[Note: Read up to Chapter - 115 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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On the eighth floor of the castle stood the Room of Requirement.
When the mysterious door appeared on the wall, Hermione's eyes widened in amazement. For a young witch who'd only just started at Hogwarts, seeing a door appear out of nowhere felt nothing short of magical.
"This is the Room of Requirement—it creates whatever space you need, depending on your intentions," Aris explained with a grin, noting her astonished expression.
"So, the quiet and undisturbed place you mentioned... is this it?" Hermione asked, turning to him in surprise.
"Yep. Not bad, eh?"
Hermione didn't respond right away. Instead, she wandered into the room, eyes wide with curiosity as she took in her surroundings.
There were magical instruments that looked far more advanced than anything they'd used in class, bubbling cauldrons that clearly weren't standard issue, and alchemical tools she'd only ever read about. Some of it was entirely unfamiliar—objects she couldn't name, let alone understand.
"This is brilliant!" she exclaimed, clearly thrilled.
"It's the perfect place to study magic!"
She'd read countless books since arriving at Hogwarts, but some concepts just didn't make sense without a bit of hands-on experience. Here, though, everything she'd imagined about magical research seemed to have come to life.
State-of-the-art equipment, shelves full of rare magical ingredients, and—
Just as expected, the large octagonal cage at the far end of the lab caught her attention.
"What's this?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the intricate magical circle etched into the floor inside the cage.
It was the very same detection array Aris had been working on.
"You can give it a go if you like," he said casually, walking over and gesturing to the centre of the magic circle.
"As long as you channel your magic into this point here, the array will react."
That was exactly why Aris had brought Hermione to the Room of Requirement—to test her magical attributes.
He'd already analysed his own magic using the array, and the results had aligned perfectly with his elemental theory. But without a frame of reference or prior research to lean on, he needed more data to support his hypothesis.
If Hermione's magical output yielded results consistent with his theory, it would lend greater credibility to the entire framework—possibly becoming a solid foundation for his future research.
"Really?" Hermione asked, stepping closer with curiosity. She reached toward the circle without hesitation.
"Yep. Just release a bit of your magic into the array—gently. If you struggle to control it directly, try waving your wand at the crystal in the centre. That should work just as well. And, er… try not to blow up the array, yeah?"
Aris spoke lightly, but the reminder wasn't entirely a joke. He could control his magic with ease now—but Hermione, being a first-year, likely hadn't developed that finesse yet.
"Alright, here goes!" Hermione drew her wand and shifted into a more focused stance, visibly nervous.
"Relax, it's perfectly safe," Aris assured her with a nod. "Just take it slow."
"Mhm!"
Taking a breath, the little witch raised her wand and gave it a graceful flick—no incantation needed.
A faint pulse of magic surged from her wand and struck the crystal in the centre of the array.
At once, the crystal absorbed the energy, and the entire circle flared to life. Runes lit up one by one, and a soft reddish glow began to swirl across the lines of the array.
"Is that… my magic?" Hermione took a step back instinctively, eyes wide.
She stared at the glowing runes with open-mouthed awe as the patterns across the magic circle shifted and shimmered.
"Aris, what does it mean?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Fire element... mixed with wind," Aris muttered, narrowing his eyes as he closely examined the reaction. He was already scribbling notes rapidly into his battered notebook, occasionally glancing back at the array.
"Your primary magical attribute appears to be fire," he continued, "and your secondary one is wind… but there's something odd about it. Right in the centre of the array, there's a strange fluctuation that hasn't fully revealed itself yet..."
His gaze fixed on the very heart of the magic circle, where a faint golden glow pulsed steadily. Wisps of silver-white magical energy swirled around it like fog around a lantern—faint, elusive, yet undeniably present.
"Could it be a rare element?" he murmured. "Golden core... silver aura… that rings a bell."
He snapped his fingers softly in realisation.
"Merlin's Handbook! That's where I read about it—an elemental trait known as… wait, was it wisdom? No… Affinity. Elemental Affinity!"
That was it.
Aris turned his gaze on Hermione, astonishment written across his face.
He hadn't expected this at all. Elemental Affinity was an incredibly rare trait—it allowed the bearer to attune more easily and naturally to elemental forces than ordinary wizards could ever dream of.
It made her, quite frankly, a perfect candidate for studying advanced elemental magic.
"She's a bloody treasure…" he whispered under his breath, eyes gleaming.
"What? What did you say?" Hermione asked, cheeks suddenly flushed.
She'd been staring in fascination at the magic array, but Aris's quiet mumble had caught her off guard.
The tone—combined with his expression—sounded more than a little suspicious.
It was no wonder her mind leapt to the wrong conclusion.
"It's alright!" Aris responded quickly with a reassuring smile. "You did brilliantly!"
Bringing the little witch here as a test subject had clearly been the right call. And now, hadn't he just stumbled upon a new magical trait?
What's more, Hermione's magical properties had successfully converted into elemental attributes—further proof that his theoretical model wasn't just some wild guess.
"What exactly are you up to?" Hermione asked, frowning slightly at the boy's mysterious expression.
She was clearly curious, and Aris had no intention of keeping secrets. After a brief pause, he asked, "Have you ever heard of elemental magic?"
"Elemental... magic?" Hermione echoed, furrowing her brows in thought. "You mean like the kind they talk about in myths and legends?"
"The sort that's insanely powerful—capable of blowing up mountains and sinking continents?" she added, half-joking but with a flicker of interest in her eyes.
"Bang on," Aris nodded. "The legends may exaggerate a bit, but elemental magic is real. What you just saw—that swirling red and pale blue energy—those are real manifestations of the elements. Fire and wind, to be exact."
"If you dig deep into those two fields of study, you've got the potential to achieve something extraordinary," he added, matter-of-factly.
Hermione blinked, clearly stunned. Her brain was trying to catch up.
"Wait, Aris…" she cut in, holding up her hand. "Are you saying elemental magic actually exists—like, properly exists—and we can learn to control it?"
"Exactly that," Aris replied without hesitation.
"But… that doesn't make sense!" she protested, still visibly puzzled. "If that's true, how come we've never learned about it in any of our textbooks? The only place I've seen it mentioned is in old storybooks and fantasy tales."
"No one in the entire wizarding world has ever discovered the existence of elements?" Hermione asked in disbelief.
Aris gave a small nod, his tone tinged with regret. "The loss of magical knowledge over the centuries is worse than most people realise. The modern spell system has drifted far from the ancient traditions. A thousand years is more than enough time to bury history and let things fade into myth…"
"But luckily, traces of elemental magic still remain in today's spellwork—especially in spells tied to nature. Fire charms, freezing spells… that sort of thing."
He paused, then added, "Those spells carry the residue of elemental principles, but hardly anyone digs deep enough to uncover their true nature. If someone were to properly study the raw magical energy behind them, they'd soon realise the elemental forces are still there."
"Of course, recognising their existence is one thing. Actually using them—well, that's a whole different kettle of fish."
Hermione looked unsure, her brows furrowed.
"You still don't believe me?" Aris asked, smiling faintly.
"It's not that I don't believe you—it's just a bit much to take in…" she admitted, her voice hesitant.
"If you're interested, I could give you a little demonstration," Aris offered casually.
Hermione perked up at once. "A demonstration? Like what?"
"Like this," Aris said, raising his hand and gently sweeping it through the air.
A swirl of pale blue magic spiralled into his palm, quickly condensing into a tiny, spinning vortex.
"What is that?" Hermione gasped, eyes wide.
"Compressed wind element, rotating in a fixed pattern," Aris explained, watching the little storm with calm concentration. "I call it… the Wind Whirl."
"And just so you know how strong it is—" he added, then flicked the vortex towards the far corner of the room.
In an instant, a gust erupted, scattering wooden shelves and splintering small objects into the air.
"Blimey… that's brilliant!" Hermione gawked at the wreckage, her mouth hanging open in astonishment.
At that moment, Hermione's entire worldview was turned on its head.
She'd never imagined that a small whirlwind could pack such a devastating punch.
"This is what came from enhancing the Hurricane Charm by weaving in elemental traits," Aris explained proudly.
He'd spent an entire day tinkering with the spell before crafting this prototype.
Mind you, it wasn't even the finished version. If he wanted to unlock the spell's full potential, he'd have to shed the limitations of the traditional Hurricane Charm altogether.
But with his current understanding of elemental magic, that was easier said than done.
Still, even in this form, the spell far surpassed the standard Hurricane Charm.
"Hurricane Charm?" Hermione blinked, trying to recall. "Isn't that a spell taught around fourth or fifth year?"
"Though to be fair," she added with a soft chuckle, "you've already tackled fifth-year material, so of course you'd know it."
"Can we stick to the main point, please?" Aris said, half amused, half exasperated.
"The power of that charm was boosted, plain and simple. That—" he gestured at the wreckage "—is what elemental force looks like in action."
"It also proves something important: elemental magic hasn't vanished—it's just been forgotten over time."
Hermione fell silent, clearly needing a moment to absorb everything.
Her eyes remained fixed on the splintered wood in the corner of the room, her mind whirring like mad.
"You're trying to bring back… the elemental magic system?" she asked at last, turning to Aris with a look of awe.
"That's the plan," he said, smiling as he extended his hand towards her. "So…"
"Will you help me?"
Hermione looked slightly dazed at first—but when she met the confident smile on Aris's face, something stirred inside her.
A sudden rush of warmth welled up in her chest.
If they truly succeeded in what they were setting out to do… if they revived a brighter, richer magical civilisation…
What a marvellous thing that would be!
Her expression gradually turned resolute, and she nodded.
Time flew by unnoticed.
Before long, the sun had set, and night had settled gently over Hogwarts. The castle was calm and hushed in the dark.
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On the eighth floor, in a corridor that should've been deserted, a lone figure paced back and forth.
Cho Chang had only meant to catch a glimpse of what Aris and Hermione were up to.
But when she'd followed them earlier, she'd lost track of them.
She'd seen it with her own eyes—the pair of them vanished right into the wall. She'd stood there, dumbfounded, too stunned to call after them.
At the time, she thought it'd be silly to hang about, so she'd gone off, had dinner, and waited in the common room a while.
But the longer she waited, the more uneasy she felt.
She kept replaying Aris and Hermione's words in her head: "Let's find a place where no one'll disturb us…"
"What are they doing that's so secretive?" she muttered.
What she didn't realise—or perhaps refused to admit—was how much she'd come to care about Aris's whereabouts lately. His face often lingered in her thoughts, distracting her in lessons and keeping her up at night.
In the end, she couldn't resist. She'd crept out of the common room and back up to the eighth floor corridor.
She swore to herself—it was only to check if Aris and Hermione had come out.
Now, in the dim corridor, the stone wall remained still and silent.
No sign of movement. No sound.
She hovered uncertainly, glancing at the wall.
And though she tried to convince herself to leave, her feet stayed rooted to the spot.
But when she thought of Aris, she pushed aside the fear and stayed put.
Something told her that if she didn't find out what was going on, she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink tonight...
Another half hour slipped by in silence.
Then—at last—the wall opened again.
Oddly, a wave of panic rushed through her.
As Aris stepped out of the Room of Requirement with Hermione, Cho instinctively ducked into the shadows.
Just ahead, Hermione glanced at the sky through the high windows and gasped.
"Blimey—it's that late already!"
"Come on, I'll walk you back," Aris offered, checking his watch. It was already nine in the evening.
For students at Hogwarts, that was edging into late-night territory.
"Lumos," Aris murmured, and his wand lit up, casting a cool, silvery glow over the corridor.
The soft light made the long hallway feel even more still… almost a bit eerie.
At some point—perhaps without even realising—Hermione had reached out and taken hold of the edge of Aris's robe.
Clearly, she was a little spooked.
Aris glanced at her and smiled gently.
Wanting to ease the tension, he struck up a bit of light conversation.
"So, how was your afternoon?"
"It was incredible," Hermione said, her eyes bright with wonder. "I've never experienced anything like it…"
"This has to be the most brilliant first time of my life!"
They strolled away, chatting and laughing together.
Neither of them noticed the quiet figure tucked away in the shadows.
But Cho Chang had heard every word.
"A novel experience…"
"The most brilliant first time…"
And just like that, something in her chest sank.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 115 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]