#the one who overfeeds him the most is alchemist

[compaculaaa]

Works everytime🥺✨

[thenavysealkie]

Charging Station|| Luci & Marcus

Timing: Current-ish, later at night

Location: On the street in front of Like A Charm

Parties: @thenavysealkie @luci-in-the-stars

Triggers: None

Hungry. Marcus’s pelt had finally grown hungry. While it could go long periods of time without  being fed magic, that also meant it took more magic to fill it up completely. He took no pleasure in robbing magic users of their abilities, if only temporarily, but what else could he do? The time had come for him to go hunting again for the first time in about a year. And he knew the perfect spot to stake out. 

Like a Charm was a busy place for real magic users and edgy “wiccan” girls alike. It sold a variety of actual magical items as well as some more novelty pieces for the unpowered. Determining who was a real magic user and who was cosplaying as one was generally pretty easy, so all Marcus had to do was wait outside in his car until he sensed somebody who was powerful and alone. 

After several groups of teenagers came and left, he was worried he’d strike out tonight. But just then, he saw a girl leaving the store, and he could sense real power within her. She was also alone, so he would be able to follow behind and try and sap her power discreetly. A pit formed in his stomach, as he didn’t enjoy doing this. Yet, all the same, he left his car and conspicuously followed behind the girl just a few steps behind. 

__

Luci stretched slightly as she waved to Vera telling the owner that she was heading out, brain focused mostly on her latest circle. She got a “yeah kid, good work,” as she left, her mind still puzzling out the circle the other had given her. While Vera was - odd with most of the customers she was somewhat caring to the young Alchemist and wanted to help her. So she had taken to given Luci circles that she could work back from and tell her in the next shift what they were for. 

Still, while she used to be able to sit on public transport and work on things and get home - Luci couldn’t do that anymore instead walking most places in Wicked’s Rest. So instead she sighed and put her trusty pen behind her ear wanting to get back to the apartment as quickly as possible. “Yeah - I think the C is for sure carbon -,” she muttered under her breath noting it as she moved, not realizing the steps behind her and instead focusing on the problem. “Or maybe it’s a K again - I need to check when I get home that it hasn’t moved again.” 

Her footsteps slowed for a moment, thinking of checking the paper before she heard something that wasn’t her feet behind her. “Oh sorry - Don’t mean to block the sidewalk,” Luci said moving to the side for the other as she went to grab the paper to confirm. 

__

As he followed, Marcus fumbled with his pelt, trying to get it out and ready to steal away some of the girl’s magic. He found that taking little bits at a time was helpful to ensure that they didn’t lose too much of their powers for too long. The pelt was hungry, and could easily overfeed and leave a magic user completely powerless permanently. Marcus was intent on not allowing that to happen tonight. 

While he was fumbling around with his pelt, the woman in front of him suddenly stopped, causing his long legs to close the distance between them quickly. She turned around and acknowledged him, confirming that his cover was now completely blown. 

Ever quick with charm, Marcus smiled broadly and nodded towards the woman. “No problem at all, ma’am. You look like you’re deep in thought about something. Just be careful stopping out on the sidewalk at this time of night. You never know who’s out there.” 

Guys like him, for instance. No, there were plenty worse than him. He’d be so subtle she probably wouldn’t even notice that much of a difference. At least, that’s what he’d continue to tell himself as time went on. Regardless, he needed to keep her attention and also try and keep his pelt out of view as much as he could. 

“Late night trip to the magic shop, eh? Never really got interested in all that kind of stuff myself.” 

Luci was half distracted, her mind still on her puzzle as she realized the other was talking to her. Looking up she raised an eyebrow at the idea that she was in trouble. It was something she had heard a lot, and sure she should be more cautious especially after the caves, but she had made the walk quite a few times. 

“Oh - Yes I was. Still, I shouldn’t block the road. It’s not too late is it?” Luci said her mind was wondering how late it might have been looking at her phone lightly to see it was later then she had realized. Vera normally did have to scoot her out of the place, probably because she wanted to close the shop. In anycase, the other didn’t seem particularly dangerous or frightening. He seemed rather normal, although Luci was hardly a great judge of any of that. 

“Oh It is late. That’s no good. My brother’s probably already worried. - Oh no I work here,” Luci said at the question with a little chuckle. “I just got off my shift. And no? I mean that’s understandable but I do like it there.” She did love magic after all, even if hers was broken. 

As Marcus listened to the woman talk, he finally got his pelt in a workable yet conspicuous position. 

“A bit late, but not extremely late by any means. Otherwise I’d already be home in bed.” 

He could sense his pelt attempting to drain the woman but…something was off. It was almost as if nothing was happening at all. 

“You work here? Oh that’s great, I’m assuming you know a lot about these sorts of things then. How long have you worked there for?” Marcus continued, trying to figure out what the issue was. Had he clocked her incorrectly? Was she just a normal human? 

“Either way, I’m glad you like it. I tend to the lighthouse over on Hanging Rock, always been drawn to the see so it works for me too. Always do what you love, that’s what my dad always taught me” He officially gave up on trying to troubleshoot his pelt. He’d simply need a different target. 

“So…do you believe in any of that stuff? Have you personally seen anyone there show off anything magical?”

Luci nodded at the thought wondering if she should call Milo. Chances were he was still out and about though. While she tended to go to bed fairly early she wasn’t sure what he did anymore. Still, she also knew that she had some studying to do as well. 

At the series of questions Luci was pulled back to the present looking at the man and not thinking about what she was about to do. “Oh yes. I mean not all of it works obviously some of it is just nonsense. If you ever come in I can show you. Last semester really, I got the job right before school started.” The other seemed nice after all, and while she finally put her notebook into her back she nodded. 

“Oh, that must be a lot of fun the lighthouse seems like a great place to see - although shouldn’t you be going back then? To watch the light?” She wasn’t very good at knowing what they all did, but surely when it was dark he should be there. 

At the question Luci’s eyebrow raised a little bit caught off guard. “Oh. I mean magic is just science that isn’t explained. Isn’t that what someone said? So yes I do.” Still she wondered now why the man was asking it like that. Why she felt a tug at her magic. It made her feel off as she saw a purple spark on her hand. 

Was it just a trick of being tired? Her magic didn’t normally do that, and her eyes widened realizing that the brokenness might be getting worse. She hoped the other didn’t see it as she moved back the sparks concentrating in her hand where she had been holding the equation she had. It was like it was trying to channel through that and she needed to go. She hoped he didn’t see her hand as she put it behind her back hoping the sparks faded. 

“Uh - well I should probably be going. It was nice to meet you,” Luci said nicely with a nod. 

____________________________________________________________________________

While Marcus normally watched the seas during the night, it wasn’t exactly a requirement for his job description. Just as long as the light was working properly to guide the ships toward safety, the lighthouse was considered kept. It wasn’t like there were many swimmers out at this time of year, although he did admit he should probably keep an eye out for any shipwrecks. The icy chill in the ocean air didn’t serve as any deterrent to the fishermen or merchant ships sailing through the frigid waters, and there was still always the chance of a wreck. 

Marcus was about to say something about Luci’s statement regarding magic. He was going to say that many things in life were more than they seemed, and that he liked her outlook on magic just being a form of science that hasn’t been explored. He was going to say that. Until he saw a crackle of amethyst energy leap right from her hand. He had had her pegged correctly after all, she had magic. And by the looks of it, a rich amount of it as well. 

Casually, and covertly as possible, he managed to successfully move his pelt to the front of his body, hopefully close enough for the pelt to siphon whatever magic flowed from the girl in front of him. 

“I’m sorry…here I am talking your ear off in the dead of night. If you want I can walk with you until you get home, make sure you get back safe.” 

God, he really did feel like a sleaze. A predator in every sense of the word. Even know his pelt may be sapping this poor girl of her magic, and he was trying to paint himself as some sort of protector. It was a messy part of being what he was, and he’d of course move the pelt away before draining her completely. A few days where her powers are “dull” or “funky” is something he could live with. Robbing her of them completely was not. 

Luci didn’t know what was happening, as she tried to move her sparking hand away from the notes. Normally she didn’t worry about it, if she wasn’t intentionally flowing magic through the circles they shouldn’t glow with magic - but with how odd her magic was lately she wasn’t sure it wouldn’t catch the careful drawn lines of the circles. 

A circle she hadn’t fully studied. One that could easily be very dangerous. The rest of her notebook was fairly mundane but that may not be. 

It could be a disaster. She could end up hurting the man. For a moment panic kept her feet still as she thought about what she could do. Maybe Vera was still in the shop and could help her through the sparks. 

“Oh uh - no I don’t think you need too,” Luci said thinking she should move as she saw a spark jump towards her bag she instinctively threw it to her side away from her freezing for a moment as she did before calming down when she realized that the spark didn’t get to it. It was a fast movement, almost violent. She was just lucky she didn’t have her laptop or phone in her bag. That would have been bad. It was lucky that Vera hated laptops. 

Then she realized how weird she was now acting and  said quickly and not at all afraid, “Oh - thought there was a spider. I’m deathly scared of them. You should go in case there is a spider.” Gripping her right hand she was trying to stop the sparks coming out, knowing at this point the other might see them too. 

__

At this point, it was clear to Marcus what was happening. The pelt was already draining it’s prey of her magic. Right now, it seemed as if the magic was draining far more quickly than Marcus would have liked. At this rate, he may do serious long lasting harm in a matter of minutes. Like a dog owner pulling their pet away from a dead animal, Marcus quickly reared his pelt back away from Luci, hoping his sudden movement hadn’t raised any suspicion. 

“Sorry. Thought I might have felt it crawling on me. You’re right, I should probably get back to the lighthouse” he said, now feeling like the awkward one. “It was nice meeting you! Please be careful going home.” 

Marcus could see the distress on her face. She was clearly confused as to what was happening to her. And afraid. Now he could only hope that he hadn’t done any long lasting damage. He really did wish there was a more ethical and reliable source of magic for his pelt charging. In the meantime, though, he’d just have to make whatever he got tonight last as long as he could.

__

Luci looked at her bag her left hand shaking into a fist hoping to stop the magic. It wasn’t right, something was wrong. Was she getting worse? She had been so careful but it seemed like the wrongness of her was building. 

She noticed a movement, looking at the other after a moment and wondering if he was seeing what was happening and when he said he had seen a spider she stilled. “Oh -uh yeah. Have a good night. Hope nothing crashes - you know into the rocks.” She started to move the sparks stilling as she tried to take back the bag. Maybe it had just been temporary - something new she would have to work out with Vera about her ‘special magical circumstances’. Still that scary as she tried to right herself. 

Maybe she should tell Milo? - The thought quickly went away sighing as she checked the time again. Luci needed to figure this new worry alone, after all it wasn’t really surprising she was getting worse even if she wished she wasn’t. Feeling oddly tired she walked away hoping that some rest would help.

___ 

After achieving something that some may consider success, Marcus walked away from the encounter with a pit in his stomach. It wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last. Even when he fed his pelt in a way that he deemed “harmless”, it very plainly left the other person in clear distress. He didn’t want to be the cause of that kind of feeling for anybody. 

With a simple nod of his head, eyes glued to the ground in below him, Marcus tucked his hands into his pockets and moved back towards home before any more damage could be done. One silver lining to William being alive was he didn’t have to do any of this dirty work himself. Now, he was on his own again. Survival of the fittest, as they say. 

He remembered the encounter he had with Cass in the cave, and what a long lasting impact he had left on her life from one encounter. He could only hope that this girl wouldn’t be as affected, that she’d chalk it up to some weird glitch with her powers that will blow over in a few days. Either way, he was already dreading the time that he’d have to do this again.

[writingfulfillment]

Harry Potter and the Goodness of His Heart

One of the most prominent moral arguments made by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is that you can have a bad family, or be raised under poor circumstances, and still be a good person.

Harry Potter is the son of Lily and James Potter, prominent figures in the original anti-Voldemort movement. His parents died to save him from Voldemort’s wrath and in doing so, they gave him a special power against his new mortal enemy. Because of this new gift of love, Voldemort was subdues for a time and Harry became an orphan. He was given to his mother’s sister, Petunia and her husband, Vernon Dursley. Harry was brought up unwanted and constantly prodded, both physically and emotionally, by his cousin Dudley.

They provide him the barest room and board out of the coldness of their hearts and Harry grows up on table scraps and their material leftovers. Despite this, he still grows into a kind person in this terrible environment. When Harry turned 11 years old on July 31st, he got a very strange visitor in the form of his new friend and gentle giant, Hagrid. Hagrid comes to inform Harry of his true identity as a wizard and to invite him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the fall. As Harry discovers this new world, he realizes the truth about his family and his past.

At Hogwarts, Harry learns about magic and makes new friends; the best of which are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. In between school and Quidditch practice, they get into lots of mischief because they cannot help but meddle in things that are not necessarily the business of first years. The first instance of which is confronting a troll which trespassed in the girls lavatory. Not long after this, they find fluffy the three headed dog in a forbidden corridor. Harry gets involved in lots of schemes, but he does so to help out his friends and to protect his new beloved school.

The most troublesome of these are when Hagrid illegally hatches a dragon egg in his wooden hutch. Harry and his friends aid him in feeding and caring for it, although they could get into a huge amount of trouble, they do it for their big friend. They get the dragon out of the country with the help of Ron’s brother Charlie. When the dragon is gone, they get caught and sentenced to detention in the Forbidden Forest alongside their tattletale and Harry’s new rival, Draco Malfoy. While serving this detention they discover what they have suspected for some time, something evil is about at Hogwarts. They find a bieng drinking the cursed blood of an innocent Unicorn and their thought turn to Voldemort and his possible rise to power.

As the school year goes on, they perform lots of extra research on one of their leads, and alchemist named Nicholas Flamel. Eventually they discovered that he is the only known creator of a Sorcerer's Stone and that it was being kept safe at the school. Convinced that someone, potentially Voldemort or his allies, are going to try and steal it to assure Voldemort’s rise and give him immortality. They decide to try and get it first and they face many challenges and obstacles protecting the Stone. Ron gets injured and Hermione is forced to go back for help. Brave little Harry goes forward and discovers that his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell, has been hosting Voldemort for a year. Through his courage and intelligence, Harry gets the Stone and defeats Quirrell, preventing Voldemort’s rise.

From the very beginning we see that Harry is a kind individual living in an abusive and neglectful home. Harry is described as having poor and broken things (his glasses and his massive hand me downs) while Dudley is being overtly spoiled by his parents (his numerous toys and technologies.) The book emphasizes the vast difference between these boys in the scene at the zoo.

At the snake enclosure, Harry is kind and can sympathize with the poor creatures trapped situation. Dudley on the other hand treats it like another toy, instead of a living creature. Harry makes small talk with the snake and Dudley bangs on the glass and quickly becomes frustrated when the snake is not entertaining enough for him. This is just one of many instances which show Harry’s goodness despite being raised in the same household as Dudley.

The audience identifies with Harry because he personifies the classic underdog character who is in a rough situation both financially and emotionally. These are things that most people have already experienced in their lives and they can then empathize with Harry’s situation. The book uses this argument throughout the story as Harry serves his friends and ultimately risks his life, purely out of his goodness and desire to help those he loves.

We know that Harry is good because he’s described as little, scruffy and endearing. [pg]We are meant to pity him further because he lives in an abusive/neglectful situation. He’s too skinny,[pg] they don’t feed him properly, his glasses and clothes also show that they can’t be bothered to spend any money on him. Dudley is the clear opposite, the spend a ridiculous amount of money on him and definitely overfeed him.[pg] They give him so much more than is necessary in part to ostracize Harry.

We know that the Dursleys are vile because they are described as physically unpleasant; large, hairy, frowning and always gossiping. These are all things that we attribute to bad people. They clearly dislike Harry and constantly abuse him in a multiplicity of ways. They often treat him as a servant and force him to cook for them and do menial chores. They abuse him emotionally more than anything else. When Harry’s letters start to come, the Dursleys, especially Vernon, will do anything to stop him from reading them. Partially because they don’t want the shame of having a wizard in their house, but mostly because they want to keep Harry oppressed and unhappy.

One of the earliest situations in which Harry exhibits his goodness is when the troll endanger Hermione. At this point in the story, they aren’t really friends and Ron has said some very unkind things about Hermione, which she heard and spends the rest of the day in the bathroom crying. When Professor Quirrell announces that a troll has found it’s way into the castle, Harry immediately thinks of Hermione, ignorant of the present danger. When they are being evacuated to their common rooms, Harry and Ron sneak out to go and warn Hermione. They soon discover that the troll is in the corridor with the Girls’ bathroom.

Harry rushes ahead without thought for his personal safety, even though he is only 11 and he’s only been at hogwarts for two months, to try and help Hermione. To distract the troll so that Hermione can get away from it, he literally jumps up, grabs it’s club and is lifted onto the massive troll’s head. He accidentally shoves his wand up the troll’s nose, and urges Ron to do something. Ron performs the very spell which Hermione had previously given him flack about, Wingardium Leviosa, and successfully knocks out the troll. In doing this, not only did Harry break the rules and willingly face a full grown mountain troll, he lead another, not so brave, student in doing so. All of this he did because, he is in essence, a very good person.

The most prominent show of Harry’s goodness is when he decides that they must try to save the stone because Dumbledore is gone and no one else will believe them. They don’t know very much about magic, and they could get seriously injured, Harry goes because of his goodness and bravery. Ron and Hermione will not let him go alone, they love him and will follow him anywhere. When Ron is injured and Hermione is forced to go back for help, Harry knows that he must go on. He feels that it is his duty because of his relationship with Voldemort. Realistically, he has no responsibility for what would happen because he’s just a boy. But he feels a sense of duty because of his conscience. He goes forward and risks his life because of his sense of loyalty and righteousness.

All of this wonderfully displays Harry’s good nature. Although he is young and doesn’t know very much about magic, from day one, he is willing to try anything to help his friends. Despite being raised in a abusive and neglectful situation, he is still able to trust and reach out to people. Even though kindness is something that he hasn’t experienced for the first part of his life, he still gives it freely to those who need it. My favorite of which is Neville Longbottom. Many of the students at Hogwarts make fun of poor Neville, who hasn’t felt much in the way of kindness either. But Harry is frequently kind to the little round boy, leading his friends to do so as well.

This is the duty and importance of having a gift. You can either become a leader for good for evil. Because of Harry’s fame, he becomes a prominent figure in the lives of these children and to some extent, the adults around them as well. He doesn’t let any of this so called fame go to his head. In his mind, he remains just Harry, an orphan with terrible luck. He has no desire for his fame, but yet he still uses it, perhaps unknowingly, to lead the other students. Hermione and Ron weren’t necessarily the type to meddle, but when following Harry, they get involved in a lot of underground schemes to try and help the school. Harry’s desire is to make sure that the school and his friends are safe, because of his goodness.

I find it quite astounding that Harry is such a selfless person when he was raised by perhaps the most selfish people in all of England. Regardless of their abuse, he does not become cold hearted and fight only for himself. It is only the beginning of his righteousness in the first book, he becomes even more selfless in the rest of the series. But it all starts out with a little 11 year old boy who was willing to be friends with anyone because he too knew what it was like to be friendless and alone. A boy, whose bravery and guile saved these new people that he loved. Above all else, Harry Potter is one of the most loyal character ever written and he will do anything and everything to help his friends.