35: Trace and Harry the Scapegoat
The Trace, a system used by the Ministry of Magic to monitor underage wizards, functions like a binding surveillance system.
Before leaving Hogwarts, students receive a letter warning them not to use magic outside of school.
This system is as mysterious as the Hogwarts admission list, but John wanted to try and see if he could dismantle the Trace.
If he succeeded, he wouldn't have to fear being warned for using magic.
Other people might not be able to do this, but John had alchemy skills.
Even though his alchemy level wasn't high, the Trace used on young wizards wasn't too complex, making it a perfect practice target.
With determination flickering in his eyes, John began researching his wand.
The Trace is a monitoring method, or magic, extended by the notification letter students receive when leaving Hogwarts each year.
It's like an annual renewal, indicating that the magic content within the Trace isn't high.
Moreover, the Trace's effectiveness isn't foolproof, primarily monitoring the location of magic usage. If there are adult wizards nearby, the magic won't be attributed to the student.
In pure-blood families, young wizards using magic isn't unusual, and the Ministry of Magic doesn't intervene.
In John's view, the Trace seemed more like a tool to restrict Muggle-born wizards.
"This clearly prevents Muggle-born wizards from doing anything," John grumbled.
He acknowledged that privileges existed everywhere, and it was normal for pure-blood families to have advantages over Muggle-borns.
'However, being targeted like this is irritating.'
After thorough research, John successfully extracted a thin, transparent silver thread from his wand.
Using silver tweezers, he carefully placed it into a test tube and retrieved another wand.
This wand, made from materials he had gathered in the Forbidden Forest, looked similar but wasn't as finely crafted as those made by Ollivander.
It was cherry wood with a unicorn hair core, eleven inches long.
He intended to use it as a spare wand.
"Now I'm all set," he said.
John then took out the vial containing the Magic Blood. After shaking it, he prepared to drink it.
Originally silver, the mixture had turned red after adding dragon blood.
"Hmm.. interesting.."
He opened the vial, noting it had no particular smell. Frowning, he muttered to himself, "This probably doesn't taste like orange juice."
Realizing he had to drink it eventually, John took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and downed the potion.
"Oh, I thought it would huRTTTTT!!!!!!!!! ACK!!!"
The Magic Blood coursed down John's throat, feeling like a powerful potion.
"Hugh! He..lp... ugh!"
His body began to heat up, and he clutched his throat as his face turned red with pain.
Shatter!
The vial slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor.
Hearing the commotion, Watson Wick rushed in, having been about to check on John for the twelfth time.
"Heugk! Ugg..!"
"Oh my god, John, what's happening to you?"
Watson ran over, but as soon as he touched John, he recoiled from the heat.
Seeing John's pained expression, Watson tried to think of a way to cool him down.
A wave of magical energy emanated from John, causing everything in the basement to float.
"Ugh! G..Get out, g..get out NOW!!"
With the last of his rationality, John knew he couldn't let Watson stay or he would get hurt. He waved his hand.
Without using a wand, he sent Watson floating out of the basement.
"John!"
"L..Lock the door! Don't come in!"
John's entire skin was red, and the magical energy waves made the basement a chaotic mess.
The Wicks could only fret outside the basement.
"M..Magic power is i..increasing.." John felt his body's changes acutely as his pain gradually subsided.
Some young wizards experience magic outbursts in their childhood, which John had never encountered before.
However, he now felt as though he was in such a state, where he felt like a god walking among mortals.
Without a wand, he could manipulate everything with just a thought.
"T..this.."
Under his control, objects around him transformed continuously, sometimes turning into a cat, and sometimes into a dog.
"Is getting.. "
An owl flew across the ceiling, which had originally been a chair.
"Out of hand.."
He exerted all his will to control himself, yet the magic waves still extended outward, causing the grass outside to grow and the apple tree to bear large fruits.
"Stop!" John hammered the floor with his fists, roaring like a trapped beast.
The basement gradually returned to calm.
"Huff.. Haah.. huff.."
Everything floating in the basement fell heavily, and John lay there, panting heavily.
[Ding, Magic Blood process complete]
[Gained Dragon Characteristics: Fire Swallow, Intimidation, Hardening, Dragon Tongue]
[Fire Swallow: Increased affinity and resistance to fire-based magic]
[Intimidation: Increased deterrence against lower beings]
[Hardening: Increased resistance to physical attacks]
[Dragon Tongue: Learned the language of dragons]
John's body regained control, and he felt as though he had just recovered from a severe fever.
His clothes were drenched.
Propping himself up, John cast a cleaning spell on himself, cursing under his breath, "The system didn't mention this process would be so ...excruciating."
Had he known, he wouldn't have used it at home. Now, the basement was destroyed.
But oh well.
Despite the grueling process, the gains were enormous.
Aside from acquiring the four dragon traits, his magic power had significantly increased.
....
[Magic Power: Level 3 (635/1500)]
[Spells: Alohomora (Level 3), Levitation Charm (Level 4), Transfiguration (Level 2, Dragon Form available), Disillusionment Charm (Level 4), Lumos (Level 2), Incendio (Level 4), Confringo (Level 3), Fiendfyre (Level 3), Occlumency (Level 3)...]
[Skills: Short Weapon Mastery (Level 7), Great Sword Mastery (Level 4), Firearm Mastery (Level 1), Runes Mastery (Level 1), Alchemy Mastery (Level 1)]
[Blessings: Robust physique(Result of the hardening trait), Quick Attack, Precision, Acadamic Scholar 2.0, Pilot, Long-Distance Running, Sword Dance, Night Stalker, Troll Nemesis, Knight, Fire Swallow, Intimidation, Hardening, Dragon Tongue]
....
In addition to the blessings, his magic power surged by 500 experience points, and two fire-based spells had also leveled up.
John speculated this was due to the Fire Swallow attribute. Furthermore, his Transfiguration spell had changed.
Although it hadn't leveled up, it now had a [Dragon Form] option.
However, upon selecting it, it was grayed out, likely requiring a higher level of Transfiguration.
The advanced form of Transfiguration was Animagus, a spell that allowed one to transform into an animal.
Currently, there are seven known legal Animagi, including Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor.
John estimated that when his Transfiguration spell reached level 4, he might be able to perform the Animagus transformation.
Leveling up the Transfiguration spell was challenging. After reaching level 2, John hadn't seen any progress for a long time.
With four remaining points from his first year, John glanced at his skills and added one point each to Runes and Alchemy.
After the upgrade, both skills turned gray, indicating they required more accumulation before the next upgrade.
He also added a point to Occlumency, leaving one point in reserve for emergencies.
"The system isn't omnipotent," he mused.
Cleaning the basement was easy with a few swishes of his wand.
Under the worried gaze of his parents, John emerged, only to be subjected to a thorough check-up like a ragdoll.
He stopped his dad from checking his private parts and assured them he was fine.
After promising multiple times that it wouldn't happen again, his parents finally dropped the idea of going to the hospital.
"Luckily, I removed the Trace; otherwise, the Ministry of Magic would have been here by now."
As John felt relieved, he noticed an owl flying past the window towards another house.
If he remembered correctly, that was 4 Privet Drive.
.....
Harry, who had only been back for a few days, used the method Hagrid taught him to ensure the Dursleys no longer dared to boss him around.
He followed the school's rules and didn't use magic, only taking out his wand to scare them a bit.
But even this resulted in him receiving a warning letter from the Ministry of Magic.
Harry was confused. Could he not even use his wand to scare people?
As the instigator of all this, John remembered that Harry's wand was also tracked by the Trace.
John was fine, but Harry had to take the fall. John silently apologized. It was a case of "sitting at home, yet trouble came from the sky."
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