Chapter 25: A Peaceful Year.  

(-Note: Ramadan Mubarak, this chapter is dedicated to those who know hunger and misery. Peace and cheese.)

"Well, I do hope you are having fun blatantly disrespecting authority." Said McGonagall, sitting on her comfortable chair with her favourite tea and some scones.

"When said authority is a potentially criminal, obviously immoral and awfully irritating narcissistic scoundrel of man…" I answered, pausing to put another sugar in my coffee "Then yes, I am having loads of fun."

The older woman could only sigh, the result of a mix of exasperation and fondness that was only magnified by her own dislike of the fraudulent mess that was our defence teacher.

"Just don't make it a habit, my boy. You are my only hope for a level-headed new generation, as it is" And how exactly was I supposed to reject something like that.

"Only if you teach me how to become an animagus earlier." I countered, knowing full well it was unlikely to work.

"Nice try." She quickly turned me down "But we have already talked about it, and I would rather see you bullying Lockhart than trapped in partial transformation."

"…You have a point."

She usually did, especially when she wasn't mimicking a panda by overworking herself to defeat the paperwork almighty.

Our chats only got more frequent with the fraud's lessening influence and the many study groups students started as an alternative to DADA classes, older students would help the younger ones while the teachers gave special lessons to Owl and Newts level students.

It translated into less trouble repairing Lockhart's damage and thus less additional work for the staff, while the students found a new favourite activity in the ruthless pranking of the self-sucking walking phallic simulacrum.

Of course, the prank budget I offered to the Weasleys didn't have anything to do with the more…violent pleasantries.

The two redheads were the most talented troublemakers I'd ever met, and still managed to remain likable. There was something about their hidden intellect and rather fierce temperament that made the two's fool proof loyalty and guts even more admirable traits.

Fred and George were highly perceptive, gifted wizards who know which buttons they can and cannot push. Staying mischievous yet never falling in the trappings of undeserved cruelty, jokesters but not bullies…

The line between the two was paper thin, as the dead Potter could attest.

They were Gryffindors, and bloody good ones.

Coupled with their magical potential, and their quality as two of the rare innovative wizards that remains in this world, they proved themselves to be worthy of my association…and maybe one day, they'll win my trust, as Professor McGonagall, and to a lesser extent, Padma and Luna did.

Their characters were thereby complete, and warranted an offer of friendship in the form of a formal invitation to dine with me in the school's kitchen to discuss their future.

To say that they were surprised would be an understatement, but they took it very well and accepted my offer, seeing it for what it truly was.

In their own words, why wouldn't they take the opportunity to befriend the scary second year muggleborn orphan who somehow managed to become richer than a minor house and won over their even scarier head of house?

"Were you thinking of something rude, Magnus?" Asked the one they fear, lips pursed in a way that make most students squirm in their seats.

Fortunately, I had the time to build a tolerance.

"Depends." I took a bite of my opera, my favourite pastry "I'd say it's pretty flattering, as someone who received the same compliment."

It took her less than ten seconds to deduce what I meant, and people say I'm unfairly smart?

"If you had enough daydreaming, would you mind telling me about your progress in elemental conjuration?" The Scottish witch, asked me as she finished her scones, making fall into a heated discussion about the intricacies of what was becoming some of my favourite transfigurations.

It doesn't have anything to do with a long-lasting dream of setting more pink things on fire. That would be very troubling, wouldn't it?

. +E-S+ .

I love the Ravenclaw common room, a fact that only made my strained relationship with most of my house an even more depressing truth.

I did not regret it however, they were a bunch of precocious children with superiority and inferiority complexes so big they could make the brood master himself nod in approbation.

But times like this, when I can be an ordinary Ravenclaw in the company of the few students I got along with were moments I cherished.

Especially when it involved manhandling Padma in wizard's chess while Luna was cheering in the background.

"…And you lose again." I said as drily as I could, repressing a smile while my literally queen beat her king into submission.

Somewhere in the world, someone made smut about this.

"Again." Was her elegant answer, she was biting her thumb white while she fixed the board as if it held the secrets of her defeat…which it kind of did.

Who would have thought that my many thrashings while I played against Duncan, the janitor of my orphanage and only friend for a long time who is now enjoying his vacations in Hawaii after receiving two hundred thousand pounds as compensation for helping this body's previous owner, would ever serve me in this life?

"Luna, what's the score?" I asked the first year, who was currently revising her astronomy while keeping an eye on our game.

"Two brothers in an orb to absolutely nothing." Was her absolutely not confusing reply.

"Eleven to zero?" I hazarded a guess, it was a game I loved played with the little chipmunk.

"Correct." She smiled, giving me a chocolate cube I ate right away. "Padma is right, it's inelegant number, you should some more."

"Why are you speaking as if I had no chance." Complained Padma, glaring at the little one.

"Because you don't." Luna answered, not shying away from the older girl's frustrations "Magnus always win."

"True." I chirped, patting the small blonde's head.

"She's not a pet, Magnus." Said Padma, rubbing her forehead in exasperation, though I could see the beginnings of a smile in her face.

"Maybe, but Luna is a good girl." I countered.

"True." She said, enjoying the head pats while I started beating Padma again.

Not that she knew.

. +E-S+ .

On a Sunday morning, a few dozen students were gathered in one of the school's larger classrooms for the second session of the duelling club.

After the monumental fiasco that was the first one, the abysmal quality of the wizard in charge of it and the closing of the chamber of secrets thanks to your truly, most students lost interest in what should be one of the most interesting activities in the school.

I was of course present, having dragged both Padma and Luna with me as I re-joined with the weasley twins, who wouldn't miss this opportunity to lawfully cause mayhem, for such was their nature.

There was also a fair number of older students, some of which I could recognise; Cedric Diggory, Penelope Clearwater and that cur son of house Davies that dared pick up on our friendly neighbourhood Luna.

'Yup, it's going to be very fun.' I thought, sharing a meaningful look with the twins, who knew of the events that transpired within the tower.

"Attention…Attention please!" Called the fraudulent mess, whose hairs had been freshly regrown after a particularly spectacular display of charmwork from Gred and Forge.

"A shame." I told them, receiving sad nods in return, the two mourning the end of one of their best creations.

"Here we are, all wands ready for the second session of the Duelling Club." He announced theatrically, bowing down to the mere thirty students present.

"Though the threat of the heir of Slytherin have been dealt with by your most competent teachers." He paused, flashing a bright smile and a wink he must've thought charming "The world remains a dangerous place, with dark creatures and wicked scoundrels lurking everywhere. Which is why we must never let our guard down, and all should prepare for the worst."

'This…was oddly normal' I thought, mildly disturbed by what I have witnessed. Beside his less than subtle arrogant mannerism and undeserved self-praise, Lockhart's initial speech had the merit of being surprisingly tame.

"But fret not, with me, Gilderoy Lockhart, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award, no harm shall ever befall you." He exclaimed, arms opened dramatically as he turned around, making his notice-me coloured robes bellow in a pale imitation of our resident batman enthusiast.

'That's more like him.' I deadpanned, feeling the now familiar desire to hex him returning in force. 'Maybe I should actually contact the vampire covens? Or perhaps I'd have better luck writing to Fenrir Greyback?'

"Today, I have the assistance of your charm teacher, Professor Flitwick. He had some experience in duelling himself, and sportingly agreed to assist me in my task along with Professor Snape." Lockhart introduced the small half-goblin, who was looking less than amused with the situation.

Flitwick, after all, had no desire to second that bumbling buffoon. Nor did Snape for that matter, who only wished to maintain the casualties at an all-time low according to McGonagall. The later was the one who insisted on both of their presences, the previous disaster urging her take dispositions lest the club is once again closed.

'Let's hope the two of them are enough to control him.' I chuckled inwardly, expecting some juicy altercation between them and Lockhart.

"Alright students." Called the small charm teacher, interrupting whatever nonsense Lockhart was about to say. "Looking back at the failure that was the first session, Professor Snape and myself taught it preferable to review the basics of duelling before any new spell is incorporated into your limited arsenal."

"Professor Flitwick..." Started the disconcerted defence teacher.

"Duelling is more than flashy charms and chains spells, it is a complex and difficult discipline that require efforts, dedication and quick thinking in order to achieve victory over your foe." The small instructor ignored him, enrapturing the students with his words. "From the posture to the footwork and the many tactics the sensible duellist know, there are many aspects to the ancient and noble art of duelling than spellwork."

"More than a sport, or a more regulated way for wizards to settle their grudges without resorting to blood feuds, duelling is above all else the art of defending oneself against hostiles." Flitwick said "Be it dangerous muggle armies, rampaging magical beast or threatening wizards eager to get the better of you."

"In order to ensure their survival, the first duellists compiled treatise and techniques to forge an effective method to use magic in battle." He spoke gravely "Many grimoires of spells, meant to both attack and defend, were written and published. Refined and tempered with time, creating the unpredictable and varied faces of modern dualism."

"However, it is not limited to magical prowess. As manoeuvring, strategy and physical capabilities are also highly useful in battle, which is why all professional duellists strive to stay at their peak physical condition." He continued, going deeper and deeper into the intricacies of duelling as he taught us the basics of the craft.

After some time, Professor Snape took the lead, telling us about the dangers tied to duelling with a gravity only he could conjure. The mere sound of his voice as kept telling us about the many dark creatures we might face in the future, and how duelling could save our lives in such situation, was enough to make Lockhart go pale as he remembered his possible doom at the hands of the creatures he insulted, repeatedly.

Did Snape do it on purpose? Obviously. Did I care about it? Not one bit.

The two pedagogues have in one session given us a clear idea of what duelling really was, how we would progressively delve into the discipline in the club, the rules and regulation put in place to keep us safe and the reason behind them…and they still managed to ridicule Lockhart through it all.

It. Was. Awesome.

It was not as good as getting some practise in, but still very enjoyable…though I would absolutely love having another shot at Davies, the cur has been glaring at me for a while now.

The small teacher started enjoying the Duelling Club now that Lockhart was all but put aside for our collective sake, he answered our questions with enthusiasm while Snape corrected our postures and advised us on the best course of action when facing an enemy in a real situation.

The potion master has always wanted to teach defence against the dark arts but has always been rejected by Dumbledore, and now he finally had the occasion to fulfil, at least partly, that dream of his.

So, it was safe to say that he was having a rather good time…well, as good of a time as Severus Snape can possibly have in the company of other human beings.

Too quickly for all our tastes, the second and first successful session of Hogwarts duelling club came to an end. We were all sent away after deciding whether or not we shall pursue our membership in the club, with the next session programmed for next week.

"So, do you still regret coming with me?" I asked Padma while eating a chocolate cake a Hogwarts elf made for me earlier in the day, a delicious thing I've kept nice and cold with preservation and cooling charms.

"I did not come with you, you forcibly dragged me there." She corrected with a smile as she tried, and failed to steal some of my wonderful chocolate "But no, it was a surprisingly good experience for something that involved Lockhart."

"And that didn't involve psychologically torturing him." Added Luna, eating some strawberry cake. Her eyes promised pain to whoever would dare try and eat some of it...*cough*Padma*cough*

'She should have come with us' I thought, before shrugging and savouring my small bit of sugary heaven.

"…This sounds extremely wrong when you put it like that." She said, perplexed by our nonchalance.

"He is a potentially dangerous narcissistic fraud who is doing his best to ruin this year of defence against the dark arts, and could have caused some real damage if the chamber of secrets wasn't closed quick enough." I explained once I swallowed my cake, unwilling to pull a Ronald, "He deserves psychological torture."

"He's a nargle." Added Luna. "A particularly annoying one."

"True." I confirmed.

"…alright." Padma said, giving up "Can I, at least, have some cake?"

""No.""

. +E-S+ .

Moments turned into days, days turned into weeks and before I noticed, months had passed since the last opening of the chamber.

There were no deadlines spurring me into action, no looming danger constantly hanging over me and certainly no bloodthirsty giant snake threatening to hunt down all those who share my blood. I lived my life as an ordinary student, well, ordinary by wizarding standard.

Attending my lessons, excluding the defence and History classes which were honestly jokes beyond my comprehension, socializing with my newly expanded friend group and cherishing every new experience and bond I formed. From my weekly tea parties that were bound to devolve into impromptu transfiguration conferences with Professor McGonagall to the many sessions of the duelling club where I received the instruction of two accomplished duellists, to the many wonders of magic and treasured knowledge I found within the walls of Hogwarts.

I enjoyed myself in ways innumerable…it was an alien, if welcomed experience.

Brewing potions, learning new charms and perfecting my transfiguration every day, helping Padma and Luna with their own work while honing my skills in alchemy, rituals and the darker arts by night, being tutored by McGonagall in everything from the hardest magic to the more mundane life lessons, eating delicious food and renewing my addiction for coffee and chocolate…it was simple, yet wonderful.

'Who would have thought that living life to the fullest involved more than constant planning and training?' I thought, smiling in derision as I finished what little paperwork I had to fill to choose my electives.

I've decided to go with arithmancy and ancient runes, the two disciplines being necessary for many more expert career paths while also being absolutely fascinating on their own.

Arithmancy was more than a more exact form of divination based on probabilities and numerology, it was an intricate set of rules that behaved more like a magical take on mathematics that anything else.

Arithmancic formulas were the essence on which most spells were built, from the tickling charm to the more obscure transfiguration equations and even the dreadful dark curses. Everything from the incantation to the wand movement was created using precise calculus on the part of the skilful arithmancers.

It was thus the basis of spell making, curse breaking, magical tracking and many more thrilling disciplines. With a record like that, who in their right mind wouldn't take arithmancy as an elective?

Ancient runes were even better, while it was presented as mere tradition of elder texts and dead languages with a magical spin, you couldn't get farther from the truth of the matter.

Runes were the written crystallisation of magics, these symbols held magical and mythopoeic meanings of great magnitude which had the virtue of interacting and altering their own arcane characteristics in the presence of other runes. This quality allowed the prospect of imbuing properties of said runes in a more permanent fashion than the common charm, while also creating effects that would be beyond direct spellcasting.

In less mind-numbing terms, runes were a written form of magic used in enchantment, curse breaking and the creation of wards in addition to their use in rituals.

In short, pure awesome.

I contemplated taking Care of Magical Creatures as an additional course, but ultimately decided against it. While the magical bestiary was fascinating, Hagrid's curriculum would principally be on horrid creature like those blast ended skrewts of his, Buckbeak the hippogriff being an exception.

The fact that most people took it in addition to divination of all things, instead of arithmancy and runes, based on the ease and simplicity of the course had nothing to do with my decision.

Nor did the high concentration of troublesome people in that particular class, for that matter.

The end of the school year was getting ever closer, and with it came more work for dear old me. After all, I had to officially open an account at Gringotts for the sake of my future escapades.

Being dependent on muggle banks was bound to bring me trouble at some point, no matter how many hands I greased. Transferring my assets to the less scrupulous goblins would allow a peaceful transition, and if the material I studied on them, the goblin nation was very unlikely to disappoint me.

And who knows? I could be the last living descendent of house Ravenclaw…nah, I'm obviously not that lucky.

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Hey guys! It's uncle Sheo!

Here another chapter, nice and long, for you gentlemen (And ladies, even if you're only 8% of my audience).

Magnus has finished the hard work, and from then on it was only smooth sailing for the rest of the year. I present you some fluff and feel good juice, and some nice development for my main character. The school year's ending, but our main boy's plans are long and far reaching, even if contacting Gringotts is something he may have done a bit earlier.

On another note, i have some announcements!

1- Some of my readers asked me about an eventual Patr*eon, but political reasons make it highly impractical for an Algerian. I opened a Ko-fi instead, an alternative platform that works the same as the P-word and allows you to support your favourite Mad Prince with a coffee.

Here's my link: https://ko-fi.com/sheogorath2004

2- I opened a Discord ! (finally.) The Shivering Isles are officially open, i welcome all the insane inside my realms were they discuss many highly disturbing subjects...and harry potter too.

3- A buddy of mine, AshestoDust is making a new fic! I've got the privilege to read preview, and i'm honestly thrilled to see just how much he'll develop it. I recommend it to everyone, once it's published that is. You won't regret it!

4- I know that Webnovel often do weird stuff one we put link in the story, so i shall post them in the chapter and paragraph comments as a security.

Sur Ce, i wish you a Ramadan Karim and the sweetest cheese in the world!

Peace and Cheese!