Chapter 6 "Unantastbarkeit"- Inviolability
Anonymity. That was Leonhard's preferred way of minimizing the risk of actively practicing magic in public. Hopefully everybody today would forget about having even crossed his path, he would simply be one of hundreds, if not thousands of faces the merchants and market visitors would see. So what if anybody thinks it's odd when he stares just a little too long. Out of sight, out of mind.
The bustling square smelled of spice, damp wool, and the sour tang of unwashed bodies. Kinda reminded him of that wet dog smell. If you know you know.
Carts rattled across the uneven cobblestones as nearly everyone shouted over one another like rival roosters in a cage-fight.
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'Maybe I'm overthinking it... or undermagicking it? Is that a thing? It is now. But I digress…Eye-contact will be the name of the game. But surely there is more to it then that?' Leonhard postulated
'I recall Snape and Harry using a Wand and pronouncing the words to perform the actual deed. But due to my distinct lack of a Wand I will have to raw dog it.'
Modern humor never failed to lift his spirits. As it was with that thought that he gathered his courage to approach his first test subject.
Although it wasn't snowing on this late December day, the cold air was still quite biting. He pulled his one size too large cloak well above his neck, even covering his lips and trotted along the path with this faintly squeaking shoes.
The smell of salt was the first thing he noticed as he neared the fish stall.
The pungent smell of salty cod and the sight of freshly gutted salmon assaulted his senses as he neared the fish stall. The fishmonger's coarse voice cut through the air, as relentless as the Thames itself.
Not the most pleasant of smells, but it had a decent number of customers and interested people. All interested parties' eyes were on the fish. The salesman however, he was staring at the long line of people waiting. And shouting. And pushing. And generally, not paying any attention to the little twerp in their midst, perfect.
Following his three step program to successfully perform magic Leonhard started his test: "Mind-walk 1.0" by mentally silencing the loud people and strong smells around him.
'Time to focus.'
'Imagery: Since I want to read minds, surely I can read his thoughts like a book. Like Inoichi Yamanaka did in Naruto. (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/79JFcLm)
'Alrighty, I got it. Finally, it is time to make it happen!'
Leonhard stared intensely at the fishmonger. He stared deeply into his eyes trying to gaze at what lays behind them. Like one would open a book to read the next chapter he tried to extract the thoughts and words inside his test subjects mind…
And nothing.
'Crap. "Mind-Walk 1.0" is a failure. Maybe it was because he wasn't looking into my eyes? Is one sided eye contact insufficient? Time to put that to the test!'
…
And again, nothing. Despite asking loudly about his special offers and keeping the eye-contact going he failed to even catch a hint of anything different.
The fishmonger raised a his left eyebrow just a tiny amount. You wouldn't see it if you weren't paying attention to his expressions. He was a little confused at the weird child standing by his stall, but could find it within himself to care beyond that. He wiped his hands on a bloodstained apron and went back to gutting all sorts of fish.
Having to rub his eyes due to not blinking throughout that ordeal he continued on to the next stand. This one selling a diverse collection of colourful cloths. Using the excuse of wanting to feel the different materials he talked the merchant into letting him do so. Whilst he kept the conversation going, pushing the cloth-merchant to indulge a child's fancy and feel some rough wool, Leonhard attempted his three step program to success… only to end up in failure. Again…
He tried his luck at the next stall after that. Someone who was selling winter vegetables.
Failure.
Furniture-stall?
Failure.
Fried nuts?
Failure.
Baker?
Failure.
Shoemaker?
Failure.
"This is fine," he told himself for the third time that hour. "Totally, nothing-to-worry-about-fine."
.
.
.
'Maybe I don't truly desire it enough? I was taught all my life that the Mind of a person is a sacred place, right? Tom Marvolo Riddle didn't have any such apprehension. Or maybe he just wanted it more than me. Could it be that he is simply more talented… this sucks. 'Guess ill go ahead and spend my two pennies. How about one of those games where getting scammed is all but guaranteed? I wonder what those were like back in the day.. well maybe I should say nowadays.. hehe'
Already feeling a little better he approached a lone man sitting around a tub of water with tiny wooden ducks floating within. Oddly enough everybody seemed to dodge this lone man, knowing that finding success if all but an impossibility.
To be honest, the stall was barely more than a stool and a very big bucket, but nonetheless too small to be called a barrel.
Despite its simplicity it exuded this greasy kind of charm. The man's eyes were small and brown. He may have wanted to appear innocent, but in truth he was a wolf pretending to be a sheep.
As Leon approached the owner stood straight and spoke aloud: "Ah welcome my little friend! How goes it? Can I interest you in a challenging yet rewarding game of 'Catch the duckling' Only a penny a try! You catch the duck, you keep it! All you have to do is use this hook and fish out one of the many handcrafted ducklings within this enormous bucket of water. Easy peasy." He concluded with insidious smile. 'Like taking candy from a baby' he thought to himself. This would be the third child of the day he could profit from.
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After two pitiful attempts Leonhard was down two pennies, and up zero ducks.
"Ohhh and you very sooooo close my little friend!!! Do you have any siblings? Maybe they could give it a try and win big!" the slimy man said with a big smile. Said smile consisted of 7 teeth, two of which were black. But it was that typical smile that an adult gives to little children. One that gave nothing else away.
'Yuck' Leonhard thought as he glanced at the man's predatory smile. 'At least I had more fun doing this than struggling at reading minds attempting to imitate Professor X and being all wannabe badass…'
Taking a final look at the scam/arcade game he watched the wood ducks floating in the bucket of water. Moving up and down because of buoyancy, causing ripples to appear in the otherwise still surface of the water. He watched his own reflection distort and twist because of the motion.
'I guess its time to go back to the group. No point in lingering here.'
Just as Leonhard was about to turn around it struck him like lightning.
'Water. Surface. Reflections. Eyes. Gate to the soul. Truth. Mirror incident. Maybe… just maybe I have been going about this the wrong way. Instead of using eye-contact to get a read on a person's thoughts, I should try to glimpse at what lies behind them. The mind is not my domain. It is theirs. The stronghold of their thought, memory and emotions. Nothing I can simply invade. Deep penetration is impossible, at least for now. I guess the whole literally reading-thoughts-idea was wrong. Or perhaps it simply isn't for me. What works for others must not always apply to myself.'
During the past few weeks, the mirror incident, where his own reflection turned independent, was constantly on his mind. Now he finally knew what he had to do. He understood.
'The eyes may be the gateway to his soul, his mind. But looking at them could also reveal something else. The eyes, they never lie. Just like a mirror. It always shows what stands before it. The ultimate truth. No bias. If only I could get a taste of that. Just a peek at the reflections that echo behind his eyes. A reflection of his self. Of his true self.'
'What if I could see the reflections of his inner mirror, the copy of his being. No amount of displayed falsehood could deceive me and hide away the truth…'
Armed with these ideas he refocused on the man who ran that little stall. Upon looking into his eyes, he finally felt it. Just barely he could magically decipher the man's current state. Despite the smile he portrayed to a kid, his intention was clear.
Leonhard may not have been able to read minds and pick out words, but he had something equally powerful.
Ever so slightly, he could sense the man's emotions.
His current mindset: Unadulterated greed.
'Finally! This will take some getting used to. Kinda feels like dipping my toe into a pool to test the temperature before jumping in… I wonder what other emotions feel like. Quite astonishing how easy that was. Am I as talented as Riddle? Unlikely. But maybe, just maybe, Mirrors might be my thing.'
Bells were tolling faintly in the distance, signaling that the hour had passed.
With a smile gracing his face and a skip in his walk Leonhard went ahead to rejoin the group from the Chapel.
A little tune even found its way onto his lips, a memory from the past:
"Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist die schönste im ganzen Land?" he sang to himself.
(engl. Transl. = "Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the prettiest of them all"
- Evil Queen from the tale of Snow White)
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Intermission:
Artikel 1
Absatz 1
Grundgesetzes der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (German Basic Law):
"Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar. Sie zu achten und zu schützen ist Verpflichtung aller staatlichen Gewalt."
("Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.")
This is one of, if not the the most important amongst the foundational laws in German constitutional law. It protects human dignity as an absolute and unviolable principle.
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And that's a wrap!!!!! I had a bunch of fun writing this…. Been thinking, since before I even started writing this fic to involving a bunch of mirror concepts into his magical skilltree. This is just the beginning…
Feel free to leave any stones and collections, comments and likes, love and good vibes here <3