Ch8. Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm wrong.

[A/N: I drew his wand, should I try and post it somewhere? I'm no artist, but someone might enjoy it.]

Alaric found that knowing that Quirinus Quirrell was secretly hosting Voldemort was only just enough information for him to take the man seriously. He had once wondered just how the man could spend all year hiding the soul of Wizarding Britain's greatest Dark Lord right under the nose of Europe's greatest leader of the light, Albus Dumbledore, but now he understood.

Quirinus Quirrell was the most disarming person Alaric had ever met. Even without the stutter, he would stumble a little or just seem incompetent in everything, whether it was getting the class to pay attention or picking something off of the floor. The man was the definition of a background character.

Alaric did know that the man was no background character though. So, in his class, Alaric acted as his neighbours to not bring suspicion to himself. Then he would study the spells later since Voldemort did not seem too invested in his pupils. No wonder Dumbledore chose not to hire the man.

The man did seem to take an interest in Alaric though. For only a moment in the great hall, a lingering eye will find Alaric before disappearing behind the fog of incompetence, a slight pause before calling attendance. Quirrell took notice of Alaric, and Alaric had not realized.

-XxXx-

Walking through his small path within the Forbidden Forest Alaric tended to the plants with Semino and other growing spells. This path had a vibrancy that was out of place in the forest, an odd peace among the dark creatures' lands. Incrementum Dominus was used on everything here, often, so Alaric had some measure of control.

The one plant which gave him a true feeling of power was the small Venomous Tentacula plant which he had a measure of control over. It was poisonous enough to protect Alaric if someone unknowingly stumbled extremely close, and once it grew older it would be deadly. That would take a while though.

What he was here to work on was his small patch of Cobra Lilies. The plant was sentient and carnivorous, making it difficult to control and grow. An untrained eye would miss the small flick of the tongue and the unnatural sway of the stalks, perhaps thinking it a normal leafy plant. The secret to the Cobra Lily was in the roots, much like the muggle counterpart. The plant could regrow itself from just the roots if it ever lost its head.

Alaric was here practicing just that.

He had good control over Semino and the other growth spells, but he needed to better his intent and power. His little leather journal showed him two new spells. The training spell Semula Air which infused water into plants, a handy way to help save a dying plant, and the more advanced Kelahiran Semula Air, a spell which used magic and water to rapidly empower and grow a plant.

Alaric was going to master Kelahiran Semula Air, the so-called Water Rebirth.

He was not cruel though; before he cut apart the Cobra Lilies he would dim their consciousness, however weak it naturally was, with Kelam Kabut Mental. It was a… grey spell that took away one's mental clarity for a few minutes. It had only a small effect on the minds of most beings, like wizards, goblins and centaurs, but it proved helpful against some of the simpler creatures.

"Kelam Kabut Mental!" called Alaric with two flicks and a swish of his wand. The deceptively swaying leafy sprout, which was only two feet high, went limp and fell in on itself. There were a good many Cobra Lilies here, but Alaric could only go one at a time.

"Diffindo!" Alaric then said, the cutting charm. The limp sprout was suddenly split cleanly, leaving only a small green inch of plant sticking out from the ground.

"Semula Air," to prepare. When Alaric had mastered this exercise, he would skip this step altogether.

"Kelahiran Semula Air" Alaric bellowed loudly as his curved wand slowly swung in an arch before Alaric made a decisive flick and swish which had his wand aimed directly at the base of the plant.

A cyan glow shot from Alaric's wand in a thick mist, entering the small plants shoot and the surrounding earth. The magical drain was immense but tolerable for Alaric. He could cast this combo just under ten times a day.

The Cobra Lily had turned a darker green instantly, and then it began to grow skywards.

True, visible growth.

The smooth end which suffered Alaric's cutting spell had softened and bulbed. It was turning into a small snake's head. The shoot had thickened, slightly, but mostly it grew high.

After it reached a foot's height and had a small baby snake's head, it stopped suddenly. The swaying was a bit queer when compared to the older plants, and the snake had trouble opening its small eyes, but it was back again. The still shaking older head, which Alaric had left lying in the ground, was an older reflection of what the plant would become.

"Seven more times should be safe," Alaric mumbled to himself. It was the weekend so after he exhausted himself in the edges of the Forbidden Forest, he would return to Ravenclaw and pen some letters. He was to turn fourteen in October, and he was expecting a letter from the Ministry explaining that he was emancipated.

-XxXx-

"Happy birthday, mate" Alaric heard as he was being shaken awake. Roger was standing by his bed with a smile as the bed vibrated loudly.

"Hey!" yelled Alaric. "Stop... Roger!"

Roger waved his wand with a whispered "finite" before he burst out laughing at his dishevelled friend. Alaric was wrapped in his sheet while his comforter laid on the ground where it had been kicked off.

"Oh, ha-ha," said Alaric as he reached for his wand. The gesture caused Roger to run from the room.

"Catch you in the great hall!" the boy called as he ran away. Alaric could be fast with his hexes.

Alaric shook his head before pulling himself out of bed. Looking at the small enchanted clock next to him he could see that it was just before eight in the morning. He cancelled the alarm charm, which was set for eight, before moving to take a shower. It was an old habit from his past life – he always took a shower in the morning. Wizards and witches seemed to prefer quick freshening up charms, so Alaric was a bit odd. The muggle-born thought Alaric was trying to be a 'proper' pure-blood, while the pure-bloods just thought he was full of it.

Well, that was just what Alaric assumed. In reality, most people did not notice he showed a lot, and those who did notice did not care. Maybe a few thought he was a little bit of a clean freak, but nothing worth gossiping about.

As he showed Alaric had to force himself to stop thinking of all the fun hexes he could send at Roger. He had bigger things to do. He was now 14, a legally emancipated adult. He might still stay with the Tonks's, but he did not have to.

When he returned to his room to get dressed for his Tuesday classes Alaric also took hold of a stack of pre-written letters. He had a lot of work to do.

Most students wake up around 8, though Ravenclaws generally wake earlier and Gryffindors wake later, so when Alaric made it to the great hall there were quite a few Ravenclaws, but not so many others. He went and took a seat with Roger and Mary.

"Happy Birthday!" said Mary with a smile, while Roger looked at his friend paranoid.

"Thanks," said Alaric with a smile in return. "Would you mind staying later than usual? I'm expecting a letter."

"Of course, we wouldn't mind," said Mary as she took out a wrapped present. "Here's your gift."

"I left mine in your room if you didn't notice," said Roger, Alaric had not noticed due to his colourful morning.

"Thanks," Alaric said as he took the gift and began to open it. Inside was a small booklet titled 'Vampiric vegetation and Home Defense' and a box of seeds.

"It's a guide to growing the plants so they will defend your home and some seeds so you can give it a try," explained Mary.

"Thanks," said Alaric as he began to read the small book excitedly. He loved Plant Magic and the more useful plants could have him reading for days.

"Now you've done it," said Roger with a laugh. "You played to his roots, no wonder he's growing on you."

"Roger," said an exasperated Mary. She did not really get the boys' humour, it was so lame to her that she forgot to blush.

"Now he'll plant himself somewhere and read."

"Roger," she said with a bit more annoyance.

"He'll never leaf that book alone!"

"You're a bit of a vegetable, you know?" said Mary with a smile.

"What?" said Roger, not understanding the muggle insult.

Mary just sighed and went back to her food.

Alaric had to hide a smile at her comment, playing the role of a clueless wizard perfectly.

The hall began to fill as the other houses joined Ravenclaw for breakfast. Eventually, the Gryffindors showed up and Alaric was becoming anxious. He knew that Cassiopeia did everything right, but he was still worried. His mail would either contain a letter from the ministry confirming his emancipation or it would not.

After a while longer there was the unmistakable sound of beating wings. There were a lot of owls at mail time, especially since it was only the second month of school. Alaric looked out for a ministry owl and he could not see one until it appeared right in front of his face. Two other owls landed with it.

The ministry owl carried a small letter, which Alaric took. The second owl had a small gift from the Tonks while the last owl had a letter from Cassiopeia's business manager.

Alaric held back a smile as he read through his mail. He was an adult. It was time.

"Thanks for waiting," he said to his friends. "I have to send some letters, so I'll see you guys in Potions."

"Don't be late," said Mary as she stood up and left. She seemed a little disappointed for some reason.

"Don't mind Mary," said Roger as he too got up to leave. "Best to hurry though, just because Professor Snape doesn't seem to hate you doesn't mean he won't take off points for tardiness."

"Don't worry," said Alaric. "I'll be there."

With that Alaric left towards the owlery. He really might be late for class, but he did not care. He had a stack of letters to send.

When he arrived, it was as clean as always, so not very. The owls stayed at the top of one of the Hogwarts' towers in a large circular room with huge and open arched windows. Most stayed in cages, but a fair few had open perches.

Alaric went to one owl closest to the window and passed it an owl treat, he came prepared. He then sent off a letter to the Tonks family. The next owl went to Gringotts, then one was flying towards a small farm which his family still owned. It was the last of the Blackthorn estate, other than the manor and islands. One owl went to Knockturn Ally to set up the purchase of a house-elf, another owl went to the Black family business managers, it was quite a long letter. A flurry of letters went to various apothecaries.

He had a lot of magical herbs to sell, and they were growing well.

He had a few letters sent outside of Britain, towards the Mediterranean Sea, where unsuspecting Witches and Wizards would be given an offer. Alaric could not build a secret organization, but there was plenty to hire.

His next letter went to a law office, they would be expecting it. Cassiopeia had worked with the lawyers there for many years. He would need their service to appoint a regent for the Wizengamot while not being challenged. People had become happy with the status quo, with the Black and Blackthorn families relegated to the history books.

He also would be able to pursue legal action against the Ministry. The lawyers had not been able to act until he became an adult, but they did prepare. Now the Black fortune would be levied against the Ministry and those who profited off of the corruption.

This was also how he planned to have Sirius Black released. He would have his lawyers act as though it was an afterthought, busy work. Something to discredit the Ministry, but overall people would think it was a distraction, just a childish attempt at throwing political mud.

With it being an afterthought, the Ministry and pure-bloods like Malfoy and Yaxley would not act, hopefully. They would think he was guilty until he swallowed veritaserum during his trial. The Ministry would not fight against a trial too hard if they thought it would prove them correct. 'Wizard never given trial, still guilty' was no scandal.

But that was a tale for lawyers and politicians. Alaric just funded the effort. He would sit back and practice his magic. He knew that his enemies would be fine, just flesh wounds that could be made to fester. It was during the coming war that he would have to act.

His parents made one mistake, they only killed one person.

FIN

[A/N: Next chapter could take a while, I'll be following the letters for a bit.]