Thank You, Mom

Although he had exclaimed like that, Manus instinctively felt it was impossible.

As distance increased, a spell's stability would plummet past a certain critical point. Even Legendary Magic above the Ninth Circle was no exception.

Sure enough, Aivina's next words told Manus that he had overthought it.

Unless they were multiple portraits within the same building and linked by magic, only portraits of the same wizard, with additional magic applied during their creation, could travel between frames separated by vast distances.

A more unusual example was Count Westcott and his wife. Because they were spouses in love, they could achieve a similar effect.

Looking at Manus, Aivina thought for a moment, then continued rather than stopping there, explaining the deeper principles of spellcraft involved:

"This is a profound magical effect. There is an ancient and powerful defensive spell called the Patronus Charm, which can summon a Patronus."

As she spoke, Aivina drew her wand and cast the Patronus Charm. Silver-white mist burst from its tip, its core a peregrine falcon likewise composed entirely of silver-white luminescent substance.

"Almost no two people have the same Patronus, but there is one exception: when two people love each other, one person's Patronus may become similar to, or even exactly the same as, the other's."

Manus watched the peregrine falcon, lifelike in every way except its color.

Different Patronuses... it probably involved some abstract spiritual trait made manifest. Love would clearly change a person's heart. Similar or identical—did that mean two hearts drawing close to each other?

If that was the case, then it would not be limited to lovers. Soulmates, or two people who were almost perfectly in sync, might also display something similar.

Come to think of it, what would his Patronus be?

At that thought, Manus looked at his mother expectantly.

Aivina smiled, entirely unsurprised.

"I knew you would be interested in this magic, but you'd better be prepared. This spell is far from easy."

...?

Manus's gaze at Aivina immediately turned deeply surprised.

"Hahaha—"

Aivina watched with satisfaction. It was rare for her son to show such strong emotion so openly.

"Manu, your father and I have seen all the hard work you've put in lately. As for your performance during this time... your father and I have decided that, starting today, we will no longer interfere with your Charms studies."

Every time she assessed him with Legilimency, Aivina could clearly sense her son's progress. At the same time, the feedback she received from Eileen showed that while he had been diligently practicing Occlumency, he had not neglected his Potions lessons.

More than that, according to Eileen, Severus had perfectly inherited her talent for Potions and could be called a genius, while Manu was a genius beyond even Severus's reach.

This trend had only become more apparent after Severus joined the classes. It seemed that having Severus attend had not created a one-sided boost to learning.

If it had been someone else, Aivina might have suspected them of trying to claim credit for her son, but...

Though thinking so felt somewhat like wishing to ruin someone else's marriage, if Eileen had that sort of scheming mind, the first thing she should have done would have been to divorce that Snape.

So...

Perhaps her son truly was exceptionally gifted. Not only did he possess a talent for learning that surpassed even geniuses, but he also had a capacity for concentration beyond the limits of his age, just as he had experienced a Magical Outburst earlier than other children his age.

Such geniuses—people so brilliant that even geniuses in the conventional sense called them geniuses—had appeared before.

The Dumbledore they had just mentioned was one: a genius who had displayed extraordinary magical talent from the day he entered school, and who later became the most dazzling genius in the entire world, in his entire era.

If one had to name another, perhaps Grindelwald, whom he defeated, counted as one.

Aivina did not particularly expect her son to achieve what Dumbledore had, but she already had her own answer as to whether he was capable of properly engaging with and studying Charms.

All that remained was to find an opportunity, and his birthday was clearly a good one.

Of course, Aivina admitted that the letter her father-in-law had sent after the Howler, detailing the current situation and the family's circumstances, had also been one of the factors that finally made her decide.

As they spoke, they reached the end of the narrow passage. Emerging from the cramped space into a broad area naturally brought a sense of sudden openness.

What lay before them now was an enormous space.

On either side of the corridor ahead stood more than a dozen rows of bookshelves that nearly reached the vaulted ceiling. The black dome overhead displayed a full celestial chart formed from glowing gemstones, while a sphere of light far larger than the other gems hung on one side of the dome, serving as the library's primary illumination.

Was that... the sun?

Normally, a full celestial chart could not include the sun. After all, stars were almost impossible to observe with the naked eye in daylight, but...

Looking at the sphere positioned between Sagittarius and Capricorn, Manus was certain that it represented the sun. This "sun" probably even moved along the ecliptic with the passage of time.

"Manu, today is your birthday."

Aivina's voice pulled Manus's attention back. When he turned, he saw her take a long, narrow drawstring cloth bag from her pocket and hand it to him.

"Happy birthday."

"...Thank you, Mom."

After transmigrating, Manus had smoothly accepted the couple who had given birth to and raised him as his parents. But for a wizard over three hundred years old, these parents were not quite the same as parents in the ordinary sense.

They had not participated in the formation of his outlook on life or his values; that had been done by his teacher and senior brothers and sisters. Nor had his birth depended on the union of the two of them. In another vessel, he would still have been himself.

Therefore, it was impossible for him to feel any filial attachment toward Griffin and Aivina.

To him, parents only represented a debt of gratitude—one difficult to repay—for helping him through the vulnerable period after his transmigration.

At the same time, as an orphan, he also held a certain curiosity toward the feeling of having parents.

No matter what, this was the first time Manus had felt emotions beyond his understanding surge within him in this parent-child relationship—or perhaps this was merely the first time those emotions had surged strongly enough for him to notice them?

It felt like being moved, yet it was not that simple. His heart beat faster; he felt joy, but a trace of bitterness also spread through him.

Savoring this unfamiliar feeling, Manus opened the drawstring bag.