Chapter 23

Of course, gaining mastery in so many areas at once was a significant event, but there were other accomplishments as well. The runes in the spell room were finished in the spring, and the birthstone and altar were finished in the fall.

Of course, I still had to cast spells and perform rituals, but the first step had been taken. Even if I wanted to change or improve something now, it would be relatively easy and wouldn't require starting from scratch. The modular approach worked. In the summer I managed to get an animagic form. I turned out to be a big mongoose. In general, it is quite strange to be an animal.

I will not say unpleasant or on the contrary very cool, maybe just interesting. Very unusual sensations. Especially with a whole range of inhumanly heightened senses. Thinking while in the body of an animal is also unusual. I've never thought of a snake as a big, tasty piece of meat.

Nor had I ever felt the urge to eat a freshly killed rat. But here it caught my eye and everything, instincts worked, I came to my senses when a tail was left sticking out of its mouth, and it did not twist, even when it turned into a man.

I practiced, studied, watched the changes with Guzar, which were quite interesting, I must say, changes, performed rituals regularly, worked in the HECC, as it was the greenhouse that provided me with a stable income. I dabbled a little in breeding, but without fanaticism. My sister studied perfectly, developed harmoniously in magic, and simply turned from a pretty girl into a young beauty. And she was smart, not just well-read. Oh, I feel I'll soon have to make a wand to hunt the Cavaliers. Harry was happy too.

First of all, he'd gotten a little fatter, now he was just skinny. Second, he was becoming more confident as he got a foothold in life. Thirdly, thanks to the opportunity to do his homework in peace and quiet, to socialize with me, and to use the library that I had carefully selected, he began to learn to think.

I deliberately didn't keep a television in the Muggle house, so the little one was forced to read, especially during the holidays. I even wrote him an instruction manual for speed reading and practiced it with him for a while. It's hard to suppress pronunciation alone, I know. I wanted to teach him some more mental magic techniques, but only the simplest could be adapted to Muggle mental practices. In the end, I just slipped him an ordinary book on memory development. Also useful. It was easy with him, I said do it, he did it. And when I explained why and why not, he was happy to do it.

With the receipt of the seventh ring of mastery and the end of the work on the runes, it was time to think seriously about where to get gems for memory devices. The solution was once again found in the muggle world.

The first facility for growing rubies was created in the nineteenth century by the French scientist Auguste Verneuil. Besides, the muggles have long since learned how to make artificial diamonds. That's what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, the Internet had not yet been developed in the early nineties, so I had to go to London and the library.

A few weeks to study the subject and consult with experts. A few months of theoretical work on an artifact that would simulate the natural conditions of diamond formation, and tinkering with its creation.

In February of the ninety-first year, a control batch was received. Using the spell of Eternal Transfiguration, a scattering of small diamonds took the form of a diamond. About the size of a quail's egg, I couldn't tell exactly how much mana it held, but it felt like at least a hundred of my reserves. That's a lot, but I'll need four of these batteries. For starters.

To start a clan and turn the house into a full-fledged mansion. Well, it's not a big deal to make them, but what do I fill them with? Me and my little sister? That would take at least two years. Pay? My toad is against it. And I'd like to keep it a secret.

I thought about it, considered it, looked in the direction of Hogwarts. Why not? There's a whole school with a powerful spring and hundreds of wizards throwing their powers around.

A few weeks later, I gave my sister an artifact that looked like a simple stone and told her to hide it somewhere near the wall in the courtyard, so that she could find it later. Anna shrugged her shoulders and did so without question. On the last weekend before the end of the fifth year, I asked her to bring it. Yes, it's worse than I would like.

Withdrawing power is much easier than pumping it in. The stone, which had been in a saturated environment for almost a quarter of a block, was about a quarter full. Its more recent counterpart, lying against the wall of Hogsmeade's most popular establishment, could boast much more modest results, even taking into account the difference in creation time. On top of that, there was also a decrease in filling speed. That's lousy, I expected more. I have to go to Hogwarts for a year. I won't let my sister go to Hogwarts anymore.

She passed her OWLs and thank goodness for magic. Harry Potter is going to school this year, which means a Halloween troll, an obsessed teacher, and possibly a basilisk. She's going to America or Australia to finish her studies. I'll have enough money for that, and if I have to, I'll make artifacts or at least sell the cobwebs, I still have a lot of them.

The conversation with Anna was not so much complicated as boring. My sister is a smart girl, she realized that she has no special prospects in Britain now. And then, when the house becomes a manor, not immediately appear. You can't get very far by sheer force without a lot of capital and connections.

Unless you're Merlin in person, and there's no guarantee that's enough. As a result, me will have to go into politics or business, or more likely, both. Which means me'll be tested by everyone. If she were older and stronger, she would be a help, but as it is, she is just a burden. It's also hard to use her as a bride.

We did the blood test a long time ago and paid a lot of money, but we are not descendants of ancient and noble families with untold treasures. We are pure blood. Not new, but pure. The difference is that there are no old curses on us, and no new ones either. We perform rituals and wear amulets every day. You and I are the descendants of squibs in the hell of a generation, and of ordinary families long forgotten. We're workers and peasants. Plebeians, in short.

Even with all my master's degrees, a white bone won't be related to them. Unless she's attracted by money or influence. More likely authority. Masters are serious, and that's what I'll be in ten years. If I don't do something big before then. Should I kill Voldemort in public?

No, I'm afraid that wouldn't be much of an act, and the aristocrats would take offense. Then again, we don't know who's going to kill who. I'd rather adapt something from the Muggle world. Okay, I'm thinking outside the box again. There's a job to be done, so do it.

The plan was quickly sketched out, and in a first approximation it looked quite feasible. The option to get an official job did not appeal to me too much. First of all, the lack of vacancies.

Second, the upcoming events. Still, dealing with a possessed man was scary. Of course, the possibility of getting the Philosopher's Stone beckoned, but it was just too risky. Besides, it is not technically difficult to make this stone, all you need is to be worthy. Simplified and exaggerated.

The point is not how to make it, but who makes it. Roughly speaking, you need to reach the highest level of skill and what Muggles call spiritual enlightenment. Without mysticism and other esoteric, it all comes down to you sitting in the lab for decades, with full dedication, not distracted by anything else, and "work, work, work, work" until you get some kind of catharsis, on the wave of which you make this Morgana stone.

It seems simple, but I don't remember among many acquaintances in two lives those who for decades did exercises every morning and read professional literature for an hour a day. And the Philosopher's Stone is three orders of magnitude more work.

And Dumbledore will probably be at school without a care in the world. Logically, he has to evaluate the Chosen One. In short, the plan to introduce Harry in his first year was put on the second. Instead, I dealt with my sister's transfer and decided that Anna should be kept away from the upcoming events in magical Britain.

There was no problem with that. She had both her Muggle and wizarding papers in order. All that remained was to decide where exactly she would go to finish her studies and pack her bags.

And in general, I still have time to grow diamonds, and the spells are not all imposed, and some additional rituals can be performed without complex protection with special disguises. So let's not be too hasty. Besides, next year is a great opportunity to get into Hogwarts under the guise of Gilderoy Lockhart. I'll also get to see Voldemort's first Horcrux.

I understand it came out spontaneously, it was done in a hurry, but that will probably make the task easier. I couldn't get to the diadem in my time, but I can now, if I'm careful. And I think I should keep an eye on Lockhart. If time permits, it might make sense to take an acting class. Well, we have a plan, so let's get to it.