ALL NOVEL Chapter 7: Shadow Magic
For the next few days, I got into the rhythm of going to class by day, practicing magic by myself and hanging out with Hermione in the evening. Though I've barely worked through 3/4 of my textbooks, my progress with shadow magic has been more than satisfactory.
Along with that routine, I've been getting into the habit of running every morning, Muggle-like to build my stamina. Lately, Hermione, who got up early for reading anyways, also chose to join these sessions.
As the one-week cool down is gets closer and closer, my desire for Zed's bionic/mechanical armor grows. The reason for this is my shadow form requires sync to perform magic, which means it can only physically attack while detached from me.
Though my proficiency while casting in shadow form was equal to or have even surpassed that with a wand, the plausibility of using the shadow as a surprise has not increased.
With special armor, my shadow can arm itself or even me automatically in emergencies, as well as coordinate attack from different directions. As my physical fitness improves, hand-to-hand combat using cold weapons is becoming feasible, if not one of the best options.
For context, as I upgraded my Shadow Magic level to 4, the ability to switch places with my shadow - Zed's Living Shadow - on a short cooldown has become available. However, constructing a shadow in a bright spot requires constant attention, which only gets better over time.
This shadow will, furthermore, replicate any physical action of the wearer, meaning projectiles and sharp weapons will double in lethality. Even if the attack doesn't hit the target, this ability is excessively useful as a sudden movement for dodging enemy fire and closing the gap.
In close quarters - such as a certain bathroom, opponents will be unable to respond or counterattack while being harassed by effectively two people.
However, there appears to be a deeper layer to using the shadow - coming from the Shadow Assassin, Kayn - as it allows for traveling within and through any material while one becomes the shadow. This might still require more research.
For the moment, my priority aside from mastering shadow magic is to get the Prince's Potions Book, where various formulas and spells are written. Though I knew the incantations, I wouldn't risk trying them without the ultimate guide by the spell creator himself.
As for classmates, this version of Neville, despite the confidence and supposed Chosen One status, was still only in his element with Professor Sprout and Herbology. It would be quite interesting to see how he fares in Snape's class in this world. The Potions Master should nonetheless be picking on me and not pay that much attention unless terrible accidents happen.
On a more troubling note, my first lesson with Quirrel can be said to be quite a disaster. It's no exaggeration that nobody in their right minds would suspect him as the host for the Dark Lord, as he stutters too much to even make out coherent sentences.
Over my first week, sabotage attempts, in other words, bullying, happened consecutively without any claiming to be the perpetrators. I was expecting Slytherins to be responsible, but I'm still appalled by this level of pettiness. These attempts range from overheard insults to secret Dungbombs, even jinxes and hexes from blind corners.
They do fortunately provide great incentive to use my shadow as a scout, improving its proficiency to level 5 by Friday morning. Hermione was not so pleased with this development, though that did give me an excuse to start teaching her Protego ahead of time.
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Neville's POV:
The Boy-Who-Lived is not having a great time.
Before going to school, Neville Longbottom almost always received preferential treatment from other children and adults who visit him. Before he could even read, the boy was already the object of admiration, the "Savior", the only one able to vanquish He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Though his parents never affirmed the rumors and taught him to always be humble, the "special" child puts himself at a higher position than anyone else. Neville is proud that he can take all he wants from others while being praised as clever or even genius.
This is why at the age of 7 or 8, Neville was especially worried about being a Squib. Fortunately, after deliberately falling from a high place, believing it will trigger his magic, the boy found out that he is a wizard, just like his parents.
Though the Longbottoms are uneasy that their child would attempt such dangerous feats and scolded him, they were ecstatic that Neville would grow up in their world, perhaps even following the footsteps of a great wizard.
From then, outright unreasonable expectations for Neville accumulated from the Longbottom's various family friends. Believing himself a talented individual, Neville never really studied seriously before going to Hogwarts, his parents agreeing that he should be taught to do so along with his peers.
And what revelations Neville received, coming to this ancient school. Despite occasional squeaks of surprise from teachers and admiring gazes from students, Neville was really not that much different, if even slightly slower than most of them at learning.
From Transfiguration to Charms, Neville has been outclassed by two brilliant classmates who are quickly becoming teachers' favorites: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The contempt one of his followers, Ronald Weasley, had for both of them did not alleviate but only deepen his jealousy.
Unlike him, Harry and Hermione were as close as it gets to Muggles, never knowing magic existed until they received their letter, not having secret libraries or family magic to get them ahead. In other words, they deserved their achievements while Neville didn't.
And this infuriates Neville. Learning that the Slytherins plan to set Dungbombs and hex the two, Neville barely hesitated before secretly joining in. While others don't notice, the Boy-Who-Lived tried to scatter their books, soak their shoes and throw Dungbombs at them from behind.
He felt a wicked satisfaction thinking they would suffer, only to be disappointed the very next time he saw Harry and Hermione walking scot-free. Little did he know, a particular shadow has let Harry know of all those petty tricks, and various spells can completely nullify the effect of other pranks.
Before Neville could think of more creative ways to sabotage them for his amusement, he is hit with one of the worst lessons he's ever attended, and the professor that evokes fear for the rest of his student life: Potions, taught by Severus Snape.