Chapter 6: Operation Lovegood
As the coach arrived into Ottery St Catchpole it drove towards a car park on the outer skirts of the village. Stopping in one of the parking spots, we all got out of the coach and lined up on the pavement. Melony kept an eye on all of us whilst Nana spoke to the coach driver about what time they needed to be back for. After confirming she turned to us with a smile on her face.
"Okay kids we got 5 hours here! Follow me and Melony towards the river otter and we will setup a nice picnic area there~"
Marching forward Nana started to lead the big group of kids towards where the river otter was. Looking at this 50 odd year old woman acting so playfully I couldn't help but smile. She really was a kind person. I let all the kids walk ahead of me as I slowly started to detach myself from the group more and more hoping I could seize and opportunity to dip and look for the Lovegoods. However…
"I've got my eye on you Oz~"
Sadly this being known as 'Melony' had her eyes trained on me. Compared to the other kids, her attention was fully placed onto me. Letting out a sigh I followed along with the group knowing I wouldn't be able to make a break for it for now.
Walking, walking and more walking. Some of the fatter kids started to sweat and gasp for air. The distance from the carpark and the river otter wasn't a short one. I on the other hand felt like I could walk triple the distance without breaking a sweat. Exercise was really your friend. Thankfully for the fattest kid who was about to keel over in a hot sweat we had finally arrived at the river. Looking at the glistening water I felt the urge to drink some. That urge ceased the second one of the kids jumped into the water with dirty feet.
Now we had arrived Nana and Melony started to setup a picnic blanket, putting the food we had prepared earlier on it for the kids to come grab. I looked up and down the river wondering which direction I should chance, hoping the Lovegoods was in either location. It really would be a game of chance…
"Oz~ come help us over here!"
Melony called out to me to help with unpacking the lunches. Immediately I started to grumble. This is why I stayed solo in my previous life, so annoyances like this wouldn't happen. Now Melony was attached to me she wouldn't let me out of her sight. As I started to walk over in a huff Nana interrupted.
"No Melony. Oz wanted to come here and it's his reward for being good the past 4 months~ Let him enjoy himself don't ask him to help us"
Ah Nana you wonderful woman. She had helped me out majorly and put a pouting Melony in her place. I decided to walk up to the river and along it slowly, heading westward. As I increased the distance between the picnic area and myself I peered back constantly hoping Melony and Nana wouldn't notice. Luckily they were now preoccupied with one of the kids who had injured her leg in the water. Seeing this as my chance, I darted up the river towards the unknown.
When I become a wizard, young girl, Ill heal your leg for you as thanks~
.
As soon as the picnic sight was out of my line of sight I started to slow down my running and walked instead. Looking ahead at the plain hills and fields I scratched my head wondering how I would manage this.
"Honestly this might be a bit too far-fetched…"
Looking around I saw literally nothing… nothing at all. I couldn't even make an educated guess as to where this 'house' would be. Walking further up the riverside I stared down at the grass and mud wondering what to do. Looking around a few more times I sighed as I decided;
"Ill continue walking for an hour or two longer, if I find nothing Ill immediately head back. The punishment from Nana would be somewhat bearable if I actually got results from this…"
Thinking about Nana's wrath I broke out into a sprint again running up the riverside desperately looking for anything that would help me track the Lovegoods house down, or any wizarding house for that matter. An hour passed with no luck as I sat down to catch my breath. This Idea was honestly too far-fetched. I would have to have some protagonist luck to-
Just as I was lamenting I looked over to the overside of the river, onto the other riverbank. Looking at the grass there I was able to see it was somewhat disturbed, as if someone had been there. Without hesitiating I jumped into the river and waded across to the other side, drenching myself from the knees down in the process. Climbing onto the riverbank I looked at the disturbed grass I spotted closer.
"Jackpot~"
Footprints. Not only that they seemed to be small footprints like a little girls. Looking at the grass I saw the footprints in the mud lead from the riverbank into the field ahead. In the distance I looked at a small hill and smiled. The hill looked familiar to me, I was almost certain it was the hill which the Lovegoods had their house on.
"I got nothing to lose, lets go!"
Following the footprints in the mud I headed towards the familiar hill. After 20 minutes walking I finally arrived close to the hill. Taking another step forward I felt as though something 'hugged' me for a moment before disappearing again. In front of me, a house appeared on the hill. It was the Lovegoods house.
"Operation… successful~"
Walking blissfully up the path towards the house I had a big grin on my face. Now I had found the Lovegoods I just had to convince Xenophilius to divulge information about magic, specifically magic maturity. Can't be too hard right-
As that thought entered my mind it immediately was cut off by a loud explosion. Looking up at the highest window of the house a puff of smoke wafted into the open air. I looked up at the smoke questioningly until my mind recalled something.
That's right. Pandora who died in the canon would still be alive now! Luna's mother who was only mentioned in the books as someone who died would appear in front of me living. Walking up the path with a quicker pace I arrived at the front door of the house. The weird wooden door had a knocker on it which I grabbed and used to knock on the door. A few moments later, the door swung open. I was greeted by a young girl.
"W-Who are you?"
The girl looked at me in curiosity. Looking at this girl I immediately knew who it was. In front of me was the culprit of the footprints, Luna Lovegood. Looking down I could see her shoes caked in mud. She must have just gotten back from taking a walk to the river. Before I could respond to her I saw a man walk over to the door and look down at me incredulously. This man was Xenophilius.
"You are certainly an unexpected visitor young lad… What are you doing here?"
Seeing people I had read about in books all my life appear in front of me in the flesh was certainly weird. I felt almost star-struck for a moment before cooling my heart and giving an innocent smile.
"I saw this cool house whilst walking up the riverbank! I immediately rushed over wondering who was inside~"
Being 5 years old had its advantages and disadvantages. I could use such a dumb reason like this to convince any adult. The worst part though was using what I referred to as 'kid talk'.
"You… saw this house? Are you a wizard young boy?"
I looked at Xenophilius for a moment and then to Luna who stared at me with sparkling eyes. I decided to lie.
"A Wizard? I don't know what that is… wait is that why I make glass vanish sometimes? All the kids at the orphanage call me a liar when that happens!"
Xenophilius stared at me deeply as if trying to read into me. Surprisingly this man seemed more questioning than what I guessed him to be. Maybe I was a bit naïve thinking he'd just invite me in immediately. As he stared at me alongside Luna, a voice rung out from behind them. A cool bewitching voice.
"Xeno darling he's just a boy. There's no need to glare at him like that~"
The third person to appear was Pandora, someone who died in the canon. As I stared at the woman who was supposed to die I felt mixed emotions. She looked almost identical to Luna but obviously older. Her face seemed to have ash covering it and her hair was all frizzled and burnt, both victims of the earlier explosion I gathered. Her warm personality instantly reminded me of Nana.
"Invite him in Xeno, I'll make a cup of tea. Don't let him stay outside like that"
Pandora headed off towards a stove with a kettle on it and started to boil water. Meanwhile Xenophilius and Luna walked into the house, ushering me to come inside. As I entered I looked around at all the different things in the house with awe. Magical tools were strewn about everywhere.
Xenophilius led me to the front room area of the house and told me to sit down and relax. I accepted his offer and sat down looking around the place whilst he sat down as well. Luna walked over to him and sat on his lap staring at me alongside him.
"I'm sorry little lad, I didn't mean to scare you glaring like I did. I imagine you would like an explanation to what all of this is"
Ending his sentence he pointed towards a plate that was cleaning itself. I stared for a moment and nodded harshly. Smiling he began to explain.
"You see young lad, you are like us. You are a wizard!"
I stared at Xenophilius blankly as he declared I was a wizards with his arms akimbo and raised. Luna mimicked her father making a funny image for me to see as both father and daughter declared my wizarding powers. Since I didn't react, Xenophilius started to blush as his arms slowly fell.
"Xeno darling did you really expect him to understand just from that?"
Pandora walked over and joined us in the front room, sitting down on the remaining chair after giving me a cup of tea. Looking down at the time, an hour and 20 minutes had passed since I left the picnic site with Melony and Nana. I needed to get the information I needed quick.
"Allow me to explain better for you darling~ you are what Xeno says, you are a wizard like us. The magical situations you've explained that you've experienced, glass disappearing and such. They are results of the magic within you awakening. In a few more years that magic will fully awakening and you will reach maturity"
Noting how much better Pandora was at explaining things I listened intently to her words. One question immediately slipped out of my lips.
"Magic is awakening in me… How does that work?"
Pandora looked at me blankly for a moment before laughing brightly.
"You certainly asked a good question darling~ there's a few books that explain magical maturity and how it works however most of those books are ancient. Witches and Wizards these days stopped questioning 'why' and started only questioning 'when'".
Getting up from her seat Pandora went upstairs for a moment and came back down with an old looking book. Handing it over to me she ushered me to give it a read.
"Read page… what was it? Page 4 I think, that should answer your question~"
Looking at the book in my hand with glee I started from page 1 and speed read all the pages. It took me a couple of minutes to read the full book and commit the pages to memory. Pandora and Xenophilius looked at me questioningly seeing this. I could already guess what they were thinking.
"Ah… Nana at the orphanage has already said I'm a really fast reader!"
"No kidding…"
Xenophilius let out his thoughts slightly as he continued to stare alongside Pandora. Meanwhile whilst I was reading Luna had gotten off her father's lap and had gone upstairs. She was only a 3 year old girl after all. I imagine she lost interest in me and decided to go do something more fun. Seeing that I was looking around for Luna, Pandora smiled and explained.
"That girl ran upstairs. She's a little adventurous even for her age. I'm sure you noticed the mud on her feet? She loves to run down to the river. When she first did it me and Xeno panicked like crazy, after the first time I placed a tracking spell on her so I could know where she is at all times..."
I nodded at Pandora's explanation as I recalled the contents of the book I had read. I now had a grasp of what people explained magical maturity as. Essentially, a witches/wizards body had the ability to absorb and hold magic. Magic was something that was everywhere, in the air, in the water, in the trees. Non-Magic folk would come into contact with this magic daily however they don't have the ability to keep it in their bodies, that's what makes them unable to use it. Now magical maturity would happen when a child wizard's magical supply reaches a certain amount of retention. More 'magical outbursts' would occur as a sign of this and eventually the witch/wizard would reached maturity. From then on the body of the witch or wizard would be used to magic and would retain it better and store it better, this would lead into the next phase of magic gathering known as 'growth' in this book.
Magic maturity would happen all around the age of 11 usually however the book depicted cases of it happening sometimes earlier, sometimes later and sometimes not at all. Squibs like Filch were squibs as their bodies how a low ability at retaining magic within itself. Whilst rare it was possible and that ability to retain magic dictated a wizard's overall ability. Knowing all this now I pondered how I could absorb more magic from the surroundings with the goal of reaching maturity sooner.
"Anyway that should answer your question darling~ next is what happens when you mature magically. At 11 you will receive an admission letter from Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry! With this admission you will be allowed to enter Hogwarts and learn magic from teachers as well as learn about magic culture~"
I acted surprised and excited despite knowing all this already. My mind still lingered on the maturity situation. In the book Pandora allowed me to read to answer my questions there was mention of a 'breathing method' which stimulated the magic in the surroundings to be absorbed faster. However thinking on this I thought it was probably .1x better than just no breathing method at all. Realistically if such a method existed, all families would teach it to their young witch/wizard children.
"When you receive a letter from Hogwarts you will be brought to Diagon alley by someone and given funds to buy school supplies since you are an orphan. After getting yourself your own wand you will be able to head off to school~ our little Luna you saw earlier is only 3, 2 years younger than you. In 8 years' time she will also be heading off to Hogwarts~"
I nodded along to Pandora's words however my mind didn't absorb what she was saying properly. I was still focused on magical maturity. I wanted to reach it early so magic could be learnt sooner, I wanted a head start. The only thing I had to put my hope in was the 'breathing method'. Looking at Pandora I decided to steel myself and ask about it.
"Umm mrs…"
"Just call me Pandora darling~ or Pandy for short"
"Okay… Pandy. In the magical maturity book you gave it mentions a breathing method to reach maturity sooner. Is that actually real?"
Pandora's expression seemed to turn panicked for a moment as she took the book away from my side. Glancing through the book she looked at me with a serious expression.
"I forgot this old book had 'that' method in it. Darling you are not to use this so called 'breathing method' its too dangerous"
"Dangerous? Why is it dangerous?"
Pandora got up from her chair and hid the book away in a cupboard. Looking over at Xenophilius who was wondering how to answer my question also, she sighed deeply.
"You see darling… This method is an ancient method that 'forces' magic into the body of the child who uses it. It allows for early maturity and greater gains in magic however there's a risk to every reward. It's far too dangerous and painful… how do I explain it to you in a way you'd understand…"
Pandora spent some time mulling over an analogy to explain the problem with using the 'breathing method' to me. During this time Xenophilius decided to chime in and give me an analogy.
"It's like this lad. Picture you are pouring water into a glass. As magic in the atmosphere slowly starts being absorbed naturally by a wizard, the wizards will safely reach maturity. Using the water and glass as a way to explain this…"
Running into the kitchen, Xenophilius grabbed a glass and went over to the sink, ushering me over. Pandora followed us over and watched at her husband's display with curiosity.
"Look here lad, Magic maturity happening naturally works like this. The magic slowly fills you up, you being the 'glass'"
As Xenophilius started to explain he turned the sink on. The small stream of water started to fill the glass up to the top.
"With this steady and slow stream it's easy for the body to say 'stop' when its reached enough magic or in this case enough 'water'"
Turning the tap off as the water reached the top of the glass he took a swig of the water and then poured the rest away.
"Now for what happens with that 'breathing method' the magic fills the body rapidly being hard to control"
As he spoke he turned the tap on again however this time he turned its pressure up higher. The water jetted into the glass and in a matter of seconds the glass was filled to the brim, and then it overflowed. Seeing this I started to understand what Xenophilius was getting at.
"That method does allow one to fill their body quicker to reach maturity however it has the added risk of adding too much too quickly causing you to overflow. If you don't stop the magic entering you, the excess magic would rampage within you overflowing and damaging you in the process. Worst case scenario, you lose the ability to use magic"
After pouring out the second glass of water Pandora looked at her husband with a grin.
"Well explained Xeno~ Did you understand that darling?"
I nodded as I looked at the glass in the sink. Despite knowing the difficulties of using the ability though, I found myself with the desire to try it when I got back to New Leaf anyway. Unlike most kids who would use this method and fail I was a 21 year old man who had died and come to this world. My mental state was far more steeled in comparison and in that moment of panic as magic enters the body rapidly I feel as though I'd be more in control. Recalling the 'breathing method' from the pages, I steeled my resolve to give it a go.
"So darling you mustn't… absolutely mustn't use that method! Forget you even read about it!"
"If that method is so dangerous Pandy, why do you keep the book with it in?"
Bewildered by my innocent question Pandora cleared her throat and began to explain.
"I'm a magical researcher darling~ I like researching things like this. However researching and doing is two different things!"
Looking at her burnt and frazzled hair, I felt irony from her words.
"Anyway lad it's probably time for you to leave, your guardian or whoever looks after you is probably worried sick"
Ah that's right I forgot about Melony and Nana. They are going to be fuming with me. Honestly I don't want to go back…
Walking to the exit I opened the door. The sun that was high in the sky was starting to fall. Turning around I looked at Pandora and Xenophilius. They had really helped me letting me have this knowledge. I now had a way forward.
"Thank you for your kindness Pandy and Xeno-"
Looking past them I saw the 3 year old Luna at the bottom of the stairs. I smiled and gave her a little wave before starting to walk down the path. As I recalled the 3 year olds face walking a bit down the path I felt the urge to turn around, leaving one last closing note.
"Uhh… Pandy. That explosion from earlier was a result of one of your 'researches' right? It scared me when I saw it happen. Maybe in the future you should be more careful. It'd be a shame if you left such a nice family behind…"
I started to walk briskly down the path leaving a bewildered Pandora with her husband. She stared at me deeply as I walked away.
I hoped she would commit my words to memory…
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BoiGeorge
BoiGeorge A reworked explanation. Fuck step 1 and step 2. Im making magic a bit more interesting. Also more personality given to Pandora and Xeno alongside a young Luna.
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