3 First Spell

In muggle world people usually place more importance on their birthdays when they get to the round numbers, such as tens, twenties, etc. Of course, a lot of importance is also given to 'legally entering adulthood'. Depending on the country, some of the most significant birthdays are celebrated between the ages of 16 and 21.

In the magical world, the significant birthdays are considered by the number 7. From the seventh birthday children's accidental magic becomes more obvious and they can start controlling it bit by bit. Muggleborn magical children are also usually identified after their seventh birthdays, because then magic is already stabilised and used more.

After children reach fourteen, their power levels are determined. That is also the time when they can sit their first significant magical examinations. In Britain they are called Ordinary Wizarding Levels or OWLS for short. Those who study at Hogwarts take these exams in their fifth year, when they have already reached fifteen years of age. This is done to give students time to get used to their power as well as make sure that they are mature enough to carry their wands. Only witches and wizards who have passed their OWL (or other international equal) exams are allowed to carry wands.

After OWL exams, students can quit the school even if they are underage. In pureblood families this is especially common, as girls typically get engaged very early and to men older than themselves. Pureblood witches usually don't work after marriage so they don't need to further their education. However, trully elite families encourage all of their children and children's spouses to carry on studying as it is seen as a sign of power.

Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests or NEWTS could be taken after one year of passing OWLS. NEWTS are for those who start preparing for their chosen careers. Students study more specialized subjects in order to get into auror, mediwizard, curse breaking and other professions' programs. Some also consider becoming apprentices, traveling the world to gain experience or studying in universities abroad. So between ages 14 to 21 witches and wizards decide their path which they will follow for the rest of their lives.

Draco didn't know how birthdays after the 21st were significant and he didn't care enough to inquire. It seemed to be too far away. What really mattered was that his seventh birthday would signify the true start of his magical education.

For a reincarnated muggle this was especially important. Draco was a bit anxious because he thought that the muggle soul merging with the original magical one could have resulted in his body being unable to use magic. He was worried for a reason: after waking up with his last life's memories he couldn't feel any new mysterious energy - he only had to get used to controlling a younger body. True, it was different from his old one, however, Draco believed that this was due to children having more energy, being short, having different dietary habits. In other words, Draco didn't think there was much difference between living with a magical body, compared to living with a muggle one.

So it was a relief when Draco woke up on his seventh birthday's morning and felt unusually energetic. This energy that was coursing through his veins could only be magic. That, or excitement. It wasn't really tangible, he couldn't sense it very well, but he felt different - like he could take over the world.

So Draco tried to use the simplest spell that he knew of from the Harry Potter series - the spell which creates light.

With trepidation he thrust out his hand, his palm facing the ceiling, and shouted:

"Lumos!"

Draco could feel an energy activate suddenly inside his body and rush out towards his hand. In a split second he saw a light flicker in his hand and disappear just as quickly as it arrived.

As soon as Draco registered his success, the young body that he currently possessed felt unbelievable tiredness, and he slumped to the ground. However, that didn't lessen his excitement.

Draco could use magic! He had magic!

He, who was previously a muggle!

Draco tried to use magic before but never with any results.

'It seems that number seven is really magical,' he thought to himself.

A strange sight could be seen in a sunny bedroom: a young blond child happily laughing at nothing in particular while rolling on a soft carpet, reminding imaginary spectators of a caterpillar that was, surely, touched in the head. And this was the sight that greeted Missy, Draco's personal elf, who came to wake the young master up.

"Young master, you is waited at breakfast," announced the elf after taking in the sight. She seemed resigned as it wasn't the first time in the past months that Draco behaved rather... unusually.

There was one time when Draco decided to 'look around' and left the manor grounds on a broom. He was found in a cave trying to make fire when Missy went to call him for dinner. Draco honestly forgot he could call for his house elf if he got into trouble or got lost.

There was also that one time when Draco was so bored that he decided to bake his very-well-known (in last life) fruit tart. He found the kitchens and chased out the house elves working there. Then he proceeded in completely destroying the kitchen in efforts to find cooking utensils and ingredients. Dinner was served late that night. But no one could argue that the fruit tart wasn't tasty.

So Missy wasn't fazed to find her young master laughing at nothing while rolling on the ground. She was even a bit happy he didn't get into any trouble.

When Draco was finally washed and dressed, he went downstairs to greet his parents.

"Draco, you're finally here," said Narcissa Malfoy, his mother. "Come, sit down. I want to discuss with you the birthday party."

Draco obediently sat in his usual seat and tuned his mother out. She meant well, he knew, however he honestly didn't care whose children would come, what food would be served or what kind of decorations would be placed around. And it wasn't like he had any say in any of those matters, anyway.

"Narcissa," his father, Lucius Malfoy, finally interrupted. "Let the house elves organize these things."

His mother glared at his father, however she still changed the topic.

"Draco, now that you are seven, you can finally start your magical education. I and your father want to discuss which subjects you will start with."

'Finally!' Draco thought. He asked, "What are my options?"

"You can choose from Magical Theory, Potions, Ancient Runes, Herbology, Magical Creatures, Occlumency and Rituals. You will, of course, continue studying Latin and German languages as well as dancing, however, the amount of those lessons will lessen to twice per week for Languages and once for dancing. You already know how to ride magical creatures in the stables, so the tutoring in that area will be suspended. Your Etiquette teacher says that the rest of the material you have already learned and you only need a suitable dance partner to practice with. Today you can make some friends at your party and see if there are any suitable female candidates," Narcissa explained.

Lucius also added, "You will be required to study Finance, Mathematics and History, however, the rest of the subjects are up to you to choose. Personally, I recommend Magical Theory, Occlumency and Potions, as those are the subjects which will help you lay foundations to understanding how magic works."

Draco knew from the books that Occlumency was an essential skill which helped to protect one's mind from mental attacks. Dumbledore and Voldemort both knew how to use Legilimency, the ability to attack other people's minds and 'read' their thoughts. Draco definitely had to learn how to defend himself, however, he was afraid that if the method of learning Occlumency was the same as in the books, with a teacher attacking the student's mind, his reincarnation would be found out. He could be declared as some evil spirit and be handed for experiments or even killed. But that was also the reason he had to learn this skill - if someone attacked his mind, he would be in danger.

"How does one learn Occlumency?" Draco asked after a moment of silence. His father raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances with his wife.

"Occlumency is learned through meditation and building mental walls. If you are afraid that your teacher will learn of your thoughts, you shouldn't be. The meditation is the most effective way to learn this skill and while attacking a student's mind is an exercise that helps to activate the mind's defenses quicker, it is too painful and can even be destructive, so it won't be used," explained Lucius patiently.

He found it a bit strange that a seven-year-old child asked such mature question, as if he had something to hide. However, he thought that it was just some mischief his son got into that he didn't want parents to know about. Merlin knows, in recent months Draco did enough stupid things - Lucius wouldn't even be surprised anymore if there were some things he and his wife weren't aware of. He made a mental note to question the house elves after breakfast.

"Alright then!" Draco was visibly happy with the new information. "I definitely want to learn Occlumency, Magical Theory and Potions. Since Rituals is not in Hogwarts' curriculum, I suppose I should learn it as well."

Narcissa nodded with satisfaction at her son's choice of subjects. "You should also consider learning Ancient Runes. This subject is only taught at Hogwarts in third-year and it is quite rushed, so those who start it without any foundations have a hard time. Besides, there are a lot of types of runes, and the more you know, the more magic you can cast with them. Engraving runes on various objects enables the magic to be contained. This means that magic won't dissipate after awhile, therefore runes are the foundation of magical objects creation. Merlin only knows why this subject was removed from the required courses and is only available as a selective one."

"Alright, I will also study Ancient Runes," Draco was only happier with the additional workload, and couldn't wait to get started. In his previous life he sometimes imagined being able to learn magic and couldn't understand characters such as Ron Weasley or even Harry Potter. They chose to play games and fly instead of learning more about magic, taking it for granted.

"I will arrange for the tutors to arrive next week," his mother concluded the subject.

Draco could already see himself becoming a great and powerful wizard.