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A month had passed since the night Adrian first tried to light the torch.
The failure still stayed in his mind, but it didn't stop him. If anything, it made him more determined. Since then, he had been practicing magic on his own, every chance he got.
And after a month, he had found a way to use magic in his own style. He didn't know spells. He didn't have a teacher. But he learned that he could bend magic to his will, just like Bonnie did in the show. He had no incantations, no fancy hand movements—just willpower.
At first, he only focused on lighting things. Within a couple of days, he managed to create small sparks that caught on flammable material. The first time a dried twig smoked under his focus, he almost jumped with excitement. It wasn't fire yet, but it was proof. A few days later, he made a candle wick glow red and smolder. By the end of that week, he could light one after a few tries.
Moving objects came harder. Stones wobbled in the air before dropping, sticks slid across the dirt like someone kicked them. But every day, he practiced in secret. Every single day without skipping, until exhaustion knocked him out. His grandma never noticed—he made sure of that.
A week into training, Adrian realized something. He wasn't doing spell magic. He was doing something else.
Expression.
That was the only word he could think of for it. Expression magic. Magic without spells, just pure will. He bent it, shaped it, forced it to respond.
By the end of the month, he was better. Raw, unstructured, sure—but better.
Now he could lift small stones without straining. He could guide them midair. He learned a trick: instead of wasting energy trying to lift heavy objects directly, he used his hands first. Toss something weakly, then catch it with magic mid-flight.
It worked.
Earlier that morning, he picked up a round rock and tossed it lazily forward. Before it could drop, he caught it with his mind. The stone hovered, slowed, then zipped sideways to smack the tree trunk ten feet away.
He grinned. Perfect.
This was how he worked around the limits of his four-year-old body. He couldn't do anything crazy, otherwise his body would collapse. But what little magic he had, he used with precision.
Practice wasn't limited to objects either.
Adrian discovered, by accident, that animals reacted to his magic. Birds perched closer when he focused on them. Squirrels climbed down without fear. Once, a fox crept from the brush and stared at him, curious instead of hostile.
He could feel them—like tiny sparks brushing against his mind. Their simple emotions were there, raw and unguarded. With concentration, he nudged them. Not true control, but influence. A gentle push. Enough to call them closer, enough to calm them.
It reminded him of The Force from Star Wars. He chuckled at the thought. A four-year-old Force user in a witch's village.
The days fell into rhythm. Wake early. Help his grandmother. Pretend to play with the other children so nobody suspected anything. Pretend to be the obedient grandson everyone thought he was. Then sneak away whenever he could—stones, sticks, candles, animals. Practice until exhaustion hit.
He started to sense how magic flowed inside him. Like a muscle. If he pushed too far, it burned. His body tired quickly, but his control sharpened with each failure.
And yet, even with all that progress…
Adrian knew he had hit a wall.
Expression was raw. Instinctive. Useful, but without structure, it would only take him so far. He needed proper knowledge. He needed to know the why and how behind magic.
He needed real spells.
There were only two people in the village who could give him that.
Esther. Ayana.
The only witches with the experience he lacked.
That was where the problem started.
Adrian lay on a patch of grass behind his house, thinking it over.
"I can't just avoid the Mikaelsons forever," he muttered. "As much as I want to stay away from them… for now, they're harmless. Mikael is the real danger, but if I avoid him, I'll be fine."
He had already met Esther many times. He found excuses—playing with Kol or Klaus, manipulating them into inviting him inside. He made sure Mikael wasn't around when he did. Esther had seen him enough that he was familiar.
Ayana, though… she was a different story. From what Adrian had observed, she was strict. Cold. The opposite of Bonnie, who had been supportive in the series. Ayana didn't waste words, didn't interact with others unless necessary. Expecting her to help him was wishful thinking.
"So why would they even teach me magic?" Adrian asked himself.
Ayana? No reason at all.
Esther? Maybe.
He listed possibilities in his head.
"One, I'm friends with her kids." He scratched his head. "Two… uh… yeah, that's all I've got."
He groaned. "I'm getting a migraine thinking about it."
A crazy idea came to him, and he chuckled to himself.
"What if I seduce Rebekah, huh? Make Esther think of me as her son-in-law so she'll teach me? Nah. Rebekah's two, I'm four. I'm not waiting that long."
He laughed at his own nonsense, then closed his eyes, letting the evening breeze ruffle his hair.
After a while, he sat up again.
"Fine. I'll just show them I'm a witch. A prodigy, at that. Then watch their reaction. See how they behave. Rest, I'll figure out as I go."
Because if there was one thing he believed, it was simple.
The solution to any problem… was taking action.
With that thought, he stood and headed back home, the plan forming step by step in his mind.
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