The moment Dumbledore declared Gryffindor the winner of this year's House Cup, Black received an expected notification.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
Your Skill — My House, My Rules has upgraded…
…
Skill: My House, My Rules
Grade: C (Growth)
Specification: Declare any room as the House Common Room
Requirement:
— Hogwarts Student
— Advance Magical Aptitude
— 1st Threshold
— Correspondence >45
— Worth >25
— Luck >15
— A Room
Attributes:
— Mana Consumption: 0.5 MP per square feet
— Min Area: 350 square feet
— Max Area: 1000 square feet
— Mana Depletion: 10 MP per hour
Effect:
— The Contestant can declare any room, with a max limit, as House Common Room
— The Contestant can reject any one Rule within the House Common Room
— The Contestant can impose any one Rule within the House Common Room
— In the Contestant's absence, the Rules will persist till the Skill ends
— Only one Room can be declared as the House Common Room at a time
Skill Upgradation Conditions - 1st Year:
— Your House—Gryffindor—must win the House Cup
— Score maximum marks in your Year in at least one subject
WARNING:
— The Contestant can cancel the Skill anytime before the Skill's auto-deactivation
— The House Common Room will continuously lose Mana
— The Contestant will be affected by the Rules as well
]
…
Taking his mind off the oddity lingering about Dumbledore, Black thoroughly went through the Skill's stats.
There was no denying it.
He loved it.
My House, My Rules was one of the most ridiculous Skills in his arsenal, its potency and complexity just beneath Nothing Is Impossible and Fate Borrower.
The thunderous applause exploded, then.
Black looked as the hangings and banners took a scarlet and gold color.
The Gryffindor table had erupted with such a loud noise that one could barely hold their hands from landing on their ears.
All around Black, the students were congratulating and thanking him.
Harry and Ron had locked their hands around Black's head, Draco letting out a rare, cheerful sneer. The Weasley Twins were chanting a jolly song, replacing the great hero's name with Arlen Black. Percy left his seat and shook Black's hand, and he wasn't alone.
For the first time, the Celebrity Basher was in the brighter limelight than the Celebrity herself.
Up at the high table, Professor Snape shook a blushing Minerva's hand with a nasty twist dancing on his lips.
Professor Umbridge had already gone awful silent, clenching her fat fingers around her wand.
She had failed to accomplish many things this year. Things that she had planned before taking on the Director's role at Hogwarts. The Werewolves' attack on Halloween Eve and the Cursed Ice incident kept pushing her plans to come to fruition.
Looking at Umbridge from the side, Madam Villanelle smirked.
She scanned the students, from the happy shouts of Gryffindors to angered head-shakes of Slytherins. Happiness or anger, she didn't mind, though.
For Madam Villanelle, any emotion in the Great Hall mattered much more than the blatant hopelessness she had seen at the beginning of the 1st year.
Little by little, she realized that Professor Dumbledore had been right.
Children grew faster and better at the playground than they ever at home in protection.
Perhaps… Madam Villanelle let out a smile. Perhaps, these students would truly stand their ground against the impending doom.
For now, tonight marked the greatest end of a bizarre and action-filled 1st year.
…
Suddenly, the children found themselves saying goodbye to each other at King's Cross Station.
Harry, Ron, Draco, Black, Daphne, Hermione, and… Darcie were standing together, huddled away from the prying eyes of adults.
The children, other than Daphne, still felt overly stifled in Darcie's presence.
However, ever since they had gone through the murderous traps and had gained Spells, a pressing burden seemed to have lifted off their shoulders when they looked at her.
It was as if those Spells barely let them look Darcie in the eyes without feeling inferior.
Surprisingly, and to everyone's amazement, she hadn't received any notification or Spell.
"External means are still external," Darcie warned calmly, her poisonous green eyes burying inside their thoughts. "I hope you guys will not become too reliant on them."
Harry and Ron gulped.
Draco looked away, knowing not what to say.
Daphne looked at her feet, realizing the truth in her friend's warning.
Hermione failed to conclude if the werewolf within her was her strength or a curse.
"I didn't know even you can get jealous," Black commented, chuckling.
The boys almost facepalmed. Daphne almost laughed. Hermione almost smacked Black.
Darcie narrowed her eyes at Black.
"Don't look at me like… Aaachoo!" Black sneezed. "You cursed me?"
Darcie turned around and walked away toward the incoming Mrs. Weasley and Ginny with a smirk on her lips.
Behind her, Black kept sneezing, his nose going red.
Laughing, Daphne and Hermione also hopped away, their parents receiving them next to the Weasleys.
Draco looked at Black and shook his head.
"Here comes my father," he said, looking away.
"Aaachoo!" Black sneezed. "I am right here… Aaa…"
Black dodged Draco's punch.
"Draco!" Lucius Malfoy screamed at the top of his lungs. "Why are you standing there?!"
Draco threw a nasty look at the Mudblood and marched away, the nastiness becoming a hidden smile somewhere in-between.
Mrs. Weasley called Ron, then, saying hello to Harry and Black.
Behind her, they could see Harry's uncle and aunt, hiding behind a pillar.
"Where are your parents?" Ron asked.
"Aachoo!" Black pointed behind the Malfoys.
Petyr Baelish and Cersei Lannister were standing regally at the platform, waving their hands toward Black.
"They… look normal," Ron said, going away, waving his arms. "Anyway, you two must come and stay at my house this summer! I'll send you an owl!"
And then there were two.
"Will they be an issue?" Black asked, looking at the Vernons.
Mrs. Weasley had approached them for a chat, but they shook her away, now marching straight toward the boys.
Harry smiled. "I want them to become an issue," he said, winking.
Suddenly, Harry realized something. Black wasn't sneezing anymore. When did the curse disappear? Was he… ever under the curse, to begin with?
"You… aren't normal," Harry blurted. He immediately flustered. "I mean…"
"Of course," Black nodded. "My mind works like a computer."
The boys looked at each other and laughed.
"Wanna come and live with me?" Black asked.
Harry felt a great surge of emotions inside, but he ultimately shook his head. "How are you going to spend your summer?"
Black made a face, thinking hard about it.
The recent events had thrown his precautions into chaos.
Something was bothering him. His Instincts could feel it, even though the Lucky Intuitions didn't. Something incredible was happening… against him.
If he wasn't ready when the time came, then it would be the enemy having the last laugh.
No. Black couldn't have that.
"I guess," Black said, the Ad Infinitum preparing a Mission, "I will go search for an… Armor."
After an entire year, it was finally time to Switch Random Worlds.
**************
Volume 19: The Philosopher's Stone - Ends!!!
**************
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