9 Chapter Nine

The first class the next day was... much to my disappointment, transfiguration.

And guess what we had to transfigure into what? Come on, guess...

A match into a damn needle!

Narrowing my eyes at the stupid match that was wasting my damn time, I pointed at it with my wand like I was about to perform the deadliest spell in six universes.

With the intense application of my immense imagination, channeling of my immense mana potential, and 259200 seconds of knowing the spell, I transfigured the match into a needle.

... I might or might not need to buy a second and third year books at this point.

"Very well done Mister Potter. Now, try to turn it back."

I looked up at professor McGonagall and undid the transformation.

"Well done indeed. Five points to Slytherin!"

She praised and looked around at the other irritated students who were unsuccessfully waving their wands at the small wooden sticks.

"Would you mind helping others?"

I just nodded, too annoyed to keep the emotion from my voice. Standing up and ignoring everyone else, I looked over at my little brother, who managed to turn the match into the shape of a needle at least, however, the material still seemed to be wood.

Nodding internally at the progress he made, he looked over at the nearest person who was struggling more than the others.

Well, it was time to make connections.

Walking toward the one who seemed to be having the most trouble, I bent slightly at the waist and looked at what the problem was...

And almost slapped the little kid's magic stick out of his hand.

What the hell was that? It's like the wand was rejecting mana, intentionally isolating itself from any outside source.

Mana was everywhere, this whole castle was a complicated connection between magic and magic spells that connect everything together and just seeing this... Was odd, to say the least.

Taking in a deep breath, I took a step closer and decided to speak up.

"Might I offer you advice?"

The suddenness of my voice snapped the child out of the focus he was in and he flinched back. I took a closer look at his face, he was chubby with his brown hair slicked to the side and his brown eyes conveying a surprising amount of uncertainty and weariness.

Hmm, it seems that I was failing at my task already.

"Good morning, I am Ares Potter, pleasure to meet you."

The boy looked from left to right and I could see in my peripherals that the kids nearby were looking at us strangely.

"Neville Longbottom."

I looked at him for a moment and blinked. This was the Longbottom heir? Man, this guy's parents were close to my parents. I think we are related from my father's side, we were cousins.

I nodded and glanced at his wand before looking at the match on the table in front of him.

"Need some help?"

I saw his chin move up and down and I took my own wand and pointed it at the match, with an unintelligible mutter, I waved the wand the same way I memorized seconds ago and changed the match into a needle, using the skill.

Putting away the wand inside my sleeve where it disappeared into the inventory, I picked up the needle and handed it to Neville.

"Look at this closely, memorize the shape, and bite the metal if you have to in order to memorize how it feels."

He looked confused but grabbed the needle and did as I told him. I watched for a few moments as he bit the needle and even flicked it.

After what was most certainly a minute, I counted, he looked back at me and nodded.

Grabbing the wand again from my sleeve, I waved it, and the needle turned back into a match in his hand.

Motioning to the now wooden object, I watched as he grabbed his own wand and waved it in the air. Ignoring the Latin that left his mouth, I watched the wand as Neville's mana flowed from his body and into it. The wand's mana seemed to pulse, rejecting the offered mana and allowing it to enter the barrier that was surrounding and isolating it, only for it to exit from the tip, not focused at all.

The match turned into silver color and the boy's shoulders slumped in his seat, dejected.

Picking up the said needle, I held it between my fingers and flicked it once. Yup, it was metal. Nice, this was progress!

"Good job Neville, now, instead of changing wood to metal, try changing just the shape, then combine both processes and you will have it down by the next lesson."

I smiled slightly when the boy looked at me with surprise and back down at the metal stick I placed on the table and reached out to pick it up, still looking amazed.

Moving on to the next kid who was struggling, I absently wondered if I should consider my options for future careers. I mean, I did slack off until the last minute in my old life, so it would be better if I tried preparing for the future.

...Hah, Bitch, I have magic! I get gold from quests! Normal careers can suck it! I'm about to start plotting how to take over Britain from the shadows with Potter's fortune, invest in the future companies that I knew would be successful, and become the richest man in the world only to take it over and show these mortals what it's like to be ants facing a human!

...And that's what happens when you let intrusive thoughts take over.