A Web Of Magic

The Floo place was set up two days later in Magnus's house. He wanted to pay for the installation, but Mr. Weasley would have none of it. He called it an early Christmas present so Magnus could only shrug it away. He wasn't exactly swimming in money, so he let it go. The day before Christmas, he did the customary cleaning of his house in Devon using magic before deciding to clean his other house manually. He didn't know if the ministry could pick up magic in large amounts in muggle areas. He already tried one or two charms before and he didn't get any notice but he didn't want to risk it at a larger scale.

He used the vanishing cabinet and stepped into his house. A lot of dust acc.u.mulated in the house due to months of disuse which he quickly tried to remedy. He was sweating by the time everything was done. He rested for a bit and then went out to get some groceries. When he was back, he checked the mail box for anything useful. The only useful things were two letters from his friend Missy. 'Uh-oh, forgot about her birthday,' Magnus sheepishly remembered.

The first letter was a reply to his previous one. She somehow found out about his parents from the news and was both consoling him and also angry with him for not telling her. 'How did the muggle news find it out? Is it part of some ministry cover up?' He knew that the ministry sometimes covers up any activities of wizards who were involved with the muggle world. After all most wizards did live near muggle settlements. A sudden disappearance might raise some questions. He put aside the letter.

The second letter was recent and had her apologizing for being ins.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e. She asked about his whereabouts and his well-being and even sent a Christmas present. It was book called "Happy Thoughts". From the looks of it, it was some kind of self-help book to deal with sadness? 'How did she get a book like this? Did she ask her mom to get for her?' Magnus shook his head. He was touched that she still cared enough to write to him while none of his other friends from before did. The fact that she didn't have many friends might have something to do with it, but he gave it a pass.

He went to a nearby bookstore to get her a gift. In the end he got her a small book on exotic animals and a pen set. Funnily enough, in the book was a picture of a Fwooper. He didn't know how such a beast ended up here, but the description of it was wrong. That's the reason he picked up the book as it felt like an inside joke only he knew. Then he quickly penned a letter.

"Dear Missy,

I am fine. Thank you for asking…

I'm living at my aunt's house now…

I shifted to a new school. It's a boarding school in Scotland that has an admission by invite only policy. So, I won't be able to meet or talk to you throughout the year. I'll not be able to come back to my house any time soon after this. Thank you for all the support.

Love

Magnus"

[Impact Points+2]

'That should do it. I even got points for it so I guess it's right to do this? It's better not to involve her in my life. She might get into danger if she sticks around me. Even if that's not the case, if I break the Statute of Secrecy by getting too excited and performing magic in front of her, it'll be trouble for both of us,' he convinced himself. He posted the letter and cooked himself a meal. The whole of Christmas day will be spent at the Weasleys. He's only too happy to get free food and not be alone for the day. He went back to Devon and practiced meditation as usual before sleep in accordance to Mr. King's book. He never missed a day. While progress was slow, he was in no hurry.

Christmas morning, he woke up very early. The sun wasn't out yet. He looked at his moving family photos on the mantle and said, "Merry Christmas mom, dad, Aunt Viola." He then freshened up and went for a walk in his large backyard. He never had much time for walks in Hogwarts, so it was a relaxing experience. 'Hmm, maybe I should do something with all this space. seems like a waste to just let it be.' He checked out the greenhouse and saw that the plants were well taken care of. Mrs. Weasley kept her promise. He sat on the patio to slowly enjoy the morning breeze and went into a meditative state unknowingly. When he came to, he had a new feeling. It was his magic, warm and lively within him. He was sure something changed within, but he wasn't exactly sure what. So, he opened the interface to have a look.

[Magnus Webb

Title: Seer Descendant

Body: 2

Mind: 10

Magic: 10

Impact Points: 420

School: Divination Lv2 (10%), Healing Lv2 (10%), Charms Lv2 (60%), Transfiguration Lv2 (60%), DADA Lv2 (50%), Potions Lv2 (80%), Herbology Lv2 (50%), Astronomy Lv2 (40%), Magical Theory Lv2 (80%), Mind Arts Lv1 (20%)

Skills: Wand Magic Lv2 (60%), Wandless Magic Lv2 (10%)]

Magnus felt happy. His mind and magic stats increased to 10 somehow. 'This needs more testing.' He quickly assigned his back patio as his lucky spot and went inside the house to get ready. It was time to go to the Burrow. He spent more time on his impromptu meditation than he thought. He packed up the gifts and dumped them in his sling bag. He took some floo powder, entered the fireplace and said, "The Burrow."

He disappeared in a flash of green fire and appeared out of the fireplace in the Burrow. He almost slipped his foot but Charlie was luckily there on the other side and caught him in time. "Merry Christmas Magnus," Charlie said with a smile.

"Thank you, Charlie, same to you," Magnus smiled at him. The Weasleys poured in one by one into the dining room. Present-opening was forbidden until they've had breakfast. After a nice breakfast, they all exchanged their presents. Magnus got a blue woolen jumper from Mrs. Weasley with the letter M on the front, apparently a Weasley tradition as they all got similar jumpers of different colors with their initials on. Charlie gave him a book on magical beasts, Percy gave him an inkpot, Ron gave him a chocolate frog and Ginny gave him a drawing of all of them playing in the yard. It's a typical drawing an 8-year old would draw. There's also a suspiciously muscular looking boy with a scar on his head in the corner. Well, he heard about her obsession from her brothers, but he decided not to bring it up. No need to embarrass her on a holiday.

Magnus gave Charlie a magical first-aid book for which he received a knowing smile. He gave Percy a quill with his name charmed onto it for which he received a thank you. Magnus could tell the guy loved his gift; Percy loves himself too much. To Ron he gave a muffin that tasted like chocolate one bite and like vanilla the next. It was a simple application of transfiguration on two separate muffins to make them as one. From the way Ron chewed through it, he liked it. To Ginny he gave a chocolate in the shape of a bud. When she pressed on it, it opened into a chocolate flower. Ginny's face lit up as she thanked him. To the twins he gave some chocolate frogs he charmed himself. They haven't figured out what's different with the frogs yet.

He gave Mr. Weasley a muggle magazine about cars. "Oh, Magnus you shouldn't have. Thank you," Mr. Weasley said yet his giddy expression showed how much he liked it. "Oh, Magnus you shouldn't have," Mrs. Weasley said as she saw what her husband got. Now he won't listen to anything for a few days. Magnus quickly gave Mrs. Weasley her gift to calm her down before she blew up. It was a pink pouch with floral patterns. Inside was some nice smelling powder.

"What is this Magnus dear?" she asked him curiously. "It's called a bath salt Mrs. Weasley. You put them in your bathtub before bathing. It's nice for the skin," Magnus clarified. He tried it himself before gifting her. He did verify its effects with [Identify]. He didn't know about the skin part, but there were no side effects and it smelt nice. It was a recipe from one of the books he read. He made it himself as it was cheap yet good.

"Oh Magnus, you shouldn't have. It must have cost a lot of money," Mrs. Weasley protested. She always tends to get worried about money, understanding given their circ.u.mstances. But Magnus was even more strapped for cash than them. There's no way he's going to buy the gifts.

"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley. There was very little money involved. I made most of them myself," he assured her. "Such a nice and talented boy you are Magnus," Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug.

"Hey mate! How come we get chocolate frogs while mum gets nice skin? Do you want us to die of freckles?" Fred complained with George nodding along.

"How about you eat your frogs and then talk?" Magnus replied with a smirk. They looked at him suspiciously but popped the chocolate frogs into their mouths regardless. As soon as they bit into the frog, it burst with a sound and their faces were now covered in chocolate. The sound startled everyone and the twins looked slack-jawed in surprise.

"Now suck it in," Magnus helpfully offered. They did as he suggested and all the chocolate on their face smoothly went into their mouths without leaving a trace behind. They quickly swallowed the chocolate and smiles covered their faces.

"Wicked!"

"Teach us!"

They started pestering Magnus. "Nice charm work Magnus," Charlie patted his back as he went to look at their owl. Mrs. Weasley just shook her head with a smile and went back to the chicken. Mr. Weasley took the magazine and slowly slipped into his personal workshop while waving at the boys. Magnus relented and finally told them how he did it. Fred and George quickly pulled out a quill and parchment from who knew where and started noting down the points. The whole day was spent fooling around and playing. Magnus returned to his house at night and fell asleep with happy thoughts in his head.

[Impact Points+10]