NOVEL WEB Sunday
Ben woke up to the piercing screeches of an Owl perched on his bedside. Aquila, his Eagle Owl, was glaring at him with her large orange eyes, seemingly angry about something. Upon closer inspection, Ben discovered that Sil, his newest familiar, was hiding under his pillow, avoiding Aquila's attempts at making it her breakfast.
"Aquila, what are you doing here this early? Trying to make a meal out of my familiar?" Ben scolded her, but the Owl simply continued to glare, as if silently communicating her disapproval of the situation.
'If you make friends with my food, what will I eat?' Ben felt that's what she was saying; she had grown quite big and was now the size of his torso.
Still, just to be sure, Ben decided to add his old friend to his rapidly increasing list of familiars. However, it wasn't long before he realized that three mental links were the limit of his abilities. The addition of Aquila strained his mental capacity, causing him to regret his decision.
"It seems that having too many familiars has its downsides," Ben mused, as he struggled to keep up with the demands of three mental links, it was a good thing that his connection with Spectral Wolf laid dormant unless summoned.
He would have to increase his mental strength before he can start conjuring more creatures of the unknown.
Good thing there were rituals and mediation methods to do just that in the knowledge he received when he became an Apprentice Mage.
Ben remembered how he had managed to not only create new spells but also improve old ones using more advanced spell structures.
[Clairvoyance] had evolved to be able to show visuals, as long as he had an object related to what he was trying to divine.
He had used it to spy on Harry and then on Dumbledore last night, it turned out that his hunch was correct and Dumbledore was indeed aware of the Dragon. It would have been a surprise if anyone could just fly into Hogwarts without the Headmaster feeling a single wind.
After coaxing Aquila, with her favourite treats, to get along with Sil, Ben took some time to train his Stoat; he even spent some time communicating with Norene, she was still on her way to Romania, as Broomstick travel was very slow.
Michael Corner, who had just woken up, interrupted Ben's thoughts. "Dude, you need to snap out of it. Talking to birds and rats this early on a Sunday is not normal."
Ben rubbed his temples, feeling the strain of the three mental links. "Yeah, maybe you're right. But it's not just any birds or rats, they're my familiars."
His friend raised an eyebrow. "Familiars? What are you talking about?"
"It's a long story, but let's just say I have a special connection with them," Ben explained, trying to downplay the unusualness of the situation.
"Okay, well, maybe you should take a break from all of this and do something normal today,"
Sil let out a high-pitched squeal, his tiny body trembling with anger. Michael rubbed his bleary eyes, still not fully awake, and tried to understand what was going on.
'What did you call me?' Sil seemed to ask with a voice shaking with rage.
Aquila, the majestic owl on the beside perch, let out a hoot of amusement. "What did he say wrong?" the owl seemed to ask.
Ben strode out of the room, a wise look on his face. The stoat on his shoulder let out a warning growl, its razor-sharp teeth bared.
"It's stoat, not rat," Ben explained with a hint of amusement in his voice. "And they are known to be vengeful creatures. I would advise you to apologize while you still have the chance."
Michael snorted, his scepticism showing on his face. He looked at the cute little stoat on Ben's shoulder, its beady eyes glaring back at him.
"Are you serious?" Michael asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm not afraid of a little rat, er, stoat."
But deep down, Michael couldn't shake the feeling that he might have made a big mistake.
As Ben approached the Great Hall, he could feel the heavy weight of disappointment and frustration in the air. The Gryffindor table was in a state of distress, their faces set in grim lines as they gazed at the giant hourglass that recorded the house points. In one disastrous night, Gryffindor had lost one hundred and fifty points, and with it, any hope of winning the coveted House Cup.
At that moment, three Gryffindor first-years entered the hall, and the Slytherin table erupted in a loud cheer. The other three houses glared at them, some with ridicule and some with resentment, as Slytherin seemed to be on the brink of securing the victory.
"I always knew that Potter was up to no good. Our only chance of seeing Slytherin lose is gone now," said Michael, with a frown. The other members of the Ravenclaw house nodded in agreement, feeling the same sense of defeat.
But Ben, with a cryptic smile, spoke up. "I wouldn't be so sure of that."
Michael snorted. "There he goes again. Is that another prediction by our Seer I hear?" he said, with a mocking grin.
"Call it what you want, but I have a strong feeling that the cup belongs to Gryffindor this year," Ben declared, attracting the attention of every Ravenclaw at the table.
"Maybe the sorting hat made a mistake with this one," someone at the table said, with a snort. But Ben only smiled, confident in his statement.
It was a quiet Sunday, and Ben had a lot on his plate. Now that he had started collecting pokemon, he knew that his abilities required constant training and improvement, and he dedicated most of his free time to meditation. He sat in a quiet room, with his eyes closed and his mind focused, working on increasing his mental strength and refining his control over his psychic connections.
He visualized himself opening up his mind, like unlocking the doors to a vast, unseen world. With each deep breath, he felt his consciousness expanding, reaching out to connect with the spirits and energies around him. He could feel the weight on his mind lift as he fed on these energies and strengthened his mindscape.
As the hours passed, he slowly tuned out the voices of Aquila and Sil and focus on Norene, soon he was looking through her eyes, he saw her arriving in Romania and saw Charlie moving her into a small dragon enclosure. He could feel through all her senses and even felt like he had become a dragon himself.
Ben cycled through all his psychic connections one by one, becoming more proficient in controlling them as time passed.
With a contented sigh, Ben opened his eyes and stood up, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. His mind was a lot stronger and he had learned to tune out all the incessant chatter from his familiars.
