Aurelius rubbed his forehead tiredly. The prophecy last night has left him exhausted. Bramble, the clever old house-elf, prepared a sour and spicy soup in the flavor of Eastern region. A spoonful of this soup is enough to wake up the confused mind. The taste was terrible. He didn't know which blasted recipe Bramble used for the soup, but he will set that accursed recipe aflame.
"Bramble, this soup is quite good. But I would prefer the usual breakfast next time," said Aurelius, trying to suppress the urge to deny it harshly. He couldn't bring himself to blame the old house-elf. The species of house-elf is more prominent and familiar in the Europe. Them not doing the eastern cuisine correctly is understandable but he will never accept this monster of a soup to appear again.
"Understood, Master Aurelius," said Bramble with a joyful face. Bramble's eyes twinkled with delight as he continues cleaning the already pristine house. Aurelius felt sorry for the poor guy. A house-elf entering a negotiation with a wizard required patient and bravery. And then, he had to go and reject the deal completely demoralizing the Bramble. He must had felt useless. For the future me to solve, I guess.
---
After the breakfast, Aurelius entered his bedroom which also acts as the study and practice for magic room. It will be a funny sight had the people who were hunting Weaver of Strings, the supposed mastermind and bad guy of the world, seen this shabby dwelling. Mastermind my foot.
Sitting on the chair by the desk, he fell into contemplation.
Last night, he got a vision of the Bane of Curse, one of the key figures in the future. The power that guy possessed is on the level of Elite Auror and Hit Wizard. And he who is the mastermind do not have enough power to contend with that pink-haired guy. It is kind of pathetic.
Knowledge is like poison. Without sufficient mastery, it can be lethal. Conversely, in the right hands, it becomes a powerful weapon. He with unparallel divination talent has to have enough strength to use the gained knowledge to the fullest, especially for the wars in the not-so-distant future.
The young Aurelius is a talent the like of Dumbledore, Tom Riddle and Grindelwald. Besides his mind-related magic talent, he will do quite well in Charm and Transfiguration. However, this future that he had seen before doing the ritual had been scraped beyond repair. The reason lies in his magic which became too wild and rigid after the ritual, making it harder to wield magic. Even with foci, it will be hard to become someone powerful with this kind of control.
Magic is the irregularity of the world. It transcends constraint of time, space and natural laws stated by physicists. Everything is a possibility with magic. Naturally, there are limitations, yet they pale in comparison to the feats achievable through magical means.
Mastery over magic is crucial to harness its wonders. For instance, if a spell requires a circular space, a wizard must shape the magic into a circle to properly channel and utilize it.
There is a reason why education only start at 11, even for pure-blood. There is a reason why most of the powerful wizards and witches are old. With experience come power which is not easily bridged by talent alone.
So, the wild and rigid magic of Aurelius is a hinderance in his path to power. He had already read through the Rituals of the Voyantil to find the cause or solution to this problem for about three times without any gain. Especially for Transfiguration since it is the most complex subject in Hogwarts due to its demands on magic control, visualization and intent. He is going to fail Hogwarts at this rate.
"Lumos" said Aurelius, waving the old wand. Not even a speck of light seeps out of the wand. The despair he felt, and bleakness of the future is as bright as his wand's tip. How is he to master magic with this kind of control. "AAAAHHHHH SSSOOOO FFRRRUUUUSSSTTTRRRAAAAATTTTIIIIINNNNGGGG" Aurelius shouted at the heaven for the nth time regarding his regressed magic control.
Bramble who was cleaning the already pristine house, paused at the shout of his master's voice. Bramble knew the problem with Aurelius' magic since he had been confided in. Initially, he was horrified and urged Aurelius to go to St. Mungo. Though he was persuaded that was a bad idea, he is still worried about Aurelius. "Maybe Bramble should make more soup? Master Aurelius seems to like that recipe."
Aurelius huffed roughly as he lied down on the bed. He had thought that after the ritual, everything will be smooth sailing. Maybe beat up that Gideon Chase guy when he was bored? He hadn't imagined how severe the effect of the ritual truly is. The Ministry of Magic banned the rituals for a reason.
"Well, I am quite lucky when I thought about that nose less bastard. A cool marking on forehead and the magic which hits puberty, and not to forget many memories for this kind of divination talent is indeed a fair trade," Aurelius looked up at the ceiling feeling discouraged. "But... I need to find a solution to fill the gap"
His eye wandered through the room scrutinizing everything. And then, a sight caught his attention. The book, Mastering Occlumency, on the desk is one of the heirlooms of Voyantil. He had already mastered Occlumency since four. No use in that. A sudden inspiration hit Aurelius while he stood up in a daze. "That's right. Occlumency at four. Born as Legilimen. This is unprecedent talent. Not only at Occlumency but also to mental magics. If I can leverage it, then..." muttered Aurelius as he paced back and forth.
He had always been good at Mental magic. Even after ritual, he didn't experience any inefficiency or difficulty. "Which means mental magic do not need much magic control," Aurelius felt a brief moment of euphoria before being drenched in the cold water of reality. "But the quantity of mental magic spells can be counted in one hand. How can this branch of magic be used to its fullest capabilities?"
The room fell into a tense silence. Aurelius stayed motionless for ten minutes as if he had fallen asleep. Perspective. He needed to look things from another perspective. Where can I find that? The next minute, Aurelius ran out of the house. Bramble appeared in front of Aurelius and asked "Where are you..." Even before he can finish, Aurelius ran past him. "....going, Master Aurelius?"
"To the Muggles," Aurelius declared. Bramble looked perplexed. "But Bramble can help with Apparition!!! It's far!!" But Aurelius was already gone, sprinting towards London.
---
The sunshine was especially bright in the blue sky these days. With occasional owls flying on the sky, the building of Daily Prophet is busy as always.
Sallow Slughorn was in a good mood. Cooperation with the Weaver of Strings had brought him many benefits including improved sales which is only below the heydays of Rita Skeeter. However, the biggest gain is the political advantages due to the blackmail materials provided by Loudmouth, pen name of Weaver.
If this continues, he will be able to fulfill his dream. Almost dancing because of overwhelming joy, he saw Rita Skeeter coming from afar. The star of Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter is one of the most authorative figures in Daily Prophet.
"Pleasure to see you, Mrs. Skeeter," said Sallow in an amiable tone. He had already recovered and activated the business model.
"Oh, Mr. Slughorn. I too am glad to see you. It's a fortunate thing. And you looks happy today," said Rita wearing vivid clashing clothes, square-shaped jeweled glasses.
"Hahaha, indeed. I have encountered a joyful occasion," Slughorn tried to control his happiness temporarily. He is socializing after all. He got a mail from the Weaver detailing how his rivals in Board of Directors of Daily Prophet did some shady things which can significantly lower the prestige of his rivals. With this card, he can now easily deal with that curly-haired baboon. "As expected of our star writer, you see right through me."
"Please, you are making me blush now. Actually, I came here for a specific reason. But you see I have a question and nobody seems to be able to answer my question. So I am in quite the trouble," said Rita. Her gaze never penetrating as if she wanted to see all his secrets. However, Sallow will not be Sallow if he was this easy to be read.
"I was wondering if you would love to tell me who this Loudmouth is. He has been making quite a ruckus."
Rita Skeeter brought out a newspaper from her crocodile-skin handbag. The front page was shown to him. "Dark Secrets Unveiled: Italy's Minister in Hot Water as Heir's Gruesome Crimes Exposed, Muggle Victims Denied Justice!"
"It's today newspaper. How is it related to... Oh, I see," Sallow pretended to have realized something. The news was written by Loudmouth. He knew this would happens as soon as he saw Rita Skeeter approaching him. He didn't want to show his card first. "So, you want to inquiry about Loudmouth?"
"Yes, Mr. Slughorn. As an acquaintance, I would like to meet him and ,maybe, discuss some things about being a journalist," Rita said as if it was natural.
Unfortunately for her, he already knew what she truly felt. In the literary world of wizards, there is very few writer. Among them, Rita Skeeter and Gideroy Lockhart are the most well known writers and mortal enemies even they played at different fields. It shows how petty they are. And Loudmouth, the shining star of recent times threatened her position as a journalist. This is not the second article of Loudmouth. There were five articles already within six months. And each article stirred up so much attention, it is not possible for Rita Skeeter to not be moved.
"I can't tell you their information," said Sallow. The flat rejection made Rita's face darken. "I heard Gideroy Lockhart is publishing his new book, Gadding with Gouls. I believe his taunts in the book referring to you must not be left alone. Don't you think?"
"Very well, Mr. Slughorn," said Rita coldly. "Please excuse me." Rita Skeeter turned away without hesitation.
Sallow sat into his comfy chair as he waited for the arriving mail. An owl passed through the window and perched at the designated place to get its own rewards.
Sallow Slughorn opened the letter and read through it slowly. The contents of the letter is simple. LET'S EXPAND THE DAILY PROPHET INTO A GLOBAL INSTITUTION.
These words left him speechless. It's not that he had never thought about it. The proposal is unrealistic to begin with. The first hurdle is to distribute the newspaper. For Britain, using owls is sufficient. However, owls are not good at flying over long distances. The newspaper needed to be up-to-date. Distributing newspaper became unrealistically difficult considering the scale. Building publishing house at each country is also a viable way. However, the money involved may be greater than the entire wealth of Black family. The returns are not profitable.
The second problem is information gathering. This can be solved by the Weaver although it is only a temporary situation. The manpower needed to cover the basis is unimaginable to the current Sallow.
The third obstacle is the approval of respective Ministry of Magic. Newspaper is the voice of literary freedom and faithful to public. However, it is only a shallow title. Those who believe in these obvious lies were covered and trampled. Every government as a whole, muggle or wizard, seek stability. And newspaper as a weapon to propagate belief and information will not be left alone by the Ministry.
The current situation at Daily Prophet is the general operation of all wizarding newspapers. Daily Prophet is headed by Chief Editor. However, the real decision making power is in the hand of the Board ofDirectors constituted by Staffs of Daily Prophet, investors and government officials.
And as impossible as it is, the rewards are also worthy of the risks. If a global newspaper were to be born, it will have significant political power over all the individual Ministry, only below the International Confederation of Wizards.
The room fell into tense silent. Sallow Slughorn contemplate deeply for the whole evening. He will need to think it through.