Chapter 15

Atticus entered the Hog's Head inn. He made his way to the bar and he was met by Aberforth Dumbledore. "What do you want?" he grunted as he eyed Atticus over while he cleaned the surface of the bar with a dirty cloth.

"I'm here for Room Three." He said simply. Aberforth hummed as he eyed Atticus curiously

"Up the stairs. Turn right then continue onwards until you reach the end of the half then turn left." He informed him.

Atticus nodded in acceptance and went up the stairs. Soon enough he arrived at the door and he opened it. 

The room was a private meeting room that was large enough to host twenty people. There were sixteen people not including him.

There were a few seated whilst most were standing. They turned around towards the door where Atticus was and they were all surprised and more than a few were suspicious.

"Afternoon people" Atticus said genially. 

"What are you doing here?" one of the asked suspiciously. He was broadly shouldered, an athlete's body. He was tall, brown haired and eyed. He was Jack Crawley. A Muggleborn.

All of them were muggleborns. They had reason to be suspicious. 

"I'm here because I called for the meeting" he clapped as he pirouetted to face them once he arrived at the front of the room, at the head of the table that was there.

"You're the one that got Emerson to get us to come to this meeting?" a young girl's voice rang out which started the whispering which halted pretty fast as they took to staring at him.

He was met with an uneasy silence until one of the younger ones piped up. "Why?"

"Yes, why?" one of the fifth year muggleborns asked. "You purebloods hardly ever have anything to do with us, or want anything to do with us." She asked harshly as she crossed her arms.

Atticus hummed and he nodded in agreement "Yes, most purebloods don't have anything to do with you. Because they're elitist racists that are blind, ignorant and most of all utterly dense" he said happily. 

They looked at each other murmuring, whispering to each other and shuffled uncomfortably. It was understandable. To insult purebloods was to court danger and retribution. Even their own house mates in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff wouldn't help them beyond a certain point. This probably was quite strange to them. To hear one of the most well known pureblood speak such about his peers.

"You still haven't said why." Derek Saunders, a seventh year asked.

Atticus nodded in agreement "I haven't. You're right." Atticus then went into his robes and brought out a stack of parchments. "Sit down, you will want to have time to read what I've brought you."

A few of them sat down and took to reading the parchments, which were secrecy contracts with no compete clause. Standard Gringotts versions. 

"I didn't come here to on false pretences. I was told that it concerns our future and that it was a golden opportunity" Sandra Kilburn said as she narrowed her eyes.

Before he could reply one of the sixth years, James Clarke looked at Atticus with suspicion "This is a secrecy contract and no compete clause" he stated. 

Atticus looked at him and nodded "Yes. It's a standard secrecy contract with a non compete clause that protects what is stated in this room. When you hear what I have to offer you" he said and glanced at Kilburn "You will know why I want secrecy and to ensure that someone else won't take my idea from me." He stated simply.

One of the sixth years shook his head "This is not what I expected..." he said. 

He looked at Atticus with narrowed eyes "nor what I want. I'm leaving. Who's coming?" he asked the room.

A few muggleborns rose from their chairs "You are of course free to leave. But you will be sorry that you at least didn't stay to hear my offer. I guarantee you that what I have to offer will be far beyond what you will receive once you graduate from Hogwarts." He said solemnly as he gazed up at the retreating muggleborns.

The sixth year who tried to incite them leaving glared at Atticus fiercely. 

One of the fourth years, Thomas Skipp turned around and looked at Atticus in confusion "What do you mean?" he asked.

Atticus cocked his head and looked to the seventh years "Do the lower year muggleborns not know their future prospects?" 

Derek Saunders looked away in shame "We...haven't really tried to inform muggleborns. We ourselves weren't informed by the upper years when we were younger." 

Atticus pursed his lips and looked at the fourth year "Magical Britain isn't particularly kind towards Muggleborns once you graduate." He paused as he looked around. He had their attention good. Even the ones who wanted to leave.

"Even if you ace your exams, you will never gain a higher position than perhaps a deputy position and that is only if you have pureblood connections. Most likely the highest you will rise are clerk positions and even then you won't be secure in your position. Similarly any jobs in any of the Alleys, the ones that are desirable and decently paying are essentially earmarked for purebloods and the well connected half bloods." He paused as he took stock of the room. Most were horrified at their prospects.

"No! That can't be true. They would have said something when they came to get us to go to Hogwarts" one of the two third years exclaimed. 

"No...it's true" Derek said glumly as he looked at the third year girl. "Jobs for muggleborns are almost nonexistent and the most you can get in the Alleys is a waitress position if you are..." he made displeased face "attractive" he said derisively "to the clientele" he stated.

The room descended in slight chaos as they started arguing and cursing until Atticus cast a minor exploding charm was used for gaining attention.

The chattering ceased "I know. It's terrible. They've come and got you interested in magic and promised a lot which you are finding out is false." He said soothingly captivating their attention.

"How can you know?" The antagonistic sixth year said who's name evaded him until now. Daryl McKinney was his name. A Liverpudlian native as well. "You're the pureblood prince of Britain. You are the most capable student that has ever walked on the grounds of Hogwarts" he said angrily. "You can't know what is to be muggleborn" he shouted at Atticus. 

Atticus inclined his head in acknowledgement "It was a poor phrase. For that I apologise" he said calmly as he met the fierce gaze of Daryl "But I will not accept anger for something I cannot help. Just as you are born muggleborn, I was born pureblood. I'm aware of the advantages that I hold. I'm aware that I was born in a family that supported me all the way in my education and in my interests." He cocked his head "Yet, here I am, hoping to aid you when many purebloods wouldn't even bother." He said silkily as he extended his arms.

"I understand your anger. I ask that you control it and hear what I have to offer" he finished.

Daryl's gaze didn't falter for a little while as he tested me until he sighed and took a seat. That was the signal for the others to do the same. They began to read the contract and Atticus remained silent until the last one signed it.

He took a seat and intertwined his hands "Excellent. The offers I have for you depend on your own preference.

When the war ends, both muggle and magical, I intend to have multiple corporations that will operate in both worlds though they will work independently and will only operate in one or the other. 

On the magical side, I intend to create and release products, with your help, that exist in the muggle world but will be created entirely magically. This will cover sectors such as communication, media, fashion, gadgets, food and so on. 

This serves multiple purposes." Atticus held up his hand and drew his index finger "One; it will drag the magical world into parity with the muggle world in terms of technology and have the magical world familiarise with notions from the muggle world in terms that they will easily digest." He cocked his head as he looked around in the room and he saw interest. He drew the second finger

"Two; it will create new sectors or new products within the magical world that is deeply missing innovation in service, entertainment, magical goods and so on. This means that there is plenty of space to grow as there isn't a market existing. Which means plenty of jobs, both in research or running businesses. Creating new jobs in sectors that do not yet exist will mean plenty of opportunity for muggleborns, half bloods and purebloods to gain employment based entirely on merit." He says gazing at them.

"Three; I'm hoping it brings about competition, healthy competition of products that aim to rival the ones that I, or us if you agree, produce. This once again increases jobs, encourages the growth of the economy as people are spending money etc etc." He states.

"On the muggle side of things" he says gazing at them "There are massive opportunities for us to take. There is a war going now obviously" he says and he hears a few snorts 

"Which isn't particularly going well. But when it is finished and Britain wins" he half grins with a glint in his eye at them and he sees approval in their eyes though they are grim. No doubt a few of them likely have family in the military.

"There will be huge amounts of rebuilding that will begin. That means Britain will need a lot of material, both in raw material and also in goods. Britain is currently a net importer and that won't change for the foreseeable future.

My aim to focus primarily on the import export industry and create a company that deals predominantly with that." He says gazing at them and he knows that he has their attention.

"With magic" he smiled wryly and with an amused glint in his eyes "We will able to import more than what other companies can do."

"Space expansion charms" one of them caught on and murmurs begin. Atticus nods amiably "Yes, that is one of the methods that I want done. Of course, we will have to be creative to fudging the numbers" and he received snorts in return

"But we will figure out when we get there."

"Won't it be a breaking of the Statute" Sandra asks in concern and most agree with her considering the nervous murmuring.

"Yes...and no." Atticus pursed his lips. "I intend to hire as many squibs as I can. Both British and foreign. It also won't be breaking the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts as we are not changing the function of ships, simply expanding on it."

"There can't be that many squibs" one of them asked in disbelief. 

Atticus looked at him "Where do you think muggleborns come from?" he asked calmly.

Atticus had followed up on finding out whether there was a link between squibs and muggleborns. 

He purchased 64 House Elves at Yule in his second year in his Crysander Ferlow identity. It almost didn't go through until he bribed the person in charge in the office to accept his order. He hated the corruption of it and the necessity of doing it. 

Almost all bar three couldn't read and he had Tweenie begin training them how to read. It had taken a lot of coaxing on Atticus' part to get them to do it.

 Atticus didn't have anything for them to do until they were capable of reading so they managed to get to a reasonable level by the end of his second year.

He had split tasks for them. A third went on to read spy books, strategy and war books. He had explained to them that he needed loyal elf friends that would help against his enemies and he trusted them to help him. He shuddered internally when he recalled how long it took for them to stop crying and exclaiming he was the best master ever. 

He grimly thought that likely was possible. He liked the elves' earnestness. It seldom existed. He had vowed to himself he would never mistreat them. And to ensure that they would get days off.

Another third went on to read runes books and how to inscribe them. He wanted them capable to do inscribe them because he expected there'd be a lot tedious work available, in either his businesses or his own private ventures.

The last third were sent out to muggle departments and councils that had records and copied them. He had gotten an elf to go and find the Registrar General in London that he knew existed based on his knowledge. Once the elf found it, he employed his elves to create copies of the records. 

He used one of these to find the name of the individual in the ministry in charge of keeping records of magicals and squibs. Unfortunately the individual was from a prominent family so he couldn't easily get to them but thankfully it seemed the individual essentially made his half blood assistant take care of the records. It had been easy enough to legilimise and obliviate him to obtain the necessary information to make copies of the records. Strangely they were decently protected and he needed to go himself to make copies of the records. He managed however.

From there he had given them the unenviable task, except to them perhaps now that they could read, of matching names in those records to magical family names or the nearest to it.

From there, after a four month job of nearly nonstop matching, the elves had given him the list. He had been exalted when he was proven right. There was a link between muggleborns and squibs.

He was able to verify with certainty 43% of known muggleborns were born from verified squib lineage. 30% had some uncertainty but all of them had at least one confirmed link. It seemed that muggleborns were the product of chance meeting of squibs. 

Squibs that were cast out, were often cast out at the age of ten or eleven which meant that there was sudden appearance of children of that age range at orphanages.

The rare few that turned up in the muggle world with their family name were the easiest to follow.

One of the most often cases were muggleborns borne from squibs that met by chance. Both parents were squibs that hailed from perhaps two or three generations of squibs until they met, married and had children.

It seemed that for muggleborns to exist, they had to be born from two individuals of squib heritage.

That meant that there magical genes responsible for the ability to have magic. And there were genes that required to be activated to be able to cast magic.

It was an astounding find...a dangerous find that would cause a lot of trouble for him and his family. He remembered the promise he gave his great grandfather that he wouldn't submit anything of this effect as it would cause problems.

"What do you mean?" Daryl asked curtly though he hid his interest poorly.

He shook his head. "Muggleborns do not truly exist" Atticus said calmly.

He hadn't intended to reveal it in this meeting but given that it was covered by the secrecy clause...It would do well to foster a magical identity to these people

One of the third years, the girl who spoke earlier Jennifer Pierce "Muggleborns do exist, we're right here!" she scowled.

Atticus held up his arms when it seemed more would protects "Calm people. I mean to say that there is no such thing as muggleborn because you're probably all half bloods." He said soothingly.

At the confused looks Atticus was about to respond but he was cut off by Sandra "My parents are muggles. My grandparents are muggles. There is no magical in my heritage. I know, I've checked" she said sharply and she was met with noises of agreement.

Atticus looked at her. She was one of the names that he had found to have links with several magical families.

"Your grandfather on your mother's side, Jacob Nawley was born from Cregan Nawley. Cregan however went by a different name until the age of eleven. He went by Cregan Longbottom, son of Trafford Longbottom and Ismene Longbottom nee Hawthorne." He paused as he waited her to digest what he just told her. Her eyes widened in shock and she gaped.

"He took the name Nawley for it was the street name of the orphanage he was dropped off at. Your great great grandmother, on your father's side was named Elise Murke" he smirked at her "What rhymes with Murke?" he cocked his head.

"Burke" she gasped out. "So there can't be muggleborns as without magical blood, there is no chance of magic coming into family lines" she whispered out.

Atticus nodded and he looked around the room. "All of you are descended from magical families. There is no such thing as muggleborn in truth other than fictional classification" he paused as he gazed at them all "Magic is within all of us. Yours simply reasserted in you after a few generations."

"Why isn't this known all around" Derek asked dazed. Daryl snorted as he shot a contemptuous look at the boy "As if" he points out to Atticus "he and his ilk would ever accept us when they cast our ancestors out" he looked at Atticus disgusted.

Atticus narrowed imperceptibly his eyes at him. He was going to be a problem. He would have to remove him. He'd obliviate him but he was feeling...vindictive. Luckily for him, the Blitz is going to happen in a short few months.

"Oh give it a rest!" Jennifer snapped at Daryl. "He didn't have to do" she waved her hand frantically "all this. It is rude and discourteous to throw it at his face" she scowled and murmurs of agreement rang out.

Atticus looked at her warmly and inclined his head "Thank you for defending me" he said smiling at her. She turned bright red and ducked her head which garnered laughter around the table. 

The other third year spoke for the first year "Do you have records for all of us?" he asked. 

Atticus nodded slightly "I do. In some cases, about 27% is it not clear where the links are for the records aren't clear or the naming was done too well and there is no obvious sign of being dropped off at orphanages, schools and so on that would make it clear where exactly they came from." He paused and looked at the third year and smiled slightly "I will hand it over to you all at the end of the session, if that is alright?" the boy nodded shyly and sat back satisfied.

Atticus returned his gaze towards Derek "Reason why it isn't well known" Atticus continued "Is because I've only discovered this recently, about seven months ago." 

He dragged his hand down his face and he looked at them grimly "It is knowledge that I can't release" angry whispers spread across the room.

"Tell me, what will happen if I release this knowledge suddenly?" he asked intently to the room.

Silence rang out. Until a fifth year, he remembered spoke out "There will be chaos and they will also deny it. You will likely get into a lot of trouble?" he said hesitantly.

Atticus nodded "I will likely get into a lot of trouble. This is information that the darker purebloods are willing to kill for." He sighed "It would also result in angry blowback on muggleborns as they will overreact in their insecurity given how much they pride themselves in blood. No, the information can't be published until we've carefully gained influence among the powerful houses, including some of the darker families so that the news can be more accepted."

He looked intently at them "I have no doubt it will be difficult to get there and there will be blowback, have no doubt about it. The best we can do is limit it and ensure that the magical world treats muggleborns, half bloods and squibs fairly."

"With the records that I have, I can easily tell who will be descended from squibs." He smiled wryly at them "Given how...promiscuous" snorts rang around the table "we British can be" he said with a glint in his eye "there are a perhaps four thousand verified squibs and I estimate perhaps another three to five thousand within the Isles" he said smiling at them. "Given that squibs aren't excluded from the statute of secrecy, it is not a crime to inform them."

"Aren't you afraid of confusing muggles for squibs?" one of them questioned

Atticus shook his head "squibs are capable of seeing magic. That means we have a plethora of methods of ensuring only squibs can be contacted."

"We could have charmed leaflets or cards that we can send them" Sandra's eyes shone in excitement.

Atticus smiled at her and nodded "It's one of the options." 

He continued on his plans for the muggle corporations "First will be a shipping company, then it will be securing mines for raw material and then we will move on creating a technological company."

"This means that there will be a need for a lot business orientated individuals, economics, shipping and perhaps a few of you willing to study science and engineering" he looked around the table.

"I won't be able to afford any of this" Jennifer said quietly as she cast her eyes down.. 

"Jennifer..." Atticus said gently and he gained her attention. Her eyes were beginning to water "I was hoping once I graduate from Hogwarts, I would be able to earn money to help my parents. They're having a hard time with the war on and I don't know how long it will keep going" she said tears now flowing "Hearing that I basically have no future in the magical world..."

Atticus moved towards her. He wasn't particular a people person but he knew how to comfort people. It helped that it kind of was genuine this time compared to his old self. It was kind off startling to see himself evolve like this. He crouched.

"Jennifer" he said and he put his finger underneath her chin so she could met his gaze "The jobs that I have set aside for you" he said as he glanced at the others in the room "for all of you will secure your financial future. Not only that, you will be paid to get a muggle education, from college and from university."

She sniffed and Atticus wandlessly conjured a cloth and gave it to her with a smile. She returned the smile and she wiped her eyes "If you wish to apprentice and obtain a mastery in the magical world and work in the magical world, I will find you a master of the discipline" he stood up and looked at them all.

"If you want to do both, I will likely pay for both if you have reason enough for it. I intend to create companies that take care of its people and if you work for me, with me, you become my people" he said passionately. 

"Why?" Sandra asks after a period of silence. "Why do all this? You are wealthy enough from what I hear from my roommates" she said eying Atticus in a new light.

"You don't need the money. You have basically the most perfect life" she finished.

Atticus hummed in thought and returned to his seat.

He looked away into the distance through the window. "All of you are intimately aware of the wars that are going on right now, correct?" he said glancing at them.

He received nods and yeses in returned. He nodded absently "Then you know how destructive both wars are. Grindelwald worked together with Hitler" he said with distaste "to wage war against Europe as both seek to conquer." 

He sighed "The purebloods do not realise how dangerous the muggles are. They are...ignorant, both willingly and unknowingly." He pursed his lips.

"You all know the reason for the statute of Secrecy correct?" he asked and he received nods in return "Jennifer?" he asked delicately.

She straightened out "The Statute of Secrecy was to hide magic from the muggles." She paused as she frowned in concentration. 'Cute kid' he mused to himself.

"To protect them?" she wondered out loud. Atticus smiled at her "Not quite. While it was to protect both civilisations, it was predominantly to protect magicals from muggles." He paused and looked around the room.

"Before the statute of secrecy, magicals and muggles lived together for thousands, likely tens of thousands of years together. There were no magicals and muggles in their definition. They all had different roles. They were shamans, priests, warriors and so on. Until relatively recently, about fifteen hundred years until about two hundred, three hundred years ago." 

"The witch hunts" Sandra said grimly and Atticus nodded "The witch hunts. The Abrahamiac religions began to denounce magic and magicals which increased violence against our kind on a scale untold. The situation was untenable and so the statute was enacted."

"What does this have to do with why you are doing this" Daryl asked exasperated.

Atticus shot him a fierce glare but replied anyway "It's got to do why I'm doing this because the statute won't remain possible in the next hundred years."

Thomas Skipp interjected "Because the muggles are advancing quickly?" he asked half stated.

Atticus looked at him in approval and nods "Correct. Which means that our world will come crashing down around us and what is happening to the Jews in Germany and German occupied territory will be put on us and our descendants tenfold"

Derek scowled at Atticus "You are exaggerating. The muggles wouldn't do that." 

He looked at Derek with a raised eyebrow "Really?" he drawled the word out as he pinned the boy with a gaze "Tell me, how much do you know of muggle history? What happens when an advanced civilisation meets another civilisation, different in many ways, advanced in different ways but also weaker in most ways?" he asked.

He looked around the room "What happened to the Native Indians of the Americas? At first they worked together as settlers came pouring out of Europe. Until the Native Indians were in territory that Europeans wanted. Then they were killed in droves, driven from their lands." He paused and looked at Derek "The lucky ones are those who are allowed to live in reservations, in poverty and in irrelevant lands. The majority were wiped out."

"India is a prized possession of the UK despite their own civilisation being not so far behind the UK in technology. They are effectively guests on their own lands. Or China who were effectively held at gunpoint to open their borders and accept European business or they were threatened with war. So on and on."

"For us" he said as he looked around the room 

"It is even more dangerous. We live in the same countries as the muggle counterparts. We live practically on top of each other. We govern our own and have our lands. That will cause problems even if everything went perfectly which it definitely won't. When they find magic exists, they'll add laws that curtail us that make segregation and discriminatory laws against Blacks look acceptable"

He pinned them with a gaze

"There is also a religious factor in it. 'Do not suffer a witch' will become a rallying cry to those who seek to gain influence with the religious. The witch hunts of days past will be a cake walk compared to this happening in a interconnected world" He said to a deathly silence

"What is happening to the Jews in Germany?" asks Mischa Lensherr breaking the silence.

Atticus cocked his head "Surely you know. You're Jewish correct?" 

He shakes his head "I am Jewish but my family has been here in the UK for...four generations now. We have heard from some of the Jews that escaped Austria that they were profiling Jews and causing problems for businesses but they left four years ago"

Atticus looks at him grimly "Rumours are that...they are rounding up Jews and other 'undesirables' and killing them en masse" he says.

Mischa looks at him in horror "No! That can't be!" he says wide eyed. 

Atticus looked at him solemnly "It is what is happening according to rumours I have verified to be likely true. They are gathering Jews and so on and making them work to the death before they are gathered together and gassed to death or in some cases, burnt alive." 

A dead silence rang out. "How...why do you know?" Daryl asks quietly without any hint of hostility for the first time.

"I am invested in figuring out what will happen to our country. Both magical and muggle" A lie but they don't need to know what he knows is from the future.

"And yet you do nothing?" Daryl asks.

Atticus laughs dryly "Do you think MI5 doesn't know?" he said derisively at Daryl. He didn't know if MI5 knew to tell the truth. And it isn't as if he, a 15 year old could anything about war crimes and crimes against humanity thousands of miles away.

"What can I do? I'm just, at the end of the day a fifteen year old. A talented magical fifteen year old. I can't do anything and I dare you to say otherwise." He looked at Daryl sharply.

Silence rang out. 

"So you're saying what is happening to Jews could happen to us? To our children and their children?" Sandra asked shakily.

Atticus nods "Yes. We have a lot of time of course to prevent that to happen and that is why I'm doing all this. I want to make sure that when the statute fails...in a hundred or hundred and fifty years from now, our descendants aren't killed off. Because your children will be magical and what I seek to protect them and the magical creatures. But that is a story for another time."

"That is why I'm doing this. I want to create a world that we can be proud of, our children can be proud of. One that incorporates the best of both worlds And that starts with the people here" he said gazing at them all. Daryl looks unconvinced still. 

Atticus sighs and he gets up. He casts a silent Petrificus Totalis at Daryl who's eyes are wide. The rest of the muggleborns get up and palm their wands. 

Atticus looks at them "A lot of the things you've heard today is dangerous information and could get all of us in trouble." He indicate towards Daryl who's eyes were frantic. 

"I do not trust him to not fuck it all up for us" he said pausing "Do any of you?" he asked intently.

They looked at each other and shuffled uncomfortably. Derek stepped up and looked at him seriously "What do you intend on doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to obliviate him the information he got today" Atticus admits straight away.

Murmurs grew "Is it really necessary? There is a secrecy contract" Sandra asks as she gazes at Daryl.

"Yes, the secrecy contract protects the information and the people in this room but it doesn't mean he can't make life difficult for all of us by trying to get around it."

Atticus palms his wand "Unless there are objections?" he asked intently

He heard none. He was pleased about that. "Obliviate! Confundus You were in Hog's Head inn meeting a few muggleborns for a few drinks and left soon after on your own" he casts at the boy and instructs him to leave the room and he left the room.

Atticus returned his gaze towards the rest of the room. "Do you all agree to partake in this endeavour of mine?" he asked cocking his head.

He heard no objections despite seeing him obliviate someone. He smiled "Excellent" he brought out employment contracts for them all. The contract states that soon after they finish their Hogwarts education, they would be paid 100 galleons a month if they were also in education regardless if magical or muggle after which they would be paid 250 galleons a month for two years after which the contract would be renegotiated.

They would be obligated to fulfil a number of years before they could leave given the investment he was putting in them.

"A number of you will be leaving Hogwarts at the end of the year so you will be able to be paid in the summer depending on what you want to do. I would advise that you go into further education as I will be paying your schooling and your upkeep. It will give you the expertise the company needs soon after it starts in a few years. In addition, I have a few hundred acres of land and a large farmhouse near Cambridge that would be able to house plenty of people so you wouldn't need to worry about housing. There will be a house elf to help you maintain the home."

Almost all of the seventh years decided to go for a muggle education, all of them intending to go into business degrees.

 Two decided to opt for masteries in Charms and Runes and Atticus had fostered relationships with an number of masters some of them American who would be far more inclined to take on muggleborns so he would be able to advocate for them to obtain masteries.

After that, the meeting devolved around future plans and employees and Atticus encouraged them speak with other muggleborns.

Atticus already secured fourteen obsolete freight ships and he expected to be gain more that are going to be scrapped otherwise due to damage. It wouldn't take too much trouble to obtain licences and contracts once everything else is set up. 

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"So you're saying Runes are unimportant beyond the meaning they represent" Emily furrowed her eyebrows.

"Not quite! Runes have meaning because we gave them meaning. Do you understand what that means?" Sayre asked her intently.

They were in the library in one of the corners. This was their fourteenth meeting within a month and a half since the Astronomy Tower and their eleventh in the library.

They spend most of their time talking about magic. She would never admit it but she...didn't dislike her time with him. 

Her associates didn't evoke this kind of...stimulus. They had their uses. After all, they were her source of information...the finer information that isn't published or made public knowledge...knowledge kept within families and pureblood circles.

For that, their value was quite high. When it came to magic, they were...insufficient. They coasted on their heritage, their wealth and they were lazy. In truth, she quite liked this even if she held most of them in contempt. After all, magic granted power. It wouldn't do for everyone to be capable enough to be a threat to her. Magical power is an equaliser and in her case, it was what put her above them despite her lack of family name. 

She would have had to plan to kill many of her associates had they not proved to be quite insignificant beyond their wealth and influence.

Her thoughts were a whirlwind as she processed his question, as she thought of the little details that she gathered from her interactions with the Sayre heir.

Her first meeting...any of the meetings with the Ravenclaw hadn't gone as she had foreseen, as she had planned for. He lead the conversation most often, drove the conversation without her prompting. She found herself engaging him, perhaps not in total truth but more honest than she's been to anyone.

It was a strange thing for her. To be the person who wasn't in complete control. A mutual interaction. She was prepared to subtly direct conversation towards directions where she could pry information from him, gain insight into the Ravenclaw, gain information she could use when she wanted, or needed to. 

But he seemed to pick up on her line of questioning and often gave her a non answer and a smirk that seemed to taunt her...or tease she thought begrudgingly. The more he did this, the less infuriating it became and more irritating. Her wand hand had stopped twitching whenever he raised her ire. She let her lips thin out.

No one spoke to her the way he did. She had threatened him, flared her magic when he had been verging on insulting her and he took on an apologetic look and courteous apologised if he went too far but never once was there fear in his eyes. He did not fear her. Not even in the slightest. Of course he didn't know what she had done to those who went against her and yet she knew he at least suspected what she was capable of...what she was. And it didn't faze him. 

The more time she spent with him...the more she was becoming to understand that he would never become a pawn. He was too strong willed, too certain of his path. That much was obvious from their conversations. 

He was a threat. He could never be anything other than a threat. He was intelligent and it near rivalled her own. He had a depth of knowledge that seemed to only continue to grow each day. 

It should have made her keep her distance from him, to avoid him whilst ensuring to keep track of him for the future when she had to get rid of him. It was bad enough she likely had to deal with Dumbledore and maybe even Grindelwald later on. But another archmage level wizard?

Fortunately, it seemed that his path was quite different from hers. She ignored the traitorous whisper in her mind that asked 'Fortunate for whom?' brutally. 

It was clear that his path was one of discovery, of creation, of seeking knowledge. He had his own ideas about the order of the world, no doubt that he would pursue it to the ends of the world.

His path was one of magic. Hers was a path of power. It made him rare in her eyes. An individual who slipped past the noose she would hang over everyone's neck as she climbed her way to the top.

She didn't know what to think of it. Why was she allowing him more latitude than she had ever allowed anyone else? 

By now, she had enough information about him to profile him, and she had one...he was unimportant to her plans and yet...she kept looking forward to their meetings other than to seek information from him.

She suspected the answer in truth. She'd known since her second meeting confirmed it. He was useful beyond what she would use people...pawns for. He was edging closer towards companion status. Her mind went back to her first and until now, only ever companion. The snake that Billy Stubbs killed, the filthy creature that dared she hissed out internally in hate. The snake that confirmed to her how special she was.

She crushed that errant thought down. Stubbs would die one day and she would savour it. It was only a matter of time. She would continue to learn magic... especially the more questionable ones that her associates bring to her and he would be subjected to many of them. He would not die easily. His mind would shatter before his body expired she thought sadistically.

Her facial expressions during all this remained the same and she drew herself out of her thoughts and took a thoughtful expression.

"It means that the symbolism we ascribe to runes is responsible for the effects. That the runes don't hold power but the meaning we convey to them do, along with our own magic?" she responded as she thought about what he was trying to say.

He leant back in his chair and tilted his head curiously. He smiled at her nodding "Correct. That means that runes are simply the wheels of the bike and that our magic, our meaning and our understanding that get us from A to B. Though I'm not a hundred percent certain that runic languages weren't created through a special ritual" He pauses and looks past her hungrily. 

She liked that expression. She scowled internally at her traitorous thought and dispelled it

"If runic languages didn't require a ritual, it means that we can create our runes as long as the meaning is static. That means we could in theory design a runic language that at least two people know that brings it into existence." He said keenly at her.

"You want..." she brought her full attention to him. She began to laugh melodiously at the sheer ambition of the Ravenclaw. To create a runic language completely? 

"Why would you do that though?" she asked as she crossed her legs. It was cumbersome, unnecessary in her eyes. But with the sheer notion of being able to create a runic language, she couldn't help but be fascinated in the prospect of creating your own runic language if only as a brain exercise.

While she wasn't taking Runes, yet, she had read a few books on the subject. 

She was immensely interested in warding and breaking them. She had cast a number of wards on her bed and door in her first year during Christmas, Yule, and the sheer usefulness of runes were hard to understate. Runes were unnecessary to cast wards once you understood completely their function. More complex wards required anchoring runes rather actual runes that made wards.

From her reading, she felt that for most things the runic languages that existed were good enough. That didn't stop him from trying to convince her of otherwise. 

He chuckled softly and met her gaze "Well, first of all why not?" he said with a devious glint which disappeared when he took on a serious look "There are a lot of ideas, notions and terminologies to describe events, things and so on that do not have a decent approximation in runic languages. Often it requires combinations of runes with different meanings to obtain an approximate meaning. That is if even there is an combination of runes that could describe the effect you want. 

Creating your own runic language, you factor all of this in while at the same time include terms that could have later purposes." He finished

"Of course, it would be a large undertaken that could take years. While people give runes meaning, there is a logic to it; curves, lines and so on that allow for the association of the rune to work with the meaning intended. And then you have to ensure that the language stays dead." He shrugged.

She shook her head "It just seems so...unnecessary. At least for now." She tilted her head.

"You would be creating work for yourself, likely years for something that would be unnecessary 80-90% of the time" she pursed her lips lightly as she raised one of her eyebrows.

He chuckled and crossed his arms "Aye, it would be unnecessary for most things but then again it would be available to use. Besides, it would allow for other runic languages to become obsolete as the new runic language would supplant it in both effectiveness and extensiveness" he shrugged and he began to frown.

"That is if nothing special was required to activate said runic languages." He shrugged.

"I haven't found anything that indicates towards that. Even if I found it, I suspect it likely would have been a ritual, I wouldn't be allowed to perform the said ritual in Britain" he said pursing his lips.

At this, her interest reignited. She was fascinated with rituals. The few she saw and from what she was able to learn from her associates, rituals would help her gain power. 

She sat up "Why is that? Is it because they are frowned upon?" she asked intently. 

He looked at her sharply though he softened his expression as he spoke "Yes. Rituals of this kind have been banned since..." he hummed as he thought it over "Since 1734. Only a few decades after the statute. Large scale rituals were banned in that year. Since then, more and more rituals" 

He scowled a little "have been banned as the ministry began to exert its influence of the Isles as they began a hidden so called anti-dark campaign when in reality it was stemmed in limiting magicals they held power over." He sighed

"Often the rituals that they banned were rituals that were hundreds if not thousands of years old and many of them stemmed or were part of magical beliefs and religion." He paused as he looked at her "Personally I believe there was a hidden agenda to remove so called paganism from magical Britain. But banning festivals would have caused a civil war so they simply banned the more 'dangerous' rituals" 

She pursed her lips. She never was one for religion. Certainly her time at the orphanage promptly removed any notion of there being any deities. Plus she hated the Christian religion for considering her unnatural. Religion was for the weak minded who sought comfort from a figment of imagination.

Admittedly she knew nothing of the magical world's religion but they cast it aside, was it even worth keeping?

She hadn't looked into the beliefs of the magical world, beyond what read politically and historically. She needed to rectify that.

"What are the religious beliefs of the magical world?" she tilted her head.

He blinked in surprise at her questioned before he took on a look of understanding. "Ah of course" he paused. 

He leaned back and tapped his lips "To call it religious is a bit of a misnomer. It is spiritual if nothing else" he said as he sat up with his right arm on the desk and he brought his face closer to her.

He was seated to her left as she sat with her back facing the wall. The desk was cluttered with a number of books, most his.

"We believe that magic is a crucial factor of life, where magic dwells so does life. Most of the spiritual beliefs spawn from that crucial tenet. The Beltane festival, Hallow's Eve, the celebration and honouring of the dead, Yule the celebration of the coming of the new and going of the old, and so on" he paused.

"All of them celebrate the transition of the coming and going of something, to celebrate cycles which are important for life to flourish. The cycle of seasons, the cycle of life, the cycle of the living and the dead and so on." He said passionately and a look of idyllic came upon his face before he returned his gaze to her.

"It's unfortunate that you won't be able to attend a Beltane festival while you're at Hogwarts" he said almost wistfully.

"Am I really missing something?" she cocked her eyebrows. 

He returned his gaze to her "You are" he nodded seriously "My first was when I was five"

She felt a burning jealousy at this. She seethed internally at the reminder that she never experienced anything like this. She was left rotting in the orphanage with little food or happiness with filthy muggles while Sayre and the other purebloods got to experience the magical world in their youth.

She cast aside her anger and jealousy swiftly. 

"It was...an experience that I wish every magical has" he said burning a gaze into her "You've mentioned that witches and wizards in general only see magic as a tool?" he asked rhetorical "The number of people, even Slytherins who espouse traditions and such, who attend ancient festivals are low...the ones I've been to only had a few hundred people attend. My great grandfather says that in his time it used to be thousands." 

He sighed "If they were to observe and experience the magic during Beltane in the festivals or other festivals, I believe that many would change their minds about the nature of magic." 

"Why doesn't Hogwarts celebrate them?" she asked keenly. She narrowed her eyes at his thinning lips

"It's because of mudbloods and their Christ isn't it?" she asked knowingly. 

He sighs "Yes...and no. You see, given how different our own beliefs are to Christianity, it...stood out" he says carefully 

"Plus with the concerns of muggleborns and some converted magicals about paganism, Hogwarts adopted...a less controversial stance by quietly ensuring that the festivals are obscured until only relatively recently, perhaps in the last two decades where they began to adopt Christian holidays rather than holidays for our kind."

She thought it was wrong...that muggles were infecting the world she belonged in. Her hatred for them grew in size.

"How...successful" she said slowly, eyes half lidded as she tilted her head "Would we be if we petitioned the Headmaster to allow us to observe these...rites at Hogwarts?" she asked keenly.

He leant back in his chair "I'm not certain. It would have to a concerted effort. I know a few of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs that have come to a number of Beltane festivals that I've been." He tilted his head 

"You could use this as an opportunity to increase your own influence in your house" He smiled knowingly at her. 

Her lips twitched in amusement "Oh?" she leant forward as she met his gaze. She didn't expect any less from him to deduce her intent.

He neared towards her as they met each other's gaze "You could approach it from a certain angle and could serve a multi pronged purpose" He said lazily raising his right hand and he flicked his index finger 

"You can be seen as someone who champions the reintroduction of spiritual rites that were once a cornerstone in our culture for our kind to the masses" he said. 

He flicked his second finger "You would state that it reaffirms amongst the population that we have our own beliefs, our own cultures and traditions. State that by expanding inclusion for everyone, it binds the magical community closer and it would reduce the number of blood traitors." 

He flicked his third finger "It reduces the input of muggle religious and cultural influences. Reintroducing spiritual rites at Hogwarts would increase interest amongst the half bloods and muggleborns once they experience it. They would understand more clearly the magical world and help them acclimatise. You could approach it in the sense that they do not know the superiority of the magical culture and traditions and educating them would help them understand why" He said pinning her with a gaze.

She thinned her lips as she narrowed her eyes "Why would I care about convincing purebloods about the...advantages of helping mudbloods acclimatise?" she asked intently.

He never called muggleborns mudblood. Always muggleborns. It seemed as if he didn't consider them lesser. And yet he didn't take offense when she or others in his presence called them mudblood.

She suspected his own family held views like the majority of her house and herself. She wanted to know why he is such a deviation from the rest of purebloods. There was something about him that didn't make any sense. His actions...his words and often the words he didn't say.

He shrugged "I didn't say you have to care about anything" he says lazily as he glanced at her "I know that you don't particularly care about much but it could be advantageous for you, in the long run, just as the mask you put up in front of everyone" he says as he eyed her.

She exhaled loudly as intended. She was irritated at how he seemed to insinuate that he knew more about her than he should. It infuriated her to no end. 

She decided enough is enough. She'd force answers out of him. They were in a secluded region in the library, at the far end where no one ever truly visited and no other person was nearby by over 30 metres.

She drew on her magic and directed it against him. His eyes widened in surprise at her actions as she pinned him down forcibly in his seat. Her smile twisted sadistically.

Her magic was always been her ally, the only thing she was able to rely on, even when she didn't know it was magic.

She wanted to find out what he knew and she would use her powers to force him. She had always been able to pick up things from people's heads if she focused enough. Her time at Hogwarts only increased her capabilities.

She had learned it was Legillimency. She was a natural one. She felt smug about that she an obscure talent. 

"You keep making comments that you know something about me. What I want, what I do and I've had enough of your non answers and continuous evasions" she whispered softly, deadly. Her magic spiked with malicious intent as it surrounded him.

To give him credit, he schooled his facial expression and he showed nothing. 

It didn't matter. She would get her answers one way or another. If she had to cause him pain, so be it. In truth she was looking forward to cause him pain. She would assert herself and pay him back for daring to act the way he did. She drove her prove into his mind and her probe was met with a impenetrable wall.

Her eyes widened in shock which she quickly replaced with an angry scowl, her eyes dark with fury.

He smirked at her. He dared ridicule her! Her face contorted in hatred and her magic warped accordingly.

For the first time, his eyes widened with more than just surprise. It was shock and panic and she revelled in obtaining more than the mildest reaction from him, receiving mocking expressions from him.

Before she could take advantage of that display of weakness by breaking something in him, he set his face in stone, determination and defiance shown in his eyes.

His magic roused from inactivity...it was beautiful. His magic wrestled the Ravenclaw out of the forced position she put him in. He sat up as he looked at her, serious faced, eyes glowing in power and she couldn't help but be captivated by it.

His eyes reminded her so much of the Orion nebula they had observed in Astronomy class. It perfectly matched his magic. She could...taste his magic, the vibrancy, the potency of it.

It was angry, his magic but not her kind of angry. It felt, in control, subdued but ready to be unleashed at a moment notice. It wasn't directed at her, not even slightly.

She met his gaze and she felt victorious, despite failing so spectacularly at breaking into his mind. 

He was finally out of his mask, out of his self induced idle state. She finally understood why she was so interested in him beyond his knowledge, beyond his intellect, beyond his pedigree for her own uses. His power was magnificent and yet it was not what drew her, not completely. 

It didn't feel like Dumbledore's magic, whose magic felt sickly and nauseating despite its strength. It felt...non threatening despite how dangerous it was.

Their magic held the other's off as they sustained the outward projection of their magic.

"There you are" she whispered as they met each other's gazes. "I knew you were more than you let out. Your magic is potent" she crooned as she narrowed her dark eyes "And yet you do nothing with it...you hide it...even with your academic achievements, it pales in comparison to the strength of your magic and yet you do not seek advantage. You could rule Hogwarts and likely Britain afterwards" she said alluringly as she sought to beguile him into confessing more about himself.

"Yet you do not wish to...why" she said in a melodious voice, full of enticement as she sought to squeeze information out of him. She genuinely wanted to know.

His face changed as he searched her face for a brief second before he looked her in the eyes "Why would I seek to rule a corrupt society? A society that would fight me all the way as I would seek to change much of the idiocy that plagues it?" he said as he fixed her with his eyes.

"You could change it as you wish." she said silkily "You have the power to do it. And the pedigree and wealth" She pressed on.

He pinned his eyes on her "Is that what you want?" he asked turning the question on her.

"To rule Britain, to rule the world" he said fixing his gaze on her. "Be honest" he said as he searched her face "I will not judge you or act against you. You have my word" he said and she believed him.

She pursed her lips. His actions were un-Slytherin. Direct, confrontational.

She decided to answer. If nothing else, it would cement whether he was an enemy or not "Why would I not be interested in ruling" she said with a glint in her eye "I have the power, the cunning, the intelligence to rule. I could have no other ambition worthy of me" she said victoriously with her darkened eyes.

"How would you rule over others? Power isn't enough" he pressed on.

"I asked you first. Why are you not interested in ruling. You've highlighted what is wrong with society, WHAT society is in your own words but you haven't explained why" she sidelined his question as she glared at him.

He pursed his lips "Because it is troublesome and I have already chosen my own path in life which is magic...and not power." He leaned back in his chair.

Finally she thought to herself "That is an honest answer." She said as her face twisted into a cruel smile "You're not so different from me. You don't care about people, not truly. You've just chosen an alternative route" she said proudly.

"Perhaps" he said carefully as he hummed in thought "It is also a route that is far more worthwhile than what you seek and perhaps the way you seek" he said knowingly.

He laughed and it was a nasty one. She didn't think he had it in him. She was wrong. "Riddle, how do you control a population that will be turned against you by those in power that do not want you in power, replacing them" he asked curiously though they both knew the answer to his question.

She remained silent and he took that as a cue "Dark Lords...or Ladies" he said as he met her gaze "fail because they seek to rule through fear and the threat of death and they lack subtlety." 

She thinned her lips. She didn't like the implication of what he was saying "I have the power and therefore the right to rule. They will all learn this" she said calmly though her eyes were cold. "Ruling through fear works" she said with conviction.

He looked at her in disbelief "Ruling with fear is what makes your power base uneasy. People are only loyal because they would fear you and your punishments." He said strongly and she nodded "Exactly, they would never turn on me if they fear me enough" she said with surety.

He laughed at this and her eye twitched "Riddle, it's so far from the truth. Tell me, what do people desire? What is their utmost need and want?" he pressed on.

"Power" she replied instantly. He shook his head "People seek safety. Money represents firstly safety from starvation, from homelessness and so on. Power represents the ability to ensure your own safety until you have enough to do more with it which is only a further expansion on their own definition of safety."

She looked away in thought. He...wasn't wrong, not completely. She looked back at him. "People will not remain loyal" he scoffed "if their safety is jeopardised. It means that people will become more liable to rebel against your rule even if they fear you as people will always seek safety and once they understand that their safety is jeopardised even if they are loyal, they will become more liable to turned against you by your enemies." He said sharply.

She scoffed at him "So all I have to ensure to meet a balance of their safety while ensuring to keep their fear" she said intently.

He once again shook his head "People will only remain afraid for so long Riddle. We are all animals at the end of the day" he paused as he mulled over his own words "Cornered, frightened animals lash out"

She cast her eyes towards the ceiling. She remembered the thin cat that she saw at the orphanage. She remembered some of the older children tormenting the sickly thing. It had tried to run and when it found it couldn't, it attacked the aggressors, leaving deep gashes on their arms and face until it found an exit. There was truth to his words.

"If you want to rule, you have to make it their idea, that they wanted you to rule. That they essentially pushed you into the position. They must think that you rule because they want you to rule" He sighed before he continued "It is what Dumbledore would do and is going to do if he is given the opportunity." She snapped her eyes towards him "You know how bad that would be, don't you?" he quirked his eyebrows

She narrowed her eyes as she thought over what he was saying as she formed ideas. "Dumbledore made himself into a household name..." she said slowly and she gazed to meet his eyes "He is held in high regard because of this, they trust him" she narrowed her eyes. 

He nods slowly "Yes, they trust him because they believe they know him. He's sought after for advice, as a confidante and people will tell him more, allow him more because they believe in his trustworthiness."

This meeting was becoming more and more valuable to her. Her mind was on overdrive as she began to think, readjusting.

Atticus POV

Atticus wasn't sure he was doing the best thing in the world by giving a likely Dark Lady ideas on how to rise to rule.

The truth was he didn't particularly care...too much...as long as she kept her sanity, didn't create horcruxes and didn't go on a murder spree. 

He wasn't under any illusion that she would do anything other than to rise in power. Her time at the orphanage defined her. It is deeply etched into her soul and she would do anything to remain in control, to have the power.

His talks with her all this time only confirmed this mentality of hers. The truth was, he kind of admired her will and her determination despite the disadvantages she held.

Who was he to prevent her from seeking a path to power? He had no doubt she would commit murder. But he wasn't an authority figure. He didn't have the right, other than his own power, to force her to behave with morality that she didn't feel.

He knew he wasn't a good person. He did plenty of good but he did just as many terrible things. 

Dumbledore wasn't the saintly figure he was shown to be. What was the difference between him and her? Dumbledore may not commit murder but Atticus got the impression he often did things just as bad... he sought to control society, to control children as he moulded it all in his image.

Would Riddle do worse than Dumbledore? He didn't know. At the end of the day, he would do all he could to prevent her making from the same kind of mistakes her counterpart did, namely horcruxes and ruling through fear and hope it worked out. He could change the way she gained power, he knew that he stood a chance there.

Magical Britain was a broken society that had a lot of room for fixing. Dumbledore would never be able to do it. He was afraid of his own power, of other people's power so he sought to keep everything in a strange distorted status quo that held Britain back whilst also limiting the magic that is taught and not dealing with the threat of muggles.

He broke out of his thoughts as he gazed her. Her magic was wonderful, truly. It had a darker tone of grey to it which was fine. He was envious that her magic was this potent, this strong without rituals. He wondered if he would have been as strong as her without the rituals he did.

"If you wished to rule you have to have an image and reputation that is well known, untarnished. You would use this to create programs of some sort that would greatly benefit society. It has to be something that would receive near universal laudation." He paused as he took in her face. 

He continued "An example would be perhaps...schooling prior to Hogwarts. Children in magical homes are homeschooled by parents or hired tutors. If you were able to start schooling for children, primary schools, it would likely be a success if you have a trustworthy, well known image. You would increase your favour with the population, you would also have access to their children who are impressionable, who you could persuade." He eyed her carefully. She remained silent though he knew she was intently listening.

"Why do you think Dumbledore is at Hogwarts?" he asked her intently as she met his gaze 

"You believe he is here to influence children?" she asked sharply and Atticus could see her mind whiz "Of course..." she whispered "He isn't from an ancient house, he doesn't have a seat on the Wizengamot...but teaching at Hogwarts gives him access to heirs" she said as understanding dawned on her face.

He nods at her dedications "Correct. Dumbledore has had access to thousands who have come and graduated and will continue to have access to thousands more, generations after generations once he ascends to Headmaster as he aims to" he twisted his face in distaste.

"If you want to rule" he returned to topic "You cannot be known a Dark Lady" he said sharply and she eyed him suspiciously 

"Not like the ones of history, those who committed terror attacks, those who killed indiscriminately or rather targeted certain groups." 

He said intently and she thinned her lips "If you truly want to rule, you will have to take over without anyone noticing. Consider it" he finished.

He hoped that he did enough to divert her from the line of thinking of her counterpart.

Emily POV

Emily looked at him with newfound clarity. He wasn't a fool who didn't deserve his power. 

He could easily put himself in a position to rule, he already had a reputation that required only to be built on. And yet, he disdained the notion, rejected it completely. He wasn't weak. She knew that but she couldn't help but feel strangely bitter. 

 "You know what I have planned, I do not know how" she scowled slightly "Yet, you have done nothing to hinder my path when you could do it so easily." She said matter-of-factly. 

She sighed deeply as she looked at him with half lidded eyes "I do not understand your intent.

"Why are you being helpful? You're not gaining anything from me. If anything, you're exposing yourself to me" she darkened her eyes "I now know extensively that you know what I seek to do. You are a threat that knows what I want to do. I could easily plan to kill you now to make sure my secrets aren't exposed until I'm ready" she said tilting her head. 

"You knew this and you did it anyway. Why?" she asked narrowing her eyes. "Do not evade my question" she said lowly.

He hummed in thought as he met her fierce gaze "Because I do not want you to ruin yourself" 

She widened her eyes "Explain" she snapped. She felt that there was more to it than that, she just knew. 

He sighs "You are rare Emily" he said carefully though he held a curious expression in his eyes "Anything you would do, would affect the world" he said carefully "It is apparent even from afar. It is also partly why Dumbledore doesn't like you. But you do not have people around you that aren't your...pawns..." he smiled a little wry smile "Your toys..." before he turned serious "That could not help you prevent making mistakes that would ruin you and distort your aims into something mindless" 

She narrowed her eyes but he continued "I'm helping you because no one has helped you without an agenda" he said carefully as he tilted his head "You've never had anyone you could talk freely with, that could help you on a path that doesn't destroy everything behind it." He said carefully.

She seethed at his audacity. "I do not NEED anyone" she scowled at him. She never needed anyone and she would never have a need for anyone.

"You think that you know me? That you can know me from the few meetings we've had?" she said derisively. 

"You know nothing about me" she hissed out as her magic sprang forth, as she drove her probe as much as she could into his mind and his wall dipped slightly which completely shocked him. 

He set his face in stone as he pushed her probe out and his magic burst free to meet her own. She stood up as she prepared herself in defence. He followed suit and she waited.

Until he changed. Until he did something she never expected. His face softened and his magic softened in return. 

She didn't understand why he wouldn't seek to press his advantage over her. To seek retribution against her for her actions. His magic, his power began to touch hers, clashing, interacting, caressing, so different from the aggressive stance his magic was in response to hers.

Before she could wrestle her magic away from him, he smiled a small smile at her and she didn't understand the intent of it. 

She didn't understand how the situation changed so extremely. Before long, she felt something. A kind of push, a gentle push and made its way towards her mind, as it were a soft caress against her skin, gentle and slow.

Her eyes widened in shock and she lashed out with her magic as she grew rigid and looked at him with hatred at the violation until she heard a soft 'Hello' in her head.

She understood then how much she underestimated him. She panicked as she shored up her mind as fast as she could.

He moved forward towards her, their faces barely a couple of feet away from each other. She met his gaze and she began to calm herself. 

"I'm not reading your mind, Emily" He said softly, soothingly. There was nothing soothing to the violation.

She scowled in hate at him "You dare enter my mind" she hissed out as she lashed out with her magic as she sought to crush his body with her magic, several orders of magnitude more than what she put the elder Avery under. 

His eyes widened and then narrowed in concentration as his magic fenced her magic away. He looked at her with an deadpan expression before he reached out with his magic once again.

She glared at him with unrestrained anger as she gripped his magic and harshly yanked it away, challengingly, daring him touch her like that again.

"Emily, I mean no harm" he once again spoke as he met her angry darkened eyes.

Before she could retort he spoke again "Use your magic to read my intent Emily. I mean you no harm, I never did, I never have" he looked at her kindly and she knew he was telling the truth.

"I could care why?" she hissed out though it lacked venom. She knew it was weak. She hated that that weakness came from her.

He simply shrugged and tilted his head as he smiled at her. She hated that smile, she had only seen it directed at her from a single person, the person in front of her. It evoked things in her that she long since buried once she killed it. 

It was weakness...it reminded her of when she hoped that someone would come for her when she was a child in that forsaken orphanage. 

The children at the orphanage always looked the gates, waiting for parents, their own or new ones. She hated that she once hoped for the same...waiting for her father to come for her. She stopped hoping when she was seven when she saw the truth that no one would come save her...that she was unwanted, forgotten and dumped at the orphanage...when she knew that her father would never come for her. She killed this weakness then and vowed she would make her father pay for abandoning her to the orphanage.

 Yet he kept showing it, that care, she thought disgustedly to herself while she ignored that incessant tinge in the back of her mind, to her, unrestrained and genuine. 

"I mean you harm." She said scowling as her magic roiled off her in waves, manic and tense.

She continued "I wanted to crush your body, break every single bone, flay the skin of your arms and your face for daring to enter my mind" She ground out, her teeth set in fury.

"Have you ever entered my mind without my knowing? Without my permission" she said in uncontrolled rage.

He looked at her sadly and her anger only grew at the pity she saw in his face. How dare he pity HER. 

"I have never looked in your mind. Even when I sent you that message in your mind, I didn't look past your shields, simply sent you a message" he said sincerely.

"It was no different than us having a conversation like we are now. Instead of your ears picking up vibrations that my mouth makes, I sent a restrained message to your mind without moving past your shields" he said lowly as he looked at her inquiringly and more than a little pleadingly.

She breathed out slowly and she dropped her eyelids slightly as she turned her gaze away from him. He was telling the truth. Her magic calmed slightly.

She returned her gaze to him. She thinned her lips in annoyance at the expression he saw. It was one of mild amusement.

He cocked his head "Given that you were trying to break into my mind...twice to get answers, your reaction towards me, even if you were under the false impression that I was trying to read your mind, was..." 

He paused a little as he upturned his lips in dark amusement "a little over the top, don't you think?" he said as he stepped forward a little closing the gap.

They were still both flaring their magic.

"Flay my arms and face?" he said with dark curiosity and amusement in his eyes.

Her eye twitched at his amusement "It was a standard threat" she said nonchalantly as she crossed her arms, assessing his reactions.

He pursed his lips as he tilted his head as he examined her words "I have little doubt that you would have carried through with it" 

He quirked his eyebrow "Would you have even cared that you were subjecting me to it? Would you have felt guilty afterwards for doing it to me?" he tilted his head.

She laughed harshly and unrestrained as she eyed him maliciously. "You seem to be under the false impression that I give even a scrap of care for you." She said unkindly as she smiled nastily 

"I care as much about you as I care about a worm that crawls beneath my feet Sayre" she said triumphantly as she leant back in her chair "You are nothing to me other than a source of information" she said as she goaded him, hoping to hurt him.

His expressions fell slightly though he kept a determined glint in his eyes.

"Emily..." he began softly. 

"In the meetings that we have had, you've continued to open up, more honest each time. Your eyes..." he whispered softly as he held her gaze "Your eyes lit up as we talked about magic, about society and so on. I have never seen you react like it with anyone else" he continued.

She sneered at him "Don't think you're anything special" she half snarled and she hated that she lost her composure. She quickly readjusted herself and she smiled at him broadly though her eyes were cold and harsh.

"As you've made clear all so often in your insinuations" she mocked him "I'm excellent at deception and manipulation." She laughed harshly almost in his face "You've simply fell for it, like so many other people" she said with a victorious tone, pride on her face.

He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips "I don't believe that. You yourself don't believe that Emily." He said with a searching gaze. 

"You are simply trying to convince yourself of that fact. You're trying to push me away, in anger and in self protection." He said softly but with conviction and certainty and she hated that he thought he could read her. She refused to believe his words but he continued to speak

"You've not even chastised me or threatened me with violence for using your first name so casually" he said with a soft smile and she scowled away. She hadn't noticed that she was allowing him to use her first name.

He reached out with his magic again, slowly and was trying to weave his magic with her own, linking his own magic with hers. It had a calming tone to it and slowly but surely it was calming her with intended care and patience.

Her magic was swirling around her reacting to her emotions, as if she was the eye of the storm and his magic was calmer, more control and it was working. She felt her own magic reduce in intensity

She didn't yank away but she didn't reciprocate. She remembered feeling the magic of Diagon Alley and then later Hogwarts. Everything she knew before then had been dull, lifeless, sterile.

Until she saw the magic in Diagon. Until she felt the magic in Diagon. It had given her a vibrancy she never knew she missed.

That vibrancy only dimmed as she came to realise the flawed world she belonged to. Magic wasn't able to compensate for the faults of people, regardless if they were filthy muggles or magical. 

She knew that she would have to have power to control people, to shape the world the way she wanted, under her rule. 

That dim vibrancy, for the first time in...three years returned brighter. Her breathe hitched as she met his eyes. 

She denied the implications of that vibrancy. The feeling it stirred. For the first time, she feared something other than death or lack of control. 

She returned her gaze to him, meeting his eyes and her stomach stirred as her breath slightly hitched. 

She knew what was happening. She had refused to acknowledge it previously. She reciprocated with her magic and his eyes widened at the action.

He moved forward until they were only a few inches away from each other. Her magic reacted in anger at his actions and he held up his hands in a placating manner and tilted his head, waiting on her to acknowledge the gesture for what it was...a peace offering. She calmed slightly and her magic did so too but remained poised.

He reached out with his hand towards hers and he took her hand. 

She hated touching. She hated being touched, or touching others. It was uncomfortable, it felt withering as if their touch damaged her. But this...this was different. It felt like how she had once wanted it to. She didn't...hate it.

She scowled at him but her magic hadn't reacted. She didn't draw her hand away. They stood there gazing at each other. She did know how long but it must have been for some time.

Finally yanked her hand free and palmed her wand as they continued to meet each other's eyes. 

She looked past him, towards the table that held her books and she pointed her wand, wordlessly packing them into her bag.

She left without saying another word. He didn't call after her.