It had been a couple of days since Alice and I had spoken about giving her the ability to spend more time with me in class. Unfortunately, when I transfigured her, she almost instantly hated the sensation. With her heightened vampiric senses, the feeling of being unable to move in addition to the claustrophobia really did not work.
"What's this, Theo?" she questioned, picking it up.
"Well, instead of turning you into a necklace, I thought about the situation from another perspective. Here we have the solution: a necklace that gives you the ability to turn into any animal you wish. I had some difficulties adding my magic for it to work, but fortunately, once I understood the basics of adding transfiguration magic alongside a charm, it was pretty simple."
Standing up, I picked up the necklace before pulling Alice's arm, bringing her to her feet. Stepping around her, I stood at her back as I moved her hair. As I closed the clasp, I snaked my arms around her neck and the necklace rested upon her chest.
"There you go. I've also added protection wards to it, along with identification charms. Only you will wear this, and it will also apparate you to my location in case you're in danger." Smiling, I kissed her neck gently.
Yes, in the very few days since she had gained her body back, our relationship had unnaturally grown closer. It could have been the fact that we were next to one another almost every waking minute or sharing the bed every night, but I couldn't help but be won over by her lovely personality.
Her body was an incredible attraction, too.
"Oh, I love it, Theo," she whispered, turning her body to face me. "So, I just think about the animal I wish to change into and it'll happen? Is there a time limit?"
"Hmm, there are no time limits. You could theoretically stay an animal for eternity if you ever so chose. I made sure that you had a mental connection to it, so a simple command can seamlessly allow you to shift."
Nodding, she closed her eyes for a moment before her body morphed, decreasing in size at an alarming pace. Standing in Alice's position was a cute little cat, the same one I had been taking care of for years. She let out a soft meow before jumping from the floor and landing on my shoulder.
I hummed in happiness as she raised her small cat body, placing her paws on my head as she looked around for a couple of seconds. Watching her happiness was infectious, as I couldn't help but pick her up from my shoulder and hold her in front of me. As I was about to tickle her body, I saw her form shifting once again. Her lithe body was in my arms, though there was something amiss... she was naked.
"Err, I swear I didn't account for that," I said, scratching my cheek in embarrassment. "Give me a couple of minutes and I should be able to give the necklace the ability to store your clothes inside itself."
Alice simply laughed at my embarrassment, placing another kiss on my lips before sauntering to the wardrobe and putting on a bathrobe. "If you wanted to see me naked, you only had to ask." With a wink, she sat down on the bed.
Grumbling, I moved back to the desk, placing the necklace down, pausing before I had a look at my status once again.
**********
Name: Theodore Ambrosius (Wyllt)
Age: 16
Template (1/1): Merlin (Nanatsu no Taizai) (8%)
Powers & Skills:
- Extraordinary Genius (Eidetic Memory, Thought Acceleration, Chantless/Wandless/Mental Magic, Magic Creation)
- Enhanced Physiology (Strength, Speed, Durability)
- Infinity (Stamina, Magic, Passive/Active)
- Hogwarts First Year (Magic Knowledge 100%, Theoretical Knowledge 50%)
(Continue to use the template to increase synchronization.)
**********
I was honestly shocked at the progress I had made in almost a complete week, but completely understood that I had been endlessly abusing my magic, from making things float to transfiguring everything in my room.
Making the necklace for Alice was my greatest bump in synchronization though, as it required me to apply chantless, wandless, mental (imagination), along with creating my specific additions in magic.
Closing the status window, I smiled once more as I felt content with everything that had happened. It took me another 30 minutes to figure out how to add some type of pocket space with the necklace, adding automation to Alice's clothes when she shifted.
Alice had been sitting on the bed reading through some of the Magical History books I had stolen from the Room of Requirement when she snapped the book shut.
"So McGonagall is taking you to the Goblin bank tomorrow to get this inheritance test? I read a bit about it. Are you sure the whole situation is safe?" The apprehension was clear in her voice. It was heartwarming to see her so concerned for me.
"It'll be fine. I have something in mind if someone did ever choose to attack me."
It wasn't a lie. Throughout the past couple of days, I had created some failsafe in case some choice characters attacked me.
**********
Morning had come, and I was making my way to McGonagall's office. Instead of directly going to Dumbledore, she asked me to meet her in the morning, as we would use the Floo Network in her office to go to Diagon Alley.
Knocking on her door, I waited a couple of minutes before I heard a cough from inside. It seemed I had caught her earlier than expected.
"Enter, Mr. Ambrosius," her velvety voice called from inside. Turning the doorknob, I pushed the door open and saw her sitting at her desk, subtly adjusting her robes.
"Sorry, Professor, I wasn't sure what time you wanted me to arrive," I said, trying to remove the awkwardness. There was a slight hint of rosiness on her cheeks; maybe I had caught her at a vulnerable time.
Nodding, she drank the tea that was on the table before standing up. "Not a problem. Shall we leave?"
Before I could reply, she had walked to the fireplace, placing her hand in the small cauldron on the side, her hand full of Floo Powder. "I shall head off before you, to ensure the location is clear."
I was thankful for that, as I hadn't used the Floo Network before, and I really didn't want to rely on my knowledge from the movies in case it was different. Fortunately for me, I was worried about nothing, as she shouted, "Diagon Alley," and green flames appeared around her as she disappeared.
Copying her movements, I felt the cold green flames encase my body as I felt the world around me spin, then shrink. Multicolored lights appeared within my eyesight before my vision shifted and I was inside a small room. McGonagall was standing to the side as she smiled at my arrival.
It turned out that the Floo Network from her office directed to a specific fireplace in Diagon Alley, specifically to a backroom in Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore that directly distributed Hogwarts books.
We exited the store, as I enjoyed my first vision of Diagon Alley.
It was... to say the least, like a slum. Sure, it had magic shops, with families running around, eating lunch or going shopping. Bright colors illuminated the stores, whilst magically enchanted toys flew, some messengers, whilst others were floating around for no apparent reason. The issue was that the roads were horrendous. There was filth on the street, almost like general hygiene was lacking.
I grimaced at the sight, slightly.
"I understand that look, Theo," McGonagall said, holding a small smirk on the corner of her mouth.
"Cleanliness eludes the minds of most wizards and witches, especially in public. We lack some of the… modern advancements that Muggles have."
'At least she's aware,' I thought. 'Then again, from what I know about McGonagall, I remembered that she always embraced understanding Muggles and stood against the Pure-Blood supremacy that infested British Wizarding.'
It was a brisk walk to Gringotts, as we were only a couple hundred meters away from the building when we had arrived. Standing in front of the lopsided building, I held a little awe in my eyes.
"Professor, you're telling me this place, the building that looks like it could fall at any moment, holds most Wizarding money in its vaults?" I was honestly shocked.
She chuckled lightly, ignoring my skepticism, as her hips swayed in delight. Entering the building, I could only follow behind her, slightly mesmerized.
There seemed to be twenty podiums on either side of the room, each one holding a banker as they were flipping through paperwork or speaking with a client. McGonagall led us through the center of the room before we stood ahead of the largest podium.
Sat atop was the largest Goblin in the room, his name written on a plaque: 'Griphook'.
"Good morning, Griphook. I am here to aid Mr. Theodore here in his inheritance assessment. As a request on behalf of Dumbledore, we require Clawgrab to be the Goblin to officiate this test."
Her words were cold and demanding. But from what I could understand, you needed to act this way when speaking to Goblins; they disliked feeble people.
He leaned forward, peering at both of us before grunting and nodding. Hopping down from the podium, we followed his tiny body as he waddled like a penguin through the room. On the back left side, we entered a hidden door and continued through a dark hallway.
Two minutes of silence later, we were sitting inside a large office, its contents lavish, showing off the wealth the Goblins had hoarded. At the desk was a small goblin. He had sharp teeth and a wicked smile as he was fishing out a bowl, placing it on the desk, along with a knife.
"Cut your hand, allow the drops to feed the bowl. If you have a claim to heirship, they will acknowledge you; if not, you must leave." I couldn't help but want to kick him like a football.
Holding back my annoyance, I nodded before placing the knife on my palm, slicing it quickly as a couple of drops of blood fell into the bowl. I watched in awe as the wound healed over almost instantly, before the light show inside the bowl took my attention.
"Hoh?" Clawgrab exclaimed outward, watching in awe as well.
We all sat in silence for a couple of minutes, whilst the parchment beside the bowl filled with words. Clawgrab quickly reached for the sheet and began reading as his eyes progressively widened.
He dropped the parchment and looked at me with shock.
"I am so sorry, sir!"
Confusion was on mine and McGonagall's faces. Sure, we knew I could be the heir to Merlin, but it shouldn't cause the head honcho of Gringotts to almost kneel on the floor in apology, right?
"What is it, Clawgrab?" McGonagall asked, taking a step forward before pausing. She couldn't move any further as she did not have the right to peer at the document unless I specified.
The Goblin picked up a handkerchief, dabbing it across his forehead as his breath was haggard, almost like I had threatened his life or something. I walked over, gently picking up the dropped parchment before reading it.
**********
Name: Theodore Le Fay (Pendragon) Ambrosius (Wyllt)
Age: 16
Rightful Heirships / Lordships:
- Most Archaic and Most Royal House of Le Fay (Sole Heir)
- Most Archaic and Most Royal House of Ambrosius (Sole Heir)
**********