13 Advancements

The next few days were a bit weird, they made fun of Ron when Hermione wasn't around because when she was, all they did was wonder what the Giant Three Headed Dog, Cerberus [Fluffy] was doing there. ``Hermione are you positive you saw a trapdoor? I mean we weren't there for long,'' before Harry could talk further Ron butted in to defend his girl, ``Come on Harry, if Hermione said there's a Trapdoor, then there most likely is.'' Hermione looked over to Ron and they both smiled at each other, the whole table felt weird stiitng there with them. Theo, Daphne were told about Cerberus as well and Daphne was the only one currently fine with Ron and Hermione openly flirting. Everyone else tried to think of ways to make them snap out of it, ``Ahem! There might be a trapdoor but who cares, we don't have to stick our noses where they don't belong.'' Harry, Jack looked over and thanked Theo for changing the mood and also making the adventurous Hermione realize they were wasting time. ``That's true, we only went there accidentally and we don't know what the Teachers are doing or why.'' Jack sighed in relief alongside everyone else. Although he was happy that Ron and Hermione came together from the start, the change in behaviour from the books was a bit much.

He realized that she would have had to do the same intensity workouts as him and Harry to awaken a High Class Phantom and that Ron's supportive behaviour alongside their friendship made her open to changes. Slowly time passed and with the help of the group, mainly Ron, Hermione caught up to their standards of knowledge. Whenever Ron and Harry were busy at Quidditch, Daphne would step in and help Hermione and the times Ron was there, Hermione and him were joined at the table and only looked up if one of their friends or a teacher spoke to them. Jack saw on more than one occasion, Hermione and Daphne looking at him and when they saw him look up, Daphne would look at books again while Hermione would smile in amusement receiving the Elbow of Punishment. He realized Daphne affection towards him long ago but he wanted to wait and see if it was momentary or long lasting. Nothing out of sorts happened when the First Quidditch match came around, Quirrell tried to curse Harry's broom like in the books but Snape's counter curse was powered by his higher quality Manaand was able to break the curse quite easily. Quirrell had awakened his Phantom but letting Voldemort take over him was quite literally to worst thing he did.

The Phantoms once awakened were part of the Soul and any foreign influences were taken as an attack. Harry's Phantom was Death, a Literal Manifestation of the Laws of the world. So, the Horcrux soul piece inside him was no issue for the still growing Phantom. Meanwhile Quirrell was an ordinary wizard not too keen on the prospect of exercise and took the shortcut and received the short end of the stick. After the Quidditch match, the next time Quirrell tried something was Halloween. Jack wasn't worried about Quirrell, even with Voldemort inside him. The Wizarding world was much stronger than before meanwhile, Voldemort was a shadow of his past and even with his body, he would be no match for most Adult Wizards in todays age. For example, Mr. Weasley Sr., a hardworking Wizard with the talents to match. He had awakened a High Class Phantom like his wife and would be able to take on Voldemort with ease. If Voldemort knew how much the future would change in the few years he was `dead', he would have never done half the things he had.

The people he had directly or indirectly killed, hurt or harmed in any way, their family, friends or normal acquaintances now had power to decimate him and his followers. That was why Jack wasn't concerned with the `the most powerful and evil Dark Lord of all times', he was more focused on his path to ascension. His powers were growing every day, he had still been making Potions, Magical Artefacts with the help of his Magic Fire and refining his body with the Mana Control Training Arts. Jack realized he had to once again take inspiration from his past life's favourite past time, Anime, Manga and Novels. He had finished refining his body to its current peak, now it was time to increase the Mana inside his body, the Mana Gathering Stage. At this moment, using his Powerful Soul, Jack began to draw Mana inside his body and add it to the Mana inside himself. Checking to see if his body was ok, Jack continued gathering Mana inside his core. Jack realized it would take time for his Core to fill with Mana, so he stopped meditating and went to sleep. Jack wanted to check for any side effects before he told his family and friends of this method.

The next Sunday, everyone in his group were standing in front of a wall on the Seventh Floor. ``Jack, what are we doing here?'' Theo was the first to ask the question, like in the books, he was a diligent student with talent in making Magical Artefacts alongside Potions. He was happy whenever they were training, studying and occasionally just having fun or talking but he didn't like to waste time, neither did anyone else in the group. They were all geniuses and it wasn't all talent, it was a combination of hard work and effort . All of them were hard working people and that was one of the reason Jack was good friends with them, they were similar. ``Don't worry, you will enjoy this more than discovering a new potion formula.'' Everyone sucked in their breath at this statement and waited for the whatever Jack had wanted to show them quietly. Jack had been exploring Hogwarts any chance he had and there was one place he always wanted to find, it was magical even in the Wizarding World, The Room of Requirements.

If anyone was in a dire need of a place, the room would present itself to them in the form of their need. For example, Jack wanted a quiet place with separated rooms where the group could exchange pointers, help each other in studies that would be frowned upon by others and most importantly gather Mana within themselves and not be disturbed. Everyone was shocked when a door formed in front of them, ``The Room of Requirements!'' Hermione, the walking library provided explanations to those who weren't bookworms like her. ``Wow! This place is amazing, we can study, train, have fun. We can do anything here.'' Theo's words sounded a bit crazy but all he meant was they could brew potions and make Magical Equipment without putting anyone in harms way. After they calmed down from the excitement, Jack told them about the next stage in growing stronger. Everyone was happy to find a way and they all listened to him like he was their teacher and well, he was. Every now and then, someone would make a point that would make Jack want to jump off a cliff but he endured and added that to the Technique, `I tested theories on myself for months and all I had to do was talk to these pric*ks and half my problems would have been solved like that! Damn It!'