Ch. 33: A case of Kleptomania

In the four months after his arrival in this world, Aracxus was quite busy. After a brief spiel with Arrabela Figgs, leading to a meeting with Ancient One, Aracxus had kept himself occupied and engaged throughout the day.

First and foremost, after the introduction to Mystic Arts, Aracxus had made a trip to Diagon Alley and robbed a few people in the Knockturn Alley. Appropriating a few Money Pouches, he emptied them in his hammerspace and went to Gringotts.

Ordinarily he wouldn't want to deal with the goblins, but a single thought changed his mind. He had force powers to do the mind tricks, or he could use his Sharingan.

There was no equivalent of genjutsu in magical world, where he could weave as complex and convoluted an illusion as he desired. And he could do it with but a thought. That he was so ridiculously skilled with his Sharingan, that he could cast a genjutsu without even eye contact only confirmed his decision.

His mind made, Aracxus made his way into Gringotts. Coming to a teller, he saw the goblin had his seat raised higher than a normal wizard's height. This meant when the wizards talk to goblin, they must do so while looking up, while the goblins talk while looking down upon the wizards.

The posturing and ridiculous levies by the goblins meant that whatever the history and result of the war, the goblins still enjoy rubbing it in the faces of wizards.

And that was evident, when the goblin looked up from his ledger and sneered with malice. "What can we do for you wizard?"

The sneer remained in place, as the goblin looked in the eye, and saw a red glow.

"May I ask you to exchange these sickles for galleons?" Aracxus asked as he brought a pouch full of Knuts. He made the goblin teller think the knuts he counted were sickles.

Filling up 300 galleons in a pouch, the goblin returned the pouch and sneered back. "Anything else wizard?"

The goblin was under such a deep genjutsu, that it never registered to its senses that something was wrong.

Why did Aracxus bother with such a simple deception, when he could do much more with a goblin under his control?

Simple. He was testing the limits and scope of his abilities on magical folk, anx the degree of their compliance for certain tasks.

After the successful initial test, Aracxus leaned in and asked. "Is there any alarm which informs security that some goblin is put under Imperious?"

The goblin leaned in and sneered. "There is. A ward made by goblin shamans is alerted when magic is actively cast inside the building."

"Is it alerted now?" Aracxus asked as he used his Byakugan to look around.

"No, only wand magic is sensed with the wand, otherwise even goblins using magic to count and record will be alerting the wards unnecessarily."

That calmed him down, as Aracxus smiled, "Then make it so, that I get to visit the Lestrange Vault and Black Vault."

The goblin smacked his lips and another goblin showed up. "He will take you to your vaults."

Ending the genjutsu on the first goblin and casting one on the goblin who would lead him to the vaults, he asked. "Can you open the vaults without a key?"

The goblin nodded. "Yes I can wizard. No worries."

"What about the Thief's Downfall and the Dragon?" Aracxus asked curiously.

"The Thief's Downfall only washes away those suspicious wizards and witches who use confounding charm, glamour charms, Notice-Me-Not or Aversion Wards and Polyjuice Potions. And the Dragon is trained to experience pain at a stimulus. It will not attack whilst we use it."

Aracxus could have said it was a monumental task to break in to Gringotts and rob the Lestrange and Black Vault blind.

But it was as easy as taking a stroll through the bank and gettin out with his pockets full.

He used his Force to break the Geminio curse on the Lestrange Vault, and putting the cup in a separate box in his hand, he carried the entire Gold and loot from the Vault inside his Hammerspace.

Using a door to access his Warehouse, he dumped the entire loot in a corner. He saw that there were quite a few dark cursed artefacts inside the vault. He didn't bother touching them without studying the Harry Potter magic, and sent all the loot untouched from his hammerspace into the Warehouse.

After such a worthwhile endeavour, he looked around and saw that he was now in the Doctor form like in his first jump.

He hadn't used the Doctor form for anything other than his illegal ventures. First he used it to murder Figgs and now he used it to rob the Lestrange and Black Vault.

He had made sure to rob the main vaults instead of the trust vaults, as he learnt from the goblins that it was apparently a thing, and not just fanfiction.

Coming to Borgin and Burkes, he used his Sharingan and found out with a shock that the man had some mental barriers that pushed away his Genjutsu.

Before the man could react, he used his Rinne-Sharingan and used the strongest Genjutsu he could. Aracxus had readied his Dark side, but found out that it would have been an overkill.

The man before him had stood still, with a blank expression on his face and his mouth drooling all over the floor.

Aracxus pulled on the force and pushed a tendril through the mind of his target, and saw that the man had somehow retreated into the corners of his mind as there were mental scars and injuries in the man's mind.

"Interesting, a guarded mind reacts violently to genjutsu. And Rinnegan and above simply acts like a Sledgehammer on Paper."

The subtlety of Genjutsu is broken, when a guarded mind or a Oclumens faces the Genjutsu technique. So, any brute force method just throws it's utility out of the way.

Still, Aracxus had his Force Mind tricks, which he refused to call Jedi Mind Tricks, simply because sith tend to use it as much as Jedi, if not more.

But for now, the drooling empty stare of the man, Borgin or Burkes whoever he may be, was a sign that the man was gone further beyond, and not salvageable by any means.

Sighing to himself, Aracxus simply used his Rinnegan and drew out the soul of the man and began interrogating him.

"Is there a hidden cache of questionable items here? Where do you keep your money and your less than legal funds?"

The questions were varied and many, and each time the man answered like a puppet, he noted down the answers in a small journal he kept on himself.

Having all his answers finally, Aracxus simply refused to absorb such a soul and simply pushed it into the Gate Of Hell. The body of the man fell to the ground, and Aracxus simply lifted the body and used his Truth Seeking Orbs to simply disintegrate the body without leaving any evidence.

There was no body, no ash, no remains left behind and all anyone would suspect is that the man decided to betray his long time partner and ran away with all the money and goods.

To that effect, Aracxus spent the better part of the afternoon and a good duration of the evening gathering all the money and trinkets which Burkes had appropriated.

A second trip to Gringotts using the Burkes key, he emptied the vault and left for the Hotel, a lot richer than he was this morning.

Not to mention he could transmute gold, use Sith Alchemy to make alloys not possible technology wise or even with magical means.

He could also forge Goblin Silver, since the Goblin he put under genjutsu had introduced him to the Goblin Forges underneath the Bank and he had recorded all the secrets and process of forging the metal alloy himself!

And if all that failed, he had innumerable Gold Septims in the Warehouse and the Hammerspace along with jewelry and enchanted gems aplenty after robbing the Thalmors and the Imperial Elves blind.

But ever since he had a trip to Skyrim world, even if he had chosen the Way of the Mage, he had felt his spirit draw him towards the Thief as well. The warrior not so much, but the Thief or the Rogue, was a attractive path. And that feeling was only amplified after completing the Thief's Guild Quests and obtaining the Skeleton Key, which he never returned.

And using the key, he had entered so many crypts and Holds that he had enjoyed the panic of a Shadow Thief who could steal your riches and belongings in the middle of the day and leave you a pauper.

And that Kleptomania had only continued to excite and entice Aracxus when he knew this part of the world had innumerable questionable and decadent people.

After giving Burkes a corpse-less death, and robbing Borgin of all the money and stash of items and mentionable, he was a happy man that night as he slept with a peaceful smile. And all in a hard day's work!

The rest of the time, Aracxus decided to turn his sight to the south. Even if he regularly visited the Kamartaj and learnt from the Masters there, he noticed that it was all too easy.

His Eidetic Memory had enabled him to remember and comprehend all subject matter of the texts, while his Sharingan allowed him to remember and recall the text with a single glance.

He was able to learn all the languages needed to read the text, as he had already mastered Sanskrit, Pali, Ancient Chinese, Persian, Sumerian and Assyrian when he was in his first jump or in his second.

As a Doctor, he had learnt French, German, Italian, Greek and Latin to be able to read old medical texts and researches. He had taken a perk Polyglot which gave him ease to learn the languages he wasn't familiar with.

And as an apprentice to the Powerful master, in his second jump, Aracxus had to translate texts and rituals from Ancient Chinese, Sanskrit and Pali languages to Mandarin as per his master's instruction.

And in this world, he had been able to master the remaining languages along with the old Norse Runes the Elder Futhark and the Neo Nordic Runes after using his Sharingan to remember the runes and the alphabets along with the codex for each language.

And with that done, there was very little left to do at the Kamartaj, as he simply needed to learn from the Masters how to manipulate the dimensional energies or he simply needed to practise it on his own.

But that allowed him a bit of an open schedule, which he used most diligently to scout African School of Magic: the Ugadaou Academy of Magic. Situated in the Central African Region, the academy was a school primarily focused towards Healing with Magic and Herbs, Transfiguration, and wandless forms and arts of magic.

He had immersed himself into the school and used his abilities to at least record practises and abilities of the teachers and students here. If one were to compare, Hogwarts and Ugadaou had absolutely nothing in common.

Their Transfiguration was more self-oriented or proximity oriented, compared to what Hogwarts teaches. The Transfiguration here however, was very useful to learn anf practise for Aracxus, as he was already capable of minor shapeshifting due to his mutation.

Learning to control the growth or loss of appendage was easy, as Aracxus had easily learnt to grow fins, gills or even a fish tail to survive in the depths of seas. He had even managed to venture as deep as thousands of metres, and learnt that regular fishes cannot survive in such depths due to hydrostatic pressure and colder temperatures.

He somehow gained a fat blubber around his body, his eyes became more nocturnal, his gills widened, and his fins became more sharper with small knob-like protrusions on them.

But after spending nearly a day in the water, Aracxus could easily confess that the time spent in the depths of the ocean was the most satisfying and calming experience he had ever felt.

To test his limits, he had decided to run in the Savannah, and practised Transfiguration as well as his own Mutation which he now referred to as Darwinian Mode. It was an apt name, as it was the very apex of the term: survival of the fittest.

The mutation did not make him stronger, faster, taller or heavier. It made him more adaptable. More attuned to the environment and his surroundings. He was able to immerse himself into the terrain he found himself in and adapt and adjust to survive there.

And the Tier 3 of that Mutation was simply taking that adaptation and dialling it to 11.

He could grow claws, claws that allowed him to maneuver in the grasslands. His thigh muscles grew denser, just like shoulder muscles. He could easily run and outmanoeuvre a cheetah, and his reflexes were fast enough to react to even a hunter's gun.

His teeth had grown sharper and his jaws had grown wider and denser. He had measured his bite force, and he found he could rip a bar of steel with his sharp teeth.

And just as wild and ferocious as he could be, he realised all this raw physical prowess was muted when he wanted to merge and mix into a city. A tall, strong man with wide hips and denser musculature with arms and upper body so wide, he could destroy concrete with a shoulder push would be easily separated and noticed.

And this was where the real power of his Darwinian mutation came into play. When he wanted to, his body became lean like an athlete's, and under the clothes he wore, he stood no more than the next man.

Well, he still stood out, as his high cheek bones, sharp jawline, expressive bright eyes and sleek silky raven hair turned heads wherever he went. But he didn't stand out as abnormal.

Getting an in with the African Community was easy, he simply learnt to change his skin colour and quickly vanished in the crowd.

The streets in Mozambique and Congo had the African equivalent of Diagon Alley, where he found a lot of items and objects deemed illegal by the cagey European Ministry.

The visit to Morocco and Port-au-Prince was equally gratifying, because he managed to rob a smuggling ring to fill his coffers with wealth of material, ingredients and of course money.

It was not all easy, as somehow the smuggling ring had managed to sense him despite him cloaking himself, and the only way out was for a full out slaughter.

But since it was a gang of cut throat smugglers, he wasn't overly upset about it.

The real challenge came in the form of his own desire to infiltrate Wakanda. He found a squad of bald women dressed in ornate apparels and sharp spears following an European man who had managed to hide nearby.

The man could only be Ulysses Klaue, the criminal who absconded with shit tons of Vibranium. Aracxus immediately teleported next to the man, and rendered him unconscious. He tied him in a tight rope and teleported the captured man to an empty house he had secured after finding the papers to the house from one of the smugglers.

Making the jump back to the forest, Aracxus saw the stash of Vibranium and he sent it all to his Hammerspace. Happy with the loot, he floated under cloaking to the women guards who were hunting for Klaue.

His first barrier came in the form of failure to understand Wakandan language. No matter the number of tongues he learnt, he couldn't communicate or confound the women.

Doing so in another language would risk in the Wakandan getting alerted of a possible mind control. And given their strong ties in the African Community, Aracxus was certain there must be a liaison with the Ugadaou ready in Wakanda to bring on the full force of the school, if Wakanda finds it difficult to deal with him.

Giving up the attempt to control her mind, he saw that the women had spoken something in their Kimyo Beads and retreated back.

But following them was another dangerous venture as he noticed the women became alert suddenly and began to point their spears around the location he stood.

He was certain Infrared signature could not sense him, nor could any ward or magical barrier. But if Wakanda even knew something crossed their barriers, then the point was moot.

He only had a need to obtain a few Heart shaped Herb and the Wakandan technology to see if he could make something out of it.

After all, no matter their advancement, Star Wars world had a lot of advanced technology, and the time he lived in, was when Sith actively used Star Forges to advance the empire. The Rakatan technology was almost miraculous in nature, and combined with the Dwemer Mechanical Marvel and their steampunk style technology, Aracxus had very little from Wakanda that he hadn't seen before.

Granted, the advancement of Wakanda came from the Vibranium stash that powered their entire civilization. But he had a shit ton of metal himself, and he could always steal more.

He already had a plan ready for it too. But he was in no hurry, as he first wanted to learn the language to make sense of their technology.

If he could afford to use the Deathly Hallows, Aracxus would have learnt all he could from all the great sorcerers and wizards of ancient times. But, since the jump contract for this world explicitly mentioned to avoid using the Hallows, he had to look for other options.

When Aracxus lived in his original world, he lived until December 2021. That meant he missed out on Phase 4 of MCU, but he had seen the trailors and fan speculations.

Moreover he had watched the three shows that came up on Disney, namely the one for Falcon, Wandavision and finally Loki.

And even if the Kang variant in the season finale was underwhelming, despite his nigh omniscience, he had seen enough to know what could be of use and what could be exploited in the world in the current timeline.

But he had found a fun thing to exploit in the form of Agatha Harkness, the enchantress who confounded Wanda.

And since the witch had Darkhold, and Chaos Magics, Aracxus had planned to make use of the witch. He wanted to steer clear of the Chthon and Elder Gods, but manipulating the witch to reveal the magic within the pages was all but child's play.

The real cinch of the plan lay in finding the witch, as in this crossover world, the woman could be hiding anywhere and a capable sorcerer as her would certainly have warded herself against Scrying or Detection spells.

To this, he decided to make a play for the woman by asking help from the Ancient One. As a protector of Earth, a witch who uses Darkhold and Chaos Magics from Chthon's realms cannot be an ally to the Masters of Mystic Arts.

"Hello Aracxus, I didn't realise it was time for our lessons." he heard the Ancient One remark calmly, as she was writing in a binded time of parchment.

"It is not, but I have some question for you, and it is about Chaos Magics." he asked, and got the expected response when the Ancient One stopped writing, put her quill down and closed the inkstand.

"Very well, you have my attention." he saw the Ancient One was as serious as he ever saw her.

"There is a witch called Agatha Harkness. She is powerful and strong. Capable of absorbing magic and life-force of other sorcerers. She was alive during the Salem Witch Trials and killed her own coven which included her mother, because she did not want to follow the coven's rules of moderation and caution."

He saw the seriousness in her face, as he saw her stand and retrieve the Eye of Agamotto and nodded at him to continue.

"She possesses the book Darkhold, the Book of The Damned, but it is actually a tome, binded from the Chthon's Scrolls and shows the reader to use corrupted Chaos Magics spreading the Elder God's influence on Earth. I want to learn what the sorceress knows, and take away the book from her to stop her actions and avoid a nexus being from getting corrupted by the scrolls."

He saw the Ancient One click her teeth. "Never a simple request, is it? I can help, as it falls within my duties to deal with the witch, and the book. Though I must ask, can you promise me you do not intend to use the book yourself?"

He nodded. "I have no pressing need to use the book, and there is nothing the book can offer me that I cannot obtain by other means."

He saw her hum in thought. "Are you sure? The book can resurrect the dead and give you much power than you could ever need."

He scoffed. "All at the cost of being corrupted by Lord Chaos' magic and energy, and possible forfeit of life and soul to Chthon. No thank you very much. Ibam content with the cards I am dealt."

He saw her smile and nod. "Very few would actually realise the steep bargain they unknowingly agree to, and with such beings, the cost of bargain is never clear and expected until the debt comes knocking. I am glad I can trust you with this. Now, you said she was there in Salem and killed her coven, correct?"

At his nod, she continued, "Very well. We could trace her steps and find her easily. You coming to me for this means she can shield herself from that Scrying spells you have?"

He nodded. "Yes no one of them worked. Neither would the mundane methods for searching for her. She would only get spooked and make it more difficult to find her."

Ancient One nodded. "Come along then. We have a Salem Witch to hunt."

And they began to look at her life. From the moment he saw her younger life, Aracxus had activated his Sharingan to record every minute detail of her life.

It was unnecessary to remember so much detail about an individual, let alone one who has lived longer than a normal human lifespan. But his Sharingan allowed him to record and remember all her life and her skills, as she learnt them and mastered them.

He saw her pitiful attempts at conjuring, her attempts to transmute metal without focus, her attempt to try various spells from her coven.

And as Agatha learnt her magic, so did Aracxus remember what he must do himself to learn it. And as the time stone fast forwarded the life of Agatha, until they reached the critical step of her life, where the witches had her bound as punishment, he saw the spell she used to draw the life-force of the witches of her coven. He saw it was also Chaos magic, as Agatha's steep decline into forbidden magic was a result of her reading from Darkhold, and in turn getting corrupted slowly to accept the magic and forbidden knowledge from the book.

In a way, it also acted like a Horcrux as the Darkhold would slowly but surely possess the individual and offer their mind and soul to Chthon who could at will take control.

But here as it was now, having sensed the dark corrupted magic of Chthon, I could agree that it was not just corrupt or vile, but in essence evil. And it was all that easy to convince Ancient One to go after the sorceress.

"So when do we go after her?" Aracxus asked curiously, as he saw her place the Eye of Agamotto in its place.

"How about now? We know where she is. And she has no idea we are after her. You stall her and take the Book of the Damned, and I can drag her into the Mirror Dimension."

I smiled and nodded. "Works for me."

Things were even easier, as I found out that I could not use Genjutsu on her, and any form of magic was interrupted because of the runes inside the hideout she was currently using.

But Ancient One had used an eldritch whip and incapacitated her, while Aracxus used Dark side of the force to destroy the runes.

With a loud blast, the walls shattered and the debris was pushed outwards. Aracxus knew he could not only use magic, but also all his abilities now and using a spell for Conjuration, he summoned a snake.

While Agatha was bound, the snake pulled itself inside her body and dragged a tome towards Aracxus.

"No, not the Darkhold. Please I will do anything. Just let me go."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears, as both of us had already seen her betrayal and conniving acts.

"Just give it a rest bitch. We already know what you are capable of." A spell to knock her out, and Magicr in to Mirror Dimension, brought an end to the chapter of Agatha Harkness.

"I will take the Book now and make sure it remains untouched by other mortals. If it truly is a remnant of The Elder Gods, then it is safer to rather bury the book into oblivion, rather than destroy it."

Aracxus agreed. He had used Sharingan to skim through the book, and there was nothing inside that could interest him.

Sure there were a lot of secret rituals and Magics inside. The kind any ambitious wizard would salivate over. But he had already recorded the Magics inside, and given that he could now jump worlds and already decently powerful himself, he had no real inclination to keep the book himself.

Handing over Darkhold, he pushed his thumb over the unconscious form of Agatha, and saw her open her eyes with a sneer.

"You thought you could put me down like an animal? I will show the bald bitch and a uppity little boy like you what I can do."

Saying so, she began to absorb the energy from the eldritch whip holding her in place and from the finger Aracxus had touched her with.

Luckily for him, he had already activated his Rinne-Sharingan. And instead, there was a tug-of-war, where Aracxus dragged his feet into Agatha's attempts and pulled onto her energies and Magics.

Unluckily, the pull was a rather stronger tug than he himself imagined, and he keeled over as Centuries worth of vitality and magic was dragged inside his body from Agatha, as she screamed in pain and began to shrivel and decay.

As Aracxus fell over on his knees, he saw the shrivelled witch that was Agatha Harkness. "Bloody fuck!" He cursed, as he wanted to offer her to work for him, or serve as his slave until he was here in this world.

But he had absolutely no control over the push and pull he had faced with. And either he exerted too little force, or he overwhelmed her and himself with his powers.

"I need to learn to control."

"Yes you do." he heard Ancient One say. "This could have gone much better, but at the same time, it could also have been worse. I am not happy with this outcome, but granted I saw what she has done with her abilities and what she could potentially do, I am inclined to allow this outcome."

He nodded.

"As for you young man, you are going to learn to control your powers and your talents, along with an increased regimen to master our arts. I cannot have you run head first into enemies like this and allow the chance of a being like you falling into the hands of someone like Them."

Ancient One remarked pointing towards the end to the book in her hand. "Even now I can sense the desire to corrupt and destroy from the book. Only denying the book a potential slave can allow for peace. Good job, Master Aracxus."

He looked at her in surprise. "Master? Why?"

He saw her amused smile, "Well when a Master is capable of using Sling Rings, fight using Eldritch Constructs and translated a text from one of the ancient Syllabaries, we call them a Master."

She paused as she looked at the book again.

"But someone who could have the foresight to seek my aid, and assist in the capture of a powerful sorceress, disarm her source of power, and have the sense and wisdom to refuse the enticement of the corruptive book left behind by an Old Elder God, can certainly count himself as a Master of Mystic Arts."

He smiled. "I await the day, I can wield that title after earning it in the proper way."

"As do I. Take care."

Time skip: 1990

The time since Aracxus lost control and accidentally killed Agatha after absorbing her magics and life-force, he had spent it creating an identity in the British Isles.

After a visit to Dumbledore and subsequently to the Scamanders, he had come officially to Gringotts and opened a vault.

He had gone to Department of Archives and found a Pureblood Mansion 30 miles off the coast of Wales as uninhabited.

The family had either all died or gone bankrupt. The current head of the family had put the mansion on auction, and the price was dirt cheap, since it came with a total 540 acres of wild hunting grounds around the mansion itself.

He had made the deal, removed the family from the Wards and hired Gringotts at cheaper rates to set up wards around the house.

The Wards he set were for Anti-Apparition, Anti-Portkey, and warded against unregistered House-elves as well as even Owls. The Owlery was the only place the owls could enter and exit from, as it was on the outside of the wards.

He had found a few House-elves to take care of the mansion and after dealing with a few Ghouls, Poltergeists, And Boggarts on almost every floor of the mansion.

The mansion housed three wings: the main wing, the servant's wing and the guest wing. The Main Wing had the Study Room, the Library, The Bedrooms for the Lord and Ladies of the house, as the main wing had 12 spacious and well furnished bedrooms. The Servant Wing had the Kitchen, the Alcove, the Cellar, the Greenhouses, the Bestiary, and the servant quarters. The Guest Rooms had Seven Bedrooms and an Astronomy Tower, along with a tall Tower with spiralling stairs which led to the highest point of the Mansion.

This was a cheaper place, as Aracxus had managed to convince the family to leave as much as they could behind. Even their old family tomes, old magical texts and books that would be less than legal in today's age.

Similarly, he managed to stock up on a lot of old books by going around the world, and procuring the books on Haemomancy, Umbramancy, Dark Curses, Old Hexes and Ancient Strengthening Rituals.

He had found a lot of records that worked on sacrificing rituals and absorbing strengths and powers from a magical creature.

Something similar was also documented in Darkhold, as it mentioned the origin of Vampirism was by performing the ritual on a creature called Shadow Bat. And the origin of Werewolves was sacrificing not only a wolf, but feeding the wolf your enemy, and then feeding on the wolf from the new moon to the night of the full moon.

It was all redundant knowledge, but Aracxus had found some use to these rituals. But he merely stocked all the materials required to give him more power, but hadn't actually used any.

Why? Simply because Captain Marvel was around the corner, and he wanted to sacrifice a Kree and a Skrull before he went up a notch and sacrificed the Ego's seed, or used the Heart Shaped Herb and Super Soldier Serum.

Hogwarts

"And now we introduce new professor for the Defence Against the Dark Arts. Join me in welcoming Professor Aracxus."

The Headmaster made a notice, as he does at the start of the term. There were of course whispers, as the new lord of Dragon Hill had taken up a position as teacher of the controversial post which was cursed.

As soon as he interviewed for it, and got accepted to the post, he had gone into the Room Of Requirement and used the Black Star of Azura and absorbed the soul from the Diadem of Ravenclaw. The black soul was dragged in screaming as the star glowed and then stilled.

There was no change, no showbiz as the Star simply absorbed the taint and the soul whole which according to the lore, would become like any Black Soul Gem.

He did the same to the Diary, which he 'acquired' after a small robbery in the Malfoy Manor, and the Cup of Hufflepuff.

The post as he could sense it in the force was now left without a curse, and he could also sense the Castle was now happier knowing the foul magic was expunged from its premises.

In a short span, Aracxus had taken care of three Horcruxes and needed to take care of one more. Many speculated that Voldemort made the Snake as it's Horcrux after losing the fight with Harry. But he hypothesised that perhaps Voldemort sensed the Diary getting destroyed, and since it was his first Horcrux, he made another one to replace it.

But whatever the case, only the locket, the boy, the snake and the man himself remained. And dealing with them in time would be easier.

As it was now, the near historical importance of the Ravenclaw's Diadem, Slytherin's Locket and Hufflepuff's Cup is only exceeded by using it as a lure to invite Voldemort to attack. And with that in mind, Aracxus waited for the evening wine and dine to get over with.

As the children were sent to their dormitories, he saw Albus frown, and so did Minerva.

"Something wrong headmaster?" he asked like a polite professor is expected to.

"Nothing to worry Aracxus. I am merely worried at the absense of two of my students."

He smiled genially. He had asked Dumbledore to call him by his name to avoid the questions about his title Master or Mage.

"I am sure they are fine professor. I have heard Gryffindor are quite the courageous bunch." Minerva preened when she heard the complement.

"We could very much expect Mr Potter and Mr Weasley to break the Statute of Secrecy if need be, to reach the castle."

He saw Snape sneer at the idea and the diminutive Charms professor and Head of Ravenclaw scoff in laughter. Pomona laughed at the thought and Minerva was incensed like a cat.

Dumbledore merely shook his head. "You should try to get along with your fellow professors young man. Your pranks with Minerva are getting worse each day. We don't want the students to see a rift between the teaching staff."

The pranks he was talking about started after Minerva's quick dismissal of Aracxus as competent citing his age, as he did not look like he had aged above twenty. Dumbledore knew he was older, perhaps much older given his abilities, but he could not explain it to Minerva without giving away his identity.

And as incensed as he was, a Sith'ari in heart, mind and soul, Aracxus had begun his pranks and zeroed in on Minerva.

Nothing too hurtful or cruel, but all in good fun.

Sometimes he would put Dried Tuna by her plate, and when she used the Banishing Charm, the Tuna became a cat and hissed at her. Or the other day he had put a catnip on her door and clicked pictures of her secretly playing with it as a Animagus in her tabby cat form.

Just before the feast, he had secretly put a hairband with cat ears on her head. And when she came to the hall, she was unamused to see her fellow professors laugh at her "extra apparel".

She would often complain and exchange barbed words with him, but he could see her warming up to him. He was never too disrespectful, nor was he disobedient to the tasks she assigned. But once in a while, he would bother her in such a way, he was never caught red handed.

"I cannot promise that headmaster. But I can promise to dial down on the cat jokes. Perhaps I can try offering her Polyjuice potion with cat hair as a last prank of the series."

He saw the angry glare from Minerva, but instead a drawl from Snape was what answered him. "Perhaps that would not be wise, professor. Even if it a single drop, animal hair is not compatible with the potion."

Snape had taken a begrudging liking to Aracxus after he was reluctantly befriended and forced on outing to obtain rare ingredients. Re'em's blood one of the many, but when he shared a few of his vials, he had agreed to a friendship based on mutual benefits.

"Yes, professor Snape. Now that you remind me, we don't want our dear Transfiguration Mistress to stay as a cat till all her fur sheds off."

Hagrid snorted at the idea, and even Albus joined in on the joke as Minerva huffed in displeasure, despite having a small smile on her lips.

After some time before going to bed, Aracxus sensed the boys landing in the tree and Albus and Minerva coming to the grounds with a sprinting Snape at their tail.

They saw Aracxus standing at a fallen Whomping Willow, with two disheveled boys and their blue enchanted car.

"You know Minerva, what I said about the boys was merely in jest. I never expected the boys to actually do it." He said pointing at the Car.

He saw Snape sneer at Potter and even Dumbledore shake his head in disappointment.

"And who are you?" The boisterous Weasley exclaimed as he looked at Aracxus.

"Mr Weasley!" exclaimed Minerva, "That is the Defense of Dark Arts Professor for you. And mind your tone young man. What you have done is more than enough to expel students from Hogwarts."

That cowed to the redhead as even Harry looked distraught at the thought of being expelled. He had grown into a smart and capable boy, but regency of Augusta Longbottom had not done much to improve his self-confidence. He had not hated the new house he found himself in, the Longbottom Manor a far better sight than the Dursleys.

But like Neville was compared to his father so often, so was he compared to his mother and father, more so the latter. And given that Lord Black had taken vested interest in the boy, he had all but invested all his time and effort in him, after the Blacks had realised they had been robbed by someone from within the family.

The Black Vault Key was used, as Goblins refused to believe they were robbed. And someone who had the key emptied their vaults and absconded with the wealth. The title papers of the Grimmauld Place was among the many things missing from the vault, and whoever had the papers lay claim to the house.

Angry and distraught, the Black family members, at least those who remained, retired to their Summer House in France, and would only visit England to see young Harry. Angry at the Goblins and their treachery, the Blacks made Harry their Heir, afraid that the thief would lay waste to their assets and properties.

This made them train the boy properly after witnessing him using his magic to repel a griffon from the abandoned Potter Estate, where a herd of Griffons had built their home, after the death of Charles Potter and Dorea Potter neé Black.

Taking this as a sign of magic itself, the Blacks had ensured the boy received as much tutelage from them, even on the frowned upon magics like curses and cruel hexes.

But all that led to a boy who had grown up too quickly for comfort and found Ron Weasley as a suitable venting place to become a child once again.

And seeing the downtrodden looks on the boy, Aracxus smiled as he looked at them kindly. "Don't you worry lads. Nothing is damaged so irreparably, that we cannot rectify it. Muggles can be made to forget a flying car, getting late can be excused since the Doorway on the platform was randomly shut to you boys, and about the tree that has been standing tall since before you or your parents were born can be made to stand again. Watch!

He looked at the tree, and floated in the sky. He heard a gasp, as he lifted the tree telekinetically, and planted the tree again into the soil. Holding his hand in a hand seal, he smiled at the boys and winked at their shocked faces.

"Forest Style: Deep Forest Emergence"

The Willow glowed in a bubble of green light, as the roots moved further in to the ground. The tree grew taller than before, the stem reached higher as the branch grew leaves, which was against season. He saw the tree was shaking in delight, and he decided to give the tree a gift. His chakra moved through him, as he flew to the stem and forced a pulse of glowing orb of chakra through it.

The pulse of chakra throbbed as it passed through the tree and he saw the tree pushed the chakra across the entire tree until the tip of its roots. The pulse of chakra continued unabashed, as it seeped into the ground, and began to spread in all directions with the tree as its centre.

Wherever the glow went, the grass grew tall, the wild flowers bloomed and even the crickets sang and fireflies buzzed aglow.

Satisfied with what he did, Aracxus came to the ground, and saw the shocked faces of Snape and Minerva and a smiling headmaster.

"Sorry Headmaster. I couldn't help myself. I love Willows and tall trees." he smiled as he rubbed his head.

"It's alright young man, nothing to apologize here. Instead Hogwarts is grateful for your gift to our dear tree."

He saw the branches of the Willow push the boys away from it, but they gently caressed Aracxus as if in gratitude.

"It was my pleasure dear Willow. I hope you grow strong and taller than all other willows my dear."

He heard Harry gasp, and Ron Weasley exclaim, "Wicked!"

"Now that the tree is dealt with, why don't you sort the boys professor, and I will deal with the car. Mr Weasley wouldn't want the car to be amiss in the investigation that definitely is taking place at the Weasleys."

Ron gained an ashen face, and Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the assistance professor. Though, could you wait for a letter? I hope it will smoothen things out with the ministry. Fawkes will bring it to you."

"Certainly headmaster. It will help me jump a lot of hoops in bringing the events to a close on that end."

After a hectic first night Harry came to the Breakfast table tired and yawning into his palms. Aunt Cassandra and Aunt Cassiopeia would skin him if they heard of his lack of decorum.

Not that he was safe from it, given that he had convinced Lady Longbottom to allow him to spend the last days of summer with the Weasleys and travel with them to the train.

And he had flown the car, against his better judgement and ran it into a centuries old tree. The tree in question brought another line of thought, as Ron kept blabbing about the impossible show of Wandless Magic and the powerful ability of their new DADA Professor.

It was said, as Harry had read, that only most powerful old and ancient wizards could fly on their own, and only those wizards strong and powerful could wield magic without their wand.

But the new Professor looked so young, Harry would have mistaken him as a Perfect or a Seventh Year Student, if he hadn't seen the man float in air and perform feats of magic which he was sure until that very moment, to be unimaginable.

He came to the table and sat down after a brief chastisement from Hermione, which continued until he filled his plate. As expected he received a strongly worded letter from Lady Longbottom, followed by another from aunt Cassiopeia.

The Blacks were angry, he decided to go into Gryffindor, as only traitors of the house went to the house of the lions. But Lady Longbottom had instilled in his mind that since his father and mother both went there, he should follow his parents' legacy, the same parents who gave their lives so he could live.

The letter from Longbottom reminded him of this as he read the strong sense of disappointment that the letter oozed with.

This was one of the many instances he hated going to Longbottom's as he hated being compared every waking moment of his life to his parents. And Augusta Longbottom was a very difficult lady to please, in some ways almost similar to what he remembered of his aunt Petunia.

At least here, he preferred the company of Blacks, who wanted above all, to see him grow strong and powerful enough.

He still remembered the day when Lord Cadmus Black told him, "If you grow powerful and strong and more influential than everyone around you, nobody can ever tell you what to do, or what is right. In this world, only the might makes right. The morals of the weak are shackles to bind the strong. Grow stronger than these shackles and nothing can bind you. Live like a Black. Despite the mudblood in you, the strong blood of the Black and the Potters flows through your veins. Show the world what you are capable of, and don't let anyone look down on you."

The words of Lord Black had always echoed in his mind, every moment Lady Longbottom was derisive and hurtful. Every time her brother insulted him and his mother, he remembered those words. And that is why, despite being the same age and in almost the same circumstances, he hated Neville, instead of finding a brother and a friend in him. The boy was cowardly, and almost always went to bed crying in his sleep. He hated how the boy would cry and show weakness instead of showing his grandmother and other relatives their place in life. He himself had to act all cowed and bent, but he remembered what Tom told him, "A snake bends but never bows. He coils but never breaks. And when the prey least expects, the snake strikes and gobbles its prey."

And if he was anything, he was a true snake at heart! No matter the red and gold he is forced to wear in deception.