"Shadow Manipulation."
That was the working title Maurise decided to give his owl's newly acquired, mildly terrifying ability.
After a brief period of testing, he had a solid grasp of how Cinder operated. Without a single incantation, the owl could impose its will on any shadow within a ten-meter radius, dragging them into the physical realm and shaping them at a whim. The shadows could bind enemies or solidify into sharp spikes for a sudden ambush. The best part? These shadowy appendages sprouted completely silently from the darkness, making them utterly unblockable.
The only downside was their fragility. With Cinder's current magical output, the shadow spikes could not even pierce a solid block of wood. The tentacles could, at best, restrain a particularly scrawny and unathletic adult wizard.
Still, it was more than enough to keep a certain undead cat in check.
As Maurise drew a fresh advancement ritual circle on the floorboards, Cinder retreated to its perch by the wall. The owl took a brief nap, occasionally using its own shadow to preen its feathers in a blatant display of smugness.
---
Tin, the undead feline in question, watched this performance with absolute disdain.
'Show-off', the cat's glowing eyes seemed to say. 'So you can play with shadows. How incredibly flashy and useless.'
Tin held its head high. As the master's very first undead creation, it was firmly convinced that its own advancement ritual would yield something far more tangible and devastating.
Then, it would finally reclaim its rightful place at the top of the pet hierarchy, far above some feathery upstart.
"Come here, Tin. The ritual is ready," Maurise called out.
"Meow!" The cat trotted over, practically vibrating with excitement.
Just like Cinder's upgrade, Tin's ritual went smoothly. In fact, it was over even faster. Once the cat had absorbed every last wisp of magical mist, Maurise stepped in for a closer look. Outwardly, the feline looked exactly the same.
"Alright, let us see the new powers," Maurise said, fully expecting a spectacular display.
Tin tilted its head, blinking in absolute bewilderment. "Meow?"
Maurise paused. "What do you mean you do not feel anything new?"
The cat squeezed its eyes shut, trying to channel its inner darkness. But there was nothing. Sure, its ethereal body felt a bit lighter, and its senses were somewhat sharper, but was that it? No shadow manipulation. No summoning fireballs or calling down lightning.
What in the world was going on?! Tin began to pace frantically in tight circles.
Watching his undead cat have a miniature existential crisis, Maurise rubbed his chin in confusion. This did not make sense. The ritual was flawless. Did he mess up a step? He replayed the entire process in his head but found zero errors. The issue had to be with the cat itself.
Suddenly, a tiny detail clicked into place. Back when he first animated Cinder and his skeleton dog, he had added a few drops of his own blood to the transformation circle. But Tin had been his very first experiment. He had not used any catalytic materials at all.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He crouched down in front of the pacing feline and offered a sympathetic grimace.
"Good kitty. I think I know what happened. You might just be a little... how do I put this... developmentally delayed?"
Developmentally delayed!
Tin's head snapped up. The cat stared at him in sheer, unadulterated horror. Its fragile undead ego had just suffered a critical hit. It simply refused to accept this reality.
Of course, the "stunted growth" theory was just a hypothesis. Maurise needed to run more tests. But the harsh reality remained.
Tin had gained zero cool abilities. For the next few days, Maurise dedicated his free time to studying the cat's magical pathways, though he made no real progress. He eventually decided to save up more Void Energy Crystals and run a second advancement ritual later. Naturally, a second ritual would cost significantly more energy than the first. It was going to be a massive undertaking, but he had to take it one step at a time.
---
Mid-February at Hogwarts was predictably freezing, complete with miserable, endless rain showers.
"Here is your cake, Mister Black!"
"Thank you, Bobo."
"Oh! Serving you is Bobo's greatest honor!"
Maurise took the slice of rich chocolate cake from the beaming House-Elf and stepped out of the kitchens. Eating a massive piece of chocolate cake first thing in the morning was probably a terrible health decision, but he was a kid. He did not have to worry about his sugar intake yet.
Ever since discovering the kitchen's location, he had become a highly frequent patron.
Hufflepuff students really had the best deal in the castle, considering their common room was right down the hall from the kitchen entrance. The House-Elves rarely refused a polite request, meaning Maurise enjoyed a steady supply of gourmet desserts that never quite made it to the Great Hall tables.
And best of all, it was entirely free.
---
After breakfast, Maurise joined the herd of students heading to their morning classes. Tuesday kicked off with History of Magic, objectively one of his favorite periods of the week. Not because he actually enjoyed the subject, mind you. He loved it because Professor Binns literally did not care what anyone did while he droned on. It was an hour of completely free time.
"Maurise, what on earth are you doing, and why have you been staring at that compass for twenty minutes?"
Halfway through the lecture, Hermione finally cracked, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
Maurise did not even blink, keeping his eyes glued to the brass compass in his palm. "I am trying to enchant it," he replied simply.
Hermione frowned, her brow furrowing. "We have not learned anything about enchanting yet."
"Correct," Maurise murmured softly. "Which is why I am figuring it out myself."
In truth, he was attempting to carve microscopic magical runes directly onto the casing.
"Now, please be quiet, Hermione. I am having a moment of genius."
Hermione huffed in annoyance and forced her attention back to the ghost professor, though her eyes kept darting back to the boy next to her. A few moments later, a faint, barely perceptible pulse of magical light rippled across the surface of the compass. Hermione was absolutely certain she had not imagined it.
Just then, the bell rang. Professor Binns dismissed the class without missing a beat. Hermione turned, fully intending to interrogate Maurise about the glowing compass, but he had already vanished into the corridor.
Maurise practically sprinted back to his dorm room. Collapsing into his chair, he held the compass up to the light, a wide grin spreading across his face.
He had finally done it! This was the very first time he had successfully layered this many distinct runes onto a single, stable object!