Net

Tap... tap... tap...

Juniper tapped the wooden table with no apparent end. She nervously glanced at Noah's figure beside her.

He was supposed to be recovering. She was worried about her friend, more so than the others. After all, she felt guilty for the whole incident that transpassed at the nursery, even though they told her she was under the influence of a powerful spell. Still, it was her fault in her way of seeing.

Noah, on the other hand, was oblivious to the concerned stares every now and then. Two days ago he had a talk with Minerva, who surprisingly didn't object his request - instead she seemed quite happy for his fast recovery.

"So it is up to us, teachers of the arcane, to teach and direct our students to the bright path. The magical community changed its values and beliefs deeply after Voldemort's rise. And fortunately, mages now realize the power they hold and how destructive it is now! No more Grinwalds or Voldermorts - it is estimated a lasting time of peace!" Their teacher of history enthusiastically said during his lecture.

'Is this history or moral-compass lessons?' Noah thought absent-mindedly. From all the classes available at Hogwarts, this one was perhaps the most useless for him.

'Did the Ministry of Magic assign these classes on purpose, just to assure that no more Dark Lords arise? This is way too obvious, I mean, I ain't the only one who noticed it. I can't be the only one.' He was currently practicing magic, making it more efficient and time-worthwhile. Of course, no one could perceive it.

They weren't at fault though. Noah's way of casting spells didn't even need a wand, how would anyone suspect other than having a keen sense of mana? Even more, if the ones present were children and a ghost...

Yup, no way he could be caught red-handed.

That matter aside though, why was he practicing?

Well, that was an easy question. Soon enough, Ravenclaw will have its first battles - and he decided to get a better room and show his prowess. It had a reason as always, one intimately connected to the incident he went through. After staying a week at the nursery he finally came to an ultimate conclusion.

He needed power, people who he could order around - a network of his own. Hogwarts would become his playground, and everyone would play by his rules, or in other words, no more terrorists in his territory. But to seize this kind of influence, first, he will assert his dominance and leadership. And what better place was there other than a secret fight club with no authorities to oversee it. His foundation would lay there, building themselves up slowly over the years.

"One of the main keys to understanding how someone such as Tom Riddle rose to power is studying his network of allies and collaborators. Even if it hurts me to say it, he was a cunning and quick-witted individual, being able to take advantage of situations and people, leading his goals to fruition. So let me say this, his ability to command and use fear as a tool of manipulation were his best weapons, even more so lethal than the Forbidden Curses." His teacher continued the lecture.

Meanwhile, Noah was lost inside his schemes and plans. There was a single problem on his mind at the moment. To achieve the best results in the battles to come wouldn't be far from extremely difficult and possibly impossible. Realistically speaking, he will face opponents more battle-hardened and knowledgeable than him, their spells and mana pool more like an ocean compared to his.

Which brought us back to what he was practicing - Sense Deprivation spells. If he couldn't fight chivalrously then he could only resort to dirty methods. The first and foremost important magic he created was called Localized Darkness. The long name was only for show though, it was a variation of Lumos at the end of the day after all.

All it did was redirecting the light rays in the area of the eyes, blocking any source of light from reflecting on the eyes of the target, which in turn robbed their sight. Now for the combo spell, it was called Shifting Maze. A controlled Wingardium Leviosa cast around the ear's maze, rounding an orbit around the target - causes nausea, which coupled with blindsight proves to be quite effective.

It was all round and beautiful on the paper, but on practice, it was another talk... a talk one had with their psychologist. The number of failures Noah went through in such a short span of time could be maddening for the weak of heart, which thankfully Noah was none of. Otherwise, he would be pulling his hair in fits of rage every now and then.

'1 week left...' He counted inside his head.

His way of manipulating others would be simple. A well-placed fear, and a well-placed charisma.

'Fear my means, not my goals. That's the path for a successful leader. Alone I am a miser, tyrant I am a decapitated man, but a leader... a good leader can't be stabbed on the back.' He concluded while glancing at his classmates.