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Hi everyone!!
So, I'm announcing it again! For every 100 power stones, I'll release a new bonus chapter! Let's start working towards our goal of becoming one of the top fanfictions!
Second announcement: I've posted a bonus chapter on my Patreon, so if you want more, go check it out!
In the meantime, you can contribute to the release of a bonus chapter on P@tre0n.
(PS: A friend suggested I create a P@treon account. If you'd like to see advanced chapters posted on Webnovel, that's where you can find them! I'll also mention all the supporters at the end of each chapter!)
Search : StoryLabo on the website or click the link on my bio
Happy reading !
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In Aiden's mental space, the silence that followed this mental exclamation was... heavy.
Azkaban? Aiden repeated with perfect false innocence. Listen, I know my CV isn't immaculate, but to go from there to talking about the wizards' prison in the company of emotion-suckers...
You sacrificed hundreds of life forms! the Sorting Hat roared mentally. Rats, shrews, insects! You literally dissected their minds to understand how consciousness works! You turned living beings into mental puppets!
Hey, hey, easy! Aiden protested, raising his hands. First, it was for scientific purposes. And then, technically, they're not an intelligent life form when I started my experiments. Most of the time. And you know what? I was a kid trying not to die!
He let his voice take on a slightly more vulnerable inflection, skillfully playing on emotion.
Listen, when you wake up with powers you don't understand, in a world that can kill you if you make the slightest misstep, what do you do? Do you sit and wait for someone to come kindly explain the rules? Or do you learn by yourself, even if it involves some... collateral damage?
The Sorting Hat remained silent for a moment, visibly torn.
And besides, Aiden continued with a smile that had nothing childish about it, you're bound by a magical contract, aren't you? You can't directly reveal what you see in students' heads. So let's relax.
That's true, the Sorting Hat grumbled with obvious bad humor. I can't say anything. But that doesn't change the fact that you are...
Pragmatic? Aiden suggested. Ambitious? Intelligent? Determined to survive and prosper in this crazy world?
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect. So can we get to the serious stuff? I'm starting to get a sore butt on this stool.
The Sorting Hat, wearily, finally began its real work of analysis. And there, even its initial bad mood couldn't mask its professional fascination.
Extraordinary, it murmured. You have the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, the ambition of a Slytherin, the determination of a Gryffindor, and strangely... the loyalty to your loved ones of a Hufflepuff. How am I supposed to sort you?
Good question, Aiden acknowledged. Personally, I was leaning toward Ravenclaw. It would allow me to stay under the radar while I understand how this world works.
Interesting, the Sorting Hat noted. Wanting to go to Ravenclaw to avoid attention is typically a Slytherin strategy. But your desire to learn and understand is authentically Ravenclaw.
And besides, Aiden added with calculated pragmatism, a Muggle-born kid who ends up in Slytherin is going to attract all sorts of undesirable attention. Traditional pure-bloods won't appreciate it, and I need time and peace to develop my abilities.
You've thought of everything, haven't you? the Sorting Hat sighed.
I'm eleven years old and I've seen a lot during my experiments, Aiden replied. Of course I think.
The Sorting Hat weighed the pros and cons for what seemed like an eternity. In the Great Hall, the silence was beginning to become uncomfortable.
Very well, it finally declared. For now, given your Muggle-born status, Ravenclaw will indeed be preferable. You'll be able to develop your... talents... with less outside interference.
Wise decision, Aiden approved.
But remember one thing, Aiden Mortensen, the Sorting Hat added in a grave tone. Power without wisdom leads to downfall. I've seen the same sparks of ambition and intelligence in others before you. Some became heroes. Others... well, you know how dark wizards end up.
Message received, Aiden replied casually. Now, if we could announce the verdict? People are starting to get impatient.
And indeed, in the Great Hall, murmurs were beginning to rise. It was rare for a sorting to take so long.
The Sorting Hat raised its brim slightly, as if taking a deep breath, then shouted its decision:
- "RAVENCLAW!"
The Ravenclaw table exploded in polite but enthusiastic applause. Aiden rose from the stool, returned the hat to McGonagall with an innocent smile, and headed toward his new house.
Well, the thirst for knowledge won, he thought with satisfaction. Now let's see what Ravenclaw has to offer me.
The Ravenclaw table welcomed him with a mixture of curiosity and admiration. His physical appearance, that silver-white hair, his striking black glasses, those fine, almost elvish features—was... let's say... making an impression.
Fuck, they're looking at me like a circus freak, Aiden thought as he advanced toward the table. Well, an elegant circus freak, but still.
Two girls made room for him, and Aiden settled between them with a charming smile.
- "Hi," said the first, a pretty Asian girl with shiny black hair. "I'm Cho Chang, second year. And you're the mysterious Aiden Mortensen?"
A light of understanding immediately crossed Aiden's gaze. Cho Chang. Future girlfriend of Cedric Diggory, then briefly Harry Potter's. Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
A small smile formed on his lips.
- "That's right," he replied. "And you're the famous Cho Chang I've heard about from... uh... a pretty damsel who, from my memories, had exactly the same name and appearance... I was completely charmed. Do you have a twin?"
She laughed at his rather bold joke, a slight blush rising to her cheeks.
- "Do you like Quidditch?" she immediately asked, changing the subject, her eyes lighting up. "Have you ever flown? You could try out for the team next year. I have the feeling that with your physique you'd make an excellent Seeker!"
Ah, the Quidditch obsessives, Aiden thought with amusement. It's like football fans, but with flying brooms.
-"I haven't tried flying yet," he admitted honestly. "But I'm really looking forward to trying the experience. It must be... liberating."
- "Oh, it's much more than that!" Cho enthused. "It's pure magic! You feel the wind in your hair, the speed, the adrenaline..."
- "And I'm Katerina Holloway, first year like you," interrupted the second girl, a blonde with green eyes who was looking at him with a slightly worrying intensity.
Whoa, easy there. This one is totally checking me out, Aiden realized, seeing her bright gaze. And not just my hair, apparently... Calm down there, I don't want to be your Beck...
- "Pleased to meet you, Katerina," he said politely, before discreetly taking emotional and perhaps physical distance.
This girl seemed... very... uh... very fan-like. And Aiden didn't really have time to waste with eleven-year-old groupies.
He refocused on the ceremony that was continuing. Names flowed by: Neville to Gryffindor, as expected, Pansy Parkinson to Slytherin, and finally...
- "Potter, Harry!"
The silence that fell over the Great Hall was so dense you could have cut it with a knife. All eyes converged on the kid with round glasses and the lightning bolt-shaped scar.
Aiden narrowed his eyes and concentrated, carefully maintaining his mental barriers in place. Even at this distance, he still perceived that fucking sinister hissing from the Horcrux.
I wonder if I could do something with that piece of soul, he thought as an idea began to form in his head. It's becoming quite important that I become more competent in my favorite domain.
The ceremony unfolded as in canon. The Sorting Hat took its time, probably busy negotiating with Harry and his supplication not to be in Slytherin, Aiden guessed, before finally shouting:
- "GRYFFINDOR!"
The explosion of joy at the red and gold table was deafening. The Weasley twins were screaming "We got Potter! We got Potter!" and Percy was puffing out his chest as if he were the hero.
Ron Weasley was also sent to Gryffindor a few minutes later, and the ceremony finally ended.
Dumbledore stood up, his shimmering robes perfectly catching the light of the floating candles.
- "Welcome!" he said with a benevolent smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
Ah yes, the traditional cryptic speech, Aiden thought with irony. Dumbledore and his little quirks. At least this year he hasn't yet talked about forbidden corridors and horrible deaths.
He didn't even try to glimpse the headmaster's thoughts. Besides, strangely, he perceived no parasitic thoughts coming from his direction. Not even the usual murmurs that all human beings unconsciously emit.
Interesting, Aiden thought, squinting with suspicion. Dumbledore has extraordinarily powerful mental barriers. Occlumency poses a problem for me.
The banquet that followed was sumptuous. Dishes appeared magically on the tables—roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb, sausages, bacon, steaks, stews, potatoes in every imaginable form, various vegetables, smooth sauces...
Damn, Aiden thought, filling his plate. After eleven years of orphanage cooking, this is like arriving in gastronomic paradise.
He talked a lot with Cho, who turned out to be a really nice and passionate girl. Intelligent, funny, with that contagious enthusiasm typical of true Quidditch fans.
I'd quite like her when she grows up, he admitted. Too bad she's doomed to fall in love with all the tragic heroes who pass by. Mental note for later: how to become a tragic hero quickly...
Katerina, on the other hand... She wouldn't take her eyes off him, asked him personal questions that were a bit too intimate for a first meeting, and had this way of leaning toward him that was beginning to make him uncomfortable.
Aiden had moreover made a personal promise never to look into her mind or even catch her parasitic thoughts, he didn't want to end up traumatized.
But before the students could rise to return to their dormitories, Dumbledore spoke again, his benevolent smile giving way to a more serious expression.
- "A few announcements before you go to rest," he said, his voice carrying perfectly in the attentive silence of the Great Hall. "Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to remind you that magic is forbidden in the corridors between classes, and he will produce a very long list of all forbidden gadgets and gags, the list has been updated this year."
He paused, his twinkling gaze sweeping over the assembly of students.
- "The Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests, forbidden to all students."
His eyes deliberately stopped on Fred and George Weasley, who looked perfectly innocent, which, for anyone who knew them, was the most obvious sign that they were already preparing something.
The twins, Aiden thought with amusement. Dumbledore already knows them and he knows they're going to ignore this warning in... what, two weeks maximum?
- "Moreover," Dumbledore continued in a graver tone, "I must inform you that the third-floor corridor, in the right wing, is strictly forbidden to all those who do not wish to die in horrible agony."
Very diplomatic way of saying "there's a three-headed dog guarding a priceless treasure, but especially don't go there, eh?" Aiden thought.
A worried murmur ran through the Great Hall. Some first years visibly paled.
Frankly, Aiden reflected, what better way to attract a group of teenagers' attention than to explicitly tell them not to go somewhere? Dumbledore is doing this on purpose, he wants Harry and his friends to discover the Stone. Everything is orchestrated.
- "That being said," Dumbledore resumed, his smile returning, "let's end this wonderful evening with our most cherished tradition: the Hogwarts school song!"
He took out his wand and made it swirl. A long golden ribbon emerged from it, rising above the tables to form the song's lyrics in the air.
- "Everyone will choose their favorite melody," he said with a wink. "Let's go!"
And suddenly, the whole school began to sing, but contrary to what Aiden expected, it wasn't a coordinated chant.
Each student sang to their own melody, in their own rhythm. The Weasley twins had opted for a very slow funeral march, Percy sang with the solemnity of a religious hymn, most students had launched into something vaguely resembling a waltz, and Hagrid was sobbing to what seemed to be a tragic opera air.
It was absolute cacophony. Total musical disorder that should have been unbearable.
And yet... it was strangely magical.
Fuck, this is ridiculous, Aiden thought, amused by the absurdity of the situation. But at the same time...
He hummed discreetly to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun," that melancholy and powerful melody that had always resonated within him.
- "There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun..." he murmured mentally while adapting Hogwarts' lyrics to this familiar melody.
And there, something extraordinary happened.
He felt the little elemental spirits, those that resided in the castle's millennial stones, in the ambient air charged with magic, in the golden light of the floating candles—begin to vibrate to the rhythm of his personal melody.
It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but to his sharpened senses, it was like watching an invisible ballet. The candle flames oscillated in harmony with his melody, the air around him seemed denser, more musical, and he could have sworn he felt the castle's stones vibrate imperceptibly under his feet.
Damn, this is beautiful, he thought, completely fascinated.