Flow Of Magic

Aldric dodged the chicken leg and cut a piece of chicken with his fork, chewing as he replied, "Sorry, I can't. I've got some things to do this afternoon."

Before Harry could ask what he meant, Hermione cut in.

"Right. Aldric isn't like you two, always thinking about playing games. We'll be going to the library to study this afternoon," she said pointedly, her eyes flicking to Aldric.

"Uh, probably not," Aldric said, picking up on the sharpness in her voice. "Professor Flitwick wants to see me later." It wasn't exactly true, but it was the easiest excuse he could think of.

"Oh," Hermione murmured, sounding disappointed as she poked absently at her chicken.

"Can I come along?" Franklin piped up eagerly. It seemed like he'd decided to stick to Aldric no matter what. The moment he heard Aldric's plans, he was ready to tag along.

Aldric sighed. If he didn't find something for Franklin to do, he'd probably end up trailing him all the way to Flitwick's office.

"Alright, Franklin, how about you help me with something this afternoon?" he said, quickly coming up with a plan.

Franklin's face lit up, and he nodded so quickly it looked like his head might fall off. He even half stood, ready to leave his lunch behind.

"Hey, sit down, Franklin. It's just a small favor," Aldric said, gesturing for him to stay put. "Remember that drink I had in class this morning? I really liked it. Could you find out what it was?"

Hearing this, Franklin settled back into his seat and started gobbling his food again. In a quiet, muffled voice, he said, "Don't worry, I'll get it done as soon as I finish eating!" 

Aldric watched as Franklin quickly finished his lunch and then headed off toward the Hufflepuff common room. Shaking his head, Aldric thought to himself, 'This kid's hopeless.' But then he added quietly, 'Maybe he'll make a pretty good pawn after all.'

***

The seven floor of Hogwarts was noticeably quieter than the others. Unlike the bustling lower corridors crowded with students heading to lessons, this floor saw only those with a particular purpose, or those who were simply lost or curious.

Aldric definitely belonged to the first group. He stopped in front of the large wall hanging that showed Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach ballet to a group of bewildered trolls. This was the spot where, according to legend, the Room of Requirement could be summoned.

The story went that if someone walked past the portrait three times, focusing intently on what they needed, a hidden door would appear in the smooth stone wall. Behind it would be a room perfectly suited to their purpose at that moment.

There were even tales of Dumbledore once urgently needing a bathroom. As he hurried back and forth in front of the scene of dancing trolls, a doorway materialized, opening onto a chamber filled with chamber pots of every shape and style imaginable.

No one knew exactly how Dumbledore had first discovered the Room of Requirement, though he claimed he stumbled on it entirely by accident. Over the centuries, countless witches and wizards had likely found it in much the same way, by being in the right place at exactly the right time.

Aldric stared at the wall and began to pace slowly. He wasn't trying to uncover the room's secrets just yet; his goal was to see if he could sense magical power during a spell outburst. 

Quietly, he repeated to himself, 'I need a room to practice spells…' three times.

As if on cue, a doorway appeared soundlessly in the smooth stone wall. Inside was a spacious chamber lined with tall shelves stacked with old spellbooks and enchanted cushions. 

Several practice dummies stood in neat rows, some already scorched from previous use. The walls looked plain but were clearly reinforced to withstand magic.

"Tarantallegra!" Aldric flicked his wand, and one of the dummies jerked into a wild, stomping dance.

"Not bad," he thought, satisfied with the setup.

He closed his eyes and stood perfectly still, trying to summon the surge of anger that used to come so easily. But after several minutes, nothing stirred. His earlier suspicion seemed correct, he was losing the ability to trigger magical outbursts at will.

Still, sensing raw magical power was the only method he could think of for now. Reluctantly, Aldric shut his eyes again and focused on the memory that angered him most: his daughter, Tracy, from his past life.

Tracy had always dreamed of becoming a star. If she had been truly talented, Aldric have supported her ambitions. But she was only average at best, but she refused to give up her dream, deciding to do anything necessary.

In the end, she even agreed to play the lead role in a adult film to secure a contract with a studio. Normally, Aldric would have wished her well, but when he found out about the movie, he rushed to the set, gun in hand. 

As he let the memories flood his mind, his face twisted with anger, and the air around him seemed to crackle with energy. Suddenly, with a roar, a surge of flames burst outward, scorching everything nearby.

Fortunately, the fire lasted only a few seconds, long enough to leave its mark but not long enough to cause serious injury. When the blaze faded, Aldric lay sprawled on the floor, his hands shielding his head. 

He was unharmed apart from his robe, which was torn and charred. Even his hair had escaped damage, protected by his arms.

Breathing hard, he slowly rolled onto his back and let out a ragged laugh. During that eruption, he had felt raw magic flooding through him, a force more powerful than any spell he could control.

It was as though a surge of electricity had raced through every nerve in his body, so intense it left his muscles trembling. The feeling was wild and frightening, unpredictable magic born purely of emotion.

Finally, the energy had burst free, channeled into flames that scorched the room around him. His whole body still ached from the backlash, the lingering pain a reminder of just how close he had come to losing control completely.

But he was alive. More than that, he had truly felt magic.

Aldric struggled toward a corner table where he had placed his wand earlier to keep it safe during the experiment. A small light flickered at the tip, and once again, he sensed the flow of magic. It was weak, almost negligible, but it was there, a steady current of energy gathering inside him and channeling through his wand, creating that faint glow. 

Relieved, Aldric thought that if he couldn't feel it this time, he would have had to risk another outburst, or even several more, which would have been far too dangerous. Though luck was on his side, perhaps because of his age, the magical explosion left him feeling like his entire body was being torn apart.