[RVS]17 - Passing Time
Chapter Seventeen
Passing Time
The next few days passed in a whirlwind of activity for all involved. The morning after, being a Saturday, they introduced Dan to the Weasleys while Emma was taking care of the clinic and were, in turn, introduced to Mr. Weasley. He was taller and slimmer than his wife and wore a suit and hat, he had the same red hair all his family seemed to share.
He hadn't believed his family when they told him about Philomena, seeing him corrected was quite amusing. After showing Harry the day before, the Weasley boys took it upon themselves to introduce Sunset and Hermione to broom-based flight.
"So," One of the twins started. "The brooms listen to-"
"-basic vocal commands. Like."
"Up!" The first twin's broom flew up to meet his hand.
"Or Come!" The other's broom flew out of the shed and met his hand.
"If a broom is used by only one witch or wizard,"
"it absorbs part of the rider's personality and forms a closer bond."
"That's why you wouldn't want to use one of ours."
"If a broom is used by a lot of different riders,"
"it absorbs a complete mess of contradicting character traits."
"Which is why the school brooms at Hogwarts are such a hot mess."
Both of them jumped on their brooms.
"Now to actually flying. Jump on." The speaking twin pointed at Bill's and Charlie's brooms lying at the girls' feet.
Both girls looked down at the brooms, Hermione at Charlie's with slight trepidation, Sunset at Bill's with eagerness. Both spoke a single command. "Up!"
Bill's broom responded immediately, allowing Sunset to get on, Charlie's took a moment, but then jumped up as well, letting Hermione jump on.
"Good. Now you push the front of the broom down to go down."
"And pull it up to go up."
With a slight pull, both girls were floating a few meters in the air, once more level with the twins.
"Push it to the right to go right."
"And to the left to go left."
After a moment both girls were strafing left and right, getting a feel for maneuvering the brooms.
"You lean forward to go forward."
"And back to go back."
The girls were suddenly a lot closer to the twins, before backing away again.
"Like that, yes."
"And leaning left and right lets you turn."
"Go and have a try for a while."
What followed was a lot of flying at low altitude, weaving around trees and, somehow, avoiding any crashes. Even the twins weren't exactly sure how that was possible. The girls weren't natural fliers like Harry was, but they did have a certain grace to their maneuvers. They weren't extremely skilled, but they had their brooms under control.
Soon enough, the two started chasing one another, and not long after, the twins joined in.
The twins won the chases, obviously, seeing how they had far more experience, but the girls had a great time regardless.
On Sunday, some time before lunch, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sunset were sat in the orchard at the Burrow with their wands out (safe Sunset, who would simply use her horn instead) and The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) open between them. Sunset and Hermione had done some reading up on Earth's magical theory the evening before and were prepared to adapt their techniques for the local type of spellcraft.
Soon, calls of 'Lumos' echoed through the clearing. Before long a bead of white light appeared atop Sunset's horn, followed barely five seconds later by one at the tip of Hermione's wand, their prior training and theoretical knowledge had proven a great help.
With their help, Harry and Ron soon managed the charm, but it was clear, that the two could only profit from being taught some magic the Equestrian way. If anything, they would end up knowing both, like the girls.
Both Dan and Emma came over for lunch. Finally, both their families knew each other fully, save for Bill and Charlie. Sunset couldn't help but smirk as she considered the latter two. There might be an option there.
After lunch, the four soon-to-be-first-graders reconvened back in the orchard. Instructing the boys to put their wands away, Sunset and Hermione each conjured an orb of light. The same spell Sunset had used to teach Hermione when they first started practice all those months ago.
Seeing how the only thing they had to do was to occasionally re-conjure an orb when one of the boys lost focus, sightly decreasing its internal reservoir and, in turn, making the exercise just a little harder every time they did, they sat down in the grass, or in Ginny's lap in Sunset's case, lettingher pet the little unicorn – carefully telling her to leave out the ear scratches – and got to reading their new books. Sunset got out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them while Hermione focused on One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.
It took a few hours, and about half an hour longer than it had taken Hermione, but eventually the boys managed to keep the orbs stable even after the girls had removed the internal reservoir completely.
Sunset smiled at Harry, before turning to Ron and Hermione. 《How's he doing?》
《Stable without a reservoir.》
"Good, Good." Sunset turned to the two boys. "Well, it seems you have mastered this exercise and there is no way for us to make it any harder-"
"Wait! Wait! Hold on. You were making it harder all this time?"
They all looked at Ron, even Harry and Ginny. "Well, yes. If we didn't you'd have kept the orbs stable hours ago. Why do you think it kept getting harder? Training doesn't usually make you worse at things."
"How?"
Harry nodded. "That's actually something I'd like to know as well." Even Ginny looked up from where Sunset and Hermione had left her with the books to help the boys, listening carefully.
She smiled. "Well, it's simple really. We first conjured the lights with an internal reservoir. An energy storage they could feed from, you actually fed your power into that storage. If you couldn't keep your power stable, lost focus for a second, the reservoir could feed the magic until you recovered. It might flicker a bit, but it would stay intact."
"Over time," Hermione continued, "we watched you improve. When you lost focus, we would re-conjure the orb. Every time with a slightly smaller reservoir. The ones you've been working with for the last half hour or so, had no reservoir at all. If you stopped feeding them power, they went out. Immediately."
"So," Harry began slowly, "this was an exercise of ... focus?"
Sunset nodded. "Yes. Well, that and reliably drawing on your magic. If you try and cast Lumos again, you'll find it to be a lot easier."
"Lumos." Ron's eyes widened. "Hey, you're right!" He looked at his glowing wand for a few more moments. "Hey, what was the spell for getting it to go out again?"
"That was Nox, Ron," Hermione reminded him.
"Oh, right. Nox."
A light from their side caused them all to turn and look. "Sunset?"
Sunset looked at them after gazing at the point of white atop her horn for a moment longer. "Oh, sorry. I was just trying to figure out how hard it would be to cast Lumos without talking." She paused for a moment, gazing at the light again. "Not that hard, it turns out." A moment later the light faded. "You should try it."
And so they did. Hermione managed it in only a few moments. Harry and Ron took a few minutes longer, but before long, they were all casting the spell silently. They noted that silent casting made the spell less stable, necessitating more mental focus to keep it stable.
The two boys were quite intrigued to learn more Equestrian magic. After a few moments of discussion, they forewent the basic light spell Sunset had taught to Hermione until the two of them could devise of a way to combine Equestrian and Earthen casting techniques and create a spell that combined the properties of the Equestrian spell and Lumos into one.
Instead, they proceeded to teach the boys the basic, Equestrian kinesis charm. Doing so, they also got to see the boys' aura colors. Harry's was a bright yellowish green while Ron's was a deep royal blue. Unlike Hermione's initially had, both loosely matched their eye colors, though Ron's was a lot more vibrant than his eyes were.
Once more, Sunset retired into Ginny's arms in pony form and Hermione sat down beside the younger girl holding her sister. This time, however, all three were watching the boys carefully, using the aura sight charm Sunset and Hermione so enjoyed. Sunset helpfully offered to cast it on Ginny as well.
Suffice it to say that Ginny got rather caught up in watching the flows and eddies of the ambient magic field, a distraction that many first time users of that particular visualization charm succumbed to.
Harry and Ron spent a few moments looking for something to levitate, until Hermione helpfully suggested levitating their wands. It would not only help them practice wandless magic, but also help their wands grow more accustomed to their magic.
Once more, they took a bit longer than Hermione had, but before day's end, both boys had managed the charm. Mrs. Weasley was quite startled to see her son come through the kitchen door, his textbook floating behind him.
Monday passed in much the same way as Sunday had. This time Fred and George joined in. Both to help with learning the Earthen charms and to learn the Equestrian ones themselves and get in some cuddle time with the Sunset as well. Ginny begrudgingly accepted their argument that she had hogged her for the past two days. Hermione, meanwhile, used the time the boys spent practicing to continue her work on gaining the ability to assume her own pony form at will.
In that vein they continued for not only Monday, but also Tuesday morning. They would have continued for longer yet, but an unexpected visitor got in the way of that.
Everyone looked up when the screech of an owl announced the new arrival. Sunset got up and flowed into her human form. Following the guidance of its mail charm, the owl homed in on Sunset, landing on the offered arm. Stretching out a leg, it offered a sealed letter, flying off once it's delivery had been accepted.
Sunset looked at the letter, finding it bearing nothing but her name written in a fanciful cursive and yet another seal she didn't recognize, three crossed wands, framed by two bent olive branches on the bottom and sides and a stylized scale, feather and hair above the tips of the wands. None of them knew the seal, but it didn't take a genius to find out the sender.
Opening the letter, Sunset pulled out a folded piece of paper, holding the same flowing script.
Dear Miss Shimmer,
I am writing you this message to inform you
that I have finished work on the wand you have
ordered. You may retrieve it at your convenience
in my store at 34 Diagon Alley, London. The
price, including the additional fee for custom
work, is six galleons after subtracting the
deposit you have already paid.
Yours sincerely,
Garrick Ollivander
"Well, time to go get my wand then." Sunset smirked, looking up from the letter. "Good thing Emma left me some galleons to make sure I could pay for it. I guess another trip to Diagon Alley is in order." She folded the letter, placed it back in its envelope and placed both in her bag. Then she held out her arm once more, closing her eyes for a moment to focus on the connection she shared with her familiar.
With a burst of flame and a majestic trill, Philomena appeared in the air, her wings spread widely. It only took her a few gentle flaps to land lightly on the offered arm.
"Knows how to make an entrance, she does," Ron offered from behind, receiving an amused trill in return.
"Philomena, would you be so kind as to flame us to the warded alley by the Leaky Cauldron?"
Another trill and a flash of flame later, the seven stood in the dark alley. Sunset once more disguised Philomena as an eagle, and the group set off to the pub around the corner.
Sunset, took the opportunity to check if she could open the portal into the alley without a wand. The answer was a clear 'yes'. Before long, the seven of them entered the dusty gloom of Ollivander's, standing once more between the shelves that held hundreds of boxes.
"Ah, I suspected I wouldn't have to wait long. Still, I only sent the letter an hour and a half ago. I am impressed." Harry, Hermione, Sunset, Fred and George had expected Mr. Ollivander's sudden appearance and kept their composure. Ron and Ginny had not been thusly prepared, both of them jumped. "I'll get to you in a minute, but first. Miss Shimmer, give me one moment, I have your wand in the back, I'll be right back."
The moment Ollivander stepped through the door leading back to his workshop, holding a long box in his hand, both Sunset and Philomena spun around, their eyes glued to the box. Watching them carefully, Ollivander smiled in satisfaction. "It would seem that our endeavor was successful."
The moment the old wand maker pulled the lid off the box Sunset gazed down at the wand. In the box, on a black velvet cushion, sat the wand, ornately carved from a rich, reddish-brown wood.
"Cherry and Phoenix Feather, eleven and a quarter inches, springy, power and potential in one. I don't believe we could have found a better match." As he spoke, Sunset held her hand out towards the box. Without her even touching it, the wand jumped into her hand. Her eyes lit up with golden fire and she pointed the wand upwards to the ceiling. Twin comets of red and gold shot up from its tip, trailing sparks as they flew upwards circling ever closer around each other. A few inches below the ceiling they finally collided, exploding into a perfect copy of the image on Sunset's bags formed from red and gold flames. An image, the Weasleys and Harry had noted, that was also found on the flanks of Sunset's pony form.
When the glowing symbol faded and Sunset's eyes had returned to normal, everyone but her took a collective breath, seemingly having forgotten to breathe while staring at the show.
While everyone else was awestruck, Ollivander was speechless. Getting an entire extra level of magical perception from his wards, had revealed the flames as a powerful form of something not unlike the patronus charm. In fact, the entire shop was still flooded with its power. "A perfect match indeed. I am certain you will go far, Miss Shimmer. Far indeed." He took a moment to center himself, before turning to the others.
"Now, Miss Granger, Mister Potter, I do hope your wands are serving you well." After receiving affirmatives, he turned to the two redheads of the group. "Now Mister Weasley, I've been wondering when you would come by."
"What? Oh no, I can't. I'm using Charlie's old wand. A new one wasn't in the budget."
"Ah, yes. Twelve inches, Ash and Unicorn Hair. A good wand, certainly. But loyal to a fault. I'm afraid you will not find much success with it. Wands made of ash ought not to be gifted on. Especially with a unicorn core."
Sunset listened carefully, placing her hand on her chin and rubbing its underside with her thumb, a gesture she had adopted from Dan. "We'll see what we can do about that."
Ron was about to start protesting, but Harry put a hand on his shoulder, quieting him to allow Ollivander to continue. "And Miss Weasley, I can see that you are ready to bear a wand, but I'm afraid that the law does not allow it without special permission. I shall have to write to Professor Dumbledore. Perhaps he can help with that."
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Welp, cutie mark magic, definitely different than patronus, I wonder if Hermione and the others will get one once Sunset explains it to them, if she does that is XD.
The only thing I hope is you don't follow the footsteps of other stories and have everyone turn into ponies :P I'm really enjoying this so far, but IMO, that special link should be reserved for Sunny and Hermie.
You know the whole getting Ginny to Hogwarts early is a really obnoxious trope that I hope doesn't happen here. Same with getting Neville a new wand because, news flash, the wand was never his problem.
9537112
The wand was partly his problem. Like Charlie's wand, Frank's wand was ash.
9537112
It’s been a while since I read the books. What was Neville’s problem, his confidence? Because I remember he barely was able to do accidental magic to get him written into the book of students, and he used his Dad’s wand, but in book seven he basically heads DA with the others gone.
With D on this. There’s a spur of these sort of stories and you already have a different set of characters(sunset instead of the cmc). But it could get blasé if you just make everyone a pony like in the other two big ones.
9537146
It was confidence he became very skilled with his father's wand before it was destroyed.
9537138
We don't know what Neville's first wand was made of. But since he was able to use quite effectively prior to its destruction it's clear the wand was never his problem.
I find I particularly enjoy your interpretation of how muggles work. And, of course, how magic works itself. Sunset strikes me as calculative- the magic version of a programmer... the kind of character I like, being a programmer myself.
9537187
Agreed, Neville had a lot of self-confidence issues related to his parent's situation. Kids are very sensitive and can be brought down into feeling useless and stupid because they don't catch up as quickly... having Snape (and Slytherin) be assholes about it didn't help.
9537249
Don't forget his home life, with his grandmother constantly telling him he'll never live up to his parents and his relatives who dropped him out of a window before they were certain he even had magic. Say what you will about how the Dursley's treated Harry but at least they didn't go about destroying his self-confidence.
Here's something I want to see. (You can take your time putting it in.) Celestia sends a professor to Hogwarts to teach Equestrian magic.
9537108
i kinda agree with ya...but at the same time i hope at least Harry becomes at least a Unicorn here...that kid needs some love. Everyone else can rot.
9537391 eeeh He gets all the glory in the end. Adding a bunch of animorphs that turn into ponies was a cute thing when it started, but now everyone does that. Some restraint in OP things might be a good idea given how Sunny and Hermione are already parkouring the spell slinging.
9537108
Maybe not all unicorns. Unicorns after all, are not the only ones with magic.
Well, this story make for a pleasant afternoon of reading. Thank you for sharing.
9537427
Yeah, I feel the same way. Also, no herds please or at least not in the first year they are only 11 for god's sake.
9537432 yeah, but getting EVERYONE and their mothers to be animagus completely kills the point of it being a special skill of some sort. And when suddenly everyone is an earth pony, a pegasus or a unicorn without even trying? Makes it rather pointless and quaint unless you're writing a comedy and it actually serves as comedic value. This story while it has some fun moments, is not a listed or written as a comedy. Take 9537439's fic as an example. That one is comedic, the whole "everyone gets transformed" is used for a lot of comedic value, and it works for that story... here? eeeeh. If it wants to stand on its own, it probably shouldn't copy all the tropes from the others. Just because it works in one story, doesn't mean it should be used for all stories.
9537453
Oh, don't worry ... we'll be following in the tracks of the others for a while ... and then we'll go off the proverbial rails
not the literal ones. No worries, I won't derail the Hogwart's express...
9537453
I mean, I'm not for having everyone be an animagi. I'm just saying there are other magical creatures than unicorns. I personally like how they've kept it to just Hermione so far. I'd assume anyone who goes through the dimensional barrier becomes an animagus, or something VERY similar. Though personally, I wish Sunset was the only one to change into a unicorn on Earth, but the reverse is true for anyone who goes to Equestria, more of a 'true form' spell instead of a 'duality'. Forgive any mistakes on my part, I was never much into Harry Potter. From what I understand, animagi basically just have two forms, animal and human. The two forms are connected and through magic, the animagus can switch between their two natural forms. Where with Sunset, she's just switching to her original form. Being human isn't natural to her, hence why she can change. I would maybe with Hermione, she's actually a animagus in this story, and due to the sudden, unwillful transformation, she's gained the second form of a unicorn instead of whatever she was meant to have.
This is just my thoughts/head cannon on the matter, and how it could work in the framework of the story. Maybe that isn't how it works, but hey. It's a nice thought.
9537469
Okay, I think a bit of clarification is in order:
Everyone who travels across dimensions, assumes the form they would have had, had they been born in the target dimension. With enough concentration and focus, assuming they have magic, they can transform back to their natural form, after which they can switch between forms freely. Additionally. The wizards of earth think that Sunset is an animagus (they don't think that of Hermione yer as they haven't noticed her gaining the skill) However, they are wrong. She is not an animagus. An animagus is an alternate form, drawn from one's magical nature. Both her unicorn form and her human form, are natural forms. Being able to switch between them, does not make her an animagus, nor does it take away her ability to become one.
9537469
Being an animagus is acquired, you aren’t born with it. Sirius had to go through the process, Magonagall had to go through the process, even Rita Skeeta had to go through the process.
One thing that is something that you would be born with, being a metamorphmagus which is rare, and means you can change your appearance at will, like Tonks from the canon HP universe (who should appear eventually if the story and any sequels lives that long, which I sure hope so)
9537493
Okay, I can buy your form just automatically changing when going from one world to the other but the reason we all assumed it was an animagus transformation was that logically that's the easiest way to explain why changing forms is so easy. In either series, a full body transformation isn't easy, unless you're a shapeshifter of some kind, so it seems a little wrong to make switching forms so easy without it being an animagus or being the result of some kind of item like in Magic School Days.
Maybe it's just me but the fact that all you have to do is take a trip to Equestria and you get a free pony form you can change to whenever you want just seems too easy. Not that making it an Animagus form they automatically get is any better but at least that's an in-universe explanation instead of something that seems made up for plot convenience.
9537585
Sunset wouldn't be an animagus anyway. She isn't a human who can turn into a pony, she is a weremagus, a pony that turns into a human.
Hermione getting it is the odd part, she didn't go through the portal after all. So unless phoenix travel acts just like the portal, where did her change even come from?
It seems the magical fields of each dimension force you into the "proper" state upon entry, at such time you gain a new "natural" form. So if they can go dimensional hopping, they would gain new forms every time it's not Pony or Human dominated.
Although, they run the risk of getting stuck if no magic field, or a very weak one happens to be the norm.
9537585
9537468
I dunno...that could make for an interesting subplot. Rofl
nice work.
9537751
Bearing in mind this story was different from the start. Mirror in a vault? Different, Celestia never seemed to be smart enough to look any artifact away. Tight security? Different, Celestia didn't secure anything except the Elements, ironically. Taking Philomena? Different, Sunset went alone. So on and so forth.
As for Twilight having no reason to visit, I'm hoping she doesn't, honestly. I prefer the story how it is, Sunset in HP. The TF between pony and human is even handled well story-wise unlike another story I tried to read >_>
But Twilight does have a reason to visit. Learning. Sunset is going to a magic school, going to be learning about a completely different (wrong) way to use magic. Twilight, even as young as she is at this time, will doubtless be interested.
Thew would have continued for longer yet, but an unexpected visitor got in the way of that.
should be
"They would have continued for longer yet, but an unexpected visitor got in the way of that."
---
Sunset once more disguised Philomena as an eagle, and the group set of to the pub around the corner.
should be
"Sunset once more disguised Philomena as an eagle, and the group set off to the pub around the corner."
---
A few inches below the ceiling the finally collided, exploding into a perfect copy of the image on Sunset's bags.
should be
"A few inches below the ceiling they finally collided, exploding into a perfect copy of the image on Sunset's bags."
9537751 This is an AU. Sunset has Philomena as her familiar. Because of this, she's a bit more mellow. Also her friendship with Cadence helped her. Canon Sunset never had those things though.
So I find AU Sunset's behavior to be quite believable.
And since Sunset can go back and forth between worlds with Philomena, she will most likely become friends with Twilight. Thus giving Twilight a reason to come over.
You seem to forget this is an AU, with AU elements. Thus giving Sunset an alternate past. You cannot compare canon Sunset to this Sunset, since the two are not the same.
9538386
Thank you kindly ...
At first, I assumed they were talking about turning. But, are they actually talking about moving left or right without turning? The reason I changed my mind, was because they said this, later…
If they are doing any kind of side-to-side movement by pushing the broom to go that way… It seems less than ideal, considering that to push something that is supporting you, the distance between you and it will usually increase. Add to that, how momentum will cause your body to act, if the thing your pushing against, and which is supporting your weight, is instructed to move in a new direction under its own power. …Your body will want continue in the direction it had been going before the change. Add to this, the fact that they're sitting on a broom, which is a long, thin, pole… It seems likely to make someone fall off sideways.
I really hope those brooms are gyroscopically stabilized, such that they don't rotate around the axis aligned with the broom shaft. Because at least then, they'll have a fighting chance of staying upright. I wonder what the enchantments on those brooms look like with ‘mage vision’. Especially, before and after they have partaken of a rider's personality.
9537104
Different but based around the same concept. Both are expressions of one's soul and the appearance of both usually bring feelings of joy with them. Essentially the same thing
Halfway around the planet? Not bad. She could probably jump all the way to America... (Earth's diameter is 12,742km)
9603600
Only if she went through the core of the planet, which may be unwise. Use the circumference instead for a 'safe' guess. If she fell short for any reason... Well, going around's safer.
9614001
Mmmm, extra crispy bacon.
9603600
Yeah, London to Atlanta is 6,766 km. She can get anywhere on Earth in just a few jumps!
9830465
Assuming she knows where she's going ...
This story is wierd, confusing, and cringe worthy at some points. Sunset seems a bit too powerful for my tastes, and while I appreciate creating a new story from two old ones, I feel like there has to be some restraint, like Sunset finding trouble using HP Magic instead of mastering everything she touches. We already went off the rails with the trio being friends now. If they are friends now, Ron will never insult Hermione and the battle with the troll in the girl's bathroom will likely not happen. You've cut out a major moment of character growth in this action.
My instincts as a story-writer and an analyst are telling me to abandon ship now. But for some reason, I can't.
Perhaps it's curiosity, as the concepts you've introduced are interesting and I would like to see where this goes. Maybe I'm sticking around out of hope, hope that maybe things will get back on track in the future, if only slightly. Whatever the reason, I'm sticking around for Better or Worse. Let's see where this off-the-rails train takes us.
(I am not putting-down or insulting your work, I just had something on my mind and desperately needed to get it out.)
9905434
What is the point of introducing a character if some things don't change. The story will be different, it is inevitable.
10153518
Dread it... run from it... change still arrives