Will Behrens
By the time Professor Flitwick left, the sky had already darkened.
Will closed the door, his expression returning to its usual indifference. 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 slightly 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 Behrens, named him Will Howard.
It was worth mentioning that the current Duke of Norfolk was named Myles Fitzalan-Howard.
Will's biological father was Edward Philanthus Howard, the duke's son and the Earl of Arundel.
On May 27, 1980, Dorothy Behrens's dream of marrying into wealth fell apart. The Earl of Arundel did not marry her, and her son did not receive the Howard surname. Under the weight of the earl's influence, Will Howard became Will Behrens.
Two months later, Dorothy Behrens received a house in London where she and her child could live. The duke's son was not entirely heartless. Generous maintenance payments arrived every month, and he agreed to support mother and child, provided she signed an agreement forbidding her from ever revealing Will's identity. But Dorothy Behrens was not satisfied. After repeated negotiations came to nothing, she grew neurotic and took to drinking and smoking.
Young Will Behrens did not understand why he was locked in a tiny, pitch-black room. Injuries began appearing on his body, hidden beneath his clothes, and he grew withdrawn and timid—until an outburst of accidental magic occurred.
When that outburst happened, little Will was sobbing in the dark room. The violent surge of magic plunged him into a hazy state. To his surprise, he had become a white phantom and could see his own sleeping body 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. He possessed all of little Will's memories, while his previous life felt like a dream. A series of novels he had once read, called "Harry Potter," would become his most important source of support in the years ahead.
He was Will Behrens, a chosen one blessed with a special advantage, a natural-born wizard who could see the flow of magic.
After discovering that one of his classmates was named Hermione Granger, he deliberately began searching for the wizarding world—and successfully found it. The pounds he took from his drunken mother could be exchanged at Gringotts for enough Galleons, so buying magical books was well within his means.
The "system" Will possessed allowed him to gain more positive feedback from studying. On top of that, Will Behrens was already fanatically devoted to magic. The exquisite sensation of magic flowing through his body, then being compiled and channeled outward through spells, filled him with such pleasure that he lost himself in it.
Seeking knowledge and exploring truth were physiological needs for Will, almost as essential as eating and drinking. Out of Dorothy Behrens's sight, he studied magic at every opportunity. He was still beaten and still locked up, but to Will, those were matters a few spells could solve. The old wand he had found became a reliable helper, whether he was disguising himself to visit Knockturn Alley or buying books openly in Diagon Alley. He did not care in the slightest what might happen from using Memory Charms or Muggle-Repelling Charms 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 the saying: For giving birth without raising the child, a severed finger repays the debt.
He had already repaid his debt to Dorothy. He was not sad—or rather, every wound and every scar on his body was his sorrow.
After that, with nothing left to tie him down, Will immersed himself in magic, neglecting food and sleep.
He quickly mastered a great many things. He learned spells swiftly and thoroughly, completing the third-year Charms curriculum in just over a year. He did just as well in subjects that required memorization. Nor did he limit himself to the curriculum; he purchased a large number of magical books as well.
He was highly gifted. He could see the flow of magic, and even perceive its changes to some extent. When learning spells, he found them extraordinary. Magic was the foundation of spells, while spells were like a programming language, shaping magic into something specific before releasing it.
Will emerged from his memories, opened the study door, and pulled out a concealed bookcase filled with magical books.
"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—Horcruxes," "Are Werewolves Naturally Occurring?" and "Soul Transplant—The Talking Goat." Professor Flitwick's impression had been correct: Will's interests were indeed broad, especially when it came to powerful magic.
Will took out "Magick Moste Evile" and began reading with relish.
[You have gained new knowledge of dark magic. Dark magic EXP +1] [You have gained new knowledge of dark magic. Dark magic EXP +1] [You have gained new knowledge of spells. Charms EXP +1] [You have gained new knowledge of spells. Charms EXP +1] [You have gained...] [Your Charms progress has reached LV4. You may select one of the following bonus abilities.] A. Spellcasting Speed: your incantation speed permanently increases by 20%. B. Spellpower Burst: your spell effects permanently increase by 10%. C. Spellcasting Sight: you can more easily perceive the flow of magic within spells.
All three effects were quite good, but Will immediately disregarded option C. He could already see the flow of magic, so it was rather redundant. Would incantation speed affect nonverbal spellcasting?
"Select B, Spellpower Burst."
[Your Charms has gained the bonus ability: Spellpower Burst.]
Indeed, Will's special advantage was this progress-grinding panel.
Host: Will Behrens Talents: 1. Wizard's eye: you can actively enable "Sight" to see the flow of magic and the forms in which it manifests. Skills: [Transfiguration LV2 (151/200)] (LV2 bonus ability: Thirst for Knowledge: Transfiguration EXP gain efficiency increases by 10%.) [Dark magic LV3 (13/300)] (LV2 bonus ability: Mental Resilience: your emotions are highly resilient, making the negative effects of studying dark magic less likely to affect you; LV3 bonus ability: Unrelenting Malice: the duration of your dark magic effects increases 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: your spell-learning efficiency increases by 10% to 30%, depending on the source you learn from; L3 bonus ability: Spellcaster: your spells consume 5% less magic; LV4 bonus ability: Spellpower Burst.) [Astronomy LV1 (59/100)] (No bonus ability 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 ability yet.) [Stamina LV1: (66/100)] (No bonus ability yet.) [Magic LV?] (Currently unavailable for viewing due to the world's unique properties.) [Charisma LV3 (118/300)] (LV2 bonus ability: Star of Attraction: you attract more attention, and others' liking or dislike of you increases to a certain extent; 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 distinguish magical ingredients in food.) [Note: abilities gain an ultimate bonus upon developing into a special state or reaching their pinnacle!!]
After choosing his LV4 Charms bonus ability, Will continued his studies, steadily accumulating experience.
The light in the study stayed on until late into the night before Will finally went to rest.
Ever since the outburst of accidental magic, he had been full of energy. Occasionally, he even spent a day or two immersed in books without sleeping or resting.
In the days that followed, Will lived alone, repeating the same routine day after day: reading, practicing magic, eating, and sleeping. Time passed, and September soon arrived.
It was a rare sunny day. Will made himself a breakfast with a somewhat unusual combination of foods, then slipped his lunchbox into his trunk. His attempt at Chinese-style soy milk had failed, because blasting the soybeans with Reducto apparently did not produce it very well, and he had yet to discover a spell for grinding beans.
The steamed dumplings and fried dough sticks turned out well, though. Paired with coffee, they made a strange but fairly tasty meal.
After casting a Levitation Charm on the small trunk enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, Will carried it out of the house where he had lived for eleven years.