Kapitel 24: Winter Holidays
*Friday 20 December 1991*
"Free at last! Free at last! Lord Almighty free at last!"
I may be exaggerating the euphoria I felt from being let out school for the holidays, but the feeling was the same as my last life, wow 'last life', when I could spend Christmas with mom. Even though she spent most of her time working trying to raise an idiot son, she made time on Christmas.
It wasn't and still isn't about the presents. Although they're appreciated. It's about the people you spend it with. And equally if not more importantly, the food.
We made it a point to get non traditional food, just to piss people (grandparents) off. It was hard enough trying to get by without having a nagging mother nitpicking everything. It got to a point of just a phone call on Christmas Day. I could've gone to live with my grandparents, but they died before my mother did. As for the rest of the family, the bad blood couldn't be washed away.
Anyway, now I go home, to Potter Manor. Then I'm off to London. I have to keep checking on how my businesses are doing. It was all fun and games before but now, I have to focus a bit more on my magical studies.
The muggles have already been worked over. Compulsion and loyalty spells ingrained into the core of their being. Even if they think about betraying me, they suffer.
As for Samantha and Victoria, I'll have to come up with something. Maybe make them "best friends". Yeah, that'll work. I can take a step back and let them handle the muggle side of things.
My investments and trades continue to make me money. But my success rate is drawing attention. Not only that, the consistent large deposits I'm making as Damien Gilchrist, is jeopardizing my long term plans. I'm going to need to go from 50% to 70% cash. Put the remaining in Coke-cola, Lockheed and Boeing. Oil and gold made me huge amounts of money due to the Gulf war. Just waiting for the dot com crash. And 9/11.
On the muggle side, business is good.
The magical side however, requires an iron fist. It's mostly for dealing with foreign magicals. The British magi are quite frankly, useless. A 3rd year Ivermory student can go toe to toe against an average Hogwarts graduate, and 80% of the time, win.
I cannot be like the rest. Only relying on non lethal spells to survive. I also need to learn more about Charms and Enchanting. Runes will come into play later down the line. But for now, practicing simple things, like a hot mug, self filling water canteen, self chopping knife, is quite sufficient.
The comparison to magic and software programming is at its base correct. But as you delve deeper into the intricacies of magic you realize coding is easier.
Get a code wrong, it won't compile. Get a spell/charm/enchantment wrong, kaboom. Best case scenario, you're slightly singed. Worst case, there won't be enough of you left to fill a matchbox.
I am not going to jump the gun. Master the basics. Because it's what it all comes back to. Sports, profession, life. Doesn't matter. If you have complete mastery of the basics. Everything else is easy.
All in all, I have my studies, both magical and mundane. A criminal enterprise. An investment account that will become a firm. And Sirius Black, to deal with.
Maybe school was the better option.
*Wednesday 25 December 1991*
I hate being sick.
I've been taken I'll since Sunday. A night out on the town was normal enough. Didn't think I'd catch the flu from someone. The symptoms appeared Monday evening, and now I feel like death.
A flu-begone potion helped a little bit. Overall it removed the symptoms for Christmas Eve dinner. Whoever made it, is an imbecile.
As to why I don't get something from the SHOP? Me being sick keeps Sirius from pranking me every single minute. Now he's getting busy with Amelia. And possibly Gabriella.
Jasmine has decided to live in one of the Black properties in London. Far from her sire, yet close enough should anything happen.
The elves are taking excellent care of Potter Manor and me. I have ordered them to eat proper food. Not the scraps off my table, or whatever they find in the rubbish heap.
I have standards.
That was implemented years ago. But the new elves were slow on the uptake. I had to make several 'suggestions' in order to get them looking professional. No more filthy pillow cases.
Which reminds me. Free Dobby. Maybe he can be of some help. I highly doubt it however.
All in all, I'm having a horrible Christmas time.
*Wednesday 1 January 1992 New Years Day*
I'm all better. yayyyyyy.
The pranks have been increasing in frequency and annoyance. I'm just going to ignore most of them them. I rather enjoy the benign ones. Let Sirius be a child. At least at home. It helps the poor bloke cope. Amelia is doing her best, but almost a decade of separation and trauma is not easy to get over. And by the atmosphere in the room, I think it's starting to weigh on Minister Bones.
Gabriella DuPont is actually more of a therapist for Amelia than Sirius. She's the only one Amelia can talk to. Which I find bittersweet. To have your family murdered, with only your niece remaining. On the other hand, finding a friend, outside of work, you can share your, more personal problems with.
I understand everyone is built different. My experience as a soldier has led me to strongly believe in talking it out. It might be a therapist, your friends, your family, or even your pet. Just getting some things off your chest, can make a huge difference. It has made a huge difference in mental health and suicide rates. Not only in the armed forces, but in normal life as well.
I know Sirius will have a hard time opening up to close friends and family, Gabriella helps the reacquainted couple through their issues. And she still finds the time to whoop my ass in duelling. Sirius and I are on even ground when he is limited to 4th year spells. The limitation helps us both improve. Sirius is getting back the refined instincts of an Auror, and discovering the limitations he has after his stint in Azkaban. As for myself, since it's an all out fight and not a duel, I have a few wins.
He is more wild and unrestrained. He fights like a cornered beast. Fierce and unpredictable. I over played my hand in the our first fight. I went for kill shots only. That got the others to put their guard up around me. I mean I won against Sirius, but once he, Moody, Amelia, Jasmine and Gabriella were aware of my "total war" philosophy, I was thoroughly schooled in how wizards, witches and vampire fight. Boy do they fight dirty.
In my frustration, I may or may not have sent an Avada Kedavra by Moody's ear. Thankfully I casted it silently. Unfortunately, everyone in the room was very experienced. I got a proper ass-whooping after that.
Jasmine felt a bit sorry for me, so she gave me a book on combat spells. The book was quite old, when there was actually a need, therefore a curriculum, for battlemages. The book was for new aspiring battlemages, it fell out of favor in the 1800s, with the rise of Napoleon. The spells weren't anything special, it was more focused on mindset. How you can combine several spells to devastate an entire area.
What was the term that clerk used? Ah yes, Area of Effect spells. Perhaps I should act like a child every once in a while and play games. So much to learn from the world. I never had a proper chance before, but now I am rich, can look after myself, and run a minor criminal organization. Yeah I can probably sneak in literature based works pretty easily. I'll see about different media and electronics. There has to be a stop-gap measure to get electronic devices to work. I just need them to work for me. Not really concerned about the wider wizarding community. For now anyway.
*Sunday 5 January 1992*
In terms of magical training, I have effectively wasted my Yule holidays.
In terms of gaining mental clarity, I did pretty well.
I just have to keep myself, Lady Abyss and Lord Murphy alive. Learn and experience new things along the way. Do everything that I didn't get a chance to before. Try to make my thoughts and dreams a reality. Take care of those I consider friends and family. And live a relatively quite life.
*noises of chatter and kids being stupid*
I just had to tempt Lord Murphy.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein