The Massimo family home, second floor.
Kael felt wonderful.
He could see, hear, and feel better than ever before.
He understood that somewhere out there, beyond the wall of water, lightning was flashing in all its glory.
All the small animals within a hundred steps had hidden in their burrows and hollows, trembling in fear of the storm.
Somewhere high in the sky, a network of mana appeared.
Only for a couple of seconds.
As if some incredibly powerful being had looked down to see what was happening.
And having seen everything it wanted, it left.
Only years later would Kael learn that this was the Ministry of Magic’s network for detecting and tracking Muggle-born wizards.
Right now, the boy was slowly coming back to himself.
His Fifth shell absorbed the surge of emotions, and then calm returned.
Glancing at his Fifth shell, Kael noted that its growth had slowed significantly.
After such an intense emotional burst, it had increased by about three percent of its current volume.
He had vague suspicions that its growth would slow down even more.
His channels were simply singing.
An immense amount of mana was flowing through them.
The mana itself began to enter every cell of his young body.
He felt an explosion of energy inside him.
He wanted to dance right then and there.
Turning his attention to the outside world and opening his eyes, Kael looked around his room.
The first thing he noticed was the mess.
Pillows, books, notebooks, writing supplies, and much more were scattered all over the room.
The second thing the boy noticed was that he was floating.
He had spent a long time trying to learn to float, and he hadn’t even dreamed of flying yet.
But he’d never succeeded.
Now he was floating, albeit slowly descending back to the floor.
And the third thing on the list, but not in importance, were his parents, who stood frozen like stone pillars in his doorway.
Their faces showed complete shock.
The only thought in their heads was, “What’s going on here?”
“Good morning, Father, Mother,” was the only thing that came to Kael’s mind, so he said it.
“The weather is beautiful outside, isn’t it?”
Right at that moment, an especially loud clap of thunder sounded from outside.
For several minutes, Kael sat under the intense gaze of his father and mother until they snapped out of it.
Sara finally spoke.
“We’re going to have a very serious conversation, young man,” his mother said, with an expression on her face that would make even a demon understand: there would be no getting out of this.
And if you tried, you’d face the wrath of the highest court in the land, in the form of Sara.
His father just nodded in agreement.
He was completely and unconditionally on his wife’s side.
Kael just sighed heavily and obediently lowered his head.
There was nowhere to run.
He was surrounded on all sides. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Let’s postpone the conversation.
First, you’re going to have breakfast.
Then we’ll talk.
And don’t even think about hiding anything.
We’re your parents, after all.
You shouldn’t have any secrets from us.”
“Yes, Mom.
I understand.”
A couple of minutes later, the whole family went down to the first floor.
While his father and mother headed to the kitchen, Kael went to the living room.
As soon as he entered, he noticed the birthday cake and the stack of books sitting next to it.
The boy pulled a chair up to the table, climbed onto it so that the table came up to his chest, and tried to reach the stack of books.
The only thing he could grab was the note lying next to them.
The books remained out of his reach.
After all, he was still too small.
Taking the note in his hands, Kael read the sender’s name:
*To the Massimo family, from the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Lord Regulus Black.*
“What the hell is going on?” was the only thought in the boy’s head.
Regulus Black was alive?
He should have been dead for a year now.
Regulus became a Lord?
What about the Horcrux?
Did he take it or destroy it?
Or did he not know about them at all?
Did magical families exist in this world?
And blood magic?
That was only half the problem.
What did he have to do with their family?
How were they connected?
These and many other questions swirled through his head.
They built themselves up and collapsed, creating new theories and destroying old ones.
Sara came into the living room from the kitchen.
“Kael, son.
How many times have I told you not to bring books to the dinner table and not to read there?
Are you at it again?
Didn’t you forget?
Go on, take them to their proper place.”
“These aren’t my books.
“Not yours?
Then whose?
Who could have brought them here?
Me or your father?” his mother asked with a smirk.
“They’re from Regulus Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.”
Hearing the boy’s answer, Sara dropped the plate of eggs she was holding.
It hit the floor with a terrible crash.
At the sound of breaking dishes, Tom appeared from the kitchen.
“Sara, honey, what happened?”
“Tom,” Sara said in an agitated voice.
“There’s a package here.
From Regulus Black.”
While Sara and Tom stood silently, staring at each other, Kael opened the letter and began reading aloud in a clear voice.
The text was written in a beautiful, almost calligraphic hand.
*Thomas Massimo,*
*As promised on your son’s third birthday, I have sent you, via house-elf, a list of books necessary for a young scion of a magical family to enter the magical world.
The list includes:*
*Occlumency: “How to Protect and Structure Your Mind.
From Neophyte to Archmage.”*
*Runes: “Runes as the Foundations of the World and Magic.”*
*Rituals: “What to Do in Any Life Situation.”*
*Etiquette: “Etiquette as the Basis of Aristocratic Society.”*
*I recommend you pay attention to the first item, Occlumency.
Occlumency is the ability to block access to one’s mind to people skilled in Legilimency, the ability to read images in someone else’s mind.
It will also help structure your son’s mind.*
*All of these books are very rare and partly outside the law.
But they are also the most important in the life of any wizard.
Not every aristocrat possesses this knowledge.
Treasure it.*
*As promised, I have paid for your son’s tuition at Hogwarts and terminated the mandatory service contract your son would have owed to my family.*
*With this, I declare the Life Debt paid in full.
I hope I won’t see you again.
Good day.*
*P.S.
I forgot to mention: the books are in the original languages, that is, Old English, Latin, and Old French.
Happy reading.*
As soon as Kael finished reading the letter, it burst into flames and instantly burned up.
Not even ash remained.
After sitting in silence for a minute, the boy turned to his parents and spoke.
“What was that all about?”