Bout

I had managed to find myself in a nice open area. I decided against confronting Dumbledore by the lake. That spot might end up being destroyed by our confrontation so it was better if I chose a different location. I had another area that would fit what I needed and one I would not mind being destroyed.

The quidditch field. It was a massive open area that could accommodate my needs fairly well. I did not really care for the sport as Potter was praised so massively for being good at it. It was frankly a ridiculous concept that our people would be so invested in the sport.

We were capable of bending the fabric of reality to our whims and our greatest past time was throwing balls through hoops. I was not really being fair in that comparison as the sport was a rather impressive sight. The high speed maneuvers and the threat of players falling six stories were enthralling. It just seemed like such a useless skill to have.

Dueling had a rather impressive audience and it was a more relevant skill to hone but it paled in audience members to quidditch. I suppose it came down to your average Wizard not wanting to acknowledge the skill that could be cultivated. It would just make them feel so much worse about themselves.

Quidditch was more friendly in that regard as it looked like anyone could become good at it. Even if that was not true either. The reaction speeds those players honed were rather impressive. It had to be as traveling at those speeds and making sudden and violent turns required reflexes beyond the norm. 

I suppose I was also rather upset that such a primitive skill set could garner adoration. Sure, I was respected for my skills in potions but no one showered me in praise for it. I did not have crowds cheering my name for the subtle skills I have honed for decades.

It just came down to my skills not being as nice to look at. A work of art instead of a story to be told to the audience. The benefits my skills could provide certainly outclassed a mere quidditch player. Sure those players could amass a certain amount of wealth but it was nothing that impressive.

My skills would create wealth for generations as decades from now these people would probably still be using my potions. If I ever decided to release a recipe that is. I had a decent amount of wealth after robbing the Prince's vault. I could also just take whatever I wanted as nothing could really stop me.

So I was unlikely to be releasing potion recipes in this world as I had other interests to pursue. Like the multiverse for example. Even if I decided to not fully abandon this world I was certainly going to go on multiple adventures. There were an endless amount of worlds to explore and visit. I was not going to keep my self trapped on this little rock.

That journey was going to start in this field. Its sacrifice will be noted and remembered. Even if I was not exactly upset at the notion of wrecking this place. I would love to see Potter's face when he discovered his precious field was reduced to embers.

The sky was clear with not a cloud in sight. The sun bearing down on me providing some much needed warmth. The weather here tended to be on the colder side after all. The stands surrounding the field were empty not that I expected anyone to be here right now.

There was not a soul in sight around here which was odd. There should be some people hanging around practicing or even having an impromptu game. So no one being here was rather suspicious. It could be my luck coming into play or it could be Dumbledore clearing out the area.

I imagined that he wanted to corner me and drag some answers out of me. If that was the case then he was only playing into my own hand. 

I idly twirled my wand as I waited for the old coot to appear. He will eventually show up as I could see magical energy observing me. It was a neat trick that I had never heard of before, if I had to put a name to it scrying seemed to fit. If it was not that it was what I was going to call the spell as it fit it to a tee.

No one really paid any real attention to Divination but that was Dumbledore's fault. Divination had plenty of spells that would prove useful even if someone did not have the gift for prophetic sights. The subject held some respect but the class did not have a stable professor right now.

I suppose I should not be that surprised that Dumbledore would use a method like this to find me. I was just glad that I was able to learn another trick. It would make it easier to track people down later. Even if I could accomplish the same thing by randomly walking about.

The spell seemed to fizzle out. I could only imagine that he was some where near by now. I looked around but I could not quite catch the sight of him. I could only assume that he was behind one of these stands. If he was invisible then I would have no problem finding him with my eyes.

There was only one method in this world that could hide someone from my sight. I had that method in my own hands so it was unlikely that Dumbledore could hide from me. He was only a mortal magical caster after all.

The tension faded from my shoulders as the old man finally appeared. It appeared that he was not bothering to ambush me. He was Albus Dumbledore after all, why would he have to ambush a fucking student? He was the greatest thing since sliced bread and the entire magical community would tell you the same thing.

The man walked towards me with the same jovial smile that he always wore. His robes were a mess of colors that was sickening to look at. He wore a stereotypical Wizard hat and walked with a swagger that was expected of him.

How this man could approach me with that smile on his face I had no idea. He should be aware of how much I despised him. This asshole stopped me from punishing the people that almost murdered me. Potter came away from that scenario smelling like roses and everyone assumed that I was just being salty.

Not that his friend tricked me into battling a fucking werewolf. God, I hated that memory. I could not even think of the possibility of Sirus lying to me. I heard that Lily was in danger and I came running.

It made what she did afterward even worse. She called me ungrateful as I was not praising Potter for 'saving' my life. I should have known that our relationship was doomed to failure by that point. Sure, I could not tell her what really happened but she accepted the lies so god damn quickly. As if the scenario they were spewing made perfect sense.

That was the first domino. I was just too blind to see it earlier. I could have saved myself a lot of pain if I just recognized the truth of the matter.

"You have been missing a lot of classes my boy." Dumbledore spoke out in a nonoffensive way. I felt my blood boil as he was still acting like he was a benevolent saint. The condescending prick.

I looked at him with all the venom that I could produce. He did not even flinch at seeing my visceral hate. I was preparing to say something back to him but a wave of magic flashed between us.

The world slowed down as my enhanced reflexes took everything in. My eyes analyzed every last aspect of the spell in a millisecond. The bastard was already trying to stick his nose in where it did not belong. He sent a legitimacy probe at me the very moment he could make eye contact.

My shields were powerful enough that I could handle his probe with no problem. It did not need to come to that as I now knew every last part of this probe like the back of my hand. 

I snapped my finger and a wave of magic expelled from me and the probe was dissolved before it could have even tried to invade my mind.

That happened in a split second and I could see as Dumbledore took in my actions. As he got a read on exactly what just happened.

" I have been rather busy Headmaster." I spoke out dryly with a mocking smile on my face. The old geezer tightened his smile but was still outputting that grandfatherly aura. I had no idea why he was even bothering.

His posture was just a little more tense and I could see him subtly flex his fingers. As if he was preparing himself for something. He did not have his wand in his hand as he was trying to appear to be non-threatening. It was a foolish decision but even if he did have his wand in his hand nothing would change.

I must have put him on the backfoot with my actions. He was not taking any real aggressive actions so far but he was getting ready for when the table was flipped. He must have acknowledged that he did not have a real read on my skill set. So he was going to play it close to his chest for now.

"You should still show up my boy. You do not want to put your education at risk." Dumbledore chided me with a tone that conveyed concern. I scoffed at him. It may have come off as supportive but to me it sounded like a threat.

He had the power to expel me after all. If he did so the Ministry would then confiscate my wand and snap it. It was outrageous why would they snap my wand for just getting expelled from this place? I did not break any laws I was just kicked out of school. There were other schools that could take me in. Yet, the laws of our world were fucking strange.

The threat was not really all that bad to me. I did not exactly need a wand to perform magic anymore. Not to mention the government was going to have a rather hard time taking my fucking wand from me. I was not going to roll over and allow that to happen after all.

"I have learned all that I can from here professor, so I have been rather bored lately." I smiled toothly at him showing that his subtle threat meant very little to me. His eyes flashed with annoyance and I chalked a victory on my board.

"Don't be silly my boy, you can never stop learning." Dumbledore spoke out with authority and another glint in his eyes. He was right as I did not really learn everything in this castle. Not, that I was going to say that bit out loud.

I would rather have him second guessing how much I really knew. If only because I wanted to bug him for a little longer. What can I say I am a petty man. This man had been a major pain in my ass after all.

Still, the time for posturing was coming to an end. I wanted to milk everything I could from this geezer. There was no winning for him. If he refused to retaliate I would simply beat the shit out of him and make sure to follow him to learn all I could from him. If he fought back then I would gain what I wanted even easier.

"I think I have learned more than enough Headmaster, how about I show you." I smiled once more at him and snapped my fingers.

The Alpha Stigma allowed me to master any magical effect that fell beneath their gaze. It was a really powerful ability, one that shined beautifully under my hands. As I casted my first spell against the old man I realized that I could have used it more.

I did not run through every spell I knew with my wand. If I did I would be capable of doing far more than I was capable of right now. The only spells that I have seen were the elf magic and the stunning spell and Obliviate that I used on Lily. 

So instead of some grand hellish scene, I was only capable of doing a couple of things. Which was not much of an issue as while it was a rather small list I could do those things marvelously.

That first snap sent a wave of kinetic force straight at the old man. He was clearly prepared for something to happen as he was tense before I casted. Still, my method must have confused him as his eyes widened ever so slightly.

With a speed that I never expected to see from an old man, he had his wand in his hand. Again the artifact that he wielded was hard to look at. As my eyes were telling me that it was just a stick and the massive amount of Mana gathering in it meant nothing. 

He flicked the wand elegantly and the earth rose in front of him as a shield. It shifted from the soft supple dirt to a towering hunk of metal. Once it absorbed the force it melted into several spears that looked rather sharp.

The old man was giving me a measured look. The calculations were clear to see but he was still underestimating me. So I gave him a toothy smile and started to snap like I was a Jazz musician.

Each snap sends more waves of force at the man. The force collides and amplifies its force. The ground tore apart as the force traveled towards him. Again his eyes widened this time he seemed to realize what I was sending at him so he produced a magical shield that absorbed the kinetic energy. He then sent his spears at me.

I scoffed as I was sure they would do something else. The pointed spears would not be a move that he would do. He wanted to have my secrets after all. Or he wanted to use me so me being impaled was out of the question.

He may have stopped my assault with waves of force but I had other tricks up my sleeve. The earth rose between us in giant hands as they grasped onto the spears. As soon as the hands grasped the spears they melted and formed a liquid like coat that quickly settled.

I rolled my eyes at the old man who was already sending a barrage of stunning spells at me. I popped away from that location and appeared behind him. I then converted the air around us into several arrows that immediately launched at the old man.

The arrows whistled through the air which had the old man turning around quickly. Again far faster than I would expect him to be capable of doing. I could see the trick that he was employing even if it was crude.

He was channeling his massive amount of Mana to reinforce his body. It was a rather crude application of the feat. It was several layers below the reinforcement spell from Fate. At least I think it was. I did not have access to that spell after all.

Dumbledore was no longer looking at me with a tense look. He was completely and utterly shocked by what I just did. I had just teleported under the wards of Hogwarts. I should be knocked on my ass as the wards would whack the shit out of anyone who dared to do what I did. So what I did was beyond comprehension and put his level of worry much higher.

The old man flicked his over powered wand and the arrows turned into a flock of birds that hovered over us. They then shifted into some sort of liquid that started to rain down on me.

I did not even bother looking at the stuff. Whatever it was having it touch me would probably be bad. Good thing my primary use of magic was from the serving class. The liquid dissipated with another snap.

This was a rather annoying fight not because it was hard but because I had to hold back. I held the concepts that drove the stunning spell drilled into my head. So it was a rather minor thing to send a wave of energy that would have him unconscious.

Well, that might not be totally fair. He might be able to pull out a trick that would stop such energies. I can't wait to find out what else he has in his bag.

As the rain dissipated he started to send a barrage of spells that had a variety of effects. The air was dyed in a variety of bright colors as they swam over at me. I would be overwhelmed if I was any one but me.

I could tell that the majority of these spells were meant to incapacitate me. Still, there were a couple of them that I could not see the point of. I made sure to negate those ones as those were probably the most dangerous.

I dodged what I could and negated what I could not. A smile bloomed on my face as that one barrage really put so many things into perspective.

Instead of attacking back, I started to 'struggle' against the tide of spells he was sending. I was hoping that seeing his advantage he would stick to sending rare and nonsensical spells at me. I could see that he was getting more and more determined as I struggled.

Still, I could not do the same thing forever and expect him to react in the same manner. Eventually, he would figure out what I was doing. So I had to at least look like I was fighting back. If we were evenly matched he would treat me as a threat but one he could take care of. 

I took a page out of Gilgamesh's book and started to conjure blades and send them at him quickly. I used what I knew about kinetic forces to have them traveling far faster than a bullet. The streaks of silver flew through the air and were at his door in a moment.

Instead of trying to protect himself he once more turned my weapons into another thing. It was a liquid again but he chose water he then turned the water into a fucking dragon that started to charge at me.

This is fucking copyright, this was clearly a ninjustsu. I will sue his ass in the multidimensional court. I was the only one that could rip off anime. I turned the water dragon into a metal one that stopped moving.

The old man gave me a smile as the now metal dragon was animated again and charged me. I gave him a glare and took over the animation charm and turned the big ass dragon around. Again that one shocked him as taking over a spell was far harder than simply dissipating the thing.

To do that to someone like him spoke volumes about my skill. Well for anyone else but me. I knew his spells better than he did. 

Still, the old geezer was still a leading figure in our world for a reason. He sent a spell at the dragon that spread throughout it rusting it till it faded into chunks of metal. Which he then turned into massive ropes of metal that wrapped around me.

I would give him props for doing something like this so quickly. It ultimately meant nothing as I just popped away again. This time I appeared in the stands. I wish he used more lethal spells but that was probably not going to happen. If I wanted those spells I would be better off bullying Voldemort.

Still, I had a grudge against this asshole so I took the opportunity to cast a small flame whip with my wand. I was not going to use it to attack but I wanted to learn the principles behind it.

I then looked back at Dumbledore as he looked around for me with worry on his face. It was now time to introduce him to a Wizards greatest weapon. FIREBALL.

I sent a full barrage of fireballs at him. He looked up with a small amount of horror as the sky was literally filled with them. That one took a lot out of me. Sweat started to bead on my forehead as I had been using a rather large amount of Mana.

The old man did not have the same problem. He had decades to build his own store of Mana after all. He also held a wand that amplified all of his spells. So he could put a lot less Mana to cancel out my own spells.

His current actions could attest to that. As he conjured a truly massive amount of water to take care of my barrage. Which caused a heavy fog to appear in the field. I popped to another stand and started to send waves of force again.

I wanted to dissipate the mist as it was annoying to look at. I also wanted to put even more holes into the fucking field.

After twelve waves of force, the mist dissipated but the old man took the opportunity to pull something off. He some how managed to form a massive golem. It was heavily armored and it looked like the fucking tower knight from Dark Souls.

I felt my eye twitch at the fucking thing. He once again ripped something off and I could not even blame him for it. The game was far into the future after all. So technically they would be ripping him off if they used the appearance of this golem.

I popped near him once more, I was not sure what he was doing using another minion. Maybe he thought that the charms on this one would stop me from stealing control from him.

He was wrong even if these were different charms they were just as easy to break down. So his big ass golem was again on my side. Still, I was starting to feel the effects of using so much Mana. So I had the thing standing menacingly behind me.

"This is getting boring old man. Let's end it here for now." I spoke out arrogantly. I had to put out the energy of a foolish arrogant fellow that was far too confident in his own abilities. Dumbledore looked me over as he got a read about my condition.

"You were the one that started this Severus, Can you no longer keep up with this old man?" The old man spoke out mockingly. Sure the tone was not quite as harsh but he was clearly ribbing me. He was right after all. The amount of Mana I was using was getting to me. I could not afford to keep this up any longer.

If he kept this up he would win our bout. That was under the assumption that I still held back. Fortuna was not taking any major actions as she knew that I wanted to draw as much magic as I could out of him. I was also not using my Sacred Gear. I could put on my Cloak and assassinate the fucker. True invisibility and the ability to teleport made me a fucking nightmare to stop.

I scoffed at him to express my disdain for his comment.

"Hurrah you have more Mana than a fucking teenager Congratulations. Do you want a cookie? You know I can apparate under the wards. There is nothing stopping me from just leaving." I spoke out mockingly. I could see another glint emerge in his eyes. He had no idea how I was teleporting around and trying to track me using the standard way was useless.

Any tracking spell that he used would be gone with a snap of my finger. Hell, he only found me today because I wanted him to. I could see that he got my point so I rolled my eyes.

"Now that we are on the same page old man let's talk terms." I spat out at him and grinned mockingly. Ha, take that dick head the small child you bullied was capable of fighting back now.

I gave Dumbledore an amused look as he contemplated my words. He knew that I could escape from him and he accepted that he could do nothing to stop me. Still, he was someone who would try their best to always end up on top. So he was thinking up ways to come on top of everything here.

I had shown myself an even more delicious meal after all. While our fight did not really push him to his limits it was never meant to. I accomplished some of what I wanted. A perfect result would be him casting every last spell he could think of. I doubted that I could get that outcome as he still wanted to use me.

Not to mention Dumbledore tended to spare all of his opponents. I knew he liked to spout bullshit about second chances and all that jazz. I just did not know if that was what he really thought. He could be sparing his enemies for any amount of reasons.

"I am really not sure why you started all of this my boy." Dumbledore announced kindly. The calculating glint in his eyes faded until it was no longer visible. Bullshit, he had to at least have a theory built up on my actions. Someone like him would instantly think about why I was doing things. It was simply a part of his nature.

A scorpion did not change its nature even if the alternative was for the best.

" I wanted to make sure you took me seriously. God knows you did not do so previously." I narrowed my eyes at the geezer. Our previous contact was not a five star moment for me after all. It was probably in the top five worst moments of my life. Which was a rather hard reward to get as I just had so many bad moments. 

"I have always taken you seriously my boy." Dumbledore said with a jovial tone that sent shudders up my spine. There had to be a limit to how far he would push his act. He had to know that I was not buying his bullshit. I was rather familar with burning bridges and Dumbledore burnt the one between us completely.

"Keep telling yourself that maybe one day it will be true." I spat out sarcastically. I could see that my words were bothering him slightly but it was such a minor thing. He was not the type of person I was capable of needling. Not that I have brought out any really cutting words. He did not care about what he did to me after all.

"We are getting off topic." I said tiredly as if I wanted all of this to just end. 

"Leave me alone." I spat out. My comment caused him to pause. Of all the things I could have told him he was probably not expecting that. He really should have as I had a habit of pushing everyone away and he certainly earned my ire.

The light that seemed to sparkle in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to fade. It made the disappointed look that he was sending me all the more real. It was mixed with an expression that seemed to scream as expected.

"I know that we are not on the best of terms Severus but you have to know that I was doing what was best for everyone." Dumbledore spoke out in a grandfatherly tone. It made my teeth itch and I wanted to throw an intense glare at his audacity. I did not have to hold those emotions back so that was what I did.

"I don't care if you think your actions will lead to a utopia just fucking leave me alone." I spat out glaring at him. Whatever he was doing it was clearly not working. If he wanted the magical world to look and act in a certain way then he had failed. Unless what he wanted was for our world to be in this chaotic state.

Our people were at each other's throats. Valuable knowledge and traditions have been stamped out for inclusivity. It was not necessarily a bad thing that our society wanted to be more welcoming to muggleborn magicals. We needed the new blood after all. It became a problem when those traditions were made illegal.

Rituals played a heavy part in our culture. To feel the Mana in the air vibrating in a message conveyed to the universe. It was an intoxicating thing to have thousands of wills screaming out the same message. Something that anyone would at least want to experience once.

Events and rituals that we have practiced for ages have been outlawed. The decision caused a major fracture in our world. It made the extremists even more extreme and it made the neutrals fall towards the extreme.

It had its reasons for being banned but not ones that the Dark faction wanted to accept. We have been doing these rituals for centuries. It has been so long that our Mana carried the intent from our ancestors enhancing said rituals. For the families that practiced this for ages, this was a good thing. It meant that the ritual was only more effective. 

The Mana in their bodies would enhance and bless them. It would bring the longevity in their bodies to the peak. It would allow them easier control over their Mana. It would enrich the potential of all those who took part. It was a beautiful thing.

The problem was that after centuries of doing these rituals, our Mana was too good at doing them. The intent that has been passed down for ages was something beyond the pale. For the Muggleborns taking part in these rituals offered some very real risks. The intent would overwhelm them, tearing parts of their psyche apart. Not to mention the damage it could inflict on their bodies. They were essentially a blank slate that would be carved into far too deeply.

That fact caused the Dark to look down on them as they would never be able to have the same potential. Our people were already prone to looking down on others given our potential. So those Muggleborns had problems advancing in our world. If you were looking for a potential student why would you bother passing down your skills to someone who was innately inferior? That sentiment was rather prolific in our world which caused a lot of outrage from the new bloods. 

They were under the assumption that everyone was equal. So seeing that the magical world treated them as lessers over some outdated traditions upset them. Their voices might not have a lot of weight in our political bodies but they were heard. The Light faction was always sympathetic so they brought those issues to the lawmakers.

The issue was heavily debated as both parties had points that were hard to argue against. It probably would have been in contention for far longer but someone did something stupid.

During one of the yearly solstice rituals, a Muggleborn snuck in. They wanted to prove that they were not inferior to anyone so they participated despite our government warning against such actions. The thought that these rituals would be dangerous for the Muggleborns was just a theoretical case till that moment. The boy who participated was destroyed in that ritual, completely nonresponsive and bleeding Mana out of his body like a sieve. 

He was 'alive' but alive in the sense that a Demetor's victim was alive. It was a grizzly sight that had everyone in a tizzy. The Dark was silently gloating that the Muggleborns were finally proven to be lesser. The Light was outraged that such a travesty took place. 

Suddenly the issue was no longer something that could be debated. Actions had to be taken and they had to be taken now. 

The Dark was blind sided when those ancient Rituals were banned. They were outraged, why would they have to stop improving themselves because some no name nobodies could not handle the methods?

Despite their opinions, the law was passed. They could not even practice those rituals by themselves in a private location. It was deemed a risk that could not be chanced.

It caused the disdain that they practiced against the Muggleborns to shift into hate. Dumbledore saw all of this take place but held his silence. It was a rather difficult case to get involved in but he was supposed to be the person everyone looked to for advice.

He had a chance at changing the outcome but he did not do anything.

Again it was not a fair assessment but I was biased and I could admit that.

Dumbledore took my words and he gave me a sad but understanding look.

"You have to recognize you are on a dark path Severus." He spoke out softly as if trying to coax a small child. I rolled my eyes at him and scoffed once more.

"They might be promising you plenty of things my boy but they will not fulfill any of their promises." Dumbledore softly chided me. I looked at him and took in his words. He was under the impression that I was pushing him away to join the Dark side. He would have been right at one point but now I just wanted to be left to my devices.

"I'm supposed to take your word on that!?" I shouted out at him with as much venom as I could provide. Instead of crumbling to my anger Dumbledore just looked more sad. He really wanted to sell the concerned grandfather look.

"You don't have to take my word my boy, I am sure that someone as intelligent as you can see that you are being used." Those words really hit the root of everything. They were absolutely true and it would have convinced me to at least rethink my choices if I was as I was before.

"I know!" I spat out in anger but I started to deflate almost immediately. I just repeated the sentiment quietly. Dumbledore had to think he was making progress. 

"It's not too late, you don't have to fall in line with them. There are other options." Again Dumbledore spoke out in a soft tone. I rolled my eyes internally but acted as if I was really considering his words.

The old man's eyes glinted as if he saw a chink in my armor. 

"They would never accept Miss Evans, you know that." He spoke out softly but his eyes seemed to shine as if he won. He was using what he thought would be a silver bullet to close the argument.

He was probably not aware that Lily was experiencing similar situations to Potter. If he did he would know that my relationship with her was not the winning blow. Not any more. Even, if he was aware of it he probably assumed that it was a small spat and that I would crawl back to her eventually.

I let out a chuckle that was filled with all the bitter memories I could produce. He clearly was not expecting such a response as his eyes shifted from victory to confusion. It was only for a moment but I could see it clearly.

" I don't care what she thinks." I spoke out, once more retreating into that empty form to sell it. It was not a pleasant thing and it was probably not needed to get him to accept those words but it was compelling. 

"I just want to be left alone." I spoke out warily like a wounded animal. Before he could interrupt and ask any questions I continued.

"No Light, No Dark. Just me…no one else." Again more bitter words but the sentiment seemed to have finally got to him. His expression morphing from an understanding grandfather to a sympathetic pained individual. He was still trying to form a connection between us. Again I rolled my eyes internally.

He could have chosen a variety of ways to get me on his side. If he kept his ear to the ground he would have known not to bring up Lily. I was surprised he did not bring up the Prince vault. He saw that I was far more threatening than anyone expected. So he should have pegged me as the number one suspect.

He would have honestly stood a better chance of getting me on his side if he offered to erase that little mistake. Whatever his loss. He opened his mouth to say something but I popped away. He might try to convince me again but he will not be as overbearing as he was before.

Which would save his life. If he came at me like he did months ago in his office I would kill him. Plan be damned. 

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Decided on longer chapters and longer wait times.