After spending a few days collating history, Cassius has grasped a view of what the present currently looks like.
Harry was most likely alive, Lily... well she was most likely alive as well, though she'd wish she wasnt.
As for Cassius he was confirmed in his belief that hiding himself in the muggle realm was the best course of action, if he stayed around diagon alley, a student eventually might connect the dots of his looks summoning down the batlike persona of his father Severus.
And that reunion would need to wait, Cassius had webs to weave and plans to unfold before getting a touching reunion with dear old dad!
and so.
Curtains drawn, Books stacked high against the walls, parchment strewn in neat piles.
A simple writing desk with a lamp were the only signs of activity.
Cassius sat cross-legged in the living room, Noctis perched silently overhead, eyes glimmering like embers.
Cassius was hard at work, getting ready for the first public appearance of Arcana.
He would exist in whispers, in products that appeared from nowhere, in charms that baffled wand-law experts.
And tonight was the first step.
His quill scratched over parchment, copying formulae from memory and from scraps half-hidden in the books he'd purchased.
Barrier — ward array, hex inversion pattern, sigil matrix overlap.
The Modified Curse Barrier.
A Weasley invention—brilliant but born from desperation after the war.
A charm that reacted not to intent but to the mark itself, banishing Death Eaters from entry the moment they crossed its radius, helping the forces of light knowing who they were dealing with without needing to guess correctly.
It wasn't supposed to exist yet.
But foreknowledge was power, and Arcana would not waste it.
He rolled the parchment, laid it on the floorboards, and began drawing the sigils in ink.
A circle formed out of runes.
Triangles nested within squares.
A lattice of jagged shapes designed to repel.
At the center he signified the required placement of a wizards wand.
Using the runic circle as a conduit and the foci of the wand, a wizard would channel their magic power into the arrangement, activating the spell-matrix.
causing the circle to glow, similar to a protego defensive shield.
"Good enough," he whispered, lift his pen from the page.
Arcana's first invention had been seeded.
Sure it wasnt entirely perfect but the claim to fame was still his even if someone else perfected it later on.
But raw defense wasn't enough.
Influence came from subtler things.
He turned to the next pile of parchment.
Formulas of another kind—potions and enchantments, recipes that belonged more to a beauty salon than a battlefield.
Cleansing washes that could have a beautifying effect making the skin look like it was positively glowing.
Hair-treatments shifted to specific colors or looks with just a single sip and lasting for a month.
Deodorants that outlasted even the punishing heat of a Quidditch match, preventing the need for casting a Scourgify charm post match.
It was absurd.
It was genius.
Because witches and wizards were vain.
They loved ease.
They would pay gold for convenience, and novelty on a mere whim.
Cassius dipped his quill again, sketching bottles and jars, labeling ingredients both magical and mundane.
Aloe for skin.
Mooncalf milk for luminosity.
Essence of dittany in micro-dose for healing blemishes.
Peppermint oil for scent.
Beeswax as a stabilizer.
He paused, lips curling.
His initial gains in the magical community needed to be purely magical, his introduction of magical-muggle goods would come later, so as to not put off the stuck up pure-blood crowd and getting them to alienate him before he'd even gotten his endevour off the ground.
The quill moved faster, his notes sliding into the precision of recipes:
Arcana's Chroma Potion — Hair on the top of ones head shifts to a specific color lasting for one month before retreatment is needed, available in a wide range of color, or even patterns.
Celestia Cleanse — skin wash, bring out your inner beauty in a matter of rinses and find yousrself polished in the end.
QuidClear Guard — salve, capable of total odour and grime protection for 24 hours before reapplication required.
He leaned back, surveying the list.
Noctis dropped from the curtain rod to the table, talons tapping parchment.
The owl's beak nudged the resting pen, such that it was dangerously close to being toppled from the desk to the floor.
Cassius nudged him away with a finger.
"Yes, yes. Your time will come... soon."
Noctis had been his owl for almost a week now and yet he'd never let her deliver a single letter, sure she'd flown around in the sky but she was bored wanting something to do other than hunting mice.
So after checking over the parchments once more, Cassius carefully folded them up, before sticking his letters of intent into envelopes, before sealing them up.
He had no samples to give out, but he needed to gauge the markets waters first, sending letters to beauty salons in Diagon Alley, and potion shops expressing his desire to partner up for a business collaboration.
The final and most bulky letter was addressed to the Ministry of magic.
Specifically the Magical Law Enforcement Department. the reason being that there was a second envelope contained within the first.
If the Ministry was willing to agree the second letter could be read, and a deal struck, if not them the second envelope would ignite destroying the defense spell.
these four would be his initial seedbed for aqcuiring funds in the magical world, while the defense spell would spread his name far and wide.
The creation of a specific defense spell would be like a godsend, even if it took another year before he released another spell the people would happily wait for it.
And that would give him time to further advance his next plan while idly increasing his wizard bank account while he himself entered a bit of a training arc, while Harry continued to simply drool like a squib under the stairs.
After having confirmed everything he tied up the letters making sure each set would reach their intended destination.
Then summoning forth Noctis with a simple call let the bird clutch onto them, before setting off with a flap of its wings from his arm soaring at breakneck speed out the window, first stop Diagon Alley, after doing almost 90% of the deliveries, she would then head for the Ministry under the Muggle Parliament.
And if any one was hasty a return trip could happen today with a contract and recipe to begin cooperation.
Cassius planned to take it easy for a couple of days while he waited for the next phase of his journey to begin.