43 Playing the Game!
{Abandoned Classroom, Hogwarts}
{2nd Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
Hogwarts is a magical castle where strange things happen almost every moment. Spells flew through the corridor as the paintings tried to warn the students to slow down. Ghosts flew around stuck in limbo. Amidst all this strangeness the sight of the currently rumored Dark Lord walking with the Saviour of Great Britain boggled a lot of minds.
Thankfully the entrance to the Owlery was located just next to the Gryffindor classroom so they didn't have to travel for long, though the rumor mill likely would have a new story by the time they arrived for their next lecture.
"Did you try all these spells before coming to Hogwarts?" Harry asked once they started walking up the steps of West Tower.
"I learned a lot of charms, transfiguration spells though were not listed in the books and I figured there was a reason for this so I didn't force the issue," Rigel admitted, plus his main focus after learning all the spells from 1st year was to see what would be the result if he levels up a spell to its max level.
'I'm so close as well...' Rigel thought as he opened his spells interface. A long list of spells appeared in front of him.
---
[Spells]
[Color Change Charm Lv - 3]
[Wand-Lighting Charm Lv - 4]
[Wand-Extinguishing Charm Lv - 4]
[Verdimillious Charm Lv - 2]
[Levitation Charm Lv - 9]
[Softening Charm Lv - 2]
[Unlocking Charm Lv - 4]
[Locking Charm Lv - 2]
[Mending Charm Lv - 5]
[Smokescreen Spell Lv - 2]
[Knockback Jinx Lv - 8]
[Severing Charm Lv - 3]
---
Looking at the long list Rigel focused on his highest leveled spell.
---
[Levitation Charm: Level 9 {8452/9000}]
[The Levitation charm is one of the simplest magic that deals with gravity manipulation. The control and stability of the charm depend on the caster's focus at a lower level though at a higher level, the charm becomes more stable.]
[Wand Movements: Flick]
[Mana Cost: 1 Mana/min]
[Level 5 Bonus: Can be cast silently]
---
'I could level up this spell today after classes, I want to see what bonus a level 10 spell would have.' Rigel thought. The magic system was a little overwhelming as he had to practically go through a grinding process to level up a spell. Some spells were easier to gain exp from like the Wand Lightning charm. It costs little to no mana but there really was no point in continuously learning that spell.
'There were two bonuses I got when the levitation charm leveled up to level 5. First was that I was able to use the charm without speaking it out loud, and also the Wand Movements needed to use the spells went from Swish -> Flick to just Flick. Would it eliminate the need for wand movements if I level it up to level 10?' Rigel thought.
The question has been his main motivator to focus on leveling up the Levitation charm and the Knockback Jinx. Aside from the varying amount of EXP he got from every attempt at casting a particular spell, the amount of EXP needed to level up a spell also differed.
The Wand Lightning charm needs just 100 EXP per level at the start and the requirement increases by 100 per level. The Levitation charm and the Knockback jinx on the other hand needed 1000EXP per level with it increasing at the rate of 1000 per level as well.
At first, he had been worried that it was related to affinities but after learning spells from both Charms and the Dark Arts Jinxes he realized that affinity affected the amount of exp he got. For every charm he practiced, he would get 2 EXP per cast. But for every jinx or curse he practiced, he would get 3 EXP per cast.
'I need to dominate Evelyn soon, she gives me an affinity with the Dark arts and if I'm right she could push my Dark Arts affinity closer to 30 which should give me a plus 3 EXP boost per cast.' Rigel thought. He had completed 2 of her objectives or rather collected 2 of her objectives last night.
'Though I could slow down and leverage the fact that I haven't performed the Core Expansion ritual yet with anyone to get into contact with more females...' The choice was obvious but Rigel was hesitant to spread his reputation like this so soon considering his actions likely would have consequences.
The timeline he was in was already deviating enough, still, he was becoming more and more inclined to go through that route.
"Why are you even sure that the journalist would listen to you?" Harry asked. "From what I know about journalists they are notoriously hard to negotiate with..."
Rigel gave Harry a grin, the grin dripping with maliciousness as he spoke, "I nearly forgot about her you know. If she hadn't written these articles then I would have forgotten she existed."
He looked at Harry who had taken a step back from him and shrugged, "Listen, dude, everyone in the world is out for themselves, you would find very few people who would generally care about you. You are the heir to a Most Ancient and Noble house, in addition to being the Boy Who Lived, get used to the idea of using the power that you have and also being targetted for it. No one would generally be on your side, everyone has their reasons... even me."
"Plus she came after me, it was only natural that I retaliate." Rigel shrugged, his sudden transformation shedding the dark mood instantly. Harry looked at the casual way in which Rigel flipped through stages. The grin filled with dark intentions was still in his mind as they arrived at the Owlery. Hedwig immediately flapped its wings as they landed on Harry's shoulders, her claws lightly digging into him as she hooted complaints at him.
'Why couldn't I have gotten the ability to talk to owls instead of snakes, everything would have become so much easier.' Harry thought as he allowed Hedwig to nip his finger as Rigel folded the parchment and came close.
"You up for a little trip girl?" Harry asked and after another knock on his temple, the owl hooted her approval.
"Who do you want to send it to?" Harry asked as he realized that he had never looked at the name of the journalist who wrote all those articles.
"To Rita Skeeter, I don't know the address but I'm sure Hedwig would be able to find her..." Rigel smiled as he placed the letter into Hedwig's pouch.
The Owl hooted in approval one last time as it flew away.
"What did you even say in that thing?" Harry asked.
"Nothing much just asking for a meeting to smooth the misunderstanding between us, I was very gentle in the phrasing," Rigel grinned before he continued, "Let's go or we'll be late for charms!"
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{Daily Prophet, Diagon Alley}
{2nd Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
Rita Skeeter was having the time of her life, her quill flew through a parchment as she leaned back lost in her fantasies. A beautiful white owl flew up to her office window and tapped lightly on it.
'Hmm, did something else happen,' Rita thought as she walked up to the window, this wasn't an owl that she recognized but as the beautiful snowy bird extended her leg she took out the scuffed piece of parchment that was in there.
Excitement rose in her about the possibility of another juicy tip but her hands froze as her expressions contorted as she read through the single line of text written on it.
'''Dear Miss. Beetle
Don't you think it's time we meet, I can see you love chatting about me. I'll be waiting outside the Slytherin Common room at exactly 6:00 PM tonight.
Rigel Peresus Black'''
...
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AN - Next target!
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