Chapter 13

1nd of September 1937

Soon enough it was time for Hogwarts again. He was seen off by his mother and father while Benedict was away on business. Atticus had convinced Sophia to remain in the States and continue her apprenticeship rather than see him off. 

Atticus had given her Isla as he had neglected the poor serpent in favour of Fila and his sister didn't have a familiar or companion. She accepted it when Atticus pointed out that it would give her an advantage because serpents were able to pick things people couldn't.

Atticus was thankful that Sophia was gearing towards taking over from Benedict in a few decades. Father had said that he would be happy to allow Sophia to take lead in taking on the monolith that was the family business and work with her to manage it when she was ready. 

He reflected on his time in America. He had enjoyed the freedom of simply living in the moment, however short it was. They had visited a number of creature reserves and during one of those outings, Atticus had met a family of Native Americans. They were of Iroquois descent.

They were happy to answer his questions, which he had plenty of.

 Their culture and magic revolved much more around naturism and much of their beliefs revolved around spirits of ancestors and spirits of animals.

Before the arrival of European mages, they were shamans of tribes and lived very closely with their muggle counterparts. They were a crucial part of the social dynamic and were often free from power struggles, whether they be intertribal or otherwise. 

They were key in many Native religions as they were seen as guides and often employed mages to concoct potions, elixirs, to allow them to roam the spirit world. He had asked whether it actually allow them to roam the 'spirit world' or whether it was hallucinogenic concoctions and Comanche, the elder Native American, simply smiled and shrugged.

Beyond that, he had stated that many Native magicals had lost a significant amount of their magical knowledge during the expansion into the Americas by Europeans.

Like so many different cultures, the Natives revolved around community knowledge, through speech rather than the written form. When there is mass disruption, it often leads to lost knowledge.

They had fought against the European muggles alongside their muggle brethren but by the time the diseases had finished rampaging through the tribes, the Europeans had already well established themselves and they were continuously losing ground to them.

When the Statute had gone up, it had caused the most amount of damage to their people.

The wars between the natives and the European mages had caused the most amounts of deaths among the natives as they were...not quite helpless but at a distinct disadvantage against wand magic. 

The Native Americans were among the closest human magicals to nature, specially attuned to the natural magic of the environment. They could shift into animals, most often wolves, through a unique form of animagus transformation. 

The difference between animagus transformation and their shifting was they were capable of shifting into many forms of animals.

Animagus transformations, like those practiced in Europe and Africa, are into a single animal that closely aligns with your soul. 

The Native Americans were different in this regard. Their attunement to nature has had a fascinating impact on their magic. While European mages had family magic, magic that has been shaped by ancestors for hundreds of years at the very least, which has affinities in accordance to branches of magic, the Native American's had their equivalence of family magic manifest in a much more different manner. 

Their magic has evolved to be capable of communicating with the nature surrounding them. They are able to communicate in some form with the forests, the plains, the rocks and importantly the animals and obtain information that they had no right of being able to obtain.

This unique manifestation has allowed them to be able to mimic forms of animals. They gained a deeper understanding of the natural world and the beings that made up of the cycle of life and they had been able to fully exploit that. 

While their magic had its own advantages, it was distinctly difficult to match up to wanded magicals. 

The wars between the two distinctly societies ended in victory for the Europeans and had been forced to separate themselves from their muggle kin.

In the end, Comanche had said that it was for the better as they were able preserve the majority of their culture, though they have since adapted to wands, which was a far cry in comparison to their muggle kin. 

Atticus shook his head as he sat down in the empty compartment. He wandlessly floated his suitcase to the rack.

He had gotten his suitcase while he was in America. A few days before the trip to America, he had gotten his proceeds of the Basilisk venom sale from the broker.

He had been greatly surprised when he had found that it had yielded 73,000 galleons minus the broker fee. The man had said that the second highest bid had been 68,000 galleons and that he remained interested in procuring a vial for himself and Atticus had promptly given the man another vial and in the end, he had gotten just over 133,000 galleons of just two vials of venom. 

It was enough for now and would help him start. 

When Newt Scamander had released his now famous magical creature book, it had gained significant interest in creating the same kind of expansive environments in trunks or suitcases. 

He obtained a large environment within a suitcase for about 4,500 galleons. It was modelled after a Mediterranean climate, Greece, and had five acres of land, caves, had a white sand beach and sea front. It would maintain a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. 

Seraya had often complained about the cold so Atticus made sure to find something nice for her.

Atticus spent some time with Aurilak as Atticus wanted to make more progress with rituals. Aurilak had firmly stated that he did not believe that they would have enough time to complete the construction of the third set that Atticus wanted and so they compromised. The third set would built on the enhancement rituals he underwent. 

His magic had been boosted and he increased his control but what these rituals would increase the density of his magical core, compacting it first and then forcibly expand the core through absorbing ambient magic and sacrifice of at least one highly magical creature. Depending on the strength of the magical, the stronger you were, the greater the benefits were. 

One of the rituals would be focused on amplifying affinities. Aurilak stated that the benefits were not especially noticeable but it would make the magical penalty slightly less. He stated that in a life and death duel, every single advantage counted. The last four rituals were interlinked and focused on magical rejuvenation.

The only penalty to Atticus himself was a loss of large amounts of his magical control, control that he worked hard for. He deemed it an acceptable temporary loss as he would be working hard to regain it. The most concerning thing that bothered him was that Aurilak had stated that these rituals could interfere with when he manifests hyper-percipience and that he should be safe if he did it prior to his 14th birthday. 

That meant that he would have only the summer to complete 14 rituals. His second set was already complete and the third set needed only needed an adjustment in sequences.

He would have to obtain all of the ingredients by then. Thankfully, none of the ingredients were difficult to obtain bar the magical creature. He was going to use his broker to find a young dragon that he would sacrifice. 

The main thing that Atticus had worked on in his summer was planning out his space worthy vessel.

Thankfully the Sayre library had plenty of books on flight magic. He had been able to understand the underlying mechanisms of the charms and runic schemes that enabled controlled flight and had made headway in creating a coherent and working structure that he would use to build a prototype. There were still many things he needed to achieve, most of them were control systems that he would have to come up from scratch. Brooms relied on the internal magic of the user and this was something that he did not want. He wanted to create magical substitutes of mechanical systems that the future NASA shuttles would operate in.

He had underlined the topics to research and develop and amongst them was the creation of artificial gravity. He had been stumped that there was in fact a decent amount of magical literature that explored this field though to be honest, he kicked himself when he realised that given how skilled magicals were in spacial manipulation, gravitational manipulation was only a step or two away and it was a natural progression, research wise. Much of it was contorted in inanities but there enough within the literature to give him a head start.

 Newtonian laws made escaping atmosphere a relatively difficult and expensive prospect. Rockets were built to continuously accelerate, the kinetic energy of the burning propelling adding to the acceleration. This constant acceleration through kinetic energy coupled with reaching or surpassing the escape velocity, which was the minimum speed required for the sum of the object's kinetic energy and its gravitational potential energy equalling to zero assuming there is no drag/friction, was what allowed rockets to breach the atmosphere, escaping from the gravitational pull of the earth.

Atticus had not studied orbital mechanics in his previous life and the current literature in 1937 wouldn't have the complete necessary information but he was well aware of Newtonian laws and he had enough knowledge regarding space that he didn't exactly need knowledge that wouldn't be available for decades.

The runic languages that were in use today, were all actual languages that have been dead for hundreds, if not thousands of years. They were required to be dead as the meaning of the language was fixed, runes would have no other meaning.

That was key because runes depend on meaning and intent. It is their entire existence.

This was a problem because while he had pieced runes from different languages previously to make objects work as he wanted, he would not be able to do so easily with what he believed he might need the runes for. He also realised that what he had done was exceedingly irresponsible as he easily could have caused the runes to unravel at best and caused an explosion at worst and hurt himself or others.

As a result he had to rethink his strategy. After all there was no equivalent for radio, for frequency and so on. Runes exist purely because people keep it alive. 

That meant that if no one knew the runes existed, it would have no power, it would have no meaning. It had been a confusing thing to understand and it made him shelf that topic until he understood more clearly what exactly magic was and how humans had such control over it.

That meant he would have to use runes to augment technology rather than create pure magical equivalents in every single case. Atticus was fine with that as he wanted to create a society that used both of best worlds.

This would be his ongoing project for the foreseeable future, creating rune schemes that didn't clash with magic.

While he would have to wait decades for technology to mature, he didn't believe he needed to wait so long create a space worthy vessel that could do the job that he wanted, namely be able to visit the Moon. He would create spacesuits, sensors, devise a method to protect against radiation and so on. It was a large project in truth but one that would have huge payoffs. 

Once he created a safe fully fledged craft of operating both in space and in atmosphere, he would set out to completing satellites that will have numerous functions, amongst them will be methods to detect mineral deposits.

Speaking of minerals, he had read the books that the goblins had given him in return of their items. 

He had to admit that much of it had been difficult to understand, not just because the language was antiquated. It was something that he hated, there was often mysticism and utterly useless methods of disseminating information in magical books.

In any case, he understood that he would need a far greater grounding in Alchemy to be able use the information in the books in a useful way. His abilities in Alchemy was still limited. He was capable of transmuting rocks into glass and rocks into iron and steel but nothing more than that.

Those transmutations were the very first transmutations anyone could do once they understood the process. Beyond that, he needed to greatly expand his understanding of alchemy before he could even attempt to make magical metals.

Hogwarts offered Alchemy in sixth year if there was sufficient interest. He doubted that the class would be useful for him by the time he was 16, 17 but he hoped that he could probe the minds of genuine alchemists around that age.

He brought himself out of his reflections and began to focus on the book that he brought out, which was on illusion magic. It was interesting subject that incorporated elements of mind magic amongst other things to manifest things into reality.

Atticus was well engrossed in his Illusions book until he had been broken out of it when he heard a knock on the door. Atticus looked outside and saw they had already beginning to move. He looked at the opened door and say that it was Nymera and Theodore

"Hello Atticus" Nymera greeted as she sat down which Theodore followed

"Hello Theo, Nymera" Atticus warmly said. 

"Hey Atticus how was your summer?" Theo asked 

"It was pretty good, spent a couple of weeks in America with my extended family there. What about you guys?" he asked.

Theo brightened up and began his tale "Well, we visited Greece and I got to meet some of the members of my House's cadet branches that moved back to Greece a few centuries ago." He piped up and began a long tale that Atticus was bemused and exasperated by.

When Theodore finished, he turned towards Nymera and raised an eyebrow and she sighed in response "My summer was nowhere near as pleasant as any of yours" she groused.

She continued "I'm turning thirteen in February and it won't be long before I will be betrothed, likely I will be betrothed by the time I'm sixteen. My summer was mostly spent being shown around like a prized Abraxan at numerous events hosted by certain families." She says with apprehension clear in her eyes, as she intending to make clear what she meant by certain families. 

He ignored her comment certain families and he tilted his head "Do you really not wish to be betrothed?" Atticus asked. 

She looked at him nonplussed before blinking away "I don't mind being betrothed but what I dislike is that I am given little option to whom I'm betrothed. My father..." she trailed off before she straightened up a little 

"As you know, the Greengrasses have always been independent and neutral in most things but we have always tended towards the darker faction than the grey faction. My father...is different. He is hoping for betrothal offers from the Selwyn or Rosier families and I'm really hoping that is not the case." She says quietly.

Atticus instantly understood her reticence. The Selwyn and Rosier families were not so secret backers of Grindelwald and Nymera was afraid of what that meant for her. The ministry isn't at the stage of acting against Grindelwald backers...yet but it is fast approaching the point.

"Surely your father knows how bad it could get for you?" Theodore speaks up wide eyed.

She nods "He knows that there is...uneasiness but he thinks it won't matter in the long run when Grindelwald wins once war begins." A cold chill run through the compartment. Though Atticus knew that the war was coming in two years time, hearing how it could affect his friends brought it to stark realisation. He didn't know how large scale the war was...if it was anything like WWII...

From the implications, it's clear that her father, Lord Damien Greengrass was a Grindelwald backer or even an acolyte.

"What about your brother?" Atticus asks. 

She sighs "My brother disagrees with our father but he won't be involved in the situation. He is...unhappy that father is abandoning the neutral position we have held as a house for so long." She says as she looks away and watches the moving countryside outside.

She continues speaking but remains looking outside "Tarquin Selwyn is one of the options" she says tonelessly.

Theo's eyes widen and he reels from it.

For good reason too. Tarquin Selwyn was a nasty fifth year Slytherin, well sixth year now that was severely unpleasant both in manner and in appearance.

He and his gang of Slytherins were antagonistic towards Gryffindor and muggleborns. He hadn't seen any spellfire, Hogwarts in this time had standards it seems, but verbal abuse seemed to be acceptable and accidents sometimes occurred. He hadn't witnessed much himself, after all he spent most of his time either in the ROR or in the chamber when not in class, but he has heard of their antics in the Ravenclaw common room.

He wouldn't be surprised if he ended up a Death Eater, a Grindelwald acolyte or both. 

"Does your father hate you?" Theodore blurts out and Nymera starts giggling as she turns towards him. 

"Theo" Atticus says exasperated though he was unable to keep a smile off his face. Theo had trouble filtering his words though for some reason it was kind of endearing. 

Nymera shook her head "He doesn't but he is blind to some things." She sighs.

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opens and Eden pops in "Ah there you all are!" She exclaims. "You were supposed to bring him to our compartment not join him" she admonished.

Eden and Theo ended up arguing for a little bit which was a relief as it distracted them from the heavy topic they were discussing.

Atticus decided to interrupt their little spat "Who is in the other compartment?" he asked and Eden turned to him "Well, there is Lucretia Black, Mylene Burke, Dorea Black, Leon Wilkins and Fiona Quinn from Hufflepuff and Markus" she says.

He sighs and gets up "Alright then, let's go to their compartment".

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Atticus was making his way towards his Head of House's office. After the first years were inducted by Professor Fawley, he came to see him and asked him to come meet him in his office before breakfast the next day regarding his schedule.

He knocked on the door and after getting an affirmative, he entered the room.

Professor was standing at his desk shuffling parchments and he quickly waved Atticus to sit down and Atticus complied.

"The grades you have managed to obtain were nothing short of remarkable and I wanted to start off congratulating you" he began with a small smile.

Atticus inclined his head in thanks "I'm grateful that I was allowed the opportunity to take the tests in the first place." He smiled in returned.

Fawley simply nodded "That is why you are here. You have several options available to you; you can elect to move directly into fifth year for the four subjects taking classes with the fifth year cohorts or you can choose to independently study for your OWLS and NEWTS with work assigned by the respective professors."

Atticus sat back and pondered on the offer. He assumed prior to this that he would be taking classes with the fifth years.

He hadn't particularly looked forward to that as people could be prickly about things and a 12, 13 year old in their classes seemed quite ripe for the more easily offended students. 

Not only that, he wouldn't have to sit in classes that he was already well past it. In his independent studies, he would be well positioned to gain the same offer in his electives. He was already past NEWTS in Arithmancy and Runes now.

Yes, it was a simply choice.

"Professor, I would prefer independent study with work assigned to me by the course professor" Atticus smiled at Fawley.

He chuckled "I figured that you would choose that option." He clasped his hands as he set them on the desk and a serious expression was shown "Professor Slughorn and Professor Brown have no trouble with that arrangement. Professor Dumbledore will be a little more difficult but he will be giving you the necessary assignments but he will do you no favours. They will all accept nothing less than your best efforts." He smiled wryly "You've set high standards, we expect you to maintain it." 

Atticus simply nodded "Professor what about electives?" he inclined his head.

"You will be giving the option of selecting them along with the rest of your year group next year. Why?" he asked curiously. 

"If I show the same kind of proficiency in those subjects, will I be able to add them to my independent studies?" he asked.

Fawley's eyebrows rose "Are you saying that you would be able to replicate similar proficiencies in those subjects as you did with the wanded subjects?" he asked surprised.

He nodded and scratched the back of his head abashed "Yes, I'm probably far more ahead in those subjects than I was in Transfiguration or Charms. It was easier to study them when I was younger since it didn't need wands." He confesses.

Fawley sat back and began to shake his head "My boy, you continue to surprise me." He paused "I will speak with Dippet about granting permission for you to take similar testing at the end of the year. Since you've said that you're further ahead in those two, I take it you mean that you have surpassed OWLS?" he asked intently.

He nods in affirmative "I think I'm past NEWTS in both subjects." He said simply.

Fawley shook his head "Even with your results and talents, I still find it hard to believe a twelve year old is so ahead from his peers." He pauses "Very well, I will inform you at a later date once I have spoken with the headmaster. Lastly, you are expected to meet with your professors for your schedule and to hammer out the details with them." He smiled.

"Regarding my subject, you will be spending three hours each week in one hour slots each Monday, Thursday and Friday. This is less than what you would be fitted if you were in classes but given that they will effectively be one on one sessions, losing that one hour will not be problematic. Is that agreeable?" He asked.

"Yes that's fine professor." He smiled at Fawley.

After that, there was nothing else to say and he proceeded towards the Great Hall for breakfast. He was early but there were a few people already seated.

After a little while, the Great Hall began to be filled and his friends seated next to him. 

He went with them as he had Herbology with them and History afterwards. He was ahead in Herbology but it mostly was mostly limited to theoretical work. He didn't have the practical experience for him to justify skipping multiple years. He was about third year in the subject. He would take NEWTS in the subject but he didn't think he would be at Hogwarts for the entirety of the seven years.

He would be aiming to do his NEWTS in DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Arithmancy and Runes by the end of third or fourth year. 

That meant that he would have History, Herbology and Ancient Studies remaining from his core subjects for OWLS. Ancient Studies was rolled up in History for NEWTS so that meant he would have only Herbology, History, COMC, Divination to occupy his time. 

He hoped that he would be offered apprenticeship in multiple subjects as he wanted to gain mastery qualifications by the conclusion of his NEWTS. He suspected that he would be offered apprenticeship by Professor Brown and Professor Fawley had effectively stated that it was an option for him.

Apprenticeships were often three years but it depended mostly on the skill of the individual. Masteries beyond being able to show the necessary understanding of the subject required independent contribution to the respective subjects. That meant that often the most of the time during the apprenticeship was spent researching a thesis that is to be submitted to the academic body of the said branch of magic.

Atticus already earmarked two original contributions to the field of Transfiguration and he had ideas that he was going to investigate regarding Arithmancy and Runes.

Soon enough it was the end of lunch and Atticus made his way towards Professor Slughorn's office. He had checked to see if he was free and he would be the next 15 minutes.

He knocked on the door and was shouted at to come in.

"Ah Mr Sayre, come come" Slughorn exuberantly waved Atticus in.

"Now, Michais informed us during breakfast regarding your choice and we all expected that you probably would have chosen this route." He said happily.

"Yes, I believe it's the best way to spend my time. I think I'm also allowed to move at a faster pace if I am able to?" Atticus asked inquiringly.

Slughorn nodded and smiled at him "Yes that is correct. This is a practice that Hogwarts has made allowances for within the Charter the founders had written." He commented absently as he went towards the bookshelves and mumbled to himself as he searched for whatever he was looking for "Aha! Here it is." He said as he returned. He slid the book over "This is a copy of the original charter of Hogwarts. While decisions are ultimately at the purview of the Headmaster, the headmaster is bound to consider talented individuals and make accommodations if there are no reasonable objections. There is a bunch of other things that you might find applicable or interesting so take the time to read it over" He comments.

"Thank you, I will" he said in appreciation. 

"Well, let's get down to it then" he lightly clasped his hands "Given that you will be under independent study, that means that you will have to brew potions during times we are both free. You are required to be supervised when you are brewing, at least until you have completed your OWLS."

He paused as he looked at Atticus intently "My own time is quite limited, outside of the classroom but I have made provisions over the years that I have taught at Hogwarts to ensure that I have free slots." He opens up a drawer and brings out a parchment and hands it over to Atticus "Four hours a week, two hour slots twice a week." He paused and seemed to be distant with thought before Slughorn set his eyes on him.

"You've made alterations to all of the potions that you have brewed in my classroom, including the potions that you did in your examinations. I have no doubt that you will likely find the fifth year curriculum to be little challenging." He looked at Atticus with excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Because of that, we will likely spend some of that time discussing and making alterations to potions." He paused for a moment before he continued.

"Your alterations are well done but there are some things that require refining and I want to explore your abilities regarding the art. It will be unnecessary with regards to obtaining your OWLS but I suspect that you will relish the challenge" He said with a leading question.

He smiled at Slughorn. "That sounds good professor. I will see you on Tuesday afternoon" he says.

After that, Atticus spent time in the library until the last of the lessons were over for the day. He would meet with Professor Dumbledore and Brown before dinner.

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His meeting with Dumbledore was straightforward. Dumbledore had eased since they had their talk but their relationship was still only cordial and Atticus didn't expect that to change any time soon. 

Dumbledore hadn't inquired regarding the warning he had given him but he suspected that come the New Year, he would seek to speak with him regarding the matter.

The meeting with Professor Brown went much better. She had taken the same route as Slughorn and had stated that she intended to push him in their sessions.

He made his way towards the Great Hall for dinner and sat down next to Theo who was seated opposite Nymera, Eden and Markus. He was brimming with curiosity from the way he was looking. That reminded him that he had neglected to inform his friends about...well everything. Hopefully they won't take it too badly.

"Atticus you were missing in Transfiguration and DADA. Was there something wrong" Theodore asked.

This resulted in most of their fellow first years to turn their heads towards him to his brief annoyance.

"I...well, last year, I showed the teachers that I was...ahead in multiple subjects and I was given the option to test out" he explained slowly and his friends' eyes all widened. Whispers began to dominate the Ravenclaw table.

"What?!" Theo exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked and he seemed a little upset.

Atticus shifted uncomfortably in his chair "I honestly forgot to mention it" he said a little sheepishly. It was true. He had not considered it worth mentioning to his friends. While he got used to sharing information willingly without anything in return with his family, he wasn't particularly used to it with his friends. This was new territory for him.

Nymera thankfully interjected and asked "What subjects did you test out of and in what year? I haven't heard anyone say anything about a second year in their classes?" she asked quizzically.

"I tested out into fifth year in DADA, Transfiguration, Charms and Potions. I was given the option of doing independent studying rather than join official classes so I took that option" he said.

This was overheard by a number of people and the whispers grew in intensity. 

"Really? I didn't know you could do that." Eden wondered but shook her head and her mouth was agape "What you are skipping three whole years?!" She near shouted and it got everyone's attention.

"Not so loud" Atticus groaned out as he was definitely in the centre of attention he composed himself and shrugged "I did, yes. I will still be in Herbology, History and Ancient studies" he said.

"I can't believe you never told any of us" Theo shook his head.

Atticus simply shrugged in response. He didn't know how to respond to it.

"You do know what that means right Atticus?" Markus thankfully changed the subject. He simply raised his eyebrow and Markus proceeded "It means you're the go to guy if any of us have any need for help" he rubbed his hands as he mock smiled evilly.

"You say that as if I already don't do that" he rolled his eyes. From there the conversation flowed towards a different direction much to Atticus' relief. 

The remaining months of 1937 went by quickly. He kept up his extracurricular learning on top of his now more intensive schedule while at the same time working on his projects or training himself in duelling.

He spent most of his time in the Time Room studying subjects that weren't taught at Hogwarts and refining his projects.

Now that it was common knowledge of how advanced Atticus was, his sporadic tutoring sessions that he had at the beginning set for his friends grew to encompass a large percentage of his year group. 

There were rumblings, mumblings about special treatment but that had been shut down quickly once Headmaster Dippet made it clear one day during dinner regarding the allowance of individuals who were exceptional in their studies.

With his map, he found numerous large abandoned class rooms and promptly used it as a meeting place for his year group.

After he established that he expected the code of conduct to be the same as in class, he found that he enjoyed teaching immensely. In his year, there weren't many heirs to important families but the many of them were members, either from the main or cadet branch of said families. 

Being well regarded by them could well prove useful at a later date.

His one to one classes with Professor Brown were by far his favourite. She was extremely knowledgeable in Transfiguration and had spent a lot of time with him discussing theory.

Slughorn, despite being a little too exuberant for liking, was an excellent teacher who seemed to relish in imparting knowledge to him. Atticus had opened up to him and he admitted that he had brewed a lot of potions, on his own, at home before Hogwarts. 

He didn't reveal that he had dozens of potions books from around the world that he used to adjust potions as he believed that was information too precious to release at this time. 

Despite his issues with Dumbledore, the professor proved to be professional enough to impart his knowledge to Atticus. 

He had three hours with the man and there was no deviation from the course structure for fifth years. Atticus was disappointed that Dumbledore would continue to prove reticent though he was thankful that the man wouldn't be hindering his education.

His time with Fawley went in a similar manner as with Professor Brown and he outright stated that the offer of apprenticeship was open to him once he completed his NEWTS. Fawley told him to take his time but to let him know by the end of the year if he was to accept.

He was inclined to accept. He intended to leave Hogwarts by 16, 17 and have himself exclusively trained in combat and enlist in the war by 19. 

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24th of December 1937

Albus made his way into the bleak neighbourhood in London. It was a bleary, chilling and wet Friday afternoon, grey and miserable. 

He slipped his hand into his pocket, and felt the Hogwarts letter. It reminded him of why he was venturing into Muggle London, he was to see a future Hogwarts student, a seemingly Muggleborn girl at an orphanage. 

He made it to the front gates of the orphanage and he halted as he took in the visage.

The orphanage was rundown, dirty and drab. He felt a pang of sympathy for the children who were homed here. It did not feel as if there was much care in the orphanage, given how un-kept the orphanage was.

Muggle Britain was facing economic hardships and it seemed that the hard times would only increase given how unstable Europe was. He felt a brief pang of guilt as he remembered how responsible his old friend was for the state of both worlds.

The war, both magical and muggle, Gellert was instigating was not yet hot; it was on the precipice of delving into true warfare. Gellert has been ramping up his campaign, charming, threatening...killing his way into power.

His informants updated him nearly every day regarding his friend's activity. There have been a host of suspicious deaths among those who opposed them, sometimes even entire massacres of families in Eastern and Central Europe. 

His friend was much like him, unwavering in his convictions and would commit atrocities just to see his vision of the world come to be. Far too often Albus despaired at how he did not convince his friend that his way was too violent, too provocative and too dark. 

There was a common misconception that Albus did not know the Dark Arts. It was a lie. He knew the branch of magic intimately, he had used it in his youth, his misguided youth. He had lost himself in the exaltation of finding another like him, one who saw magic for what it was, who could use it much like he could that he did not see the debilitating effects of the arts. 

It had taken a fateful day, a tortured brother and a dead sister for him to truly see the harm that it caused, the harm their plans would cause. The blinds on his eyes were lifted and he disavowed Gellert though it pained him much to do so. Not a single night goes by that he isn't lost in his thoughts, dreaming of what ifs. 

The requests for him to get involved in defeating Gellert have grown silent over the years which were a relief to him. 

He did not want to face his old friend, no matter how far he is going. He still loved Gellert deeply despite his actions, despite the blood on his hands.

He knew that he would eventually have to do it, for he did not believe that there was anyone who could defeat his old friend. He would have to defeat him and capture him and imprison him himself. 

The blood pact they made was long since destroyed, only a few months after Newt managed to somehow obtain it from Gellert. He did not inform anyone of this fact as it would force him into a corner that he did not want to be in. 

He would delay his eventual confrontation with Gellert as much as he could. He knew that he was damning hundreds, thousands of magicals and millions of muggles to Gellert's depredations but they mattered not to him. If he had to defeat his old friend, he would do it when he decided was the right time.

He shook himself from his thoughts and he stepped past the gate and knocked on the door. 

The door opened and a young girl, no older than perhaps nineteen graced his presence and Albus plastered his trademark congenial smile "Good afternoon. I have an appointment with a Mrs Cole. I believe she is the matron here?" 

She looked slightly bewildered at him "Oh" she exclaimed "Oh of course, please follow me sir into the hallway. She will be right with you" she said in a rush as she hurried away. He could hear her shout faintly in the distance and he chuckled slightly to himself.

He looked up into the direction of the light footsteps that was becoming louder each second and soon enough a woman, who seemed to be in her late twenties came into view. "Hello. Mr Dumbledore I believe?" she said tiredly.

Albus smiled at her gently "Yes that is correct Mrs Cole". He used a brief moment to examine the muggle woman. She looked tired, haggard, skinnier than she ought to be. It seemed that conditions at the orphanage were...more constraint than he initially thought.

"Well, you'd better come into my room" she said nodding to herself as she walked off without waiting for his response. His eye twitched slightly at the act but he followed her nonetheless.

She led him into a small room, clean but very little warmth to it. It was Spartan like in truth. 

He seated himself in the old unsound chair in front of her desk as she seated herself behind a cluttered desk that painted an image of an overworked matron.

She sighed and she straightened in her seat and gazed directly at Albus. 

Albus shifted in his seat and tried to get comfortable though he found no such luck. 

"So Mr Dumbledore, how may I help you? Your letter was awfully vague when I received it." She asked quizzically. 

"I'm here to inquire about one of your charges and to offer her a placement in the private school of which I am Deputy Headmaster of." He said smiling as he hoped to set her at ease.

"Oh" she said, eyes widened though she narrowed her eyes in suspicion "How did this come to be?" she asked intently.

Albus frowned slightly but answered anyway "The child was placed on the school register soon after they were born. The private school is a prestigious one and one that is for the gifted." He answered simply. 

"Who is being offered a place at your school? And what is the school's name?" 

"Emily Riddle is the child we are offering a place at the school. The school's name is Hogwarts." he said warmly.

"Oh." She said flustered and suddenly quite uncomfortable. Albus narrowed his eyes slightly as he took in her entirely changed demeanour. She was defensive and suspicious before but now she was withdrawn.

She fiddled with her hands and stared at him, which was a little bit unnerving for him "You said Ms Riddle was registered from birth to attend your school. The girl's mother died giving birth here at the orphanage." She said narrowing her eyes, clearly showing that there were holes in his story.

But Albus was aware of such things "As soon as she was pregnant, her name was down for attending the school. The only trouble the school faced was finding out where exactly she was which we didn't know until a few months ago" he said hoping that the answer was satisfying enough otherwise he would confound her.

She harrumphed and sat back in her chair "Very well." 

"You said you wished to know about her?" 

"Yes, her history, if she had any trouble or so on. It would help us understand her more clearly. You said her mother died here." he said.

"That's right" she said as she gazed away, clearly bringing forth her memories.

"Emily's mother arrived here eleven years ago, on the verge of giving birth. She was weakened, frail and thin. She lost too much blood when she gave birth and she said 'I hope she looks more like her father than me' as she laid in bed, deathly pale. She named her daughter Emily Merope Marvolo Riddle and she died shortly after." She drank from the glass of water that rested on her desk.

"She was right to hope for her child to look like her father. She was no beauty that was for sure. We wondered if she came from one of those circuses, given her appearance and her name. She gave her daughter two such strange names, Merope and Marvolo." She sighed

"Emily was an unusual baby. She rarely cried and we thought she was too quiet for a baby. She unnerved many of the girls who took care of the infants. Emily never liked anyone touching her, even as an infant." She said and finished of her glass of water and turned her gaze to him.

"No Riddle or Marvolo ever came to find her so she stayed in the orphanage all this time." She said distractedly.

"What about later on? As she grew?" He prodded her. She scrunched her face in mild distaste.

"She is...was odd. Things happened around her that couldn't be explained properly. Other children were getting hurt, in strange inexplicable ways. She never got on with the other children and she was often at odds with them. The ones that got hurt the most were those who she fought with."

"You believe Emily was responsible for all this?" Albus asked frowning. It may just be a case of accidental magic protecting her.

She halted herself for a moment. She wasn't painting Emily in the most favourable light. She realised she may be damaging the orphanage's chance of lessening the load.

She eyed him critically "She's definitely got a place at your school?"

"Yes certainly" Albus assured her, intensely curious to hear more about the girl.

"You won't withdraw the offer based on what I disclose? No matter if it is unpleasant?" she asked seeking final confirmation.

"Assuredly" He says gravely. She seemed satisfied with that answer and she took on a grim look.

"She scares the other children. It was not always the case. Her relationship with the other children was always tense. Until it suddenly wasn't"

Albus frowned at that. "Are you saying she is what? A bully?" he inquired.

"I don't know for certain" she says finally after a long period of deliberation. "If she is, she's been very careful at not being caught. There was once this incident, with Billy Stubbs' rabbit." She said carefully.

"Oh?" Albus asked as he leant forward.

She sighed "The rabbit was hung on a shoelace with a broken neck from the rafters. Billy Stubbs accused her of the act but she denied it fervently." She said as she closed her eyes before she opened them meeting Albus' eyes.

"I do not know how she could have done it. She was only nine then."

Albus grew concerned. There were muggle books of psychology, the study of the mind that he had read when his old mentor lent him some books the muggles had written. He did not like the direction the conversation was going.

"You believe she was responsible?" He asked concerned.

"I believe so" she said lowly 

"I have no idea how she might have done it but a few days before she had been enraged, completely out of character, at him for something she did not specify."

Her eyes glazed a little as she trailed off. She returned to sharpness "She was heard accusing him that she knew what he did and then a few days later, Billy's rabbit was found dead and hung"

"That was not the only incident either. Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were changed after an outing to the countryside when they got lost in a cave. They were never quite right afterwards. Something happened there but she always denied any wrongdoing stating that they only went exploring." She said cheerlessly. 

She sighed and got up "Well, let's go and see her shall we? There won't be many, if any at all, that won't be glad to see the back of her" She smiled grimly.

"The school is a boarding school however she will be returning every summer for the next seven years." He said correcting her misunderstanding.

"Oh well, that's unfortunate but nonetheless better than can be expected. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes, yes I am" he said as he rose from the uncomfortable chair.

He didn't like the image Mrs Cole painted of the girl. Emily seemed to be a tormentor, a bully and he would make clear to her that such behaviour was unacceptable at Hogwarts.

She led him to a series of corridors until she stopped in front of a rickety door at the end of the hall. "Well, here we are" she said as she knocked on the door.

She entered the room and Albus followed her in. He took the room in and saw it was just as drab as the rest of the orphanage. There was little personalisation though it surprised him was the small collection of books on the shelf above the desk in the corner of the room. The sheets on the bed were old and looked frayed though they were neatly kept.

Albus shifted his eyes towards the girl that sat quietly on the bed, cold appraising dark eyes meeting his gaze. She was clothed in the same drab grey uniform though it was cleaner and not a single thing was out of place. 

She was healthier looking than some of the children he has seen in the corridors but it was clear she needed to fed more. She had dark hair that matched her dark eyes. She was pale and it contrasted startlingly with her eyes and hair. 

"Professor?" she said, testing the word out on her tongue. "Is that like doctor?" she said narrowing her eyes in suspicion as she took on a cold look that matched her tone.

"What are you here for? To look at me? To see if I'm crazy like they say I am?" she said with hostility and wariness apparent.

Albus stilled as he frowned at her words and actions. Her jaw was clenched. Her actions were not unusual, after all muggle parents often reacted like this. 

He raised his hands in a calming manner, he hoped "No, I am not a doctor, not the kind you are thinking of." He said calmly.

"I do not believe you" she said through gritted teeth. Her hands were reddening white; she was clenching her fists that hard.

Her eyes were wide, wild, as panic threatened to take over her senses.

"She wants me looked at doesn't she? She told you what a freak I am didn't she? TELL ME THE TRUTH!" she commanded with her magic with fury etched in her face.

Albus felt a wave of magic wash over him, as she commanded him to speak, her voice laced with magic, not unlike a very strong compulsion charm. It was wild magic, unrestrained but utterly focused in purpose and Albus was startled in quick succession. First by her control over her magic that she could actually direct it like this and second the strength of her magic. If he was anyone other than himself, Albus may well have succumbed to her command.

He narrowed his eyes fractionally before he settled into his mask and smiled at the girl as he shrugged of the magic. 

Her eyes widened before she took on a wary look, defensive in posture. "Who are you?" she asked lowly unwilling to break eye contact with the man.

"As I've said, I am Professor Dumbledore and I work at Hogwarts, a boarding school for which I have come to offer you place at" He smiled a false smile at the girl. 

She glared at him "No thank you. I am not interested" she said simply.

Albus tilted his head "Are you certain? It is for children such as you." He said.

Her eyes narrowed "So it is an asylum. You lied to me!" she near snarled though she seemed like she would be panicking in a very amount of time.

Albus sighed. She was difficult and unwilling to let him finish. "I am not a doctor nor am I from an asylum. If you would let me finish, I would tell you about Hogwarts. If you decide not to come then no one can force you." He said.

Before she could retort "But you will let me speak first. Is that understood?" He said firmly and sharply.

She visibly gritted her teeth and nodded shakily.

"Hogwarts, it is a school for magic, the premier school for witches and wizards in the country." He said and she froze.

Albus could see her processing the words. "A school for magic?" she said slowly calmer but still agitated.

He nodded "Yes, it is a school for magic. The things that you can do is magic and you are not mad. Nor are you headed to an asylum." He said calmly.

Her face contorted into what he was initially expecting; a look of wonder. "Magic" she whispered, just audible enough for him to hear.

"Yes, that is correct" He said gently, hoping that it would settle her.

"So the things that I can do, that's all magic?" she cocked her head as she pinned him with her dark eyes.

Albus didn't react outward but he wanted to know deeply what it is she could do. The allusions Mrs Cole said were not flattering. He hoped it was simply accidental magic.

"What is it you can do?" He asked clearly.

Her eyes light up before they darkened "All sorts of things, I knew I was different..." she trailed off "I knew I was special, not like them" she said as she finished off disgusted.

At this time, his concerns only grew. It wasn't good, it wasn't acceptable she already had notions about the mundane while she still hadn't even set foot in the magical world.

"Well, you are right in a way....you are a witch. I am a wizard and we both have magic." He said reluctantly. 

Albus saw her process this and understanding briefly flickered across her face before she settled in a neutral cold state. "You said that you are a wizard. That you are like me. Prove it" she demanded, coldly and stared at him with cold calculating dark eyes.

Albus at this stage was getting impatient with her attitude and it was an unnerving experience all things considered.

"You will address me with respect." He said firmly. "Regardless if you wish to attend. Do you wish to?" 

"Yes!" she said fiercely. "Of course I will attend to learn magic"

"In that case, you will address me as professor or sir." He said with a hard look at the girl.

Her face hardened in response briefly before a facade of deference took over and Albus was unsettled at her actions "I'm sorry sir...professor...can you show me magic?" she said sweetly though Albus knew it was nothing but false.

He withdrew his wand from his pocket and pointed at the closet and before he cast magic he froze, his eyes widened and he sharply turned his face towards the girl.

"Do not pretend to burn the dingy closet in the corner of the room. It will forever cast a shadow of dominance."

The words reverberated in his mind as he finally understood the strange encounter.

He immediately went back to that encounter with the Sayre boy.

"But you should know how not to approach said animal. You do not make yourself out to be a danger, a threat to its life. The animal has been fighting for survival and has certain notions about how the world works. The animal may well be used to dominate and violence as it was the only thing that worked for it." 

He understood now, more clearly than ever, the warning the boy gave off. He did not know how he knew but he did.

He was about to set Ms Riddle against him in ways that he was only just about to understand.

He intended to teach her a lesson against stealing and showing her the error of her ways through making her believe she lost everything.

He understood now how she would have perceived it. It would have been a callous act, an act that would have felt more keenly by the orphaned girl who had little of anything. He would have shown himself as a threat, a danger to her, no matter how false the act might have been.

He felt discomfited with himself how closely he was to making a severe mistake. Instead of teaching her a lesson against stealing, he would have taught her a lesson about power and the power he held over her. It was not his place to punish her for actions outside of Hogwarts...actions that he did not know the full story about. 

Given her current predilections, it would have set her in her ways even further.

"The caretaker is not wrong when she describes what you came to see her about but it is incomplete. There is a lack of balance and it is pivotal that you rise to the challenge of altering a terrible path into a path worth living."

He sighed. He was tired. It seemed clear that he needed to change his approach. He would need to be careful in his dealings with the girl. 

"I hope that you answer with wisdom, understanding and kindness" 

He shifted back in front of him and she was watching him intently. He weaved his wand and slowly but surely a crystalline structure began to take form. 

He continued to weave his wand and stopped once it was complete. He created six bluebell flowers, joined, intertwined at the stem made out of hardened coloured glass.

He watched her intently as he conjured the flowers and he saw her eyes gleam in undisguised interest and hunger.

"This was conjuration, an subsection of Transfiguration, the art of changing one thing into another. Conjuration is the creation of something out of air and magic." He said softly as he continued to watch the girl's reaction.

Her eyes never left the floating flowers and Albus gently set it into her hands. She gazed at flowers in a daze.

Bluebells stood for kindness but also for care and humility. 

She snapped out of it and placed the flowers on her bed "When can I learn how to do that?" she said hungrily as excitement took her offer.

He chuckled merrily and smiled at her "You will learn conjuration in your fifth year." He paused and breathed in "At Hogwarts, we will teach you not only how to use magic but also how to control your magic." 

"From your actions" he peered down at her and she stilled as she once again shifted into a mask of wariness and coldness "You already have some measure of control" he continued unfazed "However you have been using it without guidance, without knowing about your magic." He said as he met her eyes

"I understand that your time here at the orphanage has not been easy and your magic has helped you defend yourself." He said slowly as he gauged her reactions "But our world, the magical world has laws, set by the Ministry of Magic, the ministry that governs our nation, that state children cannot use their magic unsupervised."

There was a flash of anger that Albus caught but that quickly masked "Our world is a hidden one, hidden from the mundane. This is a worldwide law, the most important law that is enforced. By you entering our world by agreeing to attend, you will be abiding this." He said calmly.

"I...understand. When will the school start?" She asked evenly.

"The school year begins in September." He took out the envelope from his pocket and stretched out his hand. She tentatively took the envelope and read the contents.

"How will I be able to afford all this? I don't have any money." She said simply.

He smiled at her "There is a Hogwarts fund for those who need assistance to purchase books, robes and other items for your educati-" 

"Where? Where do I buy all this?" she interrupted.

Albus was not amused but he swallowed down his indignation "In Diagon Alley. I will take yo-"

"That's not necessary Professor, I would rather go on my own, once you tell me how to get there" she interrupted once again, forcibly telling Albus.

Albus shook his head "You will not be able to access the fund without my presence." This was not true but she didn't need to know this. He was going to keep an eye on the girl for as long as he could. 

She narrowed her eyes in anger but she quickly changed her face in an unnerving way "Professor, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. Surely you must have better things to do than to help me shop? After all, this list is quite self explanatory. Professor, it's OK, I'm certain I can handle shopping on my own" she smiled falsely, sweetly.

Albus shook his head and smiled at her. He definitely was not going to let her go on her own. Not after the warning. Not after what he has seen from the girl.

"I would be remiss in my duties if I did not accompany you on your shopping Ms Riddle. Please you are not inconveniencing me." He said finally 

Before she could speak "I will be going now. I will be coming to take you to Diagon on your birthday next week."

Albus nodded at her and excused himself from the room. He needed a long calming bath after this ordeal.