Truly Bashed

As Oz left Dumbledore's office he looked down at his hands to see both a feather and a vial with a tear in it.

'I'm honestly shocked the old man went ahead and gave me this... It was a shot in the dark but it seems he truly values me to some extent'.

Oz's last condition was one that he was purely putting forward to test Dumbledore. If the man accepted the condition, then Oz would see that he has value in Dumbledore's eyes. If he denied it, then Oz would know that Dumbledore views him as important, but not incredibly valuable in the long run meaning he would have to be somewhat careful going forward.

'Now I have a Dementors core, Trolls blood, a dragon's heart and a Phoenixes' tear/feather. The list is shaping up nicely... To be honest with just this I could probably go ahead and do the ritual...'.

Although Oz was tempted to go ahead with the ritual after seeing all the materials he had collected so far, he decided to shelf the idea. Now he was going to be tutored under Dumbledore, he might be able to use his influence to gain more materials which would make the ritual more powerful. As Merlin said in the notes he left, the more materials the better the outcome so Oz may as well go big.

Thinking of Merlin, Oz looked at his pouch which now had the tome of Merlin inside after Dumbledore gave it to him.

'In all honesty, I could have pushed him to give me this book without being tutored by him... The ministry I could have pushed against, especially considering my status they would have to listen to some extent...'.

When Oz saw that Dumbledore had the tome he was searching for, he was already thinking of how to get it off of him if he didn't readily give it to him. The man tried to use it as leverage but he probably knew deep down it was Oz's right to have that book. However with his power and influence all it takes is him swaying the ministry and the book could be withheld from Oz for a while until he finally gets through.

Oz's desperation could be seen as foolish here for sure. Oz in fact also felt that he was rash in some ways, however, the knowledge that Dumbledore held was truly what enticed Oz the most to accept Dumbledore's offer. While Oz is indeed a prodigy when it comes to magic, being able to enchant glasses to make the health specs and also maturing twice before 12 years old, Its next to impossible for a truly great wizard to appear without some form of guidance. Going solo would only get him so far and Dumbledore just so happened to offer to teach Oz areas that he hasn't fully delved into yet, making the offer more enticing to him. This was the main reason why he also accepted Salazar's offer a year ago as the man had knowledge Oz craved... however now that old snake has gone AWOL.

While Dumbledore can be manipulative and cunning, the mans intellect is truly unrivalled. He's seen far more than the average witch or wizard and probably understands magic better than most in the world at this point. Even though Oz personally sees a lot of faults in the man, this offer was something he felt he needed to take in order to grow faster.

For now he would stay on the old mans good side, learning as much as he can from him and absorbing all the knowledge he can possibly absorb, but when he's learnt all he can he will not stick around.

Both his and Dumbledore's personal philosophies are parallel after all, they will never truly meet eye to eye.

.

As Oz was walking back to the dungeons, he decided to make a detour to the medical ward again to see if Harry had been let go yet, or if he was being kept there over night.

Thinking about Harry, Oz felt a smirk coming onto his face. The boy was changing due to Oz's presence, Oz could tell that much after what happened in the medical ward last time. The light in his eyes wasn't as naïve and foolhardy as the original Harry in the canon, it seemed as though he was becoming calmer and more cunning. Oz truly looked forward to seeing where the boy would go this time around.

As he arrived at the medical ward though, he saw an interesting sight.

Instead of Harry, there was now another boy in the bed, Specifically a red-haired boy. He seemed to be throwing up a lot and also had boils covering his face. At the boys bedside was two twins looking at him with concern on their faces. At closer inspection Oz noticed who this boy was...

'Thats... Ron... what the hell happened to him?'.

While looking at Ron, Oz felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Harry, Daphne and Hermione.

Harry wore a mischievous grin that mirrored Daphne's grin as well. Hermione on the other hand had a slightly worried countenance. Piecing together what happened, Oz had to ask.

"Did you guys do that to Ron?".

At Oz's question both Harry and Daphne snickered to each other.

"We may have something to do with it... or maybe we dont... Whoever did it though deserves a reward!".

Listening to Harry's response Oz felt a slight shock.

'This boy really has changed... and I'm all for it!'.

Looking back over at the bed, Oz took a long glance at the twins at Ron's bedside.

'Thats Fred and George... they should still have their hands on the marauders map. I wonder...'.

After seeing Fred and George with Ron, Oz started to formulate a plan in his mind. For the longest time he's desired getting his hands on the Marauders map to tinker with it. Such a map was invaluable in a castle like this and would allow Oz to personally traverse it quicker. This situation that Ron was in with his two brothers watching... Oz could use this situation...

Turning to the trio behind him Oz asked.

"Is there any way to cure Ron of all of this?"

Daphne and Harry both looked at Oz wide eyed.

"Why on earth would you want to cure that leech Oz? I feel like he's got what's coming to him here!".

Oz chuckled at Harry's response.

"Hold your horses I don't want to cure him for free... those two boys over near his bedside; his brothers, they have something that I'd very much like to get my hands on. If you let me know the cure I can bargain with them to give me that 'something' for a while. I assure you also that the thing I want will benefit you as well in the long run".

After hearing the talk about an item, Hermione perked her ears up in curiosity.

"An item thats got even you interested in Oz? What on earth could it be...".

"Ill get to that later Hermione, now if you could give me the cure I may be able to work out a deal here".

Harry looked over at Daphne after hearing Oz's request and nodded. At that point Daphne reached into her pocket pulling out a small vial with liquid in it.

"This here should fix that idiot up no problem. The whole set was something I found in knock turn alley before I came this year... I originally planned it for someone else however after seeing what Ron did to Hermione I couldn't pass the chance up to test it...".

Hearing Daphne's explanation Oz felt a slight shiver down his spine.

'I would not want to get on this girls bad side...'.

After receiving the antidote, Oz advised the trio to run off now quickly. They all nodded at Oz's request and headed off immediately. After seeing them off down the hallway, Oz turned back to the medical ward and proceeded to walk towards the trio of gingers.

'If I can bargain with Dumbledore I can bargain with you two...'.