Ted had always been drawn to the idea of psionics—mindpower shaping reality.
The concept fascinated him, and after studying the idea of will empowered magic, he saw its potential for unlocking latent abilities.
Every morning, he trained. Running, exercising, pushing his body and mind to the limit.
At school, he treated classes like RPG quests, gathering knowledge like experience points.
When he wasn't in class, he was in the library, buried in books, experimenting with spells, or refining his notes.
Leisure time? That meant hanging out with friends or tackling the odd puzzle.
One particular afternoon, Ted sat in the library with Hermione.
While Ron, Harley, and the others had long since abandoned their homework in favor of Quidditch practice or other mischief, Ted remained, stacking books faster than Hermione could finish one.
"What's that one about?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow at his growing pile.
Ted glanced at the cover. "Uh, 'Identification of Magical Wood and Bowtruckle Conservation.' Talks about how to harvest wand wood without pissing off the local Bowtruckles."
She made a face. "Sounds… useful?"
He picked up another. "'Don't Forcefully Ride a Unicorn.' Some wizard tried to tame one, got kicked so hard he never walked properly again."
Hermione smirked. "Serves him right."
Ted skimmed another. "'Accidental Potion Awards'—a compilation of potion mishaps. Some poor bloke made a drink that made him hover ten feet in the air for a week. Another one started vomiting glitter."
He snorted and grabbed the next. "'Transfiguration Mistakes: A Cautionary Tale.' Twelve documented cases. Eleven of them… never fully recovered."
Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Lovely."
Flipping to the last one, Ted read aloud, "'The Postpartum Care of Werewolves.' Apparently, two werewolves conceived on the night of a full moon and had a kid who could transform at will."
He looked up. "Who exactly did that research?"
Before Hermione could answer, she leaned in and whispered, "Come with me. I found something weird."
Intrigued, Ted followed her past towering shelves to a forgotten corner of the library.
A lone phrase was etched into the stone wall: Maintain Due Etiquette in the Library! — Helminster.
Hermione tapped the inscription. "I asked Madam Pince. Helminster was a librarian over a hundred years ago."
Ted tilted his head. "And you think there's more to it?"
She nodded. "It's too obscure to just be a leftover reminder. It's been here for a century."
"Alright, let's check." Ted pulled out his wand. "Revelio."
A soft blue glow pulsed from the text, but only certain letters shone.
"I've got it!" Hermione tapped the glowing letters in sequence, spelling out QUIET.
The wall shimmered. Below the original inscription, tiny words appeared, spelling out something new.
Ted's system chimed in—55 experience points earned.
"Looks like a spell," Ted murmured, memorizing it instantly. "Let's get out of here before we test it."
Back in an abandoned classroom, he transcribed the inscription. "It's a silencing spell—seems original. The librarian who wrote it must've been sick of noisy students."
Hermione laughed. "So he made a spell that completely erases all sound in a given radius?"
"Exactly. No speaking, no footsteps, nothing. Complete silence."
Harley and Ron weren't thrilled when they heard about it later. "You two solved a puzzle without us?" Ron groaned. "C'mon, that's like one of the few fun things to do here!"
Harley nodded. "Learning spells is cool and all, but the mystery-solving part is way better."
By the end of November, Ted finally succeeded in casting Arcane Intellect—though not without cost.
Six unfortunate mice had been sacrificed in magical experiments.
"Don't worry, they didn't suffer," Ted said solemnly. "And Anzu enjoyed the results."
His owl hooted in agreement, thoroughly satisfied after his meal.
The spell granted a temporary +2 Intelligence buff for thirty minutes.
The best part? It had no cooldown and could stack with other intelligence-enhancing effects.
When combined with Ravenclaw's Wisdom (Blue), the total buffs jumped to +4 Intelligence and +1 Spirit.
With his intelligence stat effectively doubled, Ted felt his mind race.
Everything was sharper.
Thoughts clicked into place like a perfectly tuned computer running at max capacity.
"This is amazing," he muttered, flipping through a book at lightning speed. "It's like I upgraded to quad-core processing!"
His study efficiency skyrocketed. With his mind in overdrive.
Before Ted started studying magic seriously, progress felt slow and clumsy.
He'd struggle, hit roadblocks, and only see improvements after days of effort.
But now? He just had to think about something for a few minutes, and new insights clicked into place.
He was even confident he could figure out how to cast Frost Nova within a few hours of experimenting!
The rush of understanding, the way knowledge flowed so naturally—it was exhilarating.
Magic wasn't just fascinating; it was thrilling, like leveling up in a game and unlocking a whole new skill tree.
Finally, he could breathe easy.
Ted knew he wasn't a true genius. He worked hard, stayed disciplined, and had a few unfair advantages thanks to his system.
But compared to Hermione's sheer academic brilliance or Harley's raw magical talent, he sometimes felt like he was just barely keeping up.
If he ever slacked off, his experience points wouldn't be enough to sustain this rapid progress.
And with the way young wizards developed the fastest between third and fifth year, he knew things were only going to get tougher.
The original timeline had seen Harley master Expecto Patronum, the Shield Charm, and even the Summoning Charm in just a few years.
Ted wasn't about to let himself fall behind—not when he might have to face off against Voldemort and his Death Eaters one day.
But now, at least, he wasn't as anxious about it.
Somewhere along the way, Ted had crossed into the realm of true magical scholars.
Even without the system, he felt confident he could stand among the top students. And with his knowledge from other worlds?
He had an edge no one else did.
For the first time in a while, he felt at peace.
Ted's newfound relaxation didn't go unnoticed by his friends.
Harley raised an eyebrow one afternoon. "You ever notice how Ted's not so wound-up anymore? He used to look like he was ready to sprint at any second."
Ron nodded. "Yeah, mate. You used to study like your life depended on it. Just watching you made me tired."
Hermione studied Ted carefully. "He still keeps the same routine, but his attitude is different. He's not pushing himself so hard anymore."
Ted blinked at them, surprised. He hadn't realized his tension had been so obvious. "Sorry if I made you guys worry. I guess I just… figured some things out."
Neville clapped a hand on his shoulder but didn't say anything. Jerry, however, grinned.
"No big deal. I was a wreck when I first got here too—always scared I'd screw up and get expelled. But once I started hanging out with you guys, I loosened up. You just took a little longer to get there."
Ted chuckled. Maybe they were right. Coming straight from a Muggle orphanage to Hogwarts had been a massive shift.
It made sense that he'd needed time to adjust.
With his mind clearer, Ted's research became even more efficient.
The experimental psionic techniques he'd been working on started showing real progress.
Using what he'd learned from the Silencing Spell, he successfully developed a few new abilities:
Phantom Sound: Creates illusory sounds within a controlled area.
Whispering Message: Sends a secret, one-way message to a specific target, unheard by anyone else.
Mimicry: Alters or disguises sounds, making something—or someone—sound completely different.
Unlike traditional spells, these psionic abilities didn't require wands or magical energy.
They were subtle, undetectable, and had endless possibilities.
November passed without any major incidents, and soon, December rolled in.
On the morning of December 1st, Ted received a familiar notification from his system:
_______________________
Ding! Talent [Knowledge of Other Worlds (Gold)] triggered.
Discovered: [Spell Book of Apprentice Red Robe Wizard Panny (Blue)].
_______________________
Ted's eyes widened.
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[Spell Book of the Apprentice Red Robe Wizard Panny (Blue)]
Contains the magical research and spell models of the Three-Ringed Red Robe Wizard Panny.
Requires 550 experience points to unlock.
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A Red Robe Wizard? Apprentice?
That had to be magic from the Dungeons & Dragons world!
Without hesitation, Ted selected "Unlock" and felt a rush of knowledge flood his mind.
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Word count: 1467
Sorry guys, I won't be able to post for tomorrow, got some big test comin' up!