Mystic Knight Online

Chapter 18 - A Slow December

November 29, 2023 - Aincrad 48th Floor, Lindarth

"Okay, after that boss fight, I need a drink." Harry said matter of factly. "That boss was just wrong."

"Agreed, on both counts." Silica chimed in with a shudder.

The rest of their companions agreed wholeheartedly with that comment. They had all gotten out of that fight unscathed, but fighting a mass of tentacles and what it did to that one group of unfortunate players was the stuff of nightmares. None of them would look at plants the same way again, and Harry resolved to stay well away from magical plants. He had personal experience with one that was reminiscent of that mob.

Though Devil's Snare would just strangle you, not what happened during that boss fight.

"What kind of mudok came up with, with that thing anyway?" Rain asked, still looking a little green, even after an hour.

"The kind that really needs to get a girlfriend," Kirito said with some disgust. "After seeing that? No, just… no."

"As if any girl would go for someone who designed that." Asuna grumbled. "That thing made me feel dirty just looking at it."

"Do you think those players are going to be okay?" Lux asked.

Harry stopped and looked at her. "After what happened to them?" He asked incredulously. "I heard someone say that he's taking them down to Mishe and pouring a cask of Lost Fruit Rum down their throats to help them forget it. I don't think we'll be seeing them on the front lines any time soon, though, if at all."

"Sounds like something Klein would do." Asuna commented. "But he wasn't there. Rather odd of him."

"Heard he was helping some mid-level players out." Kirito said. "It's very possible that he couldn't make it."

Harry shrugged at that. It would have been nice to have him there, he was one of the few players outside of those with him that he unequivocally trusted with his life, after all. However, his presence, or lack of it, didn't change the fact that the boss, for all of its... peculiarities, was actually fairly easy to kill.

When he realized that, he stopped and started vehemently swearing in English.

"Whoa," Rain said a minute later, impressed. "That's some creative swearing."

Silica walked over to the still swearing Harry and smacked him upside the head. "That's enough Harry." She said.

"Thank you Silica," Asuna said.

Silica shrugged. "He was starting to repeat himself," she replied. "Now, what got you to start going on like that?" She asked him.

Harry rubbed his head. "Just realized that the boss was rather easy," he said.

"Isn't that good?" Lux asked.

Harry turned to her. "Normally, I would say yes, but we're getting close to the halfway point." He said. "But the fact that it was fairly easy reminded me of something. Remember the last time things got like this? When we were a few floors shy of the Twenty-Fifth?"

Silica, Asuna, and Kirito thought about that for a moment, pales and then started swearing.

Harry nodded. "I knew you would get it." He said drily. He turned his attention to Lux, who was looking at the four of them with some confusion. "You spent some time of the twenty-fifth floor, right?"

Lux nodded.

"And you remember how much harder it was, correct?"

Lux nodded again.

"And how much easier the few floors before it were?"

Lux continued to nod, paused, and then her face paled.

Rain seemed to think about and reached the same conclusion. "Yob tvoyu mat." She said. "Are you serious?"

Harry nodded. "Yes." He said. "Even if the reason for things being easy, for a given definition of 'easy', is different this time around."

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere here," Asuna said. "Let's head to town, activate the teleport gate, and talk about this over a meal."

"Seconded." Kirito said.

"Thirded." Lux said as her stomach growled. They all looked at her and she blushed.

"Well, motion carries then," Harry said. "Let's get some lunch."

##

Asuna finished her wine and looked around the table.

Her companions were all finished, or finishing, their meals, with both Harry and Silica chatting while Pina was happily eating some meats that both had provided her from their own plates. Harry absently reached over and gave Pina a gentle scratch between the wings as Silica said something and made a couple of gestures. From the look on his face, Asuna could tell that he was slightly amused by whatever Silica was saying.

Those two had long since settled into their relationship, which was more akin to a husband and wife, marital status notwithstanding, rather than a pair of young teens feeling things out. She sometimes wondered how it had gotten that way, considering how different the two of them were.

Silica was open and friendly, the events in June hadn't stopped that, even if they did dim that aspect of her. At the same time, that open and friendly nature hid an iron will and a personality that was not above using manipulative tactics to accomplish her objectives if that was what was necessary. That iron will was necessary, from what Asuna could tell, in order to keep Harry in line.

Harry, she would continue to call him Hadrian in conversation, on the other hand, was a jaded and very private person. He was politely friendly, had a biting wit, and it was clear that he was the type who was normally slow to trust and get close to people. However, it was clear from what he has said in the past, along with what he hasn't said, that his life had forced him to grow up far too quickly. Asuna firmly suspected that abuse was responsible.

And yet, despite their contrasts, both complimented each other well.

Kirito was sitting back and sipping his drink, giving the look of someone who was indifferent to it all. Of course, everyone present knew that it was an act, particularly Asuna. She hadn't helped him deal with the trauma of killing someone without getting to know what made him tick.

In many respects, his prior aloof demeanor and armor of composure was a defense mechanism to hide just how uncertain and vulnerable he was. It had worked for a time, but the shock to his system that the incident in June had showed just how brittle it was.

Rain and Lux were still eating, both of them taking their time with their food. Even after six weeks, Asuna was still forming an opinion on them.

She could tell that Rain had a massive guilt complex about having run from the red players responsible for the murder of her friend. That same complex had made her reckless and driven, though Harry and Kirito had begun to focus and redirect that, keeping it from going down a self-destructive route.

Harry, more so than Kirito. He often taken her aside and talked with her. The exact nature of those conversations were private, but he understood her motivations better than anyone present. He later admitted that he was basically doing the same thing a man who he looked up to as a mentor had done for him.

Lux's generally timid demeanor, both in battle and amongst them belied the fact that she was extremely deadly with her broadsword and could gauge a situation extremely well. True, she had confidence issues, but at the same time, those same issues made her overly cautious. In Aincrad, being cautious was a good thing, but not to the point where it paralyzed your ability to make decisions. Fortunately, Asuna knew how to handle someone like that. Training Sachi paid off in that respect, though Sachi didn't have a very real fear of being hunted by red players to contend with.

She had gotten better about it, but Asuna figured that the girl would remain cautious and somewhat afraid. Considering that any player who wants to go out and actually survive needs caution and a healthy amount of fear, she wouldn't complain. She already had enough trouble keeping Kirito and Rain in check when a fight starts.

Asuna broke off from her musings as she noticed that Rain and Lux were apparently done with their meal. She cleared her throat to get their attention.

"All right," she said. "Hadrian noticed something that I think all of us hope isn't going to be the case, but it still needs to be said. The last boss was relatively easy, despite the way that fight went. So, Hadrian, you suspect that the fiftieth floor is going to be a problem?"

He nodded. "I don't know if it will be like the Twenty-Fifth, and give us a massive difficulty spike as a whole, but I wouldn't be surprised if the boss of that floor is significantly stronger that what we're used to. Part of why things have been easy can be explained by the fact that we're over leveled by a significant margin, and it might not be enough." He looked at Rain and Lux. "Yes, even you two. You're now three or four levels past the recommended minimum."

"And what does that have to do with it?" Rain asked.

"It means that the two of you are now higher than the average for most of the front lines," Kirito said with a shrug. "You're more around the average for the Assault Team, and the boss fight proved that you both can hold your own as well."

"When you consider that the two of you got to that point in around six weeks, that's not bad at all." Harry complimented.

"But what makes you think that the boss would be significantly stronger?" Lux asked.

"It has to do with the logic of SAO," Kirito said. "For all that we've advised treating SAO like its own reality and not as a game, it's still a game. A deadly one, and one where even those consequences which aren't deadly, are still very real, but a game nonetheless."

Asuna nodded. "It's the paradoxical reality of being here," she added. "You need to accept this as its own reality, but at the same time, you need to accept that it isn't reality as well, despite the real consequences of things here."

Rain and Lux gave her a slightly confused look.

"There's a word in English which sums it up," Harry said. "Doublethink. It's the ability to believe two things that are complete opposites, are true at the same time." He shrugged at their looks. "I've read 1984, and Orwell had a gift for using simple words to sum up complex concepts."

"A rather apt summation, Hadrian," Asuna said. "Let's just hope that other things from that book don't apply as well."

December 4, 2023 - Aincrad 46th Floor, Ant Hill (Field Dungeon)

Lux looked at her companions as they all headed toward the entrance, their time in the field dungeon almost up. Even after close to seven weeks working with them, she really couldn't say she knew them all that well. Well, outside of Rain, but the two of them had been working together, sometimes reluctantly on her own part, for months.

Not unexpected, really. She had gotten to know them, but there were a lot of things that had welded them together as a cohesive group over the course of almost a year. Those things, those experiences, were things she and Rain had not been a part of.

That wasn't to say that they were unfriendly, far from it. If anything, the four made an effort to make their two new companions feel welcome. They included the two of them in conversations, asking for their own input on various things. When it came to planning, their own opinions were sought out and given serious consideration.

It was nice, even though there was a distance that Hadrian, Silica and Kirito had from others, even Asuna. There were times when the three of them would become quiet, or they would show signs that they had not slept well, and it didn't take a genius to know why.

The three of them had killed, and that fact haunted them. It seemed to happen to Hadrian less often, and Lux wondered why. Was there some secret he had, or was his personality just better able to reconcile it? She didn't know, and she wasn't inclined to ask.

Not that he'd likely talk about it.

"Is there something on your mind, Lux?" Came a question from him.

She shook her head clear of her thoughts and looked at him. "Nothing important," she replied. "I was just musing on some things."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" He asked.

"Just musing on you all." She said with a shrug.

"Nothing bad, I hope." He said with a little amusement.

"Not at all, Hadrian."

"Well, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." He said. "We've already established which subjects we'd rather not talk about because they are either uncomfortable, or just private."

"And it's more fun to speculate on some of the private ones, anyway." Lux said.

Harry snorted and Silica walked up.

"I couldn't help but overhear," she elbowed Harry when he snorted again. "But you said something about it being more fun to speculate on some private subjects."

Lux grinned. "Well, yes." She replied. "The speculation on you and Hadrian can be fun, especially with the rumors of you two floating about. The more scandalous the rumor, the better."

"Oh, which rumor do you find the most entertaining?" Silica asked. "I found the one that speculated that he and I were in a sordid S&M relationship to be amusing."

"Well to be honest, it was more that they had you as the dominant one that amused you," Harry said.

Silica raised an eyebrow. "Well, that and the image of you that rumor brought to mind." She replied. She gave him a speculative look. "Or it might be the image of you licking my boots and being submissive to me."

Lux thought about it for a second and her face heated up. The idea of Silica dressed as a whip holding bondage queen and Hadrian wearing tight pants and a harness at her feet and… Ah! Bad brain, bad! Once she got control of it, she shot them an irritated look and huffed. "SAO has been a bad influence on you two." She said.

Harry and Silica both cheerfully nodded. "Yup." They both said.

"By default, we blame Klein." Harry added.

"He's useful that way." Silica chimed in.

December 7, 2023 - Aincrad, 48th Floor, Lindarth

"So, do you know why we got dragged here?" Kirito asked.

Harry shrugged. "They're plotting something," he said.

"You're not worried?"

"Nope."

The two of them were off to the side, looking out of place in the clothing shop. Ashley, a tailor who was well known for the quality of her goods, had set up shop in the town, and judging from the building, it looked to be a permanent arrangement. The girls had quickly gone to the woman and began a quiet, if animated, discussion with the tailor, and from the amused looks she was shooting them, Kirito already had an idea of what they were planning.

Not good, and from what he saw of Harry, the boy had figured it out as well. He seemed rather unconcerned about it, which likely meant that he had a response to it already planned out.

"Calm down Kirito," Harry said. "The worst that will happen is that we'll be embarrassed. Besides, Christmas is coming and you know the girls will want us to take them out."

"And?" He asked.

"And now is a good time to look for a proper suit." Harry replied. He looked back towards the girls and sighed. "At least this way, we can pick our own." He said.

"And the fact that they're likely to-"

Harry shrugged. "As I said, the worst that will happen is that we'll probably be embarrassed." He said. "And that's if they decide to pull that prank."

##

"All right, the two of you can open your eyes now." Ashley said.

Harry opened his eyes and saw his reflection in the mirror. As Kirito had feared, and he had resigned himself to, the two of them had been dressed in drag. He took the reflected image in, noticing how the green dress hugged his body to the hips before it seemed to flare out slightly from the waist, and went down to the knees, though it might go lower if it wasn't for the petticoat. It came with matching shoes and dark stockings that had been applied so deftly that he wondered how it had been managed without him noticing. His hair, while still untamed, had been lengthened and styled in a way to make it wavy, instead of a bird's nest, and he spied the hints of makeup on his face.

All in all, not bad. He shot a look at Silica, who was looking at him with amusement and smirked.

"If you're expecting us to go out like this, you need to be properly attired, my good sir." He said. "A Lady should never go without a proper escort."

"You're taking this all too well, Harry." Kirito grumbled.

Harry turned and saw what Kirito had been put in and snorted in amusement. The black color scheme had been kept, but where Harry's garb had been designed to hug his body, Kirito's was designed to flare out, and all that lace… the look fit him.

The sour look on his face, with his hair lengthened and the makeup made it seem almost as if he was pouting. Judging from the fact that Asuna was trying to restrain her laughter, that was intentional.

"Well, Miss Kirito," Harry said. "I have to say that Ashley does good work. The lace accents are wondrously done, and the coordination of the colors is excellent. The mix of white and black fits you nicely, and the headdress adds a nice compliment."

"Harry." Kirito said. "Shut up."

"Well, we have to go soon, so-" Rain began before Kirito's shout interrupted her.

"What?!" Kirito shouted.

Harry looked at them, then at Ashley. "This is unacceptable." He said primly. "Two ladies going without a proper escort? Asuna and Silica aren't properly attired yet. Furthermore, if Rain and Lux expect to be proper chaperones for this outing, they need to be in the proper garb as well. Now, Miss Ashley, do you have anything in mind?"

Ashley looked at the girls and by her amused look to Harry, she knew exactly what he was implying. "Indeed I do, 'Miss' Harry. In fact, 'Sir' Silica insisted that I be prepared for this."

"Excellent." Harry replied and gave a nod to Silica.

"Wait now," Asuna began. "We weren't planning on heading out of here. This was all meant as a joke."

Harry looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, but 'Sir' Asuna, you must understand something." He said. "If 'Miss' Kirito and I are going to be like this, then you and 'Sir' Silica should be properly clothed as well."

##

"I can't believe you just ran with it like that." Kirito said to Harry later while the two were in a tavern, waiting for the girls to finish their shopping. Too bad it hadn't ended quickly enough to avoid pictures being taken.

His friend shrugged. "It's not the first time I've seen that prank pulled, even if it was the first time it was pulled on me, and the best thing you can do is roll with it." He replied as he took a sip of his beer.

"That's not the point, and you know it." Kirito grumbled.

"Look on the bright side, Kirito." Harry said. "We got to see Silica and Asuna in very form hugging clothes that left little to the imagination, not that I need to imagine with Silica. Ashley made the four of us look good like that."

And she had, even Kirito had to admit that. While being in drag was embarrassing, it was confined to their group, kept private, and Harry had turned it around on the girls and forcing them to be dressed like gentlemen from eighteenth century Europe. With how clothing was cut and tailored in that period, it really did leave little to the imagination.

Kirito raised his mug. "That's true." He replied. The two clinked their mugs together and went back to drinking. "Still glad it wasn't in public," he said later. "I would never have lived that down."

"Lived what down?" Asked a familiar voice.

Harry turned and grinned. "Klein!" He exclaimed. "It's been awhile." He looked past the older player and saw the rest of his guild. "So, has he gotten slapped or chased out of a town recently?" He asked them.

"Hey!" Klein protested as his companions laughed. "It was only that one time!"

"And we will never let you forget it." Harry said. "Anyway, why don't you guys take a seat? I'll buy the first round, and we can catch up."

December 13, 2023 - Aincrad 48th Floor, Lindarth

Lisbeth put her book down with a sigh when she heard the door to her newly established shop open. It was something she did when she was bored and not inclined to work at her forge, which didn't happen often, but it did happen on occasion. Surprisingly, Aincrad had its own NPC publishers who printed out pulp novels by the wagonload.

They were cheap. They were trashy. And they were entertaining. The most popular series was the Tugger Nutts series by NPC author Antoine Graffitto, and while the books were written in English, it was at a simple enough level for most players to be able to read it.

Still, she had a feeling that there was a joke in the title, but she didn't have enough knowledge of English to figure out if there was a play on words involved. She looked up and saw some familiar faces. She knew that one of them was a native speaker of English, and another of them was fluent in it, so perhaps they would know.

"Hey guys, it's been awhile." She called out as Asuna and the others entered. "You guys in for repairs, new weapons, browsing, or a combination of all three?"

Harry looked at her. "Liz, you know us well enough to know the answer to that." He said drily.

"Well, it's been a slow morning anyway," she said. "I was catching up on my reading. There's a series of books that have turned out to be popular. Despite being in English, they're pretty good."

"Oh?" Harry asked. "What're the books called?"

"They're called the Tugger Nutts series." She replied.

Harry blinked. "Really? Huh."

"Yup, though I do think there's a joke or something in the titles. I mean, it would make sense, given that Aincrad's devs thought they were being funny, but book titles like Tugger Nutts and the Big Finish, Tugger Nutts and the Midnight Snatch, orTugger Nutts Gets in Deep, and… are you okay, Hadrian?"

Harry's face was red. "Yes," he choked out. "I'm fine."

Lisbeth realized that her suspicions were correct then. Given that it was Aincrad, and the apparent sense of humor some of the devs had, not to mention the players themselves, it was probably ribald. Still, in for a col, in for a thousand. "Well, there was also the one called Tugger Nutts Wrestles the One-eyed Champ, also called, for some strange reason, Tugger Nutts and the Pearly Orchid on the lower floors. I never could get an explanation why."

Harry couldn't restrain himself and fell to the floor and started laughing. Everyone present stared at him with some confusion, and Asuna, who was fluent in English, was obviously thinking about what other meanings could be involved.

Silica looked down and nudged Harry with her foot. "Harry, can you calm down for a moment and explain it to those of us who aren't native speakers of English, or reasonably fluent in it?" She asked and then looked at Asuna, who shrugged. "Okay, all of us, since we don't get the joke?"

Harry calmed himself and looked at her. He slowly got to his feet, leaned in, and whispered into her ear. The expressions on her face went from amused, to embarrassed, to scandalized, and then to a combination of the three in short order.

"Um, excuse me," She said and then walked outside. Before the door closed, they heard her break out into peals of laughter.

He looked at the rest, who were giving him expectant looks and sighed. "Okay, all of those titles? Well, they're all plays on words. I'm only partially surprised that Asuna doesn't get it, but I bet she was being taught to speak English properly." He looked at her for a bit. "Hmm, might want to do a few conversations in English with you, even if you probably learned from a Yank..."

"Harry, back to the point," Kirito said.

Harry nodded. "Sorry about that," he said. "Anyway, those plays on words are basically plays on sexual acts and masturbation. And that's not when they're talking about certain body parts."

Asuna gave a slight hum. "You know, that makes sense. I mean they could be taken that way, from what you said, but they're probably intended to be innocuous." She said. "I mean, a one-eyed champ could just be a champion wrestler with one eye, not what… ever…" She then realized just what Harry meant and looked at him, a slight flush on her face. "You, Hadrian, have a dirty mind."

Harry shrugged, completely unrepentant. "Just imagine what they meant by pearly orchid." He said.

"Hadrian!"

December 21, 2023 - Aincrad 49th Floor, Myujen

Silica gave a content sigh as she allowed herself to relax in the hot water of the bath. They had all been busy for the last few days, often returning to town late at night. While it wasn't overly unusual in and of itself, the fact that they left early and were often out of town until nearly midnight meant that taking advantage of some luxuries were put on hold.

Taking a proper bath and relaxing in one was one of those, much to her disappointment. Then again, it wasn't as if she hadn't gone days or even weeks without bathing before. Not every inn had a bath in the rooms, or a bathhouse for that matter. Even with the towns, it could be a toss of a col on whether that luxury was available, though there was usually at least one bathhouse in each town.

Still, bathing was a luxury she took advantage of at every opportunity, especially when they were private baths in the rooms like this one. Asuna and the rest of the girls understood, and Harry would just get fondly amused when the first thing she did when practicable was take a bath. Well, maybe she'd get a meal, it really depended on how hungry she was.

Harry tends to find places like this, she thought with a smile. He has, ever since the first floor.

She appreciated that, she really did. She knew that he didn't have to go for the extra expense, it was often cheaper to take a room and then go to the town's bathhouse, after all. But if the town had an inn that had baths in the rooms or an attached bathhouse, he would find one and arrange lodgings.

Which begged the question on his frugality earlier on. At least until May, he was incredibly frugal, prioritizing his purchases and spending to the essentials: gear, items, food and lodging. Anything else was secondary, and she'd had to drag him clothes shopping on more than one occasion just to give him some variety in outfits.

She remembered someone joke once, that for Harry, keeping her happy fell under essential expenses. At the time, she really didn't get what was meant by that, but now she understood it, and found it amusing. After all the jokes and rumors about the two, which ranged from amusing to absurd, they had both just settled on being amused and exasperated by them. It always seemed as if the players on the front lines didn't have anything better to do than gossip like a bunch of old women.

Besides, she thought. Simple luxuries should not be unappreciated. Good food, good drink, a nice bath, and a comfortable place to sleep? He could do worse, and he does take me out on those 'not dates' every now and then, and he acts like a gentleman on them.

She knew that their relationship was complicated. They were too close to be simple friends, too comfortable in their casual intimacy, and they were both very aware of their attraction to each other. Neither of them would claim to be lovers, as they were in no hurry to go that far. They were comfortable with what they had, and that was fine with her.

That might change in the future, but that was then. There was no need to rush it.

##

Harry took a sip of his beer as he watched both Rain and Klein try to drink each other under the table. Aside from their rocky introduction, caused by Klein's antics whenever he met a new girl, the two had hit it off quite well. Then again, Klein was one of the few men in Aincrad who could get slapped one moment by a female player, and then be sitting there and telling funny stories of his misadventures, with the girls laughing at them.

It must be due to him just being that friendly on a normal basis, Harry thought. Hell, even Heathcliff likes him, and getting even a pretense of emotion from himis harder than getting a compliment from Snape.

Then again, the entire Fuurinkazan guild as a whole was like that. They might not have any luck in picking up the ladies or getting girlfriends, but each of them were actually on friendly terms with many of the female persuasion. Then again, they understood that no meant no, which was something many male players tended to forget on a regular basis.

Well, not with Asuna and Silica, but those two had proven more than willing to enact violence on anyone who decided to get fresh or grabby. The occasional repeat offender had Kirito and him taking said player aside and had a nice and friendly discussion with him about his behavior. At sword point.

They tended to get the message after that.

A twinge from his scar then brought his mind to something else. Ever since October, it had begun to bother him periodically. He knew that Tom, the so-called Lord Voldemort, was up to something, but for him to feel it from half a world away was disconcerting.

He wouldn't claim to understand it, but he had a feeling that the connection was active due to Tom planning something involving him. Something that got the man to think strongly enough, as he hadn't even noticed anything until October. Whatever had been planned back then had obviously failed. The scar's activity had given him some insight, if only towards the man's emotional state.

That had been fury back then, but now…

Now he was sensing anticipation.

What are you planning, Tom? He thought.

December 23, 2023 - Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office

Albus sat back and pensively though about the last six months. Ever since June, he had been busy, either with damage control, or with the handling of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. While the Wainwrights had continued with providing the recordings of Harry's activities, he had little time to peruse them, trusting Miss Granger to keep summarizing the activities.

Still, the damage control aspect had been successful, mostly because he was able to explain that they didn't know if Harry had used magic, and even if he did, it was unlikely that those present would have recognized it. He had also pointed out that the circumstances were exceptional in their own right, and self-defense and defense of others in a situation of clear and present danger were well known exceptions to the rule.

That had quieted things, and he then had to ensure that they didn't classify him as being a danger to others. Dolores Umbridge had been particularly insistent on that at first, but had fallen afoul of a scandal involving possession of Blood Quills and documents of all of her blackmail sources. The rest had died down after that.

Tragic, really, and he made sure to send Lucius a nice Christmas card for that maneuver. The entire thing had been brilliantly executed, and more in line with the more subtle and pragmatic maneuvering he had normally demonstrated until a couple of years previously.

And then, Tom had made a move, countered only because he had the foresight to ensure that Harry couldn't be roped into any contracts, and Alastor had the paranoia to ensure that he wasn't informed of all the security measures in place. It resulted in his agent, Barty Crouch Jr. being captured, but the man had apparently read from the same book Alastor had and bragged about his intentionally not knowing where Tom was specifically.

Still, it wasn't a complete loss. Tom had lost a valuable servant, and had been set back months, at the least, due to the failure of his plan.

And yet, Albus still felt that it was only a setback for his former student, and that he hadn't been idle since.

Just what are you planning now, Tom? He thought, pensively before turning his attention away from that line of thought. No matter how much he wished otherwise, he was in no position to do anything about it right now.

Unknown Location

Tom looked over his preparations with satisfaction. It had taken him weeks of research and preparation for the ritual he found, and it would be over a week still before he could use it. The instructions had been extremely specific that it could only be done when the New Year began.

Still, it was coming close. While it wouldn't give him his body, it would put him in the perfect place to kill Harry Potter. The prophecy said he would have the power to defeat him? He would prove it wrong and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is the greatest Dark Lord to walk the Earth.

Besides, there were plenty of ways for him to get a body. He had everything else for the ritual he had intended already on hand, and setting it up later would be of no consequence.