The world blinked briefly, and in that time a profound change had occurred, though no one would ever have the knowledge of it.
A tall male with medium-length black hair, blue eyes, a sharp jawline, and an athletic body stood in a dim, dark room, his eyes slowly blinking as they adjusted to the lighting.
Clenching his hand, he looked down at his newly formed body as a small smile appeared on his face.
'Guess it wasn't a dream,' he thought as the cold, biting wind moved past his skin.
Raising his head, he looked around the room before his eyes settled on a sleeping form, huddled in the corner, their emaciated body twitching due to the freezing temperatures.
'This really is Azkaban!' he realized, seeing the prisoner on the floor. 'Now, that panel said I would know how to use my powers from the get-go; let's have a look.'
Closing his eyes, he furrowed his eyebrows in deep concentration and a flood of 'memories' appeared. As they flowed into his mind, his thoughts corrected and attuned to the newfound knowledge and application of Devour and Great Sage, two absolutely broken abilities he had won.
'Oh, I even learned my new name, that's nice. Gabriel Thorne, that sounds imposing enough.'
Pausing, he looked at the prisoner once again, as he thought about how to utilize the powers he held.
'So I simply go over to the person and think about the power; the rest is automatically done by itself.'
Nodding in understanding, he slowly walked toward the prisoner, his hand outstretched slightly as he controlled his breath, making sure no sounds woke them up from their slumber.
Mere steps away from his victim, Gabriel looked at the face, as he ran through the multiple Death Eaters he remembered from the movies and books, before a light flickered in his mind.
'That's Antonin Dolohov!' he thought, staring at the somewhat burly man. 'Great Sage, can you give me an analysis?'
{Subject: Antonin Dolohov.
Status: Asleep in Azkaban. Magical core severely suppressed from Dementor exposure, but integrity remains. Mind shows fragmented dreams; neural atrophy due to magic deprivation. Physically weak, muscle atrophy, low energy. No immediate health threats. While currently weak, his magical aptitude remains. Full recovery needs six months rehab.
Current threat: Negligible.
Potential threat: Extreme.}
A smile bloomed across Gabriel's face at the incredible ability as he listened to the robotic voice describe the sleeping prisoner's statistics.
Moving his hand forward, he focused on the thought of devouring.
A void opened up mere inches from his palm as a great suction force began pulling in Antonin.
Gabriel watched in fascinated curiosity as the body slowly disappeared into the space, before the feeling of power began radiating through his body.
"Great Sage, please analyze and integrate everything you can; remove anything that is non-essential to magic or combat."
{Devour sequence initiated on Antonin Dolohov.
Body absorbed. His magical core, the source of his magic, is now integrated into you, creating your own magical ability. His depleted magic has been transferred, giving you a foundational magical pool. All his Dark Arts skills, including his unique curse and dueling prowess, are now yours. His combat memories are being integrated.
This process grants you immediate magical aptitude and offensive capabilities.}
Gabriel felt the changes instantly; with the Adaptive Biology, he felt his neural pathways being rewired. A deep and foreign energy began integrating itself inside his entire body. Memories of countless duels, spells, and magical applications flew into his mind as his being rapidly changed and evolved.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Gabriel opened his eyes as he ran through the memories of magic that Antonin held.
Renowned as one of the deadliest duelists in the current age, he held a plethora of magical combat experience, along with the full knowledge of Hogwarts education and future magical skills.
'That means I can use magic now!' Gabriel cheered mentally as he scanned the cramped prison, his lips pursing in a frustrating revelation.
Now that he was inside the cell, how would he get out without a wand? He could, of course, use Great Sage to analyze ambient magic and figure out wandless spellcasting, but he didn't want to alert anyone through his magical use within the prison.
Pausing at his own foolish worries, Gabriel slapped his head, realizing the simple fix.
'Devour can just remove those bars!' Walking forward, he extended his hand once again and watched as the void appeared before the bars seemingly disappeared from existence.
Stepping through, Gabriel walked to the next prison over, peering inside at the next 'victim'.
'They're mass murderers; some of them committed such horrific actions that they should have been killed instead of imprisoned. Don't let it get to you,' Gabriel thought abruptly, stopping his thoughts from spiraling at the realization he was essentially killing these people.
'Great Sage, scan who's inside.'
{Rabastan Lestrange: Dormant in Azkaban.
Magical core severely depleted but stable; recoverable. Mind shows loyalty-themed dreams, neural degradation from deprivation. Physically weak.
Current threat: Negligible.
Potential (recovered): Extreme}
Gabriel's eyes flickered with disgust at Rabastan before he swiftly removed the bars and entered the cell. Walking towards the man, who was, Gabriel gleaned from the analysis, dreaming about Voldemort, he placed his hands over and initiated the same process.
This time, the sensation was different.
While before, absorbing and integrating Antonin's magic had granted him power, now it was optimized. As he now held magic in his body, Rabastan's magical core merged, adding his complete magical pool and power on top of Gabriel's magical core.
In essence, he now had the magical power and reserves of two Death Eaters at maximum power.
Additional memories of combat and magical knowledge flowed into his mind, along with Lestrange family magic, adding this to the Dolohov family magic he gained.
Smirking, Gabriel quickly looked at the remaining ten cells, his eyes gleaming with the magical evolution he would undergo in the next couple of hours.
'Oh, this is going to be beautiful.'
---
A/N - Another chapter will follow soon. Send some love!