Christian did not answer, but Tiara found her answer as she looked around. Most of the forest trees were as thin as bamboo with a gray and death-like atmosphere.
"Dark Magic," she muttered, and a very potent one. "I know this might not be the right time, but I need to know whether you've been practicing dark magic?"
"Of course not. Although I know the spell, it's my first time using it."
"Good," she nodded softly. "We need to burn the forest to remove any trace."
"Okay, but let me hold you a little longer," said Christian, unwilling to let go. Tiara sighed softly, "You should not feel too well after using such a dark charm."
"I feel like shit," he replied. He needed to use intense emotions of greed for the spell to take effect, and until now, a small voice in the back of his mind was telling him to keep absorbing more life energy.
"This is the perfect time to meditate and soothe your mind," persuaded Tiara. "We don't want any lasting damage."
"You're…right," replied Christian, but he did not let go.
"Don't worry." Tiara raised her hand over her head to touch his hair, "I won't leave you. I promise."
"Really?"
"You have my word."
"A-alright."
Christian let her go, and Tiara slowly stood up. She almost fell, and Christian was about to rush to her side: "Don't worry. Just feeling a little weak. Don't waste any time and begin."
"Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should go to the hospital for a checkup."
"I'll do that tomorrow. Now, hurry."
Christian looked at her before sighing. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate. The tiny voice in the back of his mind suddenly grew louder when he began to observe his mind or thoughts from a nonjudgmental standpoint. He constantly reminded himself this was not who he was, that he was not a greedy wizard who only wanted to take life energy from others.
Christian then used positive affirmation mantras to drive these pesky thoughts. He used all three types of meditation to soothe his mind of these negative emotions. After an unknown amount of time, he exhaled before opening his eyes, which were now bright and full of life. "How long has it been?"
"3 hours and 34 minutes; this should be your recorded best?"
"Indeed." His longest consecutive meditation session was 1 hour and 47 minutes.
"How are you feeling?"
"Peaceful and clear."
"That's good, but you should be on the lookout during your day-to-day life," warned Tiara. "The first time using dark magic is usually the worst, especially since you used such a potent spell and you're a child."
"I will."
"Alright. Let's go," said Tiara before pointing her wand at the forest to release an intense flame that burned everything.
"Huh? What kind of spell is this? It's so powerful, can you teach me?"
"It's tribal magic. I've made the preparations while you were meditating."
"Tribal magic seems more interesting than I thought."
"As probably the first form of magic, it has its advantages," replied Tiara. In her opinion, this type of magic should be preserved, developed, and taught at school.
"Aren't the authorities going to ask questions?"
"Yes, but as long as there is no concrete proof of us being involved, it won't be an issue," replied Tiara. "Let's go. Use the Disillusionment Charm to hide us." She wanted to Apparate them away, but was not in the best state. Then, the two flew away invisibly on their broom until they returned to the house in Berkshire.
Tiara wanted to rest, and Christian was also tired. He asked her to sleep with him, but Tiara declined because she knew his worries. As soon as Christian's head touched his bed, he fell asleep. Everything was peaceful at first until he started to have nightmares about turning into the mythical creature Taotie and devouring everything, or experiencing the greedy punishment in Dante's Inferno.
He woke up in the middle of the night and decided to get some tea from downstairs, hoping it would help him calm down and sleep.
"By Merlin's beard, you scared me," he said as he turned on the light in the kitchen. However, Eleanor looked at him and did not react to the sudden switch from darkness to light.
"How long have you been here?"
"I don't know."
"Are you alright?" asked Christian as he sat before her.
"I'm fine."
"So, you consider sitting in complete darkness at four in the morning 'fine'?"
"What do you want me to tell you, Christian?" Eleanor asked in a crying tone. "That being a billionaire is not what I thought it would be, that I live my life every day wondering whether people are sincere toward me or just want to use me for my money, that I don't have any more friends because I don't know who to trust?"
Eleanor was already sobbing midway through her rant, so Christian held her in his arms. He did not know Massive Dynamic was already so prosperous or about the toll this newfound success had taken on his aunt.
"Do you want me to tell you the crushing guilt I live with every single moment, knowing this money came from war profiteering and the blood of the innocent? Yes, every day, I tell myself it's for a greater cause, but I don't know if I believe this anymore."
"It's going to be alright," said Christian.
"How?"
"Did you see a therapist?" In situations like this, a mental health professional is the perfect solution.
"I tried that, but it was useless. The only thing in my mind during the entire session was that this person was trying to manipulate me or trying to find flaws to use against me."
Eleanor was balling at this point; no matter what she tried, she could not stop herself.
"Alright, no need to cry. Here's what we're going to do," reassured Christian. "I will bewitch a special Sneakoscope for you. It will allow you to detect deception and untrustworthy individuals." He suddenly paused as he remembered something.
"It will be odd if an item you carry suddenly glows, so I will ensure only you can see it. No, better yet, I'll enchant eye contacts for you since that's easier to carry."
Eleanor's cries slowly stopped, reduced to sniffling, "That…might work."
"That's not all. You can start altruistic projects to reduce your guilt. Wasn't our purpose to prevent the Muggle world from becoming a capitalist hellscape? We can start now since we have the money."
"I tried that. I donate large amounts of money to charity, and it was true charity, not for a tax write-off. But it still did not work," Eleanor explained.
"Then do more," said Christian. "I've had an idea for a while. How about an Elite Law Firm for the people?" He's been watching the show Suit from Jim's memories, so this idea was in his mind for a while.
"What do you mean?"
"Corporations, the wealthy, and governments can use their large number of lawyers and funds to get away with many shady things. Tactics like prolonging the trial until the plaintiffs are buried in legal debt are one of their favorites. Now, imagine a law firm with the best lawyers in the world, with the sole purpose of representing the people against these corporations.
"Such a firm would never make a cent and lose a significant amount of money daily. But with your funding, the lawyers will never have to worry about funding, and the people can have access to an elite team whenever necessary."
"You're talking about a Pro Bono Firm," said Eleanor.
"Exactly, but one with an unlimited budget and countless cut-throat lawyers with the sole purpose of fighting for the people or small businesses."
"This is not a bad idea," said Eleanor, feeling an intense vigor rushing through her veins.
"I know many lawyers who hate their job and would love to do something for the common people or the world. However, they cannot abandon the allure of the wealth that corporate laws come with. They will jump at the opportunity if I promise to pay them the same salary to do something good."
Eleanor stood up from her chair and walked back and forth in the kitchen, "I can already see it. Lawyers from around the globe — taking on corporations and governments." The more she thought about the idea, the better she liked it. As for the fact that this kind of project would be a bottomless abyss of money, she did not care. Massive Dynamic was already worth a billion dollars after using Christian's future information and the unauthorized use of magical items like the Felix Felicis.
And with the dissolution of the Soviet Union already happening in the shadows, they were about to make even more money.
"Don't forget the possible negatives of this idea," reminded Christian.
"Negatives? You're right. We cannot accept cases from corporations or wealthy individuals, and there should be clear rules in case someone wants to sue Massive Dynamic, and we are at fault."
"You can also build banks to give low-interest loans to small businesses and build state-of-the-art universities with no tuition that accept students from all over the globe," added Christian. "Now that you have the money and magic as your secret help, you only need to be willing."
"You're right. I should not focus on the negative and look forward to the better future I will create." Eleanor then walked toward her office.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm getting started immediately."
"No, no," said Christian, who caught her and led her in the opposite direction. "You need to sleep and maybe take a few days off to spend with your family."
"Maybe you're right." Things have been stressful lately, and she might need a break. After sending her to her room, Christian checked on his mother; she's usually very aware of her surroundings, and the noise he made should have awakened her.
"It seems she's sleeping," he muttered before closing the door and getting his tea.