6 Ch. 6

--Sunday, 30th August 1992--

The past two weeks have been a complete joy for me. After getting the general idea of my new ability, I did my best to gain a better understanding of the Skill Card power. I figured the more I understand, the more I can exploit it!

One of the first things I learned about absorbing a skill; there is a limit to how many cards I can absorb in a day. There isn't a set number of cards to this limitation, but this is a self-imposed rule. I came up with this 'rule', based on the skull-splitting headache that came over me after absorbing four blue level magic cards within a few hours of each other. It took an entire day for the pain to decrease enough for me to get out of bed.

Oddly enough, this number does not apply to absorbing skills I already have a high level in. I can absorb half a dozen blue Charms cards without much of an issue. From my understanding, combining a blue skill card with my current one only adds a slightly different perceptive of the spells I already know. I do gain any additional spells the second card had over my own, but for the most part, it's mostly the same spells.

A limit does come into play when I'm absorbing new skills or advancing a current skill to a higher color, such as purple! Which is the level of skill after blue. I discovered this little tidbit when I went skill hunting.

The two days after the book signing, I returned to Diagon Alley to do a bit more 'shopping'. I visited every shop in Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, and Carkitt Market. At each shop, I would acquire the highest card from the shop owner and shoppers, but occasionally I would take the skill card pertaining to the type of shop I was in.

When browsing the wares in a magical luggage shop, I used my celebrity status to speak with the owner. Once the elderly witch was before me, I didn't hesitate to take her Magic Charms card. I doubted many could rival the woman's experience and knowledge when it came to Expansion Charms, and I was right.

While visiting Slug & Joggers Apothecary, I gained a purple card in Magical Potions from the resident Potion Master, but I didn't take the light purple Potions card from his apprentice. I didn't think there would be a great difference of perspective from master to apprentice, so I took the younger man's Magical Herbology instead.

That is where I came up with a difficulty level for the colors. Blue skill cards were obviously N.E.W.T. level difficulty, so I labeled purple as being master level. I'm not sure if there is a level between purple and the burnt orange colored cards I seen on Voldemort's soul piece but I've labeled orange as being legendary level. I came up with that from the fact I've not seen another orange card, even after visiting the Ministry of Magic!

The Ministry, while filled with witches and wizards, was slightly disappointing. I didn't visit every level or see every employee, but the skill level of the witches and wizards there was not impressive. The Aurors had the highest average level of cards for the most part, but there were only eight in the office when I showed up. The best part was getting a purple Magic Dueling and Defense Against the Dark Arts skill cards!

Another stop while at the Ministry was the Wizarding Examinations Authority department. I was able to talk with the elderly witch, Griselda Marchbanks, and another elderly man, about what I should concentrate on to prepare my future students for the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. examinations. They wouldn't give me the testing curriculum, but they were kind enough to give me a list of what each year is expected to know and be proficient at.

After three days of strolling through shops and magical buildings, and I finally acquired all the skills I deemed necessary to survive in this world. Some of the skills were not at the level I wanted them to be at, but I figured a bit of self-study and practice wouldn't hurt. I've cast more spells in the first week being in this world than Old Gil cast in the last ten years. His rudimentary skill at Occlumency is now my beautiful blue skill card of Dumbledore-protection.

Dumbledore was another concern. Concern for my freedom and concern for what skill I should lift from the greatest wizard alive. His Magic Comprehension paired with Voldemort's talent would be scary, but I'm sure Dumbledore possessed a ton of amazing skills.

It was thoughts of Dumbledore and him being hailed as a genius that convinced me to expand my skills outside of the wizarding world. I needed an edge, and what better way than muggle science!

I went to the University of London and was lucky enough to find the fall semester just beginning. This allowed me to gain access to most buildings as I acted like a regular college student. I have to admit, the different campuses turned into a treasure trove of magnificent skills!

I spent several days exploring the various campuses and buildings, and it was time well spent. It could easily be described as addicting. There were just so many fascinating things to discover! I gained green skill cards in biology, anatomy, astronomy, chemistry, physiology, geology, physics, and mathematics. I figured these would help me in Alchemy, Healing, and Arithmancy at the very least.

The sports teams and clubs uncovered another aspect of my ability. After gaining cards in multiple martial arts, they combined to form a Mixed Martial Arts skill card. Oddly enough, my fencing card still remained. It was only unarmed disciplines that made up my new card.

Naturally, I sought out skills in painting and several musical instruments. These would only serve to add to my persona as a man of sophistication. I do not own any of the musical instruments I have a skill card for... Hell, I haven't even absorbed any of them! But I can if I wanted to. That was the case for many of my skill cards. I haven't absorbed them yet, but I have them in the event I need them.

My time touring the college allowed me to discover a few other secrets to my wonderful ability. The first is that not all skills have advance levels to them. While sitting in on a literature class, the professor only had a white card in Language: English. It was the purest white of any card I've seen, but it is still only a white card. The second thing I learned is I am not stealing knowledge from anyone. I extracted a chemistry skill card from a professor in the middle of his lecture, and he didn't even pause a moment.

To be honest, I would continue to use my ability even if I was robbing people of their knowledge and experience in a specific field. I wouldn't have done it maliciously, but I need to protect myself from the brewing backlash of Old Gil's past discretions. Dumbledore suspects... me... of being a fraud, and there is no way I make it out of Hogwarts unscathed unless I perform to my reputation.

I would feel bad for my victims, but I think spending time in Azkaban would make me feel far worse. Fortunately, this won't be an issue!

As I Flooed into the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, I couldn't help but take a deep inhale due to the smell of freshly baked bread. Stepping out of the stone fireplace, I ignored the curious stares from the bar patrons as I took in the scene.

The wizarding pub was rustic, with exposed wood beams and antlers mounted on the walls. It reminded me of a hunting lodge, but it was still warm and inviting. It was completely different from the modern bars I'm used to. I like it.

My scan of the room abruptly ends when I take in the massive form of a man-shaped being moving towards me. I would guess he stood somewhere close to ten feet tall, the man's frizzy hair nearly brushed the rafters of the loft area. The bushy beard fanning across his chest didn't hide the fact the man was over twice as wide as me. He would be utterly terrifying if there wasn't a noticeable amount of kindness coming from his dark eyes.

Of course, the moment the walking wall neared me, all care for his size went out the window. I could only excitedly stare up towards his head in glee. Floating around the behemoth's hairy melon was a slew of skill cards.

I thought I had become desensitized to the sudden appearance of cards hovering around people's heads. But I guess I wasn't desensitized to the sight of four skill cards in the color of blood-red!