Auror training wasn't difficult for Damon; in fact, he found it relatively easy.
Most of the time, it felt like filling in the blanks in
Auror training wasn't difficult for Damon; in fact, he found it relatively easy.
Most of the time, it felt like filling in the blanks in a puzzle. Simply directing his magical power to the appropriate spell yielded remarkable results, ultimately achieving flawless results.
No magical creature could see through his Refraction and Disillusionment Charms; not even Moody could find him without searching. This meant that, under normal circumstances, Damon could reach any location and gather any information he desired.
He mastered stealth with almost no training—though his method, in Moody's opinion, wasn't particularly standard.
But whether the mission was accomplished or not
The courses on reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance were useful, rather than just a formality, despite originally seeming questionable.
After just a few sessions, the way his teammates viewed him completely changed. Everyone had a common understanding: this Caliban Mortos was incredibly powerful.
He was destined to be an Auror! Nonetheless, being a natural Auror presents its own challenges.
"Don't even think about it!"
Mad-Eye Moody's roar shook the Auror's office.
"Can you be less rigid? Be flexible."
"No! What do you take Auror training for? What do you take Auror training for?!"
Moody looked at Damon sternly and warned him word by word:
"Three years of training, not a single day less. Don't try to play tricks on me!"
Damon had to return empty-handed once again.
Three years was too long, and he hoped to shorten the Auror training cycle, but it was clear that Moody disagreed.
The old Auror was stubborn, and Amelia refused to assist him with this issue—they both agreed that even a slower pace would benefit Damon.
On this matter, the two agreed that they were unwilling to make things easy for Damon.
But Damon was not someone who gave up easily.
"Let's take our time."
After a half-day of training, Damon put his theoretical work on detection and counter-detection into his briefcase, left the Ministry, and Apparated to Hogwarts.
He'd been a little nervous the first time, but now he was a master.
"No matter how many times I've done it, Apparating is just too uncomfortable."
The portraits in the headmaster's office were asleep, and only Fawkes, the phoenix, gave Damon a reserved nod upon noticing him. Hogwarts was relatively quiet at eight o'clock in the evening, the only sounds being the occasional children's laughter and Filch's shouts from the corridors.
Too lazy to climb the stairs, Damon reached the window and leaped down. The stone railing on the windowsill quickly deformed, carrying him all the way to the top of the tower.
"You're still here,"
Damon said, hopping down from the railing and standing lightly on the top of the tower, watching the blue ghost floating nearby.
"You seem very busy lately? I don't often see you at school."
The blue ghost looked at the moon in the sky with a lonely gaze. Ever since her last experience, Helena had fallen in love with the moonlight and often came here, even though the person who took her to see the moonlight together did not always appear.
"While you are still young, do more things, so that you won't still be busy when you are old."
Damon sat down, resting his hands on the stone platform, looking at the bright moonlight, and exhaled softly.
The starlight on a summer night is really beautiful, but he rarely spends time on such useless pastimes.
"Do you yearn for glory?"
Helena looked at him and asked softly.
"To say I'm eager might be an exaggeration, but I'm not ashamed to admit—I do enjoy the feeling of being respected."
"Then be careful. Glory is wonderful, but it can also lead people astray and cause them to do things... that are irreparable."
"...it seems there's something sad going on here?"
"...I'm not making this up. You should take this more seriously."
"...will you keep it a secret for me?"
"If you want to say something that no one else can know, of course I will."
He said this, still looking up at the moon, his tone calm.
It wasn't a promise, but it was more than a promise.
"In the Albanian forests, the moonlight is always this quiet, even more dead."
She looked sad, but after she started, everything flowed out naturally, like a stream of air.
"You should have guessed who I am?"
"You are Helena."
"Thank you." She looked at Damon with a relieved smile, grateful that he did not say the last name that she cared about. "But I am also a Ravenclaw, the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw."
Damon listened silently. He knew what happened next. To be honest, this story was both bloody and absurd, but when the victim appeared in front of him in this form, everything became extremely real.
"I've been raised surrounded by flowers and applause, but no matter how hard I try, they only call me 'Rowena's daughter.' No matter how great or small my achievements, people only see my background, taking it for granted that 'Rowena's daughter' could achieve all this.
My mother always told me that as a Ravenclaw, my intelligence should be superior to others. In her eyes, it was natural for her daughter to achieve all this."
"But I've been working hard. I strive to maintain everything and maintain my excellence. But the older I get, the greater the gap between my mother's achievements and my own.
By the time I was fifteen, I had mastered almost all high-level magic, while my mother, at the same age, was already famous throughout the wizarding world."
Damon listened quietly, deeply empathizing—in the face of true genius, the efforts of ordinary people are insignificant.
Moreover, geniuses often work harder than you.
It's impossible to surpass them in any aspect because they are far more focused, more hardworking, and more talented than you.
"One day, I finally realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could never match my mother's achievements. The title 'Rowena's Daughter' would be with me forever.
Desperate, I stole my mother's diadem, because it grants wisdom. I hoped that if my mother lost the diadem, I would gain its added value, and with each gaining strength, I might surpass her.
I would be wiser and more famous than my mother."
She covered her face with grief, tears streaming silently.
"They say my mother never admitted the diadem's disappearance, always pretending it was still there.
She even concealed her loss and my terrible betrayal from the other founders of Hogwarts.
Then my mother fell ill—very ill.
Despite my unfilial and unrighteous actions, she still desperately wanted to see me again—she sent a man to find me.
He had loved me for a long time, but I rejected him, and my mother knew he would not rest until he found me."
As Helena spoke, a male ghost, his robes stained with silver blood, quietly appeared not far behind them.
He listened to all this quietly, with a sad look on his face.
Read 20+ chapters ahead at
[email protected]/Horizons685
(End of this chapter)