Chapter 4: New Bonds
'Before I go otaku mode, I should greet the teaching staff formally.'
Lucas decided to greet his employer and fellow employees first to avoid making a bad impression seeing as he will be staying here for quite some time.
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"So currently the Headmaster is not present here?"
"The Headmaster is not currently in the castle. He will take some time before returning. You should get started with your own work Mr. Everhart."
"Although I won't be able to answer your doubts now, feel free to look for me after the school year starts. Now if you will excuse me, I have to visit a muggle student's house."
Stunned, Lucas watched as Professor McGonagall exited through the fireplace, presumably heading to the Leaky Cauldron and then to a student's house.
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"Are you going to visit a student's house professor?"
"Yes, this is quite the busy period of time for us teachers so before the students start coming in, you are the only free person in this castle."
"I am happy that you are interested in researching magic, but unfortunately I won't be able to provide you with any assistance in the recent period of time. After the classes start, you are most welcome to visit me for any doubts that you have."
With that, professor Fillius also left to visit another student.
---
"The only two people with who I am comfortable are gone?"
Lucas muttered to himself as he was heading back to his cabin.
'Well, I can wallow in self pity later. I should get back to starting my plan then.'
After reaching his cabin, he had gathered himself and decided to start with the mind arts, followed by everything he learnt before recovering his memories, and then move onto other stuff as per my plan.
*Hoot hoot.*
The sudden voice brought him out of his thinking as he looked towards the source, to find his owl sitting on the windowsill and looking at him with resentment.
"Ah! I forgot to feed you! How careless of me! Sorry I'll immediately get you your food, Aetherwing."
Lucas immediately got the food that he had prepared and gave it to his pet owl Aetherwing while coaxing and playing with him for a while.
"I'm really sorry, you know that I was too excited, right?"
*Hoot.*
"Okay, how about I make some really good food for you?"
*Hoot?*
"Well, I couldn't before, but I can make it soon after I learn it."
*Hoot.*
"What?! Really! Fine then I'll make you so strong that you won't have anything to complain about even if you are against a dragon!"
*Hoot?!*
"Oh yeah, why don't I try that? Making my owl strong enough that he will be an actual companion and not just a messenger. Hmm..."
*Hoot!*
"It will take some trial and error, but it should be possible, especially with the right rituals and potions. What if I combine the use like using potions and rituals to assist each other in a synergy? It seems feasible, but I will need the relevant knowledge first..."
*Hoot!!*
"Okay! Its decided! Project Athena will be on agenda after I finish with my relearning."
*Hoot?*
"Oh yeah, here's your water. Just wait, I will make you the best of the best, no, even better than the best! He hehe hehehehaha! Haha HAHA!!"
*H-hoot?**Trembling in the background of maniac laughter*
---
With a renewed and determined mindset, Lucas began his exploration of Occlumency and Legilimency the next morning after preparing himself. It was similar to as described in the fanfics, but not at the same time as it was more unique.
It involves emptying your mind completely and one by one moving memories around in your mental space to organize them properly so as to facilitate management and protection of those memories from an aggressor.
Legilimency was being the attacker as stealthily as possible. Thanks to the mind palace, he had quick progress with it, and was able to become quite proficient in it very fast. He planned to test out his skills on Filch's cat, Filch, and then the teachers. If all goes well, maybe even Dumbledore after some time.
He started to learn other basic spells and techniques of the mind arts like telepathic connection with his pet Aetherwing, memory transfer, memory storing in a object temporarily, knowledge absorption from a book, which basically copy pastes everything in the book onto your mind at a speed your mind is capable of handling.
There are also trap spells like if you are forced to hand over some mind art spells, they have versions with serious side effects like the knowledge absorption one will act like a virus and continuously make copies of that knowledge and freeze the person with information overload, which can either go on till the person becomes brain dead or stopped by the key.
'Yes I have the key.'
The days passed as he started re-learning soon after, as he had been able to perform Legilimency without either of the two professors noticing on the second morning itself, which shocked Lucas as the progress was too fast.
'But it makes sense as the talent allows me to understand completely any knowledge or information that I possess, and practicing it becomes much faster in normal circumstances, let alone with the boost of the talent. Now the Dumbledore test is the only one remaining. Let's see when he comes back.'
In the process of re-learning, he found out that he only had to perform any spell once or twice at the most to become very good at it. He never failed to cast at the first try.
'My talent is too OP!' *Tears of joy*
Needless to say, Lucas was beyond happy that he did not have to grind as he was lazy and wouldn't want to put too much effort into it if there were no results. Call him a loser or whatever you want, but after not getting results even after years of doing the same thing is frustrating and he doesn't like that feeling at all.
After the spells taught in Hogwarts, he moved on to the household spells, from the ones who help you get ready from scratch to the ones that ensure you have a good quality sleep, of course he also learnt the ones which warned him of any danger in his surrounding.