Magic Resonance Library

Alphard told Yulian about magic and the world of wizards, the Pure-blood families, the wizarding wars, and how he had been disowned by his family. He poured out to his grandson all the words he had kept bottled up inside for decades.

At last, he gazed at his grandson with a complicated look. "No matter where you came from, now that magic has chosen you, you must learn to control it. Otherwise, you'll only hurt yourself."

He took out a bottle of deep-blue potion. "This is a Calming Potion. It can soothe fluctuations in your magic. Drink it."

Yulian obediently drank it. A cool sensation spread from his throat throughout his body, and the restlessness inside him gradually subsided.

"The family's original plan was for your parents to return to the United Kingdom after Christmas because of the family business. You would go back with them and study in the United Kingdom, applying to one of the noble schools there. But now..."

"From tonight until you leave," Alphard said solemnly, "I'll teach you some basic spells, magic control, and the history of the Black family—including both its darkness and its light. But you have to promise me two things."

"What?"

"First, never use magic in front of Muggles unless your life is at stake. The wizarding world and Muggle society each have their own rules. Don't try to break down the barrier between them. At least, you don't need to."

"Second, next year you'll need to attend a magical school and study systematically instead of going to an ordinary Muggle secondary school. I know you're precocious and have had your own opinions from a young age. But the plan has to change now. Of course, I respect your choice—but I hope you'll choose magic."

Yulian fell silent for a moment, then nodded. He now completely understood that this was the world of Harry Potter. Of course, he had other secrets as well.

Alphard finally smiled. He pulled his grandson to his feet and walked with him to the skylight. Moonlight spilled over the vineyard, and the whole earth seemed steeped in silver wine.

"Look," he said, pointing toward Aquila. "That's Altair, your father's name. And you, Caelum, are there—the Sculptor, the constellation that can carve the starry sky."

That night, the winery's celebration continued. Champagne glasses clinked, and laughter filled the air.

Meanwhile, in the Chamber of Secrets, ten-year-old Shiloh Yulian Black gripped his grandfather's wand and spoke his first spell: "Lumos."

A faint light sprang from the wand tip, illuminating a line of Latin carved into the wall, almost worn smooth:

"Sanguis non facit, sed eligit."

(It is not blood that makes a person, but choice.)

As autumn faded in 1990, the vineyards of Bordeaux welcomed the quiet of winter, and time slipped silently by amid the intertwining of magic and reality.

Yulian's life was divided into two halves from then on.

By day, he was the quiet little gentleman of Black Vine Winery, following his tutor through his Muggle studies. The tutor had been hired from the United Kingdom to adjust Yulian's coursework so that it would connect seamlessly with the British curriculum;

When night fell, or during the deserted hours of the afternoon, he would follow his grandfather Alphard into the Chamber of Secrets, covered in star charts and runes, and begin his magical training.

Alphard's teaching was rigorous yet patient. Starting with the most basic perception of magic, he taught Yulian how to gather and release the magic scattered throughout his body.

At first, Yulian's magic was always difficult to tame. The "Wingardium Leviosa" (Levitation Charm) he cast could only make a feather tremble half an inch above the ground. It would fall before three seconds had passed, or bob up and down beyond his control;

When Yulian practiced "Scourgify" (Cleaning Charm), he couldn't control the area being cleaned properly. For example, when cleaning the tabletop, he would accidentally sweep the magical books on it onto the floor as well.

But Alphard never scolded him. He merely held Yulian's hand and guided him in sensing the fluctuations of magic flowing through the wand, gently reminding him, "Magic is a resonance with the heart, not something driven by brute force. Shiloh, calm yourself and carefully feel the magic, just as you feel the breeze brushing through the grapevines' leaves."

Under his grandfather's guidance, Yulian's progress became increasingly obvious. After only a month, he could steadily make a cobblestone float and spin in the air, and he could use the Cleaning Charm precisely to organize the clutter in the Chamber of Secrets;

He also became more proficient with the first Defensive Charm his grandfather taught him, "Protego" (Shield Charm). Of course, the barrier formed by the spell was still very weak, but it could already withstand minor impacts. According to his grandfather, even some third-year students at Hogwarts couldn't cast a complete Shield Charm.

Besides that, Alphard also collected a large number of magical books for him—from basic works like Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 and History of Magic, to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Magical Potions and Elixirs, which broadened his horizons. There were even several copied ancient texts passed down through the Black Family, recording obscure knowledge about combining astrology with magic.

Yulian often read in the Chamber of Secrets until late at night. The magical elements that had once existed only in his memories of the Harry Potter stories had now become tangible reality, leaving him both excited and awed.

As for his wand, Yulian used the Willow Wand his grandfather had given him. Alphard had taken him to Ruelle des Étoiles Filantes in Paris to buy it.

It was a place similar to Knockturn Alley, which he had seen in Harry Potter and various fan fiction novels in his previous life.

France had no respectable place that openly sold wands. Likewise, the Black family had no respectable people who followed the rules.

Of course, what his grandfather didn't know was that the reason Yulian learned magic so quickly was the library in his mind. At the moment his magic had run wild, a library seemed to have appeared inside his head.

At the time, a huge flood of memories had left him dazed and confused. It wasn't until that night, when he was alone sorting through his thoughts, that he finally saw the library clearly. It seemed to be modeled after the library he had often visited while attending university in his previous life.

Of course, Yulian wasn't particularly surprised. After transmigrating, who didn't get a cheat?

He quickly figured out how to enter the library, too. It was actually very simple—he didn't need to touch anything at all. As soon as he moved his thoughts, he could enter naturally. The only problem was that the bookshelves had been completely empty at the time, without even a single book.

"Cheat, cheat!" Yulian called out, but there was no response.

"Oh, no, that's not right. System, system!"

"..."

"Golden finger, are you there?"

"..."

"Come out already, you little system brat!"

"..."

"Dad! I was wrong. System Dad?!"

"..."

Why still nothing?

"Grandpa!"

"Meow~" A voice seemed to answer him.

"Holy Hogwarts!"

A completely black cat that had slipped out from who knew where sat before Yulian on the empty bookshelf. It looked like a Maine Coon mix.

But this cat wasn't merely black. It was the kind of deep black that made even a passing Dementor ask to borrow some of its shadows.

Its fur was so smooth it seemed capable of absorbing light. Its long tail curled elegantly before it like an ancient scroll that had yet to be unrolled.

Most striking of all were its eyes—two perfectly round eyes, the left amber and the right silver-gray. Its pupils narrowed into two thin slits in the dim light, yet they remained astonishingly bright, as if they could see straight through Yulian's thoughts.

It tilted its head and stared at Yulian with an expression that seemed to say, "You finally came. You're three hours and forty-two minutes late."

"Er... hello?" Yulian tentatively waved.

The black cat didn't move. It merely flicked its tail, and the empty bookshelf behind it let out a clatter before automatically assembling several glowing words:

"Magic Resonance Library. Your administrator is learning to speak."