"Asterion, you must remember that when you transfigure something enchanted, you must not alter the runes written on the inner part of the object. These runes are the gears that keep everything in order. Once even one of the runes is altered, the entire enchantment will be broken."
As she sorted through the clothes, piece by piece, getting ready to start transfiguring, Narcissa didn't forget to instruct Asterion, who listened attentively to every word.
Looking at the medieval clothes, Narcissa huffed and drew her own wand, black and sleek, about 24 cm long. With a flick of her wrist and hands, the tip of the wand glowed red. She pointed it at the piece of clothing in question, and the complicated transfiguration process began.
A strong will twisted and altered the very fabric of the cloth. The material changed according to Narcissa's will, shaping into what she desired and wanted.
Moments later, a completely new piece of clothing appeared in front of Asterion: simple black pants. Soon, there were white long-sleeved shirts, belts, shoes—Narcissa transfigured hundreds of clothes in less than ten minutes.
"It's been a while since I've used so much transfiguration. Professor McGonagall would be quite proud if she saw," Narcissa murmured to herself, looking at the hundreds of pieces of clothing flying back into the closet with a flick of her wand.
"What do you think, Asterion?" Narcissa asked, looking at the nine, almost ten-year-old boy.
"A magnificent display," Asterion spoke sincerely. It was truly magical to see matter obeying Narcissa's commands. He understood perfectly why wizards considered all other races inferior. This power, the power to shape reality with a simple wave of the hand, was truly extraordinary. In a literal sense, wizards were slightly less powerful gods.
"You will be even more extraordinary in this discipline given your Inborn Technique. Perhaps in the future, you could transfigure an entire city if you wish. It would certainly be a scene recorded in the annals of history," Narcissa said to Asterion as the image of her own words appeared in her mind—a scene she truly wished to witness.
Asterion understood why Narcissa said that. His Inborn Technique was very similar to Transfiguration Magic in certain senses; perhaps it would be the easiest discipline for him at Hogwarts. He also remembered the pinnacle of Transfiguration—Animagus!
A wizard who physically transformed into a specific animal. There were so few in England that you could count them on your fingers, but obviously, the count couldn't be that low. Asterion supposed that many Animagi never registered with the Ministry of Magic.
The reason was quite obvious—trump cards shouldn't be revealed until a life or death moment. Only fools would disclose all their abilities to someone.
If he remembered correctly, Harry's father, James Potter, and all his friends were unregistered Animagus. James was even more extraordinary, becoming an Animagus while still attending Hogwarts.
In the original reality, unfortunately, Harry didn't inherit his father's strong Transfiguration talent or his mother's extraordinary potion-making skills, only James's most useless talent for flying on brooms.
Asterion wondered what animal he would transform into when the time came. He would like to be a panther or a flying creature if possible.
Sitting on the bed, Narcissa looked at Asterion with a cold gaze and said, "Now that we're done with your clothes, we'll start preparing you."
"Preparing me for what?" Asterion furrowed his brow, slightly confused.
"Well, we have about six months to turn you from a rude commoner into a true prince charming," Narcissa replied with a rather sadistic smile, in the eyes of young Asterion.
"I don't understand the rush," Asterion looked confusedly at the elegantly seated woman on his bed.
Arcturus had advised to go slow with the boy, but Narcissa thought otherwise. She not only had to teach etiquette, which was time-consuming, but also politics and fencing lessons, all within a short six-month period.
Regarding the six-month deadline, young heirs are typically introduced to wizarding society at the age of ten, celebrated with a grand masquerade ball.
"You will turn ten in six months, and ten is usually the age when heirs of noble houses are formally presented to other powerful houses. Particularly for the House of Black, which will gather almost all the noble houses of England and possible nobles from other countries to celebrate your birthday," Narcissa explained patiently, leaving nothing out.
"I understand. Let's not waste any time, Narcissa." Knowing that he would formally debut in wizarding society, Asterion became serious. He didn't want to embarrass himself or Arcturus, who had taken care of him with such devotion during their time together. In his eyes, Arcturus was already his grandfather.
Narcissa nodded very pleased. Training was pointless if you didn't strive to improve, and the boy at least had that mindset. That made her satisfied, especially compared to when she tried to teach her own children. They were like rats running back and forth without caring about the lessons she imparted.
"Let's begin by learning how to sit properly in the chair for various occasions," she said, getting up from the bed and placing a chair in the center of the room.
Asterion listened attentively and asked questions when necessary.
-
At night, on the same day.
"How was your first lesson, Asterion?" Sitting at the dining table, Arcturus asked as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a white handkerchief. "Did you enjoy her teaching?"
"Yes, she's a good tutor," Asterion replied. His gaze briefly fixed on the chocolate pudding, but then he returned his attention to the old patriarch Black. "I can easily see myself liking her. She's sarcastic, intelligent, and a woman with strong willpower."
Arcturus showed a relieved expression upon hearing this. "It's good to see that you're getting along well. It eases my mind to know that you won't be alone when death claims me," he said, showing a warm smile as he looked at his great-grandson.
With his words, the atmosphere in the dining hall turned somber and heavy.
Realizing the atmosphere, Arcturus let out a low, deep laugh. He looked at the nine-year-old boy and said, "Asterion, death to me is a relief. I will reunite with my wife, my children, grandchildren, and all those I loved in life. I have lived a long and exhausting life, fought most of it. For now, I just want to rest."
Seeing the boy's somber face, Arcturus added, "Of course, I will only depart from this world seeing you become a worthy and powerful man."
Asterion's face brightened with his words. He looked directly into Arcturus's black eyes and responded with a determined gaze, "I won't disappoint you, Grandfather."
"That's good, Asterion. You need to want to improve to become better," Arcturus was very pleased with his great-grandson's actions.
Translate By IA.
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Author's thoughts: The next chapter will have a time jump of five months.
By the way, forgive me for not posting yesterday; it was a busy and difficult day for me.
October 4, 1990.
Asterion watched as Narcissa entered the training hall wearing black leggings and a matching sports bra, proudly displaying sizable breasts. Her toned, sexy stomach gently contracted with each step, her long, slender, powerful legs carrying her confidently. In one hand she wore UFC gloves while she put on the other glove with the help of her mouth.
Asterion, nearly ten years old, had the body of a thirteen-year-old youth, wearing only gray sweatpants and gloves on his hand; he was shirtless, displaying a body starting to develop muscular lines.
"Ready?" She asked.
"Yes!" He replied.
Narcissa, with her fists clenched near her face, swiftly approached and threw a right punch. She used magical energy to bolster her body, causing that punch to almost exceed the speed of sound.
Asterion dodged the fierce punch, leaned to the side, and countered with a left punch with the same amount of magical energy.
*Crash*
The punch hit Narcissa's arm, which she had skillfully defended, anticipating the boy's attack. She was pushed back several meters, but before Asterion could get excited, she spun around and mercilessly kicked her cousin's ribs.
Asterion only had time to reinforce his body with magical energy before being forced to step back several paces, feeling a sharp pain in his ribs. Apparently, the blow had fractured some of his rib bones, but nothing that a healing potion couldn't fix.
But before he had time to recover, Asterion saw Narcissa coming at him, and he realized how bad the situation was when several punches relentlessly struck his face. Despite the beating, Asterion attempted to defend himself by raising his arms. He endured five seconds of blows capable of puncturing tanks and then kicked his tutor in the stomach.
Narcissa smirked sadistically and grabbed Asterion's shin, despite the strong impact. Asterion knew he was in danger in that position and attempted to free his leg. However, before he could succeed, he found himself airborne, with Narcissa's elbow hitting him squarely in the center of his chest.
"Urgh!" He opened his mouth and spat out a small amount of saliva.
Asterion felt only the air painfully leaving his lungs as he fell hard to the ground. Nausea and dizziness left his brain blank for a few moments as he breathed heavily.
"You're improving for someone who's only been training for a few days. You managed to react and counter despite the blows, which is commendable, Asty," Narcissa commented, wiping the small beads of sweat from her forehead.
Although the fight lasted less than three minutes in total, the amount of effort from both sides was significant, as they were using large amounts of magical energy to reinforce their bodies. This was something many wizards avoided doing for too long, as it could overload the body. During a fight, it was especially fatal to become too quickly fatigued.
"Still, I took a beating from you, Cissy," Asterion replied, still lying down, gradually regaining his breath and sitting up on the floor. He reached out his hand towards Narcissa, seemingly asking her to pull him up.
"Don't underestimate yourself. You've only been training for two days. I have extensive combat experience fighting Cursed Wizard's, unlike you, who've only fought unintelligent cursed spirits," Narcissa responded, taking his hand and pulling him up to his feet. She gently touched the purple bruise below his right eye, where her punch had first landed.
Asterion knew she was right, but he couldn't change the fact that he hated losing. To him, it meant weakness. However, the defeat didn't discourage him; it only fueled his desire to become stronger and overcome his own weaknesses.
"Again?" Narcissa asked, noticing the determination in the boy's eyes.
Asterion nodded and got back into his fighting stance.
This time, Asterion didn't wait for Narcissa to attack. He threw a punch with his right hand, his dominant hand charged with a large amount of magical energy. Narcissa naturally defended against the punch, but she wasn't expecting a barrage of extremely powerful punches raining down on her.
Each punch from Asterion carried a substantial amount of magical energy, making it feel like her bones were about to break at any moment. Knowing she couldn't endure this for much longer, Narcissa kicked Asterion's right leg, causing him to lose his balance.
Narcissa seized the opportunity, spinning and kicking the boy's chest. However, Asterion was expecting it and caught the powerful kick, ignoring the impact, which made him lean back slightly.
"I think I got you, Cissy," Asterion showed an excited look in his eyes despite the intense pain in his hands. While holding onto her leg, he kicked her in the abdomen, hitting her, causing her to grunt from the blow.
But before he could feel triumphant, Narcissa managed to break free. Like a lithe snake, she swiftly grabbed Asterion's shoulders and wrapped her legs around his neck, locking him in with her thighs. Then, she spun her body, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
Surprised by the infamous move, Asterion found himself unable to escape from Narcissa's soft yet powerful legs, which held him firmly in place, rendering him immobile. He tried to break free, but each attempt resulted in the air in his lungs becoming increasingly scarce, dangerously close to suffocation.
Realizing he couldn't escape, he tapped three times on her thigh, signaling his surrender. Naturally, Narcissa released the boy, who breathed rapidly, trying to recover the lost air in his lungs.
"This round was better than the last. You used my weaknesses against me, but I felt that you relaxed when you kicked me, allowing me the chance to escape and counter-attack," Narcissa praised Asterion, standing up and lightly touching her slightly bruised abdomen.
However, she didn't hesitate to reprimand him. "You must not relax at any moment during the fight, Asty! But I can see why you did. You probably only fought weak cursed spirits that never put pressure on you. That's subtly influencing you. I have to beat it out of you even more to make you forget that bad habit."
Asterion knew she was right. He slapped his face with both hands to snap out of it and stood up again, ready to take another beating.
"Again?" Narcissa asked.
"Let's do it," he replied, with seriousness in his voice.
Asterion took a deep breath and focused entirely. He got back into position, fists raised near his face, ready to attack or defend at any moment.
Narcissa was right, Asterion knew it. He had never moved much during fights. Baskerville always did his job perfectly, which made him lazy and careless. He was lucky not to have fought against an intelligent humanoid cursed spirit; otherwise, he would be dead.
Translate by IA.
---------------------------------------------
Author's Thoughts: I tried to create a pleasant training scene; let me know if it turned out well, or at least, I hope it did.
Seeing Asterion's mental and physical growth is making me satisfied. I'm really trying to give him development, not just for him, but for all the members of the Black House. The next two chapters will cover this, and I'll wrap up this little arc – Asterion and Narcissa.
I've created a Patreon, so if you want to support me and see the next chapters early, come and support me!
P-atreon.com/HPSCB
(Just remove the dash from the link!)
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