Chapter 6

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1991, August 25th.

On the 25th of August, Maxi had his studying session interrupted by Maja popping into his Library.

*Clop!*

''Master! Master! Master! A pair of Owls arrived, and both carry letters! What should I do?'' Maja asked with slight worry, and Maxi could only sigh as he closed the book he was reading.

'And it was just explaining why Dragons are called that even though they are clearly Wyverns…' Maxi thought before he turned to face Maja.

''Well, we can't let the poor Owls burst into flames in this summer day. Let them in.'' Maxi said waving a hand, not really caring about some Owls.

Soon, he saw two owls fly in, both of which carried letters on their talons. One of them was a Ural Owl, while the other one was a Barn Owl. He was slightly surprised at the Barn Owl, as they weren't common in Germany at all, as well as the Ural Owl. Just seeing their species, and the fact he was turning eleven, made it obvious what their letters probably were about.

They couldn't be from the Hex Girls, already having memorized each of their owls, and distinct calls. And he didn't have anyone in the Wizarding World that might know about his existence. Except for Gringotts, though they only sent owls at the beginning or at the end of the year detailing his investments in the Muggle World. Of which were doing marvelously, if not as great as he thought.

Untying the letters from their talons, and asking Maja to feed and cool the Owls, he quickly opened the letters with one of his letter openers. He opened the Ural Owl first, and he wasn't surprised when he read it, as it belonged to the Durmstrang Institute. He ignored the letter as he opened the other, and he was surprised that it was indeed a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He was genuinely surprised, as he thought he would've needed to attend Durmstrang. But receiving a letter from the British School of Magic was a pleasant surprise. Reading the letter, it had a note of acceptance from the Deputy Headmaster, alongside a list of required textbooks and materials for the upcoming school year. There was also a note that someone from the school would come to take him to Diagon Alley to buy the required materials and textbooks. It also said that the fact he was from Germany wouldn't be a problem, and he should expect a teacher to come by the 26th or 27th.

Done reading the letter from Hogwarts, he quickly skimmed the Durmstrang letter. And he didn't hesitate to immediately pick a blank letter, and write that he would decline in attending the Durmstrang Institute in favor of Hogwarts. He took a few minutes writing the letter, being especially careful with his tone, maintaining it neutral, but not submissive at all. Done with the letter, he tied it back to the Ural Owl's talons and sent him off.

Starting writing his letter to Hogwarts, he followed the same tone, but with a hint of gratefulness. Though different from the Durmstrang letter, which he signed with his name and the name of his Noble House. He included another name in the letter.

''Signed Maxi Heikecrux Raubvogel Le Fay-'' He said out loud and finished with a magnificent signature in his personal opinion.

He also spent some time and made the letters shine in different colors depending on the lighting. It was a small trick he learned how to do with his illusions, and it wasn't costly or required material items to cast it. And it lasted for quite a bit, a full 24 hours. Though after that, the letters would return to their original color, which he wrote in blue. Tying it to the Barn Owl's talons, just like the Ural Owl, he sent it off after it had rested and been pampered by Maja.

Now all he had to do, was wait for tomorrow, and his visitor.

He hoped for either Snape or Flitwick. He thinks either would let him explore Diagon Alley more than the other teachers. Well, maybe not Snape, but he doesn't doubt he wouldn't mind if he bought a few books about the Dark Arts, or asked him several questions about potions. And different from Harry, he'll be able to splurge in his shopping as he truly has enough Galleons to even make an entire set of armor out of it. Thousands, maybe even millions of those sets.

Though to be honest, he's more excited about the fact he won't need to hide his appearance anymore. He hasn't really shown his true form to anyone, and after he completed his transformation it has been increasingly annoying having to hide his true appearance. Not that he couldn't still use an illusion spell to hide his appearance, but it has become a phantom type of annoyance.

''Please be either of those two. I don't want to deal with either McGonagall or any other teacher.'' Maxi muttered under his breath as he watched the Owl fly away.

After it disappeared on the horizon, Maxi returned to reading. Though he wouldn't be getting much reading that day, as both Týr and Sattra were being especially mischievous that day.

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1991, August 26th.

Maxi woke up bright and early this morning, and he followed his usual routine. Exercising, showering, reading, then practicing with his spells, be it druidic, sorcerer, witcher, or wizard spells. Though he had to cut it short when he heard a doorbell being rung, and the sound of Maja apparating around to answer the door.

Maxi was slightly alarmed at the sudden visit, but then he remembered the letter from yesterday and relaxed slightly. He was still cautious, as it could be a random person and not any of the teachers from Hogwarts, so he simply told Maja to allow whoever it was inside and take them to the dining room. As it was about time for him to have his breakfast or lunch. And the dining room had enough space for a fight if it broke out, and the furniture there wasn't that expensive to replace if a fight did break out.

Soon enough, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching just as his Unseen Servant was done cooking, and serving his breakfast. It wasn't anything different than what he had before, it being German waffles with a mix of nuts, strawberries, and a few other tasty fruits that he found went deliciously well with them.

Though he had to pay attention as the steps came close enough that he knew he would see whoever it was soon enough. And true to his fantastic hearing, he was soon faced with the one, and only, Severus Snape. Internally he cheered that it was him, and also groaned that it was him.

''Grüße, I assume you are the Teacher that they mentioned in the letter?'' Maxi said out loud, and as Snape turned his head to look at him, he seemed surprised, and might he even dare say, enchanted at his appearance.

Though that show of emotion disappeared as quickly as it happened. He ignored his reaction before he gestured to the food on the table.

''Would you like some breakfast? My servant has just made it, and it would be such a waste to not eat it.'' He said with a small smile neutrally, and Snape nodded before replying.

''You are correct. I am Severus Snape, the Potions Master at Hogwarts. I was chosen to be the one responsible for taking you to Magical Britain, alongside accompanying you to Diagon Alley. Though they failed to notice me about you not being… Human.'' He said slowly, and in that manner of speech that only Snape ever spoke, and he quite liked it if he had to admit.

He could only grin at his response before nodding at him.

''I doubt anyone would know about my… Non-human status. After all, I am probably the only High Eladrin in the material plane. Though I am unsure if there are any of my kind in the Feywild either.'' Maxi said as he took a thoughtful look but quickly shook his head, ''Ah, forgive me for my rudeness. I haven't introduced myself, have I? I am Maxi Heikecrux Raubvogel Le Fay. High Eladrin.'' He said before appearing awkwardly, ''Though you can just call me Le Fay, or Raubvogel.'' He finished with a smile, and besides a minor flash of shock appearing in his eye at his last title, he only raised an eyebrow in curiosity and nodded in reply.

Sitting down, he looked at the quite hearty and filling breakfast before exchanging looks at him and he nodded his head at the food.

''You can eat it. High Eladrins do not have any special dietary needs. Though my meals tend to be quite protein-heavy.'' He said and trailed off in the end, and Snape only nodded in reply before saying a thank you for the meal.

They eat in silence, mostly because both of them were observing each other. And, well, he didn't really know what to talk about. Snape's observation of him was much more sneakily than his, as he didn't hide his curious looks at the man. He looked exactly like the actor that played him in the movies, though he didn't seem as angry as he appeared in those movies. Probably because he was curious about his race, and the fact he wasn't Potter.

Finished with their meals, Maxi let out a smile before he asked with a happy tone in his voice.

''So, how'll this work? Will we fly? Apparate? Go through the floo network? Oh, maybe a Portkey? I haven't gotten a chance to study one, I wonder how the spells work? Is it similar to Apparating?'' He asked question after question, and Snape only raised a hand to stop him.

''We will be using a Portkey that the Ministry of Germany has given us permission to use. And if you could keep the questions to after we arrive in Magical Britain, it would be appreciated, Mr. Le Fay.'' Snape said in a neutral tone, though there was a hint of respect in it, of which he guessed was more because of his title than anything else.

''A Portkey, is it? Alright, do I need to pack anything? Ah, I already have a bird for letters, do I need to carry him or will someone take him over? I also have a… pet snake to take care of.'' Maxi says and almost talks about his Basilisk, which is quite illegal to own nowadays.

Snape only replied that it would be taken care of by members of Hogwarts staff. And as he was about to ask more, he only gave him a look and he reluctantly kept quiet. He couldn't resist asking that many questions, mostly because it was Summer, and although not as badly as Spring, it made him much more willing to ask questions and seek their answers. Most of which through violence, though he hasn't had an incident yet. It also helps that his normal state is that of Winter, which kept him more calm and collected than most people.

'Hmph… Maybe I should change. It would be best to have a cool head… Heh, that was a pun.' Maxi giggled internally, and after flexing his magic he slowly turned into his Winter state.

Snape watched warily and cautiously but after a quick explanation about the seasons affecting his emotions, mind, and body he didn't look twice at him changing to be more white, and blue-ish. He did look at him in worry, but besides that, he didn't do anything.

( AN: Put the reference image here. Pic here. If I can't get the pic, it's a Winter Eladrin portrait with blue skin and dark blue hair. Just picture the blues to be white, and his hair silver white. And yes, he still has Venti's hairstyle, the aqua tips are still aqua if a little bit bluer. )

Though he was more white than blue. After changing into his Winter state, he could already feel his mind cool down, pun not intended. It took roughly five minutes, though that was him willingly setting into a season, he can, if provoked enough, or high in emotion, switch between the seasons at a second.

After making their way out of the mansion, they Apparated to the Portkey location. Which was a fun experience, as he had become accustomed to the feeling of being Apparated a long while ago during his expeditions to the muggle world, and the various Half-Blood and Muggle-Born festivals and parties that he attended.

Though the feeling of going through a Portkey was a completely new feeling. Lucky he had superhuman reflexes and quickly readjusted himself, and landed on his feet, as they went through said Portkey. Surprisingly, or not, they were on that same hill he remembers seeing in the Goblet of Fire movie. They, after Snape giving a few seconds for him to reorient himself, which wasn't needed but he was grateful for either way, finally apparated to an empty alleyway in the city. Which, he guessed it was London due to the fact both the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley were said to reside in London City.

He quickly cast a Disguise Self over himself to hide his true appearance, something of which Snape took notice and seemed deeply interested. But he quickly explained it was a racial thing. Not knowing if it was indeed a racial thing or not, he let it be for now. They quickly made haste, that is Snape walked at a fast pace, towards the Leaky Cauldron. He easily kept up with the man, and after a few minutes of walking amongst muggles and dodging being hit by them, they quickly arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.

The place looked exactly the same as in the movies, though after they made their way inside, he dismissed his spell. Many of the Wizards and Witches seemed surprised, but upon seeing he was being escorted by Snape only gave him curious glances. Though he did pay slightly more attention to the idiots that were looking at him wrong. That is, with hostility, or nefarious thoughts.

Snape also noticed their looks and subtly gestured for him to stick closer to him. Not wanting any trouble to happen, he happily walked closer to the man. He didn't doubt he could kill any of those shady folks, but it would be best to not start anything.

Soon enough, they went to the brick wall, and after Snape poked his wand at certain bricks, an opening quickly opened. He admired the spell for a moment before he muttered under his breath.

''I got to figure out how that works! It would be so cool as a secret entrance.'' He said as they walked through, Snape this time replied.

''Perhaps in time, you could make your own spell, Mr. Le Fay?'' Snape said loud enough for him to hear, and he nodded at the man.

''Aye, I ought to learn how. Probably will take many tries, but that's half the fun, isn't it?'' He replied and asked, and the man only nodded before they continued quietly.

He received twice as many looks as he did in the Leaky Cauldron, but once they noticed he was being escorted by Snape they only gave him curious looks. Though he felt twice as many hostile, and nefarious looks. But he didn't really care about their looks. He is quite confident in his ability to solo any Wizard or Witch that would dare to fight against him.

As they walked around the streets of Diagon Alley, he quickly noticed they were making their way toward Gringotts, and he had to clear his throat before pulling a small pouch from his belt, and Snape turned around to see what he wanted.

''If we are going to Gringotts to get some Galleons, I have more than enough in this pouch. 500 Galleons should be enough, for everything, right?'' He asked, and Snape nodded pleasantly surprised.

''Indeed. That should be more than enough for all your school supplies. And it even spares us from having to deal with the goblins at Gringotts. Come, we should get your school supplies first, alongside your required items for Potion brewing.'' Snape said seriously and he quickly followed closely behind the man.

He did internally make a note to visit the British Gringotts Bank privately. After all, all of his titles, except that of Raubvogel, were from British Wizards and Witches. So he couldn't access their vaults from Germany. Though thankfully, he could easily retrieve any amount of Galleons from them, even if he disliked the fact he couldn't take any item from the vaults and only money.

Moving on, he kept an eye on Snape's back, while his other eye kept looking all around at the sights and shops inside Diagon Alley. They visited a lot of shops, and bought a lot of things, from quills, inkwells to write with the quills, the textbooks required, and an entire cauldron alongside a lot of wizard items that he had almost no clue what they did. They also visited the Magical Menagerie to get him a pet as he was allowed one.

Sadly, he was restricted to either a cat, an owl, or a toad. And although he might've thought of getting a toad to hatch more Basilisks, he decided to leave that after he has dealt with the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. And he wasn't that sad at being restricted to only three choices, after all, Conjure Animals was a spell he knew so he could just summon them if he wished.

So when they entered the magical pet shop, they only spent a few minutes before he found an absolutely beautiful black cat with heterochromatic eyes. His left eye was green, while his right eye, was blue. And he was quite young, only a year old. The little feline was obviously willing to be his pet, and after a few words, and Galleons exchanged, he was the proud owner of Siegmund The Dragon Slayer.

Yes, that was his name, and no, he won't accept you calling him only Siegmund.

So after leaving the store with quite a cuddly kitty in his arms, they finally arrived at Ollivander's.

''I'll wait outside, a Wizard's first wand is quite a private affair. Unless you wish me to come along?'' Snape said and asked, and he only shook his head before he handed Siegmund The Dragon Slayer to him.

''Nah, no need, Professor. And be nice to Siegmund The Dragon Slayer! He's a nice kitty, so just pet his head and he'll melt like butter.'' He said before he opened the door and went inside.

Snape only gave his back an amused look, before he looked at the cat, then side to side before he slowly petted the little thing. And it clearly became a liquid as he refused to believe a physical being could appear to have melted.

Entering the shop, it looked exactly as it did in the movies. He took a solid second to just appreciate the whole vibe and theme of the shop before he moved towards the counter and he looked around the shop. He couldn't see Ollivander anywhere, though he could hear the old man somewhere inside his shop.

It didn't take long before the old man tried to sneak behind him, but not wanting to waste time he didn't bother with the old man's trick as he stared directly at where he was at. He heard a chuckle before the old man appeared, and he gave him an appraising look.

''Hmm… I haven't seen your race before, if you wouldn't mind, can I ask what is your race, young man?'' Garrick Ollivander asked, and after narrowing his eyes at him, he nodded at him.

''I am a High Eladrin. I don't think you Wizards know of my race. And I am the only one in the material plane… I think. And my name is Maxi Heikecrux Raubvogel Le Fay, Mr. Ollivander.'' He said in a neutral tone, and his eyes raised in surprise at his last name.

''A Le Fay?'' He simply said before he chuckled to himself and nodded at him.

''Many of my Ancestors told me through their notes how the Witch Morgana was skilled at Wandmaking. Tell me, do you have the same talent as your ancestor?'' He asked curiously, and he made a maybe hand motion.

''I could tell the type of wood, and guess the wand core from a random witch that I saw a few years ago after I had my ancestry confirmed.'' He said and explained, though he quickly shook his head. ''Though I'm afraid I am here for a Wand, and not for chit chatting… So if you could?'' He said and gestured towards the counter, and the old man only chuckled at his actions.

''Of course! Of course! I'll get to it right away.'' He said before he walked to the front and took out a tape measurer from somewhere.

''Which is your dominant hand?'' He asked and he only shrugged in reply.

''I am perfectly Ambidextrous. So neither. Though I guess I would prefer my right hand?'' He responded and he only nodded in reply.

''I see. Ambidextrous Wizards and Witches are quite rare, but not something I haven't dealt with before… Now let's see… Maybe this one?'' He said as he walked and picked a wand case before opening it and showcasing it to him.

He didn't bother analyzing the wand, and he truly didn't need to, as when he grabbed it it combusted into flames. Though the flames did nothing against him.

''Hmmp… Maybe not that? How about this?'' He said before picking another wand, and only for the same thing to happen, though this time the wand broke in half instead of catching on fire.

They kept trying wand, after wand, after wand. Until he pulled out a wand case, and presented it to him.

''Pinewood, Dragon Heartstring core, 12 inches long… I have a good feeling about this one!'' He said excitedly, and he only sighed at his enthusiasm. He became more and more energetic at every wand he failed to get a match, though this time, he felt something different.

Grabbing the wand, he felt a deep connection to it, and after directing his magic towards it he felt that this was his wand. With a flick of his wrist, a red lightning beam shot out of his wand before flopping to the ground and turning into an electric snake. It briefly circled him and hissed at Ollivander before it disappeared completely.

Exchanging looks, Ollivander was all smiles, while he was surprised before he spoke.

''That'll be 7 Galleons, Mr. Le Fay.'' He happily said, and he easily gave the man the money.

And just as he was walking away, he heard the man call out to him.

''Ah, wait! Here, have this as a bonus. It isn't every day that I have a difficult challenge like you! So, here, take this dragon hide wand holster.'' Ollivander said as he gave him a black-tinted wand holster.

He thanked the man, and after tightening and holstering his wand, walked out of the shop with a smile on his face. And as he saw Snape petting little Siegmund The Dragon Slayer, with a slight hint of a smile on his face, he was surprised.

Coughing to get his attention, Snape only raised an eyebrow at him before looking at his belt and nodding at him.

''I assume you have found your wand?'' He asked and he nodded eagerly.

''Yes, I did. It's a Pinewood wand, 12 inches, and it has a dragon heartstring core!'' He said only loud enough for him to hear and the man nodded at his words, and at the fact, he didn't shout out what his wand was made out of.

''Good. Now, let's go. We only need to buy your robes, and our trip will be finished.'' Snape said before he handed him Siegmund The Dragon Slayer, and it didn't take long for the kitty to lay on his neck comfortably.

He only nodded at the man before they quickly made their way toward Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. And after spending a few minutes getting his measurements right, and asking a lot of questions if he was allergic to any type of material, of which he responded not to his knowledge they left with a brand new robe, and quite a lot of spares. Thankfully, almost everything fitted in an Undetected Expansion Charm case he bought midway through their shopping, and soon they had finished their shopping trip.

As they did Snape gave him a look before he started speaking.

''I was told by the Headmaster that you would reside in Magical Britain until your studies at Hogwarts ends. Since he was under the impression you only had properties in Germany, he had asked me to rent you a room in the Leaky Cauldron after we had bought your school supplies. But, I trust that won't be necessary? Am I correct Mr. Le Fay?'' Snape said and asked him, and he nodded.

''Yes, that shouldn't be a problem. I have quite a lot of properties in Britain. Though I'll need to visit Gringotts to get a map to know where they are, and maybe a new House Elf to transport me to them. Unless they are connected to the Floo network, but I doubt any of my properties are.'' Maxi said, and Snape sighed before nodding.

''Understood. Let's go, I'll accompany you to Gringotts.'' He said and they quickly made their way to Gringotts.

Due to both of them not wanting their time wasted, and because Maxi wasn't under a disguise spell, they were attended quite quickly and he was handed a map containing all of his properties. He quickly ignored every single one of them as he searched for Le Fay Castle or Getaway Manor. Finding both of them, he debated which place would be his new home, or at least temporary home as he stayed at Magical Britain.

Though after reading their descriptions, and thinking about a lot of things. He decided to go to Le Fay Castle. Mostly because it was the most heavily defended location, on a similar level to Hogwarts, and it had enough space for him to conduct a lot of experiments or to build new rooms.

''I'll need a few House Elves. Only ten should be more than enough to take care of the castle. I am also wondering, can I get my other House Elf from Germany here?'' He said to one of the goblins and he quickly nodded.

''That will be no problem, my Lord. Gringotts can easily acquire a few House Elves to serve you. And regarding your House Elf, it will be quickly transported by Portkey and into your family Castle.'' The little goblin Garrick, his name was, said and he nodded slowly.

''Good. Well, what are you waiting for, then?'' Maxi replied and the little goblin got to work soon enough.

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From the moment they apparated to the land near the castle, he could immediately feel that the air was heavy and had a hint of dark magic in it. The House Elves, including Maja who got transported through a portkey, immediately started shivering as they also felt the dark magic in the air.

''M-M-Master, I-I-I-s-s-s this our new home?'' Maja replied as she hugged herself, and he frowned as he nodded in reply.

''Yes, it'll be Maja. Though I'll need to deal with this tainted air before we permanently move in.'' Maxi said thoughtfully as he started analyzing the magic in the air.

Thankfully, they were in an isolated area, and besides his new House-Elves, and Maja. There was no one to witness him using his magic.

''Detect Magic!'' Maxi said out loud as his eyes shined a rainbow of colors, as his eyes and senses became able to detect magic, or in his case, amplified his ability to detect magic.

'Hmm… This aura, and color all points out to… the Dart Arts, though I can see the ghoulish color of Necromancy in a few areas as well. But this place is too tainted for simple usage of dark magic. Maybe a ritual? Or a magical item, perhaps? I don't see Morgana being able to taint an area by her sheer presence, and using dark magic. So I'm probably looking for a ritual, either still intact or the remains of it or an item so dark and powerful that it has tainted the air with its magic. I'll need help to find it, and I don't think it would be a good idea to subject my House Elves to this dark magic, so that leaves me with summoning something.' Maxi thinks before nodding to himself.

''Conjure Animals, Summon Undead!'' Maxi said out loud as eight beasts, and a ghostly wraith formed in front of him.

All eight beasts were Blink Dogs, beings able to blink in and out of existence. They vaguely looked like Dobermanns, jackals, and great danes.

The wraith looked like a ghostly figure wearing a cloak, they glowed a soft neon blue color. It stood out against the sitting dogs, and it levitate a few inches off the ground. Maxi gave each of his summoned creatures a look, before nodding at them.

''Alright. Here's the deal. I'm looking for the source of whatever is spewing the Dark Magic into the air, I think it is caused either by a ritual, of who might still be intact or only have remains of it. I also think it might be a dark magical artifact. Your jobs are to sniff out their location, and notify me when you find it.'' Maxi said pointing at the blink dogs, and they barked happily before getting up and starting to run around, or blinking away to the castle.

''You, Mr. Wraith, will be going inside the castle and finding the Wardstone so I can take control of it. Got it?'' He said to the undead spirit, and it nodded before it started floating away towards the castle.

Turning around to face his House-Elves, which were surprised at his show of magic, he addressed all of them.

''We will wait for now, until either the blink dogs find anything, or the wraith finds the Wardstone of the castle. For now, we'll set up shop outside. That means a tent, so one of you go to Diagon Alley and buy the largest tent they have there. The rest, clean an area to mount the tent. Maja!'' He laid out orders before calling out to Maja and pointing at her, ''Will be the Leading House Elf. She'll be your superior, and you are to follow her orders as if they are mine. She'll be responsible for organizing all of you so you can work as effectively and efficiently as possible.'' He said and they all nodded before starting on their work.

After Maxi gave their orders, he sat down on the grass and entered his Trance to rest. He also kept concentrating on the Conjure Animals spell so it would last longer, that is until he lost his concentration.

Forty-five minutes passed, and soon enough he got a pull from his wraith. He didn't waste time, as he ran quickly towards the castle. It took five minutes of navigating the maze-like corridors, but soon enough he found himself in front of a giant brass vault door. Or well, he assumed the door was made out of brass, but it might be from some magical metal most likely.

Looking at the door, he soon saw his Wraith phasing out of the door, and nodding at him before phasing back through the door. He frowned before he approached the vault door, and not knowing what to do, he simply touched the vault door with his hand. Specifically, his left hand that has the Le Fay Ring in his middle finger.

And as soon as he touched the vault door, he felt a small burst of magic come out of his ring before being hungrily devoured by the vault door itself. And not a minute after it, he heard the sound of gears shifting, and clicking noises, and saw the vault door slowly open itself.

Laying his gaze to what lay behind, he deadpanned as he saw a gigantic empty room with a pedestal that housed a gigantic amethyst sphere. He sighed at the anti-climatic room but ignored it in favor of walking towards the amethyst sphere.

That is until his face hit an invisible wall and made him fall face first on the ground. He groaned for a moment, before getting up and looking at what he hit. Only to find nothing. Frowning, he touched the invisible wall, and walking around, he could soon guess what this probably was.

''This is a fucking Invisible maze… Well, this is fucking useless.'' Maxi said out loud and thought before he sighed.

''Fog Cloud.'' Calling out the spell, a fog cloud spewed out of his body, and it quickly filled the inside of the maze, now being able to see where there was a wall, it only took a few extra minutes to walk around the maze before he came face to face with the amethyst sphere.

Touching it, he soon gained access to all the Le Fay Castle wards. Adding his House Elves to the list of allowed residents, he could finally send them inside the castle to clean it up. The entire thing was quite dusty and dirty, mostly due to no one cleaning the place up, but besides that, it was in a perfect state. There weren't even cracks anywhere in the gigantic castle. Though it wasn't as big as Hogwarts, most likely only half the size of it, so something like 207,000 square feet. It was still a testament to whoever designed and built this castle for it to not even have any cracks after centuries of not being properly kept.

Though during all his time wasted in navigating the maze, and configuring the Wards, his Wraith had dispelled. It wasn't that big of a problem, and he instantly summoned another one before he sent it out to look for the source of dark magic. Though he ordered the Wraith to only look inside the castle, as the Blink Dogs were already searching the outside.

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It took a few more hours of intense searching, of which Maxi had to recast Summon Undead a multitude of times as he kept his concentration on his Conjure Animals spell. But after hours of searching the entire castle, and the outside lands, his dogs could finally rest at ease as they located the source of magic.

And surprisingly, it was in a hidden cave below the castle.

The cave was below a cliff, on which the castle was built on top of, and due to that, his Wraiths would've never found it as it was outside the castle and too deep for them to phase through. So after his Blink Dogs found it, and had one of them guide him to the entrance, he was met with a flat cliff face. Knowing he wouldn't be led here if the entrance wasn't nearby, he only gave a look at the Blink Dog, and as it walked towards the wall, and seemingly disappeared inside of it he was left surprised as he realized what just happened.

''That's some high-level stuff. An illusion wall, ey? And I can tell it's very complicated… I hope I can find this spell in the Castle's library. I knew picking Blink Dogs was a good idea, they constantly have to deal with Displacer Beasts, which use illusions, so I doubt any other summon would've found the entrance to this cave. Or, well, they would've taken much longer before they did.'' Maxi said before he walked and passed through the illusion.

Soon enough they were walking through a dark tunnel, and as they went deeper and deeper, Maxi was getting queasy. He could feel the magic thickening the further they went, and as they did so, he felt how strong this magic was. He didn't doubt that if any dark wizard felt this magic, they wouldn't be hollering to the moon at such intense magic.

'Maybe I could use this to fuel a few Animate Dead spells? Cast it as a ritual? There are so many spells that I could use this as a fuel source. I really hope this isn't a ritual, for if this is a magical battery or some type of item, I could potentially use it for my own goals. If it's a ritual I'll probably have to spend a few weeks to months trying to understand how it works, especially if it's incomplete.' Maxi thought as they descended.

Soon enough, the little corridor they were walking through opened to a big open expanse of caves, and as he looked around, he was shocked as he noticed the source of this dark magic, or well, what corrupted the source of magic.

In the middle of the cave, glowing in a multitude of colors was what he assumed to be a leyline crystal. But what was attached to that crystal was what pulled his attention. A dark, foul magic spewing dagger, planted directly into the middle of the crystal, and he could see thick black, almost like veins, that originated from the dagger. In his mind, he could only think of one thing.

'Morgana, you crazy bitch! How da fuck did you somehow succeed in corrupting a leyline?!?' He shouted in his mind before he walked quickly towards the leyline crystal.

Casting Detect Magic on the dagger, it was indeed enchanted with a lot of dark magic.

'Fucking Helheim. This is enough dark magic to kill a god… Or Arthur I guess. Alright, I got an idea, let's just hope this doesn't fuck me over like I think it will' Maxi thought as he gaped at the dagger, before taking a deep breath.

He slowly extended his arm and slowly reached for the handle with his hand. And quickly tapped the handle before he pulled his hand away.

He waited for a few seconds, but after nothing happened, he slowly did it again but with two fingers instead.

Nothing happened.

Doing it with three fingers didn't elicit any reaction, so, with another deep breath and a lot of muttered prayers to a ton of gods that he knew of, he closed his hand over the handle and

pulled it out.

The soul-screeching sound that the dagger made at being removed from the leyline crystal didn't last long, as soon enough it began to rust, and turn into dust. Maxi was left shocked, and in disbelief as he looked at the remaining dagger in his hand, or should he say dust.

He exchanged glances between his hand, the leyline crystal, and the pile of dust on the ground, before repeating it at least a few dozen times before he slouched his posture and sighed sadly.

''There goes a potentially super OP dagger… Though, hey, on the bright side, it wasn't cursed or something…'' He said before he kicked a stone away, and sighed once more before shaking his head. ''Well, no point in crying over spilled milk… Actually, there is a point, but I'm too tired to discuss it. Bed it is, and then tomorrow I can make a few wards, and put some spells to protect this place so only I can access it.'' Maxi said with a sad tone before he walked away and all the way back to his castle.

After telling the House Elves that he has dealt with the source of corruption, he quickly ordered them to clean out the entire castle. And although it was quite massive, eleven house elves were more than enough to clean the entire place in a few hours, or in the case of the main bedroom, a few minutes as he dropped like a sack of potatoes on the bed, and had to stifle a groan as he felt how the bed was somehow even more divine than the one at Raubvogel Manor. He would've probably complained that the bed was purple if he was anyone else, but he quite enjoyed how well it fitted with the rest of the gigantic room, and he was too tired to give a shit about it either way.

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