Chapter 7

2nd of January 1935 – Age 10

Atticus and Benedict were greeted warmly when they had returned and during dinner Atticus had regaled story after story of their experiences when they were away. They had not returned to England in this time except once for a week in the summer of 1934 and his mother had missed him greatly. He had missed her as well.

Tweenie had found St. Wool's Orphanage during the time Atticus and Benedict were away and brought Atticus copies of the documents pertaining Riddle.

He sat in front of his desk and began to read through it.

E. M. Riddle was written on the front of the dossier. Atticus had stilled. E. M. Riddle? That was different. Atticus began to take out the documents and started reading

Emily Merope Riddle

Born 31st of December 1926 at St. Wool's Orphanage

Mother: Merope Gaunt – Status: Deceased in childbirth at St. Wool's

Father: Unknown

Atticus' eyes widened and he slumped back into his chair in shock. This...this...was not what he was expecting. Atticus straightened up and his mind was in overdrive considering the implications. He was in an alternate universe where Riddle was born female.

What else would be different?

The knowledge he had could mean nothing.

Atticus' mind whirled.

Would it change Riddle's nature?

Perhaps, perhaps not. Atticus grimaced.

He had a nasty thought about what happens to girls in environments such as Riddle's.

What had followed then were simply reports on health and education and occasional remarks but nothing more. The reports highlighted intellectual prowess, as expected.

But there was nothing on her behaviour which was strange. Was it something to do with the era? He shook his head.

Atticus leaned back, his head hanging off the back of the chair as he stared at the ceiling. What to do...annoyingly this had changed nothing...and yet it changed everything.

Gender was not something that was hugely discriminated against in the Wizarding World.

After all, how could you do so when it was not physique but magical power, intellect and drive that determined capabilities?

She'd still be the heir of Slytherin. She'd still be a prodigy. She'd still be ruthless at the very least.

Atticus sighed.

"Tweenie" *pop* "Yes Master Atticus?" Tweenie asked.

"If I were to ask you to spy on someone, could you do it while invisible and without anyone noticing, whether they were magical or muggle? You may use whatever method you wish but I would want to know everything that goes on with that person" Atticus asked intently.

Tweenie took a moment to consider and looked up to Atticus "I believe I can. But do you want to me to watch them all day and night?" Tweenie asked wide eyed.

Atticus shook his head "No, I would want you spy on them on and off during the day, perhaps even evening, mixing it with whatever you do daily." Atticus said.

Tweenie nodded "This I can do Master Atticus. Who will I be spying on?" Tweenie asked eagerly.

Atticus tapped on the dossier and Tweenie caught the action and began to understand "Remember when I asked you get me information on Riddle. Well, I hadn't expected what I had found and so I am in a situation where I don't know how to act. I need more information on Emily Riddle so it will be her you spy on. Do not interact with her and do not interfere and make sure you leave no chance of discovery. She is dangerous and perceptive." Atticus warned severely.

He did not want to clue her in just in case. Tweenie straightened up "Yes Master, I will do everything you asked and as instructed".

Atticus nodded slightly "Good" and began to turn but Atticus hesitated a moment and looked at Tweenie "If something is happening with her that seems wrong, let me know immediately." Tweenie acknowledged and Atticus dismissed Tweenie and turned away.

This was the first proper divergence he was aware of.

He was aware that things would be different but such a blatant change made him wary and he was beginning to reconsider some of his plans.

He shook his head.

If she turned out to be the same as the male version he would not hesitate to act. Creating Horcuxes was an act that Atticus found repulsive and no matter the gender, he would seek out to destroy them.

A mortal enemy can be dealt with a multitude of methods. An insane seemingly incapable of dying Dark Lord?

Yeah...no thank you. Best to nip it in the bud.

For the next few months, Tweenie had been giving him updates on Ms Riddle. It was grim. She didn't show any obvious signs of a sadistic streak but she had a violent core to her.

Her time at the orphanage wasn't easy.

She recently was attacked by a gang of kids and she had retaliated often with a vengeance. One of them had found her playing with snakes and subsequently killed it.They had called it punishment for killing one of the children's pet rabbit. It had sent her into a rage and retribution had been swift. Since then, they had been keeping their distance but she continued to use her magic, not that she knew of it but she was aware she had something, on them.

Atticus had a feeling that this was a defining moment for her. She was approaching a crossroad and when Dumbledore would come and react like Atticus thought he would, it could well set her on a path that the Riddle he knew took.

The easiest path would undoubtedly be to kill her before she got to Hogwarts. It would also be the cruellest thing he believed he would do so far in his second life.

He would be depriving someone who had the capacity of reaching the upper echelons of magic before they even got started.

That was the crunching fact that Atticus was confronted with.

There was a high chance of course that she would have a detrimental impact on the magical world but it was only chance at the moment.

Was he spitting on his second chance at life by depriving someone, who was similar enough to him in his first life, the same kind of chance?

Atticus sighed and closed his eyes.

Having foresight is perhaps more of a curse than he imagined. He would never allow himself to feel guilty for not acting when he could have but his actions now have a greater impact than ever.

Atticus sighed and rubbed his eyes. He leant back in his chair and cast his eyes towards the window. It was sometime after noon.

The sun hung high in the cloudless sky.

He came to a decision. He would leave her be but he would seek to ensure that Dumbledore is not the one who meets her at the orphanage.

He knew he could be doing more but he was balancing impossible things. He couldn't tell his family how he knows without it being on shaky grounds.

He also knew that she was vulnerable at this stage in so many ways and that the orphanage was a shield in more ways than one.

He smiled wryly to himself and closed his eyes.

He felt like fucking Dumbledore at that moment.

He shook his head and banished that thought away.

No, he wasn't setting her up to fail. It was unfair to compare himself with the old codger.

He'd leave her be and let things fall where they may.

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The next couple of years Atticus had spent sifting through the books he had gotten on his travels.

With so many different languages to translate, He hadn't gotten very far in his magical studies and had instead focused on his first three years of magical education.

There were definitely significant differences when it came to each society. The European and American magical institutions more or less had the same kinds of methodology but the Asiatic and African approach was distinctly different.

He'd managed in this time to compile a decent number of potions that were better than what would be taught in the European schools. Transfiguration more or less remained the same excepting for of course the way Uagodou approached the subject.

He'd spent the majority of the time he had allocated to the books on translating the books on Runes. Atticus was immensely interested in Runes. It was his second favourite subject behind Transfiguration.

He managed to find a number of books on blood magic but not on soul magic. The books on blood magic were for the most part extremely dark but there were many useful elements to it. There were potions in there that traced the lineage of an individual which Atticus thought could be very useful.

It was distinctly different to how Goblins checked lineage. The darker elements of blood magic had seriously worried Atticus.

There were a plethora of ways of being bound using your blood or/and your magic and one of the first things Atticus had done after reading all that was finding a way to protect himself from it. There was a ritual you could do that negated the use of your blood without your consent.

While many of the darker use of blood magic require willingly shedding your blood, there was still power in unwillingly shed blood, even if it was but a mere fraction of willingly shed blood.

He'd already started setting up his second set of seven rituals with the help of Aurilak and this ritual was the second in the set. The theme of the second set is freedom of mind, body and magic whereas the first was enhancement of the body mind and magic.

The first ritual would be cleansing of the body of foreign magic, the second would be 'sanctity of the blood', the third would be a ritual that removed the trace, the fourth would give him greater immunity to mind magicks, the fifth would result in him becoming immune to most venom which involved phoenix tears and basilisk venom incorporated in his blood stream – Aurilak had confirmed that the feasibility of it and had directed him to the necessary passages to help him create his first ritual – the sixth would involve increased immune system designed at either eliminating poison or mitigating the effects of poison until he could be healed and the last ritual involved in protecting his magic from being bound unwillingly and without his consent.

 It would not protect him from magical items such as the Goblet of Fire, as that was an artefact of immense power, but it would protect him from being bound to another individual without consent without exceptional effort.

The third set would be something to do with adoption of magical abilities of creatures. He intended to create rituals that would allow him to gain multiple animagus forms, sacrificing a basilisk for its lifespan, gaining an affinity to either fire, lightning or wind, find a way to gain phoenix fire travel and so on.

He intended to do the two sets once he turned fourteen or seventeen, depending on whether he was able to finish ritual construction by that time.

Atticus yawned and made his way towards the dining hall. He had decided to sleep in this morning. His parents were finishing their breakfast as Atticus sat down.

"Morning son" His father said amused at the tiredness that his son was showing. "Were you up late last night?" He asked knowing the question.

"Yes a little. I lost track of time when I was going through the Chinese Runes book. The Chinese Runes have a much larger catalogue of runes than Futhark Runes or Nordic Runes. The Chinese Runes would combine two or more runes, for example water and wind, to generate something akin to rain whereas Futhark would use particular rune to create that effect. The Chinese Runes allow for more-"

Atticus halted as he caught himself from going off on a tangent.

His father only chuckled bemusedly and shook his head "You're half awake and you cannot help yourself from talking about magic" he said with a slight exasperated but in a fond tone.

Atticus looked slightly sheepish and promptly ignored that comment and began to pile his plate with breakfast. Midway through his meal, an owl came.

Atticus blinked and looked at his father who got up and proceeded to take the letter after scanning it. It was a habit that everyone despite knowing that the wards hold off anything dangerous.

His father looked at it and looked up to Atticus with a smile on his face. He came over to Atticus and handed over the letter to him.

Atticus looked over the letter and read the writings on it

Mr A SAYRE

SAYRE MANOR, SAYRE GROUNDS

HUDDERFIELD

WEST YORKSHIRE

It had the Hogwarts Logo and Atticus couldn't help but have a smile come upon his face and began to open it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

HEADMASTER: ARMANDO DIPPET

Dear Mr. Sayre,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipments.

The term begins on 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than 31st of July

Yours Sincerely,

Albus W.P.B Dumbledore

Deputy Headmaster

He went through the lists of books and equipment and he was surprised to see that there a lot more books than he thought there would be. 'There are book requirements and ancient studies.' He thoughtfully frowned.

He had noticed that the curriculum at other institutes were larger and more diverse in comparison to what was taught at Hogwarts.

As he finished reading the requirement lists, he noted that he had all of the books already. 'Now all that remained was his wand.'

He looked up to his father who looked like he was already expecting the question "Will we be able to go to get my wand next Monday on my birthday?" Atticus asked. His father smiled "yes, I will be available for the morning." His father confirmed.

The next week had passed relatively quickly and it soon became time to get the equipment he would need.

Atticus and his father made their way to Diagon Alley to get the equipments and wand. This had been Atticus' third time visiting Diagon Alley. He hadn't needed purchase anything but he had tagged along with his mother on the two occasions. Each time the Alley had not disappointed him. The books didn't do it justice at all.

The vibrancy of the Alley was alluring and it was a explosion of colour and magic and it was so busy.

Atticus and his father made their way towards Gringotts. It would be his first time he would enter the institution.

The white building dominated the surrounding shops, with bronze doors wide open, seemingly inviting. Atticus looked to his left and read the writing on the door

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn

So if you seek beneath our floors,

A treasure that was not yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

They walked through and there were two goblins at either side of the entrance. The goblins had bowed and Atticus nodded in return.

The hall was an impressive vision; a vast marble hall, unbroken, unblemished, the decor for all to see was in tremendous splendour, all the while there were hundreds of goblins working away without a care or a distraction capable of taking away their attention.

Atticus and his father made their way towards the counter

"Morning, we are here to receive the key to Scion Sayre's trust vault and to enter family vault" his father had said as he slid over a golden key across to the Goblin.

The goblin eyed the Key carefully "this seems to be in order, I will have someone take you down to the vaults" he stated as he finished up bringing up Atticus' key.

The ride down to the vaults was uncomfortable and he immensely disliked it. "From the look on your face, travelling this way doesn't agree with you?" Markus said bemused.

Atticus looked at his father annoyed and glared at him "I hadn't expected the speed at which it travelled. Nor how bumpy it was" he murmured. His father simply chuckled as they made their way towards the family vault.

His father placed his right hand which held the heir ring on the family and the doors to the vault opened.

He had not expected the sheer amount of gold that was present in the vault and had halted mid stride eyes wide open.

His father looked back over his shoulder with mirth in his eyes "Impressed?"

He looked at his father as if he were dull and in a disbelieving tone "How would I not be impressed? I hadn't expected anything like this" he said.

His father had chuckled "This is but a fraction of our wealth. Our family remembers the enmity that has existed with the goblins and wizards. We never understood why so many wizarding families put the majority of their wealth within Gringotts. We have significant accounts with the Dwarves of Switzerland and a number of smaller worldwide wizarding banks. The family vault within Gringotts holds more our priceless artefacts than they hold our money. Not that we have cause to be concerned. Our relationship with the Goblin is certainly more respectful than their relationships with other old families. It helps that we haven't raised our wands, or swords for that matter, against Gringotts during any of their rebellions." He stated.

They talked a little more about the goblins but soon enough they arrived where his father wanted to go.

They stopped before a large cabinet that was made of old oak with tiny runes inscribed on it. He could feel the magic from the cabinet reaching out to them, it felt like they were being assessed and that was exactly what it had been.

Atticus looked to his father "Father what is this cabinet?"

"This is the cabinet that holds family rings. It had been a piece of work from an ancestor in the 14th century who was particularly talented in runes, who had set it up so that family rings could never be lost.

Not only that, the cabinet is capable of assessing the individual for having Sayre family magic without which it will not open. The rings have an automatic recall capability built into it, along with the various protection charms and spells that are imbued in it." Markus opened the cabinet and there were four different rows that could hold dozens of rings.

The first row had only slots for two, He presumed it was the Heir and Lord rings. Markus picked one of the rings on the second row and had given it to Atticus.

He looked it over and could see the animal that had represented the Sayre family for thousands of years; a Sphinx.

He slipped it on and the ring readjusted itself to fit his ring. He could feel a prick on his finger "The ring is now bonded to you. Along with it, if you twist it, it will show your location to the other bearers of the Sayre rings. Otherwise that feature is disabled would not active unless you did on purpose or your health marks you in danger. It will also notify us if the ring has been taken off. So do not take it off" He stated.

He quickly agreed and they made their way back up and out of the bank. They went shopping for the equipments and clothing first before going to Ollivander's. The second last stop at Diagon Alley had been getting a trunk.

Atticus had gotten the Bulling model which was magically expanded to fit a small library, a potions lab, two workshop rooms, an ingredients room and a bedroom. It had a two tier security system, keyed to his magic and a password phrase. He would be able to modify one of the workshops into a duelling room.

Atticus entered the shop and a bell was heard tinkling as they walked through.

"Good morning" came a soft voice once they had entered the room. Their heads swirled and an middle aged man was standing behind his till. Ollivander had pale eyes and blonde hair and with his pale face, it looked as if he were just a corporeal ghost rather than someone alive.

"Ah the Sayres" Ollivander said before Atticus or Markus could reply. Ollivander looked directly at Markus "Sayre, Markus, Ebony and a Hippogriff feather, Eleven Inches, reasonable rigid. I take it the wand still serves you well?" Ollivander inquired.

Markus stiffly replied "Yes, it has been a good partner for me."

"Good" Ollivander nodded and diverted his eyes towards Atticus "So I take it you are here to match young Sayre with a wand"

"Yes, that would be excellent" Markus said.

Ollivander hummed and snapped his fingers and a long tape measure with intricate markings popped into his hand from his pocket.

"Which is your dominant hand" Ollivander inquired.

"My left hand" Atticus stated.

"Hold out your arm." Atticus did as he asked and Ollivander began his little act and measured him from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor and then finally knee to armpit.

Ollivander had then tried to match Atticus with wand after wand without success until the last one.

Ollivander had headed back towards the depths of the back of his shop before coming back with an aged box. Ollivander set it on the table and opened it.

"This wand was created by my two times great grandfather. He was to date the most talented wandcrafter the Ollivander family has had. This wand is his greatest work but alas he had not been able to match it to someone." Ollivander paused before looking directly at Atticus "Please give it a whirl" Ollivander said eagerly.

The wand had a coarse look to it, it was straight as an arrow and it was an elegant looking wand. Atticus moved towards and gingerly grabbed and as soon as he did so, it had filled him with joy as the wand thrummed with power. Sparks of white and gold flew out of the wand but what captured the room was the fact that Atticus was almost glowing.

"Marvelous. Being able to witness someone match with this wand has been truly marvellous. You have done me and my ancestor a great honour. Yes...I expect great things from you" He trailed off.

"What is the wand made off?" Atticus asked distractedly.

"The wand is made of Elder wood with a twin core of Threstral hair and Basilisk heartstring. 12 and one quarter inches in length and unyielding, very much so. The wood came from an isolated elder tree in north-western Wales. The age of the tree is unknown but it is said that it is well over a thousand years old. The elder wood symbolises transformation and change." He paused before continuing

"It also symbolises death. The Threstral hair came from a particularly melancholic Threstral and the Basilisk heartstring came from the very last known basilisk, over a hundred fifty years, that was killed in India by a team of aurors" he finished heavily.

Atticus stared at the wandmaker after that explanation.

He would feel uncomfortable after that explanation but he simply smiled tightly and turned to stare at his wand.

It was ridiculous how this wand had felt.

It felt as if it completed him. As if he had found what he was looking for. It felt eager to be used, eager to direct his magic and in truth, he was as eager to use it.

He'd just have to make sure he didn't use it as a crutch.

Atticus looked back up to Ollivander "How much will it be and for a wand holster?"

"7 galleons for the wand and 3 for a dragon hide wand holster" Ollivander replied. His father paid and they walked out of the shop.

Markus looked down to his son "Would you like to see if you can find yourself a pet?" Atticus looked up and looked thoughtful. He hadn't considered taking an animal with him to Hogwarts. "We can visit and if something calls out to me then sure if not, it's not a problem"

His father simply chuckled and lead to the pet store. As we walked through, it remarkably smelled clean, a clear odour that showed that it filled with animals certainly but nothing too terrible. The shop was pretty large and had sections for each class of animals.

On the left hand side were the owls, ravens and other birds. Centrally, the mammals were located with the vast majority being crup pups or kneazles. On the right were the reptiles.

His father indicated Atticus to have a look around and find his pet while he went to talk with the owner with whom he was in the same year in at Hogwarts. He started at the birds section and made his way through the store.

"Wait till I'm out of this cell! I will bite you and if you're lucky I won't eat you" a sudden voice angrily stated halting his progress.

"Ha, as if you had the brains or the will to even come in my tank. You're just all talk, you old worm" the second voice mockingly stated.

After that, it was a mixture of angrily expressed words and name calling and had his full attention until one of the other snakes noticed that he was nearby.

"Everyone quiet. Shut it, Short-tongue. There is a human looking at us" "What is this fool child looking at." "I wonder if he'll come close enough for me to bite" one said excitedly "Someone bite Little-Worm please. The fool would get us all killed" and the arguments all started again.

Atticus couldn't help but laugh at all the drama.

"I didn't know snakes were drama queens" he stated mischievously. As soon as he started speaking, every single snake ceased their ramblings and arguments. They all geared their heads towards him almost simultaneously and he had to say it was a little creepy how synchronised they were.

"Human speaks the tongue?""How is that possible" "Is he a snakeling in a human skin" They all started sending questions all over each other until it became indiscernible until one of them, one of the larger snakes spoke and got their attentions.

"Silence!" and everything petered down. From that it was clear who was in charge of these highly opinionated and argumentative snakes. He or she then geared towards me

"Welcome speaker. I have not met a speaker in person but I have been told by my elders that there are humans who can speak."

"Hello, what is your name? Are you female or male? What species are you? my family are known to have speakers in our ancestry and once a while a speaker is born. Do you know much of speakers?" he asked

"Calm, snakeling. my name is Isla and I am female. I am a mix of Horned Serpent and a cobra. I only know little of speakers. My many times sire was a Horned Serpent that encountered a female speaker. She was able to warn her of the danger she was in."

The story was familiar. As he remember it, Isolt Sayre born in the early 1600s, the multiple times grandmother was the person that encountered a horned serpent. Isolt and Henry Sayre were orphaned when the private home of William Sayre and Rionach Sayre nee Gaunt was burned down with the pair of them killed in the fire. The children were raised by their maternal aunt Gormlaith, who was by all accounts an insane and cruel witch filled with hatred for muggles. Henry was his direct ancestor and was only two years old and the heir to the family.

From what he knew, the time that the children spent with their aunt was a difficult and dangerous time, Gormlaith frequently cast dark magic at the pair and they suffered for years though Isolt mitigated the cruelty for Henry as much as she could.

They were witnesses to curses that she spread to the muggle neighbours and as a result they would avoid the cottage leaving a sheltered, isolated and miserable childhood for the pair of them.

Isolt was denied to go to Hogwarts though Henry managed to go after she managed to trick her aunt. The denial of being allowed to go to school was her motivation for the eventual creation of Ilvermony.

At the age of seventeen, Isolt managed to escape and masqueraded as a male before leaving for the New World while Henry was at Hogwarts. Henry would not see Isolt for nearly a decade and became free from Gormlaith as she chased Isolt when she heard of the school she had created.

The legend of the horned serpent was that it gave its horns as a wand core and delivered a prophecy that the horns would save her family. He wasn't sure what the rest of the story went as he hadn't read the journals of Nelson and it was only mother who told me some of it in passing.

He'd find out at some point.

"Yes, I know some of that story. The woman was my many times grandmother as one of her daughters married my ancestor. I'm pleased to meet one of the children that helped save my kin. I'm here today to pick a companion. Would you like to come with me? My name is Atticus by the way" he asked.

"Yes, I'll come with you youngling." She said with a excited lilt.

As he looked back at the front of the store, he saw his father and the owner staring at me though with differing expressions.

His father was unhappy that Atticus had shown his skill in the store. He looked at the owner and decided it would not do and pulled out his wand and obliviated the memory of his son speaking parseltongue.

Atticus looked at his father curiously "He would have talked and it was attention that we do not need. Be more careful to whom you show that skill Atticus" his father warned him.

Atticus nodded and he sobered up. He changed the subject

"Father, I've picked her, her name is Isla. She is related to the horned serpent who gave the horns to Isolt Sayre!" he says with a slight disbelieving tone to him.

My father chuckled "Of course, it must be fate then son"

The owner came to his wits and looked confused.

"Michael, we'll take her and a month's worth of prey for the snake. How much for the snake?" Markus finished in a cold voice with a grim face.

"Yes, that will be 75 galleons" he stated still slightly out of it.

As his father paid up and we prepared to leave, he stopped and felt drawn an area he hadn't been yet. "Father please wait, I feel a pull to that area" he state.

His father assented and his curiosity was peaked. As we walked over, the store owner met with us "Ah, here is where we keep the eggs of the animals until they hatch. Most of them are just standard bird eggs though" he said

"What about that one" as he pointed to a blue-ish grey-white egg that was the originator of his pull.

"I have no idea. A smuggler was caught by the Aurors and his stuff was confiscated. Ah, hum, don't tell anyone but one of the Aurors was an old and managed to get this egg. He didn't know what it was and neither did any of the others. He managed to take it and brought to me seeing as he knew a bit about magical creatures, for identification and also to, uh, ahem sell to me" he said sheepishly.

He blinked at that. Wow.

He just admitted to being an accomplice to evidence tampering, fraud and corruption? Well, seems like the magical world alright.

He looked at his father curiously and he saw an unreadable expression.

He worked for the ministry so he was wondering if this was out of bounds for him.

"How much would you sell it to us?" his father asked not without a little bit of frost to his tone.

"60 galleons" he stated nervously.

"35 galleons and no more" his father said firmly.

"Deal" and the store owner started packing the egg in a firm box.

As they walked back to the Leaky Caldron to head home, he couldn't help but ask "Father is that kind of thing frequent?"

My father sighs "Yes, corruption like that is not all that infrequent. The vast majority are law abiding however there always the shadier elements. Nothing much would have come from accosting him or reporting him to the Aurors."

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It wasn't a particularly special day when the egg he had gotten began to crack. It had been months since he had received and nothing had been happening except for it feeling warm and not in fact being dead.

The magical bond that he felt had been growing stronger, however slight it was. He could barely even sense it, even with his fairly capable ability to sense magic but it was there and it was growing.

He had been situated at the terrace, seated in the outdoors as he was reading one of the assigned books for his first year. He had been taking his egg with him, as much as he could after he had read up on fostering a bond with a familiar that was juvenile.

Atticus set his book to the side and began to watch as the egg began to crack.

"Tweenie"

*pop* "yes master?"

"Please call Sophia down. The egg is hatching" he stated while keeping his eyes on the egg. Sophia had extracted a promise from him to be there if the egg was cracking while they were both at home and luckily it was happening during the break between terms as she was in her sixth year at Beauxbatons.

After a little while, Sophia came walking in a fast pace and dashed herself into the spare seat at which Atticus gave her an annoyed look which she just simply stuck out her tongue at.

"So little brother, your animal is finally decided to make an appearance" she teased as she shared the same intense look Atticus was giving off as they both stared at the beak that was now breaking through the shell. Atticus simply noncommittally responded.

After a little while, enough progress had been made by the bird that it became more apparent. The chick was as pink as it could be but determination could be made. Atticus had read a number of books on magical creatures, after all, who wouldn't be interested in animals that were only in story books in his previous world? Tufts could be seen and the little chick had two of them.

"Atticus do you know what this bird is?" she inquired.

Atticus shook his head "no not yet, hopefully we'll find out once the chick is out of the egg" and Atticus proceeded to help the chick out of the egg and Atticus spotted, another set of little wings and Atticus eyes widened "Tweenie" *pop*

"Yes master?" the little elf answered

"Please bring me the Fantastic Beasts and where to find them! Book." He sharply asked.

Tweenie brought the book and Atticus scrolled through the book until he found what he was looking for. His eyes widened as he recognised the wings of the bird. He double checked and looked for other birds, just to be certain.

"Atticus!" she clapped in front of his face which annoyed him and gave her a pointed look at to which she simply arched her eyebrow at

 "Well? What bird is it?" she asked impatiently.

He simply shoved the book and pointed at the page and smugly sat back.

Sophia's eyebrows disappeared from sight as she gaped at the page. She began to look to and fro between the bird and the book and started laughing out of control.

Atticus simply nodded "Yes, somehow I managed to get bonded to a Thunderbird" he tonelessly said.

It took more than a few minutes for Sophia to calm down and she looked at Atticus with disbelieving eyes "Your luck is ridiculous." She said before frowning.

She bore a bewildered look on her face when she turned to Atticus "Is it lucky to be bonded to a bird that will grow over 5 metres long and with a wing span of at least double that?"

He simply shrugged "I think I'm lucky to have a familiar bond that is developing in the first place. Not many wizards or witches get bonded to a familiar. Let alone as young as I am" he stated as he picked up the chick.

"hello little bird. You took your time hatching" he softly spoke to it at which it chirped at him which Atticus had smiled at.

"Well little brother, you're going to need to find out how to feed it." She cackled as she was still amused by the situation. Atticus shot her a glare

"I know. The book thankfully states what the diet of the bird is and it isn't any different from eagles so red meat will be the way to go." He stated and continued to preciously hold onto his chick.

Sophia began to read through the book and had read out what he could expect.

The bird will remain a chick for seven months and then begins to mature into a young bird where it will remain for three years. The size will depend on the sex but during this stage, the bird won't be any larger than a phoenix. The three years after that is where it will grow slowly but surely until it hits adulthood at which point the bird will reach 3 to 5 metres.

When their parents and Benedict had been informed, they had been surprised and more than a little bit pleased that his familiar was such a beautiful magical creature and a powerful one at that.

The Thunderbird was capable of generating thunderstorms and it is said that they could wield lightning itself.

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Over the next year, he continued his education, practicing with his wand all the material of the first three years of Hogwarts along increasing his spell repertoire from the vast library. He had found his limits with wandless magic, for the moment when it came to third grade transfiguration and second grade charms.

He was certain he would be able to expand on it but had decided to focus training using a wand.

The Manor had a duelling room and Atticus had been extensively using it. The dummies were high grade, self repairing dummies that were capable of moving.

He had been reading a number of duelling books for the last few months as he became more familiar with casting offensive magic.

Battle Magic: An introductory into magical combat and forms by M Sorenson was a book that had enraptured him.

He had always intended to become excessively talented in combat magic and this book had given him his first glimpses into this field.

There were five recognisable forms of combat; Battle Transfiguration, Battle Charms, Dark Magic, Elemental Battle magic and Runic Battle magic. Both Elemental Battle and Runic Battle Magics are considered the 'old ways' and have largely been set aside in favour of the first three forms of combat.

Elemental Battle Magic was an old form of battle that was predominant in Ancient Scandinavia, Ancient Greece, and some regions in Asia. Great and terrible battles that were fought in those times were the origins that spawned the Norse and Greek pantheons.

Many of the spells that conjured elements were based on the great forms f elemental magic that those ancients were capable of doing.

They channelled their magic and ambient magic to devastating effect using unknown means of foci. Elemental Battle Magic can be broken into two categories; greater and lesser. The greater forms of elemental manipulation have been consigned to the annals of history with only references that indicate that they existed. It likely was these kinds of magic that had inspired mythology. Lesser forms were not quite as lost to history as the greater forms were.

The book explained that, like the greater forms, it requires completely different casting in comparison to traditional and modern means. Both forms required a state of mentality that required one to be submersed in the casting; the loss of individuality and immersion into the magicks that seems near impossibility.

Runic Battle magic is by far the more varied form of combat in that before the advent of wands and even staves, Runes were the predominant method of combat. The book didn't expand much beyond the explanation of static and dynamic employment of runes and the disadvantages it held in modern society.

He wondered what he could do with runes.

Battle Transfiguration had held the largest chapter within the book; it had explored the use of transfiguration in the battlefield, the kinds of transfigurations used and conjuration. Battle transfiguration is essentially well suited to open areas given that wand movements can be wide, the requirement of the caster being flexible, in both body and in mind.

In enclosed areas, the caster is limited and it becomes substantially more difficult to combat effectively.

Battle Charms are the most effective form of combat when it's used in enclosed areas and one-on-one combat. There's a requirement of precision, balance and creativity for adding an element of unpredictability. In ranged combat, the precision of casting becomes difficult to maintain and not only that, the power requirement increase substantially, detrimentally affecting the stamina and strength of the caster.

Dark magic is powerful and is rooted in requiring an emotional component. It was based on negative or neutral emotions which are necessary to power the spells and suited for both open and closed areas.

Dark magic however does leave the individual vulnerable to counterattacks and it has a slight impact on the individual's magic.

Atticus was shirtless with his wand in his left hand preparing himself for the beginning of the training session.

Four dummies darted from the different directions and Atticus brought his wand to bear in a flash locking onto the first target. He fired a piercing hex and ducked as a projectile came his way and twisted on the spot dodging two other projectiles and shifted his body and shot out another piercing hex.

He'd modified the dummies to be able to fire rubber projectiles from guns that Atticus had modified to match the speed of arrows. The first piercing had hit the dummy on the shoulder, halting it in his movement for a moment before it continued firing.

Atticus wand was a blur as he fired piercing hex after another piercing hex and he was continuously moving, never staying idle, dodging, shifting as he went.

The piercing hexes had wreaked havoc on three of the four dummies and disabled them but the fourth had been still been standing. Atticus conjured a flame whip and wielded it with expertise and struck the fourth dummy across the waist and tore it in half.

Atticus breathed heavily as he took stock of the damage he had done and was pleased with himself.

It had taken him some time to be able to get out of this situation without getting damaged. Atticus grimaced when he remembered when his mother had seen him exiting the duelling room with the wounds he had. He had been given an earful and he had not been allowed alone for sometime in the duelling room. In truth it had been beneficial as his father had given him useful advice and helped him modify the dummies to what he wanted

They all had inklings that he wasn't just training for training sake but they hadn't brought it up.

He expected that it would happen not too long in the distance. He hoped during that stage he could convince them to hire him tutors that were battlemages or duellers.

The ICW employed a number of them and he had hoped that his great grandfather had the connections to hire one to train him.

Atticus grabbed the towel at the side and dried himself off the sweat. He put back his shirt and made his way towards the living room. There he had found his sister sitting with their mother.

This would be her last year at Beauxbatons and then she would be free to pursue what she wished.

They had talked about it and she was leaning towards apprenticing under their grandfather in the family business. He had encouraged as she was smart and had a good head on her shoulders.

The Sayres in comparison to the other old pureblood families didn't really use marriage contracts and allowed their children to propose matches themselves and more often than not it would be accepted as long as they were purebloods.

"Afternoon lovely ladies" Atticus smiled at them as he strode towards them.

Sophia's head whirled around "Ah hello Atty. Done with your training?" she asked curiously.

Sophia had joined him a few times in the duelling room and had been beating him at first but she now barely won once every three duels. She had definitely improved however and had gotten a promise from her that she would duel with him over the summers when she was around.

She wasn't as martially inclined as him, nowhere near but she wasn't bad. Atticus had asked it of her partly because he wanted to make sure she had the instincts rooted considering the time period they were in.

It had been amusing to see her face when she had lost the first time.

She had begun to fight more viciously when Atticus had consistently come close to beaten here until she found that she could no longer win most of their matches.

In truth, Atticus did have huge advantages over her. She hadn't done any rituals as far as he knew and it showed.

His reflexes were incredible. It was still within the bounds of human capabilities but it was nearing the peak.

He wasn't sure if his parents or great grandfather had done any rituals and it wasn't like he could ask. Well…he could but it would be a painful conversation that would have consequences that he was disinclined to bear.

"Yes, I'm done for today." He said while walking over sitting across from his mother and sister.

"I do not know why you push yourself so Atticus. Boys your age would prefer to play Quidditch rather than what you do" His mother shook her head a little.

"We live in a dangerous world mother. I need to be able to defend myself and the family. Besides I enjoy it. People get their excitement from Quidditch, I get it from duelling." Atticus shrugged.

It wasn't entirely true but it was enough. In this world he was reborn into, not being able to fight was just asking for trouble.

His nobility offered him a shield but it was thin. His family may have the resources to hire entire armies but he couldn't care an ounce.

He never relied on anyone to protect him in his old life and he wouldn't do so now.

"Hopefully, I'll get some formal duelling training from one of the professors as I'd like to try out the under 15 duelling circuit" Atticus said wistfully.

He'd found out that the next international under 15s duelling competition would be held in Ireland next summer.

To qualify, he would need to win the national under 15s.

He was looking forward to it.

"I'm sure you will get the opportunity Atticus." Sophia said encouragingly. She switched topics

"Are you looking forwards to Hogwarts? You start on in only a couple of days!" she said excitably. "You'll make little friends and before you know it…" she winked at him conspiratorially.

Anne rolled her eyes at his sister's antics even while she smiled fondly before she rounded up towards him "Not long before you start your journey. Remember to take in the castle as much as you can when you arrive. The castle is unforgettable. I have only been there a few times given I didn't study there but it is an impressive place"

She said with a wistful tone "I can remember the day quite clearly, when I went off to Durmstrang. It was a scary notion, being away from family for so long, for much of the year but I am sure just like I did, you'll take to your school excellently."

Atticus listened raptly. He had chosen Hogwarts because it had suited many of his plans but he would have seriously considered Ilvermony had it not been for the Chamber of Secrets and the Room of Requirement.

He could not let go the opportunity of finding knowledge in those rooms.