Harry Potter and the Bucket List

Year 2 - 7

It was tiring—since all that time was taken from my sleep schedule—but rewarding.

I also made sure to hug Fenrir a bunch while I was there and give him twice as many Christmas gifts as I did last year. Since living in society for over a year by that point, Fenrir had really started to take care of himself. He was looking better and better each time I saw him and I was so dang proud of him.

He was gonna be the bestest cuddle buddy in my werewolf army.

I sent out my standard rotation of Christmas gifts: gifts for all my babeh snakes, my allies as Enáretos, and gifts for the Weasley twins as thanks for being my study buddies for warding.

Honestly, I was pretty proud of the progress I had made on wards. I didn't have a lot of practical experience, but I planned on changing that during the upcoming summer.

I also went ahead and sent a little letter to Bones about some information pertaining to Lockhart she'd find very interesting.

(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*

On midnight of Christmas Eve, I made myself comfortable in my bed. I took up a meditative pose then I slipped away into my mind palace to find Tom still on the island. He was studying the ocean intently. He did not react to my arrival immediately, taking his time to examine the dark water. Once satisfied he straightened up and gifted me that angelic fake smile.

"Think you can cross it now?" I asked him.

"I have something I want to try," he admitted.

His magic moved, shifting, turning, tucking, and rolling inside me. He could not directly affect my mind without first overpowering me—something he would never be able to do—but he could use magic on himself. He muttered something quietly under his breath that I could not discern.

Then he stepped out on the water... and stood atop it.

"I had already experimented in creating flight magic for myself," he told me. "Minor levitation should do the trick here."

Flight magic was something special and unique. I could levitate others, but I could not levitate myself with Wingardium Leviosa nor Accio. Both of those spells required me to be anchored—or at least use myself as a focus for the magic. Self levitation and flight were entirely different. Brooms could only do so with heavy enchantment and rune work. No one had been able to replicate such things on another wizard.

Until Lord Voldemort, that is.

"That's truly impressive," I praised him, marveling at how effortlessly he made it look. He had no wand, after all. He wasn't even a magical sensor.

I stepped out onto the black water beside him. I didn't need anything so fancy since we were inside my mind palace. Tom tilted his head as his dark eyes assessed me. His facial expressions were impossible to read, but the echoes of his magic betrayed his feelings. There was pleasure when I praised him, but always a layer of suspicion or distrust. It felt as if he could not accept my words at face value.

That could stem from insecurities or a lifetime of cynicism. Either way, the only thing I could do was smile and do my best to convey my sincerity.

"I hope you'll like the forest even better than the island," I said, folding my hands together as we began to walk across the dark water.

"I'm sure I will," he placated me.

I skipped a step so I could speed up ahead of him and walk in front. I turned on my heel to face him as I walked backward. "Merry Christmas, Tom."