Thomas's mood plumed when he found out that he wouldn't be able to see his mom. His father tried to convince him that right now wasn't the time for visits, but once the doctor gives him the green light, he would be the first one to see his mother. After crying for a few minutes, Thomas reluctantly agreed to stay with his grandparents until his mother gets better.
When his grandpa arrived at the hospital, Thomas asked his father for the key to their car, so that he could pick up the book that he had found back at the library as well as his new friend that choose to hide and save both of them from a lot of questions. With the help of his grandmother who choose to distract her grandson, Thomas got his book as well as his friend hidden under his hoodie. As much as he would have loved to say goodbye to his mother, Thomas knew that she needs to rest, but that didn't make the boy feel any less guilty about what happened to his dear mother.
After a teary goodbye, Thomas alongside his grandparents left the hospital, heading towards their rural house. The journey took longer than Thomas would have liked, but despite that, thanks to Mars's curiosity as well as his own, the boy opened his new book and start reading from the begging, trying to at least understand how to cast the easier spells before he even attempts of learning more about those advanced ones. While he would have wanted to learn the healing spell, Mars kind of drilled into his head the notion of overconfidence and how bad that would end up if someone new tried to use a spell made for people with experience.
"Why are you saying that it would be foolish? I want to make mommy better!"
"Bloody sands, you are an idiot! Think about it Tom, what would happen if a newborn snake tries to hunt a big animal?"
"It would get hurt?"
"It would get hurt. Now, in your case, what do you think would happen if someone like you that just found out that he has magical powers tries to cast a spell made for people with years of experience?"
"They would get hurt?"
"They would get hurt. I hope you understand why I'm not letting you do that." "Thanks, Mars… I know that you are trying to look out for me, but…"
"Family comes first no matter the danger. I know that humanlet. Someone who I saw as I friend once said something similar to me once, that he wants to look out for me and that there's no need for that pointless rivalry between the two of us and I like a fool believed him since I've always tried to look out for my people. To tell you the truth humanlet, I choose to remain by your side mostly because you give out a warm feeling, but in the past couple of hours, I kind of started to like you. Call me sentimental, but you do remind me of how I was once."
While the boy and his snake were talking, Thomas's grandparents looked worriedly at their grandson, as he seems to be talking to himself while reading that book. However considering what happened today, neither one of them could imagine just how scared the young boy truly was. By the time they reached their home, Thomas has already fallen asleep, after all, what happened to him drained him of all of his energy. Surprisingly enough, even though Paul carried his grandson to the bed, and his wife changed him, none of them found Mars.
For some reason, the cobra decided to hide from the prying eyes of the grandparents. Just like that for the next two weeks, Thomas would spend his days reading Brother Aurelius' book, trying to figure out how to cast the simplest yet still the bane of his existence, the levitation charm. In the book, there was a small paragraph written in small letters that a wizard is capable of using charms and spells without having to use a wand as a medium, but that kind of art was either lost in time or hidden by the magical community.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Nevertheless, Thomas didn't stop trying, no matter how stupid or how impossible it seemed. Even when Mars told him that it was pointless to chase a wild goose, Thomas didn't stop, and while he didn't have even the tiniest success in the past two weeks, he did find out that little by little, Thomas found out that his small magical reserve increased ever so slightly.
Moreover, while he didn't realize it, his body language had changed as well. Maybe it was an unconscious change, but ever since that day, Thomas didn't even once cried or saw himself as a monster, instead he started pushing himself hard and hard trying to learn as much as he could so that he could help his mother.
A change that both his grandparents as well as his partner in crime noticed. While his grandparents thought that this change appeared due to how Thomas was feeling guilty about what happened at the zoo, Mars knew the truth, as well as one of the possible paths, the young boy might take.
Despite all of the barriers that he stumbles across ever since he starts religiously reading, learning, and putting into practice the book, Thomas found another relatively small chapter in the book that might help him in his quest. But like always, there was one big problem with this solution, and that problem was the lack of materials necessary for creating a wand, albeit one that would be no match for a wand made by a proper master.
Since Brother Aurelius wasn't a wizard himself, he didn't know all of the steps and specifications necessary to make a proper wand, but he wrote down most of the things he had read, heard, or even researched by himself, giving Thomas a general idea on what he would need to make a wand so that he could finally train with the right equipment.
The most basic ingredient and the easiest one to get his hands on was the wood and considering that he was staying near a forest made acquiring this ingredient a walk in the park.
At the same time, the rest of the ingredients necessary for making a wand were impossible for someone as young as Thomas, especially when he didn't have any connections or friends capable of buying magical items.
"You are thinking too hard, Tom. You are still young, besides didn't your father tell you that your mother is doing better? Why are you punishing yourself then?"
"You don't understand Mars. I'm the one who put mommy in the hospital. I have to help her."
"C'mon Thomas, we both know that there's no way for you to get any of the ingredients to make a wand, and even if you were to somehow get them, how in the name of the hot sands would you even create one? That exorcist didn't know how and neither do we. So please do enlighten me, how are you thinking of creating one, because I'm more than sure that a wand isn't made by mashing together all of those ingredients."
"I-I…"
"I told you before, the two of us are stuck together and frankly Thomas, I hate how you got tunnel vision, focusing your entire time on trying to use spells without a medium when that book has more than one school that you could learn. Why don't you learn how to use a sword like a knight or an exorcist? "
"What good would that be? Since the book mentions that once I'm eleven years old I would get a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts."
"Well, my foolish humanlet, your fellow wizard would not expect you to fight using spells and a sword. That would also give you an enormous advantage in combat, I speak from experience after all."
"Maybe you are right Mars. Maybe I should take a break from trying the impossible."
Just as the snake was about to speak, Thomas heard his grandmother's voice calling him for lunch, and since he didn't want to get scolded by her, he stop what he was about to do and walk towards his home.