbs, Swords, Rings, Amulets and Staves)

 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

 1 set glass or crystal phials

 1 telescope

 1 set brass scales

What the fuck are these other things as foci? My headache slowly turned into a mild migraine.

'It's better if I sleep now. I'll learn more tomorrow, or at worst when the introduction happens when a staff member of Hogwarts come.'

I cleaned the room so there wasn't any sign of my ritual left and crawled to bed. I was tired.

************************************

Morning came faster than a bludger to the head. I opened my eyes to see Michael bringing our breakfast to the room.

He saw me open my eyes and said:

- Hey. You slept like a troll. I couldn't wake you up so I brought the breakfast to the room.

- Thanks Michael.

I slowly got up and rubbed my eyes.

He put the tray holding our English breakfast on the table beside my Hogwarts letter, which seemed to move a bit since last time. He read my letter.

- Are you jealous? 

I asked him a bit teasingly. He stuttered a bit.

- N ... No, I mean ... What are you talking about?

I smiled and said: "Don't worry. I told you I'm going to figure it out." Then I remembered last night and asked him: "Hey, by the way, have you seen any wizard with swords or staves in the alley?" 

I scratched his chin and said: "Last time we went to Flourish & Blotts, you were in the History section, I saw a young wizard with a golden sword. I saw one with a staff two day ago downstairs."

I got up and sat on the table thinking about it and Michael continued like a potential bookworm: "I read in one of the books you bought me on modern wizards that swords, staves and orbs are relatively new compared to wands, but they seem to be a hot trend specially in younger generation. No wonder we didn't see many of them. Also people who have them hide them pretty well, It's said that revealing what you wield can make you vulnerable in battle." He then looked at me with a proud face for knowing something that I didn't know. 

I made an invisible hand and smacked his head from behind.

- Ouch! Hey!

He rubbed his head as I looked at him with a victorious smile.

- Why did you ask?

- I had in my letter that we need to buy one of these for our school. I didn't know what they are.

His eyes sparkled again and said: "In one of the books I read, there was a reference to book called (New Era of Foci), you can buy that to find out."

'Such a useful boy! None of my deatheaters have ever helped me this much.'

- Alright. I'll go buy the book today. A staff of Hogwarts will come and pick me up in two days for an introduction to magical society. It's useful to learn more before that. Thank you Michael.

- No problem Tom.

He then started eating his breakfast with a smile that I don't think I would be able to remove from his face with my darkest magics.

************************************

Name: Tom Riddle

Titles: The Phoenix Lord (+10 Vit per 10 levels)

Race: Human

Level: 4(75%)

HP: 380/380

MP: 490/490

STR: 25

DEX: 25

VIT: 38

INT: 49

WIS: 38

AP:15

Money: 60G / 0$

Perks: Master of Magick[Lvl2], Inner Control[Lvl1], Dark Master, Genius / PP: 0 (+4 INT and +WIS per 5 lvls, +1 INT per level)

Traits:, Touched by death, MetaMorph, ParselMouth, Arsonist, Dark Vision / TP: 0]

Skills:

Wandless Magic [Level 6/200]

Meditation [Level 13/50]

Mind Arts [Level 23/100]

(Occlumency [18/25] |Legilimency [5/25] | Mind design [0/25] | ??? [0/25])

Healing arts: [Level 1/80]

Potion making: [Level 6/80]

Charms [Level 6/80]

Transfiguration [Level 6/80]

Arithmancy [Level 6/100] (New)

Ritual magic [Level 21/100]

(Astronomy[13/25] | Ancient runes[8/25] | Ritualistic Potions [0/25] | ??? [0/25])