Chapter 46. Summer Holidays 1/2
While staying home for the holidays, we did allow ourselves a bit more rest, but the habit of keeping ourselves at least somewhat occupied eventually dragged us into the family library, where, with Kreacher's help, we managed to find the restricted section.
Yes, as surprising as it may sound, the family that keeps a book about Horcruxes in the regular section really does have a restricted one as well. And we can even somewhat understand why it's restricted: most of the spells there were of the ritual-suicide variety, meant to make all your enemies feel awful, and there were also rituals which, though aimed at improving oneself and others, were still extremely dangerous. And one of those, most likely, was used on us back in infancy. Its essence lay in sacrificing people and transferring their talent to a target at the risk of damaging soul and mind. At the very least, this could explain why we have the gift of foresight despite the fact that such a thing is not characteristic of the Blacks at all, and it might also be the reason for our highly unusual situation of one soul in two bodies. However, that was far from what actually interested us.
Given that we're planning to shove into our soul an artifact that will radiate an extremely high level of ice magic, we needed to somehow increase the resistance of our bodies and souls to this element, and that's where the egg of an ice phoenix comes in, which the goblins are supposed to procure for us.
It would be surprising if, considering how many chimeras there are in the magical world, no one had thought of grafting themselves a couple of traits from magical beasts. That's why we were searching for the necessary information until we stumbled upon the right work. Honestly, even if such a ritual in the future would mean giving up Metamorphmagus abilities, we would most likely still choose it. After all, according to what we read, it affects not only the body but also the soul, which makes it three times more dangerous, but also that much more interesting for us. Because isn't it fascinating—to be able to carry the traits of an ice phoenix with you into your next life as well?
Naturally, at this stage it was nothing more than a fantasy, something we will definitely discuss with the Headmaster, who seems to have taken a liking to our idea of preparing for our new life above all else. In a way, it even resembles those clicker games from our past life: the main character becomes stronger, then you trigger something like a rebirth, where you start all over again but with very strong bonuses, and as a result you surpass your previous record in the shortest time possible—and so on, over and over.
"Who knows, maybe we'll even become gods, he-he-he," we muttered, chuckling involuntarily at the prospect we were imagining.
"Da-aad! They're laughing weirdly again while holding a creepy book," Caroline's voice suddenly rang out.
"Don't mind them, sweetheart, a bit of madness is perfectly normal for Blacks," Sirius replied from in front of the television, before suddenly jumping up. "Right! We need to go somewhere all together."
"We'll pass," we answered lazily, continuing to read.
"No-no-no-no, that won't do," Sirius shook his head. "If you keep at those books, you'll go completely round the bend. So a vacation is absolutely mandatory! We'll take Harry with us too—he's never seen the world. Besides, I heard Muggles have amazing amusement parks."
"Hmmm." We set the books aside and allowed ourselves to think it over.
It was clear Sirius wouldn't let us off that easily, and from Caroline's eyes it was obvious how fired up she already was about this idea. And where, pray tell, was that girl who refused to leave this house because of the library? In any case, we needed to choose where to go, at least so that there would be some sort of benefit from it.
"All right. Then let's go to America."
"America?" Caroline repeated.
"Yes, if I remember correctly, that's where the best amusement parks are, and you can also try shooting Muggle weapons there."
"Muggle weapons? You mean those shooty tube things?" Sirius asked with interest.
"Not 'shooty tubes'—firearms: pistols, rifles, and so on. You'll like them."
"In that case, it's settled, I'll go talk to the Old Man so he can help us get some Portkeys," Sirius declared.
"Go ahead, but we're not going anywhere until the goblins deliver our rapiers," we said through Regulus, planning to return to our reading.
"What do you even need rapiers for?" our sister asked.
"For reasons," we answered simply.
"Fine then, wasn't that interesting anyway," the girl grumbled displeasedly.
Sirius received the Headmaster's support very quickly, but there was also an additional surprise: the old man decided to go with us. That was unexpected, but, considering Harry, perhaps even logical. You never know what might happen. In any case, Harry would only arrive on July 31st and, come to think of it, that's when both we and he would have our birthdays. Still, that was not the day we were looking forward to the most.
The day we were most looking forward to was the one when our rapiers were finally delivered. They were exquisite blades, whose basket hilts were beautifully and harmoniously inlaid with seven gemstones. The blade itself was white, like freshly fallen snow, and also incredibly sharp and durable. Their peculiarity was enhanced by the cold mist surrounding them, appearing because of the temperature difference. Touching such a weapon with bare hands was, naturally, not recommended, unless you wanted to earn yourself frostbite. But, essentially, this was exactly the kind of artifact we needed. However, they were not yet complete, and we ourselves were not ready for the final stage. But the first step had been taken. As for the ice phoenix egg, alas, it couldn't be obtained that quickly, so all we could do there was wait, trying in the meantime to think of ways to protect ourselves during the future ritual.
"Why do you even need something so useless?" Caroline remarked after carelessly brushing against the hilt of one of the rapiers.
"This, our dear sister, is preparation for the future; that's something you don't need to worry about," we replied before ruffling her hair. It was simply astounding how adorably she pouted after that. That's why we picked up this bad habit from Sirius.
"I'm not that little that I shouldn't think about the future," the girl muttered.
"Well then, in that case, once you think of something—make sure you tell us. And we'll read your fortune," we smirked, hiding the rapiers in a case that contained their chill.