28TrainingBegins And New Wands
As I opened my eyes, waking from the first peaceful dream in weeks, a dream of the future. Where I am completely in control of my life, powerful and wealthy, well known as a good guy, a Hero. Standing by my side was a beautiful woman with a white ring covered in black swirls with a pink gem embedded in the centre. In her arms was a small girl with black hair and emerald eyes, outlined prominently with metallic silver. A wife and daughter. It seems my dreams have only slightly changed since I was 11. I sat up, looking around the room. On the outside, the sun was just rising. The dawn summoning a rainbow of brilliant colours into the early morning sky.
Standing up I spread my wings as wide as they could, just brushing up against the wall. Stretching the slightly stiff muscles from a good nights sleep I walked around the house, looking for Chiron.
After checking the entrance, the balcony and his personal room I realized he wasn't home. Walking back to the entrance I opened the door and walked outside into the warmth of the sun. The clothes from yesterday not having so much as a wrinkle on them. It seemed in this realm I didn't have to wash. Or do anything else, but eat and drink for that matter. Weird. Looking around I noticed some things I hadn't noticed before, there were archery targets stationed around, some close by some far away. A slight indent in the earth finished in a platform filled with stand. Probably for sword fighting. There were also a few wooden dummies stacked up against each other leaning on the corner of the house. A small hearth was nearby, wooden logs surrounding it making it look like a camp-fire. Over all it certainly looked like a trainers home.
Walking away from the home towards the edge of the woods I could make out Chiron making his way back with a deer on his shoulder. Damn he just hunted down a deer, now I want to try.
"Damien, I didn't think you would wake so early"
"Well I've always been an early riser. So Chiron what are we doing today? Apart from eating deer, it seems."
Giving a light chuckle, Chiron answered " No we are certainly doing more than eating deer. Today we will be going through every branch of magic and skills you wanted to learn, to see where you are a prodigy or where you need to work the hardest. But before all that, I was going to ask you if I may test your defences for your Occlumency. You spent a few hours there yesterday, so I am guessing you got quite a lot done?"
I smirked, remembering the awesome job I did yesterday. He's going to be blown away. "Sure thing Chiron, and yes I did get quite a bit done. It was a lot easier than I imagined. Last time I was being taught Occlumency I couldn't even grasp the basics. Then again that could have been the teacher. Either way, what if I absolutely suck at a certain branch?"
"If you, as you so crudely put it, suck at a branch, then I will simply work you a lot harder than usual to stop sucking." He smiled evilly, sending a chill down my spine.
"Why does that sound really, really bad?"
"Because it is."
Huh. Well I guess it's 'lets not suck so we don't die day'. Woohoo.
"Come, Damien, let's eat before we start your day."
And so we did. We eat the deer together, leaving a lot of it for later. It was surprisingly good. I took two bottles and filled them with the water from the lake outside. It tasted wonderful, clean and natural.
As soon as we finishes cleaning up after breakfast, we sat at opposite ends of the small kitchen table.
" Now for the first try, do not attempt to kick me out, I simply wish to see how far you have gotten. After that, I will attempt to penetrate your mind while you must do all you can to either block my entrance, or kick me out. Clearing your mind will stop me from hearing any stray thoughts, but in the end it does not matter. Ready?"
I nodded excitedly. Impatiently waiting to see Chirons face when he realises how much work I done. As Chiron stared into my eyes I felt a slight prickle in my mind scape. Willing myself to enter my realm I suddenly appeared on the grassy planes, right next to the lake. On my left stood Chiron, eyes wide and jaw hanging wide open.
My laughing at his expression seemed to kick start his brain to start working again. He looked around in awe before fixing his stare back on me.
"Truly remarkable Damien. That you did this not only in a few hours, but on your first try, with close to no instruction. You must be the most prodigious practitioner of Occlumency in your world. The custom constellations, the mountain and waterfall. The detailed trees and the sense of realism that it projects. And then there is the city up in the heavens that you have walls around. Beautifully crafted walls with artistic designs of protection and durability runes. Brilliant."
Chirons words resurrect the immense sense of pride that I felt yesterday for my hard work. Looking around I can see why. This place looks real, not too fantastical but certainly exuding an ethereal beauty only improved by the silver glow of the large full moon.
"I've already sorted through all my memories and designated rooms for each subject. I'm thinking of putting in a sort of computer system, to automatically process and sort any new memories or skills I gain. Come, lets go in the walls." I put my hand on his shoulder and immediately were on the top step before the massive gate. As I walk forward, Chiron right behind me, The massive gates smoothly retract into their walls like moving water.
Walking through the gates Chiron had to stop to watch the massive temple at the far end of the walled kingdom-to-be. For no matter if you were Voldemort himself, you had to admit it was one of a kind. The simplicity of it was the true beauty, only two colours and yet so much detail. Placing another hand on Chirons shoulder I transport us to the entrance of the temple. There was no door, simply a large walkway. Walking into the temple, ignoring the carvings on the pillars, I walk up to the statue of the marauders and Lily.
"I Solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
The floor in front of the statue fades away into nothingness, revealing a elegant stairway leading down. Looking around to see if Chiron is keeping up, I see him walking close behind, so I continue heading down the stairs till I reach the bottom. "Welcome to the corridor of memories. This corridor holds every room for a subject of memories. Be it magic or school, it's all in one of these rooms." Walking forward I enter the common room
"And here we have a nice little area to relax. If I wish to review a memory then I can do it here, in a nice relaxing environment. So, what'd you think?" I turn around to face Chiron, his face still showing shock and awe.
"Magnificent. Brilliantly sorted for maximum efficiency, and yet still absolutely stunning. Truly, I don't believe I can help you any more than this. You have gone beyond expectations in a single session. I don't believe testing if you can kick me out is necessary, if you do what you did to accomplish this then you will be unbeatable. And your walls are already unbreakable. Maybe add a ward stone, to keep out any aerial threats. Your computer idea sounds fantastic. Maybe create a fake army of people to protect your city? Add a few houses, maybe a few temples for the gods. And it's always a good idea to create back ups of your memories in case someone tries to obliviate you."
"Thanks for the tips. I'll keep them in mind when I come back later. I'm meant to practice every night, right?" I asked.
"Yes, yes practising every night will keep your instincts sharp and increase your defences. Also constantly adding new things will make a mind better. Now lets leave so we can start your training shall we?" Chiron says with a warm smile.
I grin widely, eyes alight with anticipation. Immediately I willed myself to come back, this time feeling nothing as I looked around to see us back in Chirons small house.
Just as we were about to walk out the door, the room suddenly fell into darkness. Spooked, I frantically looked around trying to see anything, and finding nothing. Suddenly a shape started forming out of the darkness... A wand. All black, with emerald carvings of a phoenix and a wolf. Maybe around 9", slightly curved upward. "This Is My Gift To You, Damien NightFall" A deep voice thundered around the room, booming from one wall to the other in a never ending echo. With a small smile I reached out and grabbed the hilt of the wand causing a immense wave of power to run through my body as a brilliant light ignites within the darkness. It was a perfect match. Even better than my previous wand. As the world came back into view I kept looking at my wand, analysing the professional carving.
"Ah I see you have been given another gift Damien. Use it well, that is a very powerful wand."
I nod my head in understanding, having felt it's power first hand. On instinct, I will my new wand to disappear and it fades out of existence, wide eyed I will it back and it suddenly appears. My smile grows, I turn back to Chiron, nod my head and walk out the door to start my training.
Ok so maybe stealth isn't exactly my strongest point. That's a bit of a lie, I truly and utterly suck stealth. But hey at least the other subjects I'm okay at, like warding and wandless Magic. They weren't exactly perfect but good enough for a beginner. But what I am prodigious at is certainly the bow, sword Elemental Magic. The feeling of the wooden yew bow was simply awesome. The quiet confidence it projects, the elegant danger it represents. No need to be right in front of your enemy, I could be far away and even then with skill the arrow strikes true. How useful it could be... Definitely something to keep practicing. We practiced on bullseye targets, Chiron showing me the right technique slowly and patiently explaining the need for perfection. I may not have gotten a bullseye buy I did get close.
Next was the art of sword fighting. The speed, the power behind every slash, cut, stab, feint HAD to be great. The physical exertion of holding a heavy metal sword for hours, swinging it around like crazy, slamming it into another sword to protect its user. The sword I used was an ancient Greek Xiphos, the simply crafted hilt leading into a thin metal blade that expands into a wide point. If my body wasn't already muscled simply using this sword would do it in a month. But no matter the injuries, the exhaustion, the stupid grin on my face couldn't be wiped off. This is what I wanted, what I needed. Getting rid of anger, frustration through cutting a dummy to pieces. It was awesome, they really should teach this in Hogwarts.
Fuck, Hogwarts... By the time I return will everyone think I'm dead? I must have scared all of them. Damn it Hermione is so going to kill me. Doesn't matter, I'll be back. I'll go back faster, stronger. Magically and physically. But more importantly I'll be a better friend.
But Ron... Ron is more complicated. When I was doing occlumency I could see all the times he betrayed me, didn't believe in me, didn't trust me, talked behind my back. Hell he even started some of the rumours and confirmed others. When was the only time he was a good friend really? When he could get something. Fame, Money. It's all he cares about. Why should I be the one to constantly mend our broken friendship? Why should I stand by his side if he won't stand by mine. Thinking of it longer, I decided to leave Ron to himself till he's grown up.
Now onto my Elemental Magic... Bloody hell, it was brilliant. So far water and air were definitely my favourites. Fire turned out to be my worst element, only managing a fairly weak incendio. According to Chiron after getting fairly adept at the 4 main elements I could start trying to control Darkness, Light, Metal, Electricity and Nature itself. Creating a obnoxious darkness, commanding the shadows to do my will. Creating a blinding light, and contorting it into solid shapes. Summoning and shaping metal from the very earth. Conjuring electricity in the shape of a lightning bolt to smite my enemies. Growing entire forests, or commanding the plants. Absolutely. Bloody. Brilliant.
Yep, Elemental Magic is so far my favourite. Apparently everyone have a specific element that they specialise in, in rarer cases someone may have two, but only 5 people have ever had the entirety of the main 4 elements.
The less said about stealth training the better.
The magic of warding was fairly complicated, interweaving different wards into one monstrosity of a defence system. I can certainly see the positives of being a Curse Breaker. I mean, to break down magnificent works of art, to find treasures of untold value all over the world? Sounds like my kind of thing.
Wandless Magic would have probably been close to impossible if I hadn't improved my channelling through my magical core. I managed to levitate a small object over my hand, even if it was incredibly draining.
Overall it was a pretty good day. Lots learnt, a bit of failure, a few good bruises from sword fighting with Chiron. The new wand, however is pure, uncontrolled awesomeness. It actually glows darkness when used a lot, Seriously what glows darkness?! Something awesome that's what.
But something weird was happening when I was around magic. It's like I could sense it, it's vibrations, it's intent. Holding my wand, the magic of it felt weird, a glassy wet and smooth surface, that radiated darkness but not evil.
When Chiron cast a spell I could tell the intent behind it. To train, to hurt, to help. I could also, however weakly, feel what it would do.
I could also see the magic. Even with my eyes closed there was a faint glow around the magic, but with my eyes open the magic was like a liquid surrounding whatever it's focus was. Constantly moving, trying to break free then being reigned back in. Spells were even more obvious, more solid. The Spells moved more slowly than usual, as if it wanted me to analyse it. Weird, but certainly seems useful. I think I heard Hermione talk about it once... Mage Sight. That's it, extremely rare but it let's one see magic in its purest format. Never heard of something like Mage Sense though. Maybe it's one of those results from exploring my magical core like Chiron said. Sounds like either an incredibly useful skill, or one of those things that seem awesome but will end up almost killing me. Meh. I'll ask Chiron tomorrow, right now all I want is a good nights sleep. Honestly, godly body or not, training with Chiron is tiring.
Inbetween all the training, the inner monologueing and learning I could feel myself developing. Not in power but in personality. I knew I could no longer be so forgiving, how many times was I betrayed by Ron and forgive him only be betrayed again? I could feel confidence in myself and my skills, something I never had before. Im powerful, there nothing to be ashamed of. I'm actually smart when I apply myself. And after seeing how meek and scared I was, I hated it. So I decided this new me will be carefree. Not the 'I don't care about anything and everyone wants to punch me in the face' carefree, but more like a 'I dont care about what you say, Im living my life to the fullest' kind of carefree. I don't want to be a clone of my father, but truthfully the idea of pranking people like Malfoy and Snape sounds extremely good.
And something else I realized was Im freaking rich. Not like obnoxiously rich, but I definately wont be left wanting for much. I don't need to live with those monstrous relatives of mine, I can live wherever the heck I want! I don't need to wear horrible second hand clothes that are WAY too big for me. I've heard of the 'Potter charm' before. Sirius wouldn't stop talking of how much of a ladies man my father was. Maybe it's time to unleash a new ladies man/marauder on the hallowed halls of Hogwarts? Sounds like I'll be giving McGonagall a serious headache this year. Ohhh this year will be fun! I'm pretty sure I'll give Hermione a heartache. Ron will probably get a kick in the ass... Less thought on that the better. Dont want to ruin my new happy mood already, do we?
And why should I limit myself to London? Hell, why limit myself to the United Kingdom? I want to go to France, Greece, Rome, Japan, Australia, anywhere. Maybe I'll visit Fleur... That should be interesting, wonder how Gabrielle is doing nowadays.
HOLY FUCK! I ALMOST DIED A VIRGIN!
AU:
Yes Harry/Damien will not be the same Harry as in books. He'll be pretty much OC. I'm trying to make Harry/Damien into who I think he would be if he grew up as he should have. Harry will not be obnoxiously rich at the beginning. That's not to say his adventures wont be filling his coffers up like crazy. And yes, before Damien gets with Nymphadora he will be a bit of a player. I think experience will make their relationship a lot less awkward. Also, Damien will be CONFIDENT, not ARROGANT.
In my opinion Ron is a dick. Nothing else to it, he feels inept, but instead of trying to improve himself he gets jealous and has a kiddy temper tantrum.
This story will not follow the books, and the ending certainly wont be with Voldemort, he'll be semi-important for a while.
Also as a little preview, when Damien gets back into his realm (world) he'll be of to France to have a nice time with some French Veelas. I might get him to have a little romp with Hermione though... Probably not.