Chapter 1[Edit]
"Nero Blackheard... I can overlook the improperly sliced acromantula fangs. After all, not much can be expected from you... Mr. Blackheard. But inhaling fumes from a potion with hallucinogenic properties. In my class. Is unacceptable. -10 points for Slytherin."
As the student, struggling with strong dizziness caused by the intense fumes from the cauldron, looked up from the bubbling potion, his gaze met the figure of Severus Snape. The vision of the Potions teacher was hazy and indistinct, as if he were looking through a layer of thick fog. Snape, in his black, flowing robes, seemed more like a shadow than a real person.
His face, usually clear and stern, was now distorted, and the dark eyes that usually pierced students through and through became even more menacing, resembling two black holes absorbing light. Snape's long, greasy hair fell around his face like dark curtains, intensifying the impression of impenetrable darkness.
Snape's lips moved, forming words that reached the student as if from a distance, hazy and incomprehensible. His figure, in this momentary disorientation, seemed unreal and terrifying, as if he were emerging from the darkness to scold for the unsuccessful work on the potion. Severus Snape's entire being emanated a cold, stern authority that penetrated the student through and through, reminding him that there was no room for weakness or mistakes in this class.
Snape, noticing the student's condition, did not show even a shred of sympathy. His cold gaze seemed to say everything—only perfection mattered here, and anyone who did not achieve it had to suffer the consequences. The student, fighting dizziness and blurred vision, felt Snape's menacing presence crushing him even more, intensifying the feeling of uncertainty and fear.
"To the Hospital Wing. Mr. Weasley, please take Mr. Blackheard. And the rest of you, prepare the vials for assessment."
Nero did not fully understand what was happening around him. He felt a tug on his arm accompanied by the insult "bloody snakes..." And that was the end of contact with the outside world. However, inside Nero's mind, there was a commotion that did not arise from inhaling the elixir.
Nero felt a severe headache, his breathing quickened, and information was forcibly transferred into his mind. At first, he thought it was a side effect of the elixir—after all, acromantula fangs, when heated to the right temperature, emit smoke that, when inhaled into the lungs, causes excessive dopamine production in the brain.
However, most of the memories forcibly transferred to his head were not sensitive to those that trigger the production of the hormone of happiness in the brain.
On the contrary, Nero's mind was transported 24 hours back to a man with an identical appearance, name, and surname but with a completely different history from the hard life Nero had here.
The memories showed a boy whose life was destroyed at every level of difficulty, gaining recognition from a family who treated him as second-rate, experiencing a lack of love and loneliness, which resulted in tendencies toward aggression. To the mix of memories, which were largely uninteresting, they prepared for a large dose of pop culture from anime, games, and comics—one about the world he currently lives in, the Harry Potter saga.
Harry Potter, an oddball with a different skeletal structure. Nero had never exchanged a word with him; after all, Slytherins particularly disliked mingling with Gryffindors. It was amusing to recall from his memories that Hogwarts education began at the age of 11.
In Nero's opinion, it was foolish. Currently being 18, he had difficulty mixing spell profiles and honestly doubted that at 11, he could properly control the flow of many spells, even a simple Levitation Charm.
Nero remembered how the red-haired Gryffindor, the same one currently dragging his unconscious body to Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing, had once broken a feather so badly that half the wing stuck in the ceiling. The applied exclusion clauses were unacceptable. To take an unexpected pull at full throttle and expect the car to go slowly was absurd.
Nero now struggled with his identity. Was he an eighteen-year-old wizard in his first year at Hogwarts or a 24-year-old painter without life and purpose? Initial considerations of transmigration into the body of his specific version, or even reincarnation into this world after death in the first, perplexed him.
However, remembering the basics of magic at Hogwarts, Nero knew that the core of magic lies at the border of the soul and the body. It largely stems from the soul itself. Given that there weren't two cores but one, the first possibility regarding transmigration was invalid and untrue. So reincarnation seemed to be the answer.
"What did he inhale?"
"I don't know... ma'am..."
"Acromantula fang decoction... Hehe... good stuff."
"A drugged snake..."
"Mr. Weasley, we'll thank you now. And about your vocabulary regarding friends from other houses," said Professor McGonagall. "Now go back to class... Mr. Blackheard was lucky you didn't inhale that for a few more seconds. Another moment and your lungs would have turned to stone. But with just a simple cleansing spell, your eyesight should return to normal in a few moments."
Professor McGonagall's words barely reached Nero's ears. The debate over his identity raged in his mind. The debate brought no conclusions, as the memories were so extensive that he couldn't determine who he truly was. To calm his nerves, he decided to handle it rationally, accepting that he now possessed a wealth of knowledge. Although the difference between knowledge about life in a Muggle school until the age of 18 from both lives was almost identical, in this world, he applied himself better to studying and recalling knowledge from his previous life. This indicated that information identical from both lives, such as math or chemistry, was reinforced. Nero now understood math better than he did two hours ago.
The meta-knowledge about this world was poorly balanced, even though it wasn't 100% accurate, especially since he had already observed inconsistencies regarding entrance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Reality often differed from the fiction created by the writer, often darker, such as the fact that threats from the Forbidden Forest couldn't be avoided. There had been times when structures were found at the entrance to the forest.
Madam Pomfrey's warm spell made Nero's body and mind return to full functionality.
Normally, he would have said something like, "Thanks for nothing, Mudblood," given his status as a pureblood. Despite being the last of his line and having only two grounds in his residence, his usual attitude as a noble or a pureblood was shifting due to the influx of new and old memories.
Nero, still a pureblood, found his ability to maintain magical energy stable. The woman in front of him, though, was different. In his head, he felt hostility—why did this old Mudblood have more magical power than him? These new memories were strengthening his resolve to work on increasing his power through the example of the filthy Mudblood who seemed better than him.
His previous life had changed him in that regard; now he was not able to exalt himself without credible basis. A small but significant change. Nero now headed to the Transfiguration class because he did not receive freedom until the end of the day, unlike in his previous "accidents." Now he saw something new in his vision.
A small symbol appeared in the corner of his vision, which he had previously attributed to his blood heritage and never spoken of. But now, with completely new knowledge, he noticed the new symbol: a vertical line placed inside an open circle.
efore, I had not used Muggle tools, and although it was hard for me to hide, in our lives there was the best Muggle, and he used such devices. Thanks to this, I now understand the meaning of this symbol. The problem is that you have to focus on the symbol, and when Nero did so, a white panel filled with content appeared before his eyes, causing his pulse to quicken several times.
[-------------]
Name: Neron Blackheard
Rase: Pure-blood wizard
Skill:
PS:99999999...
(The connection with the first activation of the panel should be used as a basis, mutant power, special technique, etc., which the system has registered the item)
[-------------]
"This is fucking broken... hahaha... let's check it out."
Nero then pulled his wand out of a special pocket in his coat. Looking around the corridors, he noticed one of the many decorative vases placed around, from which strange plants were growing. The one he decided to test his newfound ability on was a vase with brown stripes, from which a small palm was growing.
Nero stopped and pointed his ebony-black wand, made of dark oak with a core from the heart of a black dragon, and after making a specific movement with his wand and properly controlling the flow of mana, he uttered the spell, "Wingardium Leviosa."
He raised the vase only a few centimeters; he did not want to break it. After all, he did not feel like seeing Severus Snape's face today.
After deactivating the spell, Nero reactivated the panel and saw something that greatly improved his mood.
[-------------]
Name: Neron Blackheard
Rase: Pure-blood wizard
Skill:
-Levitation Spell (45/100) [+/-]
PS:99999999...
[-------------]
Nero, full of excitement and concentration, began to add points by monotonously pressing the "+" key. During this process, he felt a rather strange sensation in his core. It was very pleasant, and he noticeably felt an increase in his magic pool. Completely new information appeared in his head regarding alternative techniques for casting the levitation spell and its different applications. Some were quite macabre, such as levitating the heart inside the body.
With the maximum number of points, Nero received knowledge that allowed him to cast this spell without incantation or wand movement. Despite this, it could already be called telekinesis, but he still had to use the wand to perform the spell. The answer as to why became clear when he looked at the panel once again.
[-------------]
Name: Neron Blackheard
Rase: Pure-blood wizard
Skill:
-Levitation Spell(100/100) [+/-] (Wandless Magic required for evolution)
PS:99999999...
[-------------]
Despite this, Nero felt like he was going to explode from euphoria. He didn't even know what sick things he was capable of now. But the only plan in his head at the moment was to rub his newfound abilities in the face of the overly smart, bushy-haired Gryffindor girl who had always overextended herself with excessive skills.