20 Apprentice
A/N: Warning. Chaotic chapter.
Finally, my 6th year is over, and with that, my NEWTs. While Darla and Ana were giving their OWL exams, I was sitting my NEWTs, just like how I sat my OWLs a year early.
I'm pretty sure I aced all of my subjects, but I'll get the results within a month anyway.
During these last few months, I trained my girls in Occlumency, as best as I could, and they learned all of it diligently. Dorea was the best at it, as expected from a Black, but surprisingly, Darla was 2nd best. Ana was right behind Darla in Occlumency.
Once I began teaching them Occlumency, I also brought up another subject. Combat. While Ana wanted to learn Duelling, I convinced her that Duelling is not much useful in real life situations.
Sure, you can use your duelling skills against inferior opponents. But Magical Combat is something that can help you in any situation.
---Flashback: February 1935:---
"You want me to teach you brats how to fight?" Cassiopeia asks, while we're sitting in Dorea's bedroom, in her house.
As soon as the topic of combat came up, Dorea volunteered Cassiopeia as a teacher, and I brought her home to convince her sister.
"Yes." Dorea says, smiling wide at her sister.
"And, what will I get out of it?" Cassiopeia asks, frowning at us.
Rolling my eyes, I say, "You owe me one, Black. I gave you the Animagus Potion you used."
"And I gave you a vow in return that I won't tell anyone. You got my silence, didn't you?" Cassiopeia asks, grinning like that was enough of a payment.
Getting a glint in her eyes, Dorea says, "Well, we will give you a vow of silence too. Not one of us will tell anyone who taught us to fight."
"Try again, love." Cassiopeia says, rolling her eyes, and leaning back in her chair.
Dorea scowls at her, and says, "Fine. I won't tell anyone what you were doing with the Fawley and Carrow bints during your birthday. What will uncle say, I wonder? A Black, being submissive?"
Scowling at her sister, Cassiopeia nods, and says, "Good. You're learning. I'll teach you every weekends, for 5 hours a day. It's your job to practice. Aves. You'll make those portals of yours here at 7 AM sharp, on Saturdays and Sundays."
---Flashback End---
And she kept her word. Every weekends, Cassiopeia would teach us everything about Magical Combat.
First came footwork, followed by dodging, which she enjoyed more that she showed. This went on for 2 days, meaning 10 hours of constantly firing spells, with only a few minutes of breaks in between.
She had us practice on each other. Three of us would fire stinging hexes, while the remaining one would dodge.
Next, came identifying spells. Only dodging is not everything. Sometimes, the spells fired can transfigure the land behind you into an animal to attack you. We learned that the hard way.
The third step, which we were on for now, was casting the correct shield for the correct spell.
Protego stops most medium level spells, and a few high level spells. It can also stop Physical objects like thrown rocks, or daggers. Protego does not stop Bullets though, or heavier objects.
Praesidio was a spell that can do that though. It stops any, and all physical object thrown at you. There's another spell, Praesidio Totallum, that makes a sphere around yourself. Again, it only stops physical objects, but does nothing to magical spells.
The last shield, at least the ones that are suitable for us students, was the Aegis shield. As the name suggests, it's really strong. It can stop bullets, lower level spells, medium level spells, and even some of the more dangerous spells.
As I was the first to master that shield, Cassiopeia demonstrated it's effectiveness by casting a Blood boiling curse at me. The shield stopped it, and absorbed the magic to make itself a bit stronger.
But, being that strong, it used up a lot of our magical reserves. It made us tired within 5 minutes of keeping it active. Whereas, I can keep Protego active for an hour, and Praesidio for 3 hours, and only then feel tired.
Other than that, she left the attack spells to us. I mostly use destructive spells, with only a bit of transfiguration mixed in. Dorea does the same, with some Dark Arts from her family spells.
Darla was the one who chose Transfiguration as her main combat subject, while Ana chose destructive hexes and Charms.
Transfiguration, is not something anyone can use in combat. You need to have a good instinct to properly use it. I, while being good, am not a master at using it. I like it, but not that much.
I mostly prefer blasting, cutting hexes, with some prank spells thrown in. Expulso at the foot is a nice way to start a fight. Or end it.
Which we can see now. It was the last day of school, and we were going to leave for our homes tomorrow. I had to go meet the Healer in charge of St Mungo's in a week, so I can begin my Apprenticeship under her.
So, as a last day of being in school together, we had decided to fight 3 on 1. The one, was me.
"Ready?" Dorea asks, pointing her wand at me. Darla and Ana were at her sides, in the same position, while I was standing in front of them, about 20 yards away from them. We were all in the Room of Requirements.
Before I can answer, Darla waves her wand and conjures 3 wolves in front of her. At the same time, Ana fires 2 bombarda's to my left and right, while Dorea fires a bone breaking curse at my feet.
Firing my own silent bombarda's, I aim them at the ones fired by Ana, and use an Aegis shield to throw Dorea's spell up into the air. As for the wolves running at me, I transfigure the ground into 5 stone snakes, and hiss, ~~Kill the wolves and bind the girls~~
Immediately after summoning the snakes, I step to the right, dodging Darla's Jelly leg jinx, and fire my own Knockback jinx at her.
Darla dodges that, while I shield from simultaneous barrage of spells from Dorea and Ana. Using wandless casting to support the Aegis shield, I use my wand and conjure birds with the "Avis" spell, which immediately fly into the air.
As soon as a spell gets close to hit me, a bird comes and takes it for me. Deciding to deal with them one at a time, as they have amazing teamwork, I conjure winds using my wand, and blow dust towards them.
While they're defending from the dust, I fire an expulso at their feet, which Dorea shields from, but Ana and Darla get thrown back due to the explosion.
Quickly stunning the distracted girls, I turn to Dorea and begin an honest duel. Dorea casts a spell, usually very dangerous one, and I either shield against it, or dodge it, depending on the spell.
I would try and distract her with explosions, and send stunning spells in between, mixing it up with the Incarcerous, and Jelly leg jinx.
Changing my tactics at the last moment, I cast a "Lumos Solem" while shielding wandlessly with my left hand, and closing my eyes. As soon as the spell is cast, I fire "Impedementia" at Dorea, which sends her flying back, and into the wall.
"Accio wand." I mumble, summoning the wand Dorea had dropped, and quickly stun her.
I won. While I am good, their teamwork is simply amazing. Most of the times, Darla would summon animals to do her bidding, while firing spells right after.
Ana would begin with either depulso, expulso, or bombarda, and then she'll move on to charms.
Dorea would begin with destructive spells, and she'll continue on that pace. She would only use stunners, binding spells, or prank spells, only in between to catch the opponent flat footed.
I, meanwhile am more of an reacting kind of guy. I act depending on my opponents. If they attack with dangerous destructive spells, I use shields to send their spells either back at them, or up into the air.
Thankfully, I have my background of Sorcery too, which made sure I could fight hand to hand pretty decently.
It does work most of the times, but we're still young, so bound to make mistakes and repetitions. We will improve as we grow older anyway.
---One week Later---
"Hi, my name's Mason Aves. I had an appointment with Master Healer Potter?" I say, as soon as I'm at the reception of St Mungo's.
I didn't know where St Mungo's was. Sure, the books described it as a run down store, but first of all, it did not say which store, and in which area. Secondly, that's in 1995. It could have been moved.
So, I went to the Leaky, and used the floo to get to Mungo's. The reception was right in front of the floo, so I did not have any troubles locating it.
And wasn't that a surprise when Slughorn sent me a letter, telling me about my soon to be Master. Euphemia Potter. Grandmother of Harry Potter, and soon to be mother of James Potter. Well, I say soon, but it's still 2 decades away.
Master Healer of St Mungos. He did not get me an apprenticeship with any Healer, he got me one with the highest ranking Healer in UK.
Goddamn Slytherins, and their connections.
"Yes. Please wait for a minute while I inform Healer Potter about your arrival." The receptionist says, pointing me at a cluster of chairs near the wall.
Nodding at her, I go and sit there, and wonder, how old will she be when James is born to her? She's already the Head Healer, meaning she has at least 20 years of working experience. Or she's an amazing healer. Or both.
"Mr Aves?" A voice says, bringing me out of my musings, and I see the same person I was thinking about, standing in front of me.
"Master Potter?" I ask, making sure.
The woman nods, and says, "That's yet to be decided. I decided to meet with you because I owed Horace a favour. I have not yet decided to accept you as an apprentice."
"Of course, ma'am." I say, nodding at that statement. I already knew that.
Nodding at me, Madam Potter turns around, and says, "Come. I don't have all day."
Once we're in her office, she offers me the seat in front of her, which I take, and asks, "Have you gotten your NEWT results yet?"
"No. Not yet." I answer, and say, "But, I did bring my OWLs, in case you needed them."
Taking the offered Marklist, she looks it over, and raises an eye. She asks, "Why do you want to be a Healer, Mr Aves? If your NEWTs are as good as your OWLs you can get any position in the ministry that you want."
Nodding, I answer, "Yes, while that is true, I'm not interested in being a pencil pusher. Plus, my mother was a nurse during the last war, and that is what pushed me on this path. Originally, before I knew I was a wizard, I was going to become a Doctor, and had even began reading MD books. But, being a Healer gives me more range of people to take care of."
"Why not an Auror then? You can help people by catching Dark Wizards. Or maybe helping out with the Grindelwald issue." Madam Potter asks, raising an eyebrow and staring at me.
"Our ministry is corrupt, Madam Potter. Aurors are obligated to follow orders of the Corrupt politicians. Healers are not. As an Auror, I could be ordered to prioritize saving one person ahead of the other, which I do not like. And I am going to help out in the upcoming war with Grindelwald. But until then, I'll practice my healing as much as I can." I answer honestly, but clearly.
"Hmm.. Horace mentioned that you wanted to take a break after your apprenticeship is over. Why is that?" Madam Potter asks.
Scratching my head, I answer, "Um.. I wanted to study muggle healing if possible. I think being a Doctor will help me with my Healing capabilities."
"Good. You've thought it out then. Very well. You can join me at sharp 7 AM, from next Monday. Use these days to buy, and read these books. You'll get them at Flourish and Blotts, but you'll have to show them this ID to get the books. Any questions?"
I shake my head and stand up. I say, "Thank you for this opportunity Master Potter. I won't let you down."
Smiling a bit, Madam Potter says, "You're a gifted student. I can't let you go just like that. But, if I find your zeal unsatisfactory, you will be removed from my apprenticeship. Understood?"
"Yes, Ma'am." I say, smiling at her.
That went well. Now, I just have to make sure my secondary education certificates are satisfactory in two-thee years. That's probably how long my apprenticeship might last, before I become a full fledged Healer.
---Time Skip: June 1937---
The last 2 years went by before I even knew it. My NEWT results came in, showing Os across the Marklist. I bought the necessary books and joined Madam Potter everyday, as she taught me about Healing.
At first, it was just learning to judge what the situation is by a look. Then cast a multitude of Diagnosis charms, depending on the situation, and then which Potion I can give to help the patient.
That, was the easy part, and I learned it within half a year. The hard part, was memorizing which Potion reacts negatively with which other potions. There are thousands of Potions, which means thousands of different combinations.
Of those, many of the Potions when taken together, have a variety of side effects.
There are many patients in St Mungo's, who tried self healing, and took 2 or more different Potions together. The effect.. was not pretty.
This part, took my most of last year to master, but I'm finally proficient in it.
Next was actually healing patients, with a combination of spells, and Potions, and sometimes, even runes. But, not many healers use Runes to heal, as they find the method dangerous.
I love using Runes in healing. Without runes, keeping the patient stable amounts to the "Petrificus Totallus" spell, or variations of it. With runes, I can put any patient in an indefinite stasis.
Right now, I was taking a few patients over from Madam Potter, so she can judge when I'm ready to become a Healer.
Madam Potter is a nice woman, and her husband is nice too. Her husband, Fleamont Potter, was the one who invented the Skele-Gro Potion, and he was impressed by me when I told him I invented the organ-growing potion.
I had dinner at their house a lot of times, while my own house was being rebuilt.
Oh, yes. Getting my NEWTs means the Ministry declared me as an adult. So, I could immediately claim my Vaults. Yes, plural.
---Flashback: August 1935:---
A week after I got my NEWT results, I went to the Ministry and got the Emancipation Certificate, along with my Apparation License. And now, two days later, I'm standing in front of the Inheritance Goblin.
"Hello, I'd like to take the Inheritance test, and claim any vaults I have." I say, smiling brightly.
"You're not an adult Mr Aves." The Goblin snarls, recognizing me.
"This Ministry Certificate says otherwise. Now, I can just give you the last Inheritance test result, or you can take these 10 galleons and have me take another test." I say, sliding G10 on his table.
He pockets the gold, and says, "Flicktooth! Take him to the Inheritance Department!"
I follow the Goblin, Flicktooth, to wherever he takes me. We come to a door, similar to every other door in Gringott's, but with a name plate that says, "Uthgard: Inheritance Department."
Entering the Office, I'm asked to bleed 7 drops on a piece of parchment, which expands to simply show a family tree. My family tree.
It shows my name at the bottom, which goes up to show my mother and father, and keeps going up my family lines on both sides. Finally, it stops at the year 1474 when the Bank was first established.
Looking at the parchment over, I say, "I want to claim the Aves, Slytherin, and Peverell vaults."
The Gaunt vaults, I'm not touching even a bit. While the other family names already do exist, so the Vaults probably have owners.
The Goblin in front of me grunts out, "Slytherin and Peverell vaults have already gone unclaimed for more than 100 years. You can't claim them."
Rolling my eyes, I say, "I know the laws. You can only claim the monetary assets of a Vault after 100 years. And you can't claim that too unless the Vault is opened."
"Your point?" Uthgard drolls out. This has got to be the most boring Goblin I've met. And I'm saying this after meeting him once before.
"My Point, is that I'm going to open those Vaults. I don't care what happens to the currency in the Slytherin and Peverell Vaults, but I'm taking whatever objects are still within, outside. Plus, my full family Vault of Aves." I answer.
I had come prepared, after reading the Gringott's by laws, that were in the Library.
"Fine. Let's see if your blood allows you to claim them." Uthgard says, and we walk out towards the caves.
----Flashback End---
Long story short, I got the two vaults added to my name. So, the Aves Family now has 3 vaults, after I reabsorbed the Trust Vault.
As expected, the Slytherin Vault had a lot of stuff. There were swords, shields, armours made of Goblin Silver. There were Tomes that looked like they contained a lot more knowledge, and I was right.
The Tomes were on Rituals, Dark Arts, Potions, and Alchemy. Along with that, were a few staves and wands, none of which worked for me as good as my wand did. I just kept the best working wand, Elder, Phoenix Feather, as a back up. And there were a few jewels, which I kept in the Vault itself.
As for the Peverells, I was actually disappointed. There were Necromancy books there, a few wands of old members, a few staves and nothing else. No mysterious trunks filled to the brim with jewels, no secret Hallow summoning boxes, nothing.
The Aves really made my day, though. Being Ravenclaws, they had books on each and every subject within the Vault, including Chemistry. Along with some half a million Galleons, there were a few normal steel decorative swords, and a few gemstones. I simply took the journals from the Vault, and got out.
I then, just closed those Vaults back up, got the keys, and left.
Along with that, I still went to the Chamber of Secrets, to make the Potion, and add any ingredients, or just to meet with Helena or Dorea. I did not forget Darla and Ana however, and met with the group once a fortnight for a combat practice.
I have to say, they've improved a lot in these two years. But now, even Darla and Ana have passed out of the school, leaving only Dorea alone for next year.
Along with that, I went and got something which I did not want to leave alone. The Resurrection Stone.
---Flashback---
It was September, when I decided to finally do it. Becoming invisible, I took a portal to Little Hangleton, which was a village in Yorkshire, and walking near the shack, I simply knocked on the door, still invisible.
The snake did try to attack me, but I just hissed at it to be quiet.
~~WHAT?!~~ The man who opened the door, my father, asks, looking around and seeing no one.
Without wasting any time, I used telepathy to knock him out, and used telekinesis to get him inside. Once inside, I tie him up using the Phoenix feather wand I'd taken from my Vault, and wake him up.
"You don't know me, and you won't ever know me. But you'll know, that a mudblood did all this." I say, still invisible.
And without any hesitation, and summoning all the hate I have for him, I snarl, "Crucio!"
He begins screaming, in pain, and starts hissing threats to me. Ignoring them, I keep my spell up, while glaring at the man.
As I don't want him to become a vegetable, nor die, I stop it within 10 seconds. Taking a dagger out, again from the Slytherin vault, I stab it in his left hand, making him scream again.
The Dagger has a curse on it, that slowly rots the victim from the inside. It will take 3 decades for the curse to consume him completely, but I don't mind.
Taking the dagger out and cleaning it up, I store it back in the boot. Knocking him out with a stupefy, I take the ring out, and transmutate a small silver coin to look like it. I even add a gemstone I changed to look like the Resurrection Stone.
Erasing his memories of being attacked by an invisible person, and pocketing the original Ring, I leave the shack and immediately go near my mother's grave.
While I'm not going to call her back using the stone, I can talk to her gravestone.
"Hey, mother.."
---Flashback End---
And that, brings us to now. Since I had claimed my lands, the Goblin's gave me the address of the Aves Mansion. I had hired a construction crew to rebuild it, exactly the way it was, 2 years ago. And it was done being built a month ago.
So, it was a month ago that I moved from my Orphanage, to my Mansion. I did buy a small apartment in the city, so no one gets suspicious on the muggle side.
And now, after casting the Fidelius Charm on my property lands, and making my house Elf Tobey the secret keeper, I was standing in the lands within the ward, but outside the Mansion.
There was a Ritual Circle drawn on the ground, which was about 15 meters wide. In one of the sections, at 12 o'clock, there was a naked woman, just laying there, unconscious.
She was a criminal I had found, by using telepathy for 3 days continuously, and walking around London. What was her crime, you might be wondering. Well, she was the wife of the Police Commissioner, and used that position to evade suspicion in many cases of Murder, rape, blackmailing, and even starvation.
Since she was on the way to extort money out of another of her victims, I.. picked her up.
Anyway, at 4 o'clock, was the Unicorn horn, willingly given, while at 8 o'clock, was the Humerus bone of Rowena Ravenclaw.
I was standing in the centre, along with the Cauldron which was still bubbling due to the heat from the fire burning below it, and Helena's spirit was standing beside me.
While Dorea was here, I did not allow Ana or Darla to come for this ritual. Despite knowing about Helena for a few months, I did not want to bring them in such a private monent.
"This is it, Helena. It's time." I say, smiling at Helena.
Helena nods, and turns into a spirit ball. Floating the ball towards the Potion Cauldron, I slowly drop it in.
Let the ritual begin.
---
A/N: Yes, this chapter was fast paced. It was on purpose, as I wanted to get this time skip over with. Next chapters won't be like this, so no worries.
I will show the Vaults in more detail later. Right now, I just wanted to get it over with.
