Chapter 64: Trick 63: Hermione's silly little gestures of kindness
Ace followed her, grabbing a piece of chocolate on the way, when he left the Great Hall by the side door, Minerva asked "I saw you got hurt on the news. Are you alright?" Ace was stunned, but smiled warmly "Just a scratch. It was only aliens."
Minerva let out a breath before chastising him, "I also heard you fought the Death Eaters! I cannot believe you! If you were-" she paused before continuing "Anyway, you shouldn't get into so much trouble! If the Ministry were to find out your identity, I'm afraid Azkaban would be your permanent home!"
Ace curled his lips and ate the chocolate, chuckling "Good thing they don't know! Hehe~" Minerva snatched the chocolate, pointing it at him, saying seriously "And they better not find out! The crimes for exposing magic to muggles is very serious! Also! When did your cravings begin?"
Ace thought about it and replied "After the fight in New York." Minerva hummed and replied "I see. I was expecting this to happen, but not so soon." Ace was confused and Minerva explained, "Through our experiments, I have enough data on your inherent magic. You seem to have a class 7 magic core."
Ace was dumbfounded, asking "A class 7 who?" Minerva repeated "Magic core. All Wizards and Witches have this magic core inside them. It is what gives us the power to do magic! However, there are different classifications on cores." Ace asked in disbelief, "Like a ball?!"
Minerva rolled her eyes and said "No. It is a term for magic abled bodies. Not an actual physical core. At any rate, your core is very special, not many have it. However many who do have become exceptional wizards. Voldemort also has this. Your cravings are a sign of growth."
Ace scratched his chin and replied in words he understood, "So my mana pool is expanding." Minerva looked at him strangely, replying "I suppose you could say that. You are also growing more powerful, not knowledgeable, mind you. Powerful. Meaning, your spells will be naturally stronger than another wizard."
Ace's eyes lit up and he said "Cool!" Minerva sighed and retorted "However, this means that you are highly desirable." Ace was confused and Minerva explained "Dark Wizards have the means to suck the magic out of other wizards through terrible means. You should, under no circumstances, reveal this to anyone else. Is that understood?"
Ace nodded and Minerva patted his clothes down, smiling "Good. I suppose I should congratulate you. You saved a lot of people. Good job." before patting his cheek and returning to the Great Hall.
Ace snorted and rubbed his cheek, smiling "Stupid old bat, why are you so nice today."
The following day
Ace was in the library with a Potions book in his hands, reading it strangely. This particular book was lined with notes and tips on how to brew potions more efficiently than what was written in the book!
Not only that but they were true!
Ace could tell from just his prior studying that these were completely plausible and efficient means! He was amazed at whoever wrote these notes!
And so he took down notes on the book as well.
As he was writing, Hermione stormed in. She threw her bag onto the table and said "I can't believe this!" Ace hummed as he continued writing, exhaling smoke from his nose and putting a cigarette on an ashtray.
Hermione paced back and forth, complaining "Professor Moody! He's completely mental! It's one thing to talk about the 3 unforgivable curses in the classroom, but to demonstrate them?! That's absurdly horrific! Poor Neville was terrified! I mean, who does that! And we're only 4th years!"
Ace nodded "Mhm." Hermione looked at him and said "You're not listening!" Ace looked up at her, smiling "My dear apprentice, I don't see a problem." Hermione was stunned and questioned "You of all people don't see a problem!?"
Ace leaned back in the chair, explaining "If you learn about the Unforgivable curses now, wouldn't that make you more cautious in the future? With the attack of Death Eaters at the World Cup, I'm sure it would do the students good to know exactly what Death Eaters would use…"
He rubbed his chest and grinned, "I've had to learn the hard way. It's not fun." Hermione froze and asked quickly "What?! What do you mean!?" Ace changed the topic, however, "Anyway, I feel as though you should be prepared. After suffering, I learned and created a complete plan."
He reached into his bag and pulled out a little notebook, titled 'The 3 Unforgivable Curses and You!' he smiled and added, "I was thinking of publishing it! What do you think?"
Hermione was dumbfounded and asked "Isn't that the same name as the Artifact one?" Ace frowned and retorted "Books can have similar names!" Hermione frowned and held her hands out, saying "Hold on! Can I borrow this one?"
Ace smiled and nodded, "Just don't lose it." Hermione nodded and asked "You don't think it's a bit cruel to use these in a classroom??" Ace rubbed his chin and sighed, "Slightly, however you have to remember, Hermione. Professor Moody was an Auror, he's seen much worse than a few unforgivable curses, I can assure you that."
Hermione frowned and Ace grabbed her shoulder, smiling "Professor Moody is not only an ex-Auror but a Professor here. Why would he hurt you? Maybe he's a bit crazy, but I think he means well." Hermione muttered "I suppose so. It's just Neville…"
Ace nodded and said "Neville has a history with the Cruciatus curse. Of course he will react strongly, however I'm sure it wasn't on purpose." Hermione said "Well, Professor invited him for tea afterwards…"
Ace smiled, "See? He means well, just give him some slack. I heard he was Dumbledore's old friend." Hermione nodded and said "Alright. Perhaps I was a bit harsh…" Ace shook his head and returned to his studies as Hermione walked away.
She stopped and walked back, saying "I almost forgot!" before searching her pockets.
Ace turned to her as she laid a slingring on the desk. He frowned and looked at her as she said "I wanted to give you this. It has been a few days already, but everything popped up and I-"
Ace cut her off, asking "Where did you get this?" Hermione replied "It's mine. Wong gave me one." Ace waved the slingring back into Hermione's pocket, saying "I don't need it."
Hermione frowned and said "Master, you can't-" Ace interrupted her again, saying "I'm grateful to Kamar-Taj and Wong, along with everyone else and what they've done for me, but I will not use their equipment after leaving!" Hermione retorted "But-"
Ace stopped her, looking at her as he said seriously, "Hermione. No. That's the end of this conversation, is that understood?" Hermione looked at him for a moment before replying softly "Yes, Master…"
Ace smiled and turned back to his books, saying "Good. Now, we will start with very simple flame spells…" as he started teaching Hermione once again.
Around a week later
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