Chapter 27

Dumbledore POV

He sat on high at the staff table as Dippet performed the Closing Feast speech but he was not focused on that.

No...his eyes were flickering between two students who were often on his mind. 

Atticus Sayre and Emily Riddle.

The prodigies of their generation. Much like what he and Gellert were.

They were also now officially in a relationship much to his dismay. Flashbacks to his time with Gellert come to the forefront of his mind, taunting him of days long past, days that he longed for still but knew that he could never have them again.

It was as if fate decreed that he watch history play itself out again, echoing through time, a familiar story that was destined to be tragic, just like his was.

He knew logically that it was unlikely to be the same. Atticus Sayre did not have the same moral fibre he did, even if he had momentarily lost himself in the haze of love in his misguided youth.

She herself paled in comparison to the man Gellert once was though she shared his capacity of charisma, his ability to pull people in with his sheer presence.

He was certain their combination, her cruelty and his ingenuity, would spell doom for their world. And there was nothing that he could do about it. Yet.

She was now under the protection of the Sayre family who have filed fostering papers which were accepted and was now permanently in the magical world something that he had hoped to delay as long as possible. 

Fostering in the magical world was not something to be taken lightly. It carried an amount of honour and duty that was admirable and required the foster family to treat the foster child as if it were a biological child.

He was not certain if they knew of her links to the Sayre family. Ironically, the Sayre family were her closest magical relatives even if the links were three hundred years old.

He had hoped to drive a wedge between them, somehow, that would bring the Sayre boy over to him but it seems that he waited too long. Emily Riddle was far too dangerous and too dark and he simply knew from the moment that matron described her to him that would pose an unacceptable danger to their world.

The way she climbed to the top of the Slytherin Hierarchy was simply proof of his correct assessment of her. If she was capable of that, whilst so young, without a recognisable family name...he dreaded the day she found out who she was and what it could mean with the backing of the Sayre family.

The Sayre boy was not lost. Not yet. He had closely observed the boy and found him, despite the worrying capabilities he held, along with his magical powers, to be someone who could positively contribute to the world he wanted to build.

His talents in Transfiguration were prodigious and it filled him with great envy that Amanda Brown had been his master who was elevated recently in the International Transfiguration Board. She now sat on the panel of judges given her own recent contributions that stemmed from her own research into muggle science.

His new apprentice, Minerva McGonagall was a bright woman but she did not have the brilliance he or the Sayre boy held. Her depth and skill in Transfiguration was nothing to scoff at, she was a wonderfully talented individual but she was not special nor did she have the intuitive skill one needed to be truly a marvel in Transfiguration.

However, she was easily mouldable and once he ascended to Headmaster, he would have a loyal...friend...that would be helpful in shaping the next generations of magicals the way he wanted. It mattered not if she was merely above average intelligence and not on the level of the Sayre boy.

His works in atomic and molecular transfiguration were revolutionary and already opened up entirely newly discovered veins of research that was riveting.

The boy even posited a few avenues himself as he was a contributor from time to time to The Transfiguration Weekly paper.

His magic also did not have the taint that he felt on Emily Riddle. It felt more neutral, more grey, like so many of his ancestors were reported to be and his father and great grandfather were, and that was something that he could find acceptable. 

Another reason that he sought to bring the Sayre boy over was the suspicions that he held that Atticus Sayre was a Seer. 

That warning that he had given had been reckless on his part that could be chalked up to his youth and when he had heard that Diagon Alley was being evacuated from his source in the Ministry, only a few months after Lord Sayre was seen with a strange collection of Lords but all influential in their own factions, it only solidified his theory that Atticus Sayre was indeed a Seer.

If what he suspected of the boy was correct then that meant that he was one of the rarest Seers in existence. 

There were Seers and there were Prophets. Seers were capable of peering the window of time, even though they rarely are capable of directing what they are Seeing, and it showed them possibilities. 

That meant changes can be made without the usual negative consequences that came with meddling with time. Prophets were far more common than Seers though their prophecies were far more absolute if they came to pass.

The warning had been vague enough but recognisable enough that it successfully prevented him from perhaps making a worse enemy in Emily Riddle. Not that he believed it mattered in the long run.

That was an extraordinary power that many have killed for in the past and it was in the hands of an extremely powerful boy who was likely to join him and Gellert at the top.

And he had no influence over him.

It was grating. It was grating that he had set himself against the boy so early on without being cautious. He had reflected on his actions and saw that there had been a window of opportunity where he could have positioned himself well as a mentor to him like he did with so many former students.

One of his most successful cultivations had been Septimus Weasley who was now well positioned in the ministry and regularly fed him information.

Septimus Weasley owed him much, especially since the advice he had given him helped Septimus to successfully court Cedrella Weasley, formerly Black. 

But his desires of limiting the boy had overwhelmed him and thus set the stage of a cold relationship.

He did not believe he was wrong to try and limit the boy. The boy was far too powerful for his own good and had too many talents for him not to be tempted in using it.

It was a curse, he believed, power.

Power ruled their world and those with powers like him were immensely influential in the magical world. People with the kind of power the Sayre boy and Riddle held could not be trusted to be responsible with their power.

With the pedigree the boy had, combined with his power, it served to create an individual who would be capable of immensely influencing their world and he wanted to curb the boy not just to prevent him from acquiring too much power to threaten the world he wished to bring into existence but also to humble him lest he repeat the same kind of mistakes he did.

Alas, he executed it poorly and he lost a powerful ally he could have used to shape the magical world into the utopia he believed it could be under his guidance.

Power addled the mind and certain magicks were inappropriate for the kind of world he wanted to create. 

The kinds of magic he was certain Emily Riddle performed and would perform. He was worried that she would tempt him with the allure of learning obscure magicks, dark magicks, as they grew older. 

The Sayre boy held a passion for magic seldom seen in their world and he was afraid she would corrupt him just like Gellert almost corrupted him.

He sighed inaudibly 'Oh Gellert' as he longed for the man he once was. They had such grand dreams of creating a utopia for their people with muggles unable to harm them and ruling over the muggles with the gentle hands of his and Gellert's.

But that fateful day when his sister died was when their dream died too and when Gellert completely turned towards magic most foul. 

He had always been aware of Gellert's predilections. He had not been a fool but he had been in love with the man and he was willing to forgive many things and he knew had Ariana not died, chances were that he'd be in Europe alongside Gellert carving his way through Europe towards the future they so desired, a future they planned for in those wonderful summer days that he so vividly remembered.

Her death had broken the haze he was under and he realised war was not the way to rule. No, he realised it had to be from the shadows and as someone who none could doubt of his motivations as he tied strings to the limbs of unaware wizards. It was for the greater good that he directed their world towards the path that he saw. 

A world where he was the preeminent benevolent shepherd and where great differences in power no longer existed and could live peacefully with the muggles as they cast aside the traditions of their ancestors and removed the influence of the Old Families who held a tight grip on their world, particularly those who would stand against his Greater Good.

It infuriated him that Gellert had found a poor substitute of himself in the form of his bastard half brother Aurilius Barebones. He refused to consider that boy – now man – as a Dumbledore. He did all he could to erase any notion that the boy was a Dumbledore. It had caused him huge setbacks when it was discovered that the boy might be a Dumbledore. 

He had to trace his father's steps and erase anything that would lead to the correct conclusion that his father had indeed strayed from his mother. One of the only female guards of Azkaban had been a childhood friend of his father and provided his father...comfort during his stay at Azkaban. 

Shortly before his death in 1900, she fell pregnant. Nadine Dipplesworth. She died in childbirth and Aurilius' aunt took responsibility for the boy but she died on the journey to America leaving him all alone and eventually led him being adopted by the Barebones family.

There had not been many who knew of his father's dalliance in Azkaban that had still been alive by the time he found out about the boy in 1927. He had to...expedite the deaths of four individuals, three belonging to the Dipplesworth family and one being a family friend.

It filled him with great sorrow to have to do it but it had been for the Greater Good. None could be allowed to get in his way and having it known to everyone that a Dumbledore was backing Gellert, after having refused to fight Gellert in the first place, would have irreparably tarnished his burgeoning reputation and standing.

For now, it was known that Gellert was fabricating the story to goad him and to tarnish his reputation.

It did not mean that Aurilius displeased him entirely. He was the very first stable Obscurus, a feat likely never to be repeated – unless Gellert manages to replicate it which he did not believe Gellert could do.

Aurilius was also skilled and has managed to evade capture for nearly fifteen years. His sources tell him that he is not far from the presence of Gellert at any time and has aided Gellert substantially in his foolish conquest. It was an ICW top secret that Gellert had an Obscurus aiding him.

He cast his eyes to Emily Riddle who was sat amongst her crowd of heirs from Dark families and recalled the day her relationship with the Sayre heir changed

They had been gone in the evening of the thirtieth of April, some false story about a family emergency and that both of their presences were required. He was certain they went a Beltane Festival. It had been done with their Heads of Houses, who both adored them and were their prize students and so their story was not doubted and he had been unaware of their disappearance until they had already left.

Even Daphne Goshawk considered the Ravenclaw boy as one of her own given how talented he was in Runes. In truth, there seemed to be nothing that he wasn't talented in.

In any case, Horace and Michais allowed them leave and they hadn't returned until the evening of the first of May.

It had been immediately noticeable that their relationship had changed. Since then, they often went to Hogsmeade together and had been subject to great interest – and jealousy – from the rest of the school.

"Staring at the jewels of Hogwarts once again Albus?" a familiar voice disrupted his thoughts and he turned towards his right and saw Horace look at him with a knowing look.

"Chance only, I assure you" he said calmly and Horace looked at him sceptically for a moment.

Horace shook his head "You are worrying for no reason my friend. They are delightful people" he said in a calm tone that was quite unlike Horace.

"What's this?" Lisbeth Medelin who was seated at the other side of Horace asked as she leaned towards them after she set down her glass of pumpkin juice.

"Oh we were simply discussing the two most talked about students in the past month and a half" Horace chortled delightedly as he picked his glass of spiked pumpkin juice. Horace was a fan of drinking and often spiked his drinks with brandy.

"Ah!" Lisbeth exclaimed lightly as her eyes sparkled.

"Such a wonderful romantic story" she sighed happily 

"The beautiful orphan girl who was wooed by the handsome prince" she said as her eyes shined as she was lost in the fantasy she created.

The notion of Emily Riddle being anything positive rubbed him the wrong way. It created sympathy and someone like her would be able to manipulate it to her advantage so readily and so easily.

Horace laughed heartily which made his rotund belly dramatically rise up and down "Oh, I must remember that when I speak of them to others who will be delighted to hear of the prodigies of the next generation." Horace said happily as his eyes glinted in a greedy way.

Albus liked Horace but exposing the two to his often influential links was something he did not like to hear.

"I'm happy for them both" Lisbeth once more entered. "Mr Sayre is such a wonderful talented boy" she said smiling broadly "the Stargazing Enchantment is truly a marvel of an enchantment. It's made my teaching so much easier as they now can calculate alignments and planetary trajectories a lot easier now that they can check their work during their day at perfect conditions" 

"My" she said thoughtfully before she continued "He even brought me some fascinating papers that the muggles have published" she shook her head "To think muggles have made such strides in the last few centuries" she said with a little wonder "Muggles are quite the fascinating creatures aren't they?" she said to no one in particular.

"Some of the new observations the muggles have made have been positively wonderful and with the enchantment it's made it all too easy to confirm" she said curiously. "I never realised muggles could be so intelligent" she said offhandedly.

She shook as her head as she ceased going off on a tangent to Albus' relief "But back on the pairing. It is only right that he found himself an adequate match and Emily Riddle certainly is the second brightest student at the school. A fortuitous match" she said happily as she lightly clasped her hands.

His eye threatened to twitch. The students hadn't been the only ones to be gossips, as evidenced right now.

He had been in a miserable time as every single one of the staff had their own things to contribute to the gossip. They were both universally loved and he knew that none would share his concerns and it would likely damage his own standing with them. 

It had been only recently that he managed to recover from the misstep that caused him to be sanctioned.

It did however confirm that he could only rely on himself to guide the magical world if they were so ignorant to the dangers those two posed.

"Did you know that the Sayre family filed for fostering for Ms Riddle?" Horace said happily and Lisbeth gasped as she leant in even further.

"Truly?" she said as her face morphed into one that showed immense interest. Albus wondered what he had done to earn and have himself involved in such base gossip.

Horace bobbled his head as his red cheeks parted to show a large smile that belied the intense greed that was present in his eyes.

"Yes, truly" he nodded happily as he let of a hearty chuckle "They filed it three weeks ago. It is wonderful news." He said cheerfully before he turned serious as he shook his head.

"I was worried for her. As you know, she stays at an orphanage in London" he said before pausing and Lisbeth frowned.

"Aren't the muggles bumping London all the time?" she said worriedly "She would return to that?" she said almost outraged.

Horace shook his head theatrically and tapped her hand "No my dear, she won't return. The Sayre's had their fostering approved a week ago and she no longer has to remain at the dreadful muggles." He said with a large smile before he corrected her "I think it is bombing that the muggles are doing" he said offhandedly.

It was easy to forget under all the exuberance, that Horace had immense ties in the magical world, particularly in the ministry. For the moment, he certainly had more connections to people even if Albus had better positioned 'allies'.

She sighed happily and she leaned back in her chair clasping her chest.

"The handsome prince saves the beautiful orphan girl and brings her home to his parents who accept her even if she is not a noble" she said in a sighing breath.

"What a lovely story Horace. I am happy to witness it unfold." She said merrily as her eyes almost twinkled.

Albus wondered if he could make his own eyes twinkle. He imagined he would look fantastic. It would greatly uplift his mood from having to wear these grey robes all the time. 

Once he was headmaster, he would be able to wear those bright fashionable robes that are hanging wastefully in his closet.

He smiled lightly as he imagined how much twinkling eyes would match with those wonderfully purple orange robes before he was taking out of his musings by Horace.

Horace chuckled heartily "Yes, two star crossed prodigies find each other and bring about great change to the world. Oh those two will go far, I know" he said happily before he changed to a brooding expression

"I only wish Mr Sayre would come to the Slughorn parties more often than he does. There are so many people I'd like to introduce to him." He muttered.

Lisbeth gently tapped Horace's arm "I'm sure he'll come to your events next year. Isn't Ms Riddle a regular attendee?" she inquired.

His eyes grew brightly "Yes she is. Given that they are now together, he would have to come more often if not all the time" he said brightly.

He turned fully to Lisbeth "Thank you dear." He said happily and she hummed as she nodded amiably at him before her expression changed into one of mischief.

"If you leave a good impression on them both, you might get yourself invited to their future wedding" she said in a conspiratorially tone and he straightened himself up and gained a disturbingly calculating glint in his eye.

"You think they will marry?" he asked in a greedy tone.

She looked at him happily to engage him "Do you not think...."

He tuned the rest of the conversation out as his mood soured even further.

He didn't have the influence to restrict them and he was out of ideas that didn't require overt actions which he did not think were necessary. Yet.

He must have been brooding and it must have been clear on his face because Armando tapped him on the shoulder and had a look of concern as he looked at Armando.

"I am fine Armando." He said genially as he banished any thoughts of the problematic duo.

"Are you certain?" Armando asked as he looked at Albus intently.

"Yes I am" he reassured the old man before he drank of his lemon tea which suitably uplifted his mood.

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

He stepped off the Express with his friends and bid them goodbye as they departed to meet their families.

He waited for Emily to part with her friends who she was likely going to make plans with for this summer.

He reflected on the days and weeks after the Beltane festival. There were rarely truly monumental shifts in his personal life, in either this one or in his previous one, that even approached that night in Wales.

He never imagined that he'd ever feel for someone as much as he did currently. It had been as if a dam he constructed and fortified had been breached violently and allowed the flow of emotions of such strength that it truly made him afraid once he had time to consider them when he had been in his room, alone, contemplating the events.

He never felt more vulnerable and yet, at the same time, so blissful when she reciprocated completely, overwhelming any fears he felt.

That moment when they kissed and subsequently held each other was forever etched in his mind, and even now remnants of the intensity of the moment remained with him and he wasn't certain he'd be ever able to shake it off...if he even wanted to.

He knew that she was similarly concerned regarding the emotions she felt, even if they never truly discussed what they felt for each other.

They had talked in the following days about their change and had agreed that they were now...together officially. Of course terms like girlfriend and boyfriend didn't quite fit them and they never referred to each other as such.

Not that it mattered. It was what the school knew them as. 

Once it became understood that he and Emily were together, the reaction of the school had been immensely strange. He had known that he was popular and well liked but some of the reactions truly made him baffled.

Some girls looked at him creepily longingly and Emily remarked that there were girls who she never spoke to, had given her such looks of jealously and envy and even in some instances looks of intense dislike bordering on hate.

Of course Emily was unaffected by such scrutiny and dislike by a certain population of Hogwarts and instead seemed to revel in their dislike of her.

She shrugged when he had asked her if it bothered her and she looked at him smugly and said

'I have something that they can never have, could never hope to have. You are mine Atticus Sayre and it pleases me greatly that they dislike me because of it'

Strangely he was not so offended that she was so possessive of him. As long as it was within acceptable boundaries.

He was his own being and none could ever take that from him. Not even Emily.

He was brought of his musings when a hand slipped into his and he looked at the person and saw it was Emily.

She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek "Atticus" she said calmly as she looked at him with the same kind of expression she had these days.

"Emily." He returned warmly "Ready to go?" he asked her and she nodded.

They began to walk towards his parents. When he informed his parents of their change in relationship, they moved immediately, without his knowledge, to officially foster her pending Emily's approval which she had given when she brought it up to him.

"I'm dreading mother's reaction" he murmured to her as they made their way to where his parents usually were and she looked at him with amused eyes.

"Fearing your mother's reaction, mother's little boy?" she said teasingly and he grimaced lightly. He'd never live that down will he? He thought sadly before he looked at her with twitching lips

"I don't know why you are so smug. You do realise I'm not the only one in this relationship. I won't be the only one that'll be subjected to her" he said knowingly at her and fought a bark of laughter as he saw the change in expression in her face as she realised he was correct.

"It's not too late to go the orphanage is it?" she said unhappily and he laughed out loud at that.

"Ah, there you are!" the familiar voice of his mother could be heard and saw she was coming towards their direction.

"Mother" he said in greeting as she came into full view. He grimaced lightly as he saw the happiness in her eyes.

"This might be worse than I expected" Emily murmured lowly as she let go of his hand giving his mother the opportunity to hug him briefly

His mother looked at both of them once she stepped back a little "Ah there are my little lovebirds" she said mischievously as her eyes shone with delight.

"Anne, do not tease them too much. It wouldn't do to scare them off" his father who followed his mother said.

"Pish!" she said dismissively "I'm just so happy to see two of my favourite people together" she said happily.

"Ah mother, it warms me so much to hear you say that." A familiar snarky voice appeared and he turned towards the source of the voice and saw that it was indeed his sister.

"Sophia" he said with a large smile. He hadn't seen his sister for a long time now and she came forward and enveloped him in a big hug.

"Little brother, it's been too long" she said as she broke off the hug and held him at the shoulders.

"You've grown" she commented.

He nodded agreeably "It tends to happen to teenagers" he said with a small grin.

She laughed and then turned her eyes to Emily "This must be the famous Emily Riddle" she said as she stuck out a hand and he pondered what Emily would do.

She didn't like touching but she bore it when she had to shake hands as politely required. She had a small tick where she flexed the fingers in her free hand when she had to touch people.

She met Sophia's hand and shook it and he watched for the tick and though he saw it, it was brief, different from her usual display of her tick.

"Pleasure to meet you Ms Sayre" Emily said politely.

"Please call me Sophia, I'm here for the summer and given that you are fostering with us, anything more than Sophia is not acceptable" his sister intoned and Emily nodded.

"Call me Emily then" she returned and his sister nodded.

"Wonderful" she said happily.

"Let's go home shall we?" his father interjected and soon enough they made their way to Sayre Manor.

Hours later they were seated at the Dining table, with Emily next to him whilst his father sat at the head of the table with his sister and mother at either side. Benedict remained in America in Sophia's place for the summer.

He'd see Benedict during Yule.

The conversation had been light as Sophia regaled them all about her time studying under their great grandfather.

"So" he began as he washed down his dinner with a glass of red wine. Eyes fell upon him "Does that mean you now no longer are apprenticing under Benedict?" he asked his sister curiously.

She gulps down her glass of wine and nods happily "Yes, I'm now no longer training and have been elevated into the senior executive position of the family business." She paused briefly before she continued "Now, the only one who has more authority than me is great grandfather – and father if he wished to be more involved in the business – but essentially I'm in charge" she said happily and he smiled at her.

Father spoke up "I see no need to be intimately involved Sophia. Grandfather has high standards and if he says you are ready then that means I have nothing to be worried about." He said gently and Sophia smiled largely at him. 

He was happy for Sophia. She had worked hard to earn her position and it was something she enjoyed.

"Will it be a purely managerial position or will you be looking for expansion?" Emily asked curiously and Sophia turned to her with an interested look on her face.

"It will be both. Much of my work has been centred in North America but I've taken the opportunity to expand into South America where there are a few large communities that do not have the kind of products that are freely here in Europe or in North America. Products such as everlasting candles, automated hoovers, and enchanted utensils and so on are practically nonexistent there so there is opportunity to effectively corner the markets there." She paused to sip on her wine.

She continued "It will be difficult though. South America has a strange mix of Spanish and Portuguese community that has melded with the native magical on the continent" she began.

He peaked at this and she saw this and smiled at him "When the statute went up, the ICW forcefully made the natives adhere to the statute which resulted in unfortunately many deaths amongst the native community" she sighed.

"Not so different then with what happened with the North American natives then" he remarked and she looked at him and nodded.

"Indeed. There was greater loss of knowledge as the South American natives were practicing forms of magic that had long since been banned in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

The South American natives were not happy to be dictated to and war over decades destroyed much of their pre statute society but they managed to hold onto much, as in the end, a compromise was reached where they would adhere to the Statute and ban human sacrifice whilst keeping other ritualistic forms of magic though greatly modified. 

The Iberian mages who settled South America in the centuries since have melded well with the local community and practices of pre statute are practically gone now though they keep lesser forms of the rituals as rites to honour ancestors, harvests and so on."

Atticus glanced at Emily who looked completely interested in his sister's explanation.

"Oh Atticus, you have to visit some of the ruins and communities, you would love it, I promise you" Sophia said happily.

"I plan on doing a tour at some point and South America definitely is on my list" he said to her.

Sophia smiled at him and nodded "Good" before she turned to Emily "What about you? Do you fancy travelling the world to see how others do magic? I hear you're also a bit of a magic fanatic" she said with a cheeky glint in her eye.

Emily smiled at his sister before she turned towards him and he looked back at her with interest on his face.

"Touring does sound like a fantastic idea. I do share Atticus' love for magic. To learn how other societies view and practice magic would be something I'd be willing to do" she said smoothly as she turned to his sister.

"Perhaps you two can go together" his sister teased as their parents looked on with mirth in their eyes.

"Perhaps" Emily said smoothly as she looked at Atticus with a strange look.

He grabbed his glass of wine and took a big gulp to the amusement of everyone there.

Making plans years in advance...and Emily not being against it...

Fuck. He was not ready for this kind of conversation. He had no idea if they would remain bound for all that time. He did not think he'd feel for anyone like what he felt for Emily but he wasn't certain she would not go the way of her counterpart despite all his efforts.

"Tell me Sophia, how are your cousins and my sister?" his father interjected to his immense gratitude.

After dinner, they all split whilst he and Sophia made their way towards the forest, like they did when they were younger.

They were locked in arms as they made small talk until they reached their favourite spot at the mouth of the forest and Atticus conjured a couple of chairs and they sat down together as they watched the forest in the pale summer evening.

They caught up about their individual lives, though he listened more to Sophia as she regaled some stories that she didn't want to say in front of her parents, like how she, Sara and Odette went to the muggle world for every few weeks for a night out and she regaled him of the fancy muggle parties they went to and how Odette had given her a quick study plan about the muggle world so she wouldn't stand out like she did in her first night.

They laughed, they joked and they teased each other as evening past.

Until she asked him about Emily.

"So little brother, tell me how you two got together" she asked keenly as she turned her chair completely to face him and he laughed at her antics.

"It wasn't quite immediate." He admitted. "She sought me out at the beginning, to evaluate me if nothing else" he paused briefly as he rolled his eyes as he made light of the situation. 

He was well aware that she didn't come to him for anything other than to figure out how soon he'd have to die for her plans.

What a great couple they were. He had planned to kill her before she turned eleven – until he discovered that Tom Riddle was actually female – and she planned to kill him just because he might have been too much of a threat.

"She's the most Slytherin person I know" he said slightly fondly before he continued his story.

He told her the rough story that omitted much of the more...suspect stuff and finally told her about Beltane.

She squealed in delight as he told her of the kiss.

"That's so romantic" she said delighted before her eyes narrowed.

"You snuck out of school with her" she exclaimed merrily as she almost bounced out of her chair.

"I did" he grinned at his sister before shrugging "It's not as if it was for any nefarious reasons. It's stupid that Hogwarts doesn't allow for traditional rites to be performed." He said calmly.

"Oh, I understand Atticus. I'd find it annoying as well if we weren't allowed to go to rites. At Beauxbatons, even if we do not perform the rites at school, we are at least allowed to go home during those days except of course during Samhain where a small ceremony is performed. I hear that only at Durmstrang do they truly do the proper rites." She paused briefly as she looked thoughtful 

"I think they don't do Beltane at the school but their breaks coincide with the festival though their breaks are only a few days" she said finally before she shook her head and looked at Atticus in disbelief.

"How have you not been caught? Wouldn't your heads of houses need to contact our parents to confirm if there is such a thing as family emergency?" she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

He grimaced "I may have faked a letter from father. If it went under closer scrutiny, I'd likely been found out" he shrugged "I'm an excellent actor and given my relationship with both Slughorn and Fawley, it wasn't difficult to pull off. I just had to make sure Dumbledore didn't catch a whiff of it" he said calmly.

She hummed in understanding and they remained silent for a moment.

"Are you happy with her?" she suddenly asked as she looked at him concerned.

He smiled at her and nodded "I think I am. Don't misunderstand me...she's" he trailed off.

"She has issues" he said finally as he met his sister's bright emerald green eyes.

She didn't say anything so he continued "I think I can help her deal with them but I'm worried she will slip" he admitted.

"I won't be able to continue with her if she does." He said finally and a silence fell upon them.

The sounds of the forest filled the silence and animal noises such as a few small magical creatures could be heard in the distance.

"Then you have to make sure she doesn't then. If you care about her as much as you say you do." She said finally.

"What if I can't?" he replied to her as he looked down at his hands. "What if after all I do, she still slips and falls uncontrollably?"

It was something that wracked his mind. What would he do if she was beginning to turn into Voldemort? 

He had legilimised Carrow when he had the opportunity to see what she was up to and saw she still had streaks of cruelty in her. The problem was she enjoyed her streaks of cruelty far too much...

Now that he felt something he has never done before, he wasn't certain what he'd do. How badly would he be messed up if he ended her whilst he still...

He once told Emily his morality was fluid. But betrayal was something he'd never do. She'd betray him if she made horcruxes and began a journey of depravity and murder and in the end he'd have to betray her to make sure she didn't become a menace to the magical world and stay true to himself.

But he wasn't certain if he had the steel in his spine and hard heart to kill someone who was able to worm her way into it when he had tried hard not to allow her there.

He knew at the very least he'd walk away from her. But more than that...he didn't know and he felt immense guilt that he was having such a hard time about this.

He wanted to laugh at the irony. Was this the sort of decision that Dumbledore was saddled with?

'No' he thought firmly. He could never be so weak to allow Voldemort to exist. He'd never allow Emily to cause the same kind of destruction that Grindelwald has wrought upon the world.

He wondered if his younger self would be disappointed with him. He entangled himself with Emily to the point that it was difficult to disentangle from her, despite the fact that he didn't really want to now, and hasn't focused himself completely to his dreams of space and a flying island.

He knew logically that his own ambitions were still pretty much on track, even if he has adjusted it based on new knowledge and more realistic targets but he's made his life more difficult now that he was with Emily.

Would it be worth it in the end? Were...the emotions she opened up in him worth the difficulties he may face in the future?

He used Legillimency, the subtle version that skimmed the surface thoughts of individuals all the time except on his friends and family, on nearly everyone that he spoke with. His Legillimency skills were almost as strong as his Occlumency now and it was difficult for anyone other than a highly skilled occlumencer to notice the subtle probes.

But he hadn't used it on Riddle since she returned to apologise to him and he did not want to use it again on her. It crossed a line that he set early on and until she gave him cause, he wouldn't even entertain it.

Sophia got off her chair and hugged him "Little brother, you are the smartest and most determined person I know." She said as she let go of him and she crouched down and looked at him with a serious face. "If you set yourself something, I know you will be able to achieve it." She smiled wryly "You are one of a kind and from what I heard of her from mother" he winced and she laughed a little.

"She is one of a kind too. I think if anyone can reach her, it is you" she said warmly and he nodded at her with a smile.

She returned to her seat.

"Speaking of romance" he said with twitching lips "What about you?" he asked with a tilted head and a sly smile.

"Is there an American beau waiting for you an ocean way?" he asked teasingly and her eyes widened and he knew there was someone.

"There is an American beau waiting for you!" he exclaimed and she sent a stinging hex at him.

"Ow!" he yelped "What was that for?" he said as he glared at her.

"You annoyed me" she said primly that disturbingly reminded him of the face his mother pulled when she was being all haughty and he realised he had something better than a stinging hex to return.

"For a moment you looked exactly like mother whenever she was having her pureblood lady teas" he said with a grin on his face and he laughed at her betrayed face.

She pelted him with mild stinging hexes which he dodged as he hid behind his chair until she ceased. He could have cast a wandless shield but where was the fun in that? He creeped lightly away from the chair and saw she was glaring at him though it held no heat "Are you done?" he asked her amusedly.

She pursed her lips before she smiled at him and shrugged and he took his seat once more.

"So this American beau" he prompted and she glared at him now with some definite heat before she sighed.

"Yes. I am seeing someone" she confirmed and he smiled at her before he leaned back in his chair.

He searched her face and he wondered why she was so...defensive.

"He isn't a muggle is he?" he said with a bit of dread. He had nothing against muggles. After all, he was one in his old life. But he was no in a world of magic and to be interested in a muggle who had not a lick of magic was something that was nonsensical – if you were a healthy person. 

There was also the added bit that their family was ancient and magical for over four thousand years. It would be a huge scandal if she married a muggle.

She looked at him outraged "No!" she yelled before she composed herself. 

"He's a respectable wizard, powerful and very handsome" she said primly.

"So why are you so defensive about him?" he queried.

She sighed as she slumped in her chair.

"He's a half blood that is not from a wealthy family and his pedigree is nothing spectacular" she sighed morosely as she looked at her feet.

"But I like him" she said quietly. "I don't know if mother and father will allow me to be married, if everything goes well and it is a long way away, to a half blood that brings almost nothing to the table." She said finally.

"Almost nothing?" he asked as he considered everything.

She looked at him wryly "He's the grandnephew of Xavier Charlestone and is almost as talented as he is, even if he lacks the raw power of his granduncle."

He processed the information.

"What does he do for a living?" he asked her intently.

She brightened up "He works at MACUSA in the Senate. He is earmarked to likely become a Senator in the next five years as he's only 23 years old. His mother is a Charlestone while his father is from a small American House that is about two hundred years old which mostly have made their trade in warding. Given that MACUSA doesn't have a Gringotts branch, his family tend to do very well but they are merely upper middle class rather than upper class or like us." She finished.

He remained silent as he considered her words. All things considered, the man while decently powerful is not anything spectacular. His father wouldn't be happy about the match. And yet, he wanted his sister to be happy. 

"Are you certain he likes you and isn't using you because of our family?" he asked her intently and saw her get angry.

"Yes! He likes me for me and not because of who my family is" she said furiously and he held up his hands.

"I had to ask Sophia" he said soothingly. "I don't want you to be hurt by this man because all he was after was our money and our prestige." He said calmly.

She calmed down visibly but he had to say it. "He is a politician. I don't doubt he would see the value of the Sayre name" he said with a tilted head and she glared at him but she didn't shout at him.

"I'm certain he likes me for me and not because of our family name" she said stubbornly.

He hummed as he scrutinised her "I'd like to meet him then. Bring him over at Yule" she made to speak and he raised his hand "Obviously not here at home. Make a trip out of it. Get him to come see the Old World and introduce him to me." He said calmly and she thought it over as she considered it.

"I'm not bringing him over just for you test him." She said with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not" he said innocently "You're bringing him over to meet your great brother." He said with a grin and she scoffed but saw she was amused.

He'd see what kind of person he was and if he was a threat to his sister and his family. He wanted his sister happy but he'd never allow anyone to take advantage of his sister.

She was an amazing businesswoman but when it came to personal relationships, she was still very young.

Love can blind people and he would ensure he was there for her if she was momentarily without sight.

He was a competent brewer and veritaserum wasn't outside of his capabilities. He'd have enough time to brew the potion.

"What's his name?" he asked curiously.

"Charles Etherton" she confirmed and he hummed.

She narrowed her eyes "Don't do anything" she said warningly and he simply smiled at her.

"I won't" he said whilst maintaining a smile and she thinned her lips momentarily making it clear she didn't believe him.

She sighed.

"If everything checks out, I will support you Sophia" he said soothingly. "I want you to be happy and treated right. I won't allow anyone to take advantage of you" he said firmly.

"I'm your brother and even if I'm younger, family always comes first and I want to make sure, for my own peace of mind if nothing else, that he is a decent person." He finished.

"You won't budge on this will you?" she queried and he simply smiled at her.

She smiled at him "I suppose that's fine".

Silence fell among them.

"If everything works out, chances are that they may approve despite his blood status. I think his lack of pedigree would definitely be more of a problem than anything else. If he's as powerful as you say he is then that's definitely a big plus in their eyes. If he's definitely on track on becoming a Senator, that'll obviously help as well." He paused briefly.

"They've pretty much told me that Emily was acceptable even if the Gaunt's are destitute and her father was a muggle" he pointed out to her before saying "Don't mention it to anyone though." He warned her.

He could trust his sister not to divulge this kind of information.

She waved it off "I won't tell anyone." She paused as she looked at him intently "She is however the blood of Slytherin"

"So are we" he pointed out with a knowing look and she rolled her eyes 

"Yes but the Gaunt's are Slytherin's heirs. That's different. And not the point" she said with a glare.

"She has rock solid pedigree which is why they're not against it all." She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"You know" she began "It's funny, there are numerous families that still exist, like the Potters and the Blacks and us obviously and yet we don't get the same kind of reverence the Founder houses do even if we're much older than they are" she pouted slightly and he laughed

"I think it's absence that makes them more special in people's eyes. Plus the fact that they all spent seven years of their formative years in houses named after the Founders certainly helps create a special image of the founders." He said thoughtfully and she hummed in agreement.

Silence fell among them as they watched the sun almost disappear into the horizon.

"Have you told her yet you're a parselmouth?" she asked suddenly.

"No" he said simply and rubbed his eyes.

She hummed and once more silence fell among them.

"Do you know if she is even a parselmouth?" she tilted her head "She is a Gaunt, yes but it doesn't mean that she is one. The talent is known to skip generations" she said pointedly.

"I'm quite certain she is a parselmouth" he said calmly "she knew she wasn't a muggleborn very early on. Given that she had no idea what her mother's family name was, the only way that she could have known that was if she..." 

"...was a parselmouth which is a very obvious sign of a magical heritage" she finished for him

He nods amiable "Indeed."

"You're going to have to tell her." She said simply.

"I know. But I don't know if she'll be happy or envious." He said to her and she eyed him curiously.

He explained further "The fact that I'm also a parselmouth, a talent that has long been reserved for Houses Slytherin, Gaunt and Eveningshade"

"Merlin, I forgot Eveningshade were a family of Parselmouths." She exclaimed.

He laughed "To be fair, it's been centuries since they died out. It's easy to forget them amongst the sea of dead families" he said calmly.

The Eveningshade family were once a powerful House and one of the original thirteen Elder Houses. They married members of House Slytherin a number of times and the ability became one that appeared in the family as often as it did in the Gaunts. Until they died out suddenly.

The Gaunts were suspected for orchestrating the massacre to be the only ones known as the blood of Slytherin when House Slytherin died out in the male line only a few decades prior.

She giggled lightly "Truthfully, it's not as if I paid much attention in those boring lessons mother had me attend" 

He chuckled. Those lessons had been a pain in truth. To memorise all the important houses. He admittedly paid much attention because he was interested in magical history and many of those families had a hand in shaping it.

"Surely she won't be envious?" she said as she crossed her legs underneath her as she sat on the chair.

He shrugged. "I'm not certain. I think it's 50/50 regarding whether she would be happy or angered that she isn't the only parselmouth." He sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

"You don't want her to think you're a usurper" she said knowingly at him and he nods.

"I found the Chamber of Secrets" he simply said and her eyes widened.

"No" she exclaimed as she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward with keen interest in her eyes "You found the fabled Chamber?" She said full of interest.

He nods "I did. Let me tell you, it was quite something. Thousand year books and scrolls written for parselmouths and things that were exceedingly useful" he said happily.

It was true. Slytherin was a master in blood magic and the dark arts. Much he wouldn't ever use since he wouldn't be using the dark arts for combat but there were interesting rituals that, while dark, he could use as inspiration for the future if he ever decided to go for thirteen sets of seven rituals.

"Really? What kind?" she asked keenly. He told her about the blood magic, dark arts, potions and ritual books and scrolls.

She looked thoughtful before she shook her head "I'm not that keen on any of it." She sighed "Were there no journals?" she asked curiously and he shook his head disappointedly.

"No...there were no journals unfortunately."

"But..." he trailed as Sophia listened keenly.

For years he kept Seraya to himself and she had asked him repeatedly about his sister and he was starting to feel bad for dangling another speaker in front of her and not introducing her.

"Thechamberofsecretshadabasilisk" he rapidly said in a low voice.

She blinked "What?" she said confused.

"Thechamberofsecretshadabasilisk" he said a little louder as she strained to listen.

"For a moment I thought you said there was a Basilisk in the chamber" she said as she shook her head until she caught his expression and began to pale.

"There was a Basilisk in the chamber" he said a little awkwardly.

She remained silent for a good while as she stared at him blankly before she blinked.

"Given that I am not short a little brother right now, which I might still end up not having in the next ten minutes, tell me everything about the Basilisk"

And so he did.

She looked almost hysterical "You have a Basilisk in your suitcase! And it is here in the house?!" she almost shrieked.

"And have done for years" he said a little cheerfully as he tried to add some levity to the situation and given her murderous glare it wasn't working.

He was off his game.

She grabbed the bridge of her nose and forcefully calmed herself before she looked at him.

"I don't know what to say. Or do for that matter. Just...just tell me she can't get loose." She said beseechingly.

He shook his head "She can't get loose. I modified the exit of the suitcase to only open based on blood magic from both sides." He said calmly.

She sighed in relief.

"If you want, you can meet her?" he said a little hopefully and she glared him.

"You're also a parselmouth. Her stare won't kill you." He reminded her.

"Fine. I'll meet her." She said finally and he sighed of relief.

"I can see why you think she might think you're a usurper" she said with a tilted head and he grimaced.

"The longer you delay, the worse it might get you know" she said pointedly.

"Especially now that you know she's a Gaunt and you're hiding a part of her heritage." She said pointedly once more.

He glared at her. As if he didn't know that.

"I know" he said bitingly before he sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"If she cares for you as much as you do for her then this shouldn't be something that stands in the way." She said thoughtfully and he looked at her.

"If I found out I had a rare ability and my boyfriend had the same rare ability, I'd be ecstatic that I shared it with the person I am with." She shrugged as she glanced at him.

"Something to think about" she said finally leaving him with his thoughts.

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

A few weeks passed since he returned home. In that time since, he met up with Derek Saunders and Sandra Kilburn.

Derek introduced him to muggleborns and squibs who he thought would fit well with their plans and Atticus interviewed them all.

Only a few didn't pass his scrutiny as he employed Legillimency and had given them cups of tea that was dosed with mild babbling and truth potions.

In the end, he ended up employing twenty three muggleborns and squibs.

All of them had no experience in any kind of business management bar two middle aged squibs and were all under the age of 25.

One of them had actually owned a small manufacturing company before it went belly up whilst the other had been a senior accountant for a trading company.

The others were given an option; to go to muggle school and get a degree in Law, Economics, Business or Engineering or start work immediately in the companies he purchased.

All of them chose to go to muggle school.

The two immediately useful squibs were given senior positions at the shipbuilding company he purchased. 

It was a small shipbuilding company, P.K. Harris & Sons, located near where the farmhouse was in Devonshire.

It was nowhere near what he imagined his huge shipbuilding company would be but he had to start somewhere.

The two squibs would work to familiarise themselves with the industry for the next few years whilst also learning what is needed to massively increase shipbuilding capabilities.

He'd work on it over the course of the next few years, whenever he had spare time, on creating memory crystals – devices that would be able to hold knowledge – and take knowledge from muggles and gift the knowledge to his employees.

He shook his head he prepared to steal the Hufflepuffs Cup. He hadn't had time to take the cup during the winter break and had missed his window of opportunity.

He would rectify it tonight. His elves confirmed Smith was home and they scouted the home for him and drew a map of the home.

Atticus arrived at the edge of the wards of Hepzibah Smith's Manor.

He did come once during the winter break when she was confirmed to be away at some function to check the wards.

The wards weren't anything special. They were a couple of grades below Gringotts A rated wards.

This meant breaking them, for someone of his power, was relatively easy.

But it would alert her to him and she would try to escape. 

That would not do.

Whilst elves could pop into homes, they could not bring someone in that hasn't been keyed into the wards and you would be subjected to the wards. 

Wards were designed based on wizard magic – with some in mind of beings such as Goblins, magical creatures etc – and so even if elf magic circumvented most wards, they would not be able to bring someone into the home and most of the time would left behind.

However there were some warded homes where elves could bring someone into the home but it had consequences.

Most wards wouldn't do anything other than pressurise the individual to the point where the average magical would pass out under the strain of resisting the wards.

However wards like the ones at his home would likely kill even someone like him.

Whilst he would likely be fine under the strain of Smith's wards, the wards would still notify her and not only that, he wanted to get in and out without causing any problems.

That meant that he would have to fool the wards into allowing him access, granting him free passage and it wouldn't notify Smith to his presence.

The books on wards at Sayre Library under the family section (which were blood locked) were wonderful. He'd already been reading these books from time to time as he intended to create wards capable of withstanding bombs and radiation.

There were numerous books that were specifically on infiltration and he took them with him after the Yule break once he determined he needed them after he visited this manor.

Whilst there were numerous time consuming methods of bypassing wards, he had something better.

Wards like these will always have a wardstone. That meant, unless you specifically protected the wardstone from tampering, wards could be bypassed by etching or removing certain runes.

And he had an army of Elves who were capable of understanding and etching runes. Who also had pretty much free access to most homes if you knew what you were doing.

The elves knocked Hokey out in January and brought her to him at the Shack near Hogwarts and he legilimised her after he shackled her magic with magic binding handcuffs after he tested it out on one of his elves. 

During that time, they inspected and drew out the runes on the wardstone so that he could find out exactly what wards existed.

Hokey knew much about the artefacts that Smith collected and he managed to find out where exactly the Hufflepuff Cup was kept. 

Whilst he could have used the elves to take the Cup, it still left Hepzibah Smith as a loose tie. She could alert the authorities to the loss of her Cup and it would bring unnecessary attention even if he was clear.

Which was why he was here. 

With the ward scheme, he managed to ascertain what he needed to do in order to gain complete access and gave the elves the necessary adjustments to etch on the wardstone.

He stepped up to the ward line and took a deep breath and walked forward.

He passed the ward line and nothing happened. He smiled to himself and made his way towards the front door and with a wave of his hand, the door open.

Hokey once again was knocked out by his elves just as he arrived so he had no interference from that elf.

He made his way to the living room and saw Hepzibah Smith seated there reading a Witch Weekly magazine. 

 'Honestly, what do they see in that awful magazine' he thought morosely to himself.

He twisted his face in distaste as he smelt the room. The room smelt of terrible stale perfume mixed with a strange mix of spinach and onions.

He had no idea why it smelt like that and he didn't want to know.

"Hehehehe" she chortled as she presumably read something amusing in the magazine as he approached her. He dropped the noise cancelling charms and his footsteps could now be heard.

She heard his footsteps and she dropped the magazine which she had been reading right in front of her face.

Her eyes widened and she tried to get at her wand and he waved a hand and petrified her.

He dropped his hood as he approached her even closer. He was in his Crysander Ferlow form.

"Lady Smith" he said smoothly even if he thought this decrepit hideous woman was nothing ladylike as he waved his hand and unpetrified her head until her neck.

"HOKEY" she screeched and he nearly winced under the volume.

"Lady Smith, Hokey is currently...busy" he said with a thin smile.

He waved his hand and pulled a chair and sat right in front of her.

"I-I-I I c-c-can p-p-pay" she stammered as she looked frantically around her.

He crossed his legs.

Unfortunately, you couldn't modify or dampen memories with the subject unconscious. 

There wasn't much literature as to why Legillimency didn't work when the subject was unconscious but he suspected it had much to do with the state of the brain, of the mind when consciousness is lost.

It was a major inconvenience and he'd ask Dumbard about it at some point.

"Lady Smith...may I call you Hepzibah?" he asked before speaking once more not letting her speak.

"Hepzibah, I am here for one reason. If you allow me to do what I am here for, without resisting, you will make it out healthy and without any damage." He said calmly.

"If you do resist, I can't guarantee I won't be making any mistakes and if I do, well..." he said as he outstretched his arms.

"W-w-what are you here for?" she stammered "T-take it! Just let me go" she almost wailed as she began to sob.

He sighed and cast a mild pain curse wandlessly. She screamed out in pain until he let go.

"Hepzibah, do behave. It is unbecoming for you be so hysterical." He chided lightly. "If you make any further loud noises, I will start casting some more harmful curses. Nod if you understand." He said sharply and she nodded as she sniffled.

"Good. I'm here to take something from your mind" and she began to sob albeit silently "I will simply take something from your mind and then I will be on my way. Wouldn't you like me to leave as soon as possible?" he said with a thin smile.

"P-p-please I-I c-can pay. Y-you don't need to go into my mind, I-I'll just tell you" she stammered pleadingly.

"No. I simply need to go into your mind and if you resist...let's just say it won't go well for you"

Dampening memories was one thing but rewriting memories was a whole different thing. The criminal muggles he'd done it to, had shown...problems. 

He had done it forcefully on four muggles and all four showed signs of major mental instability that wasn't there before.

The fifth one...the fifth one had been present when Atticus had done it to his buddy and he had been a coward and freely allowed him access to rewrite his mind.

That fifth one...showed no mental instability. Of course it was a small sample size but it was all he had for now.

She began to sob a little audibly and he sighed.

"It seems like you wish to be permanently interred in St Mungos. I suppose it won't matter to you since you will no longer truly exist once I am done given that you are resisting." 

He raised his hand and was about to re-petrify her when she looked at him with panic in her eyes.

"W-w-WAIT, I WON'T RESIST" she shouted out and he glared at her menacingly and she gulped "I-I W-wwont resist" she stammered quietly as she looked at him defeated.

"Good." He drew his wand and cast Legilimens. 

Forty minutes later, he drew himself out her mind and rubbed his forehead and then looked at her as she was heaving from the exertion.

He raised his wand "Obliviate. You were reading witch weekly and you fell asleep not long after" he said before he cast a mild sleeping charm on her and she promptly fell asleep. He levitated the magazine that was on the floor and placed it on her lap.

"Tweenie!" 

*pop* "Master?" Tweenie asked.

"Have you secured the Cup and the Harp?" he asked the elf intently who bobbled his head.

"Yes master, we have taken the cup and the harp and replaced both with the copies" the elf said happily.

"Excellent. Take them to the home in Ireland. I will look at them tomorrow." He said calmly.

"Yes master" 

"What about the elf Hokey?" he asked Tweenie.

"The elf has been dosed with sleeping potion. She will be awake in just over an hour" Tweenie confirmed.

"Excellent. Go home Tweenie, I will be right there."

"Yes Master" *pop*

He double checked the room to ensure he left no evidence, returning the room to the state it was in.

He cast one more look at the rotund woman before he walked away.

His rewriting wasn't extensive. Extensive memory modification was still beyond him for now.

He modified the physical aspects of the cup in every memory she held of the Cup whilst at the same time dampening the memories of the Cup.

She hadn't shown the Cup to anyone, thankfully, so none would know the difference.

Not only that, he implanted the suggestion in her mind to keep the knowledge of the Cup secret and to hide the Cup she had, which was now a fake, away in her Gringotts vault where it can remain hidden in the clutter of the vault.

Whilst the fake cup was an exact physical copy of the Cup, the weight, the material were all different because he couldn't replicate the material of the Cup. It would be easily discovered by her that it was a forgery so he needed to modify her memories about it.

Making her forget completely about the Cup was something she would be unable to do. She was a collector after all and she was immensely proud of the Cup. 

This meant he had to exacerbate her paranoia and her protectiveness of the Cup to the point she was willing to hide it away forever.

Someone like Dumbard could easily rewrite her entire personality and it was scary to think about. 

The harp was a surprising find. It was the legendary Cana's Harp, a magical artefact made by Cana Cludhmor, an ancient Irish druid who created the instrument from the carcass of a legendary magical creature aptly named ghost whale. 

It is extinct now as the creature was overhunted by ancient Japanese mages, as the whale's natural habitat had been the Pacific Ocean.

Cana was said to be able to create the most beautiful music with the harp once she finished it. 

Given that he was able to play the harp, it seemed wasteful for such a historic artefact to remain in a dusty corner unused and unappreciated.

He made it past the ward line and with a crack, departed towards his home.