Sorry for the late update. Ive been swamped with work lately. As always, if you find anything wrong, anything that can be improve, drop a comment.
------------------------------------------
The book was called 'The magic of Explosions.
Seamus Finnigan had been reading a book he found last year with very very deep interest.
It had just appeared out of nowhere into his life, and now, he couldn't bear to part with it.
Its introduction said, 'From trouble makers to professional explosion enthusiasts, the path to bringing the true art of explosion to life."
There were many types of explosions there as well. Potion explosions, chemical explosions all kinds ,really, but it didnt go deep into it.
What it did go deep into, was magical explosions. And it told him how to do that, without getting caught by the trace.
The trace only works when the underage wizard or witch is in a place that isn't filled with other adult wizards. Thats because it tracks wizards by proximity. So finding a underage wizard, in a crowd of wizards is like finding a needle in a haystack.
That was a good thing to know.
He was in diagon alley. His mom wanted to do some shopping, and Seamus was just itching to try what he'd been practicing for so long. Theoretically of course.
And his target had appeared just the right time.
His very unfriendly neighbors from Hogwarts were also there.
Crabbe, and Goyle, sitting there in the sun, under the umbrellas of Florean Fortescue's eating very large ,very delicious looking sundaes, while he was tagging along with his mom to do shopping
..... Yeah. They would do just nicely.
Now, according to the book, explosions need a source.
Explosions are a sudden release of energy, so the source will be what carries the potential energy to explode, like a fire cracker.
The book also said that those who are born with the affinity to explosions, can change their magic itself into an explosion, just like him.
Chomp chomp
He had been chewing on this piece of gum for half an hour now, and he felt that it was ready.
Pffooooo.
He quickly blew a bubble and spat it out.
Now all he had to do, was wait, and guide it slowly. In his hand his wand turned slightly, and the bubble only as big as a jaw breaker flew up, above the people's heads.
He watched it, from the corner of his eye, as it bobbed up and down, while carrying his little present slowly slowly towards the two bullies.
'Yes.. Thats it. Slow and steady...'
"Seamus, come on, we got lot more shopping to do."
"Yes mother." Seamus hurried up his step. But his eyes were still on the bubble. It was now above the umbrella.
He guided it slowly, and it dropped and floated right towards the sundaes.
'Now!'
Click
His fingers snapped , and a dozen or so meters away, an explosion of dessert startled the two boys out of their skins, along with a half a dozen more people nearby.
'Serves them right.'
Seamus returned to his room very late that evening. The shopping trip had drained him completely, but he was excited. To read the next part of his magic training. That was probably the only time he was excited to read a book.
Then again, he thought as he flipped through the pages to the point he last finished, if every subject in school was as exciting as this was, then maybe he would be happy to spend hours at a desk instead of just dozing off.
He began reading the lines with earnest.
It was about getting energy to increase the size and power of the explosion. The book reccomended invoking the name Bishop, a magical being who can control fire.
If he does that, he should be able to use heat, and fire to make his explosions more, explosive.
Yeah. Things were looking great.
.....
Flash!
Colin's camera flashed brightly as he took another picture. Very nice.
He had been learning about film making recently. Film making and how those magical pictures moved.
They all focused on capturing the magic of the moment. So he could understand the concept of frames per second.
It even taught him how to make a flip book to understand the way it worked. It was all about the flow of frames.
He was getting close to it. The book taught him how to capture the essence of a moment, and based on it, create a new sequence of movement. And as a professional level photographer, Colin knew how important the movement, and the environment was for the perfect photo.
It was all about timing, mindset and vision.
The world unfolded to him in frames that have happened, is happening and will happen. Soon he should be able to set the frames.
He was going to get the best pictures next year. He was sure of that.
He had to make sure he has enough films.
.....
"So...you like Katana's?"
Richard ignored the discomfort of Kojiro's voice and answered without turning his gaze.
"I like all swords."
'Especially magic swords.'
They were in Nagoya, in the Tokugawa art museum looking at the world famous Muramasa sword of Tokugawa Yoshinao.
Richard turned to Kojiro.
"Muramasa swords are pretty famous. I heard that they have a real magical curse on them too, but I didnt have time to look at the one in London." Richard said as he turned back to take another look. "Besides, I thought it was better to see them in their native land. Though I wonder why the curse isn't active.."
"Well, the ones here are the weakest." Kojiro replied. "The ones with stronger curses were taken to the ministry. We can't just leave stuff like that for muggles to see after all. "
"Aren't you worried about leaving magical swords for muggles to see though?"
"Its a historical treasure." Kojiro shrugged. "Everyone has the right to see them besides.."
Tap tap
Kojiro tapped the glass.
"Each case has a dozen protection charms, and runes engraved on them, while half the staff here are wizards to handle the situation if anything goes wrong."
Richard nodded.
He had filed those details away, because if he doesn't find new magical swords, he was going to have to break into the museum to trace those swords.
He didnt want to, because of the hassle. But if he has to, he knew he would.
"If you want to see the real things, you can always visit the museum in Kyoto."
"I'd rather visit one of the magical blacksmiths if possible." Richard replied. "I'm more interested in magic swords than history. You must have some craftsmen right? We should go and visit some."
"Maybe later."
Kojiro replied unenthusiastically.
Richard paused, catching on. "Is that not allowed?"
"Not really" Kojiro replied as they walked out slowly. "The dynamics of the magic-sword community and its relationship with wider magical society are complicated, to say the least."
"Yakuza?"
Richard took a wild guess. But Kojiro simply shook his head. "You are close. But you are still looking through a narrow view there."
While Richard had tweaked many things, that didnt mean he knew how those tweaks had changed the magical community as a whole. Regardless..
"Let's forget about that for now. I heard that you still teach Bushido at your schools and dojo's. I practice western sword techniques. Where do you think I can find a proper sparring partner?"