[1990 Pt.22]

Nathan spent the entirety of his evening fine tuning the Pashupata as an anti-unit spell instead of its area-of-effect form which tended to destroy everything in the general direction in which the spell was thrown. The progress was fairly good, but Nathan knew that the long chant needed to slowly regress to a single word cast or the spell, despite its massive potential, would never be used in an actual fight.

After he had been satisfied with his progress for the day, Nathan looked at the sky to check the time and could see that it was starting to get late.

He pointed his wand up and muttered, "Calm." Magic flowed through his wand and the wards that had been aggressively hiding any and all signs of magical usage within the sanctuary receded back to their idle state.

Following that, Nathan pointed his wand at himself and cast another spell that took care of all the sweat that accumulated thanks to the strain of casting powerful magic.

"Towards the common room then." Nathan left the sanctuary and trudged through the Hogwarts grounds at an even pace towards the entrance hall, where he found Alan and Orion engaged in deep conversation with each other.

Deciding to greet them, Nathan walked towards them. Orion noticed him first and gave him a nod. Alan also caught Orion's eye movement and turned back.

"Where were you?"

"Near the lake."

"Oh really? Orion and I also spent the past hour there."

"You must have missed me. The weather isn't the best today."

Alan was about to reply when Orion cut him off and said, "We were looking for you. We couldn't find you."

"Well, I am here now. Need anything? Cause I need to get into the dorms."

"Why are you going into the Forbidden Forest without telling me?!" Alan whispered angrily and Orion gave him an annoyed look before looking around and checking if anybody heard Alan.

"I didn't go to the forest."

"You didn't? Where else could you be? Definitely not swimming in the bloody lake during January."

Nathan chuckles even though he felt a little annoyed at the sarcasm. "Look, you two don't need to worry, I wasn't going to the Forbidden Forest. I was just sitting by one of the cliffs around the lake."

Orion and Alan gave him a disbelieving look before Alan's expression went neutral and he said, "Mr. Hagrid's dog ate my potions assignment."

"What?"

"I don't know. I thought we were talking about the stories we feed the professors. Look at me Nathan, do I look like a garden gnome to you Grey?"

Nathan glared at Alan, thinking furiously about how to get out of explaining the exact nature of his outings when Orion said, "Look mate, just don't go to the forest alright? We know you have been wandering towards the forest since before the Christmas holidays. And I know you are good at magic but that won't do you any good against magical beasts that might be lurking in the woods. I have heard that people have been lost forever-"

"-That they have been, Mr Carlisle but I am happy to tell you that such a thing has not happened since I became the Headmaster." Nathan whirled around and found himself looking up towards the Headmaster of Hogwarts. The man seemed to be amused by their conversation and smiled softly as he looked at the trio.

'Well, talk about inconvenient timing.' Nathan decided then that the day couldn't get any worse.

And as if to prove him wrong, a second familiar voice drawled, "Take note that the headmaster did not just imply that the forest is by any means safe."

"Verily right, Severus," Dumbledore said jovially and the dour man gave a curt nod of acknowledgment. Dumbledore turned towards the trio and Nathan could practically hear the breathing of his friends pause for a moment as he looked at them with raised eyebrows and said, "I hope I am not intruding upon the conversation children, but I too am curious where the young man I have been hearing so much about spends his evenings at."

'He definitely found the fucking sanctuary. The warding wasn't overpowered so he probably doesn't know about the dark magic. I hope.'

Lying to a man who ate politicians like Nathan for breakfast was probably not the best thing, so Nathan said the simple truth, "I practise spells sir."

"On the cliffs surrounding the lake? All alone?" Dumbledore frowned and slowly shook his head before he said, "That is not an ideal setting to practise such magic, Mr Grey. Why? I remember how my brother nearly broke his neck trying to practise the summoning charm. I would recommend at least having one of your friends accompany you if nothing else."

"I practise trying to put protective and secrecy enchantments on the cliffs sir. Trying to do that in the castle is very difficult to do, sir."

"And where did you get the book on casting protective enchantments from? Last time I checked, they were in the restricted portions of the library." Snape looked as dour as before, but Nathan could see the condescension flash in the man's eyes.

"I bought the related texts, Professor Snape. The reason nobody accompanies me during training is that watching someone wave his wand and noting down their observations isn't the most productive or entertaining use of most people's time. And sitting there quietly as the cold winds blow around you and the water crashes at the bottom of the cliffs can get annoying quickly."

Dumbledore nodded with a thoughtful frown before he smiled and said, "I would advise you to still seek company. I find performing magic better when I am in pleasant company. After all, what are protective enchantments if not our desire to protect things dear to us given form through magic?"

Nathan smiled at the blatant hint that most people would dismiss as just pretty words and couldn't help but nod in a respectful manner.

Yes, the man's probing had been blatant and a bit too casual for Nathan's tastes but he was perfectly aware that even this tiny bit of conversation that they shared would allow Dumbledore to add to the profile that Dumbledore had already created about Nathan within his mind.

A profile that would probably go along the lines of-- magically gifted beyond his peers, moderately popular and discreet. It was also the most accurate description that could be used for Nathan, something perfectly reflected by Nathan's public actions.

Nathan could clearly see how Dumbledore could have actually deduced Tom Riddle's true personality. Someone like a young Riddle who had anti-social personality disorder and exhibited behaviours like bouts of rage, impulsiveness and remorselessness would probably be really sloppy in his first few 'crimes'.

Dumbledore would probably make it a point to drive home the fact that Riddle was the lesser party in their encounter. Something that Riddle who believed himself to be special would hate as a personal affront to his existence.

The advice given in a slightly patronizing manner along with an amused and slightly condescending tone would add flames to the fire and Riddle's facade of civility would crumble faster than a sandcastle crumbling under an ocean wave.

'A good thing then that I am no Voldemort.'

"Of course, professor, I will keep that in mind and ask one of my friends to join me during my practice from now on."

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Author Notes:

Hope all of you like the chapter, especially the ones who have been saying that the dialogue is a bit superficial. I tried to make it more natural and well-set but honestly, there isn't much happening in the early years arc for good by-plays. (Hopefully, the Russia arc will alivieate that issue.)

If you want to support this fic financially then find me on Pa-atreon where I go by dukeofvirtue.