Lumos

Chapter Fifty-Eight: "Duel (I)"

A/N: Hello everyone. It's me. Hi.

This "chapter" or update is the first of our four part finale for LUMOS. [If AO3 necessitates us posting this in two halves, both of those are collectively still "PART I" of that finale.] [UPDATE: Yes. It appears that will be the case, so when you reach the end of this page, there's still another one remaining in the update.]

I anticipated a bit of a break between "Inheritance" and this upload. I did not anticipate that break stretching as long as it did. I'm so sorry!! For those of you who haven't followed along to updates on the Instagram or sideblog, life got a little bit complicated, and I so appreciate your patience and friendly encouragement during the wait. <3 <3

This update is about twice as long as it likely should be, and someday, I might return to it and trim it a bit. For now, please be gentle with me about typos or editing errors. On a scale of 1 to extremely fragile about my own creative competency, I am not swimming in the shallow end of the pool. :P I think [??] I got things smoothed out, but the longer a chapter is, the harder it is to edit.

I anticipate the next update coming along more quickly than this one, but we'll have to see how life and balance things proceed from here. It's likely that it will be January, but I do plan to jump into working on that update after a three-day break. :)

Thank you so much for the comments, kudos, and encouragement on Inheritance. <3 <3 <3 That the lot of you take the time to read this story staggers my mind. Thank you. Really. Many of you reached out over the past several months to check in, and I want you to know that I deeply appreciate all of you. You are kind and wonderful. <3 <3 <3

As always, I do not own the rights to this story world or to these characters.

Playlist: https://spoti.fi/3VHfHME

Playlist Instructions: https://bit.ly/3gPgBIw

Alright: Grab your snack (I recommend a crusty loaf of bread or some variety of scone), your drink (Peppermint tea or hot cocoa), and your coziest pyjamas. Let's dive in.

Note: Italicized section headers marked with a "*" are bits of text taken from Ollivander's wand wood descriptions.

***Content Warnings: *Allusion/implication of intimacy on Oct. 8 (from "four winds" to the scene break), and on Nov. 5 (briefly at the start of the scene until "A hint of gold flickered"). *Content referencing a situation of child abuse (Oct. 26, 1:00 p.m., from "Children, after all, grew" to the end of the scene; then in the next scene, very briefly in the paragraph that starts with a mention of Minerva). *Discussion about to potential future death or "moving on" of a pet. Oct. 2 (third scene, when you see the pet in question, through Oct. 2, 10:00 p.m.). Moderate spoiler: This subject matter is left ambiguous, and readers have an option to interpret that eventual situation in a way that does not involve death, if they wish to. NOTE: This is something I've tried to explore with utmost gentleness, having lost pets myself, and having an aging cat that I worry over living in my care. However, I do recognize that this subject matter is quite difficult for many people, so please be kind to yourself and prioritize your wellbeing while reading.

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Lumos ChapterFifty-Eight: "Duel (I)"

Part I: Birch

"A temperamental wood, which holds a grudge. Most powerful in the hands of those who seek to inflict pain or who operate most principally from a place of bitterness, and it contains a great propensity for misuse. Only inexperienced wandmakers utilize birch, for it stores up all its acerbity and reacts unpredictably, often at the height of its power."

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The Personal Diary of One Gilderoy Lockhart
September 1999

Finally! After months locked into a set of rooms the size of a dreary broom cupboard, today, I finally sprang from my keep. Unimaginable, the conditions, but even this was an improvement from before.