Fingers thrummed against the wooden dining table, Gabriel's eyes fixed on the open window directly in front of him. Anticipation bubbled within him as he counted down the minutes until his mail arrived.
After his shocking display of prodigious talent in Transfiguration, McGonagall guided him in contacting the ICW, ensuring a swift appointment with their testers.
Fortunately, her name carried significant weight in the magical world, which expedited the appointed date to the following day.
Thanking her profusely, Gabriel had left Hogwarts in high spirits.
The following day, he welcomed multiple individuals to his home, ranging from OWL testers to ICW officials who ensured nothing improper was done to skew his scores.
Six hours of theoretical exams, followed by an additional six hours spent on practical segments, saw Gabriel completely redefine the concept of 'genius'.
The people who marked the examinations were simply stunned, as they watched a 17-year-old home-schooled student shatter historical records dating back hundreds of years.
Now, Gabriel was waiting patiently for his scores to arrive, to send them to McGonagall and commence his first, and final, year at Hogwarts.
The soft flapping of feathered wings reached his ears from outside. Gabriel snapped out of his thoughts, watching an owl slowly glide through the sky and into his home.
Dropping onto the table, it extended a claw with an envelope clutched in it.
Giving the owl a piece of meat, Gabriel quickly took the note and tore it open, his eyes shimmering with excitement.
Reading the information slowly, he exhaled in relief. "Oh, that's brilliant. I wonder how quickly this news is going to leak to the Daily Prophet, courtesy of Rita Skeeter."
[OWL Results (Gabriel Thorne)
Grading: Outstanding (O), Exceeds Expectations (E), Acceptable (A), Poor (P), Dreadful (D), and Troll (T)
Potions: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Charms: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Transfiguration: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Herbology: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Care of Magical Creatures: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
History of Magic: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Defence Against the Dark Arts: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Ancient Runes: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Astronomy: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Arithmancy: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
Divination: O+ (Outstanding, highest recorded score.)
We at the ICW congratulate you on this record-breaking historical event. If you are ever interested in working with the ICW upon graduation, please feel free to contact any of our branches in Europe.]
Gabriel couldn't help but laugh out loud at the ridiculous accomplishment he had achieved.
Throughout the entire month, he had delved into dozens of books. With Great Sage analyzing the information and synthesizing it into his mind, his knowledge absorption was astronomical.
Wand movements were now a blend of art and science, the flow of magic inside his body optimized for maximum efficiency. His movements were precise and calculated, a hidden danger just under the surface.
Even the theoretical exams were simple for him; with the aid of the memories, books, and Great Sage, he merely needed to read a question before the answer was calculated in his mind, covering everything from star charts to the volatility of magical plants and the applications of potions.
He knew that without the gifts granted to him after his death, he would be nothing compared to where he was now. In the month of studying and practicing since his arrival, Gabriel always inherently knew that arrogance would get him killed.
While he could utilize the gifts inherent to his existence, he was always conscious of his unfair advantage, no matter what he did in this new life.
Placing the letter down, Gabriel stretched his hands over his head as he felt the faint popping of his bones.
"It's good to be broken. Now, all I need to do is send this off to Hogwarts and I'm all set for the next year."
Drawing his wand, Gabriel quickly duplicated the letter.
"Fella, can you take this to McGonagall? I'll give you some extra meat," he said, softly stroking the owl's feathers and placing a large piece of steak nearby. Seeing the bribe, the owl simply hooted and bobbed its head in agreement before gobbling up its payment.
Attaching the duplicate to the owl's foot, Gabriel watched as it hopped off the table, onto the windowsill, before launching itself skyward.
With a subtle flick of his wand, the dishes on the table moved through the air towards the sink, where they began cleaning themselves and returned to their places.
Standing up, Gabriel left the kitchen and walked towards the family library.
'What next? I've accomplished most of my plans already, and the holidays still have another half a month left.'
Pushing open the library door, Gabriel picked up a book on warding he had found interesting earlier, and then seated himself on a plush leather couch.
Thoughts of the World Cup prompted Gabriel's mind to wander to the coming year. He knew that Mad-Eye Moody would be impersonated by Barty Crouch Jr., who would trick the Goblet into choosing Harry.
This year, it was safe to say, would mark the beginning of the darker side of the franchise, with Voldemort's rebirth and Cedric's murder.
'I could go all Gary Stu and submit my name into the Goblet,' Gabriel mused, though the idea of being a Hogwarts champion held little to no appeal for him.
The money was pennies, and the glory was useless.
'I should hunt the Horcruxes this year; it wouldn't be a difficult situation. The Ring was in Gaunt's Shack, the Diadem in the Room of Requirement, and the Diary already destroyed; but the Locket and Cup remained in difficult-to-reach locations. Let's not even mention Nagini; her first true appearance is in the graveyard.'
Within the past month, Gabriel had scoured the library, finding books related to laws and noble houses. A unique discovery was that students who were either heirs or lords could leave Hogwarts on the weekend to attend to house matters.
This loophole was something Gabriel intended to exploit throughout the year.
Closing the book, his lingering thoughts a frustrating distraction, Gabriel stood and began pacing around the library. His mind was a whirlwind of ideas and theories that had no immediate answers.
His biggest issues would be the Locket and Cup, both locked behind powerful wards. One within the Black family's wards, the other behind Gringotts' Goblin wards.
Pausing mid-step, Gabriel chuckled, followed by a full-blown laugh escaping his throat.
"I'm a fucking idiot! House-elves can teleport almost anywhere, and Goblins have their own unique blend of magic. All he needed to do was devour one of each kind, or he could use Great Sage and his heightened intellect to analyze the ward structures and bypass them!"
Shaking his head at his own stupidity, Gabriel threw the book down and leaned his head against the couch, his eyes closed, his mind a jumbled mess as countless plans and ideas appeared and disappeared.
---
A/N - Comment and donate power stones for faster chapters!