Runic Magic

Matthew was back. This time, he felt none of the discomfort that had come with his last crossing.

The Crystal on the Metal Disc had dimmed considerably. The energy stored inside it was gone.

Matthew had chosen to return to his original world before reaching Whitestone Town.

He had crossed over in such a hurry that he had brought only his wand. He intended to prepare before making contact with the people of the other world.

He waved his wand, changing his thick Cloak Cape and clothes back to their original forms.

He had also brought back the bundle containing the Phantom Demon's corpse.

Preserved Egg was still in the same spot.

"Preserved Egg." Matthew picked him up and stroked his fur a few times.

Blue light flickered in Matthew's eyes as he used Legilimency on Preserved Egg.

In Preserved Egg's memories, the Metal Disc in Matthew's hand had suddenly vanished, but Matthew himself had remained where he was.

It seemed time in this world did not move while Matthew was in the other one.

Matthew put Preserved Egg down and took out the wizard's notes Chris had given him.

They recorded an Ancient Runic spell called "Lightning Bolt."

Lightning Bolt fired a beam of lightning at a target, and its power depended on the caster's magic.

Magic in that world differed from the spells he had learned at Hogwarts.

The spells he knew used emotion and will to drive magic. Both greatly affected a spell's power, and a wavering conviction could even cause it to fail.

Magic in the other world required a spell model to be constructed first. Magic was then poured into the model, which released it in a particular way.

And the basic units used to construct those models were Ancient Runes formed from magic!

A spell model was like an engine, Ancient Runes were the parts that made it up, and magic was the fuel. The model converted magic into another form of energy. That was how Runic Magic worked.

Matthew extended his right hand, gathered magic in his palm, and formed an Ancient Rune meaning "light."

The Ancient Rune for "light" was like a flawless pearl, clear and luminous, shedding a faint glow above his hand.

Matthew frowned and dispersed the magic in his hand. The rune dissolved from his palm.

It had taken him over ten seconds to form "light." With practice, he might be able to bring that down to around ten seconds.

But Lightning Bolt required thirty-two Runes.

Casting a single Runic spell would take several minutes, perhaps even more than ten, just to form the Runes. Was it really that difficult for wizards in the other world to use magic...

Perhaps there was a way to form Runes faster.

After reading the section on Lightning Bolt, Matthew noticed that the writing on the last page of the notes was blurred beyond recognition.

He drew his wand and aimed its tip at the notes. "Reparo!"

The blurred writing gradually returned to its unworn state, as though time were running backward.

There was only one sentence:

—I walked through the dim woods, heard the drums, and saw Shadow Skin.

"Shadow Skin?" Matthew frowned at the cryptic sentence. He could glean nothing useful from it.

With no ideas, he put the notes away, left the Sundries Room, and went to the study door.

Matthew knocked and said gently, "Good afternoon, Grandfather."

"Matthew, it's time for my afternoon nap." A languid voice drifted from a portrait inside the study.

The portrait showed a kind, refined old man seated upright. It was a Magic Portrait of Matthew's grandfather, Alfat Black.

Alfat had died before Matthew was born, but Matthew had received his early education through his grandfather's portrait.

Before his death, Alfat had transferred all the knowledge in his memory to the portrait.

Matthew had also learned Ancient Runes from Alfat's portrait. In life, Alfat had been a renowned scholar of Ancient Runes in the Wizarding World.

Matthew's father in this life had been an Auror, while his mother had been a Muggle. Both had died at the hands of Death Eaters.

Their killer was Matthew's aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange.

"I don't recall you having a habit of napping," Matthew countered.

In the portrait, Alfat took a bottle of red wine from the cabinet behind him. "I did when I was alive."

"Is Grandmother out again?" Matthew asked curiously.

Alfat removed the cork, brought his nose close to the bottle, and gently wafted its scent toward himself. "You know Lina likes visiting people. She has portraits in all sorts of places."

Matthew nodded in understanding. "Grandfather, I'd like to show you something."

He held out his right hand and formed an Ancient Rune from magic.

Alfat held his wineglass and swirled the red wine he had just poured. "I believe I explained the magical applications of Ancient Runes quite thoroughly in the Compendium of Magical Symbols."

"Of course I've read the Compendium of Magical Symbols," Matthew said. "Recently, I discovered that Runes seem to have a deeper application."

With that, Matthew formed the thirty-two Runes of Lightning Bolt one by one in his hand, then guided them with magic into a specific structure.

Bzzzt!

Light flared. The Runes and magic in his hand became a bolt of lightning that shot forward and punched straight through the wooden wall.

Matthew waved his wand, restoring the wall.

"That's a spell made by combining Ancient Runes?" Alfat's face was full of surprise.

He knew Runes were connected to Ancient Magic, but despite years of studying Ancient Runes, he had found only scattered references in a few old books. He had never expected Matthew to master a Runic spell.

After hearing Matthew explain how Runic Magic worked, Alfat said thoughtfully:

"No wonder it took you several minutes to cast that spell. I thought you simply weren't practiced enough. Now it seems Runic Magic is missing a crucial piece."

"Exactly," Matthew said helplessly. "Forming Runes from magic takes far too long."

Alfat suddenly remembered something. He sipped his wine, then said with some uncertainty:

"I once read the words 'meditation is the key to Runes' in Slytherin's Manuscript."

Matthew looked startled. "'Meditation' is the 'key'?"

"I haven't worked it out either," Alfat continued. "The manuscript only recorded the meanings of some Ancient Runic characters. I cited parts of it when I wrote the Magical Phonetic Table."

"The manuscript should still be in the Hogwarts library. You might want to look for it."

Matthew nodded and made a note of it.

Just then, a clear, airy voice came from outside the window.

"Matthew~ Are you there?"

Matthew went to the window and leaned out. Below, a girl with dark golden-brown hair was waving at him.

"Luna! Wait there!" Matthew called down to her.

He turned back to find Alfat waggling his eyebrows at him. "Keeping a lady waiting isn't very gentlemanly~"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "We're still children!"