It took close to seven weeks. Only seven weeks for Richard to polish his new set of spells. There was a total of seven. Seven spells based on the seven sins, each with their own unique way of bringing the sword to life.
It was addicting...
To have a spell materialize so easily, with such wonderful properties.
It felt like cheating. And cheating felt good. He pointed his wand with a bit of flair at his wrist. While he couldn't see the target behind him, he could imagine it.
Black smoke like wispsof magic gathered at the tip of his wand, like smoke, but with purpose, tendrils of the black mist slowly curling and uncurling as the it formed a cone.
Lust.
An irresistible attraction between two objects. When applied to the sword..
While he could not see the target behind him, he could feel the inexplicable connection to the target he had drawn on the young pine tree.
Transfix
The cone of mist dissapeared from the wand tip. A fraction of a second later-
"Crack!"
Richard turned around to see a hole piercing through the pine tree.
"Will you stop using those spells? You know how I feel about dark arts."
Richard ignored Tonks. He prepared to cast the new spell. He lifted both of his hands and gathered dark energy at the wand tip-
Zap!
The hell!
The dark aura around the wand dissapated, and Richard placed his wand back in his holster, while glaring back at the house, where Tonks peaked out of the window, with her wand raised. The stinging hex was gonna leave a red welt he's gonna feel.
Still, Richard only glared at Tonks, who glared back without flinching. After all, he was the person who told her to stop him if he gets too absorbed into the dark arts.
It was addicting. The dark arts... They stimulated his soul and his body like it was a drug. The magic created an artificial 'high' because it was a mix of emotions and magic that comes from the depth of human soul.
In a way... It was pure. And that purity would blind people who pursued it.
That was the same reason he didn't delve into light arts with the narrow mindset everyone else had. Imagine yourself at your happiest moment? Sacrifice for the greater good?
That sounded quite similar to the mad cravings of a dark wizard. After all, what reason would a man have to sacrifice himself if it doesn't mean anything to them? A man only moves to protect what is his. The selfish love for what he believe is his, is what drives them to perform the selfless acts of sacrifice. A human mind is a mixture of good and bad, their existence itself being a hypocrisy. And straying to pure selfless good or pure selfishness of only one self is just choosing different sides of the same coin.
Of course, Just because he made that conclusion didn't mean he was in control. Its like how everyone knew how to be a noble man. People know what are the qualities a noble man possess, but they are not able to become one themselves because they are not able to put those principles to practice.
Just like Richard and his dark magic addiction.
Sigh
It was truly unbecoming for a devil noble,no, someone ascended from being a devil noble to still get addicted to the lowly pleasures of sins.
Richard walked back to the the hill castle. They had named it so, after a constant back and forth of ideas, before finally settling for something simple.
He stopped at the fishpond for a moment, and stared back at the reflection of the person who stared back.
A pale skin that could match a ghoul, and eyes that shrunk into the sockets, hiding a madness he didn't want to accept, but knew at the bottom of his heart. His hair was askew, frayed ends standing like candy floss, without life.
So maybe he was a bit too immersed in the dark arts. Just a little. He shook his head as he contradicted himself.
The break was almost over, and he didn't even touch the patronus charm. If that was not stupidity, then he did not know what was.
Richard lied on the woven chair he had placed in front of their door and whipped open the newest edition of daily bugle, where an overly exaggerated image of Sirius Black screamed silently. The man had escaped a few days ago, right after the Weasly family went to Egypt.
'…..Authorities urge all witches and wizards to remain vigilant. Black is believed to be armed and highly skilled in dark magic, and may pose a threat to anyone he encounters.
Officials warn: do not approach under any circumstances. Anyone sighting Black should immediately report to the Ministry via owl post or the nearest magical law enforcement office-'
'Send an owl...'
Richard folded the paper and placed it back on the table. The wizarding world was trapped in their own success. They can message long distance using owls. Instant reading and talking with mirrors and important but hasty messages using patronus.
Because they have so many options to achieve every mean of communication, they don't focus and develop on the communication sector itself. No standardised method to utilize and improve.
It isn't a problem in day to day life, but in case of an emergency? If the wizard doesn't have a wand in hand, or doesn't know how to perform patronus?
Richard noticed this in almost every sector. The wizarding world was trapped in many ways because of the versatility provided by the wand.
This.... Might be a good area to invest. Richard sinked to his thoughts. For him to become the omnipotent being who owns this world, he had to have his name define this world.
For now, it had five great contenders, be they aware or unaware. Harry Potter himself was the first. The world was literally named after him, and the world source was made based on the story, which was, once again, focused on Harry Potter.
Second was Voldemort. As the antagonist, his presence has a great impact on the story itself. The story literally starts and ends with him.
Third was Dumbledor. The Mentor. The one who carried the title of the strongest even when he died, because his death was not a result of loosing in power, but a strategic decision made by himself. And he had achievements to match it. His alchemy discoveries, his connection to the protagonist,the antagonist and legendary figures like Nicholas Flamell and Grindelwald. And his raw power seen during the few times he took action. He was a named character who made the antagonist fear. And his intellect and schemes ran so deep, that until it was revealed in the deathly hallows, no one ever thought that the mentor was guiding the protagonist to his death.
Fourth was 'death'. While his significance to the story wasn't much at the beginning, as the end approaches, the deathly hallows appear, tied to everything from the very beginning, taking roots in the fate before generations . The wand, the cloak and the stone play a significant part in the story and its conclusion as well as the beginning
Finally, there was him. The current weakest contender. But he was making progress. For the moment, it was some small things. The actions at the chamber of secrets, teaching magic circuits to Neville and sharing his theories with Dumbledor.
Because ,even though he disliked to admit it, he was weak. He couldn't just waltz around doing whatever he wanted because of repercussions. As for Tonks, well, she wasn't much important to the story, so repercussions were not immediate.
But the world source will do what it can to retain its source. And the moment the story skips the given path, repercussions will occur. Just like how Tonks nearly ended up dead in the chamber of secrets.
Well..now things are different. He picked up the letter from Hogwarts without care. For two whole years, he played the waiting game, barely changing the timeline, training until the point he felt ready. And Richard felt that it was about time he start playing the game for real now. Any later, and he might loose advantage in this game.