Contrary to common thought, Ranma was usually one to think things through unless pressured. As such, he sat back weighing the pros and cons for a bit before nodding to himself. “Okay, I’ll go for it.”
Nodding in a sagely way, Dumbledore tapped out his pipe after taking one last draw. Standing up with a crack of his back, he exchanged the pipe for his wand. “Alright, Mr. Saotome, if you would just sit over here,” he requested, pointing to a spot of bare earth, “I will start drawing out the required runes.”
Shrugging, Ranma sat at the indicated spot, watching as the wizard began drawing circles and other shapes into the dirt with the small rod. It interested the martial artist how the lines were clean cut, more like someone drawing on a piece of paper instead of dirt. “You know, even though you can’t help me with the Jusenkyo thing, thanks for doing something about the neko-ken thing.”
“You’re quite welcome, Mr. Saotome,” Dumbledore replied, still working on the ritual symbols. “I must say that it has been quite a while since I was able to perform a ‘good deed’ like this. Though I would never give it up, being the headmaster for Hogwarts does leave one with a lack of free time.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Ranma commented with a shrug, “the nearest thing to a headmaster I know is Principal Kuno and he’s completely insane.”
Dumbledore just chuckled lightly as he straightened up from the design on the ground. “I’ve heard quite a few comments like that about myself, actually.” His eyes seemed to twinkle in mirth as he remembered a few of the more recent times of that occurrence.
Quirking his brow, Ranma looked over the aged wizard while gauging him against the elders he had experience with. “You don’t seem too crazy to me, other than the whole magic thing. No offense, I guess, but magic and me haven’t been too friendly…”
“No offense taken,” Dumbledore easily replied with a smile, “but like you wouldn’t expect a storm to have malice, magic too doesn’t have any such feelings. It just is.” Taking one last view of his work, he nodded before focusing on the young Saotome. “Now, I’m prepared to start the ritual. I ask you one more time, do you wish to go through with this?”
“Let ‘er rip,” Ranma called out confidently before preparing for anything.
Nodding, Dumbledore slipped his wand back up the sleeve of his robes before stating, “Now, please remain still during the ritual. Any disruption could have dire effects on both of us.” Seeing the younger male nod in acceptance, the elderly wizard knelt in the dirt beside the sigil drawn around Ranma. Placing his hands into spots drawn seemingly specifically for them, Dumbledore closed his eyes before softly but confidently intoned, “Restituo Caries Penitus Phasmatis!”
To Ranma, who stayed rigid while the wizard performed the ritual, nothing much seemed to happen until the final syllable rolled out of Dumbledore’s mouth. At that point, the sigil in the dirt flashed a light glowing blue starting from the outer ring and converging on the seated youth. Once it reached him, Ranma felt a warmth flow through not only his body but through his spirit as well. It was at both disturbing and comforting, while being neither as well.
Finally, Ranma settled on the fact that he really needed to ask, “Was that it? Did it work?”
Dumbledore just smiled as he rose from the dirt, his robes immaculate as if he never knelt down. “As far as I can deduce; yes, Mr. Saotome, it was successful.”
“Yeah,” Ranma yelled out, quite clearly joyous, as he jump punched the air. “Never gonna be afraid of cats again!”
“Mr. Saotome! Please, calm yourself for a moment,” the wizard called out, patting the air in a calming motion. Once the martial artist reeled himself in, Dumbledore continued speaking in a normal tone, “Please, keep this in mind; while the initiation ritual was successful, it isn’t entirely complete.” Moving into a more lecture-like tone, he explained, “Spells dealing with the spirit, at least those not considered ‘dark magic’, take time to work. If a spell acts too quickly, the spirit will become damaged; which is how most spirit related spells get classified as ‘dark’ or forbidden in the first place.”
Looking mildly disappointed, Ranma asked, “So… I got have more of these things cast on me?”
Dumbledore quickly waved the question away, answering easily, “Oh, no, Mr. Saotome. The ritual just cast is the only one needed, as it’s still working on fixing your problem. In fact, that’s what I needed to explain; while the ritual is still working, you might still relapse into your berserker state.” Raising a finger to emphasize a point, the wizard stressed his next words. “More importantly, and this is critical to remember, while the ritual is still in effect, you must avoid any further magical effects at all costs. There’s no telling what any additional enchantments or spells could do to you if they interfere with this current ritual.”
“Uh… I try to avoid magic anyways, no offense,” Ranma stated in all seriousness, “but I’ll definitely keep that in mind.” After a moment of thought, he asked, “How long will that take?”
Smiling at the youth, the wizard finished packing up his bag. “It differs from person to person, but I believe it averages out to be a full twenty-four hours.” Grasping the handle and picking up the bag, Dumbledore said, “Well, I must say that it’s good to have helped you somehow, Mr. Saotome.”
“Yeah, thanks for the help,” Ranma quickly replied with a respectful bow.
Bowing slightly in return, Dumbledore waved his wand over the dirt sigil, causing it to disappear without a trace. “Now, unfortunately, I have another person I must meet up with and must say my farewells. May you have success in your efforts.”
“Safe travels,” Ranma responded, “and thanks again!”
With that, Dumbledore just nodded once more before twisting slightly and seemed to fold into himself before disappearing with a loud ‘CRACK’. Now finding himself now alone in the park, Ranma thought about what he needed to do next…
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(Posted Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:53)
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