Next morning, Nordi waited for Dumbledore by a Gargoyle statue - the passage to his office. Said Headmaster appeared after a while.

'Oh there you are already, my boy. Ice mice.' he said to the Gargoyle, who stepped aside.

Nordi raised his eyebrows, "Ice mice'' was one hell of a password.

They stepped inside a circular room. If Nordi wasn't so focused on overcoming immense pain in his entire body, caused by an overwhelming, blinding Light Aura, he might have found this room interesting.

'Sit down, my boy. Lemon drop?'

Nordi managed to remain a straight face.

'No, thank you, sir' he answered silently.

Nordi sad down and tried to stabilize his breathing. He put up strongest Occlumency shields he could create around his mind. However, fighting with the pain weakened him, and he wasn't able to raise as strong shields as he wished. He could only hope that the ones he had would suffice.

'I would like to have a serious conversation with you today, Mr Exile. Look at me, please.'

Nordi rose his eyes at Dumbledore's light blue ones. It felt like white-hot iron making its way through the boy's skull. He clenched his teeth not to scream.

However, Dumbledore failed to get into Nordi's mind. Exile's shields withheld his attempt. It was only pain the old man was causing, but his invasion on Nordi's consciousness was unsuccessful.

The old Wizard rose his eyebrows with surprise. Nordi , overcoming the pain, gave him a satisfied look.

'Alright, Mr Exile' Dumbledore lost his soft, grandfatherly tone. 'Do you mind explaining where have you been the entire weekend?'

'I was ... at ...the Orphanage...sir.' Nordi uttered emphasizing words.

Dumbledore looked unconvinced.

'And may I know what had happened, that you were so urgently needed at the Orphanage?'

The pain made Nordi sweat heavily. He wiped his soaking forehead.

'Orion got sick...sir.' he hissed.

'I see.'

Dumbledore obviously didn't believe him , but he also had no proof that the boy was lying.

'It is indeed noble of you , to help looking after young children. It is also quite uncommon for a person your age to be able to apparate.'

Exile was so amused by this silly statement, that his pain diminished for a while.

'Of course I can apparate...sir. After all, I am hopefully graduating this summer.'

Dumbledore, being a Mind Arts Master, seemed to be able consciously manipulating the intensivity and range of his Light Aura. Nordi felt its sudden onrush, and his pain intensified so greatly within a split second, that Nordi hissed and cowered.

'Anyway, my boy, I must let you know that I will not tolerate sneaking out from the castle like this, without letting any of the teachers know. It is against the school status, and, therefore, you must face consequences. I'm assigning you a detention.'

'Hopefully not with you' Nordi thought, feeling tears in his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt something was off. His body and mind were so numb from the pain that it was difficult to recognize, but something around Dumbledore radiated a familiar Aura. Like a Dark taint on an overwhelmingly bright Light. It was not very strong, but strong enough to soothe his suffering to a small degree.

Nordi eyed cautiously the Headmaster as he was writing down his detention on a piece of parchment. He spotted it. Dumbledore's right hand! How come he never had noticed this? The skin on the light Wizard's fingers was stained almost black; it actually looked like skin of a dead man. And a square ring on the Headmaster's middle finger was the source of the familiar Aura. He could feel not only Dark Magic radiating from the ring, but also a Magical Signature, like if it was a separate being.

The ring definitely didn't belong to Dumbledore. It must have been a property of a Dark Wizard. What is more, it seemed to have turned the old coot's hand into a mess. Why did he even decide to wear a Dark Artifact on his finger? Nordi had an idea about this ring...

'Uhhh...' Nordi groaned and cowered in pain again. Dumbledore- presumably having spotted his interest in the ring- stopped writing and looked at him from above his glasses.

'By the Dark Lord...' Nordi whispered, biting his lower lip until it bled.

'What have you said, my dear boy?'

'Nothing, sir.' Nordi replied on his last strength.

'Very well. Take this piece of parchment; I enclosed there time and details of your detention. You may go.'

Nordi squeezed the parchment into his pocket. He stood up on shaking knees, and made his way out, staggering.

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POV: Severus Snape

Severus was pacing around his classroom, having dismissed a group of fourth-years Ravenclaws. It was already an hour since the boy went to Dumbledore. It seemed that the old coot was enjoying torturing him, as much as he enjoyed torturing Snape.

Dumbledore was a manipulative, calculated and ruthless man with a face of a friendly Grandfather. Being a Light Lord with an incredible amount of power, the Magical Aura surrounding him and controlled by him had an extraordinary power as well. It could comfort and soothe those of his kind, with a Light affinity. It could also intimidate, and- like in Snape's case- unbelievably hurt, those from the opposite 'team'. Of course, the old wizard was perfectly capable of controlling his own Aura. As a Mind Arts Master, it was easy for him to hold his overwhelming Light Magic within his own consciousness. If he wished, he could have a perfectly civilized conversation with any Dark Wizard, not even causing discomfort to the latter.

However, the key was-if he wished. But he did not.

The pain caused by a hostile, powerful Magical Aura -additionally from a man who was able to control it- was the worst kind of pain Snape knew.

Snape swore to himself to protect the boy. Yet, he let him down.

He had managed to shield Nordi Exile over the entire previous year. The day he decided to take care of him, he knew that keeping him away from the old Wizard could be most difficult.

Dumbledore hated Dark Magic and Dark Wizards equally. Because of his extreme outlook on this case, he definitely won't hesitate to hurt the boy.

Snape stopped pacing feeling a return of a familiar Magical presence in the dungeons. The boy was back. Snape had to check on him.

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POV: Nordi Exile

As soon as Nordi reached a boy's bathroom in the dungeons, his shaking knees failed him. He collapsed on the floor, trembling like in a severe fever. He crawled up to the toilet and threw up. Running his fingers through his hair, he could feel them being so wet of sweat like if someone had poured a bucket of water over him.

The boy heard someone stepping in the bathroom. He made an attempt to lock himself in the cabin, but he threw up again instead.

'By the Dark Lord, Exile...' he heard a soft whisper. Snape was kneeling by his side; judging by his facial expression, Nordi didn't look too good.

'Easy, Exile. it's alright. It's all over...' the Professor whispered and started muttering incantations upon the boy. Nordi recognized one of them as a Warming Charm; he stopped trembling and his skin and clothes went dry.

'Did he get past your shields, Exile?' Snape asked quietly.

'No, sir.'

Snape nodded with acknowledgment, still muttering soothing incantations. Then, he pulled out a vial and lifted Exile's head slightly, placing the vial by his mouth.

'Boosting Potion' Severus explained. 'Drink.'

As soon as Nordi chugged the potion, he immediately felt much better. Snape still held his head and Nordi looked at him with an endless gratitude. Suddenly, he reminded himself- they had to quickly do something about the ring!

'Sir, the ring... The old coot's ring... We have to... take it from him...'

'Wh... Ring?' Severus looked surprised at first, but then understanding appeared in his eyes.

'Exile, are you able to stand up?'

'Yes, sir, I guess so.'

'We are going to my office. Bathroom is not a place to talk.'

As soon as they found themselves in the office, Nordi started explaining.

'Sir, have you seen the ring Headmaster is wearing on his right hand? And the curse, that turned his fingers black?'

Much to Nordi's surprise, Snape nodded calmly. If he did notice it, why hasn't he done anything about it? Did Snape even realize what of an Artifact they were speaking of?

'Sir, but... do you know what that ring really is? It cannot stay within the presence of the old coot.'

Snape rose his eyebrows.

'And do you know what that ring is?'

Nordi nodded.

'I cannot be certain, but judging by the fact that I have felt not only traces of Dark Aura around it, but also a clear Magical Signature, this is an Artifact that holds its owner soul inside it. It can hold either a soul of a Magical Dark creature, or a piece of a soul of a Wizard. Therefore, it can be either a Tectumqus or a Horcrux.'

Snape's eyes widened- probably , as Nordi had assumed, he didn't realize what a powerful Magical object Dumbledore was toying with.

'Exile...where...on Earth... did you learn about such things?' he uttered in shock.

Nordi frowned; was that even relevant? They had to hurry up and take the ring from the old coot. The fact that the bastard was walking around with a property of a Dark Wizard on his hand was disgusting to think about!

'I have read so much about Rituals used to create a Tectumqus and a Horcrux, that I'm positive I could even create one myself' he explained. 'If you are interested in those rituals, sir, I'll be glad to tell you all I know some other time, but now we must take the ring away from the old coot.'

Snape frowned.

'What exactly are you planning to do?'

'Sir, this ring isn't Headmaster's property, it belongs to a person with a strong Dark affinity, and I'm not going to let the old bastard walking around the castle with it. If I take it from him, it won't even be stealing, because it was Dumbledore who stole it first.'

'Exile...' Snape looked at the boy with a worried face. He paused and gasped.

'You shouldn't expose yourself to the Headmaster like this' he said finally. 'I'm willing to protect you against him to the best of my abilities, but there is not much I can do, If you are choosing to fight him openly. You are merely giving him an excuse to abuse you. Will you ever forget what has he done to you today?'

'Never, sir. And that is why I will fight him.' He smiled to Snape. 'But don't worry ,Professor. I'm doing it Slytherin way. I will get the ring without getting caught.'

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Nordi found himself, second time that day, walking through the corridor leading to Dumbledore's office. He was desperate to get the ring, however, he didn't think of any specific plan- he was worried that if he had stayed at Snape's place any longer, his mentor would have started trying to wean him away from the idea. Before leaving, Nordi dropped by his room, grabbing his leather belt an hooking his Ritual Dagger on it. He also took his wand in case it was needed, and a few vials of some handy Potions.

Nordi spotted a group of first-year Huffelpuffs standing nearby the Gargoyle statue. Perfect; he could attempt to use those kids to lure the old coot out of his office.

'Hey, you guys,' He said, coming by to the firsties. 'You wanna learn an awesome spell?'

Kids looked at each other, not sure how to react.

'No offence, Exile' one of the boys said 'but my Mother would kill me if she learned that I had performed a Dark Spell.'

'This one isn't Dark. It's even taught at Hogwarts to the upper-years. It's affinity is Neutral. You wanna see it? It's pretty cool.'

Encouraged, the kids nodded.

In order to teach the kids to perform the Spell, Nordi had to show them, using his wand. He drew it out of the hostler and lifted it up toward the ceiling, making a simple movement. He was very careful not to use too much of his Magical energy, not wanting to blow the school up.

'Bombarda.' he uttered.

The spell came out just like he wished; a small and harmless, but loud explosion.

The kids were excited; they pulled their wand out and mimicked Nordi's gesture. All of them managed to create a small explosion, and the corridor filled with loud "BANGS!".

'Oi, Exile!' one of the first-years asked. 'Isn't Mcgonagall going to come here and yell at us?'

'Mcgonagall isn't here. She won't come' Nordi answered.

He wasn't even lying- Mcgonagall wasn't going to come for the kids. Dumbledore was.

Nordi sneaked out to an empty classroom and casted a Glamour upon himself. He stood and peeped through the door; the kids were getting better at the spell and their explosions were becoming louder and bigger.

Just like he had assumed, Dumbledore soon appeared. He approached the children and scolded them lightly. Having spotted that they were Huffelpuffs, the Headmaster apparently decided to take the group to Professor Sprout. As soon as the corridor was clear, Nordi jumped out of the classroom and yelled 'Ice Mice!' at the Gargoyle. The ugly statue let the boy inside.

The boy needed to think and act as quickly as possible. The fastest and most effective Rituals he could think of in this situation was the Sleep Ritual and Stunning Ritual. Both of them involved Blood Sacrifice and was on the Darkest side of the spectrum, however, the Sleep Ritual was actually used for healing insomnia and other sleep issues. It's effect were similar to the effect of Dreamless Sleep Potion. In combination with a Stunning Ritual, it was bound to cause loss of consciousness for at least a few hours.

Nordi checked contents of his pocket; the Potions he had were a Calming Draught, a Booster and a Pepper-up Potion. The last two were useless, but the Calming Draught could be used as a catalyst for the Sleep Ritual.

Nordi circled quickly Dumbledore's desk and kneeled on the floor in the corner. He drew his Dagger and sliced his wrist. He quickly realized that in his rush he had cut too deeply; blood started flowing like crazy; he probably won't need so much of it. He squeezed his forearm just above the cut, an used his blood to draw a circle with three Naga runes inside, symbolizing 'rest' , 'night' and 'health'. Then, he carefully opened a vial with calming Draught and let a few drops fall on his index finger. The boy led his finger throughout the shapes mixing the Potion with the blood. Having finished, he cast a strong Notice-me-Not on the circle and moved ahead to opposite corner of the room.

Trying to act calmly, he let go of his forearm, letting the blood flow freely and used it to draw yet another circle, this time filling its interior with Gaelic runes for 'wholeness', 'comprehension' and 'mind'. Not having any catalyst, he muttered a powerful incantation upon the circle. He cast another Notice-me-Not.

Because the office wasn't kept together by any wards, he had yet to set the boundaries of the Rituals. He crawled with his sliced wrist upon the floor, drawing long lines connecting the circles with each other, and each or them with the entrance. Looking from above, it would look like two small circles within a huge half-circle.

He cuddled his bleeding wrist to his chest and made his way out, when- to his horror- he heard a loud smirk behind his back. He turned around and looked up; the room seemed to be empty. He didn't feel anyone's Magical signature inside, either.

'Look up here, young man.'

Nordi looked up and cursed silently. He had forgotten about the damn portraits!

Dumbledore's office's walls were filled with portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses. They all have obviously seen Nordi's actions and were most likely to tell everything to the old coot. Nordi felt a dozen pairs of eyes staring at him from the paintings. He turned his head to the one that spoke to him- a white-haired old man signed as Armando Dippet.

'I don't mean to hurt him. Merely put him to sleep.'

Dippet eyed him cautiously.

'Why would you go through so much effort just to put Albus to sleep?' he asked.

Nordi decided to be honest.

'I must restore something that doesn't belong to him.'

Dippet still was looking at him with penetrating eyes.

'He did hurt me today. You all have seen that.' The boy pointed out.

'Indeed we have.'

'Please don't tell him about the Rituals.'

The Headmasters and Headmistresses seemed to look at each other, if that was even possible through their frames.

'If they are not intended to cause him any harm, we shall be pretending not to have seen anything. ' Dippet said solemnly.

Nordi sighed with relief.

'Thank you.'

The boy renewed his glamourand finally got out of the office. He walked into the empty classroom again, waiting for the Light Wizard to return. Having felt more and more dizzy, he regretted not having any Blood Replenishment Potion with him. He spent about fifteen minutes in the classroom, until Dumbledore returned.

As soon as the old Wizard entered the door behind the Gargoyle, Exile felt his hostile Aura fading away to a point of being impossible to sense. Perfect. The old coot has just passed out.

Nordi stepped out of the classroom, and, for the third time that day, came by to the Gargoyle.

'Ice Mice.'

He entered the office and smirked. Dumbledore was lying on the floor in a state between a deep sleep and unconsciousness. Nordi knelt by him and took the ring off his dark, dry finger. He resisted the temptation of breaking a couple of fingers additionally.

He took the ring and lifted it high enough for Dippet to see.

'Headmaster Dippet' he said. 'This ring isn't Albus Dumbledore's property. It is a powerful Magical Artifact and I'm going to give it back to its rightful owner.'
Dippet nodded.

'As far as I am concerned, Albus passed out due to his work overload.'

Nordi bowed silently.

'Thank you, Headmaster Dippet.'

Nordi came by to his Ritual Circles and uttered 'Scourgify' upon them, leaving the floor clean. Then, he levitated Dumbledore's body to the couch. The old man was for sure going to notice the lack of the ring later on. However, when he wakes up, trace of Nordi's magical presence will be long gone. Without any traces, there will be no proof of Exile's 'guilt'.

Additionally, even the portraits were on the boy's side. By the Dark Lord, it couldn't have gone better.

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Nordi turned his tiny room upside down, looking for Blood Replenishment Potion, but he didn't have any. And there was no way in hell Exile was going to the Hospital Wing in his obviously suspicious state. However, dizziness got unbearable, his vision got blurry too. He knocked to the Potions lab; Snape was apparently having a class.

When he stepped inside, cuddling his bleeding wrist, Snape's eyes widened. He was in the middle of a lesson with fifth year Gryffindors, but he gave them an assignment and walked quickly to his protégé.

'Which Potion?' He whispered. Nordi smiled; Snape understood him even without a word.

'Blood Replenishment' he answered, showing his mentor a bleeding wrist. Snape hissed and summoned a vial of Potion.

'What about the...' Professor whispered.

Nordi pulled the ring out of his pocket. Snape's eyes widened.

'What about Dumbledore?'

'Soundly asleep.'

Severus shook his head in disbelief.

'Professor, could you excuse me from the rest of today's classes?'

'I've already did it.'

'Thank you. I have some more stuff to do.'