Accompanied by the Transfiguration teacher, I stood in front of a small house that led to the entrance of a cave.
An old-looking sign hung on the side of the house; it read:
'The Diggory Station'
Professor McGonagall walked over to the counter that led out of the house.
Behind the counter lay a short, blond young man, his head resting on the counter. A faint snore could be heard.
Professor McGonagall, standing to my right, sighed audibly. She furrowed her brow before banging loudly on the counter three times.
The slight young man flinched at the third knock and sat up reflexively. Sleepy, dull eyes, framed by deep dark circles, appeared. His unkempt blond hair covered most of his forehead.
He rubbed his eyes, his gaze unfocused.
'Ehh, by the Great Mother, that gave me a fright…' he grinned sheepishly, oblivious to the presence of Professor McGonagall and me.
Great Mother?
Professor McGonagall, who was slowly getting fed up with his unprofessional behaviour, raised her hand one last time and tapped audibly on the bar.
"Huh?" The young man focused his attention on what was in front of him.
He caught sight of Professor McGonagall, who was staring at him expressionlessly. Instantly, he was flooded with flashbacks from his time at Hogwarts, of how Professor McGonagall had always stared right through him with that dreadful expression, making him feel like an innocent soul frozen with fear, being sucked dry by a Dementor.
Terrible, absolutely terrible.
The horror spread further through Cassian as he recognised her as Professor McGonagall. A shiver ran down his spine.
With a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, he greeted her.
"Professor McGonagall, er, I wasn't expecting you. How can I be of assistance?"
"It's lovely to see you again, Cassian. I see you've decided to work for the Diggory family after all. Contrary to my recommendation of a Curse-Breaker?" Professor McGonagall greeted him.
Because of my short stature, only my childish head peeked out from behind the counter; nevertheless, I was able to witness the heart-warming reunion between student and teacher.
The young man, Cassian, wo had apparently recently graduated from Hogwarts, and with excellent marks at that. Professor McGonagall has recommended him for his future profession as a Curse-Breaker. And since one must have an excellent N.E.W.T. result to become a Curse-Breaker, this automatically means he has an above-average result.
Curse breakers, regularly find themselves in life-threatening situations, so it's understandable that he turned down Professor McGonagall's suggestion.
If I were in his shoes, I'd be more than happy to take up the recommendation.
I mean, exploring tombs and ancient ruins filled with ancient magic sounds very interesting.
Still, with his excellent grades, Mr. Cassian could have pursued a different profession than one, where he greets clients as an employee.
Whatever.
"Haha, Professor McGonagall, you do know that the Diggory family made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Cassian replied, looking sheepish and a little embarrassed.
"With my innate gift, which allows me to create dozens of clones of myself, I was simply a good catch. Besides, the money will allow me to have my sister's illness treated at St. Mungo."
I looked at Cassian more closely, intrigued. He seemed sad, dejected, stressed and helpless. With my heightened perception, I also detected anger in his facial expressions and body language.
It seems the story is more complicated than I thought…
When Professor McGonagall heard this, the stern and reproachful expression faded from her face and was replaced by understanding and guilt.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry, Cassian, I hadn't considered your situation. I shall pray for your sister. May the Great Mother bless her with hope," said Professor McGonagall as she clasped her gloved hands together and placed them on her chest.
Cassian mimicked her posture and, like Professor McGonagall, closed his eyes.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world!
I looked at the two of them in surprise. The situation seemed so abrupt and without warning that I widened my dark blue transformed eyes in surprise.
So there was a religion in the magical world that wasn't—I repeat, wasn't—mentioned in that fucking book.
The so-called 'Great Mother'—is she, then, the goddess of the magical community? Or is she simply a very powerful witch who has proclaimed her status as a goddess?
A change in the outside world snapped me out of my thoughts.
Magical particles of every colour, visible only to my eyes, appeared around Professor McGonagall and Mr. Cassian. Swirling in a whirlwind, they danced around the two of them. As if guided by an invisible hand, the rainbow-coloured particles performed all manner of acrobatic feats that were captivating in an indescribable way.
Mr. Cassian's tense shoulders relaxed and his facial expression softened.
Professor McGonagall also relaxed. Her tightly pressed lips loosened and her stern demeanour, which had exuded such seriousness, became less unapproachable.
I, too, relaxed; a calm inner peace spread through me, my shoulders dropped, my neck loosened, and everything became light. The feeling enveloped me like a cloud; it was wonderful, ecstatic, fulfilling.
I was overcome by the impulse to close my eyes, fold my hands, and praise the glory of the Great Mother.
Slowly, I folded my hands to pray to the Holy Mother—
W-wait, what the hell?!
Clarity struck me like a blow.
My mind cleared instantly, the seductive feeling gone, as if it had never been there.
I looked at Professor McGonagall and Mr. Cassian, who was probably one of the factors behind my…state of mind.
Their hands were still clasped, their eyes narrowed in concentration.
The colourful magical particles swirling around them were still there. I noticed, however, that they were avoiding drifting in my direction.
Using my heightened perception, I looked around for any potential onlookers who might be watching my imminent action.
After ensuring there were no wizards in the vicinity, I focused on my inner gift.
In particular, I concentrated on my passive ability, which allows me to see magical particles. Technically speaking, it is not just a passive ability, but also an active one.
When I channel my magical power into my eyes, my passive ability is amplified and I can see magical particles in detail, and even information related to magic.
I had been cautious about using this ability until now, as it causes my eyes to reveal their true form.
Unfortunately, my Metaphorgus powers could not conceal this…
Without wasting a moment, I focused on the bundle of magical energy at the centre of my chest.
I drew the golden energy up from my chest to my shoulder and then to my head, where it subsequently gathered in my eyes. Concentrating deeply, I maintained the flow of magic from the centre of my chest to my eyes.
My dark blue eyes shimmered slightly until they revealed their true form.
My eyes, which had taken on the colour of liquid gold, pulsed with magical power. Silver lines moving independently within my eyes gave them a hypnotic appearance.
From my perspective, everything became much clearer.
My already high-resolution vision received such a boost that, from my previous perspective, I might even have been labelled as almost blind. The magical particles became clearer in the room; I could even understand runes instinctively!
When I turned my attention to Professor McGonagall and Mr Cassian, who still had their eyes closed in concentration, a wealth of information revealed itself, bombarding my mind.
For one thing, I could understand magical particles in a more profound way.
My inner gift enabled me to see the nature of the magic that the magical particles trigger or bring with them.
To illustrate my point more clearly, here is an example:
Professor McGonagall used the Avifors spell at the orphanage to turn my teacup into a hummingbird. If she had cast this spell whilst I had my magical vision activated, I would first of all have seen the magical particles emanating from the wand as 'Transfiguration magical particles'.
Since every living being carries and emits magical particles, I would recognise the hummingbird as a transformed animal that is actually a non-living object.
Thus, I also discovered the origin of the rainbow-coloured particles swirling around Professor McGonagall and Mr. Cassian.
These magical particles were of a kind that influence the concept of Faith. Based on my brief personal experience, one can also conclude that 'they' can influence or alter one's state of mind.
In summary, it can be said that a prayer to the Great Mother conjures up particles of faith which can influence the mental state of those around them if no resistance is exerted.The spell calls upon one to pray to the Great Mother and praise her.
With my eyes slightly narrowed, I continued to observe the magical particles circling around Mr. Cassian and Professor McGonagall.
What could possibly be the intention…of this goddess in casting such a spell?
Well, free will is certainly not taken into account…
I channelled the flow of magical energy to my eyes to its maximum, causing my whole body to start getting hotter. The temperature in my eyes rose the most, causing light tears to form at the corners of my eyes.
I ignored the burning sting and instead focused all my attention on Professor McGonagall and Mr Cassian.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my field of vision improving again. However, I was too preoccupied with what my inner gift was revealing to me.
I could see the magical energy inside both of their bodies. The rainbow-coloured particles, which I had named: Faith Farticles, were mostly concentrated in the area of the head, where they swirled about.
Since they influence the mind, it's only logical that they're located in the brain, isn't it?
Fascinated, I continued to observe the process, comparing the amount of Faith Particles in Professor McGonagall and Mr. Cassian respectively.
Without really paying attention to my magical capacity, which had actually been pushed to the limit, I increased the supply of magical energy to my eyes, again.
I no longer noticed the stinging pain at all. One could say, however, that my eyes felt as though liquid lava had been poured over them.
The pain was worth it, though, as I discovered new abilities of my Inner Gift.
I could discover the Inner Gifts of wizards!
But that wasn't the only thing…
The faint outlines of two souls became visible on the bodies of Professor McGonagall and Mr Cassian.
An impulse overcame me, like a hysterical third-year villaint to laug—
"*Arghhh!*"
A painful groan escaped my lips. At the last second, I managed to stifle the sound to a minimum.
Instantly, I withdrew the flow of magical particles leading to my eyes. Burning agony spread throughout my entire body. The effect of the adrenaline slowly faded, making way for the consequences of my impulsive actions.
With the last grains of magical power remaining in my chest, I managed to transform my normally golden eyes into dark blue ones.
My vision became clear and sharp again, though a slight dizziness lingered.
I turned my now dark blue eyes towards Professor McGonagall and Mr Cassian.
"*Sigh*"
A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I saw that Professor McGonagall and Mr. Cassian hadn't noticed a thing.
Completely oblivious to my actions, they still had their fingers crossed over their chests and their eyes closed.
To be fair to them, only 14 seconds had passed since they began their little 'prayer'.
However, I now assumed they would finish their prayer at any moment, as Particles of Faith were streaming from their bodies and flying away.
I wiped my eyes with my hands to wipe away the tears that had formed during the incident. As I glanced at my fingers out of the corner of my eye, I noticed blood on my fingertips.
It seems I hadn't just shed tears…
Professor McGonagall's voice snapped me out of my trance.
"I hope your sister will recover, Cassian."
"Yes, hopefully…" Cassian replied briefly.
There was a brief pause in the conversation between the two before Professor McGonagall broke it after a moment.
"Cassian, it's been lovely talking to you. I'm afraid I'm pressed for time, as I'm accompanying Mr. Noir to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies."
Surprised, he raised his eyebrows.
His eyes scanned the counter until they fell on my head, which was just peeking above the wooden counter.
"Oh, sorry mate, I didn't see you," he said, looking a bit embarassed as he scratched his head.
"My name is Cassian Flor, nice to meet you," he said, introducing himself.
"Kiran Noir, a pleasure," I replied.
"So you've booked a ride to Diagon Alley for 12:45?" he asked after a moment.
"Exactly," replied Professor McGonagall.
"Well, as you work as a professor at Hogwarts, the journey is free for you. Mr. Noir has not yet reached the age of adulthood, so it is free for him too." Cassian smiled as he leafed through a book.
"Er, yes, exactly at 12:45, a journey from Cambridge: Underground Safeplace Station to London: Diagon Alley."
He briefly waved his wand over the book. It closed itself and flew back onto one of the dusty shelves.
"I'll accompany you to Platform 9…after all, it's easy to get lost in this scary cave!"
***
[A/N:
Hey guys,
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave constructive criticism in the comments or reviews.
In the next chapter, Kiran finally arrives in Diagon Alley, and in the chapter after that, he finally boards the Hogwarts Express.
Have a good day!
Byee
:)
]
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