31. Boot Camp
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
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The next day, after having my evening tea, I stand on the edge of the cliff that holds the Slytherin Castle, waiting for the sun to set. I had 4 days remaining before I'm to show up in London for my recruitment. Until then, I was going to just relax, because I know, that once my training begins, I won't get to rest more than a few hours.
Well, I have my Time Slower, so I can get a few more hours of sleep if I want, but I'm not going to do that.. too much. I wanted a proper Military experience, with minimal magic use, even to rest my body a bit longer.
As the sun starts setting, I see something rise out of the waters of the Irish sea, something big. It rises completely above the water, showing me the full size of it, and making me blink at the pleasant surprise. It was a snake, about 3 meters long, and half a foot thick, with three horns atop it's head.
Followed by the single bigger flying snake, 7 smaller snakes, barely a foot long, fly out of the water, and follow after the bigger snake in coming towards me.
~~Hello, Sly. Welcome back.~~ I greet, as the Horned Serpent lands on the ground behind me, the smaller snakes right behind him.
Sly, my Horned Serpent friend. True to his word, Sly hadn't become my pet. He had stayed in the Slytherin Castle for a few months, after his.. evolution, and then left for the oceans. He returned to the Castle, once every few months, because he can't always stay underwater, and I'm just glad to catch him this time.
~~Wizard!~~ Sly greets, a happy undertone to his voice, and then turns towards the smaller snakes, that were looking at me with curiosity.
I'd met these snakes before, just once, when Sly brought them to me for a meeting. Well, he stayed around Slytherin Castle for a few days, knowing I have charms put up to inform me of his arrival.
Sly had found a mate, obviously not for life, in a Sea Serpent. And these were his babies, all 7 of them. Half Sea Serpent, and half Horned Serpent. I wonder what this new breed of snakes will do.
~~It's fortunate that you came here today. I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving for a while, a few years. I won't be able to come here for as long as I do now.~~ I say, petting a baby snake that came to rest on my head.
They're almost a year old now, but thanks to their two times Magical parentage, of different breeds, they age a lot slower than normal. Sly hasn't fully grown up yet either, so they have a long way to go.
Sly blinks his eyes at me, and asks, ~~What is it? Do you need my help?~~
Chuckling, I raise my hand to hold Sly's head. Scratching his cheek gently, I say, ~~This is a Human matter, Sly. You'll have to stay invisible, for years if you come with me. Just.. stay with your family, and enjoy your life.~~
Sly nods, enjoying my scratching, and says, ~~As you wish, Wizard. Did you bring the Basilisk meat with you? I wanted my snakes to try it.~~
I eye him warily, and ask, ~~Do you plan on getting addicted to it again?~~
The last time he'd eaten the Basilisk flesh, he had gotten.. fat. Obese, more like. I don't want to risk him getting addicted to it again.
Sly innocently blinks at me, and says, ~~Never! I just want my children to try the majestic meat of the so called King of Snakes.~~
Sure enough, hearing us talk about the Basilisk meat, the other baby snakes immediately become silent, and join Sly in staring at me with anticipation. Fuck! Can't deny these cuties.
Shaking my head, I raise my left hand into the air, to the curiosity of the snakes present, and conjure some of the Basilisk meat from it's hidden place. I say conjure, but I just switched out the empty air here with the piece of preserved meat in a Personal Dimension.
I'd already cut the Basilisk up, separating everything like I was supposed to. This then went into a Personal Dimension connected to my own Magic, which allowed me to store and take out anything within it, without anyone knowing of it.
Waving my hand, I use Telekinesis to split the slab of meat in 9 pieces, two equally bigger than the rest, and float 8 of them in front of the 8 snakes.
~~Well? What are you waiting for, children? Eat up!~~ Sly yells, to the excitement of the kiddie snakes, and swallows the Entire piece in one bite. Glad I didn't bring more out. Taking the remaining piece of Basilisk meat, I throw it into the air, towards the ocean, and see a snake bigger than even Sly catch it in it's mouth.
The Sea Serpent, Sly's current mate.
~~Enjoy your stay here, Sly. I'll leave you to it. And don't break anything!~~ I say, and create a portal back to the Aves Manor.
~~Goodbye, Wizard.. Mason. Don't die.~~ Sly says, waving his tail at my retreating form.
I'd already said my goodbyes to everyone, even Dorea, the Potters, and the Flamels. But now, time to go to war.
-
4 days later, I sit in the Recruitment office in London, in my shorts, waiting for my turn to be examined, and then interviewed.
I'd taken an early bus here, and reached at just 8:15 AM. Thankfully, the recruitment examination had already begun, so I wasn't too early.
About 30 of us potential recruits were sitting on long benches, all of us wearing just shorts, with many of us holding news papers that were provided to cure the boredom, and to take our minds off of our fear of bombs, that was still there a year after the attacks stopped.
The Blitz. It was a dangerous period in the lives of Londoners, more so the ones living in the City. For a period of 8 months, the Nazis kept on dropping bombs on us, sometimes in the night, and sometimes in broad daylight.
No one knew if we'd be alive the next day, when we slept. Thankfully, neither my Islington house, or the Orphanage, were harmed beyond a few wall cracks, by the bombs. I'd cast a permanent Praesidio Ward around my Islington home, as soon as the Blitz began, which caused much of the debris to just slide right off.
Unfortunately, the aftershocks still caused some damage to the walls, which I had to repair. I did help out in finding the survivors, and in bandaging them up, and I have to say, it was depressing. If it wasn't for the knowledge that the War will be over in a few years, I would have lost my will to live. Many did.
But, the people were healing from it, mostly because there hasn't been a bombing for many months.
Soon, I get called in for Medical Examination, and 10 minutes of probing and prodding later, along with taking samples of my blood, the Doctor sends me off to the Recruitment Officer with a preliminary result in hand.
"Mason Aves.. Mason Aves.. Mason Aves.. found it. You're a student, hm? Explains why you didn't apply before now. You have your letter?" The Officer says, going through my file, which they already have on me.
I hand him my Conscription letter, and say, "Yes sir. I just got my letter now, or I would have signed up in '39 itself."
He ignores the letter, and asks, "You're a medic? Or going to school to be? Imperial College is a good school, innit? Why not wait to finish school before joining?"
Nodding, I say, "It is, sir. And I did start my school to be a Doctor, but I don't think I'll be suitable to be a Medic in this War. And waiting isn't an option, because the war has already been fought for 3 years. The drafting just gives me an excuse to get off my arse and do something."
"Why not a Doctor? You could make some good there as a Doctor." The officer asks, ignoring the other statements.
I say, "I have studied Medicine for just 4 years, with my two final years remaining. I don't have any experience, since we don't get to start actually training until our final year. I don't want to risk me messing things up when someone more competent could save a life if they were in my place."
The officer keeps staring at me, as I lie to his face. I wasn't going to be a War time Medic, not at all. I wanted to be in the thick of it, go to battles. And it's not a sense of adventure talking, but it is a sense for justice.
Not exactly a Healer thing to say, but the Nazis have pissed me off, a lot.
Plus, I won't get to meet Steve effing Rogers while sitting in a tent.
"You're lucky we need Infantry more than we need Medics right now. The situation could change anytime though, so, I'll still mark you down as a prospective Combat Medic. They'll train you to be good enough, don't worry." The officer says, and stamps Approved on my form.
Handing it to me, he says, "Take this, and show it to the officer on counter number 3. He'll give you your ticket to the Camp. Good luck, soldier."
Standing up, I sloppily salute him, making him chuckle, and walk out the door. Guess I'll be a Medic in war, but being a Combat Medic is leagues better than staying in the tent.
-
From the London office, I go back home, with the train leaving for camp in two days, after which, I leave for the training camp.
Alongside me, were 20 other recruits, in a train to Durham at King's Cross Station. From Durham, we were taken to the Brancepeth Camp for our training. They were all muggles, which I expected, since even I had to go through a lot of troubles to be able to take part in this war.
The most Wizards that I'll meet in this War, if I do, are either going to be Muggleborn, or Grindelwald's soldiers, and they are not mutually exclusive.
At Durham Station, a Corporal was already there waiting for us, shouting to gain our attention. He then took us outside to a bus, taking which, we went on a 6-7 kilometres drive to the camp.
The camp was already pretty busy when we got there, with a lot of people marching from one place to another, wearing some pretty hideous army uniform. Great, I'll have to wear that.
The Brancepeth Camp had wooden buildings, as well as cloth tents all around it, for Rooms, Kitchens, Bathrooms, etc. There were various training grounds, including a few further into the woods for grenade training.
All in all, it was what you'd expect to see in any military training camp.
We were given a single tent for 10 people each, with a cot, bed, covers, a single small table for our belongings, and a few mirrors already available. The bathroom was a big one, common for all of us.
We were also given a knife, spoon, and fork, for lunches and dinners, that we had to take care of by ourselves. Since I've been preparing my own food, and washing utensils for years now, alongside Blinky, it wasn't a chore to me.
The first day was a bit awkward, since people were still in the getting to know each other stage. In my tent, were boys from all around the UK, with a boy, Harry from Ireland, being the youngest. He was just 18, having turned 18 barely a month ago.
Then there were Jack, Niall, James, Charles, Louis, Liam, Kurt, and Tom, many of whom were about my age. They also had waited until getting a letter to begin their service, which is understandable.
Our food was bland, as we expected. There were boiled potatoes, which were seasoned with the tiniest amount of spices and salt, along with a scoop of wet rice, and a single slice of bread.
Honestly, what did I expect?
We were shown the ropes for the first few days, given a schedule for our training, and chores. And we were expected to do chores, including cooking food for everyone in the camp. There was a schedule, for which tent cooks food for the day, and our time came on every sunday.
There were 70 recruits in the camp, divided in groups of 10 for better management. But, the camp was never completely calm. There was always someone training, either for digging trenches, climbing ropes, trees, mountains, or just to travel during the night.
Then there was the day training, like crawling through the mud, marching around everywhere with 10 or so Kgs of weight constantly on your body, rifle training, digging, basic weapons maintenance, and a soft medic training for a few of us, who were marked as prospective medics.
Sometimes, we would go into the woods to practice throwing grenades, some of which would be live to keep us on guard at all times. It was always one thing or the other, we literally weren't allowed to stop for a single minute.
Everyday, from 6 AM, to lights out at 10 PM, for hours and hours, we would keep training one thing or another, using "falling into the mud" as an excuse to get split seconds of rest, and to cool our bodies a bit. It was.. awful, if sobering.
The only other rest we got was for supper time, and when we were in lectures. And there were lectures, for military tactics, taking orders, some basic codes, and my medic training.
All in all, the training experience was showing itself to be wonderful, if tiresome. Excluding the worst food I've ever eaten, I was actually enjoying my life here. And I was going to stay here for 6 months, until I was given my orders of Service.
-
September, 1942:
The next few months of my training go in a fixed routine, the only changes to it being the daily schedule changes.
We would wake up at 6 AM, have breakfast, shower, and get ready before 6:30 in the Uniform they provided us with, wearing our rifles on our backs in attention position, all before our Drill Sargent enters our room to pick us up.
Then, we would start our day with a slow paced jog around the Camp, while the Sargent told us things to repeat, which sometimes would even be poems. Then came rifle training, where we were taught how to shoot our rifles, pistols, and an SMG, and how to clean and maintain the weapons.
After lunch, our time was divided into either Combat training, which I excelled at thanks to my experience in fighting rings, and obstacle run. Out of the 12 hours that we trained, we barely sat down for a few minutes, let alone rest, not counting the time we took for eating, obviously.
But, I was going through it, because I need to. Don't want to get caught off guard because I expected War to be too easy, and while this training is hard, it is something everyone needs. Prepare for the worst, as they say.
We were also given inoculations against some common diseases found in War time. It was needed, because why let Cholera kill your soldier, when he can die off bullets while killing enemies instead?
From marching everywhere, to throwing Grenades further and further away, on time, to hitting targets while laying prone, sitting, standing and running, to killing enemies with your knife, fists, and any weapon they can think of. Everything was done so that we can turn into better soldiers, into better killers. Hopefully, they won't need to explain to anyone that we should only kill enemies, and this time, it's Nazis, Fascists and the Japanese.
During my Fourth month at Brancepeth, as I was having dinner, I momentarily still as I get a ping from one of my alarm charms, one I'd been expecting for this entire year and a half, and continue eating as if nothing's wrong.
Someone was in the Chamber of Secrets, someone that wasn't me. And there can be only one culprit who can do it, and will do it after school's curfew has already begun. I look at the clock hanging on the wall, and see that it's just 9:30 PM.
I wait for a few hours, keeping an eye on the clock in between. Once everyone in my room is asleep, I walk towards the loo, and apparate to my Fidelius protected Aves Manor.
Once inside the wards, I remove my pocket watch from my Personal Dimension, and take a moment to smile, still amazed by the Enchantment that I managed to do. My Pocket Watch. My Time Watch.
This.. was an artefact of Magic, as well as a Relic of Sorcery. It shows time, as watches do, but it also has more.. features. Clicking the button atop it, I check the time, and see that there's a minute to 1 AM. 4 hours then.
Holding the pocket watch in front of me, I click a very small spot on the surface with the nail of my left thumb, which contains an invisible activation Rune, hidden from sight. The activation rune creates a Complex Runic circle above the Pocket watch, that is golden in colour. There are 16 runes in a circle, and these Runes are the ones that decide the function of the watch.
Spinning the circle by touching it with my right hand, the Watch still held in the left palm, I set the timer as 4 hours, set my destination as default, and activate it. As soon as I activate the Artefact, the Runic circle moves away from my hand, and goes towards the wall nearest to me.
It sticks to the wall, and starts spinning. Within two seconds, the section of the wall inside the circle disappears, and transforms into a portal. The portal shows no destination on the other side, however, and is just plain black in colour.
Without waiting, I jump through the portal, and come out inside my Forge, in the Chamber of Secrets. Almost as soon as I step through the portal, it disappears into thin air, its job done. Clicking the button on the watch, I open it up, and see the time as 9 PM. I still have half an hour, good.
The Pocket watch was my very own Time Turner, that I made for myself after finding the Sands of Time in the Slytherin Vault. I could go back anywhere from 1 hour, to 12 hours, using the Time Watch, by creating a portal to take me anywhere I want. It can probably go further away, but I haven't tried it yet, because the DOM is sure to find me then.
This Time Watch works almost the same as any other Time Turner, except for the method, and it also only deals with a maximum of 12 hours. This way, I can stay better hidden from the DOM. I wasn't ready to face them yet.
I can set the destination as any place that I know for a fact is empty, and by default, it'll drop me here in my forge, which no one else knows about thanks to the Fidelius Charm I added recently.
I don't use the Watch that often, since I don't usually have a reason to go back in time, even for a few hours. I used it after creating it, to see if it actually works, stayed hidden, until I saw myself go back in time, and then came out after getting the confirmation that it is the same as the normal Time Turners.
It also creates a Closed loop, meaning I don't change anything, while in the past. Everything that's going to happen, has already happen!
Keeping the Watch back in my Personal Dimension, I take out a few things to get ready for this meeting. Let's find out what my dear cousin will do, shall we?
-
Tom Riddle was curious. He had been, for almost as long as he remembered. He found out very early that he had gifts, he could do things that other people can only dream about.
Talking to snakes, making animals do anything for him, controlling the minds of children, all of it was just the tip of it, he knew. And he was proven right, when a man called Dumbledore came to him, proclaiming him a wizard. At least he now knew what his powers were.
But, just like that, he wasn't special anymore. There were literally millions of people that could do the same as him, if they tried it, with the wave of their wands. But, Tom Riddle also found that not many people tried to be as.. strong as him. They weren't as driven.
Wizards were content to live in their mediocrity, and they thrived in it. There were very few Wizards, who actually tried to be the best. Tom Riddle was one of them, and he wanted to be the best in everything.
So, after learning that he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, through the House of Gaunt, he began to learn everything he could about them. He learned that there is a single Gaunt male remaining, whom he was planning on meeting later. He wanted to ask, why he didn't try finding Tom before.
Then there was this.. Chamber of Secrets. A mythical secret Room, hidden away inside the school by Salazar Slytherin himself.
After two years of searching through every corner of the School, he had finally found the Entrance at the end of last year, hidden inside a girl's bathroom of all things.
He had waited, to gather a few things he might need, like the school broom he had.. permanently borrowed last year, and he spent those months learning a few spells he might need in this journey. And now, he finally had the time to check it out.
If the Myths were true, and there is a Monster hidden in there, then he wanted to take over it. He wanted to carry on his ancestors dreams of purifying his school, and what better way to do that than by using Salazar's own Pet monster, whatever it might be.
And so, after dinner, once everyone had gone on to sleep, he had used his Prefect privileges to get away from the students. No one questioned him anymore, anyway, not after the 2nd year, when he broke the 5th year Prefect, Abraxas Malfoy's arm for daring to touch him.
Going through the long Slide that made up the Chamber's entrance was annoying, since he wasn't a child to enjoy something as filthy as this. The rest of the journey, towards the Chamber itself, was filled with some shocks, and surprises, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
Salazar Slytherin inventing Magical light bulbs, and hanging them off the ceiling of a cave is nothing he didn't expect his ancestor to do. It was his Ancestor, he has to have been as impressive as himself!
And then, he entered the Chamber itself, which was impressive. A big statue head right in the front depicted an image of Salazar Slytherin, and the path surrounded by water did look ominous enough for Tom to nod in agreement. It suited his ancestor very well, and it will suit Tom himself perfectly.
And now, to find the Monster.
-
For two hours, I watch over Tom Riddle, as he went around the Chamber, trying to find the Secrets hidden here. He was using some detection spells, most likely spells that he got from his Minions, to find out if anything was hidden.
Until finally, he finds the place, and guesses the correct password a few more tries later. As the Mouth of Salazar Slytherin's statue opens, Tom patiently waits for the monster to show itself, and when it doesn't, he walks inside the tunnel.
How easy it would be to kill him right now, without anyone knowing. People would just wonder where he went, and then go on with their lives. Alas, I'm a healer, and Tom Riddle, the one in front of me, is innocent of any heinous crimes.
He's a piece of shit, yes, that much I got from his thoughts and memories, but he isn't a criminal yet. He was hoping to be, after gaining control over Slytherin's Monster, but he isn't yet. And it's not like there's a Monster here anymore.
Tom then walks out of the Cave, more confused than angry, muttering to himself about the monster that has most likely gone outside to eat or something.
I take that time to walk out of the Mirror Dimension, while his back was turned, and wait for him to finish his rambling.
I say, "It's not here, you know. The monster."
It immediately causes a reaction in Tom, as he stills in place, and then snaps around with his wand raised at my head level. So, he's aiming for a kill?
"Who are you? How did you find this place?" Tom asks, his wand now glowing green at the tip, as I just look on, amused at his reaction, and at his light show.
He was using a method of intimidation, using a coloured lumos charm to imitate the colour of the Killing Curse. Works on fearful idiots, who don't know that Curses can't be held at the tip of the wand.
I say, "Harrison Evans, pleased to meet you, Mr..?"
Tom takes a pause, his wand still raised, and he says, "Riddle. Tom Riddle. How did you find this place? And what do you mean it's not here?"
I smile at him, keeping my hands folded in front of my chest. Pointing with my head at the statue, I say, "I found the Chamber when I studied here, Mr Riddle, just as you did. I don't think I have to explain how that's possible, do I?"
Riddle shakes his head, scowling at me, and says, "And the Monster, what happened to it?"
Shrugging, I answer, "I killed it of course. It was too dangerous to be kept alive in a school full of children. It didn't listen to me, a Descendant of the great Salazar Slytherin himself, when I ordered it to stand down. Alas, its hunger was too great, and it tried to eat me. As you know, it didn't go well for the monster."
Riddle widens his eyes, his hand slowly dropping. He mumbles to himself for a while, and then drops down on the ground.
"All this work.. for nothing? The Monster is dead?" Tom asks, more to himself than to me.
He then looks at me, kinda sad, and asks, "Are we related then?"
I shrug, and ask, "I don't even know who you are, Mr Riddle. I'm guessing you're a half blood, just like me, probably a product of an illicit affair. We could be cousins, we could be brothers, we could be uncle and nephew, depends on who your parents are."
"My mother's name is Merope, I know she died giving birth to me, and that's it. I don't know who my father is." Tom says, now selling the sad child act hard.
I look on at his show, internally amused at him thinking he can manipulate me into giving personal information, and say, "We're cousins then. Your mother is most likely Merope Gaunt, the sister of my father, Morfin Gaunt."
What? It's not like Mason Aves is known to be a child of the Gaunts, or Morfin Gaunt. And ever since they got the monetary contents of the Slytherin Vault in their hands, even the Goblins are good to me. And I confirmed it using Telepathy.
"Why didn't you try to find me!? I had to live in an Orphanage!" Tom yells, still seated.
I snort, and say, "Tough luck, so did I. My mother died giving birth to me too, kid. Shit happens, grow up. And it's not like I knew you existed. I didn't even know the name of my father until I went to Gringotts to look it up. And before you mention them, Blood tests only show your direct ancestors, not your cousins, brothers, or sisters, or even theirs."
He then points his hands towards the outer tunnels, and asks, "Salazar didn't put up those lightbulbs, or the cushioning Charms, did he? You did."
I nod, wondering why this bothers him, and use Telepathy to enter his mind.
Tom stays silent for a few seconds, and I have to hold back a frown at his thoughts. He has a pretty good handle on Occlumency, better than most adult Wizards at least, but he's nothing in front of Dumbledore, let alone the Flamels. And now, after my training with Rowena, the actual Phoenix Force personified, I can hear Dumbledore's loud thoughts, even if I need to try really hard to stay hidden. He's just that good.
The Flamels meanwhile are pretty much impossible to get a read on, for me. Even with the Phoenix's training, the Flamels are too good at Mind Arts for me to hear a single stray thought.
Tom's a kid, relative to all that.
He then sighs, once again showing his sad act, and says, "We're so alike, you and I. Both of us lost our parents early in life, both of us raised in muggle orphanages, both of us found the chamber of secrets by ourselves." And then he stops talking, his shoulder shaking as if he's crying.
He then suddenly snaps his wand towards me, and yells, "CRUCIO!"
I sidestep the spell, letting it splash harmlessly on the wall, and ask, "What? Don't like the fact that you're not a special kid anymore?"
Tom yells, "CONFRACTA OSSA!" , The bone breaking curse, which I block using its counter curse, the Bone Mending charm. The two spells meet in the middle, and fizzle out.
Doing this, casting counters to the attacks to defend against them, is advised against, since you actually need to have a good aim for that, and an instant reaction speed. You need to hit your spell at the attacking spell, and you only have a split second to recognise the curse, aim, and fire the counter curse.
Tom then fires another Cruciatus curse, which I step away from. He fires curses at me, some of which I dodge away from, some I block with specific counters, and some I block using a shield or the other. I don't attack him, however, since I want to see what else he can do.
He summons a group of conjured spikes, made out of a dark smoke, and sends it flying at me. I conjure a block of concrete, and spin it around me to block all of them. The concrete melts into a dark sludge, proving my guess that it was Dark Magic. And here I thought he could be redeemed.
"You took away my monster from me! You claim to be similar to me, mocking me? And you claim to be related to me?! Me?! I am Lord Voldemort, you filthy peasant! Die!" Tom yells, all the while sending more and more dangerous spells at me.
He's a good Wizard, great even, for his age. The problem is, I'm just better. I've learned more spells in one year than he's known until now. I know counter curses to each of his curses, from both my studies, and my Healer training. And I've trained with Darla when she was training to be an Auror. I know combat a lot better than he does, and it shows.
Going on attack, I twitch my wand once, sending his wand flying out of his hands and towards me. As he gapes at his wand flying out of his hand, I snap the fingers of my left hand, conjure ropes around his arms and legs, tying each together, and then one around his body, tying his arms to his body, and then force his body into a kneeling position. Along with that, I conjure a tape around his mouth, shutting his obviously racist tirade up before it even begins.
"You're good for your age, Mr Riddle. You're just too young." I say, sitting down in front of me, as he glares at me hatefully. "Your plan was good, well thought out, if a little stupid. Disarm me with the sad little child routine, hit the Cruciatus while I'm off guard to make me unstable and hopefully take me down. Then what? Use Legilimency to find all my secrets? Or would you have used Veritaserum?"
He says nothing, just keeps staring at me. I sigh, and say, "I have no quarrels with you yet, Mr Riddle. You're my relative, as much as you hate to accept it, it won't change. If you'd have stayed neutral to me, I would have allowed you to practice your spells here, in the chamber, away from anyone's suspicious eyes. But now, you tried to capture and interrogate me. Even if you failed, I don't appreciate you trying."
Taking a pause, I glare at Tom, and say, "You're still young, Mr Riddle. Change your path now, while you still have the chance. The mark of being a Dark Wizard doesn't go away, once you start on the path, you almost always stay there. You stay like this, and you'll end up facing me, once again, and we both know how that will end up going."
I then point my wand at his head, smiling at seeing him actually afraid of me, and say, "I won't take your memories away, not all of them at least, you'll try this again and again anyway. So, I'll just bar you from ever opening the Chamber of Secrets. You won't remember anything about me, not even my name, or my face, and I hope you don't try to look for me. It will not go well for you. Improve, Mr Riddle. For your own sake, improve while you still can."
And then, I cast Stupefy on his head, stunning Tom Riddle into unconsciousness. Placing my hand on his forehead, I enter his mind, and turn my face into a blur. While still there, I erase the memory of me telling him my name, and our relation to each other.
Still touching him, now on his wrists, I close my eyes, focusing on the Wards inside the Chamber, and bar Tom Marvolo Riddle from ever opening any of the multiple entrances. As that happens, a band of yellow magic exits out of my hand, and binds Tom on his wrist.
I also take the time to change the Password of the entrances, from ~~Open~~ to ~~Rick Astley~~
He'll never give me up, or let me down.
Picking Tom up, my job done, I turn both of us invisible, and go to the stairs, coming out into the dungeons. I'll leave him in the Slytherin common room, which is easy since I already have the password from Tom Riddle's memories.
I wanted to meet with him, but I didn't know whaf I'll do about him yet. He's evil, that much I understand from his memories of what he's done.
He mentally tortured two boys when he was just 8, so much so, that they refused to mention it to anyone, even now. He got bullied here, when he was sorted into Slytherin, but that doesn't explain him testing out spells on unsuspecting students, most of them of a muggle background.
But, he hasn't killed anyone. Yet. Until he actually commits a bad enough crime, I wasn't going to kill him. Not even my Guardian's Oath was going to forgive the murder of a child, and that is what he is. A child.
I was going to leave him alone, to live his life. Hopefully, he decides to go straight, or we'll end up meeting anyway. And it won't go well for him the next time either.
Dropping him on a sofa in the Slytherin common room, I walk outside and go back to the chamber the way I came, to the forge, but not before repairing the damage done to the Chamber walls. Then, I change back into my own face, wear the clothes that I was wearing when I came here, and create a portal to the bathroom of the camp, and wait in the Mirror Dimension. I'll go back to bed as soon as my past self leaves for my home.
Didn't expect to see this meeting happen while I'm at the Training Camp, but I'm glad to get this over with. Now, I won't have to worry about him coming into the chamber, because I'm going to change all the passwords anyway. I know from experience, that the protection spells Salazar put in the Chamber are almost impossible to get around.
It'll take a group of highest calibre Ward Breakers a few months of studying it, as well as a day or two of trying to get through, giving me enough time to take care of any attackers.
Soon, I lay down on the bed, the Time Slower activated to give me double amount of sleep. I can get back to my training now.
At least I'll get 10 hours of sleep today, all thanks to Tom Marvolo Riddle. Hopefully, my threat doesn't make him worse than he actually was supposed to be. I really hope I haven't made things worse.
Sigh, training to stop one egomaniac, and another shows his face. I'll never get my rest, will I?
Well, I'm a Ravenclaw. I'll figure something out.
---
A/N: Thank you for all your support! The Celestial God will take some time for me to upload, because at this point, I really need to think before the plot comes to me.
FYI. Just in case I decide to drop the story, I'll post a summary chapter for all that I had planned for the Story. This will be after the Ch 97 that I have on Pat-reon. I'll upload the Pat-reon chapters as soon as I figure something out.
Thank you for sticking with me, even when I'm a dumb writer sometimes! Tata!
---
The next day, after having my evening tea, I stand on the edge of the cliff that holds the Slytherin Castle, waiting for the sun to set. I had 4 days remaining before I'm to show up in London for my recruitment. Until then, I was going to just relax, because I know, that once my training begins, I won't get to rest more than a few hours.
Well, I have my Time Slower, so I can get a few more hours of sleep if I want, but I'm not going to do that.. too much. I wanted a proper Military experience, with minimal magic use, even to rest my body a bit longer.
As the sun starts setting, I see something rise out of the waters of the Irish sea, something big. It rises completely above the water, showing me the full size of it, and making me blink at the pleasant surprise. It was a snake, about 3 meters long, and half a foot thick, with three horns atop it's head.
Followed by the single bigger flying snake, 7 smaller snakes, barely a foot long, fly out of the water, and follow after the bigger snake in coming towards me.
~~Hello, Sly. Welcome back.~~ I greet, as the Horned Serpent lands on the ground behind me, the smaller snakes right behind him.
Sly, my Horned Serpent friend. True to his word, Sly hadn't become my pet. He had stayed in the Slytherin Castle for a few months, after his.. evolution, and then left for the oceans. He returned to the Castle, once every few months, because he can't always stay underwater, and I'm just glad to catch him this time.
~~Wizard!~~ Sly greets, a happy undertone to his voice, and then turns towards the smaller snakes, that were looking at me with curiosity.
I'd met these snakes before, just once, when Sly brought them to me for a meeting. Well, he stayed around Slytherin Castle for a few days, knowing I have charms put up to inform me of his arrival.
Sly had found a mate, obviously not for life, in a Sea Serpent. And these were his babies, all 7 of them. Half Sea Serpent, and half Horned Serpent. I wonder what this new breed of snakes will do.
~~It's fortunate that you came here today. I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving for a while, a few years. I won't be able to come here for as long as I do now.~~ I say, petting a baby snake that came to rest on my head.
They're almost a year old now, but thanks to their two times Magical parentage, of different breeds, they age a lot slower than normal. Sly hasn't fully grown up yet either, so they have a long way to go.
Sly blinks his eyes at me, and asks, ~~What is it? Do you need my help?~~
Chuckling, I raise my hand to hold Sly's head. Scratching his cheek gently, I say, ~~This is a Human matter, Sly. You'll have to stay invisible, for years if you come with me. Just.. stay with your family, and enjoy your life.~~
Sly nods, enjoying my scratching, and says, ~~As you wish, Wizard. Did you bring the Basilisk meat with you? I wanted my snakes to try it.~~
I eye him warily, and ask, ~~Do you plan on getting addicted to it again?~~
The last time he'd eaten the Basilisk flesh, he had gotten.. fat. Obese, more like. I don't want to risk him getting addicted to it again.
Sly innocently blinks at me, and says, ~~Never! I just want my children to try the majestic meat of the so called King of Snakes.~~
Sure enough, hearing us talk about the Basilisk meat, the other baby snakes immediately become silent, and join Sly in staring at me with anticipation. Fuck! Can't deny these cuties.
Shaking my head, I raise my left hand into the air, to the curiosity of the snakes present, and conjure some of the Basilisk meat from it's hidden place. I say conjure, but I just switched out the empty air here with the piece of preserved meat in a Personal Dimension.
I'd already cut the Basilisk up, separating everything like I was supposed to. This then went into a Personal Dimension connected to my own Magic, which allowed me to store and take out anything within it, without anyone knowing of it.
Waving my hand, I use Telekinesis to split the slab of meat in 9 pieces, two equally bigger than the rest, and float 8 of them in front of the 8 snakes.
~~Well? What are you waiting for, children? Eat up!~~ Sly yells, to the excitement of the kiddie snakes, and swallows the Entire piece in one bite. Glad I didn't bring more out. Taking the remaining piece of Basilisk meat, I throw it into the air, towards the ocean, and see a snake bigger than even Sly catch it in it's mouth.
The Sea Serpent, Sly's current mate.
~~Enjoy your stay here, Sly. I'll leave you to it. And don't break anything!~~ I say, and create a portal back to the Aves Manor.
~~Goodbye, Wizard.. Mason. Don't die.~~ Sly says, waving his tail at my retreating form.
I'd already said my goodbyes to everyone, even Dorea, the Potters, and the Flamels. But now, time to go to war.
-
4 days later, I sit in the Recruitment office in London, in my shorts, waiting for my turn to be examined, and then interviewed.
I'd taken an early bus here, and reached at just 8:15 AM. Thankfully, the recruitment examination had already begun, so I wasn't too early.
About 30 of us potential recruits were sitting on long benches, all of us wearing just shorts, with many of us holding news papers that were provided to cure the boredom, and to take our minds off of our fear of bombs, that was still there a year after the attacks stopped.
The Blitz. It was a dangerous period in the lives of Londoners, more so the ones living in the City. For a period of 8 months, the Nazis kept on dropping bombs on us, sometimes in the night, and sometimes in broad daylight.
No one knew if we'd be alive the next day, when we slept. Thankfully, neither my Islington house, or the Orphanage, were harmed beyond a few wall cracks, by the bombs. I'd cast a permanent Praesidio Ward around my Islington home, as soon as the Blitz began, which caused much of the debris to just slide right off.
Unfortunately, the aftershocks still caused some damage to the walls, which I had to repair. I did help out in finding the survivors, and in bandaging them up, and I have to say, it was depressing. If it wasn't for the knowledge that the War will be over in a few years, I would have lost my will to live. Many did.
But, the people were healing from it, mostly because there hasn't been a bombing for many months.
Soon, I get called in for Medical Examination, and 10 minutes of probing and prodding later, along with taking samples of my blood, the Doctor sends me off to the Recruitment Officer with a preliminary result in hand.
"Mason Aves.. Mason Aves.. Mason Aves.. found it. You're a student, hm? Explains why you didn't apply before now. You have your letter?" The Officer says, going through my file, which they already have on me.
I hand him my Conscription letter, and say, "Yes sir. I just got my letter now, or I would have signed up in '39 itself."
He ignores the letter, and asks, "You're a medic? Or going to school to be? Imperial College is a good school, innit? Why not wait to finish school before joining?"
Nodding, I say, "It is, sir. And I did start my school to be a Doctor, but I don't think I'll be suitable to be a Medic in this War. And waiting isn't an option, because the war has already been fought for 3 years. The drafting just gives me an excuse to get off my arse and do something."
"Why not a Doctor? You could make some good there as a Doctor." The officer asks, ignoring the other statements.
I say, "I have studied Medicine for just 4 years, with my two final years remaining. I don't have any experience, since we don't get to start actually training until our final year. I don't want to risk me messing things up when someone more competent could save a life if they were in my place."
The officer keeps staring at me, as I lie to his face. I wasn't going to be a War time Medic, not at all. I wanted to be in the thick of it, go to battles. And it's not a sense of adventure talking, but it is a sense for justice.
Not exactly a Healer thing to say, but the Nazis have pissed me off, a lot.
Plus, I won't get to meet Steve effing Rogers while sitting in a tent.
"You're lucky we need Infantry more than we need Medics right now. The situation could change anytime though, so, I'll still mark you down as a prospective Combat Medic. They'll train you to be good enough, don't worry." The officer says, and stamps Approved on my form.
Handing it to me, he says, "Take this, and show it to the officer on counter number 3. He'll give you your ticket to the Camp. Good luck, soldier."
Standing up, I sloppily salute him, making him chuckle, and walk out the door. Guess I'll be a Medic in war, but being a Combat Medic is leagues better than staying in the tent.
-
From the London office, I go back home, with the train leaving for camp in two days, after which, I leave for the training camp.
Alongside me, were 20 other recruits, in a train to Durham at King's Cross Station. From Durham, we were taken to the Brancepeth Camp for our training. They were all muggles, which I expected, since even I had to go through a lot of troubles to be able to take part in this war.
The most Wizards that I'll meet in this War, if I do, are either going to be Muggleborn, or Grindelwald's soldiers, and they are not mutually exclusive.
At Durham Station, a Corporal was already there waiting for us, shouting to gain our attention. He then took us outside to a bus, taking which, we went on a 6-7 kilometres drive to the camp.
The camp was already pretty busy when we got there, with a lot of people marching from one place to another, wearing some pretty hideous army uniform. Great, I'll have to wear that.
The Brancepeth Camp had wooden buildings, as well as cloth tents all around it, for Rooms, Kitchens, Bathrooms, etc. There were various training grounds, including a few further into the woods for grenade training.
All in all, it was what you'd expect to see in any military training camp.
We were given a single tent for 10 people each, with a cot, bed, covers, a single small table for our belongings, and a few mirrors already available. The bathroom was a big one, common for all of us.
We were also given a knife, spoon, and fork, for lunches and dinners, that we had to take care of by ourselves. Since I've been preparing my own food, and washing utensils for years now, alongside Blinky, it wasn't a chore to me.
The first day was a bit awkward, since people were still in the getting to know each other stage. In my tent, were boys from all around the UK, with a boy, Harry from Ireland, being the youngest. He was just 18, having turned 18 barely a month ago.
Then there were Jack, Niall, James, Charles, Louis, Liam, Kurt, and Tom, many of whom were about my age. They also had waited until getting a letter to begin their service, which is understandable.
Our food was bland, as we expected. There were boiled potatoes, which were seasoned with the tiniest amount of spices and salt, along with a scoop of wet rice, and a single slice of bread.
Honestly, what did I expect?
We were shown the ropes for the first few days, given a schedule for our training, and chores. And we were expected to do chores, including cooking food for everyone in the camp. There was a schedule, for which tent cooks food for the day, and our time came on every sunday.
There were 70 recruits in the camp, divided in groups of 10 for better management. But, the camp was never completely calm. There was always someone training, either for digging trenches, climbing ropes, trees, mountains, or just to travel during the night.
Then there was the day training, like crawling through the mud, marching around everywhere with 10 or so Kgs of weight constantly on your body, rifle training, digging, basic weapons maintenance, and a soft medic training for a few of us, who were marked as prospective medics.
Sometimes, we would go into the woods to practice throwing grenades, some of which would be live to keep us on guard at all times. It was always one thing or the other, we literally weren't allowed to stop for a single minute.
Everyday, from 6 AM, to lights out at 10 PM, for hours and hours, we would keep training one thing or another, using "falling into the mud" as an excuse to get split seconds of rest, and to cool our bodies a bit. It was.. awful, if sobering.
The only other rest we got was for supper time, and when we were in lectures. And there were lectures, for military tactics, taking orders, some basic codes, and my medic training.
All in all, the training experience was showing itself to be wonderful, if tiresome. Excluding the worst food I've ever eaten, I was actually enjoying my life here. And I was going to stay here for 6 months, until I was given my orders of Service.
-
September, 1942:
The next few months of my training go in a fixed routine, the only changes to it being the daily schedule changes.
We would wake up at 6 AM, have breakfast, shower, and get ready before 6:30 in the Uniform they provided us with, wearing our rifles on our backs in attention position, all before our Drill Sargent enters our room to pick us up.
Then, we would start our day with a slow paced jog around the Camp, while the Sargent told us things to repeat, which sometimes would even be poems. Then came rifle training, where we were taught how to shoot our rifles, pistols, and an SMG, and how to clean and maintain the weapons.
After lunch, our time was divided into either Combat training, which I excelled at thanks to my experience in fighting rings, and obstacle run. Out of the 12 hours that we trained, we barely sat down for a few minutes, let alone rest, not counting the time we took for eating, obviously.
But, I was going through it, because I need to. Don't want to get caught off guard because I expected War to be too easy, and while this training is hard, it is something everyone needs. Prepare for the worst, as they say.
We were also given inoculations against some common diseases found in War time. It was needed, because why let Cholera kill your soldier, when he can die off bullets while killing enemies instead?
From marching everywhere, to throwing Grenades further and further away, on time, to hitting targets while laying prone, sitting, standing and running, to killing enemies with your knife, fists, and any weapon they can think of. Everything was done so that we can turn into better soldiers, into better killers. Hopefully, they won't need to explain to anyone that we should only kill enemies, and this time, it's Nazis, Fascists and the Japanese.
During my Fourth month at Brancepeth, as I was having dinner, I momentarily still as I get a ping from one of my alarm charms, one I'd been expecting for this entire year and a half, and continue eating as if nothing's wrong.
Someone was in the Chamber of Secrets, someone that wasn't me. And there can be only one culprit who can do it, and will do it after school's curfew has already begun. I look at the clock hanging on the wall, and see that it's just 9:30 PM.
I wait for a few hours, keeping an eye on the clock in between. Once everyone in my room is asleep, I walk towards the loo, and apparate to my Fidelius protected Aves Manor.
Once inside the wards, I remove my pocket watch from my Personal Dimension, and take a moment to smile, still amazed by the Enchantment that I managed to do. My Pocket Watch. My Time Watch.
This.. was an artefact of Magic, as well as a Relic of Sorcery. It shows time, as watches do, but it also has more.. features. Clicking the button atop it, I check the time, and see that there's a minute to 1 AM. 4 hours then.
Holding the pocket watch in front of me, I click a very small spot on the surface with the nail of my left thumb, which contains an invisible activation Rune, hidden from sight. The activation rune creates a Complex Runic circle above the Pocket watch, that is golden in colour. There are 16 runes in a circle, and these Runes are the ones that decide the function of the watch.
Spinning the circle by touching it with my right hand, the Watch still held in the left palm, I set the timer as 4 hours, set my destination as default, and activate it. As soon as I activate the Artefact, the Runic circle moves away from my hand, and goes towards the wall nearest to me.
It sticks to the wall, and starts spinning. Within two seconds, the section of the wall inside the circle disappears, and transforms into a portal. The portal shows no destination on the other side, however, and is just plain black in colour.
Without waiting, I jump through the portal, and come out inside my Forge, in the Chamber of Secrets. Almost as soon as I step through the portal, it disappears into thin air, its job done. Clicking the button on the watch, I open it up, and see the time as 9 PM. I still have half an hour, good.
The Pocket watch was my very own Time Turner, that I made for myself after finding the Sands of Time in the Slytherin Vault. I could go back anywhere from 1 hour, to 12 hours, using the Time Watch, by creating a portal to take me anywhere I want. It can probably go further away, but I haven't tried it yet, because the DOM is sure to find me then.
This Time Watch works almost the same as any other Time Turner, except for the method, and it also only deals with a maximum of 12 hours. This way, I can stay better hidden from the DOM. I wasn't ready to face them yet.
I can set the destination as any place that I know for a fact is empty, and by default, it'll drop me here in my forge, which no one else knows about thanks to the Fidelius Charm I added recently.
I don't use the Watch that often, since I don't usually have a reason to go back in time, even for a few hours. I used it after creating it, to see if it actually works, stayed hidden, until I saw myself go back in time, and then came out after getting the confirmation that it is the same as the normal Time Turners.
It also creates a Closed loop, meaning I don't change anything, while in the past. Everything that's going to happen, has already happen!
Keeping the Watch back in my Personal Dimension, I take out a few things to get ready for this meeting. Let's find out what my dear cousin will do, shall we?
-
Tom Riddle was curious. He had been, for almost as long as he remembered. He found out very early that he had gifts, he could do things that other people can only dream about.
Talking to snakes, making animals do anything for him, controlling the minds of children, all of it was just the tip of it, he knew. And he was proven right, when a man called Dumbledore came to him, proclaiming him a wizard. At least he now knew what his powers were.
But, just like that, he wasn't special anymore. There were literally millions of people that could do the same as him, if they tried it, with the wave of their wands. But, Tom Riddle also found that not many people tried to be as.. strong as him. They weren't as driven.
Wizards were content to live in their mediocrity, and they thrived in it. There were very few Wizards, who actually tried to be the best. Tom Riddle was one of them, and he wanted to be the best in everything.
So, after learning that he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, through the House of Gaunt, he began to learn everything he could about them. He learned that there is a single Gaunt male remaining, whom he was planning on meeting later. He wanted to ask, why he didn't try finding Tom before.
Then there was this.. Chamber of Secrets. A mythical secret Room, hidden away inside the school by Salazar Slytherin himself.
After two years of searching through every corner of the School, he had finally found the Entrance at the end of last year, hidden inside a girl's bathroom of all things.
He had waited, to gather a few things he might need, like the school broom he had.. permanently borrowed last year, and he spent those months learning a few spells he might need in this journey. And now, he finally had the time to check it out.
If the Myths were true, and there is a Monster hidden in there, then he wanted to take over it. He wanted to carry on his ancestors dreams of purifying his school, and what better way to do that than by using Salazar's own Pet monster, whatever it might be.
And so, after dinner, once everyone had gone on to sleep, he had used his Prefect privileges to get away from the students. No one questioned him anymore, anyway, not after the 2nd year, when he broke the 5th year Prefect, Abraxas Malfoy's arm for daring to touch him.
Going through the long Slide that made up the Chamber's entrance was annoying, since he wasn't a child to enjoy something as filthy as this. The rest of the journey, towards the Chamber itself, was filled with some shocks, and surprises, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
Salazar Slytherin inventing Magical light bulbs, and hanging them off the ceiling of a cave is nothing he didn't expect his ancestor to do. It was his Ancestor, he has to have been as impressive as himself!
And then, he entered the Chamber itself, which was impressive. A big statue head right in the front depicted an image of Salazar Slytherin, and the path surrounded by water did look ominous enough for Tom to nod in agreement. It suited his ancestor very well, and it will suit Tom himself perfectly.
And now, to find the Monster.
-
For two hours, I watch over Tom Riddle, as he went around the Chamber, trying to find the Secrets hidden here. He was using some detection spells, most likely spells that he got from his Minions, to find out if anything was hidden.
Until finally, he finds the place, and guesses the correct password a few more tries later. As the Mouth of Salazar Slytherin's statue opens, Tom patiently waits for the monster to show itself, and when it doesn't, he walks inside the tunnel.
How easy it would be to kill him right now, without anyone knowing. People would just wonder where he went, and then go on with their lives. Alas, I'm a healer, and Tom Riddle, the one in front of me, is innocent of any heinous crimes.
He's a piece of shit, yes, that much I got from his thoughts and memories, but he isn't a criminal yet. He was hoping to be, after gaining control over Slytherin's Monster, but he isn't yet. And it's not like there's a Monster here anymore.
Tom then walks out of the Cave, more confused than angry, muttering to himself about the monster that has most likely gone outside to eat or something.
I take that time to walk out of the Mirror Dimension, while his back was turned, and wait for him to finish his rambling.
I say, "It's not here, you know. The monster."
It immediately causes a reaction in Tom, as he stills in place, and then snaps around with his wand raised at my head level. So, he's aiming for a kill?
"Who are you? How did you find this place?" Tom asks, his wand now glowing green at the tip, as I just look on, amused at his reaction, and at his light show.
He was using a method of intimidation, using a coloured lumos charm to imitate the colour of the Killing Curse. Works on fearful idiots, who don't know that Curses can't be held at the tip of the wand.
I say, "Harrison Evans, pleased to meet you, Mr..?"
Tom takes a pause, his wand still raised, and he says, "Riddle. Tom Riddle. How did you find this place? And what do you mean it's not here?"
I smile at him, keeping my hands folded in front of my chest. Pointing with my head at the statue, I say, "I found the Chamber when I studied here, Mr Riddle, just as you did. I don't think I have to explain how that's possible, do I?"
Riddle shakes his head, scowling at me, and says, "And the Monster, what happened to it?"
Shrugging, I answer, "I killed it of course. It was too dangerous to be kept alive in a school full of children. It didn't listen to me, a Descendant of the great Salazar Slytherin himself, when I ordered it to stand down. Alas, its hunger was too great, and it tried to eat me. As you know, it didn't go well for the monster."
Riddle widens his eyes, his hand slowly dropping. He mumbles to himself for a while, and then drops down on the ground.
"All this work.. for nothing? The Monster is dead?" Tom asks, more to himself than to me.
He then looks at me, kinda sad, and asks, "Are we related then?"
I shrug, and ask, "I don't even know who you are, Mr Riddle. I'm guessing you're a half blood, just like me, probably a product of an illicit affair. We could be cousins, we could be brothers, we could be uncle and nephew, depends on who your parents are."
"My mother's name is Merope, I know she died giving birth to me, and that's it. I don't know who my father is." Tom says, now selling the sad child act hard.
I look on at his show, internally amused at him thinking he can manipulate me into giving personal information, and say, "We're cousins then. Your mother is most likely Merope Gaunt, the sister of my father, Morfin Gaunt."
What? It's not like Mason Aves is known to be a child of the Gaunts, or Morfin Gaunt. And ever since they got the monetary contents of the Slytherin Vault in their hands, even the Goblins are good to me. And I confirmed it using Telepathy.
"Why didn't you try to find me!? I had to live in an Orphanage!" Tom yells, still seated.
I snort, and say, "Tough luck, so did I. My mother died giving birth to me too, kid. Shit happens, grow up. And it's not like I knew you existed. I didn't even know the name of my father until I went to Gringotts to look it up. And before you mention them, Blood tests only show your direct ancestors, not your cousins, brothers, or sisters, or even theirs."
He then points his hands towards the outer tunnels, and asks, "Salazar didn't put up those lightbulbs, or the cushioning Charms, did he? You did."
I nod, wondering why this bothers him, and use Telepathy to enter his mind.
Tom stays silent for a few seconds, and I have to hold back a frown at his thoughts. He has a pretty good handle on Occlumency, better than most adult Wizards at least, but he's nothing in front of Dumbledore, let alone the Flamels. And now, after my training with Rowena, the actual Phoenix Force personified, I can hear Dumbledore's loud thoughts, even if I need to try really hard to stay hidden. He's just that good.
The Flamels meanwhile are pretty much impossible to get a read on, for me. Even with the Phoenix's training, the Flamels are too good at Mind Arts for me to hear a single stray thought.
Tom's a kid, relative to all that.
He then sighs, once again showing his sad act, and says, "We're so alike, you and I. Both of us lost our parents early in life, both of us raised in muggle orphanages, both of us found the chamber of secrets by ourselves." And then he stops talking, his shoulder shaking as if he's crying.
He then suddenly snaps his wand towards me, and yells, "CRUCIO!"
I sidestep the spell, letting it splash harmlessly on the wall, and ask, "What? Don't like the fact that you're not a special kid anymore?"
Tom yells, "CONFRACTA OSSA!" , The bone breaking curse, which I block using its counter curse, the Bone Mending charm. The two spells meet in the middle, and fizzle out.
Doing this, casting counters to the attacks to defend against them, is advised against, since you actually need to have a good aim for that, and an instant reaction speed. You need to hit your spell at the attacking spell, and you only have a split second to recognise the curse, aim, and fire the counter curse.
Tom then fires another Cruciatus curse, which I step away from. He fires curses at me, some of which I dodge away from, some I block with specific counters, and some I block using a shield or the other. I don't attack him, however, since I want to see what else he can do.
He summons a group of conjured spikes, made out of a dark smoke, and sends it flying at me. I conjure a block of concrete, and spin it around me to block all of them. The concrete melts into a dark sludge, proving my guess that it was Dark Magic. And here I thought he could be redeemed.
"You took away my monster from me! You claim to be similar to me, mocking me? And you claim to be related to me?! Me?! I am Lord Voldemort, you filthy peasant! Die!" Tom yells, all the while sending more and more dangerous spells at me.
He's a good Wizard, great even, for his age. The problem is, I'm just better. I've learned more spells in one year than he's known until now. I know counter curses to each of his curses, from both my studies, and my Healer training. And I've trained with Darla when she was training to be an Auror. I know combat a lot better than he does, and it shows.
Going on attack, I twitch my wand once, sending his wand flying out of his hands and towards me. As he gapes at his wand flying out of his hand, I snap the fingers of my left hand, conjure ropes around his arms and legs, tying each together, and then one around his body, tying his arms to his body, and then force his body into a kneeling position. Along with that, I conjure a tape around his mouth, shutting his obviously racist tirade up before it even begins.
"You're good for your age, Mr Riddle. You're just too young." I say, sitting down in front of me, as he glares at me hatefully. "Your plan was good, well thought out, if a little stupid. Disarm me with the sad little child routine, hit the Cruciatus while I'm off guard to make me unstable and hopefully take me down. Then what? Use Legilimency to find all my secrets? Or would you have used Veritaserum?"
He says nothing, just keeps staring at me. I sigh, and say, "I have no quarrels with you yet, Mr Riddle. You're my relative, as much as you hate to accept it, it won't change. If you'd have stayed neutral to me, I would have allowed you to practice your spells here, in the chamber, away from anyone's suspicious eyes. But now, you tried to capture and interrogate me. Even if you failed, I don't appreciate you trying."
Taking a pause, I glare at Tom, and say, "You're still young, Mr Riddle. Change your path now, while you still have the chance. The mark of being a Dark Wizard doesn't go away, once you start on the path, you almost always stay there. You stay like this, and you'll end up facing me, once again, and we both know how that will end up going."
I then point my wand at his head, smiling at seeing him actually afraid of me, and say, "I won't take your memories away, not all of them at least, you'll try this again and again anyway. So, I'll just bar you from ever opening the Chamber of Secrets. You won't remember anything about me, not even my name, or my face, and I hope you don't try to look for me. It will not go well for you. Improve, Mr Riddle. For your own sake, improve while you still can."
And then, I cast Stupefy on his head, stunning Tom Riddle into unconsciousness. Placing my hand on his forehead, I enter his mind, and turn my face into a blur. While still there, I erase the memory of me telling him my name, and our relation to each other.
Still touching him, now on his wrists, I close my eyes, focusing on the Wards inside the Chamber, and bar Tom Marvolo Riddle from ever opening any of the multiple entrances. As that happens, a band of yellow magic exits out of my hand, and binds Tom on his wrist.
I also take the time to change the Password of the entrances, from ~~Open~~ to ~~Rick Astley~~
He'll never give me up, or let me down.
Picking Tom up, my job done, I turn both of us invisible, and go to the stairs, coming out into the dungeons. I'll leave him in the Slytherin common room, which is easy since I already have the password from Tom Riddle's memories.
I wanted to meet with him, but I didn't know whaf I'll do about him yet. He's evil, that much I understand from his memories of what he's done.
He mentally tortured two boys when he was just 8, so much so, that they refused to mention it to anyone, even now. He got bullied here, when he was sorted into Slytherin, but that doesn't explain him testing out spells on unsuspecting students, most of them of a muggle background.
But, he hasn't killed anyone. Yet. Until he actually commits a bad enough crime, I wasn't going to kill him. Not even my Guardian's Oath was going to forgive the murder of a child, and that is what he is. A child.
I was going to leave him alone, to live his life. Hopefully, he decides to go straight, or we'll end up meeting anyway. And it won't go well for him the next time either.
Dropping him on a sofa in the Slytherin common room, I walk outside and go back to the chamber the way I came, to the forge, but not before repairing the damage done to the Chamber walls. Then, I change back into my own face, wear the clothes that I was wearing when I came here, and create a portal to the bathroom of the camp, and wait in the Mirror Dimension. I'll go back to bed as soon as my past self leaves for my home.
Didn't expect to see this meeting happen while I'm at the Training Camp, but I'm glad to get this over with. Now, I won't have to worry about him coming into the chamber, because I'm going to change all the passwords anyway. I know from experience, that the protection spells Salazar put in the Chamber are almost impossible to get around.
It'll take a group of highest calibre Ward Breakers a few months of studying it, as well as a day or two of trying to get through, giving me enough time to take care of any attackers.
Soon, I lay down on the bed, the Time Slower activated to give me double amount of sleep. I can get back to my training now.
At least I'll get 10 hours of sleep today, all thanks to Tom Marvolo Riddle. Hopefully, my threat doesn't make him worse than he actually was supposed to be. I really hope I haven't made things worse.
Sigh, training to stop one egomaniac, and another shows his face. I'll never get my rest, will I?
Well, I'm a Ravenclaw. I'll figure something out.
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A/N: Thank you for all your support! The Celestial God will take some time for me to upload, because at this point, I really need to think before the plot comes to me.
FYI. Just in case I decide to drop the story, I'll post a summary chapter for all that I had planned for the Story. This will be after the Ch 97 that I have on Pat-reon. I'll upload the Pat-reon chapters as soon as I figure something out.
Thank you for sticking with me, even when I'm a dumb writer sometimes! Tata!
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