Ch. 32: Motivations
After the quite pleasant meeting with Ancient One, rushed only to meet the One Above All, Aracxus sighed as he lay in his hotel suite as he stared at the ceiling.
He had left the after effects of the Dark side in Figgs' house, because he wanted to jump in as an expert on the dark energies and wanted to convince Dumbledore he was an ally.
He wanted to learn Mystic Arts, because he wanted to use that identity to throw off suspicion. He hoped that given Albus Dumbledore's position of Supreme Mugwump of ICW, he was well versed of all the players of this world. And since Masters of Mystic Arts would cross paths with Wizards, given their propensity to use dark magic and dabble in things beyond their scope of understanding, he hoped Albus knew or at least was aware of them.
Dealing with Ancient One's infliction was a whim, when he noticed her appearing to his senses as a Sith Acolyte does. So he attempted to remove the mark Dormammu left without affecting her connection to the Dark Dimension.
He risked drawing the ire of the powerful being, but he knew he was safe from him since Dormammu lacked access to this world yet.
As for his spying on Dumbledore, he had thought of erasing his after effect, as he would often do to remove evidence. But he wanted to see what the Wizards make of it, and how they sense it.
He had left a sublimation barrier in the house, and saw that apart from Dumbledore noone else could even sense it.
He knew he would lack access to the crime scene, until he presents himself as the Master of Mystic Arts, and therefore with that in mind, he engaged the Ancient One whom he suspected to come knocking once she senses the energies.
As it was now, after a healthy and hearty breakfast the next day, Aracxus came to the London Sanctum, which his summon had found out.
Knocking on the door, a cautious man opened the door. "How may I help you?"
"I am expected to meet Ancient One. I seek passage to Nepal through the Sanctum." answered Aracxus briskly, as he saw the man smile and gesture in.
"Yes, please come in, honoured one. I was told to expect you. This way please."
After being led to the Chamber, where he saw the Kamartaj entrance opened on the portal, he thanked the man, and entered the portal watching the change in scenery as the Roof became lower, and the air became colder.
"Darth Aracxus. Ancient One is expecting you." An Asian Man with a shrivelled hand beckoned him to follow.
"Please master, lead the way." Never let it be said, that Aracxus was not polite.
He saw the master lead him through the courtyard into a large spacious visiting room, where the Ancient One sat with a tea set.
"Thank you Master Tanabe."
The man nodded at the polite dismissal by the Ancient One, as he left whence he came.
"Did we greet you properly Darth Aracxus? Given the oath you swore, I presumed it was a title, and not a name, though I am curious what it means and in what language."
The Ancient One calmly greeted as she set a cup in front of her, beckoning him to his seat.
"It means the Dark Lord of the Sith, a title Rakatan in origin, which meant Emperor. The Darth Lord is the Ruled of the Sith Council of the Empire, and as an Overlord, second to none in the entire galactic empire that spans several galactic sectors."
Aracxus explained as he sat down to drink his tea. "Oh, lemongrass. Lovely!"
The Ancient One was calm and still even if she wondered how a man could discuss his Tyrannical title in the same vein as drinking tea.
"Then perhaps you could discuss the meaning of your title and your position in this Empire at a later date?" She half asked half requested, as she saw Aracxus raised his cup in both hands and nod.
"Then onto current matters. May I ask, what you truly seek with learning our methods? There are many different branches of study, and even if no knowledge is prohibited, I always ask my students to exercise caution when dealing with many dimensions and their residents."
"Then, can you tell me, how truly different is your magic from the one used by those wand wielding Wizards? I know you harness the extra-dimensional energies and something about Vishanti being your patron or something. But how truly different is your magic?"
The casual revelation brought Ancient One to a pause. "You truly make for an interesting conversationalist. But to get to your question, I would say that our magic is more about manipulation of energy, while the Wizards practise more of Conversion of Energy into either different energy or into matter."
That made him think about it. The charms and Transfiguration certainly did exactly as she said. But, oh and potions is also the same thing at its root. Convert some function or property of the ingredients into a desired result.
"In the School of Magic I learnt from, there are three Branches. Conjuration, Alteration and Destruction. As the name suggests, broadly speaking Conjuration is summoning, Alteration is transfiguration, transmutation but also manipulation of matter and energies. And lastly Destruction is the basic elemental spells, that "destroys" matter and Magicka into energy resulting in destructive effects. Would you say for convenience sake, your magic system cannot deal with Conjuration and deals with Destruction on very little basis?"
And so on, continued the discussion between the Ancient One, as she taught what he could expect and what should be kept in mind before starting with her studies.
After a long discourse, the teacher and student waited as they now sat facing each other.
"Since you already know of our methods, I will now put you in a trance and attempt to establish a connection with the Other Dimensions."
Nodding at that, he saw as she patted his chest and pushed him out with her fingers coaxing his soul to gain its astral form.
"Oh my!" Arashi saw that as his body fell to the ground, he could now sense the Draconian soul inside him. The Dragonborn was a child of Akatosh, and when he sensed her fingers graze his scaly chest, he rumbled in a deep gravelly voice. "I did not expect that."
Only, the words that came out were Dovahspeak and not English. Mentally channeling his chakra, he saw that the body on the ground merged with his soul and even if he was ethereal, he was now in his Ten Tails Jinchuriki mode, with his Truth Seeking Orbs, his White Haori and his glowing Rinne-Sharingan.
"In my long life, never have I encountered a being who had such a malleable soul. And one so fascinating." she whispered as she still kept her fingers on his chest which was now that of a human.
With that, she began the trip anew, where Aracxus saw the Acid Trip of a journey as he was whisked away from one dimension to the next. The draw at his nape felt like someone was dragging his body like a little girl does to a doll, and pulls it across the rocky roads.
There was immense discomfort and no small amount of trepidation as Aracxus felt the small well of energy seep inside him.
His mutation chose this moment to come into picture, as it began to greedily absorb the dimensional energy, and it create a vicious cycle, of his body absorbing energy from the dimensions, while his mutation gene absorbing it like an excited glutton.
After a long trip, which could have lasted anywhere between moments and hours, Aracxus felt his body finally store enough energy for his mutation to stop absorbing and instead saturate his body with this dimensional energy.
Seeing it as an opportunity, he opened his Rinnegan and felt his body and soul absorb the excess dimensional energy which in an instant filled him to a metaphorical brim.
"Fascinating. So many ways to draw and absorb energy, and each method has its own reservoir inside you."
The musings of The Ancient One brought Aracxus to a stop, as he wondered if his Dragon soul could just as well absorb the energies too.
Turning inwards, Aracxus focused on his mind, as he spoke with Dovahspeak a chant to coax the energy to flow inside his Dragon Soul.
The steadily resting energy was once again excited as it was drawn into his soul and seeped into his very being. This soul within him somehow managed to absorb enough energy which could very easily double the combined sum of his mutation and his Rinnegan powers.
When he was finally done, he burped as he wondered what that brought about. But needless to say, he felt filled and sated, as he was happy with his gains.
He looked at Ancient One to ask her about what happens next, when he saw her look at him in wonder.
POV: Albus Dumbledore
It had been four months since the grave incident with Arabella. The Ministry was up in arms when the Boy Hero was found abused by magic hating muggles and he was brought under scrutiny for child abuse.
He easily answered that it was not willful ignorance or negligence, but a simple matter of oversight, since he assumed wrongly that since the aunt was the only family the boy had, he would be treated differently.
He knew that Petunia was jealous of her sister's magical gift, but he expected her to have grown past the bitterness, given that Lily was dead now.
But that allowed the various families eyeing the Boy's guardianship to come lien vultures to a carcass.
But thankfully, Augusta Longbottom volunteered to foster the boy in her care, as Frank Longbottom's wife Alice was the godmother to the boy. And given that Sirius was the godfather, there were no stronger contender for his guardianship.
Even if he was reluctant, as he saw how overbearing the woman was to her own grandson, she was far better than Lucius Malfoy who claimed guardianship by Narcissa who was related to the boy by his paternal grandmother Dorea Black.
Even Cygnus Black came to claim guardianship, and even though The House Black has fallen from grace due to their rapidly dwindling numbers, they still hold influence over the Wizengamot and the Ministry.
Such was evident, when Cygnus and Cassiopeia managed to convince Augusta to share the guardianship with the boy to bring him up with the appropriate pedigree, denied to him by his liberal father and Muggle mother.
Even if the old landed gentry and Lordship merely amounted to hereditary seats in the House of Wizengamot, the Blacks and Longbottom collectively believed the boy should be brought up as is his right as Heir Apparent of House Potter.
Even if Albus himself would have preferred the boy was not burdened with etiquettes and nobility so that he could enjoy his childhood in wonder and curiousity rather than burdened with responsibilities.
But alas, his own methods were worse than the current situation, and he could blame no one but himself that he assumed Petunia would shield the boy from the blight that was Vernon Dursley. And if not, he expected to be informed as such by Arabella who he found out now, was actually using the funds he gave her to protect the boy to feed her expensive hobbies.
Credit where it was due, Amelia was true to her words, as she ensured the Unspeakables to seal and quarantine the Figgs House, and obliviated the houses in the neighbourhood.
And soon, she personally took care of Harry and brought him to safety of her own house. She vaccinated the boy from Dragon Pox and other ailments when it was found he received no innoculation as a child. And she ensured the boy received a thorough regiment of Nutrient Potions and Recovery Potions after being underfed for years at Dursleys.
Even it all came from her own pocket. He praised her diligence and hard work above and beyond the call of duty and informed the Daily Prophet as such. Seeing her work so hard and efficiently for the people of Magical England, made him sure that she would be a better candidate for Minister of Magic than Cornelius Fudge could ever be.
At least even the previous administration was not so openly corrupted and inept that they kept a zealot and a bigot as the Undersecretary, only because she was good at brown nosing and fluffing his tail.
As it stands, it all could come second, when he received a warning that am intruder had come to the ward boundary of Hogwarts. He expected no one, nor was he informed as such.
And given that this was into the term, where children were studying in the castle currently, any enemy who comes now would be dangerous if let in.
With that thought, he apparated to the boundary, and was surprised to see a tall man with Jet black hair wearing what could only be some form of Armour waving his hand casually.
Pushing his Elder Wand back into the wand holster, he saw that the man looked unconcerned. "Hello young man. Are you here to see someone?"
The man smiled and nodded. "Yes, I came to see you Headmaster. But in an official capacity, I am afraid."
That made him pause. Was he in some kind of trouble again?
The man smiled and waved his hand and Albus was shocked as he remembered exactly who could do magical feats like that.
Master of Mystic Arts from Kamartaj! The one organization or entity who dealt with dangerous magics and Wizards who dabbled in forces beyond their comprehension.
He bowed gently and saw the young man do the same. Now that he could inspect, he noticed the Sling Ring on the fingers of the young man.
"How may I help you Master?"
The man smiled, the smile never leaving his face. "You have a problem your Unspeakables cannot fathom. And as you must have recognised, it is beyond your grasp. I am here to deal with it."
Albus wondered how the Masters were so well acquainted with their world and their actions.
"Could you shed some light on the incident too? The victim was a dear friend and I hoped to find out why she was murdered so brutally."
The man nodded and waved his hand, as suddenly Albus found himself inside the Quarantine zone where wards were set up to alert the Department of Mysteries of an intruder.
He saw the man pull something as suddenly the man had a jet black staff in his hand. It was ornate and looked like the ones used by Meditating Monks he met in Kanchenjunga ranges in Himalayas.
And immediately his attention was drawn to the man in shock, as the staff in his hand began to do the impossible and absorb the dark taint which was frankly unnerving to him.
What he saw was not magic, but something else, as it was pure manipulation of energy that absorbed the taint in the house.
He saw the young man was nonchalant about it, almost bored to be here. "Well, I can see that whoever struck her down did so with absolute malice. But the entity who did it was angry at something. Something about her set the entity off, and it wanted to make an example of her."
The young man shrugged as he was done in a minute, and now the room was devoid of any trace of what happened in this house.
"How may I thank you, Master...?Forgive me, but my age must be catching up with me. May I know your name?" asked Dumbledore with respect and a small amount of awe, at the skill of the young man. He coul very well sense that the dark taint was absorbed not into some object but within the man himself. And he was all fine regardless.
"Call me Master Aracxus. Though Master sounds like something people called me in a very different light. If you must add a title, please call me Mage Aracxus."
"Will do Mage. Though I must ask, I never knew Kamartaj took any Apprentice so young and so skilled."
The man smiled, "They don't, consider me a part time Master of Mystic Arts. I just dabble in every form of magic there is, and was commissioned to come seek you to offer my assistance."
So the man was an exceptional one even amongst the renowned Masters of Mystic Arts. He was told of their long standing watch to protect the world by his mentor Nicholas Flamel very early in his apprenticeship.
He had sought out the Sanctum to learn from them too. But Wizards and that too wand wielding ones were rejected by the Ascetic Order as they fundamentally were of the opinion that wizards are not suited for their arts which was only confirmed throughout their several decades and centuries of experience.
But seeing the man in action, a small part of him wondered if that were true.
"Now that the business is over, I have a request. Is Newt Scamander still alive?" The young man asked, and he wondered what he wanted from his old friend.
"He is. May I ask what you require of him?" he asked guardedly, as usually only people who sought fame and profits would inquire about the man.
"I have a dilemma about my own self that needs resolved. But I am not sure how to go about it, without the help of a Magiizoologist. I can promise it will be a wonderful endeavour and your friend will not be unhappy." the man explained. He added after a thought. "You could join us too, if you so wish."
He sighed and agreed, as he wanted to ask the man to take them to his quarters. But surprisingly, he found that unseen, the man had already teleported the two of them to his Headmaster's Chambers in Hogwarts. He heard a soft trill of the Phoenix as the man walked towards the perch where Fawkes sat regally and waited for the man to come closer.
He saw the man gently approach the bird, and run his fingers along underside of her beak and along his breast. The golden red plume was the bird's favourite petting spot, and he heard the bird trill in glee.
"Such a regal bird you are sweetling. Perhaps the name is not wrong for a being such as you." The bird bobbed it's head and looked at the man with curiosity. He had never seen the bird interact so long with another person.
He was distracted from his musings, when he heard the Mage Aracxus speak. "I heard the only herd of Threstrals in Europe reside in the woods here. And your gamekeeper takes care of them. Might I be allowed to visit them in the future?"
He wondered if the man was a fellow magical creature enthusiast, or simply attracted to the misunderstood creatures because of their lore and apparent connection to death.
"Of course, please inform ahead of your arrival, and I can ensure Hagrid takes you to the woods to meet them. But could I have the room please? I would need to inform we wish to impose upon his hospitality."
"Of course. Please and thank you." so saying the man looked at his bird and saw Fawkes rise from his perch and fly into the open arms of the man.
The man produced some berry from his pockets and began to feed it to Fawkes who trilled in what Albus over the years had guessed what satisfaction.
"Who's a sweet boy? Yes you are sweetling, yes you are!" The gentle coaxing of the man would appear endearing and childish if he had not seen with his own eyes what the man was truly capable of.
Perhaps it was true that all powerful men have a soft spot for magical creatures, as he had never seen a powerful wizard both dark and light, who did not prefer to take some form of pet or familiar.
"Albus, I wasn't expecting you to floo. Is everything alright?" he heard the gravelly voice of his dear old friend.
"Of course old friend. I just had a visitor who I could not say No to. He says he has something interesting to run by you. I was hoping you could spare us some minutes." he half requested half informed Newt. He was sure the man would agree, such a kind soul that he was, but it never hurt to ask.
"Of course Albus, I'll open the wards. But I wonder what kind of man are you bringing to whom You couldn't say No." Newt mused, as he saw a few locks of hair appear in front of Newt's face.
"Are we expecting guests dear? Oh, Albus. Hello!" he heard the sweet Porpetina greet him.
"Hello Tina. We were hoping to come by for a visit. I am bringing along an important man." he informed Tina, who smiled through the floo.
"Of course, of course. You are welcome to come in. We have opened the wards. See you then."
So saying he saw the Floo rested into embers and he turned and opened the door. He expected the man to be at the door, but he saw he was further away. Out of curiosity, he ventured into the corridor between the gargoyle and the Door and saw the man gently caressing the stone walls of the castle while talking inanimatedly to the Phoenix.
"Such deep magic woven into the place Fawkes! I can only compare feeling to the Castles and Sith Academy in Korriban, or perhaps the Rakatan Star Forges could compare to this. Beautiful isn't it?"
That brought a smile on Albus' face, as someone who can stop and stare at the walls of the castle and marvel at their deep connection to the magic that runs underneath and beneath these walls cannot be all that bad!
"Mage Aracxus, I got the permission to visit Mr. Scamander. Might I invite you to use the Floo?"
The man smiled and looked at the bird who understood what he wanted to convey. It flew away from the man with a soft trill, and landed on its perch after taking a beak full of its favourite raspberries.
He saw the man wave at the bird, and follow him, as Albus lead the way with the Floo. When he landed on the deep red carpet, he saw the older couple greet him cheerfully.
"Albus! It's been a while." He greeted Tina and shook hands with Newt, while they curiously looked at his back and saw the man who stood there.
"Ah! Allow me to introduce Mage Aracxus. As he prefers to be called instead of Master Aracxus. He is one of the Masters of Mystic Arts at Kamartaj."
He saw both Newt and Tina look at the man in shock, as they had seen another such master during their times of War with Grindelwald. And given their lasting impression, he was sure they had just as him, formed an image of a powerful and competent monk who appeared in times of direst need and vanished without waiting for applause and accolades.
He saw Tina was the first to come out of her shock. "Master of Mystic Arts? Can you use that portal just like the woman could during war?"
He noted Tina was just as forward and blunt as always.
He saw the man smile and bowed in response. "I can Madame Scamander." But he added nothing more.
He saw Newt was out of his stupor and looked at the man appraising him. "And what can I do for you Master Aracxus?"
The man smiled, "I prefer Mage Aracxus or simply Aracxus. I wanted to ask you, what I should change in diet, should I become an Animagus?"
That floored the room, as Albus sweat dropped when he wondered if the man was joking. He saw Newt's eye twitch, while Tina spurted in giggles.
"I must say, this is the first time someone consulted Newt on such matters." She joked as she smiled at the man.
Newt looked at Albus in annoyance, but sighed, as he realised a man such as him would not have knowingly wasted their time like this.
"Very well, Master Mage. What animal form does your animagus take?" He said airily.
"Why don't you let me show you?" the man grinned sportingly, and Albus felt a headache coming in, when he saw the barely veiled reluctance on Newt's face.
But being a good chap as he is, Newt and Tina led the man through their house to an open space. He noticed the grounds were filled with a variety of magical creatures from all over the world.
But something strange happened the moment they arrived on the grounds. All sounds of the animals stopped as one, as all the grunts, purrs and neighs were silenced. He saw the animals were staring at them, and Albus assumed that was the response of the creatures to Newt's presence.
He joked with Newt, "I did not know the creatures here respected you."
He expected a retort, but he saw Newt was surprised as well. "They are not reacting to me, Albus." He saw where Newt was looking, and saw his eyes lined with the young man whom he brought along.
The said man was now intensely staring at the creatures, almost as if in challenge. Without a word, the man simply strolled forward, as Albus noted a Pride of Nundu, herded together and approached the man, as if to rise to a challenge.
He called for the Master to come back, as Nundus were dangerous creatures and not easily trifled with.
Seeing the alarmed face of Newt, and the drawn wand of Tina, he drew his own Elder Wand prepared to defend the man. But all their worries were drowned in shock and wonder, when the man leapt in a sprint and transformed into a massive dragon as he took flight in the air and landed before the Nundu with a giant splash of dirt.
"It is never simple with these Masters of Mystic Arts, is it Albus?" Tina voiced his own thoughts as he saw the man growl in warning, and the Nundu came to a halt with a whimper.
He wondered what new things he would get to see, when to his alarm, the man transformed back into his human form. But his worry was dissipated when he looked at the feet of the man, and saw he was floating in air.
Unassisted levitation! A feat possible for Tom, because he modified the Levitation charm and the Summoning Charm to create his own spell map. But to witness levitation without a spell and with such ease, Albus wondered the limits of the man who was currently petting and rubbing the neck and chin of a Nundu purring at his touch.
"Tell me Albus, have you ever seen a wizard take a magical Animagus form?" He heard Newt ask, and he shook his head. "No, there were some rumours of Black having a possible Grim Animagus, but it was actually a very big black dog. No such records are ever found, despite the various claims of Skinchanging from the colonies."
He indicated the same to Tina who nodded, "Yes, even in states, no one really witnesses such a claim, though the shamans claim they have proofs and records and there have been many submissions to Department of Records and Archives in MACUSA, but no such claims have been verified."
They saw the man leap into the air and land in front of them in a feat of athletic superiority as the jump was a good 30 yards and he landed smoothly without rolling with the momentum.
"Sorry about that, the big softie there thought I came to threaten her little one. Once the misunderstandings were cleared she agreed to allow me to be present here."
He wondered how the communication even happened. "Can you speak with animals?"
The man looked at Tina and shook his head. "Only Dragon kin understand my tongue. Perhaps the reptiles do too. I can successfully converse with dragons and Basilisks though. But to other animals, I must project my intent and derive sense of their own."
"You can speak to snakes? You are Parseltongue?" Albus asked the man who shrugged.
"I don't know what Parseltongue is, but I can speak to snakes. Always could."
"Can you show us?" Newt asked as he began to lead them to a small nest in the shadows. He saw a lot of different reptiles around, and he wondered how many of them are venomous and fatal to Wizards.
He noticed a few Runespoors, and a lot of Adders lazily lying about. He noted a few Ashwinder eggs in the small embers on the ground, while a few Occamy eggs were guarded by a Occamy.
The said Occamy was the one who came forth and glided towards them. He saw the man hold his hand out, and the giant snake spread its wings in caution.
When the master didn't flinch or advance, the beautiful snake with feathered wings slowly came towards the outstretched hand of the man who now hissed softly.
He saw the Occamy look alert and trilled in reply.
After a few back and forth, the Fascinating Man gently rubbed her beautiful feathers and then brought a large cow carcass in front of him. He saw the other snakes come closer and began to feast greedily as the man laughed in delight.
"Don't worry darlings. I have plenty for you to eat." followed by a few hisses as he smiled. "Such a vane girl. Tribute she says. Bah!"
So saying the man brought forth five more giant carcasses that looked freshly put down as the blood was still fresh and not even dried.
"I am sorry Newt, but your snakes are very greedy. They demanded a tribute to appease them. And I couldn't help but spoil the little darlings."
He saw Newt smile wryly. "They always are like that. But I don't want them to get fat and lazy."
That made the man smile who hissed to the snakes, and saw as the snakes hissed in indignation.
"Ha, the snakes are sassy. They say you have grown lazy without Bunty and the new assistant is a bad boy. Hmm. hmm. Oh that is a travesty. The Runespoor says she did not have a good moulting and her skin is all itchy."
He saw the man wave his hand and the Runespoor hissed as it came close to the man and began to rub all three of its head on his shoulders.
"Did you use a spell on the snake?" Newt asked as he saw the small leftover skin of the moulting had all but vanished.
"Yes I did. I use that Spell after a long dive in to the Kilimanjaro when I need a good warm bath."
"Surely you joke." He saw Tina exclaim. "It's a volcano."
The man smiled and said, "The Dragon in me needs to be let free once in a while. Bottling up its instincts can have adverse effect on psyche."
Now that it was proven, Newt asked various questions about the snakes and wanted the man to act as a mediator, which he agreed to readily. He was fascinated as well, but he wanted to go back to his work.
"Headmaster Dumbledore. One moment please. May I ask what is your position about visiting teachers and Periodic Workshops on various topics?" The Master of Mystic Arts asked him suddenly.
"I never had the option to hire one, but if you desire to teach, may I offer a position as Defence Against the Dark Arts. The position is cursed in Hogwarts and no teacher survives one term of holding that position. Not all terms end fatally or injuring the professor, but no one stays after the one term."
The man hummed in thought. "Not now. I will come to you for that job in 1992. When Harry Potter is in his second year. For now, I will settle for a temporary position."
Albus was once again amazed at the informed man before him. "And what is it about young Mr Potter that interests you Mage Aracxus?"
"The same thing that interests you Headmaster. The fated confrontation between the boy and Tom. The prophecy is a fickle thing. Perhaps it could have been about a Dark Lord in Africa or not even in this realm. But you giving weight and consideration to that prophecy gave it purpose and meaning. And even if in the sense and scale of the world, the woes and plight of a secluded isolationist society does not even register as a blip on our radar, the world schemes to bring the prophecy to its fruition. And that interests us greatly, headmaster. Or at least it interests me."
With that the man simply vanished from sight. Not just disapparated or used a portal he knew of, but simply vanished into thin air.
"Didn't know they could do that." Tina remarked as she also observed the same thing. "The Wards simply registered the absence of the master, not even the intent or magic. Can all Masters of Mystic Arts do that Albus?"
"I hope not Tina. And if they can, I truly hope we give them no cause to intrude."
"I agree, though something tells me even amongst the all powerful Masters of Mystic Arts, this Mage Aracxus is not the norm, but the outlier. And did you notice his eyes? For a moment I thought I was mistaken. But when he used the spell on the Runespoor, I am sure his eyes were Yellow. Just like a Basilisk is fabled to have."
Given what he witnessed today, Albus couldn't bring up words to deny that thought.