Chapter 41

I woke up Monday to Madame Pomfrey insisting I leave the Hospital Wing. Apparently, she needed the bed due to an incident at the last Quidditch Game where Mervyn Wynch, a Fourth Year Hufflepuff and one of the Hufflepuff Beaters took a serious fall after being knocked off his broom by both Bludgers being sent at him at once. He'd apparently fallen on his right leg badly enough to require his shinbone to be vanished and regrown with Skele-Gro, and since my bed was currently the only private bed available, Dumbledore having insisted, and I was clearly now fine, I was sent packing.

I dressed, noticing the pile of cards and candy that had been left at my bedside table by various well-wishers as I did so. I shoveled the small mountain of those into my Mokeskin Pouch before checking to see if the Stone was still there or if Dumbledore had waited until I was out to snatch it from my Mokeskin. Fortunately, as I reached into the Mokeskin pouch and focused on the Philosopher's Stone, I felt my hand close around the rough-cut, gem-like surface and pulled out the crimson stone as I withdrew my hand. Of course, as I did so, I found a small note attached to the back of it with the stickfast hex, reminding me of our deal and signed by Dumbledore.

"I didn't need the note, but at least he kept his word." I muttered, removing the note with a Finite Incantatem, crumpling it up, and tossing it in the bin.

It was true, Dumbledore could have simply kept hold of the Philosopher's Stone or replaced it with a fake or something, but I could feel the magic inherent in the stone as I held it, so this was no fake. Honestly, if he had been the Dumbledore that was always scheming to his own benefit that some people back on Old Earth had made him out to be, that's exactly what he would have done. Honestly, while I wasn't certain he still wouldn't miss the forest for the trees in terms of the human cost of plans at times, the very fact that he'd let me keep the Stone for the time specified in our deal made me positive that at the very least, he was still as benevolent as he'd claimed to be.

Regardless, I made my way out of the Hospital Wing and headed off to my usual Monday tutoring with Magnus Gamp. When I arrived at the Hogwarts Training Grounds, however, I was greeted with unexpected news.

"Good, you're up and ready to go. I have news, Lad. I'll be out of the Country starting in April, so this will likely be the last few tutoring sessions we have, at least this year." Informed Magnus Gamp.

"What? Why?" I questioned.

"I have a life outside of this, you know. If you must ask, it's because I have business to attend to. Family business." Informed Magnus Gamp.

"I thought you were the last of the Gamps?" I queried.

"Not quite. I have a brother, Mortimer, who lives in the United States. He lives in New Orleans in the Houngan Quarter, married to a Manbo. The Magical Comissaire de Police of Nouvelle Orleans has been having issues with Magical Beasts in the sewers attacking Muggles in the Muggle part of the City and has asked Mortimer to consult. Mortimer's worried that it might be a pack of Rougarou in the Sewers and has asked me to help him deal with them." Informed Magnus Gamp.

"We haven't covered Rougarou. What are they, and why does New Orleans have a different Police System than the rest of the Magical United States? Don't they have Rangers like the rest of the Country?" I asked.

"Rougarou are dangerous magical beasts, they're what you get if you take a werewolf, keep their curse always on, and dumb them down to the point where they're no better than particularly clever animals. Actually, it'll be good to brush up on this stuff for my trip, so expect your lessons this week to involve them and the structure of the Magical United States." Informed Magnus Gamp.

So that was a lot of what that week's lessons were about. Apparently, Rougarou were the result of a Vodoun Curse from the seventeenth century. A French Werewolf named Jean-Jacques Corbet savaged the favored grandson of a local Vodoun Manbo, who cursed him so that the beast would forever be dominant over his mind and soul. History doesn't record the Manbo's name, though, because she found herself torn asunder by Rougarou after her curse had taken hold. Apparently, the Manbo hadn't thought it through well enough because the curse piggybacked off the already existent Curse of Lycanthropy and spread along with the Werewolf Curse. Furthermore, the Rougarou could not have their condition ameliorated with Wolfsbane.

The French Duc de la Magie at the Time, Charles the Second of Magical Bourbon, had to order the French Chasseurs de Magie, their version of the British Aurors or American Rangers, to French Lousiana to hunt down the Rougarou before they spread too far. Apparently, they were only partly successful because survivors fled into the Bayous, where there is a population that exists even today. Rougarou are just as strong, fast, and enduring as regular Werewolves, but are entirely bestial. Wolfsbane Potions don't affect them. Fire still will, but they're resistant to most other forms of magical attack.

As for why there's a French System in Magical New Orleans, it turns out that after the American Wizarding Civil War, which was different from the Muggle American Civil War in that it occurred in the eighteen-nineties, the Magical United States reuinified under a far more federal system, with the Central Magical Government in Boston allowing various regional governments practicing regional customs, similar to how the Muggle States Work. Magical Lousiana, Southern Alabama and Missisippi, and the Florida Panhandle all have significant Magical Acadian, Creole, and Cajun populations, and thus their regional government takes on a very French Colonial Character. Magical Acadiana, it's called, and it's one of a few different regional governments of the Magical United States, along with Magical Dixie, the Magical Great Lakes, Magical El Norte, Magical Gran Florida, Magical Deseret, Magical Texas, Magical Cascadia, the Magical Great Plains, and the Federal Zone. There were also several Native Areas that were listed as Native Country and given even further autonomy.

It was all very fascinating, but it also wasn't the only thing that I was taught. Instead, I was given a general overview, and then Magnus Gamp fobbed off the specifics onto a series of history books in order to have time for more lessons. These, it turned out, were the basics of the Magical Ogham Rune System. From Beith, which symbolized renewal and healing, to Iodhadh, which symbolized age, history, and memory, all the way to Emancholl, which symbolized disease, and everything in between. Each Ogham Rune also had a reversed form, which could do other things when paired with the correct Arithmancy. A Reversed Emancholl, when engraved in triplicate, for example, could cure disease, while a Reversed Beith, if engraved in a similar array, would not heal but instead harm.

At the same time, there were more basics of Alchemy to go over. I learned the substitution tables for Basic Alchemy as a prelude to learning a very basic formula for a universal solvent. Apparently, this very basic formula could be tweaked in any number of ways depending on what substitutions you put in. Substitute Ashwinder Blood for the Flobberworm Mucus, and you would get a solution that could burn through most substances like liquid fire. Substitute for Bubotuber Pus, and you would instead get an incredibly sturdy adhesive that would be difficult to unstick even by magic. This was the Advanced Potions section of Alchemy, learning how to substitute ingredients in a recipe without causing a potions failure.

Finally, we continued our sparring practice. Notably, Magnus Gamp kicked things up a notch in order to ensure that I was ready for whatever may come. After all, since I insisted on haring off on wild adventures, I should be able to handle myself if I needed to, especially since things with the Goblins were still extremely tense, pending the delegation the Ministry was sending to King Ragnuk. I still lost, but I was inching closer to starting to draw against him again.

Aside from that, there were still classes to go to. I learned about metamorphing Mandragoras in Herbology Class, something that we only learned the theory of due to danger. It seemed that while Metamorphing Mandragoras were useful sources of potions ingredients, they could be unpredictable at the best of times, due to their propensity to change form. Ironically, that was the same reason why they were so useful as a source of potions ingredients, because they could be induced to change form with the right sort of care. The issue was that if left to grow for just a single day without being tended, they would shift form all on their own, without any input from the Herbologist whatsoever.

"You could be returning from a short trip expecting to harvest Gillyweed for a Potion of Water Breathing when you enter your greenhouse only to be assailed by a screaming Mandrake or electrocuted by a patch of Blue Fungus. Without constant care, such things are completely unpredictable, and as such, makes long-term cultivation infeasable for the vast majority of Wizardkind." Spoke up Professor Sprout.

"But what about House Elves, Professor?" Questioned Susan.

"A very good question, Dear. Five points to Hufflepuff. Indeed, House Elves could be a way to watch over such a plant, provided the Witch or Wizard in question has a competent one that they do not mind going without while on their trip. Sadly, you will often find the sort of Wizard or Witch that keeps a House Elf would prefer the competent ones to stay close to hand most of the time. After all, the Magic that binds them makes having a House Elf that is competent enough to be able to brave the dangers of a Metamorphing Mandragora quite the rarity." Explained Professor Sprout.

"Good help is rather hard to find these days." Snorted Draco, side-eying Crabbe as he did so.

Idly, I wondered if something had happened between Crabbe and Draco while I was in the Hospital Wing over Sunday. Had he screwed up badly enough somehow that Draco hadn't immediately forgiven him? That could be a possible rift to exploit, but then I realized that I didn't care to do so. Both Crabbe and Goyle were so inbred that they seemed to have something of a diminished level of intelligence and initiative. Of course, that tends to happen when you get so inbred within the last few generations that even the Habsburgs would tell you to stop before you speedrun your family's own demise, yet another reason that Pureblood Propaganda was all nonsense and going to lead to problems within the next couple of generations for certain families if they didn't knock off the cosanguinous marriages. Either way, it meant that having Crabbe on my side in a hypothetical event where I could break him away from Draco wasn't as big a plus as you'd think.

Regardless, Herbology Class passed without a practical lesson today, as the Overrun Greenhouse was the only place to find Metamorphing Mandragoras and was considered too dangerous for First Years to enter. Next up was Transfiguration, where we had a light day of reading about various famous Transfiguration accidents in order to warn us off trying to experiment with transfiguration spells we weren't ready for. It sort of reminded me of those old cautionary videos they made you watch in Health Class back in the Sixth Grade of my Old Life to warn you off drugs. I could see it was having similar results in the class, but wasn't sure why we were doing this until I'd heard that Professor McGonagal had been subbing in for Quirrel in teaching Defense, now that Quirrel was unconscious and about to be handed over to the Goblins to be tried in a Goblin Court for the Gringotts Break-In. She probably needed a breather and so had us go through a light week.

Astronomy, meanwhile, was anything but light. Instead of partnering up with Hermione, Padma, or someone for a regular lesson, I found myself taking a pop quiz of sorts. Apparently, with end-of-term exams coming up in slightly less than two months' time, Professor Sinistra wanted to see where we were all at in terms of absorbing her lessons. Apparently, the student with the best marks on the quiz would win their House Fifty Points, while the Runner Up would win twenty-five points, and the Third-Place winner would win ten points. I didn't honestly care too much about House Points, after all, if my Cross-House Study Group had proven anything, it was that the House System was bullshite, to begin with. However, that didn't mean I wouldn't strive for the best marks I could get.

After a single hour of test-taking, frantically scribbling down answers onto the test papers with quill and ink, Professor Sinistra began going through the quizzes. There was an air of uncertainty, anxiety, and excitement buzzing about the various First Years as she did so, complete with hushed conversations and speculation. I wasn't exactly worried, though. Like I said earlier, the House System was all Bullshite anyway. That didn't stop the speculation, though.

"How do you think you did?" Questioned Hermione as my group of friends sat in a circle, waiting for the results.

"I'm fairly confident I got most, if not all, of the answers correct." Sniffed Daphne.

"But how can you be sure?" Queried Hermione.

"I have faith in my abilities. You should try it sometime, there is truly no need to be such a nervous wreck all the time." Opined Daphne.

"Really, Hermione. You're probably the smartest of all of us. I'm sure you did fine." Insisted Millie.

"What about you? How'd you do?" Asked Susan.

"I may have had a bit of trouble figuring out the longitude and latitude problem." Admitted Millie.

"Lucky you. I'm pretty sure I missed a bunch of Questions." Scowled Ron.

"It's not the end of the World, Mate." Insisted Harry.

"Maybe not for you. I don't have being the Boy-Who-Lived to fall back on. If I did badly, I'll catch an earful from my Mum." Sighed Ron.

"Your Mum sounds like my Gran." Mumbled Neville.

"And how did you do, Neville?" Questioned Tracey.

"I think I got most of them. I might be wrong, though. I was a bit iffy on when the Sun Passes Through Taurus in time for the Ritual of Summer's Renewal." Admitted Neville.

"April twentieth to May twentieth." Answered Padma.

"I think that's right, though I was a bit iffy myself." Remarked Terry.

"No, it's right." Insisted Padma.

"How do you know?" Queried Hannah Abbot.

"Blaise told me." Shrugged Padma.

"Is that so? How do you think you did, Blaise?" Asked Daphne.

"Does it matter?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?" Queried Susan.

"Yeah, Mate. There's House Points on the line." Insisted Harry.

"Slytherin's already in the lead, though." Pointed out Susan.

"Sure, but we've made up a lot of ground." Hedged Hermione.

"Gryffindor's still behind by a decent margin, though. We need all the points we can get." Sighed Harry.

"I don't see why that means that Blaise isn't concerned, though." Huffed Daphne.

"Because I have faith in you, Daphne." I shrugged.

"Come on, that can't be it. We know you better." Intoned Millie.

"Et tu, Millie?" I grinned.

"What?" Asked Harry.

"It's Latin. I think." Frowned Susan.

"It is. From Julius Caesar. Shakespeare." Informed Hermione.

"The Muggle Playwright?" Questioned Terry.

"Yep." I nodded.

"I wonder how you know that? No offense, Blaise, but if you were going to read a Muggle Play, I'd have thought it would've been an Italian one." Queried Tracey.

"What can I say? I appreciate the witticisms." I shrugged.

"You know that Shakespeare wrote for the Common People, right?" Asked Hannah Abbot.

"I do. That doesn't make it not witty." I smirked.

"All right, so Muggle Playwrights aside, how do you think you did?" Questioned Padma.

"Yeah, I want to know." Nodded Millie.

"I'm pretty sure I did fairly well. I only say it doesn't matter because the House System is bunk anyway." I answered.

"Explain." Demanded Daphne.

"What's to explain? It's Blaise." Queried Ron.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Hermione.

"It means he's a Doylem." Chuckled Susan.

"Which is Geordie-speak for what exactly?" Questioned Harry.

"It means he's an idiot, though I doubt Susan meant it in quite that way." Offered Hannah.

"I don't know. Sometimes, I don't really feel all that Gryffindorish. Maybe he's onto something?" Questioned Neville.

"This time, I doubt it." Refuted Terry.

"Yeah, the House System is traditional." Insisted Padma.

"Maybe that's the problem?" Asked Millie.

"Got it in one. The House System may have been a good idea a thousand years ago, but times have changed, and nobody has looked at it for long enough to see it's doing more harm than good because of that tradition." I nodded.

"You're gonna have to give us more than that." Pressed Tracey.

"Quite." Huffed Daphne.

"Well, think about it. If our Cross-House Study Group has proven anything, it's that when we pool our resources and knowledge across house lines, everyone just gets that much more skilled. Then, there's the issue of stereotyping. Before most of you met those of us in this group that are Slytherins, what was your impression of Slytherin House?" I prompted.

"Slimy No-good Snakes." Frowned Ron.

"A lot of Potential Dark Lords in one house." Admitted Susan.

"Nothing good." Spoke Neville.

"See? There are other stereotypes for the other houses, too. Ravenclaws tend to get all lumped in together as anti-social bookworms, for instance, while Gryffindors are all bluster and action without thought in the minds of some folks. The less said about some of the unflattering things I've heard about Hufflepuff, the better." I continued.

"Like what?" Questioned Hannah.

"Yes, I'd quite like to know as well." Added Hermione.

"You really don't." Tried Tracey.

"I think we do." Insisted Harry.

"That you're the house of leftovers and borderline squibs who are propped up by a few good Witches and Wizards who somehow fell through the cracks in the system and wound up in a House of Burnouts." Informed Terry.

"It's true. And that's the nice way certain circles put things." Nodded Millie.

"None of those are strictly true, but because nobody ever seems to socialize outside their house for the seven years they're at Hogwarts, people take them at face value." I agreed.

Before I could continue this line of conversation, however, Professor Sinistra spoke up, informing us all that she was finished grading the quizzes and that there were two papers with perfect marks. Hermione's obviously, and my own. She awarded us both the fifty points, allowing Slytherin to maintain its lead, for all that I cared. Second Place was Daphne, who earned another twenty-five points for Slytherin, thanks to that, while in Third Place, Harry Potter earned ten points for Gryffindor. Once the quizzes were graded and points given out, however, we were dismissed from Astronomy Class for the week.

That was how classes turned out, which left clubs and training in my downtime. I only went to Potions Club and the Cross-House Study Group this week, skipping Dueling Club to head to the Hogwarts Library to look into various Herbicidal Charms in preparation for my run at the Overgrown Greenhouse and my attempt to gain a cutting for myself of a Metamorphing Mandragora. Potions Club had us brewing something called Goblin Blinder Oil. Professor Snape was there and addressed the room before the Club got going.

"As some of you might have heard, the Dunderheads at the Ministry have completely bottled negotiations with the Goblins. Headmaster Dumbledore is currently trying to negotiate a way out of this personally, but it appears it will be an uphill battle, even for him. That being so, I have decided to teach a potion of my own devising. One of the potions I came up with in my younger, more dunderheaded years as a student here. It may be paired with a disillusionment charm to eliminate your scent as well, particularly as it involves goblins." Informed Professor Snape.

"Professor, why would we need something to hide our scent? Aren't goblins more or less the same as wizards, just smaller, with less magic, and more ugly?" Queried a Fourth-Year Ravenclaw, Elspeth MacGillony.

"Would it interest you to learn, Miss MacGillony, that they are not? There are many reasons that Goblins do not require wands to be a threat should they rebel. One such reason is that their senses of sight, smell, and hearing are quite sharp indeed. Much more so than even the most sharp-eyed, nosed, or eared Witch or Wizard. Indeed, not only are Goblin Eyes adapted to the low light of their caverns, but they are also six to eight times better than the average Wizard, similar to that of a Cat's. Their hearing is less acute, only being two to three times better than the average Wizard's, but it is their sense of smell that is best of them all. They have the sort of sense of smell that only a dog or wolf might compete with." Explained Professor Snape.

"I see." Frowned Elspeth Macgillony.

"Indeed. Should the Headmaster fail to reach an accord and the Goblins Rebel, going unnoticed from any Goblin Warbands will prove difficult. Hence why I am teaching you this potion. To any who sought to smell you out, you will simply smell like a generic piece of stone. This goes for anyone, but it also goes for Goblins. Unlike the Dwarves of Scandinavia, they cannot tell different types of stone apart, as they simply do not have the same inbuilt proficiency with Earth Magics, even if they are similar enough in their ability to craft artifice. Sadly, I can do little for your ability to escape their sense of hearing, however, should you be able to cast a Disillusionment Charm, that should take care of their sense of sight." Nodded Professor Snape.

And with that, he sat back down and let us get to work. The recipe was fairly simple, the only tricky part was that you had to add the crushed stone no less and no more than five minutes after you added the peppermint oil, or you would cause a potions failure. This was accomplished by me simply counting in my head to get the timing down. Thankfully, anyone who was able to be in Potions Club this late in the year without being kicked out was someone competent enough with potions to do likewise, and nobody had any potions failures in this meeting. When time was up, I bottled several vials of a dull gray oil for later use.

Of course it would prove uneccesary as the next day we got word that Headmaster Dumbledore had managed to broker a last-second deal with the Goblins by essentially capitualting to all their demands and a full-on war was avoided, but tensions were still extremely high and could boil over even with that if someone did something stupid, so there was no sense getting rid of the oil vials or notes. In fact, even if things were completely calm, I likely would have kept them. You never knew when having to evade a Goblin would be something you would need to do, after all.

As for the Cross-House Study Group, I spent most of my time this week learning the Sanskrit Runic System from Padma and Parvati. Some were put off by my insistence on only teaching for a single hour so I could get the basics down, but others got it. Even still, I only managed to learn part of the Sanskrit Runic System, from Aum, the Sanskrit Rune meaning Breath and which was associated with Mystical Energy, the Universe, and the Divine Truth, to Aim, the Symbol of Saraswati and which was associated with that Goddess and her many portfolios. I would have to come back over the next few weeks to learn the rest, including the Theory behind them, in order to make them into usable arrays. After all, I still needed to take time to teach others.

As for my downtime, the Book I found in the Hogwarts Library was called To Cull the Cultivars by Beaumont Marjoribanks Esquire. In it, there were a number of charms that could be performed to kill plants, specifically, even magical ones, though they would render the plants killed in such a way magically inert after casting. That simply meant I would have to take a cutting at some point before clearing the Overgrown Greenhouse. In the time I had, I could learn two of these charms. The First was the Blight Ray Hex with the incantation Uredo Rabius and a simple flick and point of the wand. If successfully cast, it should fire a beam of necrotic energy specifically attuned to plant life. Supposedly, it was harmless to animals and inorganic matter, which was why it wasn't considered dark.

The second one was the Dehydration Curse, with the incantation Siccus Culmus and a wand motion of a quarter circle and point. If performed correctly, it would dry out whatever it was pointed at, something fatal to plant life, but only harmful to a Witch or Wizard. It could be used to completely kill a small animal or a toddler, however, as they didn't have the requisite body mass to avoid dying from the spell, which was why it was considered a Curse, if not the darkest one. Honestly, it was about as dark as a Confringo, and the Blasting Curse was taught at Hogwarts, albeit not till Fifth Year, usually.

Aside from that, I kept up my practice with the Mind Arts while also studying with the Stone. The Craftsman's Tradition had a recipe for True Orichalcum that required Gold Made from a Philosopher's Stone and Alluvial Copper in order to create. I could purchase the latter and now had a way to create the former, though if Dumbledore asked, and I knew he would, I would have to explain myself. Likely, I wouldn't be able to produce more than a single set of armor with what Dumbledore would allow me to make. In fact, there were designs in here for Lorica Squamata Scale Armor in the Roman Fashion that I could crib off of. Now that I thought about it, I could likely use these scales as a lining to my Tebo-hide duster for a fourth of the material cost of something like a full suit of plate armor.

I already had plans to acquire dragonhide for another duster in the future, likely between my third and fourth year, but adding these scales, plus this recipe for the Alchemical Pelle Dell'armatura Salve, supposedly relayed to Magister Salernus, an Alchemist of the Salerno School about two and a half centuries before the Compromise of Lipari, by an Old Norse Wizard in ten-eighty-five, who himself received the recipe from the Dwarves of Scandinavia before they went isolationist. Magister Salernus then used the recipe as collateral with the Goblins of the Time to purchase a large portion of the Peverell Estate after faking his death in eleven-sixty-seven to retire and live out his remaining decade of life in England, where no one knew him. It apparently not only toughened leather to a level where wearing a leather jerkin was as protective as if you were wearing mail by curing the leather with the salve, but also enhanced any other properties of the leather.

Combined with Dragonhide Leather and a True Orichalcum Scale backing? That would be as protective as Goblin Silver armor, and that was before adding other enchantments. Plus, it would necessitate me making fewer ingots of Gold than Dumbledore would yell at me for making from the Philosopher's Stone in order to create. It would likely be the most potent single piece of equipment I could make, and it would be the work of a few years to gather all the necessary components for it. There was no time like the present to start, however.

Accordingly, I began producing ingots with the Philosopher's Stone, just enough to give three times what I needed for a Duster Scale Backing. That should allow me to avoid condemnation from Dumbledore while also giving me enough material to reinforce my Tebo Hide Duster and reinforce my future Dragonhide Duster while having enough leftover material to tinker with in the meantime. I needed the ingots for the True Orichalcum Scale Component, of course, but that by itself wouldn't be the only rare component. There was also the matter of Dragonhide for the Final Duster, plus some of the rare components for the Pelle Dell'armatura Salve, which required the petals of a Baltic Fern Flower, a rare and expensive magical reagent that was only harvestable on Midsummer's Eve and which were usually found in places of high spiritual energy, meaning you would have to fight off a bevy of spirits to harvest it. Fortunately, the Metamorphing Mandragora would cover for that. Unfortunately, there was another thing I needed in order to get the duster where I wanted it.

One of the enchantments in the Craftsman's Tradition required a Greater Toadstone to successfully cast, but those were only found among the Fae, generally, you had to either befriend a Fae Noble, who had the pull to get one, or slay an Adult Water Leaper, a type of Carnivorous, Malevolent, Fae that made its home in marshes and swamps, a hybrid of frog, bat, and serpent which could swallow a cow whole. An adult wizard would have a challenging, if ultimately victorious, battle against such a being, as they weren't that powerful as fae went, but they'd been known to devour similarly adult muggle fishermen. I knew where to find one. There was a section of Angelsey, deep in the Malltreath Marsh, where Water Leapers could be found without going too far into Fae Territory. It would be a difficult prospect if I wanted to get this done by Fourth Year, though.

However, the enchantment provided absolute proof against all deleterious, but non-immediately fatal effects such as poison, disease, or even certain spells such as the weakening, deterioration, or confusion hexes, as well as Confundus Charms and Obliviation. It had even been able to provide a limited shield against the effects of the Cruciatus and Imperius Curses, which, when combined with a Strong Grasp of Occlumency, should provide an absolute shield. It was a must-have enchantment, as it would help provide an absolute shield against two out of three unforgivables when added to my Occlumency.

Eventually, however, I would have to stop planning for a future artifact and just go to bed. That happened after I made enough Gold Ingots to produce two Dusters' Worth of True Orichalcum Scale Ingots. That finished, I drank my Bluemoon Grass Elixir and hit the hay. As I lay down to sleep, expecting to be able to enter my dreamscape, I instead found myself pulled into a vision.

Once again, I would see a vision of doom, though not any of the ones I was used to. . .

XXXX

Frowning, instead of my dreamscape, I found myself in a closed room. All the windows had their curtains drawn, leaving the only light to come from the green witchlights that had been placed around the room. It gave everything a sinister glow that bathed the room in shadows. Frowning, I looked around to take in my surroundings and found only that wherever it was, it was clearly a mansion of some sort. Oak Paneled walls and rich velvet carpets sort of gave that away, but it wasn't any mansion I was used to seeing.

It was only when two men walked in that I finally realized where it was that I was seeing. The First, I didn't recognize. A squat, pig-eyed Man with pallid skin. The Second I did recognize, though. The long, platinum-blonde hair, pale grey eyes, and pointed face of Lucius Malfoy made its appearance. This must be Malfoy Manor, then, which likely meant that the Human Pig must either be one of Lucius' Death Eater Compatriots or a Sycophant. As the Sight wouldn't have shown me a meeting with the latter, that had to mean this Unknown Wizard was a Death Eater. The question is, why would Lucius be meeting with one now? I suspected I would find out shortly.

"Amycus, I shall be blunt with you, as you appreciate candor. When the Ministry came for us after our Master disappeared, I entrusted you and your sister with something extremely precious to our Master, as he entrusted it to me. I could not be captured with it on my person, as it would surely spell my end and give away our Master's Secrets, nor could I flee with you, as my identity had been known. You recall what I am speaking of, yes?" Began Lucius.

"I do. The Diary." Nodded the Piggy Wizard, Amycus.

"You and your sister avoided capture and laid low in your country estate until such a time as the War had faded from recent memory. Do you still possess the Diary?" Questioned Lucius.

"I do. However, I fail to see why you are bringing it up. What use could an Old Diary be now? Our Master is gone." Queried Amycus.

"Nevertheless, Amycus, I must have that Diary returned to me." Insisted Lucius.

"What for?" Asked Amycus.

"Simply put, I have been. . .let us say enlightened to its necessity. Should plans go well, you will know the reason in full." Intoned Lucius.

"Very well, Lucius. It will take me some time to retrieve it, however. A rogue group of Werewolves has taken up residence on the Moors near the Estate I have it secreted in, and that is a more pressing issue for me at present." Informed Amycus.

"Do not trouble yourself over a few stray dogs. I will have Greyback deal with them. The Diary is more important." Pressed Lucius.

"I see. In that case, I can have the Diary returned to you as soon as Greyback deals with the Rogues." Nodded Amycus.

"See that you do." Intoned Lucius.

And with that, Amycus was escorted back out of Malfoy Manor. Without the Sight showing me the outside, however, I couldn't quite tell when this was meant to take place besides sometime over the summer, as I caught a glimpse of Draco as Lucius escorted Amycus out. Draco was apparently in the middle of a tutoring session with what appeared to be an Older Wizard who spoke with a German Accent and appeared to have been Old Enough to have fought in both the Necromancer's War and Grindelwald's War. It wasn't until I heard him be called Rittmaster Von Todesicht that I realized who it was. He was mentioned several times in the Book I'd received on the Necromancer's War, one of the Captains of the Freiburg Circle under Aloysius Kemmler, the Despoiler of Moronvilliers, which had been occupied by the Germans at the outset of the First World War and destroyed during the fighting in nineteen-fourteen.

It was one of the first places that the Freiburg Circle had raised the dead of, being one of the few towns to have been completely raised and made into the undead. And it had been this man who had done it. Nor had that been Von Todesicht's only work of note, as he'd also managed to slay an entire company of French Wizarding Chasseurs with battle magic alone during the Wizarding Component of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Nineteen-Sixteen, after the Chaussers led his band of Skeleton Ritters into the teeth of a Muggle Artillery Bombardment which blew them to pieces. He was also responsible for pushing the Wizarding lines all the way just short of the rail terminus northwest of Cachy, farther than the muggle ones, and even raided the Rue des Voyants, the magical section of Amiens. He'd managed to escape capture only to turn up again in Syria during Grindelwald's War, whipping up a Sandstorm for Grindelwald's Muggle Puppets and raising a Legion of Skeletal Forces to help the Vichy Troops. The Arrival of British Aurors under the command of Charlus Potter helped to turn the tide, and Todesicht had gone back into hiding.

As impressed as I was that Lucius had tracked down such a tutor for his son, the Sight didn't stay on that scene for long, following Lucius back into the darkened Room. Once there, he unveiled a mirror and revealed a pair of slit-pupilled eyes peering out from a hazy form in the mirror. The voice that echoed out of the mirror was unmistakably Voldemort's.

"You are retrieving the Diary?" Questioned the Voice of Voldemort.

"Of course, Master. Rest assured, we will use it to ensure your return." Bowed Lucius.

"You had better. Your pet Necromancer may have enchanted you a mirror that can communicate with my Spirit, but doing so is becoming tiresome. I require a body in order to truly return to my proper glory." Hissed Voldemort.

"Do you have a preference, My Lord?" Queried Lucius.

"No. I will simply transfigure a suitable appearance once I have gained complete control. Likewise, you need not worry about magical ability. My own will supplant the Host's soon enough once I attain full control." Informed Voldemort.

"Very well, My Lord. It shall be done." Nodded Lucius.

"See that it is, else when I do return, you will not enjoy the consequences of inaction." Warned Voldemort.

"Of course, My Lord. As you will." Bowed Lucius.

The Mirror stilled before Lucius exited the darkened room to enter an office, rubbing a red, angry scar on his inner forearm as he did so before sitting down and pouring himself a glass of brandy out of a crystal decanter.

"The Dark Mark always aches when I speak with him through the Mirror. What can I do, though?" Asked Lucius to empty air.

Then he took a big pull from his glass of Brandy before frowning, putting the glass down with a nod and a determined look in his eye. He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a box that he opened with a specific incantation. Removing the lid revealed a mirror that brimmed with mystical power.

"No, I must see this through if I am to truly rule. Once My Lord has had his fill of Britain, he will move on to other conquests, leaving me to rule in his stead. There is simply no other way for the House of Malfoy to truly ascend." Growled Lucius.

Then he tapped the mirror in several places, and it flashed with light. As the light receded, a hairy, bestial-looking Man appeared inside the frame. That had to be whoever Greyback was. He looked like the type of guy who would deal with Rogue Werewolves.

"Fenrir, I have a job for you. You will be paid your standard rate, plus you may be able to pick up a few fresh converts for your cause." Intoned Lucius.

"I'm listening." Rumbled Greyback.

Then I was pulled out of my vision by the chiming of my alarm. . .

XXXX

As I woke up, I felt wet. Putting a hand to my bedsheets revealed I had sweated through them from the Vision. Apparently, showing that much of a detailed vision was something extremely taxing on the Sight, and I felt an ache in the back of my head along with in my soul, warning me against attempting to exert myself with the Sight any time soon. That meant training with the Mind Arts this week outside of the stock Leglimency and Occlumency would need to be kept to the basics. I clearly just wasn't an experienced enough seer to handle the strain of such a long, detailed vision without consequences yet.

It did tell me a few things, notably, that Lucius had engaged an infamous tutor for Draco over the Summer, which meant not great things for when the terms of my duelling wager with Draco expired at the start of next year. It also showed me that because of that Tutor, somehow Lucius was able to communicate with Voldemort's Spirit, which also meant he was being directed instead of having his plots be less focused, like I remembered. Finally, the Diary was on track to be a thing I had to deal with next year. Any of these by themselves would be an issue, but all three together? Well, I would need to step up my game if I wanted to keep myself and my friends alive.

Grumbling to myself under my breath, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and hit the floor. There was nothing for it but to keep on moving and just hope that I could study up to be able to deal with what was coming next year. Part of that was attending tutoring with Magnus Gamp, which meant getting out of bed, no matter how much overexerting my Sight like that felt like I'd pulled a muscle in my brain.

There truly was no rest for the weary. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here's the next chapter. While yes, this chapter confirms a number of things, such as the Dairy still being the main plot of Book Two, it also has a number of alterations. While the Goblins have made peace, as per the last interlude, tensions are still high, even with Dumbledore effectively giving them what they want. At the same time, Lucius is actively in contact with Voldemort's Disembodied Spirit right now, helping to direct his plotting so he can get a body.

As for why Blaise doesn't know who Amycus Carrow and Fenrir Greyback are, remember, he only has metaknowledge of the Books up until the End of Goblet of Fire. Neither Amycus Carrow nor Fenrir Greyback show up until after that point, and he's not exactly a student of recent British Wizarding History to understand who either is. After all, to the average British Wizard, Amycus Carrow is just some Pureblood since neither he nor Alecto were ever caught or had their Identities Exposed, and only the Aurors really know who Fenrir Greyback is, well, them and the Werewolf Community.

At any rate, the next chapter is going to go over the remaining two weeks in March before getting to the First Week of April, where we'll have a few events, such as Blaise's Birthday and the attempt on the Overgrown Greenhouse to get the Metamorphing Mandragora cutting.

Stay tuned. . .