A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ Edmund could hardly believe it.
The first forty draws had crawled along on guarantees and near-misses.
Then the final ten-draw had produced two Legendary cards at once.
With the paired-pool reward included, one pool had given him three Legendary cards.
He stared at the two golden cards as their light slowly thinned and the images beneath became clear.
[System] Card Display Name: Albus Dumbledore Rarity: Legendary Talents: Transfiguration: 8 (History-Making) Dark Arts: 8 (Extremely Dangerous) Defence Against the Dark Arts: 8 (Defender of the Light) Spells: Most Dark Arts spells, Defence Against the Dark Arts spells, and Transfiguration magic.
[System] Card Display Card: Phoenix Type: Companion Card Rarity: Legendary Sex: Female Talent: Rebirth Abilities: Healing tears.
Spell interception.
Message delivery.
Phoenix travel.
[System] Card Display Name: Gellert Grindelwald Rarity: Legendary Talents: Dark Arts: 8 Prophecy Duelling Only the strongest talents are displayed.
Spells: Most Dark Arts spells, Defence Against the Dark Arts spells, and ancient Dark magic.
For a while, Edmund simply stared.
They were worthy of the title Dark Lord, both of them.
Dumbledore especially.
The man had world-class talent in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, yet his knowledge of the Dark Arts stood on the same level as Grindelwald’s.
And then there was the phoenix.
He had not even reached Hogwarts, and he already had a companion most wizards would associate with legends and headmasters.
If the phoenix travel worked as advertised, he might one day have a way to leave Hogwarts even when ordinary Apparition was impossible.
The thought was tempting.
Then Edmund remembered the limitation: each Legendary character card allowed him to select only one talent, spell, or field of knowledge for enhancement.
Dumbledore was easy.
Defence Against the Dark Arts.
His own aptitude there was only a four, somewhere in the range of a promising student.
That needed strengthening.
Grindelwald was harder.
He could choose Defence Against the Dark Arts again and push the field even higher.
If he did, he might reach a level just below the true monsters of the age.
By Edmund’s rough estimate, even Severus Snape, Sirius Black, and James Potter – the best of their generation – would likely sit around a five in most practical magical talent.
But then there was his eight-point Dark Arts affinity.
If he merged Grindelwald’s Dark Arts talent with his own, it would rise to nine.
According to the system’s scale, that was the highest tier.
Edmund looked at the glowing card for a long moment.
“Fine.
Defence can wait.
I want to know what full-tier Dark Arts talent feels like.” “System,” he said, “merge Dumbledore’s Defence Against the Dark Arts talent and Grindelwald’s Dark Arts talent.” [System] Talent merge complete.
Edmund waited.
Nothing happened.
He looked down at his hands.
No surge of power.
No lightning.
No dramatic chorus from the universe.
Of course.
Talent was potential.
He would probably feel the difference only when he studied, practiced, and tried to make the magic his own.
That was almost more reassuring.
“Extract the phoenix.” Fire appeared in front of him.
At first it was only a spark.
Then it widened into a ring of flame.
A bird stepped through it, brilliant and graceful, every feather bright with gold and scarlet.
She flew once around the room before settling on Edmund’s shoulder and pressing her golden beak against his cheek.
He went still.
Then, carefully, he stroked the phoenix’s feathers.
They were warmer than silk and alive with a quiet strength.
For several minutes, boy and bird studied one another.
The phoenix did not seem wary of him at all.
If anything, she looked pleased.
“Dumbledore has Fawkes,” Edmund said at last.
“You deserve a name of your own.
Aurea.” The phoenix gave a bright, musical trill.
Edmund blinked.
That was not the sound he had expected from a phoenix.
It was somehow elegant and ridiculous at the same time.
He spent a little longer with Aurea before turning back to the rest of the rewards.
In total, the fifty draws had produced 500 Galleons and a spread of spells and supplies.
The six Epic cards had yielded: Transfiguration Knowledge x1 Potions Knowledge x1 Finite Incantatem x2 Occlumency x2 Edmund merged the spells and knowledge, then closed his eyes as the information settled through his mind.
Five minutes later, he opened them again.
“Not bad.” His Occlumency was already comparable to years of serious study.
The other spells were only at an introductory level, but that was enough for now.
Once he entered Hogwarts, he would at least not be helpless if someone tried to brush against his mind.
He doubted Dumbledore or Snape would use full-force Legilimency on a first-year.
He also had no intention of relying on their restraint.
Name: Edmund Gaunt Birthday: October 31 Status: Hidden owner of Gaunt Investments; recent graduate of Garden Primary; incoming Hogwarts student Legacy: Gaunt Ancestral Magic, awakening Arcane Capacity: 7 Magical Items: None Charms Aptitude: 5 (Outstanding) Defence Against the Dark Arts Aptitude: 5 (Outstanding) Divination Aptitude: 0 (Troll) Dark Arts Affinity: 9 (Dark Lord-tier) Coins: 0 One round of drawing had raised his strength considerably.
His internal magic had more than doubled.
According to the system, an ordinary young wizard entering Hogwarts generally sat around one point of Arcane Capacity.
Most adult wizards reached around five.
Edmund’s reserves were already comparable to those of an average adult.
Only his reserves.
That distinction mattered.
Without knowledge, technique, and experience, a large well of magic only made someone dangerous to himself.
For the next several days, Edmund began studying in earnest.
He had no wand yet, and he had not drawn any wandless casting skill.
That limited what he could practice.
Instead, he focused on the Potions and Transfiguration knowledge the system had given him.
The systematic knowledge from the cards was useful, but it was not unlimited.
It covered roughly the level of the first two years at Hogwarts, not the whole field.
Repeated cards could deepen his understanding of spells and subjects, but the system did not lock his ceiling in place.
He could still study, refine, and master what he had received through his own effort.
That was important.
He had no desire to become a puppet pressing buttons for borrowed power.
The days slipped by.
July 31 arrived.
At nine o’clock in the morning, the doorbell rang.
Edmund looked up from his notes.
The Hogwarts professor had arrived.
Curiosity stirred as he crossed the hall.
He wondered who they had sent.
When he opened the front door, a thin man in black stood on the step.
Shoulder-length hair, black and oily.
Hollow cheeks.
A tired face.
A large hooked nose.
Thin lips.
His robes hung loose around him, billowing slightly in the breeze.
There was no mistaking Severus Snape.
Edmund, however, had to pretend otherwise.
“May I help you?” Snape inclined his head in a precise, old-fashioned bow.
His voice, low and slightly rough, cut neatly through the morning air.
“Good morning, Mr.
Gaunt.
Severus Snape.
Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Head of Slytherin House.” His dark eyes flicked once over Edmund’s face.
“I am here to introduce you to the world to which you belong, and to escort you in purchasing the supplies you will require for school.” Edmund let the right amount of surprise rise into his expression, then stepped aside and gestured toward the hall.
“Please come in, Professor Snape.
I was not sure what to think when the owl arrived.
Your visit makes the letter much harder to doubt.” He offered a polite smile.
“We can speak inside.”
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.