11 My limit

I am a fairly light sleeper. If only by necessity. You never know when you need to wake up and hide. As I awaken today I don't know if I should curse that fact or praise it.

Picture this you wake up to millions of insects crawling over you. For a single moment, I was frozen in shock and terror. I had no idea what was happening. I had no idea how to save myself with my groggy mind. I felt totally and utterly trapped. That moment passed as I remembered what I did.

With an urgency that I have only felt once before I command my hoard. They quickly flew off of me and crawled on the ceiling. Once they were off I managed to breathe again. My heart beat still felt like it was a life or death moment. I never want to experience that again. Nor do I want to even look at my loyal minions. Objectively I knew it was my fault as I never told them what to do when they arrived here. Still, their very existence is giving me a fair bit of panic.

I am honestly tempted to oblitavate myself of the last minute or so. The only reason I am not doing so is because I would wonder why I don't remember anything. Which would lead to panic as I would think someone interrogated me and obtivated me of the knowledge. I could leave a note but my paranoia would never accept that it was me who wrote it. I was after all keeping my memories despite my terror.

So now I am just going to have to live with the knowledge of how it feels to be swarmed by bugs. I may not be able to erase the memory but I can suppress it like all good trauma victims do. I was just better at that as I was able to interact with my memories. All praise Magic and all that it brings. Other than mosquitos even if they are loyal minions.

I looked around expecting to see the room in similar conditions. I was wrong. The nice pristine white bed was no longer clean. There were splotches of blood all over the sheets. I must have rolled over in my sleep and killed some of my minions. I do feel rather wet and sticky so I imagine I was also covered in blood. I look at my 'roommate' She also has random bits of blood on her.

I wonder if I just left with my minions what her morning would be like. Her last memories were her door opening with no one there. Only to wake up in a room covered in blood. I was tempted to do just that for the shits and giggles. Still, it's not fair to her if she was in some way related to Potter I would go for it. Or maybe Riddle but I had no way to discover that. Nor did I think it was that important.

I gathered the courage to finally look at my own creations again. The amount has clearly shrunk. Whether that was because I killed a fair amount of them or just because they had not arrived back. Still, the amount here is even more than I expected. Literally millions. That does bring a smile to my face even if it fades as I look at them. I suppose now would be a good time to get rid of them.

I conjure a rather large bucket and order them to go into it. They fly rather quickly and try to stuff themselves into it. I had to conjure another one as the one was not enough. Once they were sufficiently stuffed I dispersed the spell on them and they disappeared into air. Leaving me two large buckets filled with blood. If there were more of them flying back I imagine the muggles are going to freak out as drops of blood rain from the sky. Maybe I am a plague god?

I then conjure a bottle and shrink the blood in the buckets. With a quick flick of the wand the blood floated out and stuffed into the bottle. I also took the time to have the blood covering my guest to travel into the bottle as well. The blood covering me and the bed is a lost cause as they have mixed with my sweat. I am not quite sure if my sweat would allow me to be sapped of luck as well. So I was not going to risk it. 

So I just banished the blood on the bed and went to go shower. Sure I could just banish the blood on me as well but I want a long hot shower right now. I'm sure no one is going to blame me for the comfort that such a thing would bring. I also wanted to scrub my skin rather thoroughly. Not to mention the shampoo while not magical will help massively with my hair. Long stringy oily hair feels disgusting. I had no idea how I was fine with this before.

I wanted to belt out in the shower but I might just wake up my roommate. Sure if she did wake up my ward would immediately stun her again. It just seemed in poor taste to invite that on her. She was already going to have to deal with lost memories and a sore body. Falling face first really sucks.

I would try to patch her up but I don't have any potions on me. The potions I do have are for emergency treatment for bleeding. So I can't really do anything for her. I suppose I could leave and come back with a potion. Still, that was a lot of work for a random woman I only felt slightly bad about. Fuck it I'll leave a gem in her hand. That should cover the soreness. It will bring up even more questions for her but that's not really my problem.

After my shower, I get dressed. Sure I only had what I was wearing before instead of something fresh but it worked. Luckily enough it was not covered in blood as I was not wearing it while I slept. Nude sleeping is the way to go. 

I then look at my captive again. It now had occurred to me that sleeping nude near my unconscious victim was a step above rude. Maybe two gems then. I should be swimming in gold with Luck on my side. She is also going to be a part of the reason for that so sacrifices need to be made. 

Alright fine I giving her gems because I feel bad and she's hot. If it was a random old guy I would have scribbled on his face before leaving. Let no one tell you pretty people don't get special treatment. They do at least from me that is.

Not that I would make a move on her. I think I have made my feelings rather clear. I was just able to recognize that I tended to treat attractive women better. Speaking of which I can now move Ms. Scowly to the bed. I am not using it now and at least now she will have some comfort until she wakes.

I take my things and don my cloak. My things were a large bottle of blood, hundreds of shrunken blood bags, my wand, and my loot. I'm not exactly swimming in legendary artifacts but I really should bring potions with me. If only because it's so easy for me to get them. 

I woke up early enough that the sun had not quite risen. So I was able to get out of the hotel with out encountering anyone. Now I am going to have to do even more walking. It was going to be several miles before I got to the Leaky Cauldron. As I start walking I freeze as I remember something.

I could take the Knight Bus. Now that I have a destination I could just use another common method of travel. I did not think about it before because it's a lot more expensive in comparison to the Floo. While I am not swimming in gold I have enough to use the bus. At least I think I do.

I raise my wand and wave it as if calling a taxi. I had to do it for longer than I expected but the iconic vehicle eventually showed up. A triple decker bus that was colored a bright purple of all things. I get that as a society we have a whimsical nature but bright purple does not look good. I did not have much time to observe it as the door burst open with enthusiasm. 

A pale young man stood there looking as if he recently graduated. 

"Welcome to the knight bus! The number 1 emergency transport for the stranded magician!" The young man shouted out before blinking and looking around. It had now occurred to me that I was still wearing my cloak. 

I reluctantly lowered my hood so he could see me. This of course startled him as he was not expecting to be amubshed so early in the day.

"Blimey an invisibility cloak that's a rare sight. What chu doing being all sneaky." The conductor looked around and spook with that same youthful enthusiasm.

"I was hiding from all the muggles." I was not going to say I just wanted to wear the thing while I had it. Nor was I going to explain that I used it to break into a hotel.

"Right, I guess that makes sense." Behold an average magical citizen. 

"I almost forgot. Do you have a ticket? Or would you like to purchase one now?" The conductor spoke as he was checking his pockets for something. I did not know you could order a ticket in advance.

"I would like to purchase a ticket now." I say as I reach for my sack of knuts.

"Spelndid that will be 11 sickels. 13 if ya want a hot chocolate and 15 if you want a hot bottle and tooth brush." I do grimace at that. I may have a good amount of loot but hard currency I lack. I do have around six sickels and I have a lot of knuts. The thing is there are twenty nine knuts in a sickle. Meaning I am going to have to give him a hundred and forty five knuts. I have that but it is going to take a big chunk out of my hard currency.

"Just a seat." I then hand him my six sickle before bringing out my sack of knuts. I can see the enthusiasm drain from his face as I start counting the knuts as I give them to him. When I reached sixty I started to get embarrassed. I did not think I was going to need to buy anything. Maybe I should have made that stop at Gringotts? I mean it's too late for that now but I really would rather not pay in pennies again.

Once I gave him the final knut he looked like he was done for the day. He was also holding all the coins as if wondering where to put them.

"Right. Where you heading?" He was a lot more curt with me but I can't really blame him. I was that guy right now after all.

"Is Hogsmead possible?" I'm not actually sure how far this thing can go. I vaguely recall that it could travel rather far but I was not too sure about that.

"Hogsmead it is." He said as he started to walk into the bus. I followed quickly as he dumped the coins into a jar. I guess it was possible. I am not sure how long it was going to take but I don't want to ask him more questions.

We passed several beds that had the frail elderly sleeping. There were not a lot of them as it was still fairly early in the day. Pretty soon he led me towards an empty bed.

"Here is your seat, here is your ticket. Don't lose it." The conductor then walked away quietly mumbling to himself.

I scrambled to sit on the bed and strap my self in. I have no idea how bad it was going to be but judging how bad the Floo was. Well, I expect all forms of magical transportation to be awful. Other than ridding magical creatures. Like a freaking dragon. That would probably be the best magical way to travel. If only for the cool factor.

It quickly became apparent that strapping myself in was for the best. The bus made quick and sharp turns one after the other. If I was standing I would find myself flung all over the place as I had to fight Newton's laws left and right. While the bed was thrown all over the place it was actually rather comfy. It must have some shock absorbing charm woven into them. So this mode of transportation was not as bad as I thought it would be. Granted you had to be prepared for it but it beat Floo in everything but price.

"Arriving at Leaky Cauldron." The conductor's voice rang out tiredly as the bus slowed down. That was actually really fast. Although the Cauldron was not that far away from my hotel. It would take a couple of hours to walk but at the speed the bus was going it made sense.

In opposition to the speed of the bus, the passenger leaving was really slow. Granted they were a frail old man that was struggling to even get up from the bed. The conductor was helping him up and taking him out but it was still rather slow. Also if the man was in such a dire condition shouldn't a family member be around to help him? I guess I should not make assumptions who knows what happened to his family? 

Now that I am thinking about it why was the primary demographic for the bus sickly old people? It's not exactly a large market but the only other passengers were in it. I even vaguely recall that in the movies it was also filled with old people. Was it a coincidence? Or did these old gents really like the thrill of riding this bus? I don't know if I even want to know the answer. I was certainly not going to ask the conductor after what I did. 

I did not have to ponder it for too long as the bus started up again. I looked out the window and the old man was just hobbling off by himself. He did look better maybe he just had issues getting up?

My bed then flew to the other side and I was greeted with the sight of a far too close building. We appeared to be going through a side alley. I know the bus is magical but this is just ridiculous. At the speed we were going out we left the alley in the blink of an eye. So if someone was walking down there before we turned they would be doomed. Did the Knight Bus just write off the casualties or did it have some way of avoiding them? Again I really should not be thinking too much on the nature of this whimsical vehicle. 

The thing is I did not have much else to do other than ponder and plan. I already had a fairly solid plan for my potion. So I was left with thinking about the world around me as I waited. The mechanics behind the magical phenomenon being grade a material. It's not like I was going to talk to someone to pass the time. There were only old tired sick people on the bus. Not that I would want to talk to someone if they were at least near my age.

So I lost myself in my thoughts of the various magical abilities the bus demonstrated. Not to mention my thoughts on why old people loved the bus as another one boarded.

For a journey of such a long distance, it did not take a large amount of time to arrive. It was about two hours all and all. Which blew driving out of the water. If I stopped at the Cauldron and took the Floo it would have been faster. In all honesty that should have been the route I took as I am on the clock.

I slept in the hotel because I knew my potion was already stabilized for the day. I was going to need to do so again today. So I had to arrive back at Hogwarts before that time ran out. I still had a fair amount of time as the sun had only risen for about an hour. Granted I was going to have to hike from Hogsmead but I should still be able to make it. Maybe I should not have been so blase with my stay in the muggle world.

This time I had my cloak so I did not even get strange looks as I marched through Hogsmead. If I am going to make a trip outside of Hogwarts again I need to bring a broom. It would have made everything faster. It would also allow me to not hike for miles.

I arrived back at Hogwarts through the Whomping Willow's tunnel.

I made sure that my aura was not singing so no one knew I was back. In hindsight, I should have left a beacon with my aura before I left. I was just in a slight amount of panic so I was not thinking straight. It would have saved me the inevitable detention that I am going to experience.

As I walked through the halls I heard the idle chatter of the student body. I was not able to hear too much but I did hear my name thrown around. That was to be expected. Gossiping is Hogwart's number one activity after all. You would just have to ask Harry Potter to find that out. Not that said boy is going to exist in this slice of reality. That boat has already sailed. It was then stuck by an armada of pirates in search of the One Piece. 

As I started to go through the more secluded halls I did find an amusing sight, Potter was hobbling by himself with a cast on his leg. It looked like he was on his way to the infirmary as the cast should be emergency treatment. I'm surprised that he was by his lonesome as his minions usually were glued at the hip. Maybe they thought if they acted by themselves it would be safer. I think that think all of these things were 'pranks' I was doing against them. So if they were separated I could not target them at the same time. That was the only way their separation made sense to me.

I don't know but this does give me an opportunity. I stun him like the bitch he was. Again Potter once more falls to the floor. His good leg landed in a rather bad way. When he wakes up he might have to crawl to the infirmary. Or maybe someone will find him and help. Either way, it's not my concern. I quickly search Potter for the one good thing about him. It took a moment but now I was holding the legendary Death Cloak in my hands. I threw off my own cloak and put this one on. I stuffed the expiring one into the same pocket where I found the Deathly Hollow.

I then quickly leave the area. I was tempted to whistle a jaunty tune as I went but I was currently invisible. So everyone would be wondering where the whistling was coming from. There are ghosts so it's not too strange to hear random noises but I don't want to be discovered.

I arrived in my little hide out and let out a sigh of relief. The potion did not break down when I was away. The Aura of it was cackling madly but it was still in an acceptable range. I wanted to just dump all the blood I had but I knew it had to stabilize to a certain degree first.

As I went through the steps needed the black ooze started to lighten even more. It no longer looked like sticky black tar but more like oil. I then took all the blood I had and started to incorporate it.

I could feel the Aura of the potion stop in shock. Which is baffling how does a potion feel shock? I would be concerned that I broke it but it still felt magical just shocked. As I poured more and more blood the shock faded as it started to cackle. Not the same cackle I was used to. No, it was loud. So loud that it felt all encompassing. Like the only sound to exist in the world was it. Even if the Aura did not really have a sound.

I had to fight to stabilize the potion as the newly stolen luck tried to destabilize it. It was truly a test of my skill this time. Before I was capable of not putting 100% in now that was not an option.

You would expect for the potion to darken further as I added blood. It did the exact opposite. With every drop added it lightens the mix further and further. The cackle started to sound far less harsh. It was still the same volume but the voice started to smoothen. It changed from a cackle to laughter. Eventually, the potion started to look like molten gold and the laughter sounded out like bells.

The thing is, I was not done with the blood. As it is now it's a perfect representation of Felic Felix. I'm sure if I stopped now I would have exactly what I needed.

Still, that little boy who dreamed of changing his life through potions he made wanted more. I wanted to know what would happen if I pushed further. So I added more blood.

Again the Aura stopped in shock. It seemed to recover a lot faster now. The bell like laughter seemed to egg me on. As if to encourage me to push beyond. More and more I added. More and more luck was stolen. More and more I fought. That laughter turned into a giggle of all things with the same bell like quality. I was almost done but I could feel like I was on the cusp at the very peak. 

The potion still looked like molten gold but the aura was like night and day. It was giggling in anticipation as if it knew what was to come. The problem was I had nothing left to give. That was all the blood I had collected. I was so close. I could feel that something would change if I pushed one last time. 

As I looked at the molten gold I saw my own reflection. A foolish thought appeared in my mind. Something that I was afraid of doing. It was risky and ultimately not worth it. Still, I reaffirmed my resolve. I did have something left to give after all.

I raised my hand above the cauldron and slashed my palm. I added my own blood to the mix. With that, the giggles of anticipation morphed into mad laughter still just as hauntingly beautiful. My blood seemed to be the catalyst for a storm. The potion went from stable to completely and utterly unstable. Close enough to almost break down entirely. I took action immediately. I could feel the effects of my own luck being stolen. I almost tripped over my own feet in my hast. So I slowed. This was an urgent matter but I could not panic. I have the skill I just had to make sure not even luck could stop me.

I fought to stabilize the potion and the very world fought me so it would not. My hand would suddenly cramp. A book would fall trying to break my concentration. My stirring stick would snap in half. The sun would shine right into my eyes. None of it could stop me. I fought and I fought until the madness stopped.

The once molten gold looked absolutely radiant now. The mad laughter was once more bell like giggles. Now it sounded loving. I closed my eyes and just felt that love. I'd never thought I could feel such profound love from something else. It brought tears to my eyes as my scared psyche felt not healed but better. I wanted this so badly. It was mine and no one else.

I looked at my creation and felt conflicted. The potion has reached some sort of sentience. It loved me. I needed it. To consume it. I would be giving up that love. To abandon it for my own greedy heart. I might never feel such pure adoration. Could I really give that up? As if hearing my conflict the aura of the potion switched to comforting. It knew what I wanted and accepted it. It even wanted this to happen.

What did Dumbledore say about the ultimate form of love? Self sacrifice. I wonder what he would think about a potion feeling such selfless love.

I bottled the potion. No, it does not deserve to only be known as a potion. Fortuna that shall be your name. Goddess of fortune and luck. I'm sorry that you were not able to see this world Fortuna. I knew if I consumed her I would never be able to make another potion like her even if I followed the same steps. She was special in a way that defied logic but when did magic ever care for logic?

I raise Fortuna to my lips still conflicted. Still, I felt her encouragement and love even anticipation. So I drank of her.

I could feel it as she traveled through me. As she filled every last part of me from my body to my soul. I felt her caress as she settled in my beating heart. She was not gone. She was a part of me forever more. Even if I were to die she would reside in my soul. When I offered my blood I offered her a haven. A place to reside till the end of time. She is bound to me as I am to her. My creation Fortuna.

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