Will Behrens

By the time he saw Professor Flitwick off, the sky had grown dark.

Will closed the door, his expression turning impassive again. Back in the living room, he glanced at the framed photograph on the wall. The woman was beautiful, and the boy in her arms wore a rather stiff smile. Will's thoughts began to drift.

On May 16, 1980, a baby boy was born in a private room at St Mary's Hospital, London. His mother, Dorothy Berens, named him Will Howard.

It was worth noting that the current Duke of Norfolk was named Myles Fitzalan-Howard.

Will's biological father was Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the duke's son and the Earl of Arundel.

On May 27, 1980, Dorothy Berens's dream of marrying into an aristocratic family fell apart. The Earl of Arundel did not marry her, nor was her son granted the Howard surname. Under the weight of his influence, Will Howard became Will Behrens.

Two months later, Dorothy Berens received a house in London for herself and her child to live in. The duke's son was not entirely heartless: generous child support arrived every month, and he agreed to provide for mother and son. There was just one signed agreement—Will's identity must never be made public. But Dorothy Berens was not satisfied. After repeated negotiations came to nothing, she grew unstable and began drinking heavily and smoking.

Young Will Behrens did not understand why he was locked in a dark little room. Injuries began appearing on his body, hidden beneath his clothes, and he grew withdrawn and timid—until an outburst of accidental magic.

When it happened, little Will was sobbing in the dark room. The violent surge of magic plunged him into a state of confusion. To his astonishment, he found that he had become a white apparition and could see himself sleeping in the darkness. He was too young to know that this state was called death.

Then another consciousness descended from a distant world. When he opened his eyes and woke again, he found himself in a new world, with all of little Will's memories. His previous life felt like a dream. A series of novels he had once read, called Harry Potter, would become his most important advantage in the years ahead.

He was Will Behrens, a chosen one armed with a cheat, a born wizard who could see the flow of magic.

And after realizing that his classmate was named Hermione Granger, he deliberately began searching for the wizarding world—and succeeded in finding it. The pounds he took from his drunken mother could be exchanged at Gringotts for enough Galleons to buy spellbooks without difficulty.

The "system" he possessed gave Will even more positive feedback from studying. Besides, Will Behrens already pursued magic with a fervent passion. The exquisite sensation of magic flowing through his body, then being compiled and channeled through a spell, filled him with such pleasure that he forgot everything else.

Seeking knowledge and exploring truth were almost as much a physical necessity to Will as eating and drinking. Out of Dorothy Berens's sight, he spent every moment studying magic. He was still beaten, still locked away, but to Will, those were problems a few spells could solve. The old wand he had found became a dependable helper, whether he was concealing his identity to visit Knockturn Alley or simply buying books in Diagon Alley. Nor did Will care in the slightest what might happen if he used a Memory Charm or a Muggle-Repelling Charm on his birth mother.

A year and a half earlier, Dorothy had died in a car accident. Will had felt nothing in particular. He remembered a saying: the debt to a parent who gave you life but never raised you could be repaid with a severed finger.

He had already repaid his debt to Dorothy. He was not sad. Or rather, every wound on his body, every scar, was his sorrow.

After that, with nothing left to tie him down, Will immersed himself in magic, neglecting food and sleep.

He soon mastered a great deal. He learned charms quickly and well, completing the third-year Charms curriculum in a little over a year. He did just as well in subjects that required memorization. Nor did he limit himself to coursework; he also bought a large number of books on magic.

He was highly gifted. He could see the flow of magic, and even, to some extent, the changes it underwent. While learning spells, he found it all wondrous. Magic was the foundation of spells, while spells resembled a programming language, shaping magical power into something specific and then outputting it.

Will emerged from his memories, pushed open the study door, and pulled out a concealed bookshelf laden with books on magic.

Eccentric Wizards, Understanding Your Brain—Occlumency, Secrets of Dark Magic, Magick Moste Evile, "Wicked" Magic—An Analysis of Dark Magic, Herpo the Foul's Wondrous Creation—The Horcrux, Are Werewolves Naturally Occurring?, and Soul Transplants—The Talking Goat. Professor Flitwick's impression had been correct: Will's interests were indeed broad, particularly when it came to powerful magic.

Will pulled out Magick Moste Evile and began reading with relish.

[You have acquired new knowledge of dark magic. Dark magic experience +1]

[You have acquired new knowledge of dark magic. Dark magic experience +1]

[You have acquired new knowledge of charms. Charms experience +1]

[You have acquired new knowledge of charms. Charms experience +1]

[You have acquired...]

[Your Charms progress has reached LV4. You may select one of the following bonus abilities.]

A. Spellcasting Speed: Permanently increases your incantation speed by 20%.

B. Spellpower Burst: Permanently increases the effectiveness of your spells by 10%.

C. Spellcasting Sight: You can more easily perceive the flow of magic in spells.

All three effects were good, but Will immediately dismissed option C. He could already see the flow of magic, after all, so it was rather redundant. Incantation speed... would that apply to nonverbal spellcasting?

"Select B, Spellpower Burst."

[Your Charms has gained the bonus ability: Spellpower Burst.]

Indeed, Will's cheat was this panel that let him grind for progress.

Host: Will Behrens

Talents:

1. Wizard's Eye: You can activate "vision" at will to see the flow of magic and the forms in which it manifests.

Skills:

[Transfiguration LV2 (151/200)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Thirst for Knowledge: Increases Transfiguration experience gain by 10%.)

[Dark magic LV3 (13/300)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Mental Resilience: Your emotions are highly resilient, making you less susceptible to the negative effects of studying dark magic; LV3 bonus ability: Unrelenting Malice: Increases the duration of your dark magic effects by 10%.)

[Potions LV2 (17/200)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Discerning Eye: You can more easily distinguish changes in the state of potions.)

[Charms LV4 (1/400)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Spell Replicator: Increases your spell-learning efficiency by 10% to 30%, depending on the source you learn from; L3 bonus ability: Spellcaster: Reduces the magic consumed by your spells by 5%; LV4 bonus ability: Spellpower Burst.)

[Astronomy LV1 (59/100)] (No bonus abilities yet.)

[Herbology LV2 (11/200)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Herbology Affinity: You can care for magical plants more easily.)

[Curse studies LV1 (56/100)] (No bonus abilities yet.)

[Stamina LV1: (66/100)] (No bonus abilities yet.)

[Magic LV?] (Currently unavailable due to the special nature of this world.)

[Charm LV3 (118/300)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Star of Attraction: You attract more attention, increasing the degree to which others like or dislike you;

LV3 bonus ability: Art of Persuasion: Your words are more convincing.)

[Cooking LV3 (223/300)]

(LV2 bonus ability: Heat Sense: You can clearly perceive changes in cooking heat;

LV3 bonus ability: Magic Tongue: Your sense of taste is more sensitive, and you can more easily identify magical ingredients in food.)

[Note: Abilities will gain an ultimate bonus upon developing into a special state or reaching their limit!!]

After selecting his LV4 Charms bonus ability, Will continued his studies, steadily accumulating experience.

The study light stayed on late into the night before Will finally went to rest.

Ever since the magical outburst, he had been full of energy. Sometimes he would even lose himself in books for a day or two without sleeping or resting.

In the days that followed, Will lived alone, repeating the same daily routine of reading, practicing magic, eating, and sleeping. Time passed, and soon September arrived.

It was a rare sunny day. Will made himself a breakfast with a rather odd assortment of dishes and tucked his lunch box into his trunk. His attempt at Chinese-style soy milk had failed. Blasting soybeans with Reducto apparently did not produce very good soy milk, and he had yet to discover a spell for grinding beans.

The steamed dumplings and fried dough sticks were good, though. Paired with coffee, they made for a strange but reasonably tasty meal.

Will cast a Levitation Charm on the little trunk, which had been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, then carried it out of the house where he had lived for eleven years.