I had bought a whole bunch of pastries and sealed them. There was a restaurant right outside that was having some sort of mock contest, and I had my first real mulled wine in two lifetimes, brought all the way from Austria. There was a "closed" sign on the door of the workshop, but when I knocked, they quickly opened the door and pulled me in. The master hugged me tightly, greeted me and thanked me, and then Victoria came out, with a noticeable belly and a big smile.
— Hello, Sora! Jacques! Stop keeping the boy in the corridor and let's go to the table! — The woman frowned sternly, but her eyes were full of fun and joy.
— Of course, my dear, at once!
After a short time of noise and cheerful activity of the master, we found ourselves at the table. Not that it was overflowing with "stuff," but everything looked appetizing. I decided to start with the presents.
— Uh, here. — Two boxes, one square, one oblong. — I thought about what to give them for the holidays and decided that the masters of their craft would be curious to work with something new. I handed Victoria her box. — is a ready-to-use Japanese mushroom, the original name translates roughly as "Shimmering Hiding Place". It was so named because in the beginning it was only harvested in deep and dark caves, and it, the mushroom, glows. Now they've learned to cultivate it artificially. — Seeing that the woman wants to ask something, I add. — You can't even ask about its properties — I won't tell you, because you'll lose the pleasure of studying it for yourself. I'll just say that it's not poisonous, it's not toxic.
— Thank you. — The woman replied in a strange tone, but I did not pay attention to her and turned to the master.
— For you, Master, I give you four Tengu feathers. Have you heard of Tengu?
— Yes, — the man nodded and looked at the black feathers in the open box in front of him. — Such demons...
— "Ayakashi," I corrected him. — Somewhere on the level of centaurs. Intelligent, strong, shape-shifters, able to transform themselves into crows, humans and winged men, excellent fighters whose main disadvantage is their arrogance and lust for battle and strength. Hmm... great flyers. Legends say that the strongest Tengu could create storms and hurricanes by controlling the wind. — I pause for a moment. — I think you might find it interesting to make magic wands out of them.
— You are certainly right, apprentice. — The man tore himself from the feathers with visible effort and closed the box. — But, right, you shouldn't have such expensive ingredients... .....
— It's okay, don't worry about it. I believe that magic science should advance, and whenever the opportunity arises, it should always be promoted.
The couple smiled at my words, and we continued to eat, chatting about various trivial matters. As for the feathers, Nanao gave them to me: she just silently pushed the swollen bag into my hands, waved her tail, and went to watch TV.
Maya, smiling at the cat's behavior, told me that on the eve of our departure, our Bakeneko had disappeared for a few days without telling anyone. Of course, we were worried about her, but the cat came back with only a few scratches on her cheek, and the kimono showed fresh traces of mending.
That same day, rumors spread throughout Kyoto that a bakeneko had come to the martial arts school of an old master, a native tengu, and torn the tails off several of the master's older students. The old tengu didn't interfere, saying that it was a great test for his students, who couldn't handle a nanao in eight. In fact, tengu tails and feathers are expensive and hard to come by, so I have no idea why I was given such a gift.
Despite the holiday, the master took me to the workshop after dinner, where I worked late into the night earning credits, both theoretical and practical. I would like to boast: thanks to the work in circles and with the professors at Hogwarts, I have managed to make noticeable progress in the study of runes, which Jacques noted with satisfaction.
However, artifacting itself is a complex science that requires extensive knowledge in many other disciplines. If you know how to take a simple object, put some charms on it, and make it work as intended, it does not mean that you are an artifactor and have created an artifact, at best — an amulet, but only that.
And here I am, not to say that I put ALL my efforts into learning, but I do not abandon my studies, but I just started to approach something at least a little interesting in runes and charms.
And even then — the elementary basics with which the work of an apprentice artifactor begins, somewhere at the level of colored magical lights. I don't even want to compare my achievements in my native magic with what I'm learning in this part of the world. And it is impossible to compare, because even the principles used are different in many ways.
For example, in Eastern potions, the parts of the whole are selected, each herb, leaf takes its place in the potion, completes the picture, so there are no side effects. Master-creator of new recipes slowly, unhurriedly collects "bouquet", he listens to the vague whispers of his own instincts, experience, sometimes clues whispered spirits, or kami, but it always turns out that the master often does not know what will get in the end.
Western potions goes from the opposite: the master wants to get a certain result, and in the course of experiments tries to deduce a chain of actions when mixing probably suitable ingredients, while thinking about how to neutralize unnecessary, harmful to the reaction of particles and substances. A laborious science, yes, it requires a certain amount of imagination, like any scientific endeavor.
After a brief examination by Jacques, we retired. If the master could stay up late, I have a very busy day tomorrow, and if Victoria doesn't get into the mushroom work, it will be even more difficult. A hot shower only strengthened my resolve, and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next day, at exactly ten in the morning, I entered the boys' room to find most of my group sitting around a large table laden with goodies. I looked around the living room and found clothes that had been thrown on carelessly, clothes that had been sewn only yesterday, and a second table, a little smaller, with a mountain of candy and several bottles of some drink and traces of the night's feast, which for some reason had not been cleaned up. The wizards sitting at the table froze for some reason, watching my reaction. Even the Aurors, which was strange. Wait. There's one missing.
— The party was a success, wasn't it? — Harry and Neville looked at each other and Potter nodded cautiously. — Well, I'm glad you were able to relax in your new home. — I made my way over to the bedside table where there was a large vase of flowers and on which my emerald shirt now rested. — I wonder what you'll be wearing when you go out, Mr. Potter, with your new clothes stained and lying around in the most unexpected places? — I deliberately spoke in a cold, even tone that made the others tense. I'm really hurt, aren't I?
— My clothes are in the closet, sir. — The boy's voice trembled and Neville shrank back. I asked the obvious question with a look and a raised eyebrow. Potter didn't hesitate to answer. — These are Ron's clothes.
— Interesting... — I didn't finish the sentence. — And what was it that happened here last night that made Ronald decide to throw his new and very expensive clothes around? Was he stripping? — Everyone blushed again, even Neville, and I thought he didn't know what the word meant.
— N-no! Ron said since it was a party, we should celebrate.
— So you ordered all this food. — I already knew what was going on.
— Y-yes, — Potter nodded. — And then we ordered some weird juice, Ron suggested we check out the upgrades again, — he paused for a moment. — And then it got hot...
— Okay, — he cut the young drunk off. — So where's the brave lieutenant now? Sleeping?
— He's not feeling well. — Neville spoke for the first time. — He's in there. — He nods towards the closed door of one of the rooms.
— Well, that's his choice. — I walked over to the table and took the empty seat at the head. — I have a special program for you, but since Ron decided to have a good time last night, let him rest. I won't give him any potions. Let him experience the hardships of the adult world. — My crooked grin was echoed by the silent Aurors. — Now, come on, eat up, and by the way, drink these potions, — I handed an amber vial to the teenagers. — Then wash well, all over, dress elegantly, and new acquaintances will be waiting for you.
— А... — Neville began.
— No, it's a surprise, so I won't say anything...