“No...” Sol groaned as he buried his face in his hands. He looked at the notes and parchments laying in front of him. He was a hairsbreadth away from screaming profanities. It would be bad as he was in the library. It was early in the day. As he went to sleep last night, he was feeling happy about acquiring the Unicorn Blood but aggrieved that he couldn’t get the other parts. After a night of agonizing, he came to terms with his choice- believing it to be the better one. After all, both Harry and Draco saw what Quirrell was doing to the Unicorn. They both would’ve told Hagrid and coupled with the time constraints, he really had no choice. If he did insist on taking everything, it would be much worse as Hagrid could suspect something. It could also reach the Headmaster. If there was a monster in the forest next to your school which could completely dismantle a unicorn, wouldn’t you take precautions or better yet, shut the school down for the safety of your students?

Even though he had come to terms with his choice, what he realized now was completely unacceptable to him. It took him close to a year and a half to gather this data and in no way was the conclusion good. Sol leaned back on the chair and covered his eyes with his arm.

Fuck! The Wizarding World is too weak. Following the International Statute of Secrecy has done more harm than good. The magical development of this world is only at the peak of low-level whilst the technological development is mid-level. Even if the magic in this world is peak low-level, it can’t fucking compare to the mid-level technology. With the gunpowder-based weapons developed by the muggles, it will be very hard for wizards to resist. Especially since they don’t even have strengthening magic. The argument of ‘Well, the wizards could just use disintegration magic like Reducto to stop bullets and guns' won’t even be applicable. It won’t work. Reducto requires much mana and is not an AOE spell. Bullets are plenty, mana is not. This is not even considering Nuclear weapons. Hell, Japanese wizards had it the worst. After the fiasco of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, almost 46% of them had diseases stemming from radioactivity. It took a long while before they came up with a cure for this and this was without knowing what radioactivity was. Won’t we just get wiped out if one day we get exposed? With the kind of blunders we're making, it’s only a matter of time. Letting Dragons fly through the skies for muggles to see, inviting a muggle who had accidentally activated a Portkey to sing a song at a Wizarding concert.

Sol let out a sigh and looked at the notes on the table in front of him with an exasperated look.

In reality, the results of what Voldemort was doing would've led to the extermination of Wizard kind. It was an exceptionally retarded move to switch your desire from only letting purebloods be wizards to conquest of the entire world. Grindelwald, the Dark Lord before him was much better Dark Lord material than Voldemort. The man possessed the charm to unite wizards all around Europe to aid him in his goal. Voldemort, however, could barely get outside Britain. Though both of them were Dark Lords, they operated on a very different scale. It was utter stupidity to label Voldemort as the ‘most dangerous' Dark Lord. Only strength doesn’t equate to your potential. If Grindelwald had Voldemort's strength, I can assure you it would’ve gone much worse. Ultimately, both of them would’ve led Wizard kind to extinction.

And there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. When even purebloods like the Weasleys look down on muggles to a certain extent, it would be very hard to introduce modernity to Wizards. As the next step of innovation would directly follow muggle technology more or less i.e. instantaneous communication technology, transportation, industrial facilities, etc. Even if Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic tried to take Wizards in this direction- it wouldn’t even take 5 minutes for the people to beat him off his post and assassinate him. Haah~ what a dilemma!

He shook his head to get rid of the bad thoughts and started packing his notes. He then took out a quill and wrote a letter. It was addressed to his mother. The contents included a question on how to earn money in this world, how everyone was doing, and if he could get jewels and gems. He then folded the letter, put it inside an envelope, and sealed it with wax. He observed the envelope for a bit before feeling satisfied and putting it in his robes. He looked at the time, unknowingly two hours had passed by and it was time for him to eat breakfast and head to his classes. He got up and left the library, heading to the great hall.

He trudged through the halls, eventually reaching the great hall. He opened the doors only to be met with the sight of the students sitting on the tables and eating their breakfast. It seemed everyone had woken up. He walked into the great hall and took a seat next to Fred and Ron on the Gryffindor's table. A plate of bacon and eggs magically appeared in front of him and he began eating. Next to him, Ron leaned towards Sol and whispered, “We’ve got something to tell you.”

Sol nodded, “I know. You guys told me last night. Is this a secret?”

Ron nodded. Sol then continued, “Then this is not the place to talk about it, is it? You can find me in the library after classes or tell me in the common room after everyone’s gone to sleep. Your choice.”

Ron sat up straight again and glance at Harry who nodded, seemingly having understood something. Sol paid no heed to them and kept on munching on his bacon as he had more or less understood what they were going to say. After breakfast, the students left the great hall for their classes with Katie, Cormac, and Sol heading to History of Magic class.

“Ugh...” Cormac whined, “An hour of boring history class. Can’t Binns just teach us about the relevant stuff instead of jabbering on and on about some Goblin War?”

“Oh, like what? About You-Know-Who?” Katie asked.

Hearing that nickname, Cormac flinched. He hastily stopped her, “Shh! Why are you saying that name in here?”

“Oh, please. I haven’t even said his real name.” Katie rolled her eyes.

“You shouldn’t say his real name even more!” He then turned to Sol, “Please stop her.”

Looking at the two, Sol sighed and wondered what the big deal was, “Relax Cormac. It's not like she's practicing dark spells. It’s just a name, even if it is cursed. But Katie, since it’ll scare some people, refrain from saying it.”

Katie paused before agreeing. Cormac was getting a bit agitated when he heard the first half but he exhaled a sigh of relief when he heard the last half.

“Stop worrying about it. If the classes were held according to our wishes, then we would be the professors instead of them.” Sol walked ahead of them.

“You're right,” the other two agreed as they entered Professor Binns’s classroom.

A Few Hours Later

The classes were finished and Sol headed off to the library to get some things done. He entered the library and under Madam Pince's watchful eye, took a seat at one of the tables there. He then got out some notes from his bag and put them on the table. It seemed that these notes were of a single subject as all of them had the title of ‘Animagus and Animagi’ on them. He got up and headed towards the shelves and took out a book on Advanced Transfiguration. He opened it and took some more notes before ruffling his hair in frustration.

Haah~ good to know that the transformation ends when you get killed. This is a transformation that requires a constant supply of mana, so I guess it’s only normal that it would end since you can’t supply mana when you’re dead. This is a minus point for me. If the transformation was permanent or became permanent after death, it would be much easier to dispose of the body. No one would ever suspect a dead animal by the side of the road or a squashed insect under someone's shoe. This just means I have to dig a grave or find a hiding spot if I needed to kill someone. No, that's too tedious. Guess I got to make the Corpse Melting Acid.

On to the main point, I still can’t become an Animagus. I think the big black cat needs something from me. But what? I really can’t give it anything physical, it would be impossible to just shove a tuna inside my mind. Haah~ no other records mention anything like this. They only mention that it was hard for their spirit animal to appear not that their already appeared animal would be tiptoeing about outside your reach. Can't ask Professor McGonagall either as if she knew, she’d make me register in the Ministry's list of official Animagi. I think it needs a spiritual condition to be fulfilled. But I wouldn’t know as I wasn’t all that proficient in Shamanism which was already a dying branch of magic. Let’s put it off for later.

He then flicked his wand and the parchments neatly stacked themselves in a nice pile before floating themselves inside his bag. Out of his bag came out another bunch of parchment labeled ‘Spells’.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

He then took out books on spells from 5th to 7th year. He then looked them over and one of the spells in those books caught his eye.

Ah, right this one! Expecto Patronum. I learned about this spell before I even started school. I put it off for later. I wonder why?

He then read its description and his expression sunk.

Oh...it's borderline useless, isn’t it? No wait, it has a use. ‘Repelling and killing Dementors’ huh? Let’s see what those are.

He got out the ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ book and searched for Dementors. He flipped a few pages and exclaimed with an ‘Ah’ as he found what he was looking for.

Let’s see... Dementors are horrible creatures. Wherever they go, they su-

But right at that moment, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in front of him with a pensive look on their faces. He looked at their faces before flicking his wand and putting all his notes in his bag. He smiled at them with his chin resting on his hands, “So, what do you want to ask?”

“We think...” Hermione hesitantly spoke. But Harry cut her off, “We think Voldemort is after the Philosopher's Stone.”

Sol frowned. He raised his hand and flicked Harry's forehead, “Don’t say that name carelessly. There is a time and place for everything and this is not the place. And also, why're you telling me this? What made you think that I know that the Stone is inside the school?”

“But you were the one who-” Hermione tried to defend him but was cut off by Sol, “Indeed, I did tell you about Nicholas Flamel. I never told you about the Stone being here and even if I had made a careless remark about it, you shouldn’t just assume that I know about the Stone.”

“What's your point?” asked Ron impatiently.

“My point is that you’ll get yourselves killed by assuming things,” Sol said coldly. He then clapped and smiled again as if nothing happened, “So, what do you mean by You-Know-Who trying to get the Stone? Isn’t he dead?”

“No, he's alive. I saw him last night in the forest.” Harry replied.

“Is that right? And why didn’t he killed you?”

Hermione frowned while Ron and Harry looked at each other. Harry then said, “It's because he was chased away by a Centaur.”

Sol really wanted to ask ‘why a reclusive race such as the Centaurs would help you’ but he kept his mouth shut.

“Hmm...” Sol looked as though he was in deep thought, “Assuming what you said is true, what will you do now?”

“That’s what we wanted to ask you,” Ron sheepishly admitted.

“Huh?” Sol looked as though he was surprised, “You're asking me? I mean I can tell you. But you shouldn’t do this. Learn to depend on yourselves.”

“We know but please~” Hermione pleaded.

Sol sighed, “Fine... First, you can’t tell the professors.”

“Why not? They could help-”

“Oh? How would you tell them about the Philosopher's Stone then? You think you can tell them that? If they knew you guys had gone into a place that was clearly forbidden, wouldn’t they just expel you?”

“That’s...” Ron paused to think about it.

Not waiting for them to continue, Sol said, “Secondly, you can’t do anything by yourselves either.”

“But we need to stop him! Or else, he’ll fully resurrect himself.” Harry insisted.

“And what get yourselves killed?” Sol sneered. “I wonder where you get the confidence to try to fight the strongest Dark Lord.”

“But he's weak or else he wouldn’t be drinking Unicorn Blood.”

“Even a weakened Dark Lord is far stronger than an eleven-year-old who lived like a muggle until just half a year ago. And you’re not even like Hermione who at least reads and studies spells. At least, she could last a few more seconds before dying.”

Hermione was a bit grave hearing the first part and even a bit happy when Sol praised her but the last part dumped cold water on her.

“Then, how about you stop him?” Ron suggested.

“Pfft~ haha!” Sol laughed out only to be shushed at by Madam Pince.

He then looked at them with a mocking smile on his face, “Ron, use your brain for the love of the gods. Even if I know slightly more spells than your average second-year, I don’t have the confidence to duke it out with a Dark Lord.”

This was an utter lie.

“Anyway, just relax. It’s not like he’s going to attack them right now,” he calmed them down.

“How do you know?” Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

Sol remained unfazed as he asked, “Hermione and Ron, are you guys heading home for Easter?”

“...Yes” the two replied in unison.

“Then he won’t attack now,” Sol said confidently.

“What's that got to do with You-Know-Who attacking?” Ron asked scratching his head.

“It’s because, unlike Christmas, many people will be staying in school for Easter. It would be inconvenient to go after the stone with so many eyes around.”

“That's right!” Hermione’s eyes brightened.

“There you have it. Just relax for now. Maybe you’ll learn something new during this time.” Sol put them at ease and got up to leave.

“Yes, thank you very much.”

“Later.”

Yeah, he’s not going to attack without them here.

----------------------------------------

Sol inhaled and exhaled a fresh breath of air, “Hoo~ the view from Ravenclaw tower really is a marvelous sight.” Sol was up in the Ravenclaw tower as he looked at the scenery of the lake. He passed by the Ravenclaw common room and went to the highest floor of the tower and let the calm breeze hit his face. His face bathed in the orange lights of the rising sun. It helped him clear his head and wake him up.

A month passed by and the school was going to be off for Easter holiday. Students would leave the school in two days. Of course, some students would remain, one of them being Harry. It would be a lonely couple of days as both Ron and Hermione were returning back home. Yet, he didn’t care about any of this. All Sol wanted to do was spend time with his family during this time, mainly his sister who he hadn’t seen in a while. The thought of seeing his sister makes him feel warm inside.

“Sol?” as he was thinking about his adorable sister, a voice called from behind. Sol turned around to see second-year Cho Chang. He met her when he first enrolled in Hogwarts. Though they had some distance between them due to being in different houses, they could still be considered friends. Especially after Christmas as Sol had taken to talk more with her. They'd most often meet in the library. She was a shy girl but became very serious in academic matters. It was to be noted that she was very beautiful, her Asian features adding to her beauty. As such, she was asked out by many boys only to be rejected. Sol guessed she was not ready for something like this but as for the real reason, he’d rather not assume anything.

Sol smiled at her, “Ah, Cho! What brings you down, no I mean up here?”

“Not much. I always come up here whenever I wake up early,” Cho said as she walked towards the railing and letting the breeze hit her. Sol nodded inwardly. It seemed her initial reservation and shyness had reduced somewhat.

“Is that so?” Sol didn’t say anything after and just let himself be drowned in the gentle warmth of the sun. The both of them stood there, clutching the railing and not saying anything. As he was about to get immersed in the scenery, Cho asked, “Do you know anything about hearts?”

“H-Hearts?” Sol was caught off-guard by that question, “Do you mean the organ or feelings?”

Cho pondered for a while before speaking, “It might be the organ...”

“Okay...but why're you asking me about hearts?”

“I thought you knew about it! I mean you’re always teaching me things in the library.”

“I taught you? We just studied together, didn’t we?”

“Oh don’t even bother denying it,” Cho scoffed. “Our ‘studying together’ just turns into you teaching me things and helping me with my homework. I almost feel bad for disturbing you.”

“Ah, if that's how you feel then I-”

“Almost.”

Sol looked at her with a stunned expression before laughing. She narrowed her eyes. Seeing that, he said, “Okay, okay, I'll stop. So enlighten me, fairy of Ravenclaw, what doth maketh your heart hurteth?”

“Stop that!”

Jesus, her reservation when she's with me has really vanished, hasn’t it?

“Fine, tell me,” he smiled, the breeze making his hair sway.

“Sometimes my heart seems to beat faster,” she said somewhat hesitantly.

“...”

“What?”

“No, I’m waiting for you to continue, or is that it?” Sol narrowed his eyes.

“N-No, I also have weird feelings well up in me.”

Sol felt that this wasn’t a good direction for the conversation to go in. He asked her, “Sometimes your heart beats fast, and certain feelings well up in you. Do you also get stomach cramps and what is this feeling?”

“Stomach cramps? No,” she pondered for a moment before saying. She spoke again but couldn’t mean Sol's gaze, “I-I think it's lo-longing...”

Sol looked at her confused look on his face before letting out a sigh. He had a basic grasp on what she might be feeling, “I'm asking the wrong question. When exactly is this ‘sometimes’?”

She flinched hearing the question. That just made Sol be sure that he had hit the nail on its head. Her cheeks turned rosy and she couldn’t meet Sol's eyes. Sol's eyes widened in horror.

Don’t tell me...

She then met Sol's gaze with a resolute look on her face and started walking towards him. With every step she took, Sol took a step back.

Wait, no! Stop!

“Why are you going away? I don’t want anyone else to hear this...” Cho said sheepishly.

“Umm...” Sol sighed as he resigned himself to his fate. He reluctantly stepped closer to her whilst making his decision in his heart.

Cho leaned closer to him and whispered to him, “It’s when I talk to Cedric.”

Sol's eyes and face went through a myriad of expressions. Happiness, surprise but mostly embarrassment.

Sol bit his lower lip as he looked at her again. After a while, he spoke, “You mean Cedric Diggory, the fourth-year in Hufflepuff?”

Cho nodded quickly.

“That’s called being in love. You have a crush on Cedric.”

“L-Love?! I have a crush on C-Cedric?!”

“You want to be next to him. You want to see him smile at you. You don’t want to see him talking to a girl other than you. Am I right in assuming these?”

She didn’t reply. And seeing as how she didn’t reply, he knew he was right.

He sighed, “Haah~ Ravenclaws aren’t really suited for emotions, are they?”

“Hey! What does that mean?”

“Exactly as it sounds. You didn’t ask anyone else, did you?”

“N-No...?” Sol narrowed his eyes. “Only some of my friends...”

“Ravenclaw girls?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you're safe,” he said indifferently.

“Why do I feel like you’re insulting Ravenclaw?”

“Then you would be correct.”

“Argh!” Cho angrily glared at him before stomping off. He then resumed looking at the scenery of the lake. But next, he heard, “T-Thanks...”

Sol smiled but didn’t look at her, “Happy to help.”

Cho then left leaving Sol standing in the tower. After confirming that she was really gone, Sol instantly crouched down and hid his face with his hands so no one could see his expression.

Ugh...kill me...