It had taken a whole week for Slytherin to accept him back. It had been a week where he got a new friend and earned Slytherin 200 points across the subjects to offset the 100 he lost for the Remembrall incident. In the end he came back to them beating all the others academically and earning their respect.

His friendship with Neville had blossomed, literally, Herbology had never been something he was interested in but when working with Neville it was easy to understand and he was a right genius at it. Something Charles helped him transfer to Potions making Neville the top Potion student of the year especially when he and Charles looked over the notes from Elias that had not been released in the compiled book.

Two days into the week and Susan had practically begged him to teach her duelling, or what he knew. Hannah had been caught in one too many pranks and incidents and Susan did not want to share that burden.

He had at last relented and showed her the Room of Requirement on the promise that she would not share it with anyone else. He had already been using it since the start of school and quickly taught her how to get duelling dummies and targets.

The Halloween feast had been going strong for a few hours until Quirrell came running in fainting forward and shouting about a troll in the dungeons. In canon it had all gone fine, and Hermione survived, and he was hoping on that once more.

Instead, Neville and Susan shot up terrified yet determined. Neville spoke first. "Hermione's gone and Hannah went to comfort her. They could be in danger!" Not waiting he sprinted towards the exit following behind Harry and Ron. "The one time I wanted to let canon takes its course I'm forced to intervene…"

Susan just looked at him strangely. "Forget it." He said with a sigh and sprinted to follow Neville. For an 11-year-old boy he ran surprisingly fast. They caught up with him just in time to see harry Potter on the back of a large mountain troll.

The troll sneezed and Harry was flung into the wall. Neville was already there casting or trying to cast a spell on the troll. His wand refused to listen, and Neville failed to cast any magic. The troll smashed its club down towards Neville who only managed to evade but his wand got hit and splintered into a thousand pieces.

"Relashio!" Susan shouted, he had taught her that spell just the other day and she was using it perfectly. The troll looked stupidly at the club and begun to pick it up. Ron reacted faster than the others and Charles was still too far away. "Wingardium leviosa!" he chanted and willed the club to smack upwards cracking the Mountain Troll's nose.

It roared in pain and Charles shot an overpowered "Confringo!" at the Club which was still held up by Ron. "Protego!" Susan shouted and covered the three of them with the shield whilst the club exploded into splinters that dug deep into the Mountain Troll.

"Flipendo!" Susan and Charles chorused together and threw the barely alive Troll into the opposite wall. "Are you okay?" Neville asked as he helped Hannah up as Ron and Harry did the same with Hermione.

"What exactly is the meaning of this?" McGonagall's voice came from behind. "Uhm, we didn't purposefully seek it out!" Susan defended them. "Why were you not with your houses?"

"Hermione had been crying and Hannah was comforting her, when the Troll was announced we thought it prudent to warn them. The troll was supposed to be in the dungeon after all." Charles said with a pointed look towards Quirrell who uncharacteristically glared back.

"A wonderful display of inter house unity. I believe 50 points each will be enough."

When he came back to the Slytherin it was to incredulity. Helen spoke up first. "You just gathered our respect and a place back at the table and you run off like a Gryffindor once more. I don't understand you." She finished with a sigh.

"I couldn't very well let Hanna die nor could I abandon my friends." He defended himself. Draco snorted and spoke. "Now you have another heir to your collection, keep it up and you'll have the whole school by the time we graduate." "It's not intentional!" "Keep lying to yourself."

The next day he started on his first large scale project. Runes and enchanting an object to record anything of note inside the castle and store it as a text description and a moving picture. At first, he had no success. It was only when he tested it in regard to his constant side study. Soul Magic.

After a lengthy week of experimenting and being a social Hermit, he had done it. A Charm. Humana Memoria. It would latch onto another person's soul and note anything that would be useful. Was it immoral, a slight bit. Would he still do it, yes.

The next charm he had to develop, Memoria Lectio, it would read the information from Humana Memoria and write or picture it down on Parchment. He set up a wardstone he had purchased by owl and embedded the charms on the stone. Combining Runes and Enchanting he made the charm extend across all of Hogwarts and connect with the wards.

Realising the opportunity, he started another project that he quickly figured. Using the ward connection he created his own map of the school, all the souls recorded would be on the map and the map itself would have all plottable rooms and passages through its ward connection.

Instead of a parchment he enchanted his wristwatch to function as a sort of holographic display able to bring up any information from the wardstone which now was both a map and recording device. He was proud to say that in one week he had the best spy network of Hogwarts and the best map of Hogwarts all due to his unique experience in soul magic.

To sort through and compile all the information the charms would gather he had to create something. Or rather someone, another week of studying and experimenting magical paintings. Those could vary from a repeating picture or a full-on sentience.

It was after another week, right before Christmas that he finished his A.I or artificial Intelligence. Secure Information Reorganizing Intelligence. Siri. She was embedded in his wristwatch and connected to the main wardstone.

"Enjoy your Christmas Charles, you'll be alone?" Tracey Davis, one of his classmates in Slytherin asked. "Yes I'll be alon…" He trailed off as an owl landed in front of him carrying an elegant letter with flowing calligraphic script. Before opening it he looked up and snorted at the gaze everyone gave him. It was the first letter he had gotten the whole year.

To Heir Charles of House Ambrose

I am pleased to invite you to the most illustrious establishment, the Slug Club.

Rumours have been circulated around about your academic brilliance and I have personally read your compilation on your grandfather's notes and potions. Truly amazing I must say. The Christmas Hosting will be at Slug Hall(Floo Adress) at 12:00 the 25th.

Sincerely Potion master and Former head of Slytherin Horace Slughorn

Charles looked up grinning, this was an excellent opportunity. Before he could formulate a response Draco snatched the letter and began to read aloud. "To Heir Charles of House Ambrose

I am pleased to invite you to the most illustrious establishment, the Slug Club.

Rumours have been circulated around about your academic brilliance and I have personally read your compilation on your grandfather's notes and potions. Truly amazing I must say. The Christmas Hosting will be at Slug Hall(Floo Adress) at 12:00 the 25th."

Draco stared blankly at what he had read before he cracked up. "This is just too good!" He paused to laugh some more. "We have been comparing you to Slughorn all year and now he invites you!" "Yes, yes laugh it off. I don't see him inviting you." "He won't." "Why? Not smart important enough?"

Draco grit his teeth in restrained contempt. "He banned all Malfoy's after my grandfather Abraxas supposedly joined the Death Eaters." "Supposedly?" Charles questioned with a steely gaze. "Don't go there Charles. You do not want me on your bad side." He warned.

In retrospect what he did could be counted as stupid and Gryffindorish but he wouldn't deny it served a purpose. "And why not? There's nothing you can do that I can't do better. That shouldn't be possible if what the Death Eaters believe is true." He spoke calmly eyes boring into Draco's.

"Your pure blood simply overpowers your filthy muggle side." Draco answered in kind eyes locked with Charles. "My family is only magical back four generations including me. Before that it was all muggles, my magic is all muggle; wild, new and powerful." Charles responded his magic churning under his skin waiting to be released. This had started as a simple argument, but it was much more.

"Powerful? Pathetic. The only thing I've heard about your family is their deaths." Malfoy said in a mockingly. The Slytherin froze, the smell of ozone permeated the air. "Maybe, I went too far." He tried. "No, no. Continue." Charles commanded his voice smooth and powerful, unshaking. "I didn't mean it like that." He tried yet Charles could practically taste the lie, and fear.

"You did, everything you said you believed in. I can accept that people will always look down upon me due to my blood status. However, I will not allow you to belittle my family and their deaths Heir Malfoy."

Swallowing Malfoy looked up with an inner bravery, or perhaps foolishness. "There's nothing stopping me." He answered. Theodore Nott who had been silently listening added his two cents. "They were just mudbloods; not important."

"If my family and the magic inside me is all mud as you said, then it should be no challenge to beat me in the Slytherin Arena." Charles got up and made his way to the Slytherin common room. With his unsaid challenge hung in the air the Slytherin table wasted no time in leaving. Helen Nott marching angrily to her cousin.

"What exactly do you think, you're doing!?" She whispered angrily. "Indeed, Malfoy and Nott you have cornered yourself quite well don't you think?" the cultured voice of Snape came from behind. "What? We didn't do anything!" they defended.

"He played you like a harp." Snape rebutted. "He wanted to make a statement, he does not accept belittling of his family and muggle heritage." He paused then continued his dark eyes glaring at them. "You did exactly as he wished, played along and escalated it until he had good justification for a duel."

"Why's that so important it's just a disagreement and a duel." Theo asked the question on both of their minds. "It is important because he has practically forced you into a duel for your honour and subsequently your status in Slytherin." Helen spat out.

Malfoy paled significantly yet Snape continued. "If you fail to show up, all of Slytherin will see your cowardice and lack of tradition, your reputation and the Malfoy reputation as a whole will be shaken. If you lose you will be bested by a proud half-blood of muggle heritage and lose your standing in Slytherin."

Snape clenched his teeth. "This is a disaster, one that he engineered, and you walked straight into. If you weren't my godson I would commend him for his cunning. Yet here you stand like a lamb to the slaughter."

"But, he was my friend!" Malfoy defended slowly losing hope. "Friend?" Helen laughed incredulously. "The only thing you do is disagree and he wins every single time, everything you do he beats you in. He has challenged you on everything and crushed your reputation. The only thing you have left is your name."