It has been a few days since my friends all left for the Christmas. I have been able to get time alone to myself for a good while now. In this time I let my curiosity win over me. I looked in to rituals. The introductory part made me realise somethings. It said about how different Wizarding families have their own set of rituals that they have their child go through, Nothing major just minor stuff like body growth boost or mind body soul balancing rituals. The balancing kind me look like it would be too much but it's a tradition to go through it before your 12th birthday.
As this text was only from the library I took one morning to look in the ROR for more texts about it, and I came across a major surprise. The room provided me the rituals used by my family. I was dumbfounded by it. Looking further into it the room gave me a writing by one of my ancestors, his name Sol Starborn.
It explained that many of the old families have stored their complete set of rituals in the ROR at the time Hogwarts was made. This was done so that if a family is down to its last member and that member has yet to attend Hogwarts, he could still have a minor chance to do these rituals. And this measure has saved many of the older families from extinction. The spirit of Hogwarts itself makes sure that the last member is able to find it in time.
How this is implemented is that they made a registry of the families who did this. It has many names like Peverell, Blacks, Starborn, Emrys, and more such ancient lineages. And this registry allows Hogwarts itself to be aware how the family is doing. These families were only allowed to do this because they had made major contribution to the making of Hogwarts.
Now back to the topic of Rituals, the ones which I can to do is many but I can only choose 3,7 or 11 of them. These rituals have to be done in specific times and in a continuous manner, one ritual a day till the number of rituals chosen is done. I have some choices of the time when I should do these. And I also have to do them in sets of 3,7 or 1.
Going through the list of rituals. I went over the most obvious ones I would have to do like body mind and soul ritual, this one is important because my soul being the most strong in the trinity needs my body and mind to be balanced to its level. There were pretty weird ones too like increasing the bodily functions to make some things go more smoothly and some pretty tempting ones like increasing the size of some body parts to the maximum. After thinking for a while I chose three rituals I will do, the only one I need is body mind soul balancing rituals so I will do one set of three for it and be done with it, I don't need some of the tempting rituals, it would just make things awkward for me to explain if someone noticed those changes, not that they would be looking for it but if someone did noticed it will not end well for me.
Reading about the ritual, it said the rituals are compiled in a one big complex ritual, it's variants distinct through the level of effect it will bring. I would be doing a minor, a major and a advanced one. It looked pretty complex but the writing also said the room will do the most work from the rune drawing to the minor adjustments in the rituals according to the one doing the rituals.
After thinking things like this out I was thinking how to get the materials for these rituals. Just as the thought entered my mind another letter appeared before me. I took it and read.
"Dear descendent,
If you are reading this letter it means our family is down to you, and you have already read our rituals and would be wondering how to get those ingredients. Worry not for I was intelligent enough to store whatever ingredients you would need in a time chamber made with the help of Miss Ravenclaw. The instructions on how too get there are behind this letter. I hope my preparation would have not have to be used, but tragedies can befall on anyone be they strong or weak.
Live long my dear descendant and make us strong again, for you are a Starborn. When all others perish a Starborn survives. May your journey through magic be as grand as you have thought it to be.
Your Ancestor,
Sol Starborn."
It was a good insight on my ancestors part to think of all this, he may be the reason due to which our family is still surviving even after going through this many tragedies. I turned the letter around and say that all the ingredients were stored in the dungeons in a special room. I did wonder how it was in proper English but that could be just the room translating it.
The recommendation on the rituals said to do it before my 12th birthday, and on a day which was magically strong like all hallows Eve, winter solstice or Summer solstice. Seeing as the closest is the winter solstice, on 25th December this month, I should do my rituals on 23rd, 24th and 25th. With the minor one on 23rd, major one on 24th and the advanced one on 25th.
The letter said to just be present before 3:33AM on first ritual day, on second day it told to be ready before 7:07AM and at third day at 11:11AM. It even provided what to think while setting up the room. Instructions were to deposit the ingredients in the ritual room before the rituals were asked to set up. Which means I can just collect them now store them here.
Getting out of the room I went straight for the dungeons and searched for the room according to the instructions. I looked for our house seal which had a starry sky and an infant below it. Looking for a while I came across it and tapped the wall according to the pattern given in the letter.
It gave out like the entrance of Diagon ally. Entering it there were shelves and shelves of different ingredients. I picked the ones I would need, first the dragon related items. Dragon scale, dragon blood and dragon heart, then the sphinx related items, sphinx tail hair, sphinx blood and sphinx heart and at last the phoenix related items, phoenix ash, phoenix blood and phoenix heart. Collection of the items needed was simple their was a empty pouch provided and all the ingredients were in jars or vials.
These ingredients were easily worth more than anything I could own, but the preparation of my ancestors made me do the ritual anyways. Taking the pouch with me I went out and the entrance to that small ingredients chamber closed behind me. Moving just as silently as always I got to the ROR and paced in front of it three times thinking.
'Place to deposit ritual ingredients, place to deposit ritual ingredients, place to deposit ritual ingredients.'
A door appeared and through it there was just a podium to place the pouch on, after brief hesitation I just placed it and got out of the room.
I hope I am not caught doing these rituals, it could make things complicated.
A few days later.
Today was 23rd of December the first day of my rituals. I woke up at 3AM got fresh, donned my clothes and just took my time getting to the ROR, me not knowing if the ritual would exhaust me made me not do the regular exercise I do in the mornings. I reached in front of the ROR at 3:25AM and paced in front of it thinking the words the letter mentioned.
'The ritual room for the minor ritual mind, body and soul by Starborn family, the ritual room for the minor ritual mind, body and soul by Starborn family, the ritual room for the minor ritual mind, body and soul by Starborn family.'
The door appeared and I entered sterling my self. Entering it I saw a complex and elaborate ritual circle filled with countless runes in a language I didn't know, engraved in the ground. In three different places there were the ingredients dragon scale, sphinx tail hair and phoenix ash. There was also a image with the time showing on it, 3:30AM it showed.
Stripping down to my birthday suit, naked that is, according to the ritual I sat in the middle of it and waited for the clock to struck 3:33. Just as it did the ritual circle surged with magic the ingredients turned into liquid and flowed through the engravings in the ground and entered my body. Just as I registered a pain I blacked out and woke up exactly after 3:33 minutes. How I knew that even I don't know.
The ritual circle was gone and I was lying naked in the room checking the time on the still present image of the clock it read 6:10AM. Sighing I went out of the ROR and had my breakfast and just lazed about the rest of the day. Not feeling the effects of the ritual just yet, the effect will come out after all the already decided rituals have been done, in my case only two more left.
The next day I woke up at 6:30 and was in the ROR for the ritual at just the right time. This ritual went like the previous one but this time the pain felt before blacking out was increased. I woke up at 11 after the ritual which meant the recovery period was also increased.
The next day I had woken up pretty late, at 8AM but it was because the yesterday's ritual and seeing as I had time before the ritual I just took in the cold winter morning and leisurely went to the ROR for my last Ritual, in all this time no teachers suspected a rhi g but maybe they would after my results from the ritual show themselves.
This last Ritual was same as the previous ones, ingredients liquidising and crawling into my skin through my pores a brief pain and then I blacked out.
This time waking up felt like I was merlin himself, full of magic energy, the amount was the same as before but I could tell quality wise it was just whole leagues better than the previous magic energy. I could feel it brimming under my skin. My mind was like this was my first time awake every thing felt smooth the previous brain was like a caterpillar in front of my current mind. Every thought was in control I could just make it disappear as I wished making me think I was an occulmency master in control of every aspect of my mind. My body also felt great I could tell I was better in every aspect physically, mentally and magically.
Going out to the lake took less time than before almost ten minutes previously it took a bit less than an hour from the ROR to the lake. I picked one stone to skip it across it. Throwing it I controlled my magic to make it go farther and farther, it went towards the other end of the lake and I could still make it go further.
This showed my magic control has increased too, it was approximately around 95-98%, and I felt I could easily make it a full 100% if I wanted.
Feeling giddy with the results of my rituals I thought this was the best decision I made in this life. Going back to the castle I went back in the ROR and practiced my combat. In this too there was improvement, I could last for hours now, more than 3 for now and increasing it would be easily done too with practice. And my awareness of the spells coming at me was cranked up crazy. I could feel the magic build-up before the spell even formed and doge it in time. Now I could doge 10 spells at a time and compared to the previous 4 it was massive improvement.
Pleased with all the testing I have done till now I went to the Great Hall for the Christmas feast. As it was still some time before the feast I saw Mr. Beery who was setting up the decoration. I went to him and asked, "Good evening prf. Beery, can I help you with these?".
He turned and looked at me, smiled a bit and said, "Of course you can Mr. Starborn." And instructed me where to place what. After half an hour it was already time for dinner and the decoration were complete.
"Well done, Marcus. I have noticed you have improved your spell work. Ravenclaw gets 5 points for your help." Prf. Beery said with a light voice.
I just thanked him awkwardly and went back to my table to sit with the upper year students who were arriving at this time.
The feast was majestic, truly what one would expect from Hogwarts. After the feast I retired early a bit exhausted from the rituals which were now completed. I was of two minds previously about them but seeing the results was enough for me to decide that they were beneficial to me. That night I slept well for the first time in a few days, I was worried about the rituals but then out of the way made me finally relax.