Progression

Heading out of the RoR I rushed down through the castle with 'Furtim' casted onto myself, heading directly towards my room in the Slytherin dungeons. I managed to arrive there undetected, heading into my room stealthily. Considering how late the Astronomy class ran and how I was seen as air here in Slytherin I gathered nobody even noticed I was gone.

Un-casting 'Furtim' in my room I sat down on my bed for a moment, noting that it would soon be early morning. Tiredness and hunger overwhelmed my senses which I noted mentally would be an issue for me down the line. If I stored food in the extension pouch in the future, I could negate hunger whilst in the RoR however what about my fatigue? Was there a way to negate that?

Whether it be a spell or potion I hoped there was something out there that could allow my body to rest faster, maybe even only needing a couple hours of sleep as opposed to the usual 8 hours minimum. It was something I would have to look into down the line. Looking up at the time I noted it was around time for breakfast and headed off towards the great hall at a fast pace. I noticed as I walked through the Slytherin common room this time that a lot more eyes were placed onto me and the usual scorn was now replaced with sneers. It made me realise that these Slytherins probably had a plan concocted against me now after letting me roam free for a few days…

I couldn't care less about that sort of thing now though, the sneering faces were returned with a cold glance from me as I headed towards breakfast, craving some food in my stomach after a long night…

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Sitting down in the great hall I scanned all the tables as I ate my fill of food. Nothing really caught my interest though, maybe a few characters I noticed from the canon but other than that nothing to note about. Looking at the copious amount of food in front of me I wondered if I could grab some of it 'to go', placing it in my extension pouch in the long term. What would be the best food for long term storage? Probably jerky or something. I wondered if I could just go into the kitchens and ask the house elves there for some…

My wandering mind was cut short as I took a swig of my coffee, noting that someone was approaching me. To my surprise it was Snape. I immediately put my guard up, knowing that he would probably try and pry information out of me. As Snape arrived behind me, I spoke out flatly;

"What can I help you with today, Professor"

I couldn't see his expression as I continued to drink my coffee which was revitalising me, waking me up. He seemed to scoff slightly as he started to speak;

"That owl you mentioned to me has arrived at the Owlery this morning, seems like you own quite the speedy one"

Nyx was already back? It had only been around 4 days since I sent Nyx off to Newquay and New Leaf, how had Nyx managed to get there and come back here in that time?

"Thanks for the notification, Professor"

I acted pretty blunt towards Snape, cleaning up my meal in front of me and heading off immediately after, not sparing him a glance. If it wasn't for his negligence with his words and his rush to get information from me for Dumbledore, I wouldn't have to keep an eye out for annoying Slytherins who wanted to put me in my place. It made me wonder if Snape even had a conscious on that point considering he of all people should know what being bullied was like. If he did have a conscious in that regard then he was all the more at fault for his actions.

Hearing about Nyx though improved my mood as I headed off to my first lesson, instead of the library for break today I planned on visiting Nyx at the Owlery.

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Break time came around quickly as the lessons weren't anything difficult. I headed out of the castle towards the Owlery on the cliff outside. Climbing up the many steps I could hear the hoots of owls from within. Heading in I could see the many different Owls looking down at me, some were also asleep probably weary after long flights.

"Nyx"

I called out to Nyx within the Owlery and as I did Nyx descended from the top of the Owlery. Seeing Nyx's impressive entrance, I felt a chuckle escape my lips.

"Look at you claiming the top, seems that your pride runs deep"

"Hoot!"

Nyx responded even though a letter appeared to be in its mouth. Taking the letter out I immediately noticed the hand writing. It was Nanas. A warm smile plastered my face as I opened the letter reading the contents. It was filled with well-wishes, what was happening at the orphanage, what they were doing with the 'surprise funding' and how they missed me. The originally detached me I had become since I stepped foot in this school melted a bit reading the letter over a couple of times.

I noted at one point Nana mentioned about Nyx explaining how intelligent the owl was and Melony's obsession with Nyx.

"That reminds me… Nyx, are you a 'he' or a 'she'?"

"HOOT!?"

Nyx reacted violently, pecking my hand that was holding the letter. I gritted my teeth at the sharp pain looking at the offended owl that seemed to be saying 'Of course I'm a female how did you not know?!'

"Sorry Nyx, that manager at Eeylop's always called you little guy and even referred to you as 'him' so I just assumed that… never mind… I apologise"

"Hoot!"

Nyx seemed to reluctantly accept my apology despite her pride. It seemed ridiculous that the owner of the Eeylop's got the gender of an owl of all things wrong however considering Nyx's feistiness and aloof nature I imagined Nyx never let even the owner get a good look at her. If I recalled he did mention about never being able to get a good look at her eyes due to her 'defensive' nature.

Telling owls genders apart after all was usually down to colour and size. With Nyx's smaller than usual size and jet-black feathers showing no obvious signs of being female, the manager at Eeylop's must have just assumed Nyx was male. Nyx was also pretty vocal for a female screech owl who were usually known to be the quiet type so that's another layer of confusion. If he was able to get a closer look at her he probably would have noticed his error by Nyx never let him get a good look due to her own pride.

Nyx jumped over onto my shoulder which seemed to be her favourite perch after feeling like she was ready to forgive me fully. Nana within the letter also marvelled at the little owls' speed explaining how it essentially darted into New Leaf's grounds early morning.

"How are you so damn fast Nyx? It's only been four days. Did you spend hardly anytime at New Leaf?"

"Hoot…"

It was annoying having to guess what Nyx was saying but I felt like she had a desire to come back and see me as soon as possible despite our short time together. I gave her black feathers a stroke as I revelled in the uniqueness of her eyes staring at me. It was reminiscent of the night sky I saw last night during Astronomy class.

From London to Newquay and back it was around 500 miles of distance. Owls could reach speeds of 40 miles an hour at top speeds so it was a 24 hour round trip. Usually though, travelling for 12 hours would cause an owl to be exhausted and need a lot of rest in order to travel that same amount back. It seemed as though my little Nyx had quite the stamina in her, whether that stamina was filled by desire to return to me or something she always had.

I stayed with Nyx until the end of break, giving her some food and also taking care of her a bit. I planned to let her rest here for a while before sending her off with any other letters…

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Days passed and formed into weeks then months after Nyx's arrival at Hogwarts. I spent my days with a schedule laid out for me now that I was able to access the RoR with ease due to 'Furtim'. Abusing that study, I would spend the majority of my evenings there when I had the time until early morning, sneaking back to the dungeons just before breakfast. The occasional attempts at 'putting me in my place' occurred in these months in Slytherin however I grew used to outmanoeuvring the now seething Slytherins who weren't ever able to land any proper hits on me in any regard.

My progress with Occlumency ascended to new heights as the content stored with the library zone in the RoR was abundant enough to allow me to have a proper method in practicing it. It blew my original practice method out the water as the walls around my mind fortified to a much stronger level. I wasn't conceited enough to say it was impenetrable after the months spent here however it was at a level that most would have difficulty trying to pry into my mind, even those like Dumbledore.

I even started to touch upon the branch of Occlumency used in medieval times that suppressed emotions. It functioned like putting a wall around the part of the mind that processed emotions, causing the wizard to become cold and calm. It was a chilling experience when used as it essentially purged me of my stray thoughts and feelings, making me only focus on my goal at the time. It was a form of Occlumency I would only use when necessary to survive, extended use could kill off my emotions in the long term, driving me insane and skewing my moral compass.

Regardless it was still useful to learn. After Occlumency was my strides in potion making. I was still a bit off from developing an Animagus potion considering its complexity however I was getting close to being able to create one. In my downtime when I didn't feel like practicing that specific potion, I developed the 'Protein Potion' that the manager of The Apothecary informed me about. It was an easy potion to make and create batches of, with me now having many vials of it stored in my extension pouch.

Whenever I stayed for long times in the combat zone practicing, I would come out exhausted and sweaty. Due to the movements I had to make in order to fight the dummies I would exert all my muscles to the fullest. In this state, it was perfect to drink the 'Protein Potion' so as I finished up in the combat zone I would down a potion absorbing it effects. It was efficient in rebuilding my body however the taste was truly disgusting beyond belief.

A good medicine would never be pleasant though and it was working long term. Compared to when I joined Hogwarts a few months back my body was looking a lot stronger and denser. Physical strength was often neglected by Wizards however I rejected that notion as a physical body was what housed magic, that of which we as witches and wizards all treasured so much. Whilst making the magic within fuller and purer was necessary, the body that held the magic also needed to be strong enough also I believed.

With Occlumency now at the level it was, it was safe to say my second goal had been reached after the cloaking spell. The next two goals were the creation of a spell I sought to make and finally the Animagus potion which I predicted would be ready nearer to the end of the year. I was progressing at a fast pace considering all of this as I initially expected the Animagus potion to be created beginning of next year at the earliest originally.

Now for my third goal, the creation of a spell, it was a tall goal to reach. I wanted to create a spell that fused the muggle science purebloods looked down upon and magic. The muggle science I was referring to was the study of the human body, anatomy. I gained a lot of knowledge in my previous life reading anything that interested me and one thing I was always fascinated about was how the human body functioned. The veins, nerves, muscles, five viscera how each had a role to play to allow a human to be alive.

When I arrived in this world, I had a thought come to mind, with magic being as miraculous as it was, would it be possible to use that same magic alongside with knowledge of the human body to strengthen parts of the body or even the whole body for a set amount of time?

If magic flowed into my arms, the muscles and veins fortifying them, I could potentially punch with a force far above human capability. Channel that same magic into my legs and my speed could increase exponentially also. If the control reached an incredible height, then magic could also be directed into the nerves allowing for increased reaction time. It was a distant dream when I first visualised this idea when I was at New Leaf however now with this RoR at my disposal, the magic capacity I had and the control I had improved over the years it could be possible.

That was the main part of this spell that made it difficult after all, control. Unlike casting a spell from a wand or cloaking myself with a blanket of magic over my body, I was channelling magic into the crevices of my body, into my veins, muscles and my nerves. This sort of process would be incredibly dangerous and one misstep could lead to the magic bursting my body from the inside.

If I was to survive and thrive in this world though I needed to take risks. My advantage was my last life's knowledge on the subject matter and the fact my control was my strong point. If I could direct the magic in me towards all my veins and muscles, I could then create a spell that could be cast allowing that magic to move there automatically, or at least with less need to control it so finely.

Since I gained access to the RoR I consistently attempted to create this spell from the ground up. Sending my magic around my body I did so slowly and carefully as to not cause any damage, finding the right locations the magic needed to go to in order to 'augment' me. This process I repeated for a few hours a day each time I was in the RoR. Months had passed now with decent improvements towards my goal.

The final part of creating the spell though would be to have my magic spread throughout my body simultaneously through the paths I deemed safe and useful in order to augment myself fully. From there I could tweak the spell to augment certain parts of my body instead of the entire thing so as to conserve magic. Even though my capacity was higher than average this spell, even when just testing to find the right paths, was a magic hungry demon.

A good by-product of me strengthening my body with 'Protein Potions' was that as I did so, creating this spell ended up becoming easier as my bodies strength allowed me to be a bit more forceful in guiding the magic around my body. Whether the fact that I used the 'Protein Potions' after exhausting my magic supply played a factor in strengthening the magic pathways within me or not was up to debate however I didn't complain either way with the progression.

If I succeeded in creating this spell, I would have my own ability that was unique to me. The difference between learning spells and making one was its flexibility after all. You can sometimes switch a spells effect, like I did with 'Arresto Momentum' turning it into 'Silencio Momentum' but minute control over a spell was impossible when the spell was already built. Knowing how the spell was built though step by step allowed a wizard to alter it as much as they wanted and with this spell, I would be able to augment different parts of me and as the control of my magic grew, it could even grow as to allow me to augment things like my brain or heart.

Honestly speaking I thought the times spent in New Leaf doing the ET spell and the minor telekinesis were a waste considering how Harry and Tom Riddle both were able to produce greater effects at a younger age. It made me almost feel like I feel behind them even though I had 'talent' and 'blood'. This thought process ended up changing as I started to look at the bigger picture. When they were young, they had no control over what they were doing. If they got emotional, the magic would trigger as a response. In my case though I was controlling the magic to do what I 'wanted' rather than aiding me in a time of emotional distress or danger. The difference in control and the fact I practiced daily doing those two spells wandless made the control over my magic far greater than my peers.

This control ended up showing more prominently as this year progressed. Seeing the control that students had and even teachers had I felt a confidence that my ability was actually above theirs. This was all thanks to the 'waste' I thought practicing the ET spell and telekinesis was. If it wasn't for my obsessive practicing when I was younger with them, I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today with this spell creation.

Soon, it would soon be completed. When the spell was complete, I could then get used to using it in combat. My duelling ability had increased immensely thanks to the combat zone in the RoR but it was reaching a plateau due to the ability of the dummies. It made me think that I needed stronger opponents to go any further now, especially after this spell was created.

I headed back to my room after yet another night in the RoR. Using 'Furtim' and heading through the castle down to my room was second nature now. I had also been mindful of my body compared to when I first went to the RoR, storing food in my extension pouch. I also made sure I got the bare minimum amount of sleep I needed before lessons every day. At first it was tough but humans were based on schedules. As I repeated each day like clockwork, my body got accustomed to the sleep time.

Entering into my room I looked to the corner of it, on a chair was a nice woolly jumper and, on the desk, next to the chair was a sleek black pen, something you wouldn't see in a 'Wizarding school' usually. Seeing these two items a smile rose onto my lips.

I opted to stay in Hogwarts over Christmas as I wanted to focus on increasing my strength. With everyone going home for Christmas and lessons being out it gave me a lot of time to practice in the RoR. It was well worth staying but I did find myself thinking about New Leaf and the Christmases there with all the kids running around happy. Nana and Melony acting as wardens almost, giving the kids presents and such. With the donation they got from me, they gave the kids a great Christmas it seemed.

What I didn't expect though was presents coming my way from them both despite staying in Hogwarts. The woolly jumper from Nana and the pen from Melony who left a note alongside explaining how 'weird it was to use quills like an old man'. I had sent Nyx out to deliver a letter with some little gifts not expecting anything back however I was truly surprised when Nyx flew into the great hall breakfast time on Christmas day with a care package and letter.

Then again considering their care for me maybe I was silly for not expecting anything. After all, they were probably the only two people on this earth that truly cared for me… besides maybe Nyx but she's an owl.

It was now well into February, soon to be March. The year was progressing fast and with my spell creation on the cusp of completion I would only have one last thing to achieve for this year. After that, I would be confident in my ability to fight back if need be. The Descendant of Merlin news continued to circulate as the year progressed here, speculations of who, what, when, where and why. Rita Skeeter was even writing some… less than savoury conspiracy theories on who the Descendant could be.

The respite I had was something I was grateful for. Even with the Slytherins occasional attempts at 'bullying' me I was still having a peaceful time here at Hogwarts. That would change though when my legacy is discovered, all eyes would be placed on me much like what happened to Harry. When I first arrived here, those gazes would have crushed me with their pressure, not allowing me to do anything, restricting my movements.

Now though, especially after reaching my final goal, I would welcome the eyes of the world as Oz Emrys.