Harry Potter 5

A few hours passed since Michael started practicing magic. He quickly read through the book and tried out all the spells there, managing to cast them all. Which should've been expected considering his Magically Gifted perk helped with that. Intoning the chant wasn't a problem for him since Latin bore some similarity to Elvish, but it was much easier.

The only real issue that Michael had was with his wand movements as he was doing them with his left hand. Though after some practice, he was getting much better with his off-hand. He also didn't forget to cast all spells with his right hand at least one since he didn't know when he might need that. It was better to be safe than sorry after all.

Despite his success, Michael was still unhappy. Mostly due to the magic system of the world. It was more along the lines of 'do those set of actions to cast spells.' He wanted to understand how and why magic worked, but maybe that was the case due to the book being more like an introduction to magic.

That however, didn't stop him from experimenting a little bit. It took him a few tries, more than he wished to admit, but he successfully cast the most basic Wand-Lighting Charm without the spell word. It mostly involved him imagining the effect he desired while repeating the word in his mind. His success was rewarded as his new skill leveled up from that.

[Spell Casting(Apprentice): The ability to manipulate magical energy, both internal and external, to cast spells. At current level, spells cost 1.5x magical energy to be cast.

Spell Casting speed and damage depend on the Mind Stat.]

The cost for casting spells was now lower, but there were no further changes. Michael had even forgotten there was a cost as he had been using spells willy-nilly for the past few hours. Maybe they just didn't cost that much or… it was probably due to his perk. It did double his magical reserves after all.

Michael didn't think about it too much and focused on doing the rest of the spells without the intonation while contemplating how to raise the skill further. The obvious answer was to eliminate the hand movements. However, they were what… manipulated his magic and pulled it out of his body and into his wand. With that in mind, he turned his focus on how his magic moved whenever he cast one of the spells. However, a knock on his door interrupted him at that moment.

"Michael?" He heard Filius call to him from outside.

"Yes?" He asked.

"The Headmaster would like to meet with you." Said Filius without opening the door.

Michael quickly left his room and gestured with his hand. "Lead the way."

"I spoke about 'Aura' and your request with the Headmaster. There's a few things they would like to ask you about this ability of yours and what exactly you would require." Said Filius as they walked towards Dumbledore's office.

Michael just nodded, already expecting something like that. He did however, note that Filius said 'they would like to ask you.'

'Seems like the old man had contacted his allies for this.' Thought Michael as they reached the gargoyle, which was already to the side, revealing the stairs leading up to the Headmaster's office. There, he was greeted to the sight of four people sitting on a table, two of them were Professors he'd already met, while the other was a battle-hardened individual.

"I presume you know why you've been called." Said Dumbledore once Filius took his seat, which was elevated so his head was above the table. There was another chair there for him, but Michael chose to stand rather than sit.

"Aura." Michael said. Even if Filius hadn't told him, he wasn't that dumb. "And my request." He added afterward.

"Yes." Nodded Dumbledore, but before he could say anything else, the battle-hardened individual started firing questions.

"That's a lot you asked for, boy. One on one training in whatever branch you wish? And whatever equipment you request? Is that 'Aura' you speak of that useful? What can it do? Your claims about it sound interesting, but they are just that claims. And how is that no one knows about this 'Aura?' Why haven't we heard of it before? Also how do you plan on unlocking it others and why can't you do it now?"

"This is Alastor Moody. A powerful wizard, the best Auror currently, and a trusted friend of mine." Dumbledore introduced him quickly. "Don't mind him too much. That's just… his nature."

"Blimpy." Michael called out and the short creature appeared instantly.

"Blimpy's here," he said before his ears dropped protectively around his head after seeing the group of people. "W-what can's Blimpy do for yous, Master Mikael Sir?"

"I need a knife. Can you bring me one?" Asked Michael.

"Yes! Blimpy's can's, Sir!" He disappeared and a knife popped on the table moments after.

"Aura is a power anyone… or anything with a soul can use." Started Michael, shrouding himself with his dark purple one. He took it with his right hand and placed his left on the table before plunging the blade at it. The knife hit his skin, but stopped there as if it met a hard wall. Michael felt a small drain on his Aura, but nothing else happened.

"What are you doing?!" Minerva yelled at him, standing up and slamming her hands on the table while looking at him with quivering eyes. Filius almost reacted the same, but when he saw what happened, he started jumping in excitement on his chair. Dumbledore hummed while Snape's face was unreadable, a blank look that just gazed at the knife.

Moody, on the other hand, stood up and walked over to him with a wobble. Like Filius, he poked Michael's Aura, but his finger passed through it as if it was nothing but air. He then looked at the knife and how its tip was stopped by his skin.

"Proving you that my claim about Aura blocking physical damage wasn't baseless." Michael answered Minerva.

"Mind if I try? Not that I don't trust you, but I don't." Asked Moody, getting a death-inducing glare from Minerva. "Alastor!"

"Sure, go ahead." Michael handed him the knife. He didn't particularly like it, but he had to sell Aura's usefulness to them.

The second Moody grabbed the blade, he immediately plunged it towards Michael's hand, not giving him any time to prepare and without a hint of hesitation. Not that he needed to prepare for it as his Aura was already shrouding him. As expected, the tip hit his skin without damaging it. The knife even bounced of it.

Moody grunted and looked at it closer. He stayed there for a moment before letting out another grunt and moved back to his seat.

"Protection is one part of Aura." Said Michael afterward and grabbed the end of the table with his right hand. "One can also use it augment his physical strength, like so." Exerting himself, he gripped the table with all his power while focusing his Aura on his hand with his low-leveled Aura Manipulation. Cracks started forming on the wooden table as his fingers started digging in it.

"Remarkable." Exclaimed Dumbledore. For all intents and purposes, Michael had the body of an 11-year-old. He had been training every morning for the past week, but he shouldn't have been able to do that.

"What about that 'special ability' you spoke off?" Asked Snape, opening his mouth for the first time.

"Aura… " Michael had to think about his answer as he wasn't sure on that front. "Aura is directly linked to one's soul. I believe everyone's special ability will be different due to that."

"You believe?" Mood asked, picking up on that.

"My control of Aura is far from perfect." Answered Michael and raised his hand with the palm facing upward. He focused and his Aura formed what looked like a triangle, or the tip of a mountain, depending from the angle one looked at it. "I should be able to reach the control I need for my special ability in less than a year." At least he hoped so. His experience, although with a different type of Aura, should help him with that.

"You can change its shape? How useful is that?" Moody quickly asked. Michael just turned his palm towards the table and pushed down while focusing on his Aura to make it more solid. When the tip touched the wood, it met some resistance, but he continued pushing, causing creaks to be heard in the room. Figuring he made his point, he stopped.

"So it can be used as a weapon as well." Noted Moody and asked. "What about magic? Can Aura protect you from spells?"

"I'm unsure about that. None of the first grade Charms are damaging in any way, so I couldn't test that out." Answered Michael.

"So you have practiced the Charms!" Exclaimed Filius, bouncing up on his chair.

"I did earlier." Nodded Michael and added. "They weren't that hard, considering each one had clear instructions on how to cast."

There was a brief silence following his statement as all the adults stared at him.

"How many of them did you successfully use?" Asked Filius shortly.

"All of them. Like I said, it wasn't that hard when there was an exact description on how to do them." Answered Michael.

"And have you done magic before?" Asked Dumbledore, his eye sparkling as he watched Michael.

"No." He shook his head. "There was no one to teach me."

"Can you shows us?" Requested Dumbledore. "Not that we don't believe you."

"As you wish." Said Michael and took out his wand from his pocket. He swirled it around and pointed at the knife on the table, causing it to lift up in the air.

Silence followed after his display. Supposedly, Michael had started working on his magic today and was able to cast the first-year Charms non-verbally without prior experience? That was hard to believe, despite them seeing it with their eyes.

"And why did you omit the chant?" Asked Dumbledore, getting into his teaching state.

"Isn't the chant only there for us to focus on the desire effect?" Replied Michael. "The wand movements seem more important as they draw my magic in… a specific pattern?"

Dumbledore hummed approvingly while the others stayed quiet. The old man was definitely impressed. Most kids had a hard time on using spells without the chant, but then again, Michael didn't really act like a kid. He was definitely mature, and Dumbledore's theory of time travel seemed much more likely. However, his statement of having no one to teach him magic, irked the old man. 'Why hadn't he attended a wizarding school before?' He decided to think about that later.

"I believe we got sidetracked a bit." Said Dumbledore. "Let us return back to the topic at hand. You informed Filius that you will be able to unlock the Aura of others in the future? When can we expect that and how will you do it?"

Michael himself didn't know how to unlock another's Aura, but Thirteen had given him a hint, two of them even, when he sent him that message earlier. "To unlock someone else's Aura, I will use my own. However… my control and reserves are currently not good enough."

"In an year, I believe I could get my Aura control to the required level. As for my reserves… I'm unsure on that part. If you know any methods for one to increase the strength of his soul, they could be helpful with that, as long as they aren't harmful. Aura is linked to one's soul after all, and the stronger it us, the more I will have of it." Said Michael.

"There… is a way, I guess." Dumbledore replied, slightly hesitant. "Some rituals could help with that front. Though they have been banned by the Ministry for the most part."

"For the most part?" Asked Michael.

"It's an open secret that pure-blood families continued to do them. Helps them keep their advantage over Muggles. Even though they are banned, the Ministry does jackshit to stop them. Doesn't help that it's hard to prove if one has done them or not." Answered Moody, clearly unhappy with that.

"Rituals?" Asked Michael. "Are they harmful? And how will they affect me?"

"It depends." Replied Dumbledore. "There are truly dark rituals that require… sacrifices and could be harmful. But of course, the opposite also exist."

The old man's words were vague, not really answering Michael's questions. He'd heard of rituals in Liorderat, but he knew nothing about them. Still, he was interested in them now and would undertake them as long as they didn't harm him.

"There's just one more thing I would like to ask you." Started Dumbledore. "How has your progress with Occlumency been? Have you had any troubles?"

Dumbledore was aware only a week had passed since he gave Michael the book, but after hearing his earlier words and seeing his display of magic, he hoped for the best. The faster they learned off Tom's horcruxes, the quicker they could start dealing with them. Dumbledore still hoped Michael knew of a way to safely remove the soul in Harry's body. He'd been checking up on the boy regularly in the past few days, and he hadn't exhibited any signs of being possessed as of now.

Harry had been living with him in the Headmaster's tower, and he's been nothing but thankful to the old man for 'saving' him from his… relatives. They couldn't be called family after seeing how they had treated the boy and his living conditions. It pained Dumbledore that he hadn't checked up on Harry in the past 6 years, but he thought the boy would be safe, and he had been overflown with work ever since the war ended.

"I believe… I will get the first stage done in about a month and start sorting my memories." Replied Michael.

"Truly?" Snape asked, his face blank, but he was surprised by that. Pure-blood families start teaching their kids Occlumency at an early age, at about 7 to 8, and it takes them a year or two to before learning the first stage. There was, of course, a faster way for one to learn Occlumency, but that one wasn't pleasant and could potentially be harmful. It was best to be avoided and done only in dire circumstances.

"Yes." Confirmed Michael confidently. He was almost certain he only needed Meditation to reach the next level for that to happen. And he had been meditating every night and will continue doing so. Since Meditation was considered as a magical skill, he was sure it won't take him that long to level it up once more.

"That's good, that's good." Repeated Dumbledore, very happy to hear that. He then took a deep breath and smiled. "I believe we don't have anything else to discuss for now. Starting tomorrow, expect one of the Professors to visit you and start teaching you their specialties."

Dumbledore's words were clear. He had accepted his request, at least part of it. 'This is fine for now. I could bargain for more when I sort my memories.'

Minerva simply nodded at Dumbledore's words, Filius looked excited as he grinned at Michael, while Snape allowed a small frown to form on his face, clearly displeased by that. Michael noted their expressions, thinking he would have to careful around the slimy fellow. He left the office and returned to his room, feeling content for the moment.

'Having someone to support and help me… feel nice.'