So here is the first of six chapters for this story. I am sorry it took me so long but I had a bit more to edit than I had expected, including lengthing a scene. Also work for university was unexpectingly more time consuming than I had anticipated. But on the plus side I have been vaccinated this week.

Also I might have next week free so you might not to wait half a year.

Stay safe guys.

The Emperor Protects

Just as my alarm clock blared me awake, forcing me to get up and getting back to my research I began to trot towards where I knew my kitchen was supposed to be. Huh, while crossing a corridor my flat seemed way bigger than I remembered in fact it almost seemed as if I was in a house instead of the small apartment I got after completing my Master. Or it might have been just the lack of Coffee in my system. That was a valid possibility as I tended to run on it and without it, I was inoperable. So, I slouched toward the kitchen not really realizing that I walked down a flight of stairs. I finally reached the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find a steaming cup of coffee on the counter right next to the coffee machine. Intend to get as much of this liquid gold inside of me I hastily gulped the entire mug down while already activating the coffee machine. As I put the now empty mug down, I sighed finally feeling my humanity coming back to me. As the last drop left the mug, I heard a low chuckle coming from my right side. I nearly jumped out of my skin at that. My brain was finally awake enough to deal with the input of information. And once it did it decided to go pack its things and go straight back to sleep. I was standing in an unknown kitchen, way shorter than I used to be and before me stood a woman old enough to be my mother. And I was 25 for your information. My hand searched for my Aquila necklace and thankfully found it still hanging around my neck. I grabbed it intend to find the support in Him as I did throughout my Bachelor and Master. And while it felt always comforting the moment my hand touched it, I felt almost a jolt of energy jerk through my body. That was strange but not the weirdest thing happening this morning. Also wasn't it smaller last evening? Finally, I risked a look downwards and was shocked to see I had shrunken. I somehow was around half of my actual height and somehow my left hand didn't bore any scars. In fact, it almost looked I had deaged. What in the name of the Emperor was happening!?

"Look honey it seems our darling still can't grasp being eleven." The woman said to someone other than me. I heard a deeper chuckle from the table which I initially trotted past. Okay so either this was the most elaborate prank I have ever encountered, somehow someone had managed to do lifelike simulations, I had gotten myself stuck into one of these stories or and that was perhaps the most worrying theory, the Warp existed and I somehow got stuck in the machination of the Ruinous Powers. Though perhaps any number of them were true. So, let's start with the worst possibility. I grabbed my Aquila and did a quick prayer to the Emperor. Okay I both felt relived and invigorated meaning I wasn't a Daemon's plaything, yay. So, for the rest? I would have to wait for things to play out. After taking another sip from my coffee I took in my surrounding with more than sleep derived eyes or a passing glance. I was standing in a fairly decent sized kitchen with a small table where a man in his mid-thirties was currently drinking from his own cup of coffee reading through a paper. He was wearing a two-piece suit and seemed to want to wake up as much as I wanted a few minutes ago. The kitchen was clean but not sparkling. The devices looked reassuringly modern, though any digital interfaces were missing.

"Oh son. There was something in the mail for you." He casual said while shuffling through a pile of letters laying on the table. He fished out one seemingly made from parchment, sticking out like a sore thumb out of the pile of paper envelopes. I went over to the table to grab the extended letter and looked at it. Before I went to open the letter, I sat my cup of my coffee down. If this envelope contained what I expected it to I was hyped. Sure, it was quite a while since I last read the Harry Potter books but it was still a favourite of mine and the possibility of Magic being usable for Genetics was something which interested me greatly. So, I broke the Hogwarts Seal, intend to find the letter I hoped too, and after a moment of deliberation, I reached inside indeed finding the letter which accepted me to Hogwarts. I quickly skimmed the first page and found out I had changed at least my last name to Hoffmann.

However, the second page was a bigger shock for me. Sadly, I found quite a few useless romance novels on it as it seemed my first year was Harry's second. Okay so I was in the year 992.M2. Meaning I had to self-study for the first year at least in Defence against the Dark Arts. It wouldn't be the first time I had to do something like that. I racked my head for the general plot of the Second Book: Chamber of Secrets, Ginny being possessed by Tom, petrified students and Harry killing a Basilisk and destroying a Horcrux. This warranted some planning especially since I wanted to test a few things with my Magic till then. But first let's play that role of excited eleven-year-old who is confused at the same time.

While I read over the first year's Potions book idlily making a few notes on parchment my mind was else were. Sure, I had now my wand, my other school supplies, a red and white cat named Lili (never thought of seeing one with the same name and the exact fur colour as my old one but the Emperor works in strange ways) and a few extra books on potions and herbology. Though I disliked plants after my Common Botanic module in my first semester at university they still were way easier to experiment on than animals.

But I digress my mind was currently swirling around my first year and what to do regarding the Diary. Sure, I could have grabbed it while meeting the Weasleys at Flourish and Botts but I wanted to be absolutely sure about the nature of the universe I was currently in. Also, it is best to remain in the shadows and let the wheels of time work for you for as long as possible and you have to intervene manually. And following my personal philosophy and because I would most likely have to stay close to her for our first year, I shopped with Ginny together for most of our books, and although our acquaintancy was short I found I wouldn't mind spending said time with her. In fact, you could say we got a long like fire and water. Anyway, this encounter reinforced my opinion of helping her and perhaps even the Golden Trio the question remaining was how and in what capacity said help would be offered. It's not like I could just waltz into Dumbledore's Office and tell him Ginny had a horcrux of Tom Riddle. Well probably but I wasn't too keen to play all my cards just yet. Also, there was a chance to make things easier down the road. Afterall if the opposition could have somebody who could think like the enemy it would prove invaluable.

"Mau?" Lili asked. I couldn't understand the words but the meaning of it certainly. I should dose the lamp as she wanted to sleep already. After a quick look at the clock, I noticed it was twelve past midnight. So, I did as I was asked and put my stuff away and flipped the switch of the lamp. I had learned from my Bachelor and would try to sleep at least. Tomorrow was another day and in fact it would be the last day both of us would spend in this house for at least the next 3 three months. Perhaps longer. As I rested my head against my pillow, I felt a small splat of the bed as Lili jumped near my feet to also go to sleep.

My alarm clock rang without mercy. Lili was clearly as just as excited about it as I was as she mounced in disapproval. I slammed my fist on the off button. I sighed and made my way to drawer and the set of clothes I had prepared for this occasion. Basically, the long-sleeved shirt of the school uniform, some underwear and matching black trousers and black shoes. The rest of my required clothes and other school supplies were all packed into a duffle bag ready to be carried. Sure, I could go with a one of the chests but this way I had always something to go hiking or disappear more easily. Also, it wouldn't be the first time for me to go with a such a duffle bag for all my clothes and supplies. I had already placed a carrier for Lili on the floor in front of my bed and was surprised to find her already in it when I was dressed. That slightly scared me. The experience I had with cats was that they absolutely hated these carriers. They would rather squeeze themselves into a to small nest than go into one. So why was Lili this considerate? I mean I had fed her a bit cat food before but that was hardly an explanation for this amount of consideration. Even as I went to close the lid she didn't seem to mind instead even laying down and watching where the next stop would be. I shrugged took one last look at my room and went downstairs with both the carrier and the duffle bag. So funny story when I did some training after arriving here, I found out I still retained my muscles from my original body. I wasn't a body builder but I did partake in re-enactment in the Legio Prima Augusta Germanica and was doing historic fencing. After this discovery I did work on some training while studying for Hogwarts (it is amazing how far you can come in a few months with a proper timetable designed for getting quite a bit of knowledge in your head especially if you had done it before) just to make sure it wouldn't be completely unbelievable when I carried everything school related and didn't appear winded at all. Both of my parents (still felt weird saying that) sat at our breakfast table. A steaming mug of coffee and a bowl of cereal was already placed at my usual seat. I put both Lili and my stuff down. My mom reopened the lid and setting a plate for her with some tuna. I sat down as well and ate the cereal while simultaneously drinking my coffee. I heard my mother saying jokingly to my father that he would he be as fast as me at breakfast he could wake up later. He did indeed chuckle at that before noticing I had already finished my meal and risen to bring my luggage to the car. My father sighed before he and my mother both went to the car as well.

Ginny was currently waving goodbye to her family joined by Luna from one of the compartments of the Hogwarts express when I knocked at the open door of it.

"Hello ladies is there a seat free for me?" I asked seemingly catching at least Ginny of guard. I didn't know Luna well enough to guess if she was surprised, seeing me not having met her the later wasn't surprising.

"Sure, take a seat." Ginny said while seemingly blushing. That was strange. I was never the most handsome guy nor the most charming. Nevertheless, I had to keep up appearance that I didn't know Luna.

"I don't think we have been introduced? My name is Marius Hoffmann." I introduced myself to Luna while taking a seat next to Ginny after putting my duffle bag on the tray intended for luggage.

"I am Luna Lovegood." She said while smiling dreamily at me. Though I could tell it wasn't because she was attracted to me (at least I hoped). Anyway, the carrier shortly followed behind my other luggage after I let Lili out of her confines. She was a smart cat so I was sure she wouldn't try to run away. And indeed, the first thing she did was jumping on my lap. There she nestled herself for a few seconds before she was comfortable in her vantage point and looked over her shoulder towards me letting me know she wanted me to pet her. So, I did as she ordered and she soon began to purr just loud enough to resound in the compartment. As I looked up, I noticed Ginny looking longingly at Lili. And that little witch seemed to bath in the attention too.

"If she lets you, I have nothing against you petting her." I spoke the little miss purrfect decided to grant us lowly humans with a nod of her head and she soon was petted by two hands. Luna seeming to be content to just smile mysteriously at all three of us. However, Lili did fall soon asleep so we let her rest.

"Hey anyway in what Houses do you think you will be sorted?" I asked innocently. Of course, I knew the answer already but it would be interesting to know what they thought.

"I think I will be in Gryffindor though really any house is fine as long as it isn't Slytherin." Ginny answered almost as on autopilot. Luna continued smiling mysteriously as if she wanted to tell me she knew already that I knew the answer. She was beginning to weird me out a bit. Sure, she was described in the books as almost in another world most of the time but this was something that was starting to go beyond what I expected. Before I could quell more on it, I forced a quite breath out of me and put my hand over my proudly presented Aquila. At this gesture Luna seemed almost to wince. I noticed it but didn't say anything as Ginny asked me the same question, I had asked them.

"Honestly I could see myself in a few houses but might I ask why you seem to dislike Slytherin so much?" I answered while I repeated a quick prayer to the Emperor in my mind. Interestingly Luna seemed to wince with every word I said.

"Sure. My six older brothers told me that every Slytherin is a git and they value dark magic." Ginny answered seemingly without noticing the starring contest between myself and Luna. Speaking of dark magic while I haven't studied magic or dark magic in particular, I felt almost as if a few dark tendrils were reaching out from across the compartment towards me. However, I felt an almost ethereal glow coming from my Aquila as if it was burning away any attempt to invade my mind. This was both reassuring, since I seem to have a counter against Occlumency without realizing it, but this particular reaction I knew of only one instance in Warhammer lore: Daemons or those tainted by them.

"You mean those six brothers you told me were like brooding dragons and you were their egg? And didn't you tell me you wanted to go to Hogwarts to escape this patronizing?" I exhaled dramatically but it was just an act to prepare my wand in case my hypothesis proved to be real. As I did that, I noticed how Lili seemed to almost ready to jump, whether to flee or attack I didn't know. Apparently, what we did woke her up. I placed my hand on her head and she seemed to relax just a bit. "Look I am not saying that they are wrong nor right. Just go with an open mind towards the whole House debate. Just because someone is in Slytherin doesn't mean they are evil and just because someone is in, say Ravenclaw, is good." At these last words I stared intently at Luna. Her eyes widened just a bit at my last comment. Yeah, I noticed your subtle attempts at entering my mind. "And regarding dark magic? Sure, some Slytherin tend to gravitate more towards them but this is merely a reflection of the literature available for them from a young age onward. And just because what the Ministry says something is dark doesn't mean it is actually dark. For example, you could cut of one hand with the Diffindo Spell we will learn this year and blood magic, considered dark magic by many, can be used for example for healing or warding. But enough about these philosophical questions, you said something about having problems with Potions when we last talked?" I finished my small (stolen) lecture with a quick question toward Ginny. She nodded before she explained she tried to read her Potions book and ask her brothers for their experiences but they all told them they barely got by as is. For me it was almost laughable easy as I would (probably) not only have an advantage because of my house but also because if you understood a bit of chemistry and biology you could pierce together quite a bit of what was required for first years.

So, I went over a few potions we would have to go over the next few months. Of course, for this I had to leave quite a bit of my knowledge I acquired since I woke up here out. There simply was no way I could have known so much as far as most of the authors of the additional Potion books I bought, the understanding of potions was basically: We know when we throw these ingredients together in this form of preparation, we will get this result. The main reason was that most Potion Masters looked down upon the Muggle world in general and thus mostly ignored any advancements made by it regarding their chosen field of study. Anyway, I noticed while I explained this that Luna looked out of the window and didn't appear to listen to what I explained. So, I had to deal with possible two dark spirits this year? Oh, that was just dandy. Especially should my theories prove to be true. For while I had a bit of hope I could convince Tom to work against Voldemort, should Luna indeed play host to a Daemon from Warhammer it could become quite a ride for everyone involved.

As we left the train and were herded toward the lake by Hagrid, I thought I noticed a shimmer of red and golden hair in the crowd somewhere before me. But my mind was preoccupied with planning and dreading so I paid it no mind.

The prospect of what trouble Luna could cause was driving me mad. How was I supposed to halt her when I would be in a different House and have no real idea of what she was planning? Furthermore, I couldn't just kill her. It might be the easiest solution but I doubted I knew enough magic to make it look like an accident. Sure, there was my research into cancer but it was in its infant stages at best. And any known magic would probably be easily detected anyway. Well, there was a possibility for how I could at least make sure Luna wasn't going around killing somebody. That would involve heavy research though and I had no prior knowledge of the construction of Servitors like Carrow did. At least he did design his watching cameras based on the knowledge he found in the library so there was hope. And I was ahead for a few months already so I could probably spend the extra time studying that. And who knew perhaps I could find a few students who were interested in improving their physical prowess during that.

These thoughts were swarming through my mind all the way towards the Great Hall. Luckily the Ghost did appear just like in Harry's first year distracting myself and scarring most of the students. I did whip my 10 and a half inches bendy yew wand with a dragon heartstring core out as well but instead of aiming it towards the ghost I had it on Luna. Of course, nobody else seemed to notice it, most of them concerned screaming, but I was absolutely sure she did. Incendio was already on my lips as I noticed her smirking at me, I didn't know how as she was staring at the doors of the Great Hall. It probably wouldn't help that much too. Afterall, I doubted the Daemons was just content to let its host die. As McGonagall voice ripped through the screaming, I lowered my wand. You won this round Daemon.

As we entered the candle lit Great Hall, I did have to inhale for a second. This sight was simply breath-taking. Perhaps it was the first time I actually took a breath to relax and appreciate the beauty of everything this world had to offer. Then reality reclaimed me as my name was called forth to be sorted. I stepped toward the small stool and sat down upon it. Moments later I felt the Hat dropped over my face.

"Hm what do we have here? Oh, a bright mind but perhaps not quite right in its own right. You do seem to have too much knowledge on what is to come for one your age and your thoughts seem to organized too. Tell me what does a traveller from a different dimension have to do here?" I heard the Hat ask me chuckling. Well, it makes sense that he could see so much. He had to judge a person based on its mind, did he not?

"Honestly? I have no idea. But perhaps we could finish this conversation another time? There are more students than me here." I calmly explained. Since I knew which House I would most likely be in there wasn't a reason to drag this out that much. I heard a deep chuckle vibrating inside the hat.

"That is indeed interesting. And we both know the right place to put you in. Although these words are untypical for a SLYTHERIN." The last word was shouted towards the hall and I heard a mild clap from the other students. As McGonagall was removing the hat from my head, I almost noticed a disappointed look on Ginny's face. Huh apparently, she didn't get over her animosity toward my House. But anything other would be strange and frankly weird. Possibly Luna's doing too. So, I sat down at my house table away from Malfoy and his cronies and turned to see the rest of the sorting. Honestly there weren't that many names I recognized. Colin Creevey and Ginny got in Gryffindor, Luna in Ravenclaw and quite a few other people I didn't recognized got sorted in their respected Houses too. Then again, I was never good with remembering names and faces to begin with. However, when just a girl was left and McGonagall called her forward, I did recognize her. Mainly because she wasn't a Harry Potter character to begin with. That would be certainly interesting. But let's see first where Sunset Shimmer would go. After what felt like probably the longest time of sorting the Hat finally shouted: "Slytherin!" I made some room for the former Unicorn which she did take. While Dumbledore made his speech, I paid close attention to Celestia's former student. She did seem to take this rather well being a Hominidae and all. Of course, I had no idea of what she actually thought and wouldn't be able to until the Legilimency would be taught if at all. However, I noticed while she did look toward the Headmaster, I almost felt something akin to a light brush against my mind. Thank the Emperor for the protection of the Aquila as I almost felt the heat of it shielding me. She did retain some of her pony magic how very interesting. And although she seemed to be powerful as my Aquila felt almost as if it was burning in my skin, she wasn't quite powerful enough to get past it. She took a look at me as Dumbledore was finishing up his speech, I noticed how her eyes sparked with confusion. I simply raised an eyebrow at her and leaned over the meal, which just did appear, almost as if to dug in. I hoped she noticed my hand gesture to follow my lead as to not make it so strange if two strangers whispered at each other.

"If you are interested in an explanation perhaps, we could talk about it in a more private location. Afterall a princess must know when to pick her battles, especially if she is still missing her wings and is stranded in another dimension." I whispered before actually digging into my meal. As I put a few leaves of salad in my mouth I noticed a mixture of surprise and shock settling on her face. However, I was content to let her stew for as long as dinner lasted. I actually did talk with a few of my new classmates during it though. Joana was a half blood and a bit shy but nevertheless nice. The other was a muggleborn named Phillip quite easy going and dependable. He said he was a bit of an artist in his spare time. Though I did talk to them I often looked over my shoulder to take a look to Luna and see what she was up. Perhaps I expected her to spring up from her House bench and start killing everything in her reach. In that regard I was disappointed as she seemed to just sit there and eat.

After the meal was finished our prefect was leading us to our dormitory and told us the password. As we entered, I was almost dragged into one of the darker corners by Sunset.

"Okay how in Tartarus did you managed to advert my probe? And why did you say those specific words in that specific order?" She hissed at me, her hands on my collar. I simply smirked and after looking around I began to speak as it turned out most of the other students were already off to bed or out of earshot.

"Yeah, first you got to need to put me down and then I will answer your questions in the order you asked in." And indeed, she did as I requested and sat in one of the big leather coaches and gestured Sunset to take another. She looked suspiciously at me for a moment but I could practically see in her eyes how her curiosity was winning out. So, she took a seat in a high leather armchair and looked inquisitively at me. I did an exaggerated sigh before pulling out my Aquilla amulet before holding it into the light.

"Don't know if Equestria has the knowledge of protection charms on objects or religious symbols having those. But it is basically that." I explained searching for a reaction from her. By the mention of her homeland Sunset seemed to wince slightly but then her gears shifted into overdrive.

"Let's ignore for a second that you know from where I am. I will admit that my control of my magic here is still not perfect but the amount of power needed to withhold this attempt…" She apparently did a few quick calculations while I put on my best expectant smile. I had no idea what she was calculating but that doesn't mean she needed to know that. Apparently, what she came up with wasn't something she agreed with and she seemed to become quite angry about it. "It's impossible! There is no way for a charm this powerful and pure to be placed on such a small object!" She practically shouted. While I had no way to check it, I believed her for the moment as she was way more knowledgeable about magic than me.

"The conventional way? You are probably right. That doesn't stop it from actually being real. It's the Emperor's holy Seal and thus predisposed to being both powerful and pure although I am surprised as you as I discovered its function originally." I explained hearing her snort at it. "Yeah, I also started out not believing what most religions promised. But when I tried it with the Imperial Truth? Well, if you want can touch my amulet and get your own opinion. If you don't feel anything I would have just lied to you but if I spoke the truth, which I did, you can say it is real as you said earlier that it would be impossible to achieve the effect normally." With that I held out said necklace daring her with my eyes to touch it. She rolled her eyes but none the less took a few steps closer. She ternately reached out with her hand towards it before her fingertips made contact with the Aquila's talons. And while she didn't seem to notice a change I certainly did as the chain around my neck began to heat slowly up. As her second finger touched its wings the heating sensation turned from annoying to uncomfortable. I wanted to tell her to stop, wanted her to take her hand away. But instead, only a small scream resounded in the common room. I was surprised that it wasn't my own voice but Sunset's. As I looked up, I noticed how the Aquila was ingulfed in a bright light. Also, it seemed as if a black smog was coming from Sunset's hand and the air reeked of Ozone. Throne be damned if that meant what I thought it did. Emperor have mercy on her soul. Though as I looked toward the possible hostess, I saw for a moment a double, made from black smoke representing her She-Demon form and being pushed a bit away. So, I followed my guts as my brain seemed to stop for a moment. With my left hand I grabbed Sunsets left one and lead her towards the Aquila, while my right hand grabbed it harder. As soon as all of our hand touched it, I felt a pulling sensation as the Aquila seemed to suddenly grow closer.

I awoke with a gasp. What the frak was that. We were just talking in the common room but then. Frak what happened next? Well lets first get a bearing. I immediately regretted it as I just saw a grey fog surrounding where I was currently laying. That there was no visible surface was not concerning at all. But as I looked around trying to find something different than clouded sky, I saw a mess of yellow and red hair laying just a few meters away. Just as I was about to get up the hair rose too to reveal the bacon horse in all of her unicorn glory. Wait if she was a unicorn did that mean I was back to my actual age?

Indeed, did a quick look down reveal the white lab coat I usually wore nowadays over black shirt and black trousers and of course the Aquila proudly displaced on my chest. My resolved almost faltered a bit as I looked at my hands trying to determine if just my height and cloth had changed back to 'normal'. I recognized the bite mark on my left hand, the slightly stunted index finger on my right and after a quick search I even felt the scar on the right side of my neck. That was something I definitely wasn't currently missing. But I pulled myself together before I could lose myself in these memories. This was aided by the high squeal of joy coming from Sunset. Obviously, she was delighted to have her original body back. While I didn't want to interrupt her time in her body I didn't know if time advanced outside of here, so I cleared my throat. Sunset seemed to jump quite a distance in the 'air' at that. Once she landed, she shot me a glare that could kill before confusion settled in.

"Do I know you?" She asked me in English though her voice sounded quite a bit softer and more melodic than before. "Also why are you still human?"

"I admit I do look quite a bit different as Marius but I could say the same about you Sunset." I ended with a small chuckle. Her eyes almost jumped out of her skull as the realisation settled in. "Yeah, I also jumped Dimension though mine is quite a bit different than yours. It is quite similar to this except magic isn't real there if you're interested. Though I have no idea how my Aquila managed to pull us 'here'." I explained with a shrug.

"So, what you said in the common room about your so-called Emperor was true after all." Sunset sighed while looking defeated. Guess she didn't like being proven wrong though that was something we had in common. "But how did you manage to know about me jumping Dimension. Also didn't you say you were shocked to find out your 'Aquila' worked?" Sunset asked raising her eyebrows. Of course, she needed to ask these questions as life couldn't be for once easy. So how could I mask my actual knowledge instead of saying 'so your life, friends etc are just a book, cartoon or something alike'?

"I know we said we had no magic but we managed to invent scrying techniques with which we can often watch the present, past and future or even different parallels. Both your world and this world we studied quite a bit, while the Aquila and the Imperial Truth comes from a different dimension all together. And though some attempted to reverse engineer its protection none succeed making it nothing but a sign of worship." I said while wearing my best poker face. Hopefully she trusted this explanation enough to not jump me straight away. "But I have no idea where we are but are you feeling perhaps different?" I asked. Perhaps the Aquila had worked its course through her? It would certainly be possible. As I looked at the bacon horse before me, I almost was tempted to laugh as her 'hard thinking' pose almost looked straight out of a loony tunes cartoon.

"Now that you mention it, I do feel, how to put it, lighter? Like a huge weight has been lifted of my chest. And I suddenly feel less angry and somehow less bend on world conquest? Why?" She asked blinking for a bit.

"So, I don't know if you saw the almost demon like form leaving you once you touched my Aquila so I wondered if you felt different. Buuut speaking about Daemons I do need your help. As I already said your magical knowledge surpasses my own to speak nothing about your magical prowess. I know of two of our classmates inhabiting 'spirits'. One is a remnant of Voldemort trapped in an old diary but I believe he can be bargained with. The other is a Daemon from the same dimension where the Aquila comes from." I began but got suddenly interrupted by Sunset.

"And how is that my problem." So, the dark influence was gone but she still maintained her pride and 'unfriendliness'. Honestly it makes a lot of sense. Afterall her bitterness and lust for power needed to come from somewhere. Thankfully the grey cloud we were surrounded by changed to a corridor of Hogwarts, at least it looked like Hogwarts. However, there were multiple bodies littering the hall, while Sunset's in particular was decorating ever wall.

"Okay that isn't nice but surely it can be avoid…" Sunset began before the scene changed again this time Sunset walked through the same corridor, boils of puss covering her entire body and she constantly coughed. I grabbed my Aquila. Please let this madness end, I quickly prayed. However, the fog didn't seem to care as it changed to what would happen if Luna's Daemon was from Slaanesh. (Please forgive the sudden AN but this is redacted due to His Most Holy Imperial Inquisition orders.) The Horror now evident on Sunset's face before it changed again. This time her body kept constantly changing between her horse and human form, though none of it could be recognized as such.

"Okay, I get it, I get it. It will be my problem once this Daemon establishes themselves. So, what is your plan?" And just after I explained what I intended to do we were sent back to the Slytherin Common room with a crack.

As my alarm clock shook myself awake the next morning I groaned, especially since it almost felt as if a bag of bricks was laying on my chest. I tried to open my eyes but saw only white. I sighed and tried to pull Lili of my chest. I slightly winced as Lili's claws had slightly dug themselves into my chest but after a bit of mouncing she finally let go of myself. I grabbed my glasses and my Aquila before trotting towards the bathroom. After a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I got into my school robes and went towards the common room. Both Sunset and Joana were also just about to leave the common room so I quickened my step.

"So how was your first night? Slept well I hope?" I tiredly asked. I wasn't awake myself but I still forced myself to appear cheerful and awake. Joana simply shrugged before she walked toward the Great Hall, seemingly lost in the need to wake up. Sunset on the other hand was a morning person as she greeted me enthusiastically. How delightful. Seeing as I was just putting on a brave face, we walked toward the Great Hall mostly in silence. Once we entered it, I was surprised to see most of it vacant of other students. Sure, the teachers table was full but there were like 10 other students present. Strange I awoke at 6 and with me getting ready it was probably around 7 by now. And that was maybe the lack of coffee speaking but didn't classes start around 8:30? Nah wasn't my problem if they were late for class. It would be their own problem. So, I strode towards my house table and just as I sat down a cereal bowl with some toast and bacon on the side appeared before me. In the mug which also appeared was thankfully coffee and not Pumpkin juice. I tasted it yesterday and can still say I had no taste for pumpkin in any form. So, as I nibbled on my toast, I went over my timetable. First double Charms, then double Transfiguration. And after lunch Herbology and History. So, there was nothing today which would require special attention. Afterall, I had the chance to learn magic and make my opinion of the teaching staff. So, after I drank my second cup of coffee, I began my way towards charms. If memory served correctly, I had this class with the Gryffindors. Let's see how stupid the House of the lion really is.

As I sat in the Charms class room next to Sunset I idly wondered if either I was just overprepared or the rest of the Gryffindors and frankly quite a few Slytherins were just incompetent. I mean we had up to 2 months' time to prepare for Hogwarts and yeah, I understood that many non-magical students had no way of learning the actual magic, myself included, or even get tips. But come on! How long could someone take to levitate a feather a few centimetres! I mean I couldn't hold perfectly in the air for long or at a significant height and I needed five attempts for that but the amount some others needed was just…I heard another sigh from my left as Sunset seemed to be as bored as I felt, even if I kept trying to improve how long the feather would stay in the air.

Magic felt different than I expected. It felt rough, course and it was everywhere. And now I wanted to punch myself. But in all seriousness the swishing of your wand wasn't just to look good and the incantation you had to say wasn't for fun either. Instead, this seemed to activate the relevant core of your wand which in turn began to focus the small innate magic of the air. This explained why it was so hard to cast silent or wandlessness. You had to trigger the reaction with utmost precision or focus your inner energy to either trigger the reaction or even great the same effect without the focus. Of course, you needed for that immense Magic reserves. But as I had discovered during summer physical prowess would increase said reserves. Afterall from what my searches had proven thus far magic was reacting just like an ordinary protein. And frankly this had even let me down a whole different path of research than I first anticipated. It was often written that magic was the reason most wizards were protected from many common illnesses and I could say it did. And though I had no idea for the magic around us I was for now focusing on the ability to isolate the DNA through magic. So far, the results were… mixed. But that is another story which I currently had no time to explain. Afterall there was much to be done regarding improving my own magical expertise.

"So how did you plan to get to the Demon problem?" Sunset asked me as I set my feather down for a second. I pretended to read in my charms book while looking around. And indeed, nearly every other student was looking at us. I mentally cursed over confident horses.

"What are you talking about? Defence we have tomorrow and we aren't supposed to learn about demons for a few years at least. Now can you help me with this description here since you seem to get the Wingardium better than me?" I innocently asked and seeing everyone's eyes turning back towards their own class work I quickly scribbled a few words in a small notebook down. As Sunset looked annoyed at my classwork, I pushed the notebook towards her.

She quickly read over it before her cheeks turned a similar shade to her hair. Once she finished reading my message, basically saying to mind her own tongue and that we would talk about the Daemon later in the library, she made a gesture to redo my Wingardium Leviosa. "You seem to give it to much energy; thus, you expend your reserves to quickly." She explained. So, as I tried it with a tad bit less force, I noticed I could hold it longer than before and after quickly thanking her and her receiving 5 points for her excellent knowledge I concentrated again on another try.

Transfiguration was certainly different than Charms. For while I had the expression of Flitwick as one knowledgeably pinball, McGonagall was a different story entirely. Not to say she was bad at her job; she was a strict teacher, making sure everyone got along reasonably well. Our first lesson, transfiguring a match into a pin, went for most really well. And while I was theoretically several months ahead practically, I had huge problems. Perhaps it was my brain say turning a carbon-based product, such as the match, and transforming it into an iron product was near impossible, maybe I just had a bad day for Transfiguration. But no matter how much I tried it I didn't managed to even change my match a bit into a pin, not even after both Sunset and Ginny tried to help me, both finding it easier than me.

"So do you have any idea why you had so much trouble?" Sunset asked me as the McGonagall closed the lesson. I sighed as I shoved my Transfiguration book into my bag.

"What do you know of the makeup of let's say wood?" I asked in return, my brain screaming at me as I put both Gymnospermae and Angiospermae into one word, even if both of them had quite a different built. Sunset seemed to think for a moment.

"Well, most trees are made up of several annual rings, which as the name implies one is added every year, thus you can determine how old a tree is by its rings." Sunset gave me the explanation I suspected but also dreaded. So, I would need to not only explain the actual growth of trees, but atomic theory a bit. Well good thing I brought a book or two from 'home' regarding this topic.

"Okay this will probably take more time than lunch. Tell you what we can talk a bit about the growth of trees in herbology and my main issue in history. From what I have heard from Ginny and older students, History is a class where you best find something else to do." I explained while grinning sheepishly. And while Sunset looked at me like she wanted to punch me or something similar, I scoured my brain trying to find a way what I needed to understand more than half a year to understand in an afternoon. Furthermore, instead of my, admittedly basic, prior knowledge Sunset was essentially a girl from the Middle Ages. Emperor give me your wisdom.

While lunch was tasty, I didn't eat too much. I already stated that Common Botanic wasn't my favourite part of my Bachelor but instead of simply having to attend 'boring' plants we would encounter potentially lethal ones and of course I managed to worsen my load by agreeing to teach Sunset about the, admittedly amazing, world of plants and perhaps Fungi. Good job, Marius, good job. Once we entered Green House One together with the Hufflefu-puffs I was delighted to find the Devils snare already prepared for us to handle. Because of course it was a deadly plant. As soon as the lesson started, we got a short introduction by Professor Sprout about what these plants were, the basic dangers of handling them and how to combat them, as well as a first task: Watering and dunging them. It might seem simple and a bit strange but most of us were eleven-year-olds who never came into contact with handling living plants though I question if it was really a good idea to introduce children to a potentially lethal plant. So, we got into pairs ready to start on the task given to us. Sunset nearly threw herself to my side. She seemed to remember my promise. So, I collected the necessary tools as well as my thoughts.

"So, what you said in Transfiguration regarding the growth of plants wasn't really wrong but not true entirely. It is probably easier to go along the lines of evolution so we might not actually come to what most people consider actual plants." I explained while watering my Devil's Snare. Sunset looked at me interested she probably was interested at prospect of learning some extracurricular knowledge. Before I continued, both with dunging my plant and with my further explanation I grabbed a notebook from my bag as well as a pen. On it I began to 'draw' a basic cell.

"The general consent in regards of first live were simple cells such as it is found in all organisms even today. Sure, it has developed a bit since then and has been split between so called Prokaryotes, whose DNA, something if you have interest in can explain later, lay somewhere in the cell, and Eukaryotes, whose DNA lay in the so-called cell core. Now these first few cells were Prokaryotes and as it just so happened, a few managed to be more efficient in what they did than others, being able to use part of their environments to use for food. Other cells who didn't managed to develop this could through random chance envelope these cells. This could result in two different results, either the enveloped cells could be destroyed and the other cell would use the rests of them to further enhance their own metabolism or they could enter a symbiotic relationship where the bigger cell, being bigger and perhaps more agile than the now enveloped, would give the smaller cell what it needed to for its metabolism and the smaller cell would support the bigger cell with its more efficient metabolism. Thus, the so-called Mitochondria were 'born'." I took a break there both to give a bit more fertilizer to my plant and take breath of air. After putting the garden shovel down and 'drawing' a Mitochondria on the parchment I looked up and saw Sunset looking ravenous at me, seemingly eager for more, though I could tell after a quick look on a pocket watch I had asked my parents for that we didn't had enough time for more in this lesson as it was scheduled to end in five minutes and Sprout said we should getter around. So, once I was satisfied that my Devil's snare was going to die to malnourishment, I looked where Sprout was standing. I was a bit shocked to see her right behind me.

"Mister Hoffman, where do you got knowledge from?" She asked and though I wasn't the best at reading people I could tell she was generally curious. Frak. Today wasn't my day. So, what would be the most convincing lie?

"Ah, professor, just a personal interest. My teacher in my grade school told us a bit about how plants developed and I found it interesting enough to try to look more into it." I lied straight through my teeth. My hearth was racing and my right hand was searching for my Aquila. Thankfully Professor Sprout did seem to buy it and began telling us we should bring our Devil's Snare to the end of the Greenhouse. I sighed inwardly. Crisis averted, for now.

"So where did you really get your knowledge from?" Sunset asked me later in History. Sadly, the books and stories I have heard about it were sadly true. Well, I already expected that so I already drafted a quick study plan for this semester. And since I got the timetable today, I could begin to actually plan when I would need to study. Luckily the curriculum for the first years were relatively light in history meaning I probably could get it done in this semester and begin revisiting it next semester for the exams, leaving me in theory quite a bit of time for other ventures thrust upon me, such as: Teaching Sunset about what I knew about Biology and Chemistry, preparing a spying system with knowledge I had no clue about how it actually would work, trying to get to Tom and somehow not being noticed by my teachers and fellow students, no Biggy. Oh I of course forgot the Daemon inhabiting a fellow student.

"Before I came here, I actually studied Biology, got even two titles in it." I whispered while thinking about what to do. Sure, I had brought one of the Chemistry books I owned with me but I really didn't want to read in it if I didn't have to. And regarding my hunts for the Horcrux and the Daemon, well, it was just the first day. But from what I could tell Ginny was doing okay and my plan to get that diary were currently none existent and I already talked about Luna.

"Really?" Sunset looked surprised at me. Oh yeah, she's from a monarchy and I don't know if they have something like Master of Science. I sighed and finally got my Chemistry book out.

"Oh, nothing like you think. I am not nobility. Title just refers in this context to me finishing university." I explained. Sunset seemed to be let down at that.

"Anyway, let's get back to what I promised to tell you. So just that I know with what I am working, what is the smallest unit of measurement of let's say," My eyes wandered a bit before settling in on a clock on the wall, "iron?" I looked at my sorta student with an expectance look. Again, Sunset seemed to seek the answer or perhaps she just wanted to see if I was serious.

"Are you serious? Every foal knows you get iron by applying fire to earth. The other two elements, air and water can be used to cool the iron but that is about it." She whispered as Bins seemed to wind down in his lecture to take a nap. My eyes widened slightly at that.

"The Aristocratical Theory?" I asked which seemed to just confuse her more. By the Emperor, what had I got myself into? So how to best start explaining to her that the four elements are just combinations of other elements or to be more precise a reaction of them?

"Okay I need you to forget all about that. While I can't speak for magic at least the make-up of everything is basically a different combination of 3 different particles, you could actually go deeper but then you would need to seek someone other than myself for that. I know I started with iron but let's start with water. Water is basically a combination of two different elements: Two Hydrogens and one Oxygen." I could practically see the disbelieve on her face. "So, you know how you can dissolve quite a bit in water, like Sodium Chloride sorry I mean salt?" She nodded seemingly not getting my point.

"Yeah, that was always a bit weird to me. You could taste the salt in the water, but due to how the world works it goes against how it should behave." She explained while looking at my book. "Wait so why would this model you propose explain it better?" She asked. I cleared my throat. Maybe we could finish the basics of chemistry today, after all we had at least 25 minutes left in History and had no homework yet.

While the rest of the week wasn't really exciting, I did get a bid farther in my projects. I had found quite a few books which were related to the planned security system. And though my understanding of it was currently basic at best, Sunset seemed to be at least familiar with the basics and she understood what was written. She just didn't know how to use it to create our 'cameras'. In other news both Ginny and Luna were silent, something I considered a plus. Afterall, it gave us time to prepare the cameras and the plan to get Tom to our side. And on the educational side of things charms were fine, along with Herbology. To Transfiguration and Flying I slowly got used too. And after explaining Sunset about the periodic table and the Atom model she seemed to understand why I had problems. She even managed to help me transform the match into a pin.

The answer was as simple as it was brilliant: I had no idea how my magic worked so I pretended that it created the necessary components to change the wood of the match into the iron of the pin. And while I knew it created its own set of problems it was more acceptable than the alternative: The magic fusing Atoms together for the change. And until I got around to research the magic more I settled for the aforementioned explanation. On a positive side node Sunset had caste my version of the spell and had told me that I while it needed a bit more imagination it actually required less mana.

Astronomy was a book with seven locks. I hated Physic in School, University and apparently Hogwarts. Not that Defence against the Dark Arts was any better. The moment I heard Lockhart speak I wanted to use his face as a doormat. Fortunately, Sunset somehow didn't lose to his charm. And thanks to me knowing what happened to him in the last few weeks, where the finals were being held, we tended to discuss our plans under an oh so useful sound shield. Thank the Emperor for small mercies. Speaking of whom I got to work on a small steel plate slowly but surely carving out another Aquila for Christmas. Not that this was my idea. After our 'meeting' Sunset had changed quite a bit. She seemed to be a bit nicer, a bit more trusting and she seemed eager to learn about the Emperor. Perhaps she wanted to thank him? To learn how to show others the errors of their way? I didn't know. But she asked for her own Aquila and while I couldn't order it, I could try to replicate it. Surprisingly my magic was more artistic than my hands regarding carving. Though my dud was far from finished it went a lot smoother than I expected.

So, the week was nearing its end and the was one more challenge before the weekend: Potions. Personally, I had a mixed opinion of whether to fear or to be excited. On the one hand Snape was most likely a bad teacher and while I personally was a member of his house, meaning he would most likely favourite me that doesn't mean I would enjoy that. On the other hand, Potions was the subject resembling most closely my own focus Biochemistry and to some extend Microbiology, a subject I found out that a Snape, or several in fact, existed in the real world. I growled in frustration at that memory. Coming into a subject you think to like only to be held at most arms-length, leaving you to trying to understand it for yourself, forcing upon you what they thought were the best times to work and doing everything in a condescending tone.

Anyway, I was currently assessing how the Potion against boils would work. Or to be more specific what combination of molecules from the ingredients would result in name giving reduction of boils. This thorough examination meant I could practically brew the potion in my sleep. And it was for that fact that I sat in the first row, next to a really nervous Sunset, who had told me she had never the patience for Potions and felt always bored for the lack of magic involved, with my head on my arms. I wasn't sleepy, nor did I actually sleep or was preparing something. I was just interested if Snape would bite for the obvious disrespect of his authority. And just then Snape came down the row of desks with flaring robes. Let's see what we can do with it.

As Snape neared the end of his speech slightly raised my eyebrows. I somehow had expected more. Sure, I was in a different year than Potter and I had heard it more than once in Harry Potter Games but it still felt underwhelming. So did he start with the obvious tar…

"Hoffman since I seem to bore you why don't you tell me for what you used a goat ()?" He sneered at me. So, he even used the same questions as against Harry Potter? Yeah, this will not suffice. Perhaps I can agitate him a bit.

"Of course, sir. You can use them as a powerful antitoxin as well as ()." I answered without a hint of fear or smugness. He had to try harder than that to scare me of him. "Sir would you mind asking a question about today's Potion?"

"Sure, since you seem to be prepared so well whom am I to deny you a simple question?" He practically spat at me. And while it didn't bother me too much, I had to deal with this kind of teacher in university as I already stated, and to be frank at least he showed it openly he would rather be somewhere else, so what gives.

"Thank you, sir, I am sure you are aware the recipe requires we use a silver knife to cut the horned slugs. As a concerned and knowledge seeking student why is it so important that I should use this type of knife instead of say, a steel one." I asked, my voice still void of emotion. And while I wasn't the best at reading people, I thought I could see some kind of appreciation in his eyes. Like he was indeed dealing with either dunderheads or know it all and just accept the words written in their textbook as factual truth. Or it could be just a twitch of his eye.

"Perhaps I shall quench your thirst then. Because only a silver knife produce said effect. If you cut it with a steel knife the potion will simply lose its effectiveness altogether while when you cut it with say a copper knife the effect of the potion will significantly lessened." He explained his voice raised to address the class. I noticed a lot of fellow students, including Ginerva, look at me with astonishment.

"Thank you, sir. I am sure this will help all of us here be slightly less of a dunderhead." I said with almost a small bow. One thing was certain. Snape was certainly an ass but instead of Lockhart he was at least competent. And once you knew how to address him, he was a pool of knowledge. His answer would in no doubt help me with my research. Now I only needed to find out how the silver knife was important for the reaction in the boils instead of possible other effects of knifes.

"That was something." I heard as I put my books in my bag. I turned around seeing Ginny smirking at me. I simply raised an eyebrow. "How you dealt with Snape. After the stunt you pulled, I was almost expecting him to tear your head clean off. I think I haven't heard of anyone who managed to pull something like that off." She praised me. I sighed before shaking my head. While I had no problem with the occasional praise, I didn't want to be the school hero. I could leave this toward Harry Potter and his ilk. And yeah, I sounded like a stereotypical Slytherin but Potter was just so annoying. More annoying than the rest of the students.

"It was nothing. Hey something complete different was going through my head. I noticed Potion you seemed to be particularly distressed as Snape gave us the Essay. How about we help each other in the library? Maybe in return for me helping you, you can help me with the Transfiguration essay?" I proposed. In truth I had already written most of both of them since the Theory I had gone through a few months ago but that wasn't important.

"Sure. Though I have to say you need to explain quite a bit to me." She said before she got up herself. I mean I could understand if Sunset said something like that but about Potions? I mean what was there big to write you couldn't get from the basic potion book we had to have? But anyway, let's get that Diary.

When Ginerva arrived, I was already finished with Potions and had a quick look about one of the books I and Sunset discovered earlier this week. I still had no clue what was written there but at least I began to understand how runes worked. After having written that down I sat on writing the Transfiguration essay.

"So, I see you already started without me." Did she really pout about that? I mean I asked for help not that she wrote my essay for me. I simply rolled my eyes at Gryffindor pridefulness, hid my book for runes under the rest and noticed for Ginny to sit next to me.

"Yeah, it isn't the theory I have a problem with but how to put that theory in practice." I explained amusement in my voice. "Oh, before I forget I am already finished Potion one so if you want to start with that, we can do that too." Really Snape's essay wasn't that hard. This one we only needed to explain the importance of the correct temperature for the brewing of potions. At first, I thought about putting in that how Proteins would degenerate at 42 °C and how to use it. But I thought better of it and simply gave the explanation of how a to high temperature could lead to a complete loss of function of the Potion.

"Sure. Hey there was something which surprised me when I first met you." Ginny said while producing a parchment and a quill from her backpack, something which had clearly seen better days. Meanwhile I was quietly losing my mind, for she could have noticed anything, from my unusual thought pattern to simply my horrible script. Worst case scenario I might have to get that diary and hope she somehow lost the memory of what had happened. "What is your accent, I haven't heard it before." I sighed inwardly; all the tension that had built in the last few seconds melted away. I laughed to myself, as I had created more stress than it was necessary. Then again hindsight is 20/20.

"Sure, my parents actually come from a different country. And no, the native language isn't English. So, about that Potion essay." I explained, noticing the mop of yellow and red hair quickly diving behind a bookcase. I would simply have to ask her later.

"So that is the reason for your accent." Sunset accused me later in the common room. I simply raised an eyebrow.

"Part of it. But to be fair you never asked me about that. And one lesson about Humanity, we generally aren't really the outgoing type." I explained, making sure to raise my voice a bit at the last words. "However, this is something I would probably reveal to you if you had asked." I added slightly amused seeing Sunset almost reel back a bit.

"And seeing as we are now on the subject where are your parents from?" Sunset asked after gathering herself for a moment. I decided to test how much she knew of different languages.

"Nun meine Eltern und ich sind aus Deutschland." I said in German. Sunset seemed to concentrate for a moment.

"So, you and your parents are from a placed called 'Deutschland'." She spoke. That was indeed interesting.

"Yeah, although in English it is actually called Germany. So, you can speak German?" I asked. My hands playing with my wand for a moment.

"If with 'German' you mean Griffish, then yeah. She wanted me to learn most languages of the lands around us." Sunset spat, although I could hear a pang of melancholy. That was certainly something to keep track of but there were more pressing issues at hand.

"So, about our cameras." I started pulling a few scrolls of parchment out of my bag. I noticed how as soon as I started Sunset seemed to brighten up a bit and sat next to me to get a better look at what I had written.

The next few weeks went by without much fanfare. Apparently, Tom still prepared for his debut and Luna was content to just quietly exist. Meanwhile I and Sunset had managed to bring up our first bird, a former Turdus merula or more commonly known as Blackbird. And while the process was arduous and unpleasant it proved that it could be done. Watcher One as I had called it, was now sitting in front of the Ravenclaw common room busily transmitting everything it saw with its quartz eyes back to a handy little mirror Sunset was currently holding in her hands. I also managed to polish the dud of the Aquila enough to be satisfied. It certainly wasn't the finest craftsmanship but I thought it was good enough for a first try. School was surprisingly boring. I mean being an able to break the laws of physics with the wave of a wand was awesome but writing essays about it dulled it quite a bit. It wasn't hard mind you, having wrote quite a few of them on more advanced subjects during university, but it turned the world of magic into a world of writing. Frak according to most teachers the essays I wrote were the best of class and I was asked to by quite a few students to help them write them, though I turned quite a few down, seeing that I didn't have enough time and patience for more than one other.

So that left me and Sunset sitting in the library awaiting Ginerva for our weekly study session. Though it was mostly to keep an eye on her. Speaking of the devil and it shall appear.

"Sorry for being late. Colin insisted on making a picture of me in the common room." Ginny lied. I know that I wasn't the most precepted person but she was a terrible liar. Most likely she had stared at Potter. But before I would rant about the Boy who Lived I decided it would probably better if I would greet her.

"Not a problem. So how far did you managed to come in your Potion essay? I hope at least 2/3s?" I asked innocently. From the edge of my vision, I saw Sunset nod at me, remembering that we had agreed upon this phrase when I would attempt to get to Tom. As Ginny sat next to Sunset, I quietly raised my wand and cast a silent Leviosa Charm on the Diary. It was hard, especially as I had still not a good grasp on how to best control my magic but after what felt like hours finally the diary and first horcrux was in my hand. I yawned trying to hide it behind a hand. "Sorry I was up late last night, experimenting with the Potion we need to brew next lesson, would you mind if I rest my head for a bit?" I asked innocently and seeing both girls nod I did so. Meanwhile I wrote in the Diary: Hello Mr Riddle, would you mind to talk to me face to face, so to speak, so that we may talk about things going forward? As an answer as soon as my head hit the desk, I felt a pulling sensation.

I found myself on a grey plain, like when I had talked to Sunset (inside?) the Aquilla. Though as I expected instead of the Baconcorn a boy of fifteen, dressed in slightly more worn yet similar appearance school robes I was wearing, greeted me. An expression of utter confusion on his face as he saw my 25-year-old me instead of an 11 old what he might expected.

"Well Mr Riddle why don't we sit down and talk, after all there is quite a number of options, I think you would find interesting indeed." I began and mentioned to two baroque looking chairs appearing out of thin air as I spoke. As soon as I sat down and got a closer look at the future Lord Voldemort, I noticed how the confusion had passed to a cold calculating look. "Oh, but where are my manners I am Berengar, or how I am now known Marius Hoffmann. But back on track, I know what you plan Mr Riddle and I can safely state that it won't work."

"And how would you know that when even Ginny isn't aware of it." He replied coldly. But in all fairness, he was right, I had no reason to say this if I wasn't from another universe. So, I gave him the same explanation however he seemed more sceptical than Sunset. But as I showed what his plans wouldn't accomplish, in form of the movie, where I focused on all the important parts where his plan didn't succeed, I think I convinced him.

"So, as you see I am telling the truth or at least as close to the truth as you can see. Though I would be willing to say the same with Vertiaserum. In case your wonder why I am even telling you this is because I think you could be a great ally against your older self." I explained while he simply laughed at me.

"And why would I do that? Even if I would be defeated, he would surely carry on my legacy." He proclaimed boastfully. He then looked at me, seemingly trusting me enough to make sure his claims were right. I simply shook my head. "Then he ruled for a long time." Another shake from my head. "He defeated his mortal enemy?" Another shake from my head. "He found great power?"

"Nope. He was beaten by a teenager. He ruled at most a year and he failed to kill said teenager 6 times, one time he was a baby." I explained making him falter before he remembered something.

"But he came back, right? Afterall, I planned to make more than one Horcrux." He tried to reason.

"Depends really, sure he tried to come back multiple times, one I had shown you, and he even managed to reach corporal form for a while but ultimately every Horcrux was destroyed."

"Fuck. My life is a reck after I had departed." He sighed his spirit clearly defeated. "So now that I know how much my studying really accomplish what is you preposition?"

"Quite simple. You don't try to take over the world, though you of course can run for Minister, might do the Ministry some good to have a competent Minister for once. You help us against your older self, something which might help your campaign. In return I could give you a body. As well as the previous mentioned bonuses. All I need to do it would be your agreement to previous mentioned conditions as well as a hair." I said smirking.

"A hair?" Tom asked and somehow my grin managed to widen.

"And he agreed to that?" Sunset asked me a week later in Charms. We were currently idly casting Lumos, keeping up the appearance that we were actually talking about the class.

"Yeah, he like many humans are egoistical creature. Thought he would go for the option that would cause the least amount of effort. Was correct." I said, reading up on Genetics and Biochemistry to make sure I wouldn't give him cancer or a third arm. Funnily once I tried to influence a bacteria colony, I had in one of my Petri dishes, trying to accelerate their growth and even if there wasn't a spell for it, it worked very well. In mere minutes I had nearly all E. coli grown toward the maximum growth the medium would support. In my next test I tried to modify a lac-operon in a colony, effectively disabling the splitting of Lactose into Galactose and Glucose, thus in theory killing them on a ground of Lactose. And again, I managed to do just that. So, I got into serious testing of what magic could do to and had asked already asked for an Anatomy Book for Christmas to read up upon the human biology.

"Mister Hoffmann, would you be so kind as to demonstrate Lumos charm to the class?" Flitwick said dragging me out of my thoughts.

"Of course, Sir." I said while rising and stepping into the centre of the room. After a clearly pronouncing "Lumos" and a leisure squish of my wand the tip of my wand was lighten up by a cone of light.

It was right before Christmas when Luna decided to act. Today was a big match of Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff and most of the school was down at the stadium seemingly not caring for the snow that had drifted down for two months. Meanwhile I was lying in my bed coughing as I tried to read a third year book on potions, still in my pursuit of how exactly Potions could work. As I grabbed a tempo to blow my nose, I reminisced that even with my magic and what not I still got a cold after Halloween. I sighed after I lost where I was, again, after another coughing fit. So, I got up, put my improvised cloth mask over my mouth, after 2020 and all that I decided to prepare a cloth mask just in case I would need it again, and began to walk toward the Great Hall intent to get a cup of tea to help me with my cold. It was on the steps of the great staircase when I found a fellow student, this one from Gryffindor lying on the stairs leading upward the next floor. My own sickness seemingly forgotten I stormed the few steps upward and after a quick prayer turned the body over. It was a fellow first year, though I never remembered his name. His face looked as if someone had tried to draw multiple symbols, some of them dark beyond the Magical Worlds understanding, for example the eight pointed star as well as the master of changes symbol, with a knife. I looked around the staircase to try and find a culprit, seeing that most wounds didn't begun to close. I could have sworn I saw something blue hushing a stair upwards but I couldn't be certain. However instead of trying to hunt whoever did this down I hoisted the body of the boy on my shoulders. I cursed Luna, for who else could it have been, and whoever decided to bring me here as I grunted the stairs upwards toward the medical wing.

"Madam Pomfrey!" I shouted as I neared the door, my voice slightly muffled through the mask. Luckily, she was indeed here and not at the game so she opened the door and upon seeing us, she instantly beckoned us to enter. I followed her command and entered after her.

"Where can I lay him down?" I asked considerably out of breath. I was sick and wanted to lay down but I got the energy from somewhere to push on. She mentioned toward an empty bed and I made the last few steps toward it before I finally got him down. As soon as he landed on the white pillows, I gave a sigh of relief and sacked on a nearby chair and began to cough. I didn't stop for what felt like an eternity before I finally managed to get control again. As I looked toward the Gryffindor boy, seeing a few of his wounds being closed while both of the dark symbols were already closed and the scars began to disappear. I looked at my chest under my green sweater and saw the Aquilla had slightly scared my chest, like a branding iron in form of it had been put to my chest. I sighed, gathering every bit of strength left in me, grabbed his arm and began to slowly recite a prayer of purity. This time I felt the Aquila and the taint in him. The best way to describe it would be when you have fever and the body burns out the pathogens. After the last bit of taint was burnt out my eyes rolled out into the back of my head. The last thing I heard before darkness engulfed me was the sound of my head hitting the floor.

"Finally, you are awake." I heard a female voice as I opened my eyes. I saw only blurry but I thought I saw a streak of red and yellow.

"Where am I Sunset?" My memory was hazy. Last thing I currently remembered was going toward the Great Hall to get some Tea. And now I wake up in…

"The Hospital Wing. You brought Stephen in here before you collapsed yourself. What were you thinking you were sick last I checked and from the way you coughed it sounded like your lung was about to come shortly out as well!" She screamed at me. But just under her anger I could swear I heard a hint of worry. But I had no time to think further about it as suddenly my memory came back alongside most of my vision. I saw Madam Pomfrey standing next to Sunset seemingly expecting an answer as well.

"I found him lying on the Grand Staircase. Saw his face cut up pretty badly with some symbols that were just wrong. I somehow found the strength to carry him here." I mumbled the explanation, still not fully awake. Sunset seemed like she wanted to say more but then her eyes widened. Madam Pomfrey however seemed to be more at ease now.

"While I would have expected something like that from a Gryffindor but I am still glad what you did but I have to say that this was reckless, especially since you were sick. I want to keep you here for the night." She stated before seemingly visiting another patient. I choose this moment to sit up and immediately regretted it. My abdomen felt like it was on fire. After lifting the covers to get a better look at it I slightly had to take a breath. Before the Aquilla seemed to have marked me. Now there were lightning scars reaching from its claw's way down to my waist. Some of them had clearly not healed completely. On a positive node I didn't feel sick anymore. As I let the covers drop again, I looked at Sunset seeing her questioning gaze I beckoned her closer toward my sickbed.

"I have good news and bad news. Bad news we may look have to keep an eye on Stephen for while I am fairly sure I got every bit of taint out of him we can't be certain. Good news I know what D is inhabiting her." I whispered in her ear. I let myself drop backwards and sighed as my back hit the back of the bed.

It was the eve of Christmas and I was glad that my 'parents' were from Germany here too, meaning we celebrated on the 24th and had 25th to recuperate. Speaking of celebrating I had asked them if Sunset could visit us, since she didn't have a home and they accepted. So, sitting on the coach, my stomach still bandaged, mostly to make sure there weren't any infection and to provide stability, Lily sitting on my thigh watching with great interest as Sunset admittedly a bit clumsily used her hands to unpack her own gift from me. As soon as the last sheet of green raping paper came of a small wooden chest was revealed. It was made out of polished oak, locked with an iron lock, its key, where the knob of it was made out of my dud of the Aquila, was attached with duct tape to the top. I saw her carefully peeling it of before unlocking the hand sized chest. Inside I had put an Aquila made of cast Iron, its wing being the one holding it up as small metal rings were attached to the top of them. Through this a leathern band was woven, its lock made from a piece of brass, polished to look like bronze, I had asked my parents to send me. She put the necklace around her neck and was fumbling around with the lock for a bit before she managed to finally get the hook in its eye. As soon as she looked at me, she beamed, giving me a genuine smile maybe for the first time since we met. She got up to hug me but I stopped her, mentioning to my waist.

"Thank you, Marius, for everything." She said, her right hand idly wandering towards the Aquila.

"No problem Sunset." I smiled in return, after the stress of the last three months, especially these last few days this small reprieve was welcomed indeed. It was then Lili decided to mention she was still there and wanted some attention. I chuckled and began to pet her again, making her purr.

I felt excited to return to Hogwarts. I had devoured the book on Anatomy of the human body and felt I could safely create a body for Tom, though there was much preparation work to be done. Also, I needed to find a secluded room to begin the construction of the tube I had drawn up with Sunset. It would be inconspicuous that it wouldn't be easy to find and easily accessible. There were two rooms where I could think of, first the Chamber of Secrets, although I would need to find a way to actually open it, or the Room of Requirement, although later would probably be more exposed and riskier. There was another option but I had already plans for the Old Fencing Hall. Shaping metal with my magic was something I was surprisingly good at so I had plans to make it a chapel and a command centre should we need it against Luna or Voldyshorts. Perhaps Tom could teach Ginny about Parseltongue? I have to ask him that later. Speaking of the little firebrand now that the obvious threat to her is dealt with we probably should make her aware of the threat to the school caused by Luna. But on the plus side I had some contact with Stephen and he thanked me profusely. Turns out he came from a wealthy family with a large estate around Birmingham and after I had saved his life, he assured me that he would support me as well as he could, especially after I confided in him the threat whom wounded him.

So now I sat in the Great Hall once again, my head over a cup of coffee and trying to think of a crystal both powerful enough to sustain the growth vat and unassuming enough to not arise suspicion. At least thanks to Stephen we could actually afford for the equipment. Speaking of him he raised his hands in greeting when entering it. I had informed him I would give him the information of what we would need to accomplish our goals when we were both at Hogwarts.

The winter began to end and Spring came into the Scottish Highlands bringing the Eastern Holidays with it. I alongside Ginny, Stephen and Sunset choose to remain in Hogwarts. Ginny having been introduced after yet another attack from Luna on her this time to the reality. This time Sunset was the one who found her and managed to bring the nearly dying Ginny to the Hospital Wing. As soon as I and Stephen, both of us being in the library doing some light studying, heard of the attack we rushed toward the Hospital Wing.

As soon as I stormed through the doors of the Hospital Wing, I noticed Ginny lying on a hospital bed. My fingers reached for my Aquilla. It was more difficult than it should have been but my hands were shaking, maybe it was because Ginny was someone, I fancied a friend, maybe because it was because I stormed up and down a few stairs and made some foolhardy jumps between the steps. Anyway, I slowly began to walk almost cautiously towards the only occupied bed. Sunset sat in a nearby chair trying her hardest to regain her breath but looked otherwise more or less fine. Either Sunset's own Aquilla had burned out the Taint or the Taint in Ginny wasn't as contagious as it was in Stephen. Let's hope it's both. As I looked at Ginny, I discarded the later point. Again, the eight pointed star as well as the symbol of the master of change were present on her face, the former over her right eye the later under the left eye. But what was perhaps the most concerning that aside from both of them her young face and her hair had lost nearly all its colour; her cheeks were fallen in and the wounds were pulsating a vicious looking blue. I admit to have seen my fair share of disgusting things during my Bachelor and Master but this trumped everything by lengths. I wasn't even sure if I could do something against that.

"What the heck?" Stephen said seemingly having catched up with me. Well, he certainly wasn't wrong.

"Will she be, okay?" I heard from behind me. So, the other Weasleys seemed to get the memo as well or at least the oldest still here. From my limited exposure to Percy, he seemed like the guy I wanted to be in university but aside from my own failing as a student I was surprised he was the only one there.

"I don't know. I have never seen a cut as bad as this." Madam Pomfrey said making me gulp. Guess I needed to do try to help her myself. I took a step closer to Ginny to take a closer look seeing her wounds. Even if there was never the best helping people, especially with wounds, I was a biologist not a vet or Doctor, there was really only one option to deal with it. Well aside from burning Ginny but nobody in the room would want that. So, I put a hand on the girl's cheek. I was shocked to find her cheek nearly burning hot and not like regular fever. It almost felt like I was touching a metal cooking pot in which was boiling hot water. I won't lie the temptation to pull my hand away was enormous but I pushed through the pain and began to repeat the same prayer as I did for Stephen. Instead of an uncomfortable warmth it felt like I was burning up and I felt almost as if lightning was coursing through me. After a moment I almost felt the scream from my lips more than I heard it.

When I woke up again, I was reminded how much it sucks to purify someone. Afterall my body felt like quite a few of my muscles were strained at least. And let's not forget the fantastic sensation of occasional Spasms as my nervous system still wasn't responding as I would like to. But at least my mind to be still intact.

It was dark outside and the candles weren't lit. Seeing as it was late afternoon when Ginerva was attacked I was almost surprised to find me awake. Last time I had knocked myself out I wasn't awake for a whole day. Well, I couldn't move a muscle so maybe I had awoken too early for my body to really fix itself. I slightly cursed myself for the fact that we still had only one Watcher but there seemed to be never enough time to prepare the bones or enchant the quarts to link up with the mirror. It was then I heard slight weeping coming from my right.

I somehow managed to get me on my side looking at a weeping Ginerva Weasley lying in the hospital bed next to me.

"Hey why are you crying?" I rasped out; my voice so hoarse that even I barely understood what I said. So maybe I was out longer than a day? I would need to ask about that tomorrow.

"Everything hurts, my face especially. But you are awake! Sunset explained you helped heal me and you were unconscious with what Pomfrey called a swallow breath and extremely quite heartbeat. And after I put the words and squish together, I guessed I were the cause for it. And you are one of the only people who see me for me and I couldn't bear to lose you!" Ginny said through tears making me pause for a moment. Guess I had nearly bitten the dust. But honestly looking back on it, it was the right choice after all Sunset knew of the Daemon and could act against it while a full-blown Daemon infestation could potentially kill most of the school, at best. I never said anything like that of cause, after all she was just an eleven-year-old.

"Yeah, sorry for that. But at least I know how the pain feels, seeing as I am currently experience it, though at least my face is more or less fine." I smiled although she probably couldn't see it. "Hey it might seem strange but do you saw who did this to you?" I asked before coughing. My voice began to hurt after speaking and I felt the need for sleep returning to me.

"Yeah, but there was much which doesn't make sense. Why would Luna do This?! Where did she get that knife? Why." After this she broke out into tear again. I tried to turn myself to my side, after I had fallen back on my back, but a sudden stroke of pain caused me to stop. Did I tell her or did I left it for to figure it out?

"So, you know when Sunset said something about Demons last year?" I asked her my brow furrowing, well what was I expecting. It was at that point half year ago. It didn't surprise me honestly as even after what I guess to be 10 minutes there wasn't a reply. "Yeah, your friend Luna, as you already guessed, was responsible for your attack, the attack on Stephen too if you are interested. In fact, she is currently hostess of a Daemon, note the a. But the real differenc..." I began to explained before my tired and exhausted mind decided to shut down.

Afterwards I lay in a coma in the next two weeks. I had missed the address Dumbledore made, speaking of how it was probably because of Voldemort. The night of the 18.02.994M2 was when Tom finally talked to her, likely like we had and not through the book. When I awoke Ginny seemed to be driven by vengeance. She had sworn she would track Luna down and safe her childhood friend from the Daemon and she would make sure that Voldemort would be brought down too and if that meant helping me bring her friend back. She would also help Tom back to life if it would help, though from what he told me it wasn't really something she disagreed with in the first place, so be it, especially after their talk. The following weeks I noticed Ginny's head was more in the lesson and less in clouds or to be more specific spent dreaming after Potter.

Speaking of that brat, and I know I sound like a stereotypical Slytherin again, but he was just so, so, boastful. He acted like he was the mark of good and anybody close to him should feel lucky to be around him in the first place. The only thing he and his cronies managed to achieve was forcing us to be more cautious moving stuff around. That git having got in his big empty skull that a monster, and from his posturing he thought it was the Basilisk, had to be defeated to save the day. So, it became a necessity to use German as the language of choice when speaking about our plans. Thankfully Stephen's Mother was from Germany and had taught him her native language.

Despite of these obstacles we did managed to finish the outer shell of the Cloning Vat, now came the hard part. I had the basic knowledge of what the machine would need to do but couldn't really explain it too well, Sunset had the magical knowledge to do the arcane work but she knew neither of the basic of what the machine would do nor how the mechanical parts in it would work and Stephen, having a knack for mechanics, could do all the necessary machinery but not the other two parts of the equation. And poor Ginny had to sit all of our discussions and shouting, being the only one who could bring us in or out of the Chamber of Secrets. Thankfully after two weeks of dry throats and much frustration we finally managed to do the first successful test, cloning a bird of which feather we found on the working desk we used alongside a whole bunch of documents which helped us immensely. I had no idea from where this came from but looking in a gifted horse in its mouth and all that. After another two weeks of close monitoring out came a Circaetus with golden feathers, from my analysis it turned out she, for our first successful clone was from a female snake eagle, was promptly named Taylor. Over the next four weeks, where the last preparations were made to start the cloning process of Tom. During this time three more joined our jolly band of misfits, both Joana and Phillip, as well as a first year Ravenclaw named Lisa. We also managed to persuade Dumbledore to allow us to begin some light morning training. But everything turned FUBAR shortly before the exams.

It was a day like any other we got up when our cameras, which we finally managed to produce more than one, reported Luna leaving her Common Room earlier than she had the last few days. While not necessarily suspicious the last attack was already a few weeks ago and while that wasn't a bad thing it made me suspicious. So, I decided to make sure to keep my eyes open for the hostess. Sunset thought it to be a pointless worrying but I ignored her. I had a bad feeling about today almost as if the world was about to turn on its head. I didn't know where it had come from but I hope it was from the Emperor. It wasn't until late afternoon when Lockhart had asked Lisa and Luna to stay behind class that my suspicions proved to have merits. I decided to make sure there wasn't any attempts after all Lockhart's eyes seemed almost glassed over when asking for the two Ravenclaws to stay behind.

I felt reassured when most of my housemate friends, sanse Joana who had the initiative to already search for Stephen and Ginny, seemingly noticing the strangeness as well and decided to remain nearby. When I heard a whisper becoming louder and louder speaking in a tongue that was so blatantly evil that everyone who had their Aquila decided to grab for it. This murmuring was pieced by a shriek from Lisa. I swore and burst through the door. The door to Lockhart's office was opened and through it I could see a mass of flesh convulsing and expanding.

"Fuck me sideways with a chainsword that is an Emperor damned Chaos Spawn. Accio Sword." I shouted a long sword came flying in my hand, after all my magic might even heal it more than it might help. Not to speak about my inexperience in using spells for combat. "Alright Sunset, take Ginny and make sure the chamber is alright. The rest get to the Old Fencing Hall and make sure our 'guest' isn't interfering with our project there." I said towards them, through my mind raising every lesson brought up during training on sword fighting. As I made sure that I was indeed alone I found Sunset standing in the door biting her lip. One hand was scratching behind her left ear. Suddenly she burst forward hugging me surprising me a bit.

"Come back safe." She whispered. I chuckled. I wholly expected to die here. I was never the best at fencing but still even if I was just a year here, I was already willing to lay down my life for Hogwarts and my fellow students. The Emperor truly works in strange ways. But I couldn't say that of course.

"I will try my best. You too, Sunset. The Emperor Protects." I said making the Aquila gesture with my hands.

"The Emperor Protects." Sunset replied in kind before sprinting toward the Second-floor girls' lavatories.

As soon as I went up the last few steps of the stair leading up to the door, I saw more of what I guessed to be what remained of Lockhart. He had indeed been turned into a Chaos Spawn. Having burst in his mutation the ceiling, he was massive yet still everchanging. I gave one last prayer to the Emperor and got into a loose stance before carefully advancing towards it. My sword raised over my right shoulder; its tip pointed downward. It noticed me as soon as I entered, its right arm already swinging at me. I barely managed to sidestepped swing. Once it crashed into the floor, I felt the shock wave but somehow kept my stance. In retaliation I swung at the tip of what was once an arm burying my blade right below its claw. Surprisingly it managed to cut clean through, as though there was power field around the blade. Looking at it all I saw was disgusting black ichor which barely resembled blood. However, while I had conserved my strength during the swing since the blade made contact with the Spawn's claw, I almost felt a shock coursing through me sapping me of more strength than it should have.

I guessed I would have a few hits before I would be defeated either way at best. I needed to end this quickly. So, raising my sword back over my shoulder I hacked at the shoulder of the beast, this time putting almost enough force behind it to make me lose my balance. I nearly cut the things left side away surprising both of us. It howled in anger at the pain. Throwing me with his good arm against a nearby wall. The air got knocked out of my lungs and I might have broken a rib or two. Not to mention the slight strain in both my arms and legs when I stood back up. But I could feel that that I would probably need one swing, one good hit to end it. If I was lucky, I might even survive it as well. So, I got up got back into my stance and decided to aim for the head. I put every bit of energy I had left into it. And I could almost see the light emitting form the sword cascading into a blinding sun once it made contact with the Spawn. And just like the last time I had called for the Emperor's power I blacked out.

I again awoke in the Hospital Wing, this time feeling like a herd of elephants had trampled on my body. I just felt exhausted but was too awake to fall asleep again. Frak, it was my Bachelor all over again. Except of course everything hurt. It was then I finally opened my eyes, seeing again a mop of red and yellow hair. Seeing as even trying to lift a finger hurt like hell, I tried to cough to get her of my arm. It was really a shame. She looked so peaceful too. But it didn't look comfortable not was my left arm a huge fan of it. Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey seemed to notice my return to the world of the living and came towards us.

"Mister Hoffmann, I see you are awake. You somehow experienced a severe magical exhaustion as well as a physical one and two broken rips. Seeing as this the third time you ended up in one of my beds this year, I am almost inclined to reserve one just for you." She scolded me. I tried to chuckle but instead I winced as I felt these ribs. This did wake up Sunset.

"Oh, your awake." She said tiredly. On my lips formed a sarcastic response when I felt a quick stunning pain. After a minute I realised Sunset had hit my cheek. "That is for nearly dying." She said, her anger slightly muffled at how adorable she looked. Her hair a mess, her eyes still swollen a bit. So, I had nearly bitten the dust?

"Yeah, probably deserved that. So how long was I out?" I asked something telling me I wouldn't like the answer.

"You were out two weeks, I was debating sending you to St. Mungos, but it will be probably another week till you can leave the Hospital Wing. What were you think spending so much energy?" Pomfrey asked me. So how could I best get myself out of this situation, since telling her the truth was out of the question.

"Marius wanted to show me a charm he had seen in the library. Apparently, he overestimated his own capabilities." Sunset explained, giving me a pointed look at her lie.

"Still, I managed it, didn't I? But I agree I don't plan to do anything like that for a while." I retorted making Sunset huff with annoyance. We both knew that come the chance I would probably do something similar once I released from the hospital wing. "So how are our projects coming along?" I asked, seeing Madam Pomfrey leaving us for a second.

"Well, the vat is working correctly and the first bones are showing. Stephen says he will have the torso ready till years end. Nothing changed." She added almost as an afterthought. I hummed there were three things on my mind currently.

"How is Lisa?" I asked the probably most important question. Sunset shrugged.

"From what she told me she was fine but I don't have enough contact with her to determine if she means it or is just saying it." Sunset said sitting down at the nearby chair after stretching a bit.

"And how were your exams?" I asked the next question that came to mind. "And did any of the teachers say anything regarding my own?" I added almost as an afterthought.

"Reasonably well, I suppose. Of course, the results aren't in yet so I can't say for sure. But no, none of the Teacher's said anything about what your exams at least not to me." She said smiling slightly. "And no, I don't know where I will be staying during Summer." She winked at me. This resulted in my eyes snapping open. How did she know? "A girl has her secrets." She said after chuckling at my expression. After sighing at stupid human turned unicorns, I decided to actually offer her to ask my parents if she could stay over.