The next day, as soon as he descended for breakfast, before he could even enjoy the scent of the food, Christian asked his mother, "Can you teach me the Fidelius Charm?"
"Why the sudden interest?"
"I want to learn about the soul," replied Christian. As he saw the strange look in her eyes, he explained the theory he had written last night, leaving out certain details. Then, Eleanor and his mother looked at him oddly.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" asked Christian.
"I don't know much about magic, but I don't think anyone can have such deep insight into the soul, especially overnight."
"I didn't think it was such a big deal," replied Christian. He knew Dumbledore deeply understood the soul, and Voldemort had successfully upgraded the Horcrux Magic invented by Herpo the Foul to divide his soul into seven pieces. He was too far behind compared with these two.
Ninety-nine percent of wizards will never have this kind of mindset or level of competitiveness, let alone a child. Of course, Christian has not noticed that he was comparing himself to the greatest white and black wizards the world has seen in centuries.
"No, she's right," added Tiara. "I have some understanding of the soul because I studied Tribal Magic and because I learned from an Egyptian Wizard. But it's never to this level."
"Egyptian Wizard?"
"Ancient Egyptian Wizards and Pharaohs cared deeply about preserving their soul for the Afterlife. Some of their knowledge has passed down to modern times."
"That makes sense." Christians have read books on Egyptian mythology, and many stories involve the afterlife. "So, about the Fidelius Charm?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot teach you yet."
"Why?"
"This is a very advanced and complex spell. There are consequences if you fail to cast it, so it's a later part of the curriculum."
"How far are we talking about?"
"Probably next summer."
"So far?"
"You're only ten, so there is no rush to learn these complex spells without mastering the basics first."
"Hmm, you have a point." Christian understood he would never reach the realm of those two great wizards if he were in a hurry to master high-level spells without sufficient foundational knowledge. Christian decided to take things slow; when the time is right, he can delve into the secrets of the soul.
…
The end of March was near, and Christian was in a constant joyous mood for multiple reasons. His book, now divided into three volumes, was almost finished. He only had a small section about fashion and day-to-day life to finish. His objective was to write a manual on how wizards could easily integrate into Muggle life and blend in. So, he has to learn about modern fashion, different slang, and habits to add to this section, which was a pain to write.
March 30th was his birthday, and his celebration was a family dinner with his aunts, uncles, and Aunt Eleanor's new man, whom she wanted to introduce to him and the family on this occasion. Due to the fact he was a Muggle, and no one wanted to restrict their conversation, she agreed to a brief visit. He would show up, drop a present, meet everybody, and wish Christian a happy birthday before leaving.
On the day of the celebration, Christian walked downstairs, and all eyes were on him.
"The birthday boy is here."
"Look how handsome you are," commented Arielle, looking at his navy blue suit, white shirt, brown pants, black shoes, and black bow tie. His hair danced with each step, accentuating the entire outfit.
"I look good, don't I?" commented Christian while fixing his bow tie. "Is everyone here?"
"No, William hasn't arrived," replied Eleanor. "I just called him, and he should be here in five minutes. Christian, can I talk to you on the side?"
Christian was confused but still walked to the living room. "Do you need something?"
"I want you to do me a little favor," said Eleanor, slightly embarrassed. "I want you to peek into William's mind and tell me what he really thinks of me."
"Aunt Eleanor, that's the highest form of invasion of privacy."
"I know, I know. It's just that we've been dating for over six months, and things are becoming serious. Although we are good together and the—"
"Please don't say anything gross."
Eleanor looked at him oddly, wondering whether her nephew had reached the age of wondering about men's and women's affairs. She did not know Christian's reaction was due to the nasty thing he saw in Jim's memories when the man was alone in his bathroom in his younger years.
"I was going to say we have great chemistry," said Eleanor. "But I have some concerns and wish to make sure I'm not being paranoid."
"Then talk to him and seek couples counseling."
"If that helps, don't you think I would have done it before? Come on, just do this once for me. Please."
"I don't know," Christian groaned. After realizing how talented he was at Legilimency, he tested his ability to the limit, and he hated what he discovered by reading people's minds. The number of terrible thoughts normal people have on average every day is horrible. He had to learn that people were not necessarily bad or evil because of their thoughts, as many of them were subconscious. Regardless, he has grown a disdain for invading people's minds after those experiences and only does it if necessary.
"Pretty please," Eleanor said. "It's very important to me."
"Fine," Christian agreed begrudgingly. "But I want double Christmas presents for the next three years, and don't just give me one mindless gift to add to what you wish to give me. I want real and thoughtful presents."
"Three years? No, only for this upcoming Christmas."
"Three years — take it or leave it. Otherwise, why don't we call Mum and ask her how she feels about your little favor?"
"You drive a hard bargain: Deal."
They returned to the dining room, and everyone gave them a suspicious look, but Christian nor Eleanor said anything. A few minutes later, William arrived with a package in his hand. He wore white jeans, a black shirt, and a long suede jacket that reached his knees.
'Very fancy,' was Christian's first thought as he realized all the clothes this man wore were expensive, maybe too expensive for a small birthday celebration. Eleanor walked him to everyone.
"You must be Christian," said William in a very soothing tone.
"Mr. Fernsby."
"Call me William," he said. "This is for you."
"Thank you very much," Christian received the package, but did not immediately open it.
"Your aunt told me you were interested in the occult, so I bought you some books. However, I thought this might not be enough, so I added the Sega Game Gear."
"Wasn't that only released in Japan?"
"You know?"
"I heard the kids in my school talk about it."
"You're right, but they are making a worldwide release in October. I know someone who received an early release version."
"That is very thoughtful of you," said Christian before putting the gift with the others. He had other game consoles, but he rarely had the time to play them, making them useless.
While Christian was dealing with his presents, Eleanor introduced Williams to everyone. Sadly, it soon proved that only Tiara, Christian, and Eleanor could converse with him, as Sullivan and Aunt Arielle knew very little about the Muggle World. After thirty minutes, William left, and everyone had dinner and blew out the candles on the cake before opening presents.
Christian received a few gifts, but his favorite was his mother; she gave him a book with the anatomy of many magical creatures. It appeared she had successfully acquired the carcasses of many magical creatures and had them professionally dissected and studied.
Once the celebration ended, Eleanor took him aside. "So, what did you find?"
"The good news is he's not a racist."
"How is that good news?" asked Eleanor, trying not to roll her eyes.
"He's a blue-eyed, brown-haired white man living in the UK in the 1990s: the fact he's not racist is an accomplishment."
"It seems what you saw in the future affected you more than you realized," commented Eleanor.
"Has it?" Christian did not find any changes in his personality or how he sees the world. Maybe it's one of those things that he is too close to the problem to see.
"Let's not mention this topic anymore," added Eleanor. "Since there is good news, there must be bad news."
"The bad news is he courted you due to your financial capabilities. He made some bad investments and is in severe debt. He thought you were his ticket to financial freedom. After you quit your job, he has been rethinking the relationship."
Eleanor sighed, "A part of me sensed something was wrong, especially when he kept trying to persuade me to return to the firm."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I just thought he was the one. I thought I could finally have what my brother had with your mother. I guess finding such love is never easy." At this point, Eleanor felt lucky she had only wasted six months before finding out.
"Such love can only be found through chance or with patience. So, keep holding on. You'll find it eventually," reassured Christian.
"What do you know about love?" countered Eleanor before messing his hair. Christian fought her away.
His two-week-long trip with his mother would begin tomorrow, so Christian wanted to sleep early. However, he could not help but think of the occult books William gave him. He wondered whether real magical books had not been lost to the Muggle World. He knew there was a department from the Ministry in charge of recuperating the dangerous ones, but he wondered about the ones who were not harmful.
In one of the fanfiction stories in Jim's memories, someone found countless lost magical knowledge from the archives of the Vatican, and Christians could not help but wonder whether that was true.
"I should buy more occult or spiritual books in case some of them are not nonsense and hold genuine magical knowledge. I should one day secretly visit the Vatican."