A/N: I do not own Harry Potter nor the Advent of the Archmage. They are owned by J.K. Rowling and Mo Xiang respectively.

Souls… What are they? Are they a figment of the human race's imagination? A means used to explain what we are. Why we are? To validate the existence of gods and the afterlife? A piece of thread we latched on to, to drive away all the insecurities we have about life after death.

Death is such a scary matter for all living beings. No one wants to truly die. Even victims of suicide, do not truly wish for death. Just that death may be a sweet release from whatever may ail them. Death is the one constant to the variable of life.

Emotions are what make death truly painful. The emotions attached to those around us, bind us to the people, to the mortal plane. Are emotions only the result of chemicals interacting in the brain? Is there no other reason for feeling what a chemical wishes you to feel? How do you interpret these chemicals in the first place? Let's keep it simple. A good feeling, like contentment. You feel it radiating from deep within, a place close to the heart. Which is why people assume you feel with the heart.

However, the heart is nothing but a pumping muscle. Meaning, there should be no logical explanation for feeling content from the heart. But what if there is something deep within that does resonate with the chemical injection. Something intangible. Something metaphysical. A soul would be a very convenient explanation of how you feel emotions from within rather than from the brain.

The soul may not have any interaction with the outside world, but it does exist within, and it takes care of our emotions. Allowing us to feel everything so beautifully. The catalyst that allows the chemicals to react.

Link is very much aware of the existence of souls. In his old world, he had dabbled in soul magic. Not so much that he became an expert, but enough to at least resist an expert's soul attack. What he lacked in skill he made up for it in raw power.

How did the subject of the soul come to be? That's simple, Link had taken out the notebook he took earlier in the day once he was alone in his room at midnight. Everyone in the house was asleep.

He had his lights on, staring at the book. Objectively speaking, it seemed just like any other book. But, that can't be the entire truth about the matter, otherwise Malfoy senior would not have given Ginny the book.

Flipping through the book proved to be just as uninformative, all the pages were blank. Only the words Tom Marvollo Riddle were inlaid at the top of the journal, informing us of the owner of said book. However, there has never been a Dark Wizard, much less Dark Lord, in the History of Magical Europe that goes by that name. In fact, there was no Family by the name of Riddle.

Then what is it? What could an ordinary book do? Is it even ordinary? Surely not. There must be something magical about it. Wait, magic… Maybe an injection of magic might help me understand it better.

So, he infused his magic into it. A minuscule amount, but enough to get a reaction. As though a man starved, the diary absorbed the magic immediately. And for a brief moment, he felt it.

Link, Rose, Ron, Ginny and later Neville were in the Hogwarts express, on their way to the school.

He was sure that Rose hadn't noticed, though to be fair nobody really did. While going through the entrance, Link sensed the portal close while he and Rose were about to enter. Thankfully it was a simple blocking spell and nothing complex. So a quick, unnoticed spell was sufficient to dispel the barrier allowing the two of them easy access.

The magic felt familiar, it seems the elf had not given up on stopping Rose from getting to Hogwarts. He had to keep an eye open for any other tricks in the future.

That was a problem for later, right now Rose was complaining about Lockhart, again.

"He's our DADA Professor. That's 2 years now that will be wasted."

"Honestly, he sounds full of himself" said Ron in agreement

"He's not so bad, I mean, he's done all these things… He's almost as famous as you, Rose" Ginny denied, speaking up for the first time since she entered the cabin.

"He might be famous, but from the little we saw, he seemed more of a braggart than an actual battle mage. I might be wrong, let's see how he is in class." Rose conceded a bit.

They all nodded in agreement. Not that they could do anything even if they didn't. They couldn't fire the guy anyway.

A few hours later, the duo enjoyed their conversation while eating a few treats from the cart. They were interrupted by the announcement that they will be arriving in 5 minutes and that students should get ready.

Getting off the train and making their way to carriages, Ginny following Hagrid as he led the first years to the boats. Link noted he was the only one to notice the winged skeletal horses pulling the students to the castle. Or at the very least none showed a reaction. That means they are either common, doubtful because even Rose did not see them, or there is a special condition to spot these animals.

Rose's comment on how she loves magic due to the mystery of self-driving carts confirmed his suspicions.

That's when he confirmed that the creature he was seeing right now was a thestral. Remarkable creature, only visible to those who've seen and understood death. A death witnessed as the soul was wrenched from the grasps of life. Thankfully very few witness such misfortune in this world.

The friends separated as they sat in their respective houses. A song and sorting later, the feast began. Rose was enjoying the feeling of warmth she always got from being in the school. She may have liked living with the Grangers, but Hogwarts will always be a home away from home kind of school.

They were in one of the many Greenhouses that surround Hogwarts, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. It was the first day of classes. The professor, Pomona Sprout, a dumpy cheerful witch, welcomed them to class.

"Welcome second-year Herbology, to Greenhouse number 3. I hope you enjoyed your summer and are now focused on your studies. Great, now before we continue, can anyone tell me what Mandrakes are?"

There was a slight pause, but a few hands were raised. All from Ravenclaw. Rose noticed, and when she noticed the pointed look from her friend, she blushed and looked elsewhere. So she didn't study as much in summer, it's not a problem right? It's fine she can get back to the study schedule with Link this year.

With a sigh, Link also put his arm up to answer the question. Though the professor chose another student, Padma Patil.

"Mandrake, or Mandagora, is a magical, sentient plant. Or root. It is the main ingredient in the potion that helps recovery from petrification. It also emits a high-pitched squeal when uprooted, which could prove fatal should precautions not be taken."

"Excellent, Miss Patil, 10 points to Ravenclaw. Except the correct pronunciation is Man-drah-gora. Now, the ones I have here are still immature. They will not kill you, but they could still knock you unconscious for a few hours. So make sure your earmuffs are properly secured. We will be repotting them in bigger pots. Now, come take your ear muffs, and pair up."

Once everyone was ready, the professor spoke once more.

"Now before we begin, let me start with one, to make sure none of you have your ear muffs put on incorrectly, or if the charm that isolates sound isn't working properly. Better with one rather than a dozen. Ready?"

Everyone adjusted the muffs once more before nodding.

"Here we go" as soon as she finished, Professor Sprout uprooted the Mandrake in front of her, making sure to keep an eye out at the students around her. Noting any that displayed any sign of discomfort. Luckily, only one seemed to be squirming. Not enough that they'd be knocked out, but enough to give concern. Quickly repotting her plant, she pointed at one Neville Longbottom, gesturing for him to come towards her.

She gave him a second pair of earmuffs.

"I'm sorry dear, turns out your muffs were slightly defective. These should be better. Please put them on."

"Thank you, professor."

Once that was done, she motioned for the class to go on.

Hogwarts was an amazing place, but it was still a school. It didn't matter that it was a magic school, there was a lot of work to do regardless. Writing so many essays removes a bit of the enthusiasm you would have. Practicals are always better than theory, and unfortunately, theory takes up the majority of the subject's time.

Charms and Transfiguration were slightly better than the rest of the subjects due to the near-constant use of magic, though they also dish out the most amount of required written work.

Potions would have been up there had the Professor not been so much of a git. It seems he was determined to be nasty to anyone not in green. Though, thankfully, he wasn't singling out students, much.

However, anything would have been preferable to having class with the new pompous professor. Though, his fans might disagree vehemently.

An example would be how their first class went.

They were once again seated in one of their 2 shared classes. DADA. They were to attend Lockhart's first lesson of the week.

Link honestly kept his expectations very low, considering how the man acted and the content of 'books' that they were forced to buy.

Somehow, he still felt disappointed.

The Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors had just taken their seat, Link and Rose seated together when Lockhart made his extravagant entrance. It was loud, colourful and over-the-top. It fit very well with his personality.

Pretty to look at, but lacking in depths.

However, that is not the reason for disappointment. It was the 'pop-quiz' Lockhart decided to test them. The questions were ridiculous. 'What's my favourite colour? My favourite gift? Etc…?' Just what in the world is that supposed to teach?

Unfortunately for the new teacher, Link wasn't one to simply take things as it is.

"Professor… what is this?" He started.

"That, my dear student, is a pop-quiz. I thought that was obvious. I had to make sure you read my books."

Most were happy with that answer, fawning over the man like he could do no wrong. Unfortunately, only the minority were not impressed.

"No, this is a quiz to see who can suck up to your fragile ego. I see no reason why I should pander to this whim. I came to learn Defence, not about you."

"I beg your pardon Mister… who are you?"

"My name is Link Granger."

"Well, Link, I am a holder of the Order of Merlin: third class, as well as an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League. I would think I know quite a bit about defence. Now, go back to the quiz."

"Why should I bother to remember things as useless as your favourite colours? Matter of fact, why is that in a book about fighting dangerous creatures? You say that you know about defence, then teach us. Give us a proper defence class, not this pandering to your ego quiz."

The class was silent, Lockhart's fans were glaring holes at him, which is to say the majority of the class, only a few boys and Rose were holding back smiles at the show.

Lockhart was stunned for a bit, never had he imagined that someone would question him so rudely. Looking like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, until he had a stroke of brilliance and a smile grew impossibly large at that.

"Link Granger, I heard of you. The best Wizard of your age. Top spot in every subject by a long shot. You've done very well, giving me pride as you are a part of my old house. However, if you could not understand what I meant by giving you such a quiz, then you are still, despite your brilliance, a child. See these questions, which are important mind you, are littered across my collection of books. If you can answer these questions, then that means you read my books. Quite thoroughly at that. It improves your information retention aspect in your studies. The spells are in the book, the way to use them are also there. I am here to teach you when to use them. And what your state of mind must be."

With that Lockhart solidified his standing amongst his fans even more, encouraging them to give Link a smug look.

Link however was looking at the guy in awe. Never, in his two lives, had he seen someone who could spew so much bullshit in one go with his face never faltering. He deserves respect for that at least. He could have been a great politician. Or at least the orator of a politician. His PR capabilities are astounding.

With a smile of disbelief, Link conceded this. He was never a politician, he was a general. His response is always one of action.

Class ended soon after.

Link was walking back to his House dorms after a good dinner spent in the company of his Gryffindor friends.

He heard sounds he was intimately familiar with. A group was bullying a student. He tries to stop this when possible, or bring a teacher if he can't handle it, at least not without exposing his full capabilities. Though, all this hiding is starting to grate on his nerves. Mayhaps he should slowly ease the professors into believing he is progressing at astonishing rates starting this year. But he digressed.

He turns a corner witnessing members of his house, their seeker no less a cert Miss Cho and her friend, were making fun of their newest member. If he remembered correctly from the sorting, it was the odd girl that was often spacy. Luna Lovegood.

An innocent soul, certainly undeserving of such treatment.

"What is it, Looney? Gonna make up any new creature now? Where are your smargles? Huh?"

"It's Nargles, Miss Cho, they are quite interesting, see they reside in your…"

"I don't care, Looney, nobody does. Now stop making us look bad with your blabbering"

"Hey, now" he decided to intervene. "What has she done to deserve such treatment? Leave her alone, she doesn't deserve to be made fun of"

"Mind your business, Granger. No need to play the hero. She's weird, creating all sorts of fantastical creatures. Who does that? And if that's not enough, she goes around talking randomly and giggling to herself. She makes us look bad, '' Cho said.

"And that is the reason to bully a child? Because she's weird? If I didn't know better I'd think you should be in green" Link sneered.

"Watch it, Granger, you've been earning us points so we tolerate you. I would hate for you to be isolated because of looney here."

"Stop calling her that. And do your worst, what can you do? At most I'd inform professors to stop giving me points… I wonder if we will be in the running then. Also, I'd tell Professor Flitwick. I'm sure he'd love having bigots with him during quidditch games''

"Of course we will, we don't need your help" though there was a tremor in her voice betraying her fear of no quidditch.

"Whatever, just leave Luna alone"

"Humph, fine, who wants to be seen with her anyway"

She huffed and left, with her friend trailing behind her, having kept quiet all this time.

Turning around, he saw Luna crouching and observing something next to the wall, appearing as if whatever happened had nothing to do with her.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, thank you, Link Granger."

"Good, now, what are you looking at?"

"I'm looking for stray nargles. They usually infest mistletoe, but they seem to have come here. Thieving and mischievous creatures they are. They stole my shoes and my papers. I need to find them."

"That is weird… should I help you, Luna? I'm sure together we can gather these nargles and stop them from stealing."

"Oh, that would be marvellous Link Granger."

She finally looked at him, her face beaming in joy. That's when she gained an odd look on her face.

"Strange, you seem to lack the Wrackspurts I've seen buzzing around the students of this school."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Very. Wrackspurts buzz around the ear and confuses people. Makes them unfocused. Sometimes they react in weird ways. So many have them, but you don't Link Granger."

"Call me Link. How fascinating, can you tell me more?"

The blinding smile he got in return was worth the veritable tirade she went on about the numerous creatures and conspiracies she and her dad came with. It was amusing.

They found her lost items in a broom closet near the Ravenclaw dorm entrance.

While Link became fond of the young girl, in the back of his mind he was thinking about how to address the apparent bullying the girl is going through.

It was easy to connect the creatures to the actions her dorm-mates had taken against her.

"How would you like to sit with me and my friends tomorrow?"

"I don't mind, as long as I don't get lost searching for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. They are very rare you see"

"Of course, we can't keep the Great Luna Lovegood from making the discovery of the century."

"Absolutely" she said, completely serious.

Laughing, Link bid her good night and left for his bed.

The next day, Luna accompanied Link towards the Gryffindor table, taking a seat with Ron, Neville and Rose.

"What's Looney doing here?" As always, the boy whose mouth is faster than his brain, Ron blurts out as soon as he sees the strange blonde Ravenclaw.

"Ron, it'd be best if you do not insult my friend. Her name is Luna, and you will treat her with respect." Link was still as calm as ever, though there was a slight edge inflicting his tone.

"I don't mind Link, Ronald has always had a lot of Wrackspurts buzzing around his ear since we were young." Luna commented with a smile, eyes vacant as she stared at a particular candle floating above their head.

"What's a Wrackspurt?" Asked Rose, unsure if this is another creature she didn't know about in the wizarding world.

Although she followed Link on his study sessions often, she limited herself to her years material, hardly has she ever gone beyond that. Except maybe in some DADA hexes. So she hadn't read through the book of creatures in the library. Maybe she should at least read up more on these.

Before Luna could respond, Ron blurted out again:

"They don't exist, they're creatures she and her dad created. They're our neighbours, so we know them well enough. She's friends with my sister. Anyway, she always goes on like this, talking to invisible made-up creatures."

"They are little creatures that buzz around a person's ears, they make them unfocused and confused. They also sometimes make people angry." said Luna, completely ignoring Ron's input. Rather, it seemed she hadn't even heard what he said.

Rose and Neville giggled at that.

"You're right, that does sound like Ron" said Neville chuckling.

"No, it doesn't"

…

"Hey Luna" Ginny greeted, sitting next to the blond.

"Hello, Ginerva" she returned with a wide smile.

Content that the childhood friends were getting along, Link sat next to Rose.

"I hope you don't mind, I thought she should sit with us from now on."

"I don't mind, the more the better. But why now?"

Link explained how he found the girl yesterday, and what he suspected was happening to her. Rose was angry on Luna's behalf. Also, happy that her friend would help anyone.

A week after school had started, the Weasley household came under investigation. They were to be searched, as according to an anonymous tip they were in possession of a dark item. The burrow, Arthur, Molly, even the children in Hogwarts were not spared. All were thoroughly searched.

When the inspection turned out with nothing to show for it, the Ministry was forced to apologise for what they put the family through.

Although slightly annoyed, Arthur didn't mind the search. It was part of his job, now that he was proven clean he can be more assertive in future raids.

The family was also given compensation for a family trip to Romania during the summer time.

Something the Weasleys were delighted over.

It was the Friday before Halloween, and Link was alone in a classroom once more. He goes there to make sure that his personal training is still going well, and to evaluate himself every now and then.

It's been 2 months since school resumed.

Link had started to show 'tremendous growth' in his class. He was slowly showcasing his true abilities. Of course, he did not show any of his spells from his world. Nor did he display his wandless proficiency.

He should keep a few things to himself after all.

Regardless, the professors were realising that Link Granger was much more knowledgeable and adept at magic than they had thought.

As soon as the door had closed, Link started a series of movements. His hands following the motions of a maestro to an invisible orchestra. Magic flowed freely, bending to his will as he changed the world around him to his whims. Ice, fire, lightning, flowers, transfigured animals. He was manipulating more than fifty spells at once. A feat unheard of in both worlds.

Even when he was a legendary mage he was not capable of such a feat. His magic was more powerful before, but now, he has better control over mana, so fine that all fifty of the spells he was manipulating were doing different patterns in their confined spaces.

Truly an awe-inspiring display of control and power. However, he could only keep up this magic exhausting method for at most 10 seconds.

After the tenth second, the magic dissipated into particles of light, Link on his knees gasping for breath. Sweat drenched.

While in the state of depletion, Link thought back to the book and what might have happened to the Weasleys had he not taken it with him.

The book gave a similar aura to the one in Rose's scar. Giving credence to the possible owner of the diary. A bit of research and he was able to determine who Tom Riddle was. How ironic is it that a Pureblood supremacist was born a half-blood from a muggle father and a squib mother.

He still had the book, buried deep within a mokeskin pouch that never left his person. He could destroy the book, sure, he knows a few soul spells from his old realm that would make it easy to extract the soul and destroy it should the need arise.

However, the fact that 2 soul shards of the same person exist, and that he had seen a shade of the owner of these soul shards last year gave him the thought that there might be more of these.

He could pinpoint where all the remaining shards would be if there are any more, but he would rather wait a bit longer until he is certain and capable of removing the shard from Rose's scar. With the way things are progressing, he feels capable by the end of the third year.

Though he has a feeling that things will not be so simple in the coming months.

A/N: I would like to apologize for the late update. My laptop crashed. Turns out the battery almost exploded. I found out a week before I was travelling, so I did not send it to a shop until I had travelled. When I did arrive at my destination, most shops were closed or did not have the spare part. Finally found one, but they say it will take upwards a month before they receive the part.

So I've been writing on my phone when possible, but I just couldn't get the ideas flowing.

Hope you enjoy it, will try to continue making progress.

Thank you

TBM10

P.S.: I was informed of a slight mistake I made in a previous chapter. I edited it. Its basically that Link does know where Dumbledore's office is, the edit is him not knowing the passcode. So it is only that little change.