12 Evolution

A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07.

I haven't set the pace of this story yet, and am currently writing 4th year. Hopefully, chapter 20-25 will begin with World War 2, but I'll tell you again when I've actually written that much.

Thank you.

Read on!

---

Three weeks after the vomiting incident, I had come to a conclusion. Fergus has a power, that much was apparent, sort of like me. He isn't a telepath, and neither is he a Wizard. He just had a power.

This power allowed him to make anyone feel sick. He basically causes anyone he glows his eyes at to vomit uncontrollably, for at least 5 minutes. I know from personal experience that it can last full 5 minutes, once it gets hold. Doesn't matter if you weren't physically there. I didn't observe him much, but I did finally decide to try and look into his memories.

Turns out, Fergus could do this since he was 15, but he was afraid of being branded a Witch, or a demon. So, he kept it hidden, and didn't train in it, at all. He only caused the accident that day, because he panicked and used it on instinct. Counting this time, he had barely used his power for a grand total of 50 times. In his entire life.

After that, I went back to the mother of the siblings I first I observed, to see if the mother could remember them doing anything weird. Nothing had happened weird with them, though, while either of the parents were around the two.

So, then I went to the next target, and the next, and the next. Only this time, I was more desperate for answers, and went through many of their memories. For most of them, even adults, they hadn't ever used any power that might classify them as weird.

But some were like Fergus, and me, I suppose. One lady could bring life back to dead plants, or help them grow, which is damn useful in the current years. Another lady has complete control over any water that she touches. But she has to touch the water to control it, which is a bummer, to be honest.

A man, who was 90 years old, could smell and hear things from very far away, and he had used it to rob people back in his day. And one man could lift more than 10 times his own weight.

There were many more, that I found in the 6 days that I was scrolling through Stan Lee's Superhumans in real life. They ranged from as useful as super strength, super speed, to as useless as always know when some food is going to go bad, or the power to detach your limbs.

It ranged from useful as fuck, to useless as fuck, and there was no fixed pattern to it, as far as I could see.

Right now, I was in the mind of someone I've spent the last 10 days observing. Why so long, you might ask? Because this is the one power amongst all the 47 people I've observed, that I could actually benefit from.

The 27 year old man named James Snow, could learn to read, write, speak, and understand, any language within a few minutes at most. I discovered him purely by accident, but once I found his amazing brain, I did not leave.

I know, okay, I know, this is wrong, and so much immoral. But this was too good an opportunity to pass up. I had copied his memories within the first day itself, like I did to Cassiopeia. And, his mind was way better organized than hers, making it a lot easier for me.

13 languages, including Sanskrit, and I had the memories necessary to learn to understand it.

But I wanted more. I wanted to know how he does it. How does a human brain learn to completely understand a new language within minutes of just staring at it? I NEED to know this, so I can understand what is happening here, in this world.

So, I stayed with him, doing my damned best to make sure I don't give myself away, somehow. For 9 days, I've been studying the way his brain makes the connections with the language, and I can say with full guarantee, that I have no idea.

It is on the 11th day, that something happens, different from the daily routine he'd gone through. James was walking through the town of London, shopping for some groceries, when be encountered an unusual scene.

Five men, about in their twenties, were surrounding an old Japanese woman, who was terrified out of her mind. They were yelling at her, throwing slurs again and again, and just bullying her.

People did see all of that, but most of them ignored the scene, content with minding their own business, while the few that did try to get in between were discouraged by the knives the men were wielding. So no one was there to save her when she was pushed to the ground by one of the men, when he tried to take her purse.

James however, was the son of a police officer, and knew a thing or two about fighting. Within half a minute, he had the 5 men running with their tails between their legs, and helped the lady stand up.

She repeatedly said, "Arigato gozaimasu!" For more than a few times, and then spoke some sentences in Japanese that neither he, nor I understood. At first.

Suddenly though, it was like a button was pressed in my mind, and I understood everything she was saying. She says, "You have been very helpful, young man, please come with me. I'll give you some sweets as thanks."

Obviously, she said all that in Japanese, but I fucking understood it all! I didn't know Japanese beyond the few phrases I learned from subbed Anime. Fuck the dubs.

Chuckling, James answers her, in Japanese, accepting her offer for snacks, while I smile widely. I think I have what I came from.

Slowly, I retreat to my own mind and open my eyes in my own body. Just to try, I call up an episode of Naruto Shippuden from my mind, to see if I actually understood it.

Heh, Pain vs Naruto is one good fight, one of the best, I think. And sure enough, I can completely understand every sentence in the episode, even without looking at the subtitles.

Just as an experiment, I take a notebook out from the drawer, and pick a pencil. Slowly, I try to draw the character for chi, and my mind draws blank. So, I can only understand Japanese speaking now?

"Well, this is a bummer, but at least better than nothing." I mumble, and then pause. Can I speak it though? With a shrug, I open my mouth, and start, "Watashinonamaeha meison de, watashi wa mahōtsukaidesu."

What. The fuck. Hell yeah! I can speak Japanese! Wait a minute.. did I just.. copy a gift? Or did I just learn this one language because of being in James's brain at the time?

Only one way to find out. The Sanskrit book on Ancient Indian History is still waiting for me in the library.

---

Soon, the months passed by, and the Hogwarts letter came to me via a small brown owl. It was cute, but I don't see the appeal in having an owl as a pet. And Sly didn't appreciate me not allowing him to it it either.

~~Why do you even care? It's not your bird!~~ Sly asks, as I slap his head when he tries to jump the poor bird.

Taking the letter, I just throw the owl out of my window, and say, ~~The school will know that the bird went missing near my house, and I don't want them snooping around any more than they usually do.~~ and it's already annoying, having to hide my talents whenever a wizard is close by.

I'd occasionally seen a wizard or two in the region, who stood too rigid and vigilant to be anything but Aurors. It was their vigilance that gave them away, ironically enough. Plus, they stood right around the corner every Wednesday since the holidays had begun.

I think they were here to make sure I'm alright, and that I don't break the Statute of Secrecy by some accidental magic. They were probably also there to detain me in case I break the Decree for The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, but there's no way I'm using my wand while no one's watching.

I know from experience that Wandless magic isn't counted in the Decree, as I would have been arrested hundreds of times before if it was.

But I didn't mind them much. They were here to protect me, and if they even think about harming me, I'll hear it anyway. They weren't that good at Mind Arts, and their puny Occlumency might hide their memories from me, but not their thoughts.

Telepathy rules!

As I look at the book list, I think over the new development that had shown itself after that day in James's mind. A second gift had awakened in my mind, or I guess, James's own gift had been copied in my mind.

But the effectiveness of my own version of his Gift was a little lesser than that of James. He could read, write, speak, and understand the language within a minute of either reading, or hearing anything spoken in that language. Whereas, I can only read and write the language if I had begun learning it by reading, and I can only speak it if I learned by speech.

It also takes me about 5 minutes to do that, and I can't just stare at the same word of a language for 5 minutes, hoping to understand it. I need to really try reading, looking over all the characters I have access to. My mind makes the rest of the connections on its own, and it also provides me with the missing characters straight to my mind.

Anyway, I hadn't gone back to James's mind, since I had more than what I had thought I would gain. I wanted to learn languages from his mind, and he literally gave me his entire gift of Languages. He deserves his privacy now.

~~It looked tasty.~~ Sly says, bringing me out of my thoughts, showing that his thoughts were still on the blasted owl.

Rolling my eyes, I say, ~~I can still see the bird you ate yesterday, in your gut. You have no need to feed yet.~~

Sly flicks his tongue, and lays back down. He really is lazy, isn't he? Gods, what kind of pet did I get?

Poking him softly, I say, ~~I'm going outside to the Magical district. You want to come, or would you rather sleep?~~

Sly just waves me goodbye with his tail, making me lightly chuckle. Yup, lazy.

Climbing down the stairs with my Gringotts Pouch in my pocket, my expanded backpack on my back, and my wand in my sleeve, I seek out Sister Agnes, and ask, "Can I go out to London? I was hoping to go buy my supplies."

Sister Agnes happily nods, and pats my head. She says, "Sure, go on, but be back before 6."

It was 10 AM now, so the curfew is way more than I expected. But, she is happy right now. You see, in the beginning of July, the Orphanage received an 'anonymous' donation in the form of sacks of grain, boxes full of bread, a dozen chicken, fruits, vegetables, some spices, and a few boxes full of new clothes, including innerwear, and some toys.

God bless the Wizarding world. Despite the official exchange rate being 3.97 Pounds per Galleon, the actual value of the Galleon is much, much more. And they aren't even going through a financial crisis!

There are farms within the Wizarding world, for almost all types of grains, fruits, and vegetables. And if they don't have anything, they just trade with other Magical countries! And it didn't even cost a fortune for me to buy all that!

One sack of wheat, weighing 25 kgs, cost me a little shy of 15 Galleons. So, for buying all of that, taxes, and paying the Goblins of Miscellaneous Services to do everything, including muggle delivery, I had paid only 3000 Galleons!

I won't be able to donate every year, obviously, but I should be able to do it if the times get too tough.

But, the look of happiness on Sister Agnes's face was totally worth it, not counting the various other smiles flashing all around, and the excitement the children had at getting new stuff.

Heck, some kids even volunteered to take care of the chicken, because that was something new for them.

As I walk towards the Leaky Cauldron, my thoughts once again go to James, Fergus, the completely normal kids, and me. The ones who had Gifts, powers, had gotten them after experiencing extreme emotions. Heh, alliteration.

Some of the Gifted had gone back to live normally, some tried to use them openly and were chased out of their homes, while some turned to the life of criminals. What the man with detachable limbs could do in the Mafia, I have no idea.

For so long, I wondered, where my telepathy came from. Because I know it's not a product of my Magic granting me wishes. My magic, and my telepathy are completely different, I know that.

And then, I spent 11 days in James's head, witnessed him use his power, quite closely, and awakened my own tiny gift in languages. While a good side effect, it wasn't the most important detail.

The people awakened the powers while either angry, afraid, or really destressed. And I know of a Universe, that is not my own, where stuff like this happens. Sure, Accidental Magic also happens during emotional destress, but they weren't wizards. They're muggles, completely.

And so, I'd come to the conclusion. Marvel mutants.

The most likely answer to my question was that the Universe I'm in right now is the Marvel Universe, which also has Hogwarts. Don't know which Marvel Universe though.

And really God? A crossover Universe? Couldn't you have just dropped me in just one of them? Now I have to worry about surviving from thousands of threats instead of just the two Dark Lords. Hmm.. Voldemort is a kid, right? Can I just get a rope and..

Nah, too dark thoughts, Mason. This ain't DC.. I hope. I barely know anything about DC.

So, yeah, Mutants. I'm a Mutant Wizard, and so were Rowena and Helena Ravenclaw. But what Marvel Universe? Aren't there like.. thousands? I only know the most about the Movie one, 199999. The rest are just glances of wikipedia pages, or fandom articles.

Well, at least I won't be caught off guard by anything. I've read a lot of useless trivia about Marvel on the fandom, and hundreds of fanfictions. I'll survive, no matter what. I think.

Soon, I reach the Leaky Cauldron, and after a nod to Mr Dodderidge, Tom's father, I go towards the back. Tapping the necessary bricks, I smile at seeing the amazing phenomenon that is the Entrance.

Really, I have magic, and telepathy. What am I even afraid of? It's not like the threats are going to drop down on Earth tomorrow. There's literally decades for that. Heck, I might even be dead before that!

Hope not, but still.

Shaking my head, I banish the thoughts for now, and go towards Gringott's Bank. Once inside the bank, I walk towards the Money Withdrawal Goblin, and wait for my turn. When he looks down at me, I pull the key to my trust vault out, and say, "I need to take money out of my vault."

The Goblin takes the key in his hands, and boy are they pointy, and then examines it properly. He then says, "Master Grungir has informed me that you're expected in his office, Mr Aves. Grabnail will take you there, and then to your vault."

With that, the Goblin runner called Grabnail runs towards me, and with a single "Come." Starts leading me towards Grungir's office. Wonder what he wants.

As soon as I'm seated in front of Grungir, he slides me a piece of parchment, and says, "Sign it."

No way I'm doing that before reading it. What do you think I am? A moron?

So, I read, and immediately facepalm. I'm a moron. I should have realized that either Hogwarts, or Dumbledore himself will know that I have money now, and am no longer a broke orphan. Well, I am an orphan, just no longer broke. Fucking idiot!

Here I was, confident in my ability to see through any plans anyone can come up with, and Hogwarts bowled a googly.

The parchment basically was a form for the return of the funds I'd gotten from the school last year, and an acknowledgement that I am able to fund my schooling myself. Stingy wizards, couldn't let go of G125?

Re-reading it, and once again for good measure, I sign the form with the quill Grungir provided me with, and mumble, "Stupid Wizards." Which also counts me right now.

Grungir just grins, and says, "Us Goblins have been saying that for centuries now. Good to see a Wizard finally come to senses."

I scowl at him, and ask, "Anything else? Or can I go on to my business?"

Grungir just points me towards the door, which opens to show Grabnail waiting for me. I follow Grabnail towards the caverns, and wonder, 'Does this mean everyone knows? Or is it just the higher ups of Hogwarts, and possibly the Ministry.'

Damn, the probability of this news getting to my family's killers(if they actually died by murder, and not just killed themselves in a feindfyre accident) just increased exponentially. Fuck!

~

Soon, I begin buying the items in my school list. I had put a budget of 100 galleons on myself, knowing that this second year won't have as many purchases as the first year. I already had a telescope, Cauldron, gloves, trunk, bag, and my hat. I just needed to buy new robes, thanks to my growing body, stationary, and my books for this year.

It is as I was buying my second year books, and seeing if I find anything interesting, that I hear her coming.

'Oh my, what a coincidence? I wonder if he's been to Gringott's yet.' Cassiopeia Black, the manipulative, Mind Magic using bitch, thinks to herself, her thoughts loud as ever to me.

I keep moving, reading the titles of the books I was browsing, when she interrupts me, this time, not by her thoughts.

She says, "Hello Aves. Already done with your shopping?"

I still, and then look up at her, looking annoyed at being interrupted, and judging by her twitching eyes, she caught the annoyance. I put the book I'd taken out back in its place, and say, "Yes. And I'm leaving now too."

I had already paid for my books, and was just shopping for some extra stuff, so I could just walk out and there would be no issue.

"Oh, but what's the rush? Have somewhere to go to? An appointment at Gringott's, perhaps?" Cassiopeia asks, leaning down as she stops me from going.

Looking in her eyes, I feel the Legilimency probe, and allow it to show her the sight of me walking out of Gringott's. I turn away from her and finally notice that there was another person standing there, trying quite awkwardly to seem unbothered.

Looking at the girl behind Cassiopeia, I say, "No, I was just going home now."

Cassiopeia sees me looking at the girl, who was most definitely another member of the Black Family, and says, "That's my sister, Dorea. She'll be starting Hogwarts this year."

Dorea smiles nervously, and says, "Nice to meet you, Mr Aves. Cassiopeia mentioned you a few times, you know. Mostly about some vault or-"

"Dorea!" Cassiopeia says, sternly, as I just snort.

Dorea's a cute kid, and looked fairly similar to Cassiopeia. Curly black hair and grey/blue eyes seemed to be the theme here. Most of all she's not at all manipulative like her sister, from the looks of it, and even her thoughts confirm that.

She's just nervous about meeting new people, which is understandable.

"Nice to meet you too. And what's this about a Vault, Cassiopeia?" I greet Dorea, and turn to Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia has a glint in her eye at that, and says, "I don't know, Aves. You tell me."

I put my finger on my chin, and say, "Nope. Nothing comes to mind. Anyway, nice to meet you, Dorea. I have to go back home for lunch."

"Goodbye!" Dorea says, as her sister just watches me leave.

I'm not going to be completely antagonistic with Cassiopeia, despite the anger I feel at her. Sure, I use Mind Arts liberally, and probably won't stop. But I don't use them to take advantage of people I think are naive. And definitely not children.

For my advantage, yes. If it also causes them misfortune, no. Of course, general assholes don't count here, they're fair game.

~

Soon, we're back at the 2nd year of Hogwarts to study some more. Dorea gets sorted to Slytherin, as expected, and that somehow caused Charis Black to call her a lucky bitch. Don't know what she's complaining about, Ravenclaw house has a Library! The only thing better would be for the Kitchen to be closer, like Hufflepuff.

Not like I can do anything about it either. For now, time for another year of boring studies mixed with hopefully exciting experiments.

I wave at Cassiopeia during our first dinner back, smiling cheekily. By now, she must have realized that I had either broken the spell she cast on me, or I was never under any spell anyway. Ah, the image of her scowling while trying to remain a stuffy bitch will remain forever in my mind.

---

A/N: Okay, I tried to write each year, but its not working out. I'll move on to the summaries of each year from next chapter. Or I'll just summarize the next two years in the next chapter. Depending on my mood while writing.

Tata!