Richard was down by two evil pieces. One used on tonks, and the other used on whatever happened to his fire magic circuit.
He looked at the fiery bird who kept looking back. It was and wasn't alive. It didnt have any organs, because Richard could see through its heavily translucent body. But it had its own spirit. Because it moved without ever being told to.
"Come back"
Richard commanded, and the fire bird moved to his body. Merging with it. And now, he had a tattoo on his back. He could see it if he turned and looked at the mirror wall behind him.The circuit was gone. But the fire bird was bonded to him. So even if he couldn't wield fire like before, he could do so through the fire.
He was borrowing magic from an external source. He disliked 'borrowing' as a principle, and the fact that he lost a part of his power irked him. But Richard didn't feel too much of a regret. He depended too much on fire magic till now.
The thing was, he had no idea on how to actually use the sword magic. Because generating swords...that was nothing. That was why he started using other magic circuits to combine them with the sword element.
Richard waved his wand, and a slash made of red fire appeared for a moment, bisecting the two training dummies in half.
This was useless. He could do the same thing to a person using sectumsempra. If he had to use his sword element, he wanted it to be unique. Better than what normal magic could.
He wasn't going to find his way using fire. So Richard was considering the other dominant magic circuit. His dark magic circuit. He didn't want to use it, but, the situation calls for it.
The sword itself was simple, but how it is wielded was what gave it power. And it came to him easily.
He was a devil. Been one for more than a decade and a half. He was born as a devil, an advocate of sin. So Richard not only knew the use of emotions but he could even disconcern each of them easily.
For a moment, he triggered his anger. It was easy. All he had to do was imagine Issei rushing at him with the power of lust.
Richard's face crunched as the image vividly appeared in his head. He connected a circuit. From his primary circuit, to the node, where it was attributed to the wrath bubbling in his mind. And then to the auxiliary circuit.
Richard hadn't thought on how to manifest it. So he simply pointed his hand, and threw the magic at the support column.
KRRRKRRR!
There was a sound, like the one made when a solid object is dragged across a rough concrete wall. Then lines of crushed rock crumbled from the column reveling the true effect of the magic.
Hundreds of small slashes, crisscrossing and spreading throughout the entire column riddling the once smooth surface into a something that looked like the aftermath if a crazy someone had taken a machete and gone rogue on an innocent tree.
This effect...it was familiar. The name popped itself to his mind without effort.
Richard walked to the closest bisected training dummy and placed his hand on it, and mustered his anger once more
"Dismantle"
The wooden bottom half turned to two inch chunks, then an inch, then half an inch and finally turned to sawdust.
Pure indiscriminate reckless slashes. Richard was both happy and thrilled by the speed he created he spell. His talent for dark arts were terrifying. And power that emerged from mixing dark arts with sword element was even more astounding. But it also worried Richard.
He needed to master the patronus. He had to, by the end of the vacation. He had to prepare for dementors that might come.
He decided not to kill Peter yet. That was Harry's job. He had his own things to worry about. But the moment that nasty bugger steps over his boundaries...Richard swore to turn him into rat burger.
"Hey aren't we going to leave?"
Richard turned around, irritated. He disliked being interrupted. Especially when he was experimenting with magic. And he thought Tonks might have figured it out after so long....but either her brain was smoother than he believed it to be, or she knew it but decided to ignore it.
Still, Richard decided not to say anything. He was after all intruding into her property this time. So he decided to maintain basic courtesy...for now.
Richard waved his wand, and his luggage carried itself towards him making Tonks raise an eyebrow.
After practicing dozens of different spells for two entire years, Richard had developed his auxiliary circuit to a level no undergrad had.
He could use his auxiliary circuit alone, his thoughts and will itself to perform magic without incantation. This was a level achieved only by wizards and witches who were a cut above. And Richard hoped to push this even further, to the point of wand less magic by the end of the next year.
"Since when did you know how to use silent casting?"
"Since last week. " Richard replied. "And why are you NOT able to do silent casting? Aren't you supposed to be an auror? "
Tonks averted his gaze, and Richard noticed her ears turning pink, in contrast to her pale skin.
Richard grabbed his luggage and removed his heavy robe before folding it and draping it across his arm.
"Shift your shades woman. You are supposed to be alive. Not a reincarnated corpse."
The reincarnation using the evil piece had an unfortunate side effect of turning Tonks pale as a corpse. It wasn't supposed to happen. But then again, since he had not exactly brought her back as a devil, consequences were to be expected.
Richard ignored her curses and stepped outwards. He walked through the corridors now abandoned and walked until he stepped out of the castle.
He took a deep breath. Another year was over.
He had talked to Dumbledor again after the ordeal at the chamber. They were of course praised for their bravery.
As for Lockhart? That glory obsessed fool tried to sneak up on them and use his memory charms to 'modify' the tale of the chambers of secrets.
Richard beat the guy black and blue using one of his own oversized books. And he did so with obvious relish. And then proceeded to put the fear of god and devil into him, before prying open his mouth and dropping a vial of veritaserum down his gullet. Then proceeded to throw him into Snape's room.
Richard knew he was going to come back. People like that always do. And when he does, Richard was going to kill him. All he needed was the justification.
And considering that, Lockhart had babbled everything in front of Snape, who was the right hand of Dumbledor...he had a feeling that The headmaster had an idea about his intentions as well. He had a feeling rhat the whit lord might keep a close eye on him in the future. Well, time would tell him what they will do.
But now, it was a new beginning. Everyone else had taken the Hogwarts express home, but he had his own transport. And a new home.
"Ready?"
He looked at Tonks who had stepped out of the castle grounds and took her hand. Her pale skin was now a light tan. Legally, she was his guard in now. But she knew better than to bring that up.
He nodded his head, and he felt a sudden change in the environment. The world blurred and he felt as if he was being squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste.
Pop
They appeared infront of a small house. Not too large and not too small. There were trees and shadows around their little house, AMD from a certain distance, they could see the busy London town below. A quiet place with not much of people.
He had Tonks look for this place for an entire year, and he had even spent time with her as they had built the small house from earth,rock and metal. It looked like a small castle. A small rectangular cottage with a thatched roof.
He made note to replace them with slate in the future. But for now, it was his home. Well... Their home. Richard's face morphed into a scroll as he watched Tonks burst in without care and light the lamps inside.
'At least let me have the moment.'
Richard let the thought dissapear instead of simply voicing it. Then he let the fire bird out. It was restless too.
Richard ignored it as it flew away, then took a tin of imported black tea. He had spent all he had to get his hands on it. So Richard walked in and set the kettle.
He decided to put all his thoughts and worry's aside for the moment. That was for tomorrow. He sat on the porch looking at the active city below. Today, he deserved a little something to calm his soul.