Chapter 11: Resolve

As I got into my room I immediately grabbed the bag I had next to my desk. Within was some miscellaneous things I had placed inside over the last 3 years I had been here at the orphanage. I poured the contents onto my bed emptying the bag fully, ready for me to pack properly.

The plan I had in mind was unrealistic and honestly risky to say the least, however just sitting around and letting Nana slowly die in a years' time was something I just couldn't do. If I had been born sooner in this world, I might have been able to join Hogwarts sooner and not have to make this risk. Alas I was still 3 years off from the enrollment age. Since I was in dire need of magic and magic knowledge, I had to make gambles.

Heading over to my desk I open one of the drawers. Placed inside the drawer was the money I had saved over these last 3 years. Taking the money out I started to count the amount I had. Counting the notes and then the coins the amount came to around £300. Honestly I was surprised when I counted the amount, Nana was certainly generous when it came to my allowance.

Even if I gave all this back to her though telling her to pay the bills she had, it would only make a small dent though. It was better to exchange this money for galleons and get the books I need. Any books that included notes about medi-magic, anything that allowed me to alleviate Nana's pain and maybe even get rid of it all together I would purchase without question.

Rummaging through the stuff now all dumped on my bed I found something I had gotten from Melony a year back now. It was a map of London. Melony is most of the time at this orphanage however there are times when she does travel out for a weekend. She was a young adult after all so it only made sense she wouldn't want to be stuck here all the time. I remembered a year ago when she came back from London and complained about how lost she got and that the map she bought didn't help her at all. Hearing the words 'London' and 'Map' I practically begged her for it.

In my last life I didn't live in London, I never even really visited it either. I lived in a town within the countryside of England so I sympathized with Melony's distress of how lost you'd probably get. Opening the map I scanned the entire thing, the majority of London seemed to be the same as my 'earth' however some of the places did have name changes. There was only one place I was searching for though. After several minutes scanning, I located it.

'The Leaky Cauldron'

Seeing the leaky cauldron, I located the fastest route between it and London's train station. With that route now memorized. I stuffed the map back into my bag. Looking at the bag again I decided that was all I needed for now. I'll buy food whilst travelling as I wanted to keep the bag as empty as possible. More space in my bag meant more room for books, unless a kind passing wizard enchants my bag with an extension charm which I heavily doubted.

"Go to train station, get to London, get to Diagon alley, get books or at least something to help Nana and then come back"

It sounded simple however as my gaze reached the mirror in my room I remembered a critical thing. I was only an 8 year old boy. With the exercise I had done in the past 3 years though I think people would be convince if I said I was 10 though. It was up to the discretion of the trains if they would let me on at that age and there's even a chance I won't be allowed to buy things in Diagon alley yet. Honestly the more I thought about this plan deeply the more I realized how much I was leaving to chance. I would have to sugar coat my words a lot to convince anyone who deemed me suspicious.

"If I don't give it even a shot I'll regret it"

Steeling myself once more I took all the stuff dumped on my bed and dumped it into a draw on my desk. Putting the bag by my bedside, I sat on my bed. Seeing as though I had nothing else to do and going downstairs right now would just fill me with depression, I decided to just start magic practice again. This time however I wanted to be more adventurous, no I HAD to be more adventurous.

With Nana's situation right now I was in desperate need of drastic growth. If I stuck to the same safe and simple method of magic growth, I would only increase my magic capacity by a marginal amount. What I needed to do instead now was be more creative with my magic application. I needed to exhaust my magic supply quicker so that the capacity would increase. If I stuck to the same method chances were I'd get to Diagon alley, find a book with the spell I need and not even be able to cast it. After all, I would need to do it wandlessly also as I wouldn't be able to get a wand yet. I could always chance trying to get a wand though whilst I'm there…

Time started to pass slowly in my room. I controlled the magic in me and attempted many different methods of application. Most failed, either the magic just wouldn't activate or it would instantly disperse. It made me wonder how that ET spell worked with my finger glowing. Despite the constant failures though, I was stubborn. I continued to practice and the minutes flew by. With my increased capacity over 3 years of training, I was able to be a bit more experimental for longer periods of time.

As the sun rose into the sky and fell all the same, I spent all that time only in my room. I never left even for a second. I simply sat still and kept trying different methods. As the moon started to rise outside, I had some accomplishments. If I directed the magic to my fingertips I could extend it out from my fingertips with some effort. When doing this it was possible to connect it to an object in my room and move it around a bit. Compared to the ET spell, this sapped my magic in a matter of seconds. Seeing this method work though I felt glee fill my head. Essentially what I was doing was recreating 'Telekinesis' however at an extremely simple and small scale. Understanding how this worked meant later down the line I'd be capable of real 'Telekinesis' using this application.

It stands to reason that since I reached maturity so early my capacity should be greater than even those witches and wizards around 11/12 years old. However what I didn't have that they had was wands. Feeling my magic sap from me so quickly doing this sort of 'wandless' practice I realized how vital a role wands played in 'growth'. It was honestly a miracle I had gotten this far without one, probably something I can attest to the 'talent' this body had.

Feeling exhaustion fill my body, I had a radical idea come to mind due to the dire need for growth right now. Usually I would allow my body to naturally restore its magic reserves and grow a bit in the meantime. This was the safest method after all. However, now that I was pressed for time I couldn't use the safest method. A certain breathing method raised to the top of my mind.

I smiled wryly thinking of that method again. I literally nearly disabled myself last I used it and now I was planning on using it again solely to restore the magic within me quicker. Its application was said to only be needed to reach maturity however the way in which the method worked was that it drew the magic in the surroundings into your body faster than what your body would do normally.

I collected myself for a moment and calmed my nerves. Thinking about Nana's weak face in that bed my resolve strengthened. As the moon started to reach a peak in the sky, I enacted the breathing method for the second time in my life. Magic started to gather within me at an incredible speed. Unlike when I used this method to reach maturity though, the time needed was extended due to my capacity having grown in the last 3 years. The main problem with this was I had to withstand the pain of magic rushing and raging within me for a longer period of time. I felt my teeth chatter as the pain increased at every passing minute. After 5 minutes of doing the breathing method I felt 'full' and started to slow the method to a stop.

Giving a moment for the pain to subside, I looked down at my hands and pointed one of my fingers at the pen left on my desk. Extending the magic out from within me, I was able to make the pen move from where I was on my bed. My desperate gamble had paid off, although the method was radical and painful, it worked.

.

The moon fell quickly after that. I continued to repeat the steps I had created all night until dawn started to break. I didn't even allow myself to feel tired as I focused my entire mind on the process I had created. I would apply magic in diverse ways to expend my magic within me then when I was empty I would use the breathing method to get my magic back quicker. I repeated this process over and over again until the sun from dawn sent a ray through my window and into my eyes.

Compared to the 3 years of slow growth, this single night I had managed to grow probably around 4 months' worth. What this meant was in about 8 hours I had managed to match nearly 1/9 of my overall growth since I first reached magical maturity. An incredible improvement. The only downside was I was extremely mentally fatigued from the process. That and the constant pain from using the breathing method.

Honestly I wondered why there wasn't any mention of this method in the original canon. It was incredible despite its risk. The more I thought on it though the more I started to realize why. This method was an ancient method for starters, not many people would know about it. I can thank my luck that Pandora was around and that she is a researcher like she is so her having the book makes sense. Despite it being an ancient method though most noble witch and wizard families would probably have the method, why didn't they use it?

It was simple to answer that also, not only would it probably be due to the fact the process is painful and dangerous but also because to those families there was no point. Their children magically matured at 11 and got their wands soon after. With a wand in hand, those children would be able to learn spells quickly and efficiently whilst their capacity improved slowly and naturally. In their eyes there's no need to do this sort of risky method as the normal method is much safer and reliable. I'm sure some probably tried the method in the distant past however with its risks they probably ended up deeming the method too dangerous. Only a maniac like me would use this method to force growth.

Picking myself up from my bed I looked out at the ocean view I had from my window once more. Seeing the sun starting to rise I decided I needed to make a move immediately. Grabbing my bag next to my bedside, I put it on my back before heading over to my desk. Writing a small note I left words for Melony and Nana simply stating I had something to do and that I would be back soon and not to worry. I headed out my room and downstairs to the common room area. I walked with quiet steps trying not to alert anyone. As I got to the common room area I looked around and saw Melony who was asleep on the couch.

Next to her were a few boxes of tissues, all nearly empty. Her eyes looked red raw from the constant crying. Nana was her only remaining 'real' family after all. Hearing and knowing she would die in a year, she was obviously hit hard by that sort of news. Seeing Melony in this state made my resolve much more resolute.

Looking at the entrance I remembered I'd probably need a key to leave. I wasn't able to cast a 'wandless' alohamora after all yet. Racking my brain I tried to remember where Nana leaves the keys. My thinking didn't last long as I saw them hung up on a hook in the kitchen area. Walking over and silently grabbing the keys I headed to the door and unlocked it, heading outside. When I was outside I locked the door and then posted the keys back through the letterbox. Looking up at the sign that showed the name of this orphanage, I only had one thought in my mind.

I had to make this work.