Chapter 759: The Magic Goddess’s Classroom
Back in his room, Tom quickly came up with a plan.
He set up an anchor point inside the room, along with two trap spells. If anyone pushed open his door, he’d feel it instantly. Then he could use the anchor as a Portkey and get back to the ship as fast as possible.
Before leaving, Tom told the professors. None of them thought there was much that could go wrong out at sea, so they agreed. Not that they could have stopped him anyway. Telling them was just good manners, not asking permission.
The next day, he went home to London.
After all that running around, Tom was finally home.
Cassandra left just before he got there; she was going to Dalaran with her father for an on-site survey and to plan out the commercial district. They’d left their home base in America, but money still had to be made. Andrew Vole was handling the overall plan, while Cassandra wanted to pick a location for her family’s shop and line up a few new suppliers.
"Everyone’s so driven," Kamio sighed.
"Isn’t there anything you want to do?" Tom asked, holding her soft, boneless little hand as they strolled down the street.
She gave him a sheepish smile and tilted her head, rubbing against his arm. "I just want to stay with you and give you a whole litter of little foxes, that’s all."
"Honestly, you."
Tom laughed and shook his head.
Tom couldn’t speak for other men, but he was a sucker for this kind of thing. Who could say no to an adorable girl who hung off you with her whole heart and could sprout ears and a tail on top of it?
Of course, if the others had careers they wanted to pursue, he’d back them all the way. With so many people in the family, he’d never be able to look after everyone if they all stuck to his side.
And so, today’s outing was just to relax and to buy Kamio some clothes.
London had a much better atmosphere than Paris. At least he hadn’t seen any marches on the way, and no officials combing the streets for suspicious people.
That didn’t mean Britain took wizards lightly. It was more that the government had basically given up.
Washington had surely notified London, but Tom had talked to Fudge, and the upper levels had decided to simply look the other way. Their attitude was: there are only a few thousand of you, so go on with your lives, just don’t disturb us. That was why everything had stayed peaceful all these years.
Things hadn’t reached a crisis yet, so the official line was still to say nothing and keep a cold distance. They wouldn’t make a statement until the truth was too big to hide.
...
The two of them wandered around all afternoon and came home with bags and bags of stuff. Most of it was clothes Kamio picked out, plus a few things for Tom.
Tom was a lazy guy, though. His wardrobe held a dozen or so identical robes, and every day he just wore the same one and Transfigured it into whatever he felt like.
After dropping off the shopping, the two of them went to visit the Grangers.
The Grangers were warm and welcoming. Even seeing their future son-in-law show up with another cute girl, they hardly showed a trace of displeasure.
Hermione had told them about Tom’s standing in the wizarding world, and more importantly, about his strength. Translated into Muggle terms, someone like that sat at the very top of the pyramid. Ordinary social conventions barely applied to a person like that. So they accepted the situation calmly.
Kamio played her part beautifully. She was sweet and well-behaved in front of the Grangers, the picture of an innocent girl who’d never seen the world. In just a few sentences, Mrs. Granger was treating her like a young relative of her own.
Hermione watched the whole performance with her mouth slightly open.
Tom grinned and teased her. "If you ever run for Minister for Magic, get Kamio to canvass for you. If she’s willing to help, the seat is yours."
Hermione smacked him. "Can’t I get there on my own ability?"
And yes, Hermione had by now made up her mind to climb to the top and change everything that was wrong with the wizarding world.
"Silly girl." Tom ruffled her bushy hair. "How are you still this naive? In the Muggle world or the wizarding world, hardly anyone gets ahead on ability alone. And the ones who do are so far beyond everyone else that nobody can compete. Like Dumbledore used to be. Otherwise, it all comes down to connections and background."
Hermione let out a sulky little hmph. She couldn’t argue with him. She knew it was true. She just still held on to the hope that she could change things.
"Tom, Hermione, stop chatting and come eat!"
At Mr. Granger’s call, the two of them dropped the subject.
After dinner, Mrs. Granger dragged Kamio off to watch soap operas, and Hermione took Tom up to her room to talk magic.
Even though they lived close by, Mr. Granger insisted on keeping both of them overnight, and they didn’t go home until the next day.
---
After a day of rest, Tom settled into study mode and started learning from Mystryl.
"The rules of every world are more or less alike. Magic just looks different depending on how a society develops and how its people dig into their own potential."
Mystryl had put on a pair of black-framed glasses and swapped into a women’s blazer, and she really did look like a teacher.
The problem was that Tom’s mind ran a little crooked, and the sight immediately made him think of some scenes not suitable for minors.
You couldn’t blame him. Mystryl wore that outfit so well, every curve perfectly tailored. And he was a teenager, so a bit of restlessness was only natural.
She stood in front of the blackboard, wand in hand, and with one light tap a web of blue lines appeared on the board, woven from countless threads of light. Every node in the web glowed faintly, with more tangled lines branching out between them. It was enough to make your scalp tingle.
"First, forget how your world classifies spells. In my world, magic isn’t just an incantation, and it isn’t just waving a wand. A complete spell needs at least five parts: a spell model, an elemental source, spiritual guidance, a verbal command, and finally, an anchor to reality."
"Take the simplest fireball, for example!" She opened her other palm, and a ball of fire appeared in it.
Tom swallowed, staring at the fireball. It was more like a mini sun.
"Is this how all the arcanists in your world cast?"
.
.
.