73 Old Man
The next morning when Ben woke up, it was as if he had opened his eyes to a whole new world; he felt as if he was levitating. With a spring in his steps when he went down to the breakfast, he was shocked to see a pair of owls swooping in through the window, a single long package tied between them. With a thud, they dropped it on the kitchen table, right in front of Ben's father, Nigel Brown.
The owls hooted at Nigel, asking him to quickly untie the package from their legs so that they could finally be free of this burden.
Ben's mother Thea, who had been preparing breakfast in the kitchen, came in and threw two pieces of juicy bacon to the owls. They gobbled it up in a single bite and flew out of the window, looking for their next assignment.
Owls really worked tirelessly in this world; Ben had a newfound appreciation for being reborn as a human.
"It's here?" asked Thea excitedly.
"What's here?" Ben asked, really confused.
'Who would send such a huge package this early in the morning?' he thought.
Ever since the incident on his birthday, he'd get a bad feeling every time an owl came in.
"Ah, Ben. It's good that you're here. Come, open it, it's for you," said Nigel, beckoning him towards the table.
Ben stared at the one-and-a-half-meter-long package with even greater suspicion, knowing that it was for him.
"What is it?" said Ben, prodding the package with his wand, finally finding some use for it as Nigel had been unreasonably strict in following the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery.
"Oh, stop being such a wuss and open it, will you?" said Thea, snatching his wand, leaving him no choice but to open the package with his delicate hands.
His delicate hands, which were now strong enough to peel the bark off of a tree trunk easily, swiftly removed the packaging and unveiled a brand-new broomstick.
It was the flashiest of all brooms Ben had seen to date, a Comet 260. Ben didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. It was a miracle in itself that his father was giving him a broom, but why did it have to be this one?
"How is it? This is for working so hard at school. The best in your grade? I couldn't believe it at first." Said Nigel, completely oblivious to the look on Ben's face; men are not really known for reading the subtleties, are they?
"Do you like it?" asked Thea, reading the unimpressed look on Ben's face.
"Of course he does. Look at him, he's shocked," said Nigel with a laugh.
"It's the best broomstick there is, tried and trusted. They've got their patented Horton-Keitch Braking Charm on it, stops before you can even think it. Isn't that wonderful?" He asked with such enthusiasm that Ben had to shake his head in agreement.
The Comet Trading Company's finest racing broom, the Comet 260, was widely known as a great first broom. It handled like butter and stopped at a moment's notice, great for Quidditch players looking to avoid flying off site or overshooting the goals, but in truth, this brand was already behind its times.
The Nimbus series completely beat it in terms of acceleration and speed. While the Comet 260 could only go 0 to 50 miles per hour in ten seconds, the Nimbus 2000 could speed up twice as fast, and the newly released Nimbus 2001 could even go 0 to 120 miles per hour in just ten seconds.
It was outperformed in terms of value too, with even a mass-produced broomstick like Cleansweep 8 being equally fast. The only things going for this broom were its looks and its patented braking charm.
'Well, beggars can't be choosers,' he thought, running his fingers along the spine of the broomstick.
It was already a miracle that Nigel was letting him have a broomstick. He won't have to sneak out at night to fly anymore. It was another miracle that they hadn't found out yet. It was only a matter of time before Maeve spilt the beans.
"This is wicked, cheers dad," said Ben, taking the broomstick out of the box.
"Now, now, let's not be hasty. Let me show you how to safely ride a broomstick," said Nigel hastily when he saw Ben mounting the Comet 260.
"You're too late, old man. This bird's already left the nest," he said with a smirk and whooshed out of the Kitchen window, leaving a trail of sparks behind.
'Tch, so flashy,' he thought, looking back. The Comet Trading Company was doing everything it could to attract new customers, which included adding flashy charms for their young customers.
"Old-old man! Me? Do I look old to you? You rascal!" Ben could hear curses flying out of the house, but he didn't care.
Even though it wasn't the best choice, it was still a lot better than his current broomstick, which was barely holding on. And to be fair to Nigel, Comet 260 was the best broomstick one could afford on a ministry salary; Ben sometimes forgot that not everyone could turn worthless junk into gold. After flying a few rounds around the house, Ben was grateful for this gift.
--
After getting an earful from Nigel and a stomach full from Thea, Ben went back to his room. Now that the old man had gone off to the Ministry, doing whatever they do in The Department of Magical Transportation and Thea got busy with the rabbits, Ben too was free to do what he had been dying to.
A dark spiralling portal opened in the Brown Family Cottage, transporting the youngest of the Browns to a dull and depressing place. Despite the dullness surrounding him, the smile on Ben's face shined brighter than the sun. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the dull air of this place and-
"FUS"
A blast of air shot out from his mouth, leaving a resounding shockwave in its wake that echoed throughout the dull and empty island.
"Let's go! That was much stronger than before," he said in excitement.
Earlier, his shout could only toss a table across the room, but now it could definitely fling even a grown man out the door; Ben could finally witness the rag-doll effect in real life. He just needed some volunteers.
'I'll make a trip to Knockturn Alley later,' he thought and opened his status window.
When the mist coalesced into a screen in front of him, Ben was left pleasantly surprised.
--
[Name: Benedict Nigel Brown.
Species: Human[Wizard].
Job: [Apprentice Mage], [Enchanter(Novice)], [Alchemist(Novice)]
Title: Dragonborn[Level 39].
Vitality: 490
Magicka: 495
[Deathly Hallows[1/3]: Invisibility Cloak△]
[Thu'um] : [Unrelenting Force(1/3)]
[Familiars] :[Stoat(Silvaticus), Dragon(Norene), Owl(Aquila)]
[[SKILLS]]
[Alteration[Level 39(Apprentice)]
[Conjuration[Level 39(Apprentice)]
[Destruction[Level 36(Apprentice)]
[Illusion[Level 39(Apprentice)]
[Restoration[Level 38(Apprentice)]
--
Not only had he levelled up, but he had also gained five extra points in Magicka; one point per soul absorbed. While it seemed minuscule, one had to remember that he had absorbed the souls of animals like wolves and foxes. They didn't have any Magicka in the first place, and they were not even magical.
This gave Ben big hopes for the future, 'perhaps I should apply for a job at the Azkaban' he thought.
Scrolling down, he saw his skills were very close to reaching level 40, which made him even more excited; transmuting iron into gold didn't seem like a distant dream anymore.
--Dreamscape--
Ben will unlock Adept spells at level 40. Looks like he'll be able to afford that Nimbus whatever, after all.
I like playing nature sounds in the background while working, so I made a relaxing rain track for myself, check it out and add it to your playlist if you like it.
https://www.youtube.com/live/nxpL6TUjdp4?feature=share
Or simply search OrcSama on YouTube.
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