When we arrived at the castle it was again through the Floo Network, but this time we arrived at Professor McGonagall's office. Then she took me to the fourth floor where there were some unused rooms and we stopped in front of a painting of a woman inside a tower. I explained to the woman that I would be staying in that room for a while and she also asked me to choose a password so that only those who knew it could enter the room.
She told me some rules, such as the curfew and meal times. She also said I was free to move around the castle, only asking that I not interrupt the classes, as exams for the students would begin soon. When I asked about the location of the library, I realized it wasn't where I remembered. I concluded that many things I knew had probably changed, so I asked if there was a possibility of someone showing me around the castle, mentioning that it had changed a lot compared to when I lived there before. The teacher agreed and said that if I didn't mind, she would ask a student to show me around.
I think she offered to have a student show me around the castle so I would feel more comfortable. Before leaving, Professor McGonagall told me that if I had any questions or needed help using my wand, I could go to her office since she spent most of her time there. I thanked her for her offer, and we agreed that someone would take me on a tour of the castle after dinner, which would start in two hours. She also told me that if I wanted, I could join them in the Great Hall, and that since I wasn't yet sorted into any of the four houses, I would be eating at the teachers' table.
When I was finally alone, I went into the room. It was spacious. On one of the walls near the door was a desk where I could easily study. In the middle of the room were a couple of armchairs facing a fireplace. There was also a small table with a couple of chairs where I could comfortably have tea or even eat my meals if I didn't want to go to the large dining room. There were two other doors in the corners of the walls. The one on the right led to a very nice bathroom with a huge bathtub where I think I could even swim.
The door on the left was the bedroom. It had a queen-size four-poster bed, a couple of nightstands on either side of the bed, a vanity by the window, and a large wardrobe.
The room's colors were a mix of light blue and coppery brown. I think they chose this room with Ravenclaw's colors in mind. There was also a large window with an owl entrance above it, and near the window was an owl perch. I think that will soon become Artemis's spot, since I'm still not sure if her place is still up in the north tower.
After exploring the room, I sat in one of the armchairs facing the fireplace while I reviewed the skill lists and artifact blueprints for the system.
The skills that interested me were:
Shadow Clones,
Teleportation,
Portal Creation,
Invisibility,
Amaterasu,
Wandless Magic,
Energy Manipulation,
Meditation,
Mana Spring, and
Teaching.
Of those abilities, the clone ability was the most expensive, costing 10,000 gold. I chose it because, like in the Naruto anime, it allows me to create clones of myself with a percentage of my magic power. Anything they learn will be transferred to me when their energy runs out, I dispel them, or someone attacks them.
Teleportation cost 100 gold and allows me to go to any place I know without making a sound, like Apparition. I can also take one other person with me, which is why I also acquired Portal Creation. It works the same as teleportation, but with it, I can move more people if necessary. The only drawback is that it's more conspicuous. Based on its description, it's very similar to the one Doctor Strange used, and it cost 300 gold.
Wandless Magic allows me to cast spells with just a word, and when combined with Silent Magic, I only need the intention to cast the spell.
Energy Manipulation allows me to interfere with spells cast by others, as well as giving me greater control over my own.
The Mana Spring allows me to passively increase my magical reserves and double my mana regeneration speed.
Meditation, on the other hand, allows me to recover my mana five times faster, provided I meditate—which, as the name suggests, is essentially keeping my mind calm while guiding the mana in the air towards my core to replenish what I've spent.
Finally, I chose Teaching because I wanted to see if I could teach others some of the abilities I acquired from the system.
In total, I spent 11,500 gold on these abilities.
I was thinking of reading some of the first-year books and seeing if I could perform some of their spells, and since I don't want people to know I can do magic without a wand, I need to practice with it.
But before I could try the Lumos spell, Helena's ghost appeared and told me it was urgent that we talk.
During our conversation, Helena told me that the reason she became a ghost was because she had a strong desire to see me again, and now that she was sure I was safe and sound, it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to stay here, and that she would soon disappear.
Before disappearing, she told me about how she had once been tricked by a Hogwarts student who, through deception, managed to obtain one of the few remaining mementos of Mom, her diadem. She said that this same young man used the diadem to perform dark magic, corrupting it and hiding it within the castle. She asked me to please search for and find the diadem, and if possible, destroy it, as Mom wouldn't have liked what had become of her. When her body began to flicker, she knew her time had come and that she couldn't delay it any longer. Her last words to me were,
"Goodbye, big sister. You are the person I loved most in this life. If there is another life, I hope to be reborn as your sister. Forgive me for leaving you alone now, but I hope you can find people with whom you can smile again, make friends, and one day start your own family. I love you, big sister."
As soon as she finished speaking, her body transformed into wisps of light that rose into the sky and disappeared shortly after.
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