Chapter 21: Cantatio and Surprise Visitors

They got up early the next morning. Darius was excited just to be learning about Legilimency and now he was getting an extra skill as well. He had no idea what cantatio was, but according to his understanding of Latin, it could mean both music or a spell. He was fairly proficient in Latin due to its requirement in Arithmancy and spell-crafting.

'Well now, it's time to get started on your lessons, if only to stop you from bouncing in your chair', she said as she chuckled. She then begun the explanation of Cantatio.

'Cantatio is the art of creating music using magic. You may know that muggle orchestras have a conductor with a wand-like object to conduct the music. That was a practice they acquired from us, before our secession from the muggle world after the establishment of the Statute of Secrecy. Using magic, we can change the melody, harmony, tempo, metre, timbre, pitch and volume as we please. This art is magically exhausting and my general recommendation would be at least an age of 15 before starting it, but you have proven yourself to be beyond that magical limit so there shouldn't be any issues. Depending on the skill of the witch or wizard, we can go anywhere between a sound of a cat dying to the most beautiful symphony you can ever imagine.

Cantatio also determines where the magician's aptitude lies. It is decided by the limits to which they can take each measure. For example, the larger variation you can control in the pitch, the more skilful you may be at transfiguration. The best part is, repeated practice can help you improve your respective skill and control in various magics. It is now considered a lost art and only the oldest pure-blood families may contain mention of it. If you ever hear the phrase that music is a magic beyond all others, this art is the reason it is so. We unwittingly employ the use of every branch of magic when we practice Cantatio. I will now let you see my memories of learning it in a Pensieve, so you have a good idea of what you will be doing.'

She then showed me the memories of her learning Cantatio from another woman who had very similar features to her, likely a relative. It was beautiful art! The way music is made from pure magic was awe-inspiring. The music had a sort of compulsion to make you listen to it. The way music weaved together, you could literally feel the magic in the air. After coming out from the Pensieve, mum showed me her personal best piece. It was a rendition of a phoenix song, the most beautiful piece of music I ever heard. She asked me to practice it whenever I had time to do so.

Next, we started with Legilimency. Compared to Cantatio, it seemed like child's play. Maybe, that's why we did it in that order. Legilimency is basically using one's consciousness to invade another and search their mind. The method differs from person to person. Some people may like to brute-force their way through like a spear impacting a shield, others are like throwing multiple darts at a person to discover their weak points and invade that way. Yet others are like a mist, slowly creeping in without notice or maybe just dismantling the shields of the opponent. There are many varied methods with each requiring their own respective levels of control and magic. This is also why, Master Occlumens had a distinct advantage when it came to learning Legilimency. Aside from the distinct increase in our mental faculties, we are also able to fashion any method of attacking in our mindscape and use it to attack the opponent.

I practiced all my magic and Cantatio over the next few weeks. My magic had gotten even better and I was able to do even more difficult spells very quickly. I even had the auror-level disillusionment charm practised to a perfect level. There are no official ranks of spells aside from academic years, but unofficially there is of-age spells, auror/hit-wizard level spells and Unspeakable level spells above that. I was coming along at a rapid pace and I had no dearth of money to buy higher levels of spellbooks and grimoires for further practice.

It was towards the end of the first month of vacation and about two weeks before I had to leave for the Weasleys, that we received a mysterious and rather alarming letter.

To,

Lady Kaela Icarus née Ira Dominus

Heir of Ira

Kings Cross Inn Hotel

London, United Kingdom

Madam,

My wife and I seek to converse with you and your son at you earliest convenience. We have reason to believe that you have something that belongs to us. Fear not, we are not here for retaking it. We merely wish to acquaint ourselves with the people who currently possess it.

You will find our proposal to be to your advantage. We will willingly impart some secrets to you. I merely seek to meet Darius and gain some measure of the lad. We are not going to freely give out our name so as to not cause a hue and cry.

If you decide to take up our offer, you may step across the floor and enter the room 3 doors down from yours. We await your visit.

Yours sincerely,

N & P

Kings Cross Inn Hotel

London, United Kingdom

The letter truly alarmed my mother. As we were under the Fidelius charm, there should be no conceivable reason for anybody to know our exact location, yet this letter proved us wrong regarding that. They also stated we had a possession belonging to them and we had no clue what it was. Information is power and we had none right now. The only question was, do we take up their offer or not?

We decided to go the next day and owled them a reply accordingly. We settled ourselves in for the night but sleep just wouldn't come for me. I knew I was on the cusp of realising something and forcing it wouldn't help, so I relaxed and started meditating when it suddenly struck me. I knew who the mailers were and what possession they spoke off. Now, I couldn't sleep for a different reason; I was simply too excited to do so and finally had to settle myself with my Occlumency exercises and meditate for the night.

The next morning, we got up early and got ready to meet the visitors. I debated with myself about whether to confess my suspicions to mum but it seemed so far-fetched that I kept them to myself. We got ready in our wizarding finest and headed to the room 3 doors down. We both managed to detect the wards arranged in the room but it seemed that they would not obstruct us, so we entered the room after knocking and getting a reply of, 'Come in!'

We entered the room and immediately noticed the couple sitting on the couch in front of us. The man and woman both wore formal wizarding robes but seemed very young; in their late twenties at the maximum. But it was their eyes that gave away their true ages; they seemed to be like deep pools, as if they had seen so much more than us. It seemed that my suspicions were correct and I hurried to greet them before my mother could inquire of their identities.

'Good morning, Mr and Mrs Flamel! It’s a pleasure to meet you.'

I had the distinct pleasure of seeing my mother's jaw drop and also saw Nicolas pass a galleon over to Perenelle. It seemed they had a bet as to whether we would be able to figure out their identities or not. By this time, my mother comported herself and gave her own greetings to the duo.

Nicolas took the lead and spoke up, 'No need to stand on pleasantries with us. Have a seat. We have a lot to talk about and should get all this formality out of the way.'

We did as he said and took the couch opposite to them. My mother spoke up, 'I am honoured that the eternal couple is deigning to speak to us, but may I ask why? After all, you are known for having withdrawn from society and seldom reveal yourself.'

'As expected of a Dominus heiress. You guys always seem to know a bit too much. We have dealt with your ancestors even before your bloodline awakening and they were exactly the same even then', Madam Perenelle chuckled as she reminisced.

This time, I had to speak up. 'According to official records, you should be of the ages of 665 and 658 respectively. How is it that you speak of our ancestors who existed even before that? Do you mean to say that you are even longer-lived than that?'

'You are a perceptive little brat! You even caused me to lose the bet to Perenelle due to that. Anyway, you happen to be right. We are indeed far older than history would have you believe. We have changed identities and lived several different lives. The allure of the Philosopher's stone is too strong and we eventually grow tired of the hounding and start our lives over with a different identity.'

'It is as Nicolas said! What people fail to realise is that we have been through everything and do not fall for their simple ploys. The true Philosopher's stone is not an artefact, it is our very life essence, our blood. Both of us, due to a fortunate happenstance, not unlike your clan, gained sanguis vitam auream otherwise called Golden Blood of Life. The stone you hold is merely our crystallised, rune enchanted, blood. It will work for maybe a decade before it collapses unto itself.'

'I expected as such. I refused to believe that two people, who have lived for more than six centuries, just up and decided to end their lives. I thank you for your trust in us by telling us this but may I ask what the true purpose of your visit is?'

'It is not merely trust. You'll find that you are unable to tell anybody else our secret. The knowledge is protected under the Fidelius charm and thus cannot be divulged by anyone except the secret-keeper. The only reason we were able to find you and your mother inside the charm is because there is a very strong connection between the stone and my own blood and a blood-tracking ritual is enough to overpower the Fidelius for a while. The true purpose of our visit is to test you Darius.'

'Wait; test my son for what? You aren't getting anywhere near him until you explain your intentions clearly', my mother was a bit frantic as she replied. It touched me that she was so protective of me and I loved her for it.

Perenelle decided to intervene and said, 'No need to be suspicious Kaela. We are thinking of taking Darius as an apprentice. We do that roughly every century or so and our last one was at the beginning of the 20th century. It was Albus Dumbledore, your current headmaster.

So, I ask formally; Do you, Darius Icarus, take us, Nicolas And Perenelle Flamel, as your masters and promise to duly fulfil the requirements of an apprentice and bring honour to our name?'

My mother and I were frozen stiff. Here were the Flamel couple, premier Masters of the ancient art of Alchemy and were offering apprenticeship to me. It was almost like a dream and my mother had to nudge me before I pulled myself together and answered with a resounding, 'YES!'

'Well then, we will begin teaching you the basics from tomorrow. I realise you will have to leave for Hogwarts in a month's time and will endeavour to teach you the basic rules in that time. I never had this problem before; if I am not mistaken, you are the youngest apprentice we have ever taken. I will give you some of our notes and journals; of course, charmed so that only you can open and read them. I will test you the next summer on your progress and take your studies further from there. We will continue this process over the next few, till you are at a decent level and then leave you to find your own path. Every single alchemist has to walk their own path and have their own discoveries; and you will be no exception.'

'Yes masters. I will carry out your instructions to the best of my abilities.'

We left son after that; my mother still a bit shocked with the events that transpired a few moments ago. I was hardly in a better condition. It was a lot to take in. But one thing was for sure, this was literally a once in a century offer and I was going to make the best of it.

Anyway, I had to write a letter to let the twins know that I won't be able to come to the burrow after all. It was a bit of a pain as this would have been a good opportunity to snag the Diary from Ginny. It would be much easier than taking it from the girl's dorm in Hogwarts but I will let it go for now. I am sure I can think of some way to get it from her later.