[May 7th, 1972. Beauxbatons Academy.]
On a quiet, warm French night, one of the three most famous and prestigious magical schools was wrapped in sleep. Tired students, cramming for their annual exams — and some for their finals — slept soundly. Teachers slept too, no less exhausted, and sometimes even more so than the students, from trying to stuff knowledge into empty, unwilling heads, hoping it would at least stay there until the next lesson.
Headmistress Olympe Maxime slept on her custom-made, enormous bed — three meters long and just as wide — lost in romantic dreams. After all, what woman doesn't want to feel loved, especially a woman with such a big heart in every sense? Even the eternally restless fairies slept, those tireless nectar-drinkers who sometimes let others enjoy their beauty.
Only the occasional chirping of crickets broke the silence. In this sleepy idyll, this realm of Morpheus, two silhouettes crept through the night. Even if it had been broad daylight, their faces and hair would have been hidden by bandanas. But it was a moonless night, and no one was there to witness their secretive movements and plans.
A wand appeared in the hand of one of them, tracing silent pirouettes in the air. With the first wave, they stopped making any noise. With the second, they became invisible. With the third, the grass trampled under their feet straightened up, erasing any trace of their passage.
Invisible waves of magic followed, one after another. Now, no dog could smell them, no technological device could see them, and even their auras became undetectable. Invisible and inaudible, they still moved with caution — no one should underestimate the ever-evolving security systems of such an ancient and mighty school. Many daredevils and fools had been caught here before.
Their first obstacle appeared: at first glance, just an ordinary, well-trimmed lawn. But no — this was Devil's Snare, infamous for trapping intruders and holding them fast. If you tried to break free, it injected a paralyzing poison. Not deadly, but enough to stop most people in their tracks.
Did this stop the mysterious silhouettes? Not at all. One of them, clearly prepared, pulled silvery powder from a bottomless bag and sprinkled it over the grass. The Devil's Snare calmed and let them pass, not even trying to detain them. Sleeping flower pollen worked not only on animals, people, and wizards.
Ahead, there were two possible paths: try to climb to the second floor, to the third window from the left — where their innocent target was sleeping — or try the doors. You might think, just grab a broom and fly up. But that was a trap for fools — the windows were hidden by complex illusions, and you never knew where you'd end up: maybe in the evil matron's room, maybe where you wanted. And the alarm would go off the moment you tried to take flight.
Other charms might work, but even then, nothing was simple — breaking through enchanted glass was nearly impossible, and even if you managed, the alarm would still sound. That would be the end of the story. So, there was only one real path.
Opening the front door with a simple "Alohomora" would be a rookie mistake — it would immediately give you away. Instead, the second intruder pulled out a key that seemed to change shape as he held it. He inserted it into the lock and waited.
Finally, the lockpick stopped twitching in the keyhole, and with a soft, satisfying click, the lock opened. Next, they cast charms on the hinges so the creak wouldn't betray them, and slipped inside.
The first was about to rush in, but the second held him back, shaking his head. They had to avoid the outlines of traps and alarm charms. Credit where it's due — the second intruder seemed to know exactly where and how to step, and the first followed in his footsteps.
Sometimes they had to levitate each other with "Wingardium Leviosa" and "Levicorpus." Sometimes they hid from vigilant patrols, calming their breathing and heartbeats so as not to give themselves away. At last, they reached their target. At that moment, the first almost made a fatal mistake, brushing a drop of sweat from his forehead onto the floor.
At the last second, the second caught it, shaking his head in disapproval — a silent rebuke for inexperience. The first just shrugged apologetically.
The hardest part was the target's door, leading to a private room. Such rooms were awarded only for merit points, and only for a year. A privilege for the best of the best — and so, the best protected.
Just breaking the magical circuits took the experienced charm expert — the first intruder — about an hour. Dawn was breaking outside, and they needed to hurry. Finally, the door gave way. The artifact lockpick handled the mechanism.
The two intruders slipped inside, triumphant, and closed the door behind them. The room was clearly a young girl's: soft, pastel wallpaper in beige and gentle blue, geometric patterns, moving photographs of her mother and, apparently, friends on the shelves. Most often, a photo of a long-haired boy who looked almost like a girl, with serious amethyst eyes that didn't suit such a childish, beautiful face.
On a double bed with a blue canopy, the room's owner snored in an unladylike starfish sprawl, her wheat-colored hair spread out. Her nightgown had ridden up, revealing silky red underwear — not enough to see details, but enough to hint at the curves that were starting to outshine her teenage awkwardness.
The first intruder blushed furiously, and the second immediately covered his eyes, then waved his wand to conceal any embarrassing sights that might scar an innocent mind.
Carefully, they approached, pointed their wands at the unsuspecting girl, and — shot a salute that burst into golden letters:
**"Happy Birthday, Apolline!"**
***
"Ow, that hurts!" Patrick hissed as Apolline dabbed a potion-soaked cotton ball on the burn on his chest.
"And what the hell were you two idiots doing breaking into my room?" she demanded, slapping the burn for emphasis. Patrick groaned in pain. It was his own fault — I'd put up a "Protego" the moment I saw her reaction coming. By now, Apolline wasn't really angry, just embarrassed and happy that we hadn't forgotten her birthday, even if we'd chosen such a ridiculous way to celebrate.
"Couldn't you congratulate me like normal people?" she asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. "I don't know, maybe without breaking every rule by sneaking into the girls' wing and my room! What if you'd seen me in an improper state? You didn't see anything, did you?" She blushed. Patrick, hold on! Don't give us away!
"Well, Patrick!" I cried to the heavens, watching my friend turn red. Eh, you still have a lot to learn, my student, I thought, dodging another fireball.
***
After the brutal beating of the poor wolf cub — catching me wasn't so easy — and after restoring the room from the fire we'd almost started, we finally got to the real reason we'd come: to congratulate her and give gifts.
I decided to give a speech, since my partner in crime was in no condition. Even though I'd cast a minor healing spell on him, disguised as my invented "Paracelsus" charm, he was still completely defeated by the supposedly fragile birthday girl.
"I'll be brief. Apolline, I remember you for almost as long as I've known myself."
— "In this new body," I added mentally.
"And all this time, I haven't seen a more beautiful or intelligent girl — and later, young woman — than you. I haven't found a more loyal friend, either. Sure, we've had our quarrels and deceptions, but that's life, and that's the past. You're dear to both me and Patrick, who's completely smitten by your beauty. And dear things must be protected, so I'm giving you this."
I pulled out a beautifully decorated wooden box, wrapped in red paper and tied with a green ribbon. Apolline tore off the wrapping in a flash — so much for my careful work. Merciless.
The box itself wasn't the gift, but I'd shown off a little: with transfiguration, I'd "carved" her face on the lid. On the sides were scenes from our lives together, and at the bottom, my own face.
Inside was a silver pendant on a matching chain, reinforced with charms. In the center, a stylized harpy — I wanted to show not just the strength and predatory nature of veela, but also their beauty. Instead of eyes, two small sapphires sparkled, and in her hand she held a fireball — a large yellow topaz.
"How beautiful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Apolline threw herself at me, hugging and kissing my face in pure joy. Then she caught herself, blushed, and asked, "Will you help me put it on? It's your gift, after all."
"Of course," I agreed, noticing the jealous look from the wolf cub, who had finally recovered. Apolline moved aside her mane of hair, still wild from our antics, and as I struggled with the stubborn chain, I decided to explain that this wasn't just jewelry.
"The appearance is just my attempt to make a functional artifact beautiful."
"What does it do?" she asked, immediately guessing there was more to it — especially since I'd already given her a veela bracelet and other magical trinkets, like an alarm ring.
"It has three properties," I said, finally fastening the chain and feeling her regret that I'd managed so quickly. "First, it warns you of danger. If someone or something wants to harm you — even if it's just a brick falling on your head — it will heat up. The more dangerous and imminent the threat, the hotter it gets."
"Like a Sneakoscope?" Patrick asked. I nodded.
"Exactly. But in a more convenient form. The second property is automatic magical protection in danger, or at your will. Just press the green stone." I didn't mention that the amulet was almost a side effect of my research — I'd only just learned to embed ethereal armor into artifacts, and without conflicts with other charms.
"And the third?" Apolline pressed.
"The third is a breakthrough device." Seeing Patrick's eyes widen in realization, I quickly added, "And it's better not to tell anyone about this. Inside the medallion, you'll find three pearls — they're enchanted as beacons for the breakthrough device."
"What's that?" she asked, but I let Patrick answer.
"It's a Portkey that allows apparition even from areas under anti-apparition charms. Where did you get it? That's illegal!"
"Not exactly. They can't be sold, but no one forbids making them. Three hundred years ago, they were legal, and you can still find the blueprints — though it's hard." Here, I bent the truth a little. The breakthrough device was only possible thanks to spatial magic knowledge from Lerach's book. All I had to do was expand the apparition channel and stabilize it. Sounds simple, but in practice, I probably killed a hundred doppelgangers. Not to mention the mountain of failed devices.
"And will you sell them?" Apolline asked, a little hurt. I understood — it was awkward with the first bracelet, even though it was a unique, beautiful snake.
"They'll never go on sale. Maybe I'll make similar ones for myself and Mom, or as gifts for Jacqueline, Patrick, Alain, and Ludwig — but they're too complex to mass-produce."
"And too dangerous in the wrong hands," Patrick said, surprising me with his grim tone.
"Exactly. It's the perfect escape tool for a criminal. Do the deed, and no matter what obstacles or attacks, you can run. And with the danger warning, you can escape before the law even arrives."
"Arthur, are you sure? It's such an expensive and serious thing," Apolline said, suddenly doubting if she should accept.
"Of course. It's a gift. Besides, unless you tell someone, for everyone else it'll just look like a simple medallion — or an unknown artifact, if someone really knowledgeable looks at it. With astral sight, for example."
"Then thank you again!" she said, beaming.
Patrick's gift was a metal figurine of Apolline herself, animated to dance. He'd made it himself, though not without my help — I'd helped him pick the right books and charms. Even though his gift was cheaper than mine, Apolline appreciated the effort and attention. The blushing hero got a kiss on the cheek, which made him turn as red as a poppy.
Then he went to the hospital wing — to treat the burns from his overly hot-tempered crush. But before that, we had to sneak back through the girls' wing like two robbers breaking into Fort Knox. Why are there so many traps here?
Since it was a school day, I didn't see my friends again until evening, except for breakfast and lunch. But after classes, we gathered up croissants from breakfast — still fresh in my bag — tea I'd brewed, sweets ordered by owl post, and went to the lake shore. There, watching Apolline dance with the Pixie figurine, we enjoyed the play of the setting sun on the water and the pleasant evening breeze.
"Friends, maybe this is a strange and serious question, but what do you want to be in the future?" I asked, sipping delicious mint tea.
"I want to be an Auror," Patrick said, surprising me again.
"After that incident?" I asked, hinting at how we'd met. He nodded.
"And I don't know," Apolline said after a long pause. "That's probably bad, right?"
"Not necessarily. It means you can become anyone, try anything. I do a lot of things," I said, taking another sip.
"We've noticed," she laughed, tossing an enchanted candy into her mouth. It hissed and exploded in a mini-firework, making her tongue tingle. "But you didn't answer what you want to be."
"I want to become a wizard."
"But you're already a wizard!" Apolline poked me, making me almost spill my tea.
"Hey, careful! Tea is sacred!" I protested. "I mean, I'm interested in magic itself. I'm not after titles or mastery for their own sake. My family has money, and if we need more, we'll just release another artifact. I love magic, I love the magical world and studying it. Take your pendant — anyone else would see it as an expensive, complex artifact. For me, it was a joy to make something new. Especially for a friend."
"So you want to be an Artificer?" Patrick clarified.
"No, more like an Archmage," I answered. Not just in the sense of power — though that too, of course — but in knowledge and understanding of the world.
***
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Thank you for the help with the power stones!!!