[Note: Read up to Chapter - 77 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Aris sat bathed in sunlight, his eyes fixed intently on the ancient book in his hands. He looked completely absorbed, lost in a wonderfully strange state of focus.
As he slowly waved his hand, the books around him began to lift into the air, gently floating as if stirred by a breeze of unseen magic. Their pages turned on their own, flipping rhythmically under the influence of his growing power.
But that wasn't all.
Around the room, other objects had started behaving... oddly.
A waste bin in the corner sprouted little legs and waddled across the floor, picking up crumpled bits of parchment and tossing them into itself with a sense of purpose.
The teacup on the desk began to tremble gently, like it was preparing itself, and soon an invisible hand seemed to pour tea into it from a kettle that hovered beside it.
Even the cushions on the sofa had come to life. They bounced around like children at play, tussling with each other, only to freeze and glance nervously at Aris every now and again, as if afraid they might disturb him.
All of it was so surreal that even Luna, who was rarely fazed by anything, stood in wide-eyed amazement.
"This is… brilliant," she murmured, her voice filled with quiet awe.
Not wanting to interrupt him, she tiptoed past the squabbling cushions, gently caught an alarm clock that was teetering off the edge of a table, and placed it back in its proper spot.
Then she moved closer to Aris and paused beside the desk, watching the teacup swirl with steam.
After a while, her attention drifted from the cup to the boy himself.
He sat quietly in the sunlight, silver hair glowing gold in the warm light. It swayed gently with the magical energy that pulsed through the room. His expression was calm, serene, almost otherworldly.
Without realising it, Luna found herself staring.
Completely entranced.
Luna would never normally wear such an expression, but there was something utterly captivating about Aris in that moment.
It was like a top student stumbling across an impossibly challenging equation, or a poet finding the perfect verse in a long-forgotten book. Without even realising, she'd become completely absorbed.
She simply stood there, silently watching Aris for nearly half an hour, not moving an inch.
Then, as if stirred from a dream, Aris's eyelashes fluttered slightly. His hand, which had been waving gently like that of a conductor guiding an invisible orchestra, lowered slowly. The room, which had been buzzing with enchantment, eased back into stillness.
Only then did Luna blink herself free of that strange, wonderful trance.
"Why are you staring at me like that, Luna?" Aris asked, brow raised. Her gaze had been so intense, it left him feeling oddly self-conscious. "Do I have crumbs on my face or something?"
"You've no idea what you just did, do you?" Luna asked softly, already slipping back into her usual dreamy calm. There was curiosity in her tone, but not judgment.
Aris furrowed his brow, trying to recall. "I was just..." He paused, then shook his head with a small laugh. "That notebook… It's madly engrossing."
He hadn't expected to be pulled so deeply into Merlin's Manual on his first read, but somehow, he'd fallen into a trance-like state, almost like reaching enlightenment.
For a moment, it had felt as if the entire world was turning at his will. With a simple wave of his hand, he could shape it, bend it. Everything responded. The books, the furniture, even the air around him.
He now realised that was his magic at work—his talents resonating in full. The walking bin, the playful pillows, the brewing teacups… all of it had been triggered by innate powers like All-Around Shapeshifter and Language of Nature.
It wasn't just Spellwork.
It was like... being the creator of a world born entirely from his imagination.
Beautiful. Bizarre.
And just a bit terrifying.
It was only now that Aris realised something rather alarming—if even the slightest violent thought had crossed his mind during that trance, the entire suite might've been reduced to dust under the sheer force of his magic. And the girl sitting opposite him would've been caught up in it too.
That thought made his stomach twist.
Still, the gains from entering that state of enlightenment were massive.
Right now, Aris could feel it; his control over his magical power had become far more refined. If he'd only had about ten percent mastery of his magic after merging with Merlin's talent, then he reckoned it had now jumped to at least fifty.
And that wasn't something to scoff at.
Even most adult wizards who'd graduated from Hogwarts probably wouldn't boast more than sixty percent control over their magic. Anyone who managed over eighty percent? They were in a league of their own, able to perform feats most witches and wizards could only dream of.
As for breaching the ninety percent threshold... well, that was an entirely different realm altogether.
That's the kind of mastery that allows one to invent incredible spells on the fly from scratch or wield devastating, high-level magic without breaking a sweat.
Take the infamous Fiendfyre for example, the signature spell of the first Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald. That cursed flame wasn't just raw power; it demanded both immense magical strength and razor-sharp control.
No wonder Grindelwald was the only one in the entire Fantastic Beasts series who could use it so effortlessly.
While Aris was lost in analyzing his trance state, Luna's eyes shifted.
"Merlin's Handbook?" Luna tilted her head, gazing curiously at the thread-bound book in Aris's hands.
The pages were still open, faintly glowing with that strange, bluish hue.
She leaned over for a quick peek, but the moment her eyes caught on one of the symbols, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her. She blinked hard and looked away almost immediately.
"That's not a book you can just skim, is it?" she murmured not daring to look at it again.
"This book's proper strange—I couldn't even read it!"
Her voice had a hint of unease as she looked at Aris with a flicker of worry.
"Didn't you feel anything odd while reading it?"
"Odd?" Aris blinked.
"Not at all! I actually thought everything in it was explained really clearly."
That took him aback. He knew Luna wasn't the type to lie, not about something like this. So what was going on?
Was there something off about the book itself?
But he'd felt perfectly fine flipping through it.
Maybe… maybe it was some kind of ancient enchanted text. One of those forbidden types that only allowed the chosen few to read it. Like a test. If the book didn't approve of you, you wouldn't even be able to look at it without consequences.
He mulled it over in silence, and the most likely explanation soon formed in his head.
This book was Merlin's own manual, after all. It wasn't just any old tome.
And since Aris had inherited Merlin's magical talents, it probably recognised him as someone worthy—like reading instructions from your past self.
"Forget it," Luna said suddenly, cutting through his thoughts with a smile. "If it's a secret, I don't need to know. But be careful the next time you read that book, yeah?"
"I've just got a feeling it might be a bit dangerous."
She tilted her head slightly, her tone light but laced with genuine concern.
"Maybe it's not something an eleven-year-old wizard should be messin' about with."
Aris felt a warmth spread through him.
Even though they hadn't known each other long, he could already feel how much Luna cared.
That kind of quiet, steady kindness, it meant something.
"Aris," she said suddenly, her voice soft, "Can I call you… brother?"
He blinked. "Eh?"
"I dunno," she continued, trying to sound nonchalant, "I've always thought it'd be lovely to have a big brother. Someone who'd always look out for me. We could together go out to search for Crumpled-Horned Snorkack that Daddy always talks about…"
There was a small flicker of nervousness in her eyes, but her voice stayed calm and dreamy, like she was saying something completely ordinary.
Aris smiled. He reached out and gently ruffled her long, golden hair.
"About the brother thing… Sure, why not?" and added with a bit of hesitant tone, "As for searching for the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack that Mr. Lovegood talks about… hm… well… I am unsure if I would be useful in that… but… I suppose I wouldn't mind tagging along…"
"Yeah?" asked Luna with her eyes shining brightly.
"Yeah." Nodded Aris.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 77 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]