Chapter 11

The end of year was approaching and Atticus had just finished his final exams. 

He was seated in his room exhausted. He had just finished his Charms exams where he was tested in first, second, third and fourth year examinations after already sitting his first year History exams. 

He decided that he would keep his talents limited to mostly wand based classes as he intended to remain at Hogwarts for as close to seven years unless things changed. 

He had been required to state what year examinations he would be doing in each subject. He confirmed that he would be doing up until fourth year Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and DADA.

Professor Fawley had been inordinately pleased at his performance and had unequivocally stated the offer of apprenticeship was open to him once he completed his NEWTS which would happen in his fifth year. 

He wouldn't be surprised if Professor Brown were to offer the same to him. Atticus had always intended to complete masteries even if he did not care for the qualification. Academia was impossible to enter unless you held at least one mastery.

Atticus hadn't informed them that he was even further ahead in Runes and Arithmancy than the other subjects. While he was close to finishing fifth year Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and DADA, he was already approaching NEWT levels on those two subjects. 

He was somewhere around third year in the more esoteric subjects such as Alchemy, Illusions and so on. It was only because of his use of the Time Room he wasn't overstocking his time with all those subjects. 

Arithmancy and Runes were subjects that he could do on his own while wand based subjects such as charms and transfiguration were subjects that you could learn more when you were studying under a master. Books were well and good to a point but sometimes you need some mentoring to truly become great.

Regarding his projects, he finalised his version of the Marauders Map a month or so ago which he had started just before Yule. 

It had been a pain to connect to Hogwarts which only yielded respect for the Marauders. He had been exasperated when he realised what they had done. 

The Map was connected to the ward that Hogwarts uses to subtly monitor students. Hogwarts was sentient. Incredibly so. 

The stairs move the way it does because it is capable of learning the class schedule of individual houses and year groups. Atticus had known that the magic involved in the stairs were special prior to when he started Hogwarts as he had read Hogwarts: A History. 

He used this knowledge to investigate what made the stairs move the way they did and had found the ward and isolated it from the multitude of wards that were active within the school itself.

Once he figured out the ward, he set about creating the map. There were different types of parchment. There were the standard ones that most used in their daily lives and there were the more expensive and specialised parchments. 

Atticus had purchased a couple of bundle of one of these special parchments. It required special parchment to hold the magic that Atticus would be imbuing into it.

He had created a couple of versions of the map, the first being one that had the Homino Revelium charm imbued into it. This was the version that the Marauders used in their map. It required manual exploration of Hogwarts and layering the floor plan into the parchment which was an exhaustive method. 

Once Atticus figured out how they did it, or similar enough, he destroyed the parchment and made steps to create his own version.

He used his extensive knowledge of Runes to come up with a rune scheme that fully utilised the ward that Hogwarts used. It had been finicky to correctly create the rune scheme as he used a combination of differing Runic languages to come up with a comprehensive scheme.

In the end, it had worked splendidly and he got the full map of Hogwarts in its glory, hidden rooms and alleys and so on along with the locations of every single person in the school. 

He had been inordinately pleased with himself once it had worked. Even the chamber and ROR showed up, though Atticus doubted that he would be able to see who was in the room as Atticus hadn't configured the map to be able to do it. In truth, he doubted he would be able to do it until he knew how make a ROR himself which he was beginning to doubt he would be capable of unless he found Ravenclaw's notes on it. 

He doubted he was that lucky unfortunately. In any case, Atticus put a couple of protection magic on the parchment. It was keyed directly to his blood, magic and had a passphrase, 'Asimov', which secured it. 

The map itself wasn't the only thing that he created. He added a 'record' function that would keep a day's worth of data on it. He also added two tracking mechanisms that would inform him. 

The first was simple and would track individuals that he requested of the map. The second would notify him if there any individuals who entered or hovered at locations that he marked as special. This at the moment consisted of the Chamber, ROR entrance and the entrances that lead outside of Hogwarts. 

He customised the map as well. It did not merely keep track of humans. That had been more difficult than all the rest. At each sorting, the individual once sorted gets changed in their house colours. Atticus had found that there was a connection to that process with the ward. The map had different colouring schemes. 

Slytherins were green, Ravenclaws were blue, Gryffindors were red and Hufflepuffs were yellow. Professors were silver and outsiders were black. The map was capable of identifying through poly juice and disillusionment charms as he had tested it.

The map was hidden within his new notebook that had over ten thousand pages of blank parchment but was condensed to a standard size. The notebook was tied to a small silver ornament that hung from his necklace next to the casing that held the Resurrection Stone. The magic that Atticus imbued into it would ensure that he would be able to track it should he lose it. If the connection was severed, the notebook would unravel and the runic scheme would destroy itself making it useless.

The process in which he created the map proved immensely useful to Atticus. He intended to create a large scale version of it when he created his home. The investigation of Hogwarts had given him a number of ideas of how to go about it.

The first thing that he realised was that having an identifier ward like Hogwarts was brilliant but also lax and it could result in it being abused. 

Atticus held no ill will towards anyone in particular but if a map such as his fell into the wrong hands, it could make targeting individuals a far easier prospect. If someone managed to create a similar thing at his home, he'd be pissed. 

That brought up the main idea that sprang forth. Goblin wrought silver was a magical metal that allows you imbue a large multitude of magic in it. There were a number of magical metals that have properties similar enough to Goblin silver but the one that had the greatest magical affinity was Mithril. Mithril was the holy grail of magical metals. 

It was extremely ductile making it easy to shape and treat at which point it became stronger than steel, extremely capable of holding magic and it could be tied magically. Mithril artefacts were incredibly rare and as far as he knew the Sayre family hadn't had one.

The problem however was that there hasn't been anyone who knew how to create it since Emrys himself. He was the one who had discovered the metal and the properties or at least brought it to the conscious mind of the magical world and it had been one of the things that had made him famous. 

Unfortunately, there had been nothing noted as to how he made it possible, largely due to goblin interference. The metal was simply better than goblin silver it would have made them lose a lot of business. For the sake of peace, Emrys had decreed that he would not make the forging method public. 

Though Atticus suspected that the metal was capable of mass upheaval beyond simply being better and Emrys didn't want to cause it. He had found but the barest hint at the properties of the metal. It was said that it was near impossible to damage with magic, there are hints in the few texts that describe the metal that even Fiendfyre doesn't destroy. Fiendfyre is sentient fire, fire made alive, with endless hunger that can only be contained by the will of the caster. 

It consumes magic, which fuels its devastating fire. That Fiendfyre cannot consume the magic imbued in the metal is astounding. Not even goblin silver is capable of that feat.

Magical metals such as Mithril are so coveted and so rare because it is inherently difficult to have magic imbued in the metals. It is why Goblin Silver is so valuable and why the Founder Artefacts are made from the metal and why they still hold their enchantments a thousand years from now and would hold for a thousand years more without much trouble.

There hasn't been much progress when it comes to magical metals in the public domain. There are hints of course but much of it is directed to families that have long since died out that had capabilities of it. It was aggravating. 

Atticus understood that when magic made everything so easy, that you could simply use strengthening charms or runes on objects and so on, the use of magical metal becomes niche and only useful for special creation of artefacts. 

Atticus had asked his father if there were any texts in the Sayre Library that held any answers to magical metals and he had found some texts that would prove useful once Atticus returned but they were only guidelines and not instruction on how to forge any metals. He wondered what his ancestors had done when they were crafting their artefacts. Did they just use Goblin Silver and standard metals and materials? 

Atticus had full intentions of discovering, or rather rediscovering the metal. First, he needed to know how to forge metals of all forms. 

The reason why he needed to know magical metals such as Mithril was that it would serve as a substitute for the identifier ward as he would create a base of Mithril or an alloy of it and the land would sit on top of it. 

He would be able to etch runes on the material and it would absorb ambient magic to activate it and with that he would create the equivalent of the ward along with a multitude of other things.

Atticus hoped that once he discovered Mithril, he would be able to transmute other metals into it. Learning from Flamel became more and more important as he drafted his ideas. 

The amount of Mithril or Mithril alloy Atticus would need would be astronomical. Atticus had sketched out very roughly the size of the land that he wanted.

Atticus intended to have a home roughly three hundred miles long and eighty miles across from the outside. That had an area of 61440 km2, slightly smaller than the island of Sri Lanka. 

He would need to figure how thick the base needs to be in order to support the superstructure, create an alloy out of Mithril, preferably with mainly nickel and titanium to give the properties Atticus wanted. 

Atticus knew that it would most likely be at least several metres thick. He intended the structure to be capable of surviving even a multi megaton nuclear bomb. 

Atticus had an image of an oval shaped self contained structure that was enveloped on all sides. Atticus' reasoning was simple. 

In doing so, he would be able to expand the home by a number of factors if he wished to, though at the moment he was thinking of a simple two or three. 

Not only that, he would be creating a self contained ecosystem that no longer needed to be bound planetside and could survive in space if he needed to. 

The amount of mass of earth he would need made him wince internally. Luckily, he knew there were dozens of rituals that dealt with turning poor soil into arable soils. The ecosystem Atticus intended would incorporate numerous environments, likely mini versions of each continent and perhaps subcontinent.

What would happen afterwards was something he wasn't sure of yet. He wasn't sure if he wanted to make it into a classic space vessel but he was thinking about it. 

Figuring out why magic made electricity short out the way it did would be relatively easy enough and he would be able to create runic schemes that made magic work with electronics. He had an idea that there were similarities to nuclear electromagnetic pulses with regards to the effects of magic. 

Atticus shook his head and dismissed the thoughts that he was having. He was a long way of dealing with the problems he thought of. He would have know the magic required for all of it in the first place.

He yawned and checked the time. It was after dinner which he had missed. There was only a couple of weeks left of school and he had a number of things to do. 

----------------------------------------------Break----------------------------------------------

Atticus was in hallway leading into the chamber with a couple of roosters following him that he had under the imperious curse. He walked into the chamber

`Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four` Atticus hissed out and he hid behind the pillar. He didn't want to see her face while he committed this betrayal. The stones ground out and the door began to open. 

Atticus commanded the roosters to crow and a bloodcurdling shriek reverberated around the chamber, pain and agony could so easily be understood from her shrieks and all Atticus could do was put his hands on his ears to protect himself from the sound and close his eyes in resignation feeling more than a little loathing. 

She was audibly trashing until it became sporadic in sync with the volume of her shrieks until he heard no more.

He came out from behind the pillar he was hiding from and saw her head just outside the mouth of the stone statue. She was limp, unmoving, lifeless. Atticus stood still.

"Ha! Seems like you're no better than me after all" a sneering voice that Atticus hadn't heard for over 16 years. Atticus twisted around, wand in hand pointing at the figure. Atticus stumbled as it confirmed his fears. 'No...it's not possible'

"How?!" He said in anger and in fear. It's not possible. 

Atticus felt for the first time paralysing fear that he hadn't felt since he was but a little boy in his previous life. 

He felt weak, his knees were wobbling and all Atticus could do was not move lest he fall on the ground, as limp as the corpse beside him.

His former father began to laugh "Did you think you were special? That you were the only one that was able to be reincarnated?" he said in a condescending, mocking tone.

"But that's not important" he said dismissing it with a wave of his hand "What is important is what you are doing with your second life. Killing an innocent, even if it is an abomination of nature?" he began clapping 

"She wasn't an abomination of nature" Atticus said quietly reflexively, surprising himself.

His former father began moving towards Atticus and before he knew what he was doing, he took instinctive steps back which he stumbled over and he fell over onto his backside. He continued to point his wand towards him but it was far from threatening. 

His hands were shaking and the tip of the wand was oscillating wildly.

His former father began to laugh as he revelled in Atticus' fear. "It's good to know you still know your place, my son." He said with his teeth bared in a large smile.

"You're just like your father" he said with a mocking expression, his hand on his chest with a malicious smile on his face. Atticus flinched at his words and before he knew it, he welled up in anger as he got up.

"I'm NOTHING like you" Atticus roared found his courage in his rage as he fired a cutting curse at the man which he simply sidestepped. 

"Are you not? Do you not have a respectable" he said drawing the word out "reputation while plotting and scheming your way through life, using people uncaringly? Just like you did in your previous one?" he said tilting his head, clearly pleased with the fact that he was able to get at Atticus. 

"You've already started killing indifferently deluding yourself that you are doing it for a good reason." He said, continuing to poke at the wounds he was inflicting, something he was exceedingly capable of.

Before Atticus could respond "Granted it was different to how I was, I didn't care for much or delude myself that I did but people knew me to be a good man" he snorted while smiling an ugly smile 

"You and your mother knew better of course. Just like I knew better that you weren't the golden child you were deemed to be." He widened his arms 

"How can you save a world when you're so willing to kill those that would make it worth saving in the first place" he mocked Atticus "You're lying to yourself, son." Atticus flinched at the word.

"Face it, my boy. You're just as rotten as me" he said laughing. 

The laughing reverberated around the chamber, drowning out Atticus denials as he looked at the spectre that shifted into a more hateful, decrepit pantomime of the man that tormented him in his youth and Atticus felt a deep surge of hatred well inside him.

 "AVADA KADAVRA" he roared as he poured everything that he was into the spell.

Atticus woke up in a fit. He breathed heavily as he adjusted himself. His pyjamas drenched in sweat, his hands trembling. 'It was just a nightmare' he quietly professed to himself.

"No, it wasn't just a nightmare..." he muttered lowly. He looked towards the window and saw it was on the precipice of dawn. 

He climbed out of bed and went towards the showers, more automatically than any conscious action of his own accord. 

After an hour, Atticus left the Ravenclaw tower and made it outside and found himself sitting on a giant tree-root in front of the lake. It was eerily quiet, even more so for a Sunday morning. 

He was silently watching the lake as the sun cast her light on the surface of the lake, which gave the scene a morose feeling to it. Atticus felt it was right.

He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard wings flapping in the distance on his left and Atticus looked up. He let off a soft smile as he saw that it was Fila. She was getting larger and soon she'll be unable to fit in a cage.

She made her approach and screeched beautifully as she carefully manoeuvred toward him as she landed. She landed right in front of him and put her head in his lap.

Atticus chuckled "Hello Fila, I've missed you too" he said softly as he looked at her fondly. She screeched softly as she climbed onto his lap and pecked him on the head "Ow" Atticus winced. "I know, I know. I need to visit you more often. I promise I'll come to see you everyday if I can. I swear it" Atticus said as he held up his hands.

She huffed but clearly showed she accepted his words and she let her head low on his chest. "Careful now Fila, you're becoming too big for me. I won't grow as fast as you" he said good naturedly and she pecked him in the chest as a result which started off Atticus' laughing fit. 

After a little while, Atticus calmed down "Thank you Fila. I feel much better now" he said with a sigh. With the familiar bond, they had a connection that was difficult to describe. 

They were...not necessarily emotionally bonded...but they were bonded in a way that they have an understanding of the other's condition at any particular moment. He expects that she would be able to sense if he was injured in a way or if he her if she was injured.

 He scratched underneath her beak and she trilled in delight in result. Atticus let of a small laugh "Oh Fila, I was committed on doing something, something I would have regretted" he said softly and he cast a silencing charm around them. 

There were many ways people could intrude....there was no real privacy at Hogwarts or on the grounds if someone wanted to know something unless you were in the select few rooms in the castle.

She budged slightly out of his lap and looked at him with inquiring, puzzled eyes and Atticus sighed "I planned on killing Seraya today" he said softly as he looked at Fila, wondering if she completely understood what he said. He knew that Fila was exceptionally intelligent. 

He had actually looked up just after Fila had hatched, what the familiar bond meant. 

The familiar bond didn't increase the intelligence of the animal but it did increase, on a fundamental level, the understanding of intent of whatever is being conveyed to the other. Fila was intelligent all on her own. He had been intrigued by how much she was able to understand and it had peaked his interest in magical creatures. 

Many magical creatures, discounting humanoid ones, had intelligence that outstripped their non magical, or closest counterparts. Atticus wondered if it was the inherent magic that increased intelligence in creatures or whether it was the relative danger that existed within the magical world...whether magical creatures needed greater intelligence to contend with prey or predators that held greater weapons or greater defences. 

He was brought out of his pondering as Fila screeched softly at him and Atticus understood her underlying meaning. He sighes.

"I decided...not to. In the end" Atticus said looking away "It was only a nightmare that broke me away from my decision." He sighed as he looked towards the lake 

"I had rationalised that killing her for the wealth she represented was something that I had to do, that my plans depended on it." Atticus laughed sourly.

Atticus shook his head and looked at Fila who was paying full attention at her bonded. "I don't think I ever really had to. There are other ways to raise the capital I need without resorting to...what I planned on doing."

"The ROR has so many artefacts, dark and otherwise, that I would be able to pawn off at my leisure, earning enough to make a start on my plans. It would have taken much longer to raise the capital that Seraya would have been able to command but it would have been enough." He stopped and looked back at Fila

"I rationalised it away. That my plans required far too much upfront costs Fila"

"Costs that will be so high and that I simply wouldn't be able to cover if I don't take opportunities like Seraya represented" he said with dejection in his voice.

"Seraya adores me." He smiled sadly as he looked up towards the sky "She loves the goats and cows that I have Tweenie bring her, you know. She feeds from the forest whenever she was awake in the past but she's never had option of different meats as she often only was able to catch deer that would sate her hunger." He says more to himself than to Fila.

He was silent for a moment "She is willing to do a lot of things for me, I doubt it would take much for me to convince her to leave the chamber and come with me." 

"And I was perfectly willing to kill her. Only a well timed nightmare shook me aware of my actions" Atticus laughed 

"I was deeply conflicted and my subconscious mind intervened and compared me to the man I hated so much" he said a scathing tone. 

Fila trilled lowly as she sought to soothe him. Atticus breathed in relief as he focused on her trilling and stroked her head when she came closer. He didn't dare look at her for fear of seeing perhaps disappointment in Fila's eyes. She had such expressive eyes for a bird.

"I'm...worried Fila. I've done a lot of bad things in my...last life but what I was going to do to Seraya was a multitude of factors worse." He closed his eyes.

He continued "Even after all the time I spent with her, I was unable to consider anything other than that my long term goals. Even as I bonded with her...She was simply irrelevant in comparison." He breathed out loudly and reopened his eyes and looked at Fila in the eyes. 

He was glad to note that she wasn't angry or disappointed with him but rather sad. He didn't know if she was sad because how Atticus was feeling remorseful or whether she was sad how close he was.

He felt anger bubbling in him "Why did it take until the very day I was going to kill her for me to wise up" he said as he flung his arms up and Fila squawked and she flapped her wings and set herself right in front of him. Atticus looked at her slightly abashed as he saw her accusing eyes 

"Sorry Fila" She huffed but lifted her wing in a way that indicated that he should continue. Atticus would have laughed if he were in the mood.

He got up and paced slightly "It had to be that awful spectre of my former father who snapped me out of my stubborn decision. It had to be the comparison that finally did the trick that allowed me to realise the horrifying realisation that I was headed in directions that was eerily similar to him. That I was becoming much like those I hated." 

Atticus continued "I know that chances are that I will be doing unsavoury things in pursuit of my dreams." Atticus laughed a dry laugh with bitter undertones 

"I mean, we live in a world that can be so monstrous. People who have power over others will more often than not yield those who have no compunction to truly do terrible things. I've seen people like that in Knockturn Alley." 

He stopped and sat back down and looked at Fila in slight despair "I was so close to being much like those kinds of people."

It truly bothered him how close he was to doing it. There was something rotten about killing something that has trust in you. 

He had no misgivings of killing or hurting people who deserved it. 

He had gotten his revenge on his former father and he had found cold satisfaction in it. He didn't enjoy the act, far from it but the fact that he got his vengeance where there had been an absence of justice was what he enjoyed. 

That he didn't get away with what he had done to him. 

When had he shifted away from that mentality? 

He knew that he was ruthless in his pursuits but was he that blind to himself that he didn't realise that his actions could be so needlessly harsh and cruel? 

He began to self reflect. 

In his previous life, he had done things to people who simply had the misfortune of having what he needed or what he believed he needed. They didn't deserve what he did to them, not completely. 

At the time, he didn't have the options he had now. 

He was far more able to come up with alternatives that didn't need to have victims. He sighed and closed his eyes. 

He was still stuck with remnants of his previous life, shackling him. 

He was immensely grateful to that nightmare, despite how horrifying it was as it made him realise that he didn't need to be that person anymore. 

Killing Seraya would have caused him guilt in a way he'd never experienced. He looked at Fila who remained silent but attentive.

He continued "I have to be careful Fila" he quietly said to Fila 

"I have been given a wakeup call with that nightmare that I can be too focused on my end goal that I have missed the importance of how to get to the end. I'm aware that I have some...sociopathic tendencies" he smiled sardonically 

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions...Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works" Atticus quotes to himself 

He looks at Fila with a little mirth, hoping to add a little levity to the situation. "I will need your help girl, to make sure I don't do anything like this again." 

Fila pins Atticus with a look and trills softly.

Atticus understands and nods his head and lets a little smile bloom on his face. "I know...I will need at least someone that I can trust with my secrets and plans. To make sure I don't spiral out of control...especially now that it's so much easier."

For a brief moment of silence there was nothing else but him and Fila as they stared each other in the eyes. The sun lit directly from behind them, which gave the moment a quality of sincerity that Atticus found heavy. 

His breath hitched slightly as he stared at those brilliantly golden eyes as she stared at him which felt as if she was evaluating him. 

He felt as if he carried the world on his shoulders. 

Everything he was doing....planning, were all for the dream of having a home for magic and knowledge. 

He could have simply disappeared into the world. He could have simply focused on attaining immortality, seeking extended life for the sake of it. 

But it didn't give him purpose. 

It was simply something that enabled him. His dream is what made living worth it. It was for creatures like Seraya, Fila and those unicorns in the forbidden forest.

 It was for people like him who cared for magic and those who were gifted, human and sentient creature alike. 

It was for seeing a land so heavy with magic, that it made Hogwarts a poorly warded home amongst muggles. It was for himself and for his family. 

It was heavy burden that he took on, even if it was a burden that may not have needed to be taken on.

 She broke the silent as she slowly hoddled over to him and laid her head in his lap which stilled Atticus. 

He raised his hands slowly and gently stroked her feathers. Atticus sighed and closed his eyes "Thank you Fila" he said softly.

He continued to rub her feathers as he sat there, with her head in his lap as he continued to watch the nature in front of him.

Atticus hadn't visited Seraya for a few days since that day until today. He approached the stone statue and spoke the passphrase and Seraya slithered towards him

`Master, you haven't visited me in the last few days. Was there something wrong?` she hissed out concerned.

Atticus smiled at her and moved forward to rub her nose which she purred at that got Atticus to start chuckling `No Seraya...I...had a problem I needed to deal with. It took a little while to solve. Did you enjoy the cows that Tweenie left for you?` Atticus asks.

`Yes, I did. Thank you for having me fed. It's not so easy for me now that I'm so old.` she complains slightly.

Atticus frowns a little `Are you feeling well?`

`Yes, I'm fine, but now that I'm awake more, It is easier to notice that hunting in the forest is more difficult than I remember. It is too much of a problem. I will still likely live for many many years but I would prefer to be fed` she hisses out.

Atticus smiles at her `I will make sure to have you fed so that you don't have to hunt at all. There isn't much information on your species Seraya. Especially about your lifespan....I'm quite certain you're one of the few if not the only living Basilisks in the world.`

`Yes, Sal used to tell me about my kind. Even back then, we were feared, as we should be. I am the queen of the serpents. But he used to tell me that there were some safe havens for my kind, in the warm forests in a land far east.` she hisses out in contemplation

Atticus shook his head `I haven't found any such information. It is likely that any safe havens that may have existed, have long since been destroyed.` he says softly to her as he rubs her nose.

She hisses out in agitation but calms herself `I have laid eggs for Sal long ago. I do not know if they are still there but there is a room in within the stone statue that contains the eggs.`

Atticus stood still `Why weren't they hatched` Atticus inquires though he knew the reasons. 

`They weren't hatched because Sal didn't want to have too many Basilisks around the castle. He feared that they would not be as calm as me` she hisses out

`Was he right?` Atticus asks. She hisses out, seemingly in deliberation `Yes.` she finally answers 

`When I was young, I was brash and arrogant. I knew my status of queen. My children though they would not seek to challenge me, they would seek out their own territory. They likely would have respected Sal as a speaker but with so many of my kind, his influence would have been lesser with them.`

Interesting Atticus thought to himself. `Would hatching them myself not gain me the ability to make them...more obedient or perhaps bond with me?` Atticus inquires.

Atticus feels her shake her head slightly `I'm not sure. They will be more compliant with you but I'm not sure it would be to the same amount I was with Sal even though I was young. They wouldn't attack you however.` She hisses out.

Atticus was deep in thought. 'Seems like hatching more Basilisks would have to be at a much later date' he muses to himself 'if at all'

`Seraya, I've wanted to bring this up for some time now` he grimaces internally for the barefaced lie. `I want you to come with me, leave this chamber` he says.

She remains quiet for a moment `You want me to abandon the last mission my master gave me?` she hisses out. 

`Yes. Hogwarts is not in the same situation it was when Salazar was alive Seraya. There is a whole institution dedicated protecting magicals from muggles. The school has many defenders and you would never be needed.` he says gently hoping to convince.

`My family has two speakers and likely the next few generations will come from my family. You would not be alone for so long anymore and you would have someone to speak with`

For a long few moments there is silence `What if there are muggles that attack the school whilst I still live? I would be neglecting my masters orders.` she hisses out in slight distress.

Atticus mulls it over. It wasn't impossible that muggles would attack Hogwarts in 50 to a 100 years and Seraya may still be alive then. 

`If I promise my own aid to Hogwarts and promise to bring you when I travel to defend Hogwarts from muggles, would you agree?`

She draws herself from his hand and she brings her face right to Atticus'. `Yes. I will agree to those terms.` She hisses out in excitement.

`Excellent! I will need time to sort things out but it will happen by the end of next year.` he replies happily.

`Where will you take me?` she hisses out. 

`I will be remaining in the school for at least 4 to 5 years. I was going to buy a suitcase that would be expanded, giving you a lot of space to roam under a warm weather.` he hisses out. He always wanted one of those suitcases,

`If you are going to remain in Hogwarts for so long, why do you want me to leave the chamber so soon?` she hisses out in confusion.

Atticus sighs, he had to tell her regarding Riddle. Riddle didn't find the chamber until perhaps her fourth or fifth year so there wasn't necessarily a need to move her so soon but he didn't want to take a chance that things would be very different.

`Remember how I previously mentioned that my family was the remaining noble family that can speak?` he hisses out and she bobs her head in confirmation `There is another family, the last direct family that is descended from your master. My family while older than theirs, had married a daughter from their house some time ago.` he hisses

He continues `The family is...unstable Seraya. They have twisted ideologies that resulted in them...mating...family members too closely. It has contributed to their insanity. There is a female, perhaps the last one to come from their house that will come to Hogwarts soon.`

`You mentioned that you were able to smell my Slytherin blood. She would likely have stronger link to Slytherin. I do not want to lose you to her and I do not want her to use you to get rid of students she doesn't like at the school`

`I would never harm students at the school. It would be against my masters orders!` she hisses out angrily and her tail slams angrily on the ground and Atticus quickly rubs her snout again `I know Seraya, I know. But she would be his heir, therefore would she not have some control over you? As the childe of your master?` he inquires gently.

She calms down `Yes, she would but she wouldn't be able to make me.`

`What if she lied to you? Said that some students are fake and have infiltrated Hogwarts and she needs you to attack them? If you didn't know if it was false, would you have done it? To protect the real students?` he gently leads her to scenario

She raises her head and hisses but she doesn't get angry `...She would lie to me?`

Atticus rubs her snout as she lowers it back to his level `Yes she would. She would also, if she could, use magic on you make to listen to her. You would perhaps fight against it but in the end, she could win and it would hurt you a lot.` he hisses gently.

`That is why I want you to leave the chamber partially, so that she or and anyone like her can't hurt you in that way or use you to do terrible things. You are a beautiful serpent Seraya, smart and strong. I want you remain as you and to be happy` 

`I am happy you are here master` she hisses in a tone he didn't quite recognise.

`I'm happy I'm here too Seraya. You know it's funny. You're so powerful but you are so very gentle. Did Sal know you like this?` he hisses out and proceeds to laugh a little

`Sal knew I was a good girl. I was his favourite, he liked me more than his own son!` she hisses out in pride.

Atticus laughs out loud at that. `Yes, I can imagine that. You're definitely one of my favourites as well.`

After that, they talked little more for a number of hours. Somehow they had gotten around to talk about her reproductive cycle and he had laughed for a long while when she had spluttered...spluttered! 

Thankfully, it was simply saliva and not little bits of her venom but it was honestly surprising that she was even capable of that again. 

She had been vague and exceedingly uncomfortable about it but she eventually gave him the notion that Salazar had done something to enable her to give birth without needing a male. 

He wondered how he was able to do it. 

He knew that chickens could lay eggs without the input of roosters but they would be unfertilised. He had disregarded that train of thought and put it down for later investigation.

As he left the chamber, he couldn't help let out a breath of relief. He was glad he changed his mind.

His good day continued to become even better as Tweenie had come through really and had filled up more than a five trunks of artefacts. 

Tweenie had shown his OCD and sorted them appropriately. One trunk was filled with cursed objects. He would look for the least cursed objects to train his near nonexistent curse breaking skills. 

Two trunks were filled with Goblin wrought Silver. Atticus had smiled at that. It would come in handily in his negotiations with the Goblins. 

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2th of July 1937

Soon enough it became time to exit the Hogwarts Express for the last time until September 1st again. 

He quickly made his way through the crowd and found his family waiting for him, including his sister Sophia. He smiled at them as he walked over to them.

After a few quick greetings they made their way home. The first two weeks of the holiday went by like a blur. Atticus had paused his studying as he had made a lot of headway during his time at Hogwarts and worked mostly on his practicals when he wasn't spending time with his family. 

By the time the year ended, he had surpassed fifth year curriculum in the majority of core subjects. He had spent the remaining time after his exams studying the more esoteric in the Time Room branches which he was slowly but surely reaching the same equivalent understanding.

Sophia had graduated while he had been at Hogwarts. His parents and great grandfather had attended the ceremony and Sophia had regaled him with relish about her graduation. 

She had graduated fourth in her year which she was happy about and the family were proud of her including him. She scored the highest in Charms and Runes while she was top three in transfiguration and Arithmancy and top two in CARE. 

Her grades in DADA, Potions and History drug her down to fourth but she hadn't cared too much about those subjects.

They had gone to Verdant Alley to celebrate in one of the high end restaurants. It hadn't been the first time Atticus had gone to a restaurant in this life but it was definitely his first time in Verdant Alley. It was...glitzy to say the least. 

It reminded him of those movies...like the Great Gatsby but more uptight, posh and arrogant in a British manner. 

After that dinner, they had gone home and continued to talk into the night. 

The topic had moved to her career prospects and she had, after talking with great grandfather, agreed to work within the family business though she would not be allowed to head to mainland Europe and was constrained to go to the US only for the first five years. 

She would apprentice under Benedict and Mr Dayton learning the ropes. 

Marriage was discussed with her, to her horror, as there had been numerous inquiries regarding her. 

Thankfully the direct heirs to noble families were often five or more years younger than her and so that had ruled some of them off. Atticus shuddered when Abraxas Malfoy was one of these heirs discussed and he was very glad when his father had said that it had been rejected. 

The topic had swerved a little as their mother had shared some gossip regarding the Black family. 

Cedrella Black, another Black, a first cousin from the main branch had eloped with Septimus Weasley, dishonouring the family as she had broken the betrothal with the Selwyn heir. For that, she had been blasted off the family. 

The Weasley family were a Noble family but they were the greatest blood traitors amongst the nobility. Despite it being a scandal in high society, they wouldn't face repercussions as the Weasleys were still purebloods. 

It did mean however that their reputation was sunk even further and his mother had been clucking that that they were barely above mudbloods.

Atticus kept mum about the whole thing but it was ridiculous how Victorian it all was. In a certain perspective, he understood about marrying people who were beneficial to the wider family but it shouldn't be the only factor as it is in so many other families. 

He lucked out in truth being born in the Sayre family.

Thankfully Sophia had been assuaged that her hand wouldn't be given away without her consent which had relaxed her. 

She seemed genuine when she said that she hadn't found anyone beyond a few dates and said that she put it all off when she grew disillusioned in her sixth year.

Atticus sat in his bedroom pondering the particular problem he was facing. He was at the barebones stage of creating a charm that was based on satellite mapping that he was familiar with in his previous life. 

Satellite imaging was a useful tool for mineral exploration projects. He was familiar with the technology as his degree included material science and the topic had been covered during that year. 

They used images that had short wavelengths, infrared bands to highlight areas through colouring that characterised mineralisation of particular metals. For instance, high deposits of copper would yield a bright pink colour. 

All this had given Atticus an idea to create a charm that identified metal deposits. Given that he no longer was going to have basilisk materials to sell, he would need something like this to increase his capital rapidly.

Homino Revelio was rooted in soul magic specifically catered to beings but the arithmancy of the spell had turned up some elements that proved that it could be critical to his success of creating the spell. 

The revealing charm arithmancy had shown the components where the identifying component had come from. 

He would use these components as the base of his spell, hopefully with the magical equivalent of multispectral imaging. He had searched the library for any and all detection spells and had gotten over three dozen that could fit with his intent. 

He would have a number of things to sort out, such as the range of the spell, ensuring that it could be tied to an object and figuring out a way to identify different metals. Most charms that showed a slightly different outcome or intensity...a prime example such as the Lumos charm had a suffix on the incantation.

The charm itself wouldn't be too useful without having a way of showing it and he thought that he should be able to tie it magically to a parchment that showed results.

It was an exceedingly difficult one Atticus thought to himself wryly. Not even creating variants of the Protean charm caused him this much trouble. He bemoaned the fact that calculators wouldn't be created for probably another twenty or thirty years from now. Doing the calculations manually had him appreciate the simplest of things. 

He wouldn't be devoted much time to it, working on it intermittently which would probably take him a year or more to complete. He wasn't disappointed with that admission as he knew that accidents frequently occurred with spell crafters.

Atticus yawned, shook his head and made his way downstairs. The home only had him and Ms Florence though she was busy in her office doing her own thing. His sister had gone to America to visit their cousins while their mother was attending an event hosted by her fellow ladies. Atticus snorted. 

He remembered once when he had been taken to one when he was a child. It was mind numbingly boring and it was just the ladies version of sitting around with the boys talking about their yesteryears over a couple of beers. Slightly more tactful though.

He sighed as he made his way towards the duelling room. He had intended to compete in the U16 this year but he changed his mind.

He didn't believe he would gain much by competing against people who had yet to complete their NEWTS. While Atticus was currently in his sixth year topics in the four battle orientated branches of magic, his spell repertoire and knowledge of the more esoteric magicks was far ahead what he'd expect the current British magicals to be capable of. 

He knew that spell knowledge was nowhere near enough but he was ritually enhanced and he vigorously trained himself in duelling. He had drilled himself fervently and had increased the speed and number of the dummies.

No, he would wait until he was 14 and compete in the U20s which would be far more challenging as it tended to be attended by Auror trainees and Defence mastery students. 

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5th of July 1937

Atticus made his way through Diagon Alley towards Knockturn Alley. He had scoped Knockturn Alley a few times before today and had Tweenie investigate who is who during the school year in preparation of pawning off a lot of the stuff that he had on hand.

He wore a wristlet on his right wrist, obscured under his robes which put him under a glamour. He had been playing around with glamour charms and runes for a little while and made a good one. He intended to create a more secure one that combined transfiguration and charms. 

Grindelwald was an expert in self transfiguration and he wondered if he could achieve something similar that was more secured through runes that wouldn't come out with a finite. 

He made it towards the mouth of the Alley and a few unsavoury looking individuals cast their eyes at him, evaluating. 

When he had gone to Knockturn previously, alone and without any glamours, he had gone during a time of day that most dark creatures and wizards wouldn't be around. He was lucky in that regard that he hadn't been accosted by someone or some thing. It was also unfortunately a time that most shops were closed.

Once they caught Atticus unflinching eyes, they relaxed, it seemed as if he passed some scrutiny and he walked past them as they diverted their eyes.

His glamour was of a young man, around 20-25 years of age. His hair was stark white and around jaw length long. His eyes were dark, nearly black. 

It was difficult for glamours to work when you weren't the approximate size of the glamour. Atticus had found a way around it and it was...more than passable but the more experienced individuals will know that he was under a glamour. 

He could have used a more average glamour but he intended to have this to be his main face when he was dealing with the more seedy elements of life. 

Knockturn was the dirty backside of Diagon Alley. It reminded him of New York City in his time when economic crisis hadn't abated in years and it resulted in areas that were...exceedingly run down and a hot bed for dregs of society. Instead of crackheads, there were hags and wizards that were afflicted with one thing or another.

 It was the dumping place of failed wizards...and witches...that couldn't exist in normal society for one reason or another. They were magicals that were such utter failures...even with the gift of magic within them...so unable to gather strength and intelligence to use what so few have. 

He looked at them with contempt. 

Atticus continued on his way and found the place where Tweenie had highlighted out to him. It was the main market place for black market items. Borgin and Burkes were the far more...professional outfit when it came to pawning things but what he was selling, he needed discretion far more than he needed reliability and safer option...relatively.

He was going to see a man that was well known to have links with various European and Asian crime syndicates. He had six vials of pure Basilisk venom on him. He had asked Seraya if she was willing to donate a few vials once in a while and she had readily agreed. She was able to produce litres of venom and a few vials worth of venom wasn't going to cause her trouble. 

He moved through the main street of the Alley and he passed by numerous dilapidated, rundown stores. He swerved left and walked for a few more minutes until he hit the store front he was looking for. Frestman's Shylock. The shop was relatively cleaner than the other shops but it was still dirtier than any other shop in Diagon. 

He pushed the creaking door open and a bell rang. He walked through and he was greeted with a simple kiosk with an battered and aged desk. 

The man who was seated behind the desk was a relatively middle aged man. He looked worn; he had greying hair, his face marred with clear age lines that looked slightly out of place. He looked up and met Atticus' gaze. He looked at Atticus critically and with suspicion. 

It made sense, Atticus was new of course.

 "What d'ya want" he rasped out in a deep throaty voice, while he contorted in a vile sneer that looked grim.

Atticus looked at the man blankfaced, unconcerned by the man's tone. "I have...material to sell that I believe would be of interest to many people. I wish to use you as a broker between myself and any other parties that you find" He said succinctly, as he put on a slight German accent. 

The man narrowed his eyes in suspicion "Explain." He says gruffly.

Atticus simply brought out one of the vials and placed it on the desk. 

The man's eyes widened and he quickly snatched the vial and he began to inspect it "What is its purity?" he whispered. 

Atticus smirked slightly "100%." He says simply at which the man snaps his head back and he looked at Atticus hungrily "Do you know how rare Basilisk venom is? Not to mention pure undiluted venom? It is a non replenish-able item." 

Atticus inclines his head "I'm aware of its rarity." He states.

"How did you come by it? I have never heard of you nor seen you around the Alley" he narrows his eyes.

Atticus shrugs uncaringly but bares his teeth in a large smile "You wouldn't want to know who I am, not in truth."

He let of his tight control of his magic. His magic flooded the room at his behest. He knew that dealing with people like this would require showing no weakness. 

Ambient magic in the room stilled. His eyes were burning, glowing, vibrantly he gazed at the man unflinchingly. 

Magic swirled around him, as if he was the centre of a black hole, pulling and wreathing everything around him. He let out his malice and anger in his magic and the room was drawn into an oppressive field, as if gravity was turned up a dozen times, a thousand times and the goblins were on their knees unable to deal with the violence of his tempest, his storm of magic. 

This was a man who dealt with strength. He would fully show his strength and dissuade any notions of betrayal he may have.

He raised every single item, gadget and artefact that was on display behind the man and he lifted the desk along with them. Atticus kept his unperturbed gaze on the man, who found it difficult to breath, so saturated was the air with his magic.

Crackles of magic reverberated around the room as Atticus continued to raise his power. 

Magic rolled from him, swirling around him, increasing in density and in brightness. The taste of magic in the air was palpable. He couldn't keep it up for too long but he could keep it up long enough for him to understand.

Frestman felt as if he was being crushed by a thousand pound stone that rested on his chest. He knew the man was not as he seemed and he thought perhaps he could take advantage of it, swindling the man of thousands of galleons from the sale he would be able to create. 

He was mistaken. Terribly so. 

He has never felt such magic from anyone, not even the most dangerous ones that he knew of that resided in the Alley. 

"Do you understand now?" Atticus says softly but it carried clearly through the room with power. "There is a reason why you would not know of me...I like my anonymity...my associates and business partners understand that...do you?" Atticus asks smiling predatory as the flames from the candles move towards the man menacingly, encircling him, waiting as they reshape into daggers.

Frestman swallows deeply. "I understand...I didn't intend offense" he stammers out

"Good...You will never speak of my existence and you will never speak of our business. As far as anyone knows, you are the only point of origin."

He nods and Atticus draws his magic back in and Frestman breathes in heavily as he regains his composure. He glances at Atticus warily with new found understanding and acceptance.

"Is it this single vial?" he asks. Atticus hums as he deliberates. 

"For now, there will be a single vial. I understand that if there is more in circulation, the price will drop substantially?" 

Frestman thinks it over "It depends on the quantity of course. I will be able to gain a lot of interest for a single vial. If there is promise of more...once the first is sold, I may be able to entice the second highest bid." 

Atticus nods. "Once the first vial is sold and there is remaining interest, then you may discuss it with others. You will receive 7% of the sale revenue. That should bring in a high amount for yourself."

The man looks like he wants to argue but a hard glare from Atticus causes him to cease. Atticus nods in approval "Good. I will come back in three weeks." 

The man nods in resignation but before Atticus leaves as he opens the door he turns slightly `Do not think I suffer slights and betrayals lightly. `I do not forgive easily and I never forget` Atticus hisses out furiously and the man turns stark white at the display. 

He knew that there wasn't as much stigma with parseltongue speakers but there is still a reputation of darkness that came with it...along with a level of reverence. 

Atticus made his way out of the store smirking. That had been a lot of fun. He shook his head and banished those thoughts. He made his way towards his second stop of the day.

He weaved through the tight alleys and made it to the shop front that he wanted. He walked into the store and looked around. 

He saw a old man with blackened skin around a section of his neck. 'That must be Kristoff' he thought quietly to himself.

He made his way towards the man who was behind the counter. The man glanced over at Atticus "What can I do fer you?" 

Atticus answers undeterred. "I'm told you are the best forger around. I have need of your services. All my documents of identity have been unfortunately lost in a fire." Atticus says as he plops down a bag full of galleons. 

The man eyes the purse and he clearly mulling it over. 

He turns towards Atticus and sweeps his eyes over him, assessing him. He narrows his eyes and suddenly breaks off and walks out towards the back of the room. 

"Follow me." He states simply. Atticus pulls up the side of the counter and walks towards the back of the room, wand ready in one hand and his right arm ready to cast wandlessly.

After a tense walk, he sees a room filled with parchments, ink and other things that reminded him very much of a darkroom. 

He is met with three other people, guards from the looks of it who stand at the ready.

He glances around before his eyes set on the man who shuffles through parchments and he gruffs out "Well? Tell me what ya want" he asks irritably.

"I'm in need of an ironclad identity. The comprehensive works." He stresses out as he walks over to the man's workroom.

Atticus had instructed Tweenie to find out everything about the Alley and he had found numerous elves that worked in the Alley that knew pretty much everything that went going on. 

Tweenie had obtained a wealth of knowledge that would have otherwise made his time in the Alley very difficult as it was very exclusive in terms of dealing with outsiders. You simply ran in the right circles for the Alley to be worthwhile.

Kristoff was capable of editing ministry records somehow circumventing the various protections that were placed. No one knew how he did it. The aurors were knocking on his doors because the way he operated. 

While his store was not in the main section of the Alley, it was not difficult to find. But he used variety of magic that made it difficult to nab him and would shift his location all the time. Atticus had lucked out that he hadn't moved yet.

"So you want the full works?" He asks Atticus and Atticus nods. "I want the name to be Crysander Ferlow, born to Sarah and Michael Ferlow. Pureblood. Date of birth June 12th 1925. Birth certificate, records to be placed within the ministry records, under the family Farlow. Passport, and all the other minor documents. I want it be ironclad. I will pay extra if you are able to create more documents or traces that make it difficult to believe that this person doesn't exist." He states.

Kristoff eyes him shrewdly but he doesn't comment on it. "Understood. Given how much you want done, it will take more than the usual amount of time. It will be done Thursday two weeks from now." 

Atticus simply nods at him "Acceptable. How much?"

"3,200 galleons. Normally it would be 2,600 but with how much you want done, it drives the price"

Atticus simply nods and takes out the galleons from his robes and deposits the amount. 

"Thank you. See you in two weeks." He says and Atticus inclines his head and made his way out.

Soon enough it was time to go to the goblins. He was concerned that they might fuck with him but he had faith in the contract. He still prepared himself for anything.

Thankfully, it seemed that they kept their word and he received his massive amount of galleons. He made his way out of the store and promptly disapparated.