<===+===>
On the trek from the castle itself towards Hogsmeade with both Alex and Sebastian, Erebus started to wonder about what every fan of the Wizarding World had on their minds: what their wands were. He knew that from both canon and fanfiction lore, everyone agreed that the iconic weapon was a powerful tool for the witch or wizard despite a few stragglers who practiced wandless magic.
He also knew that the current era he was in at the moment was at least a full century before the canon time period-which struck Erebus as intentional and he didn't mind that. Erebus wanted to make sure he learned as much as he could before having to deal with that whole mess about the Prophecy.
'I'll definitely have to make sure I learn the Unforgivables before dealing with that whole mess,' Erebus thought to himself, but before he could think more on that, something Sebastian mentioned drew his attention.
"Anne-my twin sister-hasn't been feeling well, so she hasn't come to school," Sebastian mentioned to Alex and Erebus while they walked past the Forbidden Forest. "Perhaps meeting a new friend or two from school might help cheer her up?"
"I certainly wouldn't mind tagging along to meet her, Sebastian," Erebus responded with a slight intrigued smile.
Alex nodded in agreement. He knew his mother was a doctor, so he could attempt to use his knowledge to help her get better.
Sebastian chuckled a bit, but he was smiling in glee from learning his two new friends were willing to help despite them being in another house. The Slytherin male had mentioned how this task of guiding both of them to Hogsmeade had saved him from getting a detention from the librarian mere moments ago, yet there was something mildly comforting about them both at least giving him some trust to help them get acclimated to school.
As they were nearing Hogsmeade, the trio came across Gladwin Moon-who Sebastian introduced as the caretaker for Hogwarts. Alex and Sebastian were curious to the obviously inebriated caretaker's mutterings about what Erebus recognized as Demiguises from the Fantastic Beasts movies he watched long ago.
'So, the caretaker is afraid of demiguises?' Erebus pondered to himself. While he understood that the little mischievous creature who could see the immediate future could have its scary moments, Erebus had been up against tu'katas in the red sandy wilds of Korriban and ku'lor slugs in the dry arid tombs yet undiscovered by the Sith Academy. Those were slightly worse than the fantastic beasts in the Wizarding World-including Dementors and the Boggarts. 'Well, even if he's scared of them, I have a feeling that things are going to get interesting.'
After another moment of Sebastian helping to calm down Gladwin and talk about how they would talk more later, the trio got back on their way to Hogsmeade. It didn't even take an hour to cross the bridge and arrive in the only all-wizarding village in the area. Erebus knew that a few places in this village will be somewhat central to the canon story in Harry's later years-especially the Three Broomsticks during Harry's third year at Hogwarts.
With their arrival in Hogsmeade, Sebastian said that he was going to look around a few of the shops for a cure for his sister Anne-leaving both Erebus and Alex to venture around the village. Using the Field Guide's [Charmed Compass] to guide him around, Alex also departed, but not before saying that he will meet up with Erebus in the town square.
Sighing at his departure, Erebus wandered the village for a bit. He called up his System in the meantime and decided to look at his {Money Pouch}-wanting to see if what he read about it was true.
To his shock, he was right.
》Due to being in another world, your [Credits] have been converted into [Galleons] at a 1:1 ratio. To improve the conversion ratio between currencies, please unlock and level up the [Merchant] skill.《
》Money Pouch: 10,000 Galleons《
'Wow!' He thought to himself. Finding a seat nearby to relax in for a moment, he called up his [Status] after sitting down.
==+==
{Profile: Erebus Axus}
Origin Name: Damian Taylor
True Name: One Who Moves in Shadow
Race: [Outworlder (Human)]
Age: 18
》Level: 20
EXP to Level: 1,000/81,000
Tier: [Mortal Refinement (Gold - Peak)]
Physique: [Primordial Cosmos Physique (SSS - Growth)]
》Stat Table《
Health: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Midi-chlorian Count: 120,000/cell
》VIT: 10
》STR: 10
》AGI: 10
》CHA: 10
》PER: 10
》INT: 10
》WIS: 10
Free Attribute Points: 240
{Inventory} {Skills/Abilities}
{Fast Travel} {Shipyard}
{Contacts} {Quest Log}
{Dungeons} {System Shop}
{Lottery} {Game Avatar}
{Party System}
==+==
'Hmm,' Erebus pondered to himself as he viewed his 240 unused points. Apparently during the update, the System decided to give him a flat +12 free AP per level up now instead of what it used to give him. 'Perhaps now is a good time to allocate points. I've been at ten points in all of my stats for weeks now and only been relying on leveling up my skills more than anything else.'
'The only problem is choosing what's best for me at the moment...' Erebus thought to himself before getting a notification from the System.
》As you are in the Wizarding World, it is best for you to focus more on a moderately balanced stat table. The System recommends adding 40 points into [Intelligence], 40 points into [Wisdom], 30 points into [Vitality], 30 points into [Perception], 50 points into [Agility], and 40 points split evenly into [Strength] and [Charisma]-leaving just ten points free for anything extra.《
'Why would I do that?' Erebus asked in his mind.
》This is the best and optimal route to take at your current level and world. As you level up and gain more points, you'll slowly reach the hard limit for stat allocation for your current race. Anything else will be revealed upon reaching the maximum allocation.《
'Ah,' Erebus pondered as he digested the information for a brief moment. After that, he simply thought about adding the points recommended to him and confirmed his choice.
==+==
》The points have been added and locked in. Your new values are as thus:《
》Vitality: 10 -> 40《
》Health Pool has been increased from 100 to 400.《
》Natural Regeneration has also been increased.《
》Perception: 10 -> 40《
》Your senses has been augmented further. You can now detect traps with greater accuracy than before and be able to sense incoming danger with greater proficiency.《
》Strength: 10 -> 30《
》Your melee damage output has been increased from a base ten to a base thirty. (This means instead of dealing roughly ten points of damage to an entity, you can do thirty points.)《
》Charisma: 10 -> 30《
》People are now more likely to be swayed by your words depending on how well-reasoned they are.《
》Agility: 10 -> 60《
》Your body is now more flexible than before-enabling you to learn movement techniques at a slightly faster pace and move faster in combat.《
》Intelligence: 10 -> 50《
》Your Energy Pool has been increased from 100 to 500. All mental faculties (Information Processing, Memory Capacity, etc) has been greatly improved.《
》Wisdom: 10 -> 50《
》Your Energy Regeneration has been increased. How you handle information has also been improved.《
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
==+==
A warm soothing feeling rushed through Erebus' veins and meridians as the points allocated to his stats augmented his body-making it tougher and more flexible. Obviously, no one else knew that this process was going on since it was subtle and didn't cause Erebus any pain. If anyone else suspected anything about the scene, it would just look like someone was sitting on a bench during the daytime and enjoying the sunshine.
This didn't last longer than a moment and he was now ready to head into Ollivanders to do what many fans would love to do: get their first wand.
<~=+=~>
Meanwhile...
"Bring me the child," Ranrok urged the two lumbering trolls who were wearing collars infused with dark magic.
They grunted in obedience and went towards Hogsmeade to provide a decent distraction for his uneasy ally Victor to make an attempt at kidnapping Alex.
<~=+=~>
On the way to Ollivanders...
Alex had collected all of his supplies for school from the various shops in Hogsmeade save for his new wand. He had been used the secondhand wand given to him by his mentor Professor Fig during the summer to learn about spellcasting and had been told to acquire his wand from the Ollivanders shop in Hogsmeade by Professor Weasley after getting clarification that there was another location instead of just the one in Diagon Alley.
He had been very excited to learn that each of the shopkeepers were very friendly, but then he grew a tad concerned for Erebus since he didn't know if Professor Weasley had anything prepared for him too. Sure, he learned of the existence of a powerful construct like Erebus' System alongside Professor Fig some time back, but that feeling of concern did not fade.
'He seemed incredibly sad,' Alex thought to himself as he remembered the conversation that took place. 'Something bad happened to him and he had been open enough to explain some of it to us back then, but what made him that way?'
Alex didn't know the answer, but he hoped that Erebus would tell him one day.
<~=+=~>
At the same time...
"So, he begins to awaken?" a mysterious voice echoed in wonder. "Then it is almost time. Even with the power of Primal, Death, Shadow, and so many more schools to come, he'll need a wand which can handle it all. The wands at Ollivanders will be unable to fully handle his growing power, so let's make sure he gets one."
Thus the creation of a wand begins...
<~=+=~>
In the Ollivander Wand Shop...
Alex had met up with Erebus where he explained that the only thing left to get was a new wand. Erebus had been surprised to learn about that since it hadn't taken too long since they parted ways, but he surmised that Alex had been quite athletic to get everything done.
It also didn't take too long for the wandmaker himself-Gerbolt Ollivander-to make an entrance and introduce himself to the duo. He inquired as to who should be first to go for a wand fitting, but Erebus pointed to Alex saying that the youngest should go first.
That made Gerbolt shrug since he didn't mind helping out Alex first with a new wand. Alex seemed a bit shocked at being the first one to get a wand, but he guessed Erebus had his reasons. He let Gerbolt try a few wands out to see if they matched, but after a couple of mishaps where a wand made fireworks instead of anything else, Alex got his perfect wand.
The wand itself was a ten inch holly ringed rod with a unicorn hair core which glowed brightly and-to both Erebus and Alex's sight-made his body shimmer with a cerulean glow all over his body. This made Gerbolt exclaim in joy about a new bright and magical future for Alex's fitting, yet the old wandmaker hoped something similar would happen for Erebus too. He was confident that one of his wands would be suitable for the slightly older wizard customer.
"Now, for you..." Gerbolt began to say as he went to look for another wand in his store. While he did so, Erebus got a notification from his System.
》Detected that the Host has met the requirements.《
》You have witnessed a witch/wizard collect their first wand and starting their magical adventure within the Wizarding World. Due to this achievement, you have been awarded +1,000 Experience.《
》EXP to Level: 2,000/81,000《
》Due to being in a shop known in the Wizarding World lore for selling/making fine wands for centuries and unlocking a new achievement, you have been awarded %*%*^$^&$&《
The System soon obfuscated the rewards for the second achievement which made Erebus curious and slightly shocked. This was the first time his System bugged out like this, but something else drew his attention.
Something else which was both familiar to him and equally shocking.
》Beginning manifestation...《 The system notified him within a red background.
》It has long since been told that there were three artifacts of great power within the lore of the Wizarding World as described by Beetle the Bard. These three artifacts are known simply as the Deathly Hallows. First wielded by three brothers thousands of years ago, the Hallows represent Strength, Humility, and Stealth. One of the Hallows is the Elder Wand-the most powerful wand in the world known by wizardkind-and broken by Harry Potter during the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts.《
》However, many different iterations of the familiar Wizarding World across the Variant Timelines prove that the Elder Wand-while powerful in its own right-is not the most powerful magical focus. Some foci are either crafted by expert wandmakers who are more experienced than the Ollivander family, come from other worlds, or generated by Systems. As you have the ability to traverse other worlds with far different laws than your current world, the System Creator has determined that no wand from Ollivanders shall fit your real body without hindering your progress.《
》As compensation for being unable to possess a wand crafted by any Ollivander while in your real body, you have been given a wand crafted by the System Creator instead. This item is soulbound and will return to your inventory upon death instead of being dropped.《
Erebus looked at the notification in shock as a rectangular black box appeared in the air in front of him-the color as black as the Void itself. He went to touch the box and as soon as he touched it with his empty right hand (his dominant hand, mind), the box disintegrated-leaving a singular black colored wand with small streaks of purple lightning in the wood like someone electrified the wood from both ends.
It was ringed in a similar fashion to how Alex's wand was, yet Erebus couldn't use his [Inspect] skill on it to learn more. It was like something about the wand was blocking his System from inspecting it.
Deciding to put that small mystery at the back of his mind for now, Erebus reached out to the floating wand and took hold of it-the mere act of grasping the wand handle seemingly broke the frozen silence like ice cracking as it ignited brightly akin to Alex's own awakening. This returned the proper flow of time into the world around him and Alex saw the difference.
Gerbolt had not yet returned with a wand for him to try and yet here was one already equipped?!
While Alex looked at Erebus in curious wonder, the man himself was reading the information provided to him through his System. He quickly learned that this wand was evolvable just like his own lightsaber, but could be utilized in more magical worlds unlike his lightsaber.
The wand also provided no current amplification bonuses to his magic, yet this would be solved as it grew in strength alongside him. All it served to do was be far more powerful at its base than even the fabled Elder Wand itself.
(A/N: Yep. Since the MC is already far more dangerous than Dumbledore and Voldemort in terms of raw potential and adaptability considering the System he has alongside the fact he is a traverser of the Variant Timelines, it would make sense that to keep the continuity of the series, he'd have to have a wand that is already more powerful than the Elder Wand at the start. Be warned that I will be glossing over most of the stuff from the Hogwarts Legacy game as I do not wish to spoil too much of the game for those who might enjoy playing it in the future. To end this note off, yes Alex Fross (along with the SWTOR Wrath, Inquisitor, and Jedi characters soon to come) are ALL OCs set within their respective franchises. I'm not dealing with the canon time periods of the respective franchises in Volume One obviously since I'm only twenty-odd chapters into the fanfic. You'll have to wait for Volume Two if you guys want to see any canon stuff.)
'Damn' was all that Erebus could think about in terms of the surprise he got. After a moment, Gerbolt returned and saw that Erebus had a wand in his possession which-to him-felt like the right match. Since the wand he was carrying was no longer needed, he used his wand to put it back onto the back shelf.
They soon gave him a few galleons for the trouble and went out into the town square to meet up with Sebastian. The trio were unaware that something was going to happen so soon and it would be one to make them famous in school.
<~=+=~>
"Oh you have to be fucking kidding me!" Erebus cursed as he saw a troll coming in towards the three of them-causing Alex and Sebastian to go wide eyed at their slightly older peer for the use of a curse word. They didn't say anything since they too were thinking roughly the same thing upon seeing a troll coming up towards them, but before they could do much else, a female officer shouted to have the villagers lead the troll away from the village.
Erebus had already realized that there was going to be a troll attack mere seconds before the first troll came into the village since his System warned him about entering a special limited time instance called 》Trolls in Hogsmeade《 and that he had to stop the trolls before time ran out. He didn't party up with Alex using his System-let alone Sebastian-but it came as no surprise to Erebus that they were now faced with dealing against ugly trolls.
Fortunately, Erebus didn't mind this as he'd compare that dealing with Trolls in the open was better than a girls' bathroom and he was used to close quarter combat.
'Let's see if I can use Force Lightning to fry me up an ugly troll,' Erebus thought to himself as he was getting ready to call forth the physical manifestation of his anger just like how Kreia taught him.
Of course, Erebus knew some spells from the canon time-including Snape's own spells he crafted-but he wasn't willing to use them in case it messed with the current progression of time. He had to test to see if using the Force abilities would actually work against creatures who weren't connected to the Force.
As he knew from his System, a second troll came bursting in and immediately tried attacking the trio-aiming for Alex first. As if warned by his Ancient Magic abilities, Alex dodged out of the way along with Sebastian. Erebus was the only one left in the Troll's path and Alex was shouting for him to get out of the way before he got hurt.
A needless warning it would prove to be as Erebus looked at the Troll dead in the eye as his own eyes turned golden-signifying the use of the Dark Side.
"Scream for me," Erebus muttered in a cold dark tone-sending shivers down everyone elses' spines as he raised his hand towards the troll. The bumbling idiot brute himself felt the cold pierce through his bones, but he didn't realize that it was a passing touch of oncoming death from the man in front of him until it was far too late.
A surge of black lightning erupted from Erebus' fingertips just like a Sith from Star Wars and hit the troll dead center-sending it both flying back and roaring in pain akin to a light Cruciatus. When Erebus saw this happening, he realized that albeit not in the right universe for it to happen correctly, it still worked in a similar manner as depicted in the franchise lore.
'So, that means I can use the Force anywhere I go though it seems to be at a slight drawback in terms of damage output,' Erebus thought to himself as he saw that he only dealt roughly 60 damage for the cost of using 1 Energy. 'Although I didn't realize my Energy stat also influenced my Force abilities. Might be worth looking into later.'
After using Force Lightning on the Troll, his eyes returned to their normal sapphire blue color as if the golden eyes were never there to begin with. Only Alex and Sebastian realized that one of Erebus' attacks managed to send the troll flying off in pain akin to a powerful Depulso.
'Who is he?' Sebastian thought to himself while Alex was thinking a similar thought.
However, both didn't stay stupified for long before they too got into the fray and beat back the Troll with Alex finishing it off with an Ancient Magic spell.
Luckily, only Alex and Sebastian realized Erebus' oddity instead of Officer Singer (the female officer who drew away the first troll alongside the villagers) because if she heard it, Erebus would have most likely been chucked off to Azkaban. Not that it would have worked anyways.
With that in mind, Officer Singer asked the trio to see if they could help repair the village and they agreed. Erebus had learned Reparo alongside Alex with Professor Ronen during the two weeks he spent getting acclimated to Hogwarts life alongside a few other spells.
He had learned Accio, Levioso, Reparo, Lumos and its counterspell Nox, Protego, the Basic Cast, and Stupefy. Each spell had been recorded in his System upon seeing the wand movements and he had mentioned to his teachers that he only needed to remember the movements once to fully embody the spell.
It was an obvious lie to him and Alex who had gotten similar extra assignments to make up for his previous time waiting to fully mature since it was actually his System doing all the work. He only managed to use his new wand just today casting Reparo on the objects needing repaired in the village, but he didn't mind that.
What he was focused on was the rewards.
》You have completed the instance event. You have been awarded +1000 Galleons, a new Title, and ???.《
<===+===>