Since my transmigration, five days have passed...
The lessons, I'd say, were instructive.
Dance lessons at Grey Manor, however, felt like torture.
Miss Sophie shouted at me every second, telling me not to step on her daughter's feet.
She seemed to enjoy it far too much.
"Her seven-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Grey, received special treatment and was handled quite differently than me."
Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a little...
When I finally returned home after that traumatic experience—free, ready to spread my wings—my feet ached from being trampled by Elizabeth.
The language and history lessons with my grandparents, who lived on as magical portraits, were repetitive.
According to my grandfather, every Shafiq must learn Greek and Latin, since they're the most common languages for spellcasting.
German and French, too, because why not?
I spent history class memorizing magical stories and the names of the Sacred Twenty-Eight.
But with this new brain, it was child's play.
Both of my grandparents had died in the war against Gellert Grindelwald.
My grandfather was one of the key strategists in the war, while my grandmother, Eleanor Shafiq, was a Fifth Maturation witch whose Inner Gift allowed her to control metal.
My wandless magic had also improved. I could now levitate two pillows for ten minutes without suffering magical overstrain.
This confirmed that my magical core could expand in quantity without advancing to the next stage of maturation.
Expanding my magical core, along with Occlumency, had become one of my top priorities.
Why?
Because the Shafiq family has one of the smallest magical cores in the wizarding world!
My grandfather, who taught me history, listed the Inner Gifts of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families—most of whom had vastly larger magical cores than us.
The Potters are freaking lightning elementals.
Lightning elementals!
Fitting, if you think about it.
And the Malfoys? They control illusions.
Naturally, their magical cores are immense.
That's why improving my magical power is so crucial.
My Occlumency had developed remarkably well, too. Every evening before bed, I meditated for two hours to strengthen it.
At my current pace, I should advance from the green to the blue stage in about half a week.
I have achieved such rapid progress simply because I am a natural Occlumens.
Ordinary wizards would need two to three months to reach the blue stage.
Perhaps being a natural Occlumens isn't so bad after all. It brings plenty of advantages I'll exploit in the future...
Right now, I'm standing in the salon, preparing to accompany my mother to a social gathering with her friends.
Honestly, I have no interest in dealing with little children.
But my mother insisted...
The gathering was to be held at Grey Manor, which meant traveling by Floo.
How it worked was still a mystery to me.
Throw powder into the fireplace, speak the destination, and *poof*—you arrive there.
I'd have to look that up later in the library.
My thoughts were interrupted.
"Aurelius, are you ready?"
My mother stood beside me, wearing a classic beige trench coat made of light fabric, with a notched collar, shoulder straps, and a belt that accentuated her waist.
I myself wore a white shirt and navy-blue trousers.
"Yes, Mother," I answered.
"Don't forget to pronounce 'Grey Manor' clearly," she reminded me as she tied her hair into a bun with a flick of her silver wand.
"That's the third time today you've told me that, Mother. But yes, I'll say it loud and clear."
I grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the vase beside the fireplace and stepped into the hearth.
"Grey Manor!" I said loudly and threw the powder at my feet.
Green flames engulfed me, everything spun, yet strangely I felt no dizziness.
After a few seconds, the fire faded, revealing the entrance hall of Grey Manor.
Miss Sophie greeted me with a smile.
"Welcome, Aurelius, I hope you had a pleasant day."
"Yes, I did, Miss Sophie. I hope you did as well?" I replied.
"I did indeed," she answered.
I turned as the green flames flared again.
My mother stepped out gracefully, brushing soot from her shoulder as if she did it every day.
"Sophie, how wonderful to see you," she greeted warmly.
I ignored their small talk, distracted by the piercing gaze fixed on me.
It was Elizabeth Grey.
Her long black hair fell to her waist, making her the mirror image of her mother—except for those storm-gray eyes, which glared at me with barely disguised anger.
Apparently, she was still upset about our last dance lesson...
In my defense, she had stepped on my feet more often than I on hers.
But Elizabeth assumed I had done it on purpose, to get back at her.
Me? I'd never do something like that!
Whatever. She'd probably take her revenge in the next lesson...
Our silent staring contest was broken by another burst of green fire.
Aurora Zabini and her son, Matteo, emerged.
In her former life, Mrs. Zabini was infamous for the mysterious deaths of her husbands. Now, clad in a sleek black dress that hugged her figure and green earrings that matched her venomous eyes, she looked every bit the widow.
Her son, Matteo, was a six-year-old boy with black hair and heterochromatic eyes—one hazel, one green, just like his mother's. He stood happily by her side, beaming.
"Another new character," I thought absentmindedly.
Ms. Grey welcomed them warmly and ushered us into the salon, where tea and biscuits awaited on the table.
"Elizabeth, would you show Aurelius and Matteo around the house? Perhaps you three could play a game together?" she asked her daughter.
"With pleasure, Mother," Elizabeth answered, though the twitch in her right eye betrayed her reluctance.
"Come on, boys, I'll show you our magical creatures," she said, beckoning Matteo and me.
I was already dreading it.
In the future, I'd have to minimize these social gatherings as much as possible.
Just because these six- and seven-year-olds acted more mature than kids in my previous world didn't mean I enjoyed spending time with them...
Matteo, buzzing with energy, darted after her, eager for adventure.
With my hands in my pockets, I followed at a steady pace.
Elizabeth, Matteo, and I explored the house—though "house" was hardly accurate; it was more like a castle.
My dance partner still seemed angry with me, shooting me hostile glances every few seconds.
Matteo, the hyperactive child, ran around asking Elizabeth endless questions.
Me?
I spent my time productively.
I levitated a bird feather wandlessly, keeping it floating near me while simultaneously playing chess in my mind.
Despite Elizabeth's death glares, I kept at it, though my concentration slipped often, causing the feather to drop.
Still, I was making progress.
Practicing wandless magic while playing chess was far more interesting than listening to children chatter.
So I continued my training, oblivious to the world around me.
After 10–15 minutes, we arrived in the garden.
I paid no attention to their small talk until the words "magical creature" caught my ear.
We stood in the middle of the castle gardens. Colorful flowers bloomed in neat beds, while violet magnolia trees enclosed the 250-square-meter grounds.
But what truly drew my attention was the cat Elizabeth was stroking.
Its fur shifted every few seconds, glowing in rainbow hues—red, then suddenly green.
That wasn't even the strangest part. The cat had three eyes. Two sapphire-blue ones, and a third pink one on its forehead—like a cyclops.
"...a subspecies of Wampus cat. "Radiant" has the ability to sense the emotions of living beings. Plus, he's suuper soft..."
So the cat, Radiant, could read emotions.
"Hey, Aurelius, do you want to pet Radiant too?"
Her earlier anger toward me seemed to vanish in the cat's presence. Instead, she smiled at me shyly.
"Yeah, why not?"
As I reached out to stroke Radiant, its three eyes locked onto me. The pink one suddenly glowed brighter...
Was it trying to read my emotions?
The cat twitched and suddenly leapt from Elizabeth's lap, dashing across the lawn and vanishing into the magnolia trees.
Its fur shifted like a chameleon, turning violet to blend in. Radiant disappeared without any clear reason.
"*Sigh* Sometimes Radiant is shy. He doesn't like too many people petting him," Elizabeth explained.
Or maybe he had sense something he didn't like...
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[A/N: How did you like the chapter?
Have a good Day!]
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