Celestial Ascendancy

Celestial Ascendancy.

Chapter 13: Sword Lessons and Arrival.

Elias Blake.

Hogwarts.

200 CP Awarded, 350 CP in total.

Healing Hands-150 CP-(Generic MG)

Let's face it: you are going to get beat up here. The same goes for your friends.

The basic powers of this package are healing injuries, and with time and practice, you'll quickly master healing illness and eventually get to reversing curses.

200 CP left.

As I felt the knowledge seep into my mind, I couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. This skill would assist us in countless ways. Finally, I could start learning healing magic. Due to my innate magical capacity, learning such a delicate branch of magic had been almost impossible since I had more power than I could control, even with the training I'd done in these past years. Still, this perk was precisely what I needed to push myself further.

Sitting up in bed, I began to plan my day. Yesterday had been busy, but the headmaster was kind enough to grant me and my friends a pass for any class we needed to skip while Newt Scamander was here teaching us.

Since Iris and Hermione were quite invested in Ash's situation, it made sense for them to be with me while the Magizoologist showed me how to take care of a baby phoenix.

It was also evident that Dumbledore showed favoritism toward us, although none of us mentioned it; it was pretty noticeable. Of course, I knew why he was so invested in us, but the girls were surprised at how accommodating he had been.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to train before joining the rest of the house for breakfast. We planned to attend classes with our year group until the headmaster sent Twinkle for us, ensuring we wouldn't miss anything.

Even though we were advanced for our age, the insights from the professors were invaluable, and we didn't want to miss out. Everything we learned was self-taught, and because of that, we sometimes overlooked apparent aspects of spells, their applications, or even hidden uses in more obscure ones.

I was particularly excited for Charms class today, as it was our first with Professor Flitwick. In my honest opinion, he was the best professor this school had to offer, contending for the top spot with Professor McGonagall.

You could say whatever you wanted from this school, but at least they had good professors for most classes, DADA notwithstanding. Snape was terrible at teaching if you did not do any research before his classes, but he was a generational genius at potion-making; Flitwick was a world-renowned duelist, and I would bet on him ninety percent of the time against anyone Voldemort had to offer besides himself. I bet that even Bellatrix would be defeated if he decided to fight for real instead of following Dumbledore's rules of engagement.

I also liked him because he was surprisingly pragmatic and did not follow Dumbledore's dumb ideology as gospel. He knew about some curses that would make Bellatrix blush like a bitch in heat; I was sure of that.

Now that I think about it, most professors could be vicious if the need arose, and since almost all branches of magic could be used to bring harm if someone was thinking out of the box, nearly all of them were dangerous in their own right.

Shaking my head, I opened my trunk in the privacy of my bed and smiled when I saw Ash chirping from the porch of my hollow, waiting for me with her beady eyes filled with love.

"How are you, girl?" I asked as soon as I reached the entrance of my house, the thought of it bringing a smile to my face. Being an orphan, I was accustomed to sharing everything with the kids, but this? This was different. It was mine, and it was awesome.

Ash chirped with her loveable voice, and I could feel her love for me through our bond. She flapped her wings to move the small distance between her porch and myself, and she perched on top of my head as she had gotten used to in the past few days.

Caressing her feathers softly, I cooed at the baby. She had grown a bit since she appeared, but she was still a baby and adorable to boot.

"We have some training to do, Ash. Will you come with me?" I asked out loud, receiving a loud chirp in response, her excitement evident through our bond.

"Heh, I love your enthusiasm, girl," I smirked, receiving a teasing squawk.

Two hours later.

Elias Blake.

Drenched in sweat, I couldn't help but feel exhilarated. Ash had been singing to fill my spirits whenever I felt like giving up. It was fantastic and so damn rewarding. I always believed that I did my best when I trained in the past, but today has been entirely different. Having Ash supporting me allowed me to break my limits and work harder than ever before.

I was left panting for breath, but even then, I could not help but be happier than I had ever been.

After a quick shower, I changed into my robes, feeling tired but the good kind. I was relaxed; I could feel the tension disappear from my body. All the stress of thinking about the future lessened slowly. It was surprising and freeing at the same time.

Opening the door of my trunk, I walked outside, appearing once more on top of my bed. I didn't know if my bedmates wondered why I never used the shared showers, and honestly, I didn't care.

Just thinking about sharing the same bathroom as Ron made me shudder in disgust. I knew that my dislike of him was biased, but I could not change how I felt about him.

Sighing, I walked outside the room and went downstairs at a sedate pace. Smiling and greeting everyone I saw.

I nodded at Alicia, who was waiting for someone from the male dorm, probably Oliver Woods or the twins, since I didn't remember seeing her speak with any other male in my three years studying here. She was surprisingly shy outside of the Quidditch field.

"Hey, Alicia," I greeted her with a nod, "Do you know where Iris and Hermione are?"

"Oh, Blake!" She smiled softly, and a teasing grin appeared on her face. " Are you Looking for your girlfriends?"

Laughing with her with a faint blush, I grinned back, "I don't know what we are, but I won't complain since it works."

"I think I saw them in the common room," she nodded in that direction, "I won't threaten you like the rest of the team will since I know you are a good kid and care for Iris, but please make her happy. The girl needs it more than she shows it."

"You know I will, Alice," I nodded firmly, "Don't worry about it."

Waving at her, I walked out to the common room, feeling the heat from the fireplace that made the room feel homely. From what I've heard from my "friends" in Hufflepuff, theirs sounded even better than ours, but there was something special about our common room.

Locking eyes with Hermione, I smiled at my bushy-haired friend, "How are you, Hermione?"

"I couldn't sleep," Hermione pouted, "I was up all night, I'm so excited to meet Newton Scamander. He is probably the best Magizoologist the world has ever seen!"

"Did you keep Iris awake with you?" I smirked, seeing Iris dozing off next to Hermione. She didn't even notice me, thanks to her closed eyes.

Now that I focused, I could see their hair was quite disheveled, and Hermione had dark bags under her eyes.

Finding her cute, I grinned at Hermione, "You look like a panda; you are truly adorable."

She blushed prettily, but her eyes locked with mine without much shame. "How did you sleep, Eli?"

Grinning at her, I walked behind her seat and waved my wand.

Transfiguring a quill beside her into a brush big enough to work in her untamable hair I got to work.

Blowing her a kiss, I massaged her shoulders, "For Merlin's sake, Mione, why are you so tense?"

Hermione glanced up at me with her beautiful chocolate-brown eyes. Startled but relaxed immediately when she saw my caring gaze, I made sure to look at her with all the feelings I had bottled up about her.

"What are you doing, Eli?" she whispered. She sounded so vulnerable, and it lit a fire in me to see her that way. I was still learning new things about myself.

"I'm Helping you relax, Mione," I said softly, continuing with the ministrations. I focused on the knots on her shoulders. She was a bundle of stress. In our trio, she showed her feelings less than anyone else, always keeping them bottled up.

Iris was prone to anger, while I, on the other hand, tried to keep it hidden, even if it was for nothing. Iris and Hermione knew me so well that they noticed whenever I was upset or something, even without trying.

Hermione was different in this. She was just as fearsome as Iris when someone crossed her, but she barely spoke about her problems, either here or in her home life. It was hard to make her open up, but Iris and I managed to coax her before she could get worse whenever we noticed.

"Stay still," I said softly, with a calming voice. Brushing, I took her hair into my hand and moved it to one side only, giving me access to her neck and shoulders.

"Your hair is about to declare independence," I grinned, combing her hair slowly, "I better help before it starts to fight a war."

Hermione's cheeks were tinted pink, but she forced herself to relax. "It's not that bad, Eli."

"I know, I'm joking," I laughed, and it was true. I had given her a magical care product many ladies of high station used here in Britain for Christmas last year, and it did help, but even the best one was incapable of completely fixing the problem.

"I'm glad that my gift works a bit. Your hair is so beautiful that it deserves the best," I continued with a smile. "It's one of my favorite things about you."

I worked untangling her hair slowly and methodically since it was like a jungle in there, but I continued to do it without a complaint. Softly, I brushed her hair with expertise, having helped some of the girls in the orphanage whenever I could.

For most girls in the orphanage, it meant the world, and I was happy to spend some time with them. They didn't deserve the suffering of growing up without parents.

I had a nice idea, so I used my new power, healing hands, to help Hermione relax even more. I used the tips of my fingers to rub circles on her head.

"Mmm," Hermione moaned, almost starting to purr in her seat. " Oh god, Eli, why does this feel so good?" she asked in a whiny tone.

"Heh," I grinned unrepentantly. "Do you like it, Mione? I got this just this morning. It's called Healing Hands, and it seems that it works marvelously."

Hermione continued shifting on her seat, with a couple of soft, hot, and needy sighs coming out of her mouth.

She moved enough to wake up Iris next to us, who was looking with her glasses slightly askew but with a slight smile on her face.

"Hi, Eli," Iris mumbled with a smile, "I see you are busy."

"I'm here helping our friend, Iris, be nice." I grinned. "You won't believe how knotted her shoulders were."

We continued in silence, and Iris and I did our best to ignore the whimpering girl who was putty on my hands, but the grins we shared were something to treasure.

Charms class.

Opening the door, we entered the classroom and smiled at the diminutive professor. Thanks to his short stature, he was sitting on a stool, which showed the close-mindedness of Wizarding Britain. No one had even thought of creating or transfiguring a seat for the professor, which could be less degrading than the current one.

Maybe it was my multiple lives beliefs, but I saw it and cringed at the scene. It was clear that Professor Flitwick didn't see anything wrong, but I felt uncomfortable about it.

"Good morning, professor," I nodded at him, "It's good to be in your class again. I think it's my favorite."

"Oh, Elias," Flitwick smiled. "That's good to hear, young man. It's good to have such splendid students as yourself so interested in this class."

"We all are, professor," Iris pouted next to me.

"I don't doubt that, Ms. Potter," Flitwick said softly, "I didn't mean any offense."

Hermione huffed, "Don't make the professor uncomfortable, Iris."

The professor laughed at the byplay but lifted his eyebrow at seeing we were still with him instead of taking a seat back in class. We arrived earlier than the rest because I needed to talk privately with him.

"Is there anything I can do for you, young Elias?" Flitwick asked after seeing me search for the words to explain myself.

I was stumped but quickly gathered my wits, "Yes, I wanted to ask for a strange favor, professor."

Flitwick sighed, "Does it have something to do with increasing your magical capacity once more?"

Laughing sheepishly, I rubbed the back of my head, "No, it's stranger than that professor. I already understood the consequences of enhancing my magic that way."

"It's good that you understand, young Elias. As you may have read, enhancing your magical capacity with rituals can lead to uncomfortable consequences. While I disagree with the Ministry's decision to ban everything, most of the rituals I know of can affect the user's mind. I've met a lot of duelists that tried some of those, wishing for the rituals to give them an edge against me." Flitwick warned with a frown, "I know that power can be quite a seductive mistress, and when one hears about a shortcut, people tend to use them without caring for the consequences."

"What happened to them, professor?" Iris asked, quite interested.

"Oh, the most known was young Antonin Dolohov, one of the most dangerous followers of You-Know-Who," Flitwick replied with a shrug. "He is younger than me, brilliant with curses and other "dark" magic." He continued with derision, "The ministries all over the world have stunted the magical growth with that, but enough about that."

Iris and Hermione approached his table, but I was not far behind. It was interesting to hear something about a named character who was one of the best fighters in Britain.

Flitwick smiled at our interest, "As I was saying, he was younger than me. I was already the dueling world champion when he joined the circle, and he was full of himself and decided to challenge me after a few wins." He laughed out loud, showing the confidence only the strong could have.

"Did he give a nice fight?" Iris asked excitedly, her green eyes bright, and she was almost jumping on her spot.

"Oh, Merlin, no," Flitwick laughed with a shake of his head, "I defeated him quite easily. There is one thing you need to understand, Ms. Potter. Experience trumps all."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Hermione asked.

"It's quite simple, Ms. Granger. I am powerful, magically speaking. But I can't compare with Ms. Potter and Elias. They both, along with Mr. Longbottom, have so much magic that is, in my opinion, quite absurd." He laughed softly, "I had no idea one could have such powerful magic at such a young age before meeting you three."

"There have been only a handful of students with similar, if lower, magical capacities in all the years I have taught here, and most of them have done great things. Not all have been good, but they all left a mark in history." He continued thoughtfully, "You-know-who was one of those, according to Minerva. And even he entered the school with a smaller pool than Ms. Potter. He became more fearsome since he did many rituals to enhance himself, but it left him warped after that."

Iris frowned at that before smiling triumphantly at beating Voldemort in something.

"But let me get back to the point," Flitwick shook his head, "Mr. Dolohov used some ritual to enhance his power, and he became so feared in the dueling circles thanks to his fearsome magical power and knowledge. After defeating the dueling champion that time, he asked for a rematch between us."

"Was he good, professor?" Hermione asked inquisitively.

"Oh, he always was, Ms. Granger," Flitwick nodded seriously, "One of the best the country has to offer. He beat everyone and came close to beating me the second time. He had multiple times my magical capacity thanks to some Dark ritual. His spells had a weight to them that they lacked before, but my experience made it possible for me to win. I faked exhaustion and purposely missed a spell that made the floor behind him a puddle, and he tripped without noticing."

"That's awesome," Iris exclaimed, "I wish I could see a duel like that."

"You have experiences with the crossed wands, do you not?" He asked knowingly with a slight smirk.

Hermione and Iris squeaked, and I just nodded with a grin. There was no way a dueling club that existed for so many decades was a secret from the professors. It didn't matter what the students said; it made sense for the club to be known. They just didn't care.

"Yes, but the level is quite low, I'm afraid," I said mournfully, "Really, few of them can beat us."

"I can imagine that," said the professor, shaking his head with wonder, "Understandable, really. Both of your spells are on a level of their own."

"Now, let's get this over with. What can I do for you, young Elias?" the professor asked seriously. "I'm afraid that the rest of the class will join us soon."

Sighing, I squared my shoulders, "I wanted to ask you for sword lessons. I am resolved to learn about it, and we would all prefer you to teach me safely."

"What brought this on, young man? No one uses a sword to fight anymore; why do you wish to learn?" Flitwick asked.

"I need to be strong, professor. And I wish to learn every single skill that can help me protect what I love." I said resolutely, "With or without help, I need to do this."

"You came to the right place, young man. Not many wizards use swords, and I'm one of the few who still do. The only other place you could learn would be the Muggle World or from the goblins, but I doubt the latter would offer the help. They do not like your kind, after all." He continued with a small smile, "I can teach you under three conditions."

I nodded thoughtfully, "Go on. I will follow your instructions."

"We will see, Elias." Flitwick smirked, "First, I will test your dedication, young man. If I see you waver from the training lessons, we will stop. I am excited that a student shows their appreciation of the sword arts, but I will not teach someone who gives up easily." He lifted one finger on his tiny hand.

I nodded thoughtfully, intending to do just that. My gem-encrusted blade could be a force multiplier with enough prep time, and I would be a fool to ignore it.

"Second," he continued with the same smirk, "I want you to keep the same level in all your classes. I know your group is quite advanced and will probably have no trouble with this, but I won't teach a reprobate."

"No problem with that," I nodded, with Hermione huffing next to me as if the possibility of us failing was an offensive idea for her.

Flitwick grinned, "I know it's improbable, but I want to make sure you understand."

"As for the last one, I will only teach you if you have enough talent. Not everyone is capable of those physical practices, but from what I can see, you keep physical training to a higher standard than the norm," he said while critically reviewing me.

"We all do, professor," I nodded somewhat proudly. I had earned this body with hard work and did not plan to stop anytime soon. It would be challenging, but I expected it to be worth it.

"Yes, I can see that," Flitwick smiled, "It's a shame most wizards don't care about having a healthy and trained body. It's one of the reasons I managed to win all those tournaments. Also, being a part goblin is an advantage; we are stronger than humans, and our magic can be utilized to strengthen our bodies."

That sounded so cool and useful.

"Can anyone learn that?" Iris asked with a grin. "It would be awesome to deck Voldemort in the face before cursing him."

Flitwick sputtered before bursting into laughter, and after a minute, he cleaned his eyes from the tears, "That would be a sight to behold, Ms. Potter. But I'm afraid it's not quite as easy as just learning that."

"What do you mean, professor?" Hermione asked with a pout. She clearly was not thinking of using that magic to cause violence. I honestly expected that her aim was to use her to move more books from the library with less travel time.

I would hate for her to stop walking so much since it gave her a spectacular arse.

"That magic enhances the body, but it needs to be strong enough to support it. I'm afraid that humans are way too delicate for that. Even I, as half-goblin, suffered a lot just to learn, and I'm in no way, shape, or form the best at that." He warned, "It's one of the reasons it was called a war between humans and goblins in the past, as Professor Binns loves to explain in his classes. It was a war, not an overwhelming victory for the wizards, even when the goblins can't use magic with the versatility of wizards and their wands."

"I never thought about that," Hermione mused out loud, biting her lip in wonder, "Professor Binns never explains how the war happened or the events of the war; he only talks about the repercussions and how the wizards won it."

"I'm sure he does," Flitwick said in distaste. "But professors' failings aside, I think it's time you take your seats; it's almost time for class to start."

As soon as he said that, the other students started walking in, with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot walking inside while holding hands.

There were rumors about them being in a relationship, but no one knew for sure. I didn't believe it since I had seen Hannah giving Neville Doe eyes a couple of times last year, but who knew for sure?

"Thanks for the help, professor," I nodded, "Let me know when and where the first lesson will be, and I'll be there with you. Do I need to take a sword in the first lesson?"

"Hahaha, no, young Elias. Don't worry about that," Flitwick laughed. "I don't think you will use a sword for a couple of weeks. In fact, the first lesson will be purely theoretical, and the next lessons will be with a wooden sword."

I did not pout at that; it doesn't matter how much Iris swore I did with Hermione backing her up.

Smiling at Susan and some Hufflepuffs that were my acquaintances, we took our seats in the front of the classroom and took our muggle pens ready for action.

Three hours later.

I was right when I said attending class was worth it, even when we already knew the spells until the middle of the sixth year. Professor Flitwick was incredible and creative with simple spells, showing that you didn't need to show off to win a duel.

It was quite surprising the way he used the Aguamenti charm. He didn't even pump that much power into the spell, but in combination, he could freeze the whole room without a problem using the water as a conduit.

It was humbling to see him show off, and it only fueled our desire to learn more from him. Even Iris, the irresponsible one in the group, was glued to her seat, looking at the professor doing his magic in front of us.

It was the reason I preferred Flitwick's classes over McGonagall's. Both were geniuses in their branches, but Flitwick made his classes enjoyable and showy and pushed us to learn innovative ways to use the spells taught in class, unlike McGonagall's theoretical classes, which sometimes made me want to sleep.

Walking outside the room, we were on edge when a pop sounded behind us, only to relax at the scene of Twinkle's ears flopping on his face.

"Hello, sirs and misses! Twinkle is bringing a message from Headmaster Dumbbells, yes! The headmaster says his visitor is already in his office and is waiting for all of you to start the lesson on how to care for the Ash, sirs and misses!" Twinkle said energetically, his ears flopping around and his eyes looking as if they were going to burst from his skull.

"Thank you, Twinkle," Iris recovered first and replied to the energetic elf.

"Oh, Miss Iris is most kind, yes! Twinkle is always happy to help Miss Iris and her friends. If there is anything else Miss Iris needs, Twinkle will do it, oh yes!" Twinkle replied before disappearing with the pop of apparition.

"Exciting little thing, eh?" I laughed. "I think it's time we met such a legendary wizard."

"I cannot wait," Hermione squealed, "I have so many questions for him."

"Oh, we know," Iris grinned at Hermione, who blushed in response and ducked her head.

"Let's go," I said, smiling, taking both their hands in mine.

100 CP Awarded, 300 CP in total.

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