Well, another wonderful week, and a another chapter to post. Welcome back my friends, as we speak of the tales of the Dark Side, of the weavings and webbings of the Force, and so forth... Review please, the number is starting to dry up a bit, and it disturbs me, as I know there's more of you out there reading than the comments reflect. Nevertheless, Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Nine

Galactic Overview

Veneficus studied Lupin's office the moment that they entered. There was a tank with a grindylow in the corner, filled with greenish brown water that obscured the creature's details well.

"Water Demon," Lupin explained, watching Veneficus from behind his desk, "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is breaking their grip. You'll notice that they have abnormally long fingers, strong but very brittle."

Veneficus nodded absently, not remotely interested in the creature. Glancing at Lupin again, Veneficus felt the same sense of familiarity about the man flare up again in his mind, but he was nowhere nearer placing it as he had been at their first meeting.

"Sit down," Lupin invited as he tapped his tea kettle with his wand, causing a blast of steam to shoot from the spout. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid… but I suppose you've had enough of tea leaves by now…"

Veneficus glanced at him, meeting the man's eyes that were betraying the small smile that he hid. "Why do you say that?" Veneficus pressed, keeping his voice calm and neutral. Better to not betray his suspicions about the man's motives too early.

"Professor McGonagall mentioned that her Gryffindors who shared your Divination class were all talking about it." The man said absently, passing a steaming mug to the Sith. "You're not worried are you?"

"No," Veneficus replied dryly, "I feel that Trelawney has spent a few too many years alone in her tower to be idly making death omens so offhandedly…"

Lupin sniggered into his tea, "Not to speak ill of a colleague, but perhaps your right," he added jokingly.

Veneficus took a drink of the tea, and wondered if Lupin planned on getting to the point for bringing him down here anytime soon. As if reading his thoughts, Lupin set his mug aside and spoke. "I get the feeling that you've wanted to ask me about not letting you face the boggart in our first class, am I right?"

Veneficus said nothing. Lupin took his silence for an affirmative, as he continued on almost immediately, "I would have thought that was obvious though. I simply assumed that if the boggart faced you it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

The man paused again, seeking a response from Veneficus. The Sith Lord still remained silent, which Lupin took as a response in of itself once again. "Clearly I was wrong," he said with a frown. "But I didn't think it was a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in front of a class of thirteen year old wizards and witches. I imagine people would have panicked."

Veneficus resisted the childish urge to roll his eyes. Just then there came a knock on the office door, and in entered Professor Snape. He carried a goblet in both hands, and as he walked it released plumbs of smoke that circled behind him. The man paused upon spotting the Sith Lord, and narrowed his eyes in loathing.

"Ah, Severus," Lupin said, smiling faintly. "Thank you. Could you just leave it on the desk for me?"

Snape frowned again, but walked over and set the goblet down in front of Lupin. Lupin smiled again as he continued to attempt at light conversation, "I was just showing Harry my new grindylow."

"Fascinating," Snape replied flatly, not even removing his eyes from Lupin, "You should drink that directly."

"Yes, yes, I will," Lupin affirmed. "I should probably take some again tomorrow, if you have any left."

"I made an entire couldronful," Snape said, clipping his sentence off before Lupin could reply again. He stalked out of the room without another word to either.

Veneficus ignored Lupin for several moments as the man tried to talk around the subject of what exactly the potion was, passing it off as a remedy for some illness, but the Sith suspected that it was something more pressing that a simple disease. He was dismissed soon after, and swept from the room as silently as Snape had moments previously.

Making his way swiftly, Veneficus arrived at the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets without encountering anyone, and slipped into the darkened pipe without pause. As he walked along, he mused on the increasing mystery surrounding Professor Lupin.

The potion he had drank from had had a very peculiar smell to it, but not one that Veneficus recognized. It also, judging from the reaction the Professor gave to the taste, had been made more for a specific purpose and not a general medicinal purpose. Veneficus reasoned that it was some sort of chronic or seasonal issue that the man had, and magical as well most likely.

The Sith stalked past the worker droids and other unfinished equipment of his base, and headed straight for the off shooting chamber where he had stored the artifacts he had brought with him.

In the very center he found what he desired, the blood red Oracle Stone that he had taken from the Temple of Pain over the previous summer. Clasping his hands around the warm, smooth surface, Veneficus sat in a meditative position. As he stretched his senses outward, he felt an added weight of pulsating power surround him, reflecting the sensations of the orb in his hands. Veneficus launched his perception onward, focusing in on his intended target quicker than he had expected. Remus Lupin's image swam in his mind, smoking goblet in hand and the shining full moon behind him.

Suddenly, the man arched back, throwing the goblet aside as his body started to change, elongating and stretching painfully, until no resemblance to the mild mannered Professor remained. In his place was a gargantuan werewolf, pale fur gleaming in the moonlight and teeth bared in a silent snarl. But the creature gave off no sign of mad bloodlust; in fact, it seemed to act just as peaceful and meek as the man had before.

Then realization struck… the potion! Lupin was a werewolf, but the potion he drank gave him control of his mind when he changed, allowing him to remain as docile and tame as he wished. Veneficus smirked as his vision ended and he lowered the stone. It was an interesting display of magical control, but one that could be wonderfully exploited by a Master of the Dark Side. He needed to get his hands on the recipe of that Potion, which would be simple, but far more difficult would be acquisitioning a live werewolf to create others with.

Difficult, yes, but still not impossible. Veneficus spent several moments musing over how he could locate and capture one, preferably a younger werewolf, but he would have to research how to recognize one in human form before even making the attempt. What was more was that he had to make sure that the beast form was in prime condition before a final capture was organized, as it wouldn't do to take a weak beast which would have difficulty in fighting a being on the level of a Jedi.

Making a mental note to delegate that research to Nott or Boot when he found them next, Veneficus left, issuing orders to the work droids to make the next steps of renovation to Slytherin's chamber while he was away. He returned to the second floor and departed from the bathroom, dodging past a group of Hufflepuff second years heading to the Great Hall for the feast.

Anguis met him in the Entrance Hall, looking somewhat bored despite the trip into the village. "It wasn't what I expected," was all that the boy commented on the trip as they joined the feast.

The other third years however, had apparently quite enjoyed themselves, as the excited chatter was louder in the hall than before, and the happy emotions swirled around in the Force like a gale. Veneficus frowned at all the frivolity that was displayed, but contented himself to eat in relative silence, while briefly mentioning the meeting he had planned with Miss Granger and his other associates for early the next month. Anguis nodded in acceptance at his involvement, and listened patiently as Veneficus outlined the basic concepts he would he reveal to the wizarding children.

Veneficus felt several sets of eyes on him throughout the feasting, notably Ronald Weasley and Albus Dumbledore. The former was full of outright anger, which Veneficus ignored once again, while the latter was a fearful seeking study. This intrigued the Sith Lord, and he looked toward the Head Table casually.

The Headmaster looked away as Veneficus' head turned, but he still caught the look of worried nervousness that had been present on the old man's face. So he was worried, and rightly so Veneficus mused. This was still somewhat undesirable. If Dumbledore was starting to question again, then he might have finally put the puzzle pieces together that he already had, and wanted more.

A pity he would never have the picture in its full glory until the very end, Veneficus thought with a smirk. The old man had no idea who or what he was up against, and Veneficus had a personal score to settle with him once he was ready to leave this world and claim his place in the wider Galaxy.

Dumbledore made no attempt to watch him again, and the feast ended with the scarping of many chairs and benches as the children departed for their respective common rooms. Veneficus was about to duck out of sight and spin his time turner back several hours as the others settled in for bed, when Snape burst in, ordering them to get up and follow him back to the Great Hall.

The other houses were already gathered, and Dumbledore explained very calmly that the teachers would be searching the castle, and for their safety they were to remain in the Hall. He waved his wand and banished the long house tables to the side of the room. A second wave conjured hundreds of bedrolls for the children to sleep on before he departed.

The hall immediately began to buzz with nervous chatter once the Headmaster departed. The Gryffindors, all still in their robes, were spreading the news that Sirius Black had attacked the portrait guarding their tower common room.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" barked the red haired Head Boy, who had been left in charge, and was pompously wielding his authority like a club. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

Veneficus moved to a far corner of the room, Anguis at his side. Spreading his senses outward, the Sith Lord felt no copy of himself about in the castle, which meant that he would definitely not be using his time turner tonight, which was a pity. He would have relished a chance to locate and possibly kill Black some few hours back.

He and Anguis settled down with their disgustingly colored sleeping bags, and were soon joined by Terry Boot and Theodore Nott, who silently quivered with fear from the whole circumstance. Their actions however, made Veneficus smirk. They had both instinctively come to their Lord and protector for safety while they slept, unconsciously accepting that he was indeed in control of them and their lives. Later Colin Creevey and Miss Granger, who spoke in hushed whispers about the rumors floating around despite the call for silence, joined them.

Veneficus offered no insight or opinion to the speculation, knowing that the students would not come close to the truth of the matter even if they were thinking logically. There were far too many variables in the matter to accurately pin down one surefire answer to how Black entered.

Eventually, the Head Boy called again for silence and cut the light to the candles floating overhead. Those closest to Veneficus ignored the command and continued discussing the possibilities, slipping into their bedrolls after spreading them in a semicircle around Veneficus. Inwardly he laughed at the irony. These who were influenced so heavily by him had become addicted to his presence, even to the point that they would flock to him in a time of panic.

The Head Boy, a Weasley if Veneficus placed his mark correctly, stalked over to enforce his command of silence, but the Sith Lord sat up, targeting the boy with a hard glare and edge of the Dark Side, which made him hesitate for several moments before departing, muttering to himself.

Teachers would appear to check up on the students every hour, and eventually Dumbledore himself appeared after the majority of the students were fast asleep. Head Boy Weasley quietly joined the old man and spoke in hushed whispers. He couldn't hear what they were saying because of the distance, but he sensed the gist of the conversation easily enough. Black had not been caught, and the castle would return to normal function in the morning. Snape appeared, seeming to give a progress report of the search, which Veneficus would bet yielded no new information.

Eventually the pair left the Head Boy to tending the students, and Veneficus settled in to meditate. He had grown quite strong in the Dark Side now, and sleep was not necessary to keep his body refreshed and sharp any longer, a simple meditative trance doing the job quite nicely. It was also beneficial that he could spend almost a quarter of the time a normal child needed before resuming activity. He knew there was still a ways to grow in this skill yet, as Lord Millennial only required the barest of mediations to keep fully functional.

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Septin was starting to feel quite at home in the academy of Korriban, assisting Zhar directly as he oversaw the reconstruction of the ancient structure. After the Jedi Master had departed, every being in the Sith expedition had breathed a collective sigh of relief. Not that they had been afraid, but they knew the price of failure if the Jedi had discovered them beginning to return to the ancient tomb world.

Septin had currently been sent with a small group of droids to map out a sublevel and mark where reinforcement supports were to be required. Luckily the team whose job had been to rid the academy of creatures had already swept that area, and his task would be very simple.

Descending to the appropriate level, Septin took note that the ancient writing along the corridor walls was heavily faded, as if wind and sand had blew through the passage for a long time. There were also gouges and other, leavings, from the natural denizens of the world that had so recently been evicted.

Quickly setting to work, Septin swept from room to room; scanning with both the Force and the small devise he had been given. The corridor winded around the edge of the cliff that the academy was built upon, and occasionally the rooms had small openings and windows that gave him an expansive view of the Valley of the Dark Lords far below. Septin longed to go down and view the tombs up close, but they were on a tight schedule to send for materials from Dromund Kaas, and there had not been time for any sort of sightseeing.

Something, out there, seemed to be calling him, and with what he had experienced back in the tomb that Lord Veneficus had taken him to, he was both excited and terrified of the prospects beckoning him out onto the sands.

Soon enough he was finished and trekked back to the central area where they had established their base camp in the academy. He handed in the scanner and its corresponding report to the male Twi'lek in charge over the droids, and then sought out Zhar.

He found the man, among several of the other higher ranking apprentices and lesser prophets, all surrounding a three dimensional image of the academy floor plan, small dots pinging every so often as the different teams spread through the twisting labyrinth of corridors.

"The lower levels all seem to be accounted for and cleared of all hostile creatures," Zhar said, indicating the lowest sections. Several rooms glowed with a flashing red hue, distinguishing themselves from the overwhelming blue of the rest, "These are where new supports and durasteel beams need to be replaced before we can safely inhabit the levels above. Slaar, I trust you can get word to Dromund Kaas for the supplies we need." A burly Zabrak nodded gravely and stalked away. The others were given their duties in like manner, and Septin found himself alone with his master in short order.

"Zhar," he said, struggling to remove the hesitancy from his voice. Try as he might, the man still put him on edge.

"What is it, apprentice," Zhar replied, turning to shut down the projection. Septin paused; confused as to why Zhar was suddenly calling him by the title he had so detested using before.

"I was hoping to request an expedition into the Valley of the Dark Lords." Whatever Zhar thought he might have to say, that wasn't it. The man visibly started, looking at Septin in bewilderment. "You want to drop everything and launch off into the most dangerous and remote part of this area, with no supplies, no backup, and no fallback plan if things go awry?"

Septin felt his disappointment slowly give way to annoyance and anger. Who was Zhar to tell him what he could or could not do?

"Stop right there," Zhar interrupted, cutting off his train of thought, "I know that look, I can feel your anger. Do you think I have no interest in why the Sith want this place back again? Trust me; it's not for the real estate. I am not forbidding you to go, merely asking for you to wait until we're set up here."

Septin seethed, but grudgingly nodded. Zhar was right; blustering ahead with no plan was foolish. Taking up the small holoprojector, Zhar beckoned for Septin to follow. "We will eventually branch out to the Valley, Septin, once we have the extra equipment to maintain our operations here."

Septin nodded, "As you wish, master…"

But even as he said the words, Septin passed by a window, and felt the same urging call from across the sand and rocks.

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The school talked about nothing except Sirius Black for the first several days of November, and overall Hermione was sick to death of it. The rumors swirling around the castle like the driven snow outside had grown from silly to outright stupid. When Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff suggested that the man could change into a flowering shrub, Hermione almost lost control, only barely restraining herself from tearing her argument apart.

It really seemed that most of the students in the castle were just intellectually inferior to her. 'I mean, how many could handle the same workload that I am, and still manage to do all the extra activities as well,' she thought bitterly as she stalked up from the grounds to the Great Hall.

At least she had intellectual conversation to look forward to after dinner. Harry had had a message delivered to her earlier on; inviting her to a secret meeting with the other students she had met briefly on the Hogwart's Express, to discuss further the 'Revolution' as Harry had described it in his note.

Speaking of Harry, she noticed him seated across the room. The boy had also had a rough couple of days, with random prefects hounding him and the teachers taken extra unnecessary detours to walk with him in the halls. It was offensive, especially judging by the fact that Black never got close to where the Slytherin was in the first place.

But Harry seemed to weather the attention well, so much so that Hermione thought he must have been enjoying it at times. After the evening meal, when she arrived at their prearranged room that was hidden away on the fourth floor, Harry was still sporting his sneaky sort of smirk that had adorned his face the entire week. The others had arrived as well, Terry Boot from Ravenclaw, as well as Draco Malfoy, Colin Creevey and Theodore Nott of Slytherin.

Hermione noticed the lack of the other two houses presence immediately, but conjectured that members of those houses would have been less open to the ideas that Harry had presented on the train. "Ah, Miss Granger," Harry said, bowing slightly as she entered, "You've graced us with your presence at last."

If she didn't already know that the boy was joking, she would have been somewhat flattered. "Have I missed anything?" she asked instead, going directly to a vacant seat and dropping her book bag on the ground beside it.

"Not at all," Harry continued, "We were only about to begin. If you'd all be so kind as to gather round." He added, beckoning them to the teacher's desk where he had set his bag.

The tiny device she had seen on the train was in his hand, and once again the three dimensional map of the galaxy returned. The same sense of awe that had overcome her the first time threatened to wash all thought from her mind, but she fought it back with the one burning question she had for the black haired boy.

Something about all of this just didn't sit right with Hermione, and she had to know, "Harry, how did you discover all of this? The Galaxy, the Republic, all of it feels just a little too good to be true…"

The boy nodded in understanding, "I know it seems like a lot to take in, but I can assure you that it is nothing but the truth. The Republic exists, and we need to prepare our world so we can join it, and take earth into the next age of technological enlightenment, with wizards as the driving force for good."

Harry shook his hands at her as Hermione was about to protest, "Not to control, like Voldemort or other dark wizards, but guide the world to its own improvement. Like benevolent watchers from the shadows. And once we take to the stars, the wizarding community can depart and find their own world to live on, no longer hiding in fear of destruction, but living in the open on a world filled with wizards and witches; a paradise that we can create for ourselves."

Hermione could see Malfoy, Nott and Boot nodding eagerly, and she saw the merit of Harry's words, but there still was something that didn't sit right with her, but she couldn't place exactly what it was that bothered her anymore.

"How," Terry asked, excited, "how will it be done?"

"You yourself produced the answer to that Mr. Boot," Harry replied, picking up what looked like a communication devise, but unlike any phone that Hermione had ever seen. "By infusing this unit with a magical core for a power supply, we've made a new creation, magi-technology if you will."

The boy stood and began to pace slightly, bathed in the blue glow from his projector, "If we can repeat this same process on things hundreds of times bigger, we could create power cells large enough to energize almost anything imaginable, even…" he paused, glancing at them with an excited smirk, "starships…"

Hermione's and Colin's eyes went wide, while Nott and Boot were more confused. Hermione noticed that Malfoy didn't react at all, but he was Harry's best friend, and therefore probably knew a lot of this information already.

"Star… what?" Nott asked, still not comprehending.

" A starship Mr. Nott," Harry said calmly, seeming to enjoy being the instructor of the pureblood's first introduction into the muggle concepts of space travel. "As the name implies, it is a ship, specially crafted to withstand the vacuum of space, and permit passengers and cargo to different worlds. This is a concept that the muggles have only scratched the surface on, but with our added advantages in magic, we can presumable bridge the gap where their science is failing."

The pureblood boys seemed to grasp the concept, if their looks of awe were any indication. Inwardly, Hermione shook her head in sadness. Harry was truly doing a great thing here, if only that he instructs a select handful of wizarding children in the wonders of what the muggle world had to offer, and begin to break them out of their isolation within their own little ideologies.

Perhaps that was why he had sought her out specifically. Hermione had never thought about that notion before, that he had wanted her special insight as a muggleborn witch, brightest of her generation aside. She had plenty of relevant knowledge in the sciences that Harry had referenced, having been highly studious her whole life, and never content to just do the work at the pace of her classmates.

"Where do we begin, then?" she asked, as Harry wrapped up the last few questions that Nott and Boot posed to him.

"That, Mrs. Granger is a very excellent question," he responded with a smirk. "We need to build a prototype, in essence, of what we envision a magically powered space craft would be like. Conveniently, through my guardian I am privy to some plans from the muggle world for a particular spaceship, naturally the building of which was deemed impossible for the muggle scientist due to lack of funds and powerful enough energy sources."

He brought up a small holograph of the blueprints. Hermione stared at them for a long moment, taking in the sleek conceptual design and streamline production. It was unlike anything the muggles had made before, almost looking like something out of a science fiction movie.

"I need you all," Harry continued as he walked around behind the image, "to take these plans and modify them so that it would run perfectly on a magical power supply. You will all need these," he handed out several of the smaller gadgets to them all. Hermione thought it looked like a cross between a handheld game and a tiny computer. Pressing a button experimentally, she smiled when an exact copy of the ship design appeared on the screen. "This is fantastic," she breathed, and the others around her muttered their agreement.

"Quite," Harry said, before continuing, "I will need to naturally have your wizards oaths that this project will remain our secret until its finished, we wouldn't want any of the more… traditional… members of the wizarding community to find out what we're up to and try to stop us."

Hermione nodded, following suit as one by one the boys all pronounced their oaths upon their magic. She felt the crackle of power around her as she swore to keep Harry's secret, and gleefully she returned to the devise, wondering what other capabilities it held.

"Sadly, out time is short, and classes will resume tomorrow morning, so don't think I expect this to be finished by next week or something," Harry reminded them as they departed, "just work it out and we'll convene closer to Yule Holiday for a status report. And remember to be careful when and where you work with your datapads, we don't want just anyone to see them…"

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Colin glanced down at his datapad as the others left, confused. He knew he wasn't really that smart, like Granger, Nott or Boot seemed to be, and he wasn't that interested in spaceship designs or the like, even still he was only a second year student and still so very new to magic in general. What could he hope to contribute to a project like this then?

"Ah, Colin, I know what you must think," Harry said, returning from the door and placing a hand on Colin's shoulder, "but I don't expect you to attempt to match wits with the likes of Miss Granger. No, no, no, I have a better use for you. One that you will find more… applicable… to your skills and interests."

Colin grinned as the boy who was quickly becoming his idol whispered his special instructions to him. Soon he was dashing from the room, practically skipping at the prospects of what he was going to do for the Harry Potter, who trusted him so much as to give him a special mission.

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Anguis could feel the winds starting to change, even as the first Quidditch match of the season grew closer. Rain was coming, and the day before the match was the worst of all, with the wind howling around the castle and rain coming down in great spouts of ice cold water.

He walked with Lord Veneficus to their Defense class, occasionally glancing at the black haired Sith and wondering what new changes the boy was going to breach upon the Magical World, once they were finished in Hogwarts and out on their own. It was difficult to imagine that the boy would remain on the one little world, when the whole of the Galaxy and a budding empire awaited him. He himself was unsure if he desired to stay on earth either.

The entire scheme with Granger and the other highly intellectual boys from their houses was brilliant in its simplicity. Anguis had caught a glance at the 'plans' that Veneficus had given them, and he recalled the exact ship that they had acquired while on the asteroid that had housed an ancient Sith ghost. Tricking them into reworking the ship's design to incorporate magical power would launch their world into a new era, if it was Veneficus' desire to aid his homeworld to reaching out to the stars.

Somehow, Anguis was not sure what the end goal was with this plan.

Entering the Defense classroom, Anguis was mildly surprised to see Professor Snape present instead of Lupin. Taking their seats in silence, Anguis watched as Snape commenced the lesson, not one telling them where Lupin had gone, not that anyone dared to ask. The man looked positively furious. Anguis glanced at Veneficus to see if he had any insight, but the Sith Lord was smiling as he stuffed away a small chart and opened his book to the prescribed page that Professor Snape commanded them to.

It was by far the strangest Defense class that Anguis had experience, but at the same time one of the best. Not that Lupin's were terrible; he had actually grown quite accustomed to the calm man's gentle style of teaching.

After a long and detailed lecture about werewolves, and their distinguishing features, Snape dismissed them with two rolls of parchment to write as homework. Turning to Veneficus, Anguis asked mutely when they were away, "What do you suppose that was about?"

"Couldn't you guess?" his master asked him, smirking again. "Snape hates Lupin with a passion, and the thought of taking over a single class for him was pure torture…"

"But still," Anguis replied, trying to form words for the feeling in the room that had been near oppressive in the Dark Side emotions.

"Yes," Veneficus said, finishing Anguis' unspoken thought, "pure, undiluted hate unlike what I have felt since returning to this planet; rich and black and radiating with power. That one is a being of hatred and emotion. A pity he is nothing more than a wizard…"

Anguis thought no more about Snape that entire day, and the next morning he was too preoccupied with the pending Quidditch match, in conjunction with the storm outside that had somehow managed to get even worse.

The field was abuzz with pent up tension for the match, despite needing to hide under a sea of umbrellas and cloaks from the downpour. Even the players were heavily affected by the weather, several of the lighter Gryffindor chasers nearly getting unseated by the powerful gusts of wind. Everyone seemed to be equally miserable about the storms choice of timing, except Veneficus. Anguis wasn't sure if it was through sheer physical training or the Force that he managed to remain on his broom, perfectly balancing as he literally rode the currents of air around the field, seemingly oblivious to the pounding rain and other players.

A flash of lightning momentarily illuminated the field, not that Anguis required his eyes to know where the teams were positioned anymore. Most of the nearby students probably thought he was sleeping, with his eyes shut and seeming to breathe deeper than the other overly excited children. But in reality, Anguis was deeply concentrating on monitoring every player on the field simultaneous, as per order from his master, and was having some difficulty due to the press around him and the distracting noise.

A whistle blasted, which he knew was Madam Hooch calling a time out, but Anguis was distracted by another presence, felt only through the power of the Force. He turned in his seat to view the stands, and narrow his eyes against the rain.

Then he spotted it, a large shaggy dog, sopping wet from the weather, sitting alone in the uppermost seats of the stands, watching the game with a focus that couldn't have been a normal animal's instinct.

Another bolt of lightning lit the sky, and the dog vanished, leaping down to the grounds behind the stands, but Anguis' eye were wrenched to the game as a spike in the Force heralded Veneficus' capture of the tiny golden Snitch.

But the Force sounded again, signaling danger, and Anguis threw his head backward to see, just as the black cloaks of Dementors, nearly a hundred of them, circled the field and began to descend upon the stadium of children.

Most of the teams dove for the muddy ground, sending splashes on mud in all directions as they landed, but Veneficus remained in the air. Anguis saw him turn to the flocking dementors, and the nearest ones hover before him. The two beings did nothing for a long moment, merely stared at each other in deafened silence form the storm around them.

Then a cry from the stands rang over the pelting rain and roaring wind, "Expecto Patronum!"

A monstrous silver phoenix flew from the wand of Albus Dumbledore, scattering the dark creatures before it, and Veneficus snapped out of whatever trance he had been in, and sped to the ground, huddling with the rest of the Slytherin team while the teachers quickly and efficiently escorted the students back to the castle,

Veneficus appeared next to Anguis as they entered the dungeon corridor, and tugged on his arm just as Anguis himself sensed the dual presences that indicated that both he and his master had gone backward in time.

Falling back through the crowd of Slytherins, Anguis ducked into a shadowed nook of the passageway after his master, and watched in fascination as the Sith Lord drew out the tiny pendant that housed the precious sands of time.

Three turns sent them far back, to about the time when the match was about to begin, and the entire school was trouping down to the field. Quickly the pair of Darksiders made their way up to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets, and Veneficus immediately went to drying himself with magic, growling with frustration at Dumbledore.

"Foolish old man," he finished as the last of his clothing was dried, before turning to Anguis and refining his previously coarse speech. "Enough about that, the man's actions only lead me to pursue the course I had already set regarding the Dementors."

"So, what happened out there, if I may be privy to that information?" Anguis asked tentatively. Knowing Veneficus' moods like he did, one became very adept at knowing when to push for information and when not to. This was one of those times where one needed to tread carefully.

"It is of no matter," Veneficus said dismissively, before turning for the room that housed the Dark Side artifacts, "I need time to meditate over these things, you may continue with your work or train as you desire…"

Anguis decided to return to the long and potential lethal task of deciphering the texts that were housed in Slytherin's private library, and testing what spells were required to undo the many curses and hexes that protected the more ancient volumes.

Anguis had managed to add quite a few to the 'safe' pile, working long into the nights to understand the ancient rune locks and Arithmancy codes that broke the seals placed upon them. But many still eluded him, and he was growing frustrated.

One book in particular sent painful shocks of electricity into him every time he failed. After one painful jolt, he threw it in anger, hearing the satisfying thump as it hit the far wall.

Pausing, Anguis spread out his senses, feeling a change in the room. A lot of the seal books reacted when he used the Force to aid his strength in throwing the book. Eyed widening in understanding, Anguis tampered a bit further, working the Dark Side into the book that was leading him in this path of thought. To his excitement, it opened with a touch of the Force. He grinned mischievously. Lord Veneficus would be pleased with this news.