Replacment

The room of requirement was the most mysterious place in Hogwarts castle. Virgil hadn't seen it yet, but just from its descriptions, it seemed like a pocket dimension. 

He knew Rowena Ravenclaw chose this location based on a dream and there were things in this world that were complete mysteries. Like the veil under the Ministry of Magic that supposedly connected to the land of the dead.

While Virgil was thinking, he arrived in a classroom on the north side of the third floor. Virgil shook his head and started arranging the runic formation.

Even if the room of requirement was a pocket dimension, he didn't think he could pull it from the land it was bound to. All he wanted to do was study the room to push his study of the bounded field to a new level.

The reality marble, a world based on your own cognition projected onto reality.

Soon another nexus point was created and he felt it linked to the first and second floors.

Virgil closed his book and turned invisible as he went towards the fourth floor.

Arriving at the library door he didn't open it right away but placed his hand on the door. "Sure enough, the door is enchanted to send an alarm when opened."

Virgil shook his head and bypassed the spell with his backdoor permissions.

He opened the door and walked inside. The moonlight shone through the large windows and gave the room a more subtle atmosphere than during the day.

This room was far larger than those before and he knew it would take a while. Instead of getting started right away, he cast a warning charm in the hall and closed the door.

Taking out his book, he started projecting runes and connecting them with his wand. Compared to the other rooms, the runes laid in the library were far more complicated.

He needed to be able to wander around the library during the day without being noticed if needed.

After taking a few classes he decided to let Hassan take his place. Her eyes make her a natural legilimens and endow her with hypnosis abilities.

She wouldn't have any problem playing him.

Virgil finally entered the restricted section but didn't have time to browse for books.

When the last rune was placed, Virgil could already see a hint of light on the horizon.

"Seems I was a bit lucky no one checked this room so early in the school year." Virgil shook his head and waved his wand.

The runes flashed and disappeared. He could feel the formation connecting with the lower levels and his control over the castle deepening.

"I should have enough time to set up the ground floor." Virgil disappeared from the library and arrived at a classroom on the first floor.

His body disappeared and he went towards the stairs.

When he arrived at the ground floor he actually saw Filch returning to his office. He looked a bit younger but he still had scant stringy hair and a permanent scowl on his face.

Not wasting any time, he went to one of the classrooms on the south side and started laying the formation.

When he was finished, Virgil felt the formation was more grounded than before. No longer was it a castle in the sky and finally had a solid base.

Virgil opened his book to the middle and a cloud of black smoke flew out and formed into Hassan.

"Master."

Virgil saw that familiar face and felt a sense of security. Not because he was in danger, but Hassan was the definition of dependable. "Good job capturing the Goblins."

Hassan just shook her head and didn't speak.

Virgil sighed. "I need you to pretend to be me and go to my classes."

This time Hassan finally showed a reaction. Her eyes widened and she looked at Virgil to make sure he was serious. "Master, if you didn't want to go to school, why come here?"

"Some things have to be experienced to finally let go." Virgil shook his head and didn't elaborate.

Hassan stared into his eyes for a moment before finally nodding her head in slight annoyance. Her body began to morph and transformed into the appearance of Virgil.

Virgil reached forward and placed his finger on Hassan's forehead. A ᛈ rune appeared when he removed his finger and the indications of transfiguration disappeared.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" The rune disappeared from Hassan's forehead as she spoke.

Virgil thought for a moment before answering. "Don't hurt anyone."

He waved his hand and Hassan disappeared from the room. Virgil felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and smiled. "Time to get some rest."

His eyes turned toward his book and he stepped inside. The book snapped shut and disappeared from view.

Hassan looked around Virgil's bedroom before changing her clothes and climbing into his bed. She then closed her eyes and waited.

Inside the book, Virgil saw Victoria when he entered the cabin.

She was a bit surprised when she saw Virgil and licked the blood from her lips. "The Goblins have been placed in the dungeon and their wounds have been tended to."

"Does Goblin blood taste different from a human's? Does it do anything for you?" Virgil raised his brows as he walked past her and towards his room.

Victoria followed behind him with her hands cupped in front like a lady. "Magical blood excites me more than muggle blood, it's like a drug and can become addicting. Only the artificial blood can be legally consumed by a vampire and all other forms are forbidden by the International Confederation of Wizards."

"Interesting, maybe that's why you Vampires are so weak. I doubt wizards would be too bored to make artificial blood for no reason." Virgil stopped at the door to his room and glanced back at Victoria.

"You don't have to drink the blood from the muggles we brought, you can feed on my puppets but don't damage them." Virgil entered his room and closed the door.

"Thank you, Master." Victoria bowed towards the door before turning to leave.

Inside the room that was decorated just like his room in the castle, Virgil climbed into bed and closed his eyes. Laying formations all night was mentally taxing and he was exhausted.

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When Virgil got up again it was already in the middle of the afternoon. He changed into his familiar black slacks and short sleeve white dress shirt with his dagger at his side.

He left the room and could smell a delicious scent coming from the dining room. He walked inside and saw his elf puppet standing next to a plate of steak and potatoes.

"Sir, you missed breakfast so I prepared your launch instead. It has been maintained at the perfect temperature for you." The puppet pulled out the chair when Virgil walked over and pushed it in when he sat down.

Virgil picked up his knife and fork and started to eat. "Where is Victoria?"

He could check on his own but he felt it took some joy out of life to know everything at a thought.

"Miss Victoria is in the lab checking the cell experiments." The puppet stood off to the side and answered any question Virgil had.

Virgil put a piece of steak into his mouth and nodded.

He started thinking about his next course of action. The vampire curse had been mapped out long before he came to Hogwarts. Now his spell book was trying different combinations of the three curses to find the best match.

The combinations were limitless and would take time. "I could build a server room and increase the processing power of the book."

The thought flashed through Virgil's mind and he started perfecting the plans in his head. He never had so much free time to think about things besides his curse before.

"Magic is good, but I can't completely ignore technology. That would only create weaknesses for myself."

He wasn't ignorant of machinery but computers were a weakness for him. He could even create a pure mechanical puppet if he wanted to. Some of his agents were studying computer technology in the muggle world, but the technology in this era was too backward to meet his needs.

He also knew magecraft could accomplish everything technology could. That was one of the reasons for the decline in mystery in the Fate world. Technology was catching up to magic and eliminating mystery in that world.

This limited Magus in that world, but he didn't have that problem.

"I don't have time to study this myself and I'll have to wait." Virgil shook his head and sighed. A normal familiar could help his master research magic but none of his were normal.

"Maybe I'll let Victoria study techno magecraft." He was a bit reluctant because Victoria was a sacrifice, nothing but a vessel for his new body, and would die. He would then have to take over or let someone else specialize in it again.

"It seems like I need to plan my next familiar a little better." His eyes flashed and he thought of the Basilisk. He already had the perfect material for the puppet but lacked the flesh from himself to make it.

When he finished eating he went to his workshop and left the book.

Virgil stepped into the second-floor bathroom and heard the familiar crying. "Come out."

The crying stopped and Myrtle flew in front of Virgil with a look of resentment on her face. She bared her teeth but couldn't even yell in protest.

The spellbook flew to Virgil's side and pages began to flip before finally stopping on the analytical magic circle.

The magic circle was projected beneath Myrtle and she looked down in surprise.

Not caring about her feelings, Virgil walked forward and shoved his hand into her body. He rubbed his fingers together and could feel a cold, gooey substance.

Myrtle's head shot up and she looked at Virgil in disbelief.

"Is this ectoplasm? What a strange substance that can bind part of a person's soul." Virgil's eyes lit up and the silver circuits on his arm were activated.

His magic poured into Myrtle and he began analyzing her body structure. The magic circle at his feet glowed and aided Vigil. This would slow down his curse project, but a few minutes wouldn't hurt.