Nothing much to say today, life is life, and being tired sucks... enjoy! ~F

Chapter Eight

Neutrality

Draco Malfoy had had many expectations when coming to Hogwarts. His father, as one of the school's governors, had taken great care to explain the complexities of the various Professors and school positions, like Prefect, and who could or could not be trusted. But the one thing that that had both failed to take into account, was Harry Potter.

Sure, Lucius had known that the boy was likely to be joining Draco this year, and together they had planned accordingly for the Gryffindor Golden Boy to manifest himself, but once Potter was sorted into Ravenclaw all those preconceptions went flying right off the Astronomy Tower and into the Black Lake.

Now Draco had little idea what to expect the other boy to do, and if he was going to be honest with himself he found the situation rather curious. It was a strange position that he actually might be able to approach the boy again and speak in a civil manner to him, which was not something he had expected to do again after meeting Potter in Madam Malkin's before school started.

Slytherin shared Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Astronomy with Ravenclaw, so there was more than enough opportunity for Draco to watch the way Potter interacted with others, but that merely led to more questions and little answers. Either the boy was extremely shy, or just didn't like to talk, as he only truly spoke when directly addressed, even by a Professor, and when they were finished working he would pull out some off-topic book like the rest of his house to read. The only difference was that the books he chose were drastically more specific than the ones the rest of his year mates were reading.

While the other Ravenclaw boys were perusing books about general studies in their various classes, Potter would be intensely reading a journal about the study of runes, or magical transportation, and even one time Draco caught him reading a book on mind magic. It was odd that a boy so young would be so wrapped up in such things, but Draco wasn't a Ravenclaw, so perhaps he didn't completely understand, but then again perhaps not.

The other frustrating thing was that the boy was ridiculously hard to approach. How the Mudblood Granger had managed it so quickly was absurd, and she occasionally was seen with Potter between classes, idly chatting with him about this or that, not that Draco cared or listened to what the filthy girl said, but the opportunity to properly introduce himself hadn't come up as of yet.

Until one late September morning, while they were all waiting outside Professor Quirrell's room while the teacher did who knew what, and Potter arrived alone, ahead of all the other Ravenclaws while the Slytherins were all gathered. There was only a slight amount of muttering when the boy briefly smiled at them, before shoving his nose into one of his trademark advanced books, but Draco wasn't about to allow such an opportunity to slip by.

Squaring his shoulders, the Malfoy heir stepped forward, while his constant companions, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle lurched into position at his side. "So then," Draco started, catching Potter's attention as he turned a page in his book, and causing the boy to pause and look at him, "quite the stir you've caused in the school by being sorted into Ravenclaw, Potter."

The boy looked at Draco for a long moment, seeming to chew the words over in his head before responding slowly, "I suppose so, not that it really mattered to me where I was placed…"

That caused Draco to raise an eyebrow. It wasn't exactly a Ravenclaw thing to say, but it was in the same form of thought from the house of intelligence to try and over analyze something, "but of course House matters," he protested gently, taking it more as a good natured debate rather than offensively. Ravenclaws liked debate, right? "It's important to belong to something greater than yourself, so that you are able to have people around you to support you in your endeavors."

Potter paused again, seeming to strain to understand his words, before merely shaking his head. Drawing his wand, Potter pointed it at himself and said softly, "Sermoligula." Draco was unfamiliar with that spell or what it did, but filed away the information to research it later. When Potter spoke again, it was far faster and more comprehensive, "Perhaps that is the way that Slytherin House looks at the sorting dynamics, but Ravenclaw, and I'd further guess the other two houses by extension, have their own viewpoints. Take my house for example; while yes there are those ready and eager to help out if one is stuck on something, we are more than encouraged to figure things out alone, independent of all others. Something a bit prideful that some take to the extreme if you ask me, but regardless…"

Just then the door opened, and the other Ravenclaws appeared from around the corner of the corridor, right on time as usual, and Draco nodded to Potter before ducking inside the classroom with the rest of his house. Personally he had hoped that their conversation wasn't so quickly stopped, as he actually understood some of Potter's viewpoints, but there was time enough to pick it up again where they left off at a later date.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was rather a joke of a class, and Draco had little problems finished the ridiculously simply notes and assignment that Quirrell assigned, spending most of his time glancing across the room at Potter and the other Ravenclaw boys. While the three seemed to be thick as thieves, joking and laughing to themselves as they worked, Potter seemed to stand out. Not as an outcast per say, as the other boys would drag him into their talks from time to time, but he would disengage time and again when he was left alone, and inevitably return to his book.

Even for a Ravenclaw the boy was studious, and that caused Draco to wonder if the material he was reading, while incredibly advanced, was truly for pure academic reasons. Call it Slytherin intuition, or ambitious paranoia, but something felt off about the picture he was presented, and Draco decided that he would do two very important things. First, contact his father for more information and possibly a speculation of the scenario, and secondly, he would continue to pursue this acquaintanceship with Potter directly, and see where that led.

At worst, he may figure out the reasons from merely being around the boy, or get Potter to spill his plan prematurely. Ravenclaws liked to discuss their pet projects he had heard, not only from his father but from upper year Slytherins as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nobu'tan was surprisingly enjoying his time in the magical school, between the various new magic that he was learning, even if he did have more than a few powerful mages looking over his shoulder most of the time. Even something as basic as flying on an enchanted broom was astoundingly delightful, not that it hurt that Nobu'tan was apparently a natural at it.

At the same time, during what few hours alone he could scrap together in a given week, he was able to dabble with arcane magic, and was not able to gather the energy together into an explosion of pure magical power. Sadly his time for delving into the power of the Legion were stunted because of all the other activities and people sapping his time.

He was sure that he could handle summon a new kind of demon, the tempting Succubus, but finding somewhere secret to do so without drawing the attention, and wrath, of Archmage Dumbledore down upon him would be difficult. There was the forest, to be sure, but that was an open space with little to protect him while he built and harnessed the summoning circle and bound the demon to himself.

To that end, he scoured the castle a second time, searching for any nook or cranny that might be overlooked, but it was hopeless. On the seventh floor, Nobu'tan slumped against a wall under a hideous tapestry, straining his mind to find a way around this problem, cursing Gul'dan and Kel'Thuzad for allowing this to happen.

Arcane magic danced across the underside of his skin, eager to be unleashed in a violent storm, but Nobu'tan didn't dare draw any attention to himself inside the castle, not with all the ghosts, children and portraits that could easily get word back to Dumbledore. 'If only there was somewhere I can use magic completely undetected by the castle,' he thought bitterly, and almost fell backward as the wall shifted right in front of him.

A door formed in the wall across from the tapestry, innocent looking yet strangely inviting. Cautiously and fully expecting a trap of some sort, Nobu'tan slowly stood and edged over to the newly appeared door. One had to be cautious in this castle, as there were many doors and staircases that were so infused with magic that they developed their own personalities, and usually mischievous ones at that.

However, the door latch clicked easily, and creaked open to reveal a large room, completely empty aside from some empty bookshelves and tables. The moment Nobu'tan entered, the door swung shut behind him and he felt magic pulsate into place over the door, like a shimmering field. Panicking at the possible trap, Nobu'tan lunged for the door, only to find that his hand easily pierced the field, and the door remained unlocked to him.

Growing puzzled, he allowed it to close again, and studied the field that sprung up. His magical probes couldn't sense anything beyond the field whatsoever. Nobu'tan's eyebrows lifted, and a small smile began across his face. The castle had answered his wish, granting him a space to practice his dark magic without fear of discovery. Leaving the room, he watched the door vanish away, and quickly he sped across to Ravenclaw tower and up to his dormitory.

It was a weekend, and the majority of the Ravenclaws were in the library or doing their extracurricular activities, so the tower was mostly empty, so there was no one to question why he took several things from his room and carried it out of the tower. Quickly retracing his steps, Nobu'tan waited for the door to reappear, and grew desperate when it did not.

"Wait," he told himself, forcing his body to be calm. Recalling the circumstances that produced the door the first time, Nobu'tan focused on the exact spot where it was supposed to appear and let the desire for the door bubble within him again. Nobu'tan almost jumped for joy as the door obediently returned, and eagerly went inside, shutting the door and getting started.

Opening Merwyn's journal, Nobu'tan found where the madman described the ritual circle for summoning demons, and quickly set to work tracing it across the ground in chalk, adding a few flourishes that Gul'dan had shown him when binding a Voidwalker to himself. Finally, there were a few items that he required to tempt the temptress to himself, but Nobu'tan had never required items to bring the other demons to himself, and he recalled something about the lesser types hearkening to power sources of fel magic like his own, so he hoped that this would be no different.

Quickly calling Xorton to himself, Nobu'tan set the blue creature of the void to patrolling the outside of the circle, prepared to jump in when another demon appeared. With all set and ready, Nobu'tan focused on the circle itself. Gathering his magic together in a giant tether, he pushed through the circle and out into the Twisted Nether, seeking the demon that would come to him like a fish to a hook. For several long minutes he stood motionless, chanting the orcish words of domination and of lust for power, hoping that the creature he sought would come. There had been rumors of warlocks getting more than they bargained for during a summoning, so Nobu'tan was very careful to put just enough power to frighten away Voidwalkers, but hopefully not draw anything too powerful to him.

A sharp tug on his magic acted like a bite, and Nobu'tan fed the demon magic to draw it back to this world, opening the way for it to come through. The creature stepped through, humanlike torso swaying seductively on its furred and hoofed legs. Scantily clad, the Succubus looked upon Nobu'tan and even through the piercing blue glow of her eyes, the orc raised human could see the lust for destruction.

Flapping her leathery wings once, the demon stepped forward, "Couldn't resist, could you, little warlock…"

Nobu'tan was wise of her attempts, and Xorton interposed himself instantly between his master and the Succubus, even as the whip that the demon had hidden snapped out, missing Nobu'tan by inches.

"Let's get this party started!" the succubus said, lashing the whip again at the blue demon, while Nobu'tan unleashed his demonic magic upon her, flames and shadow pelting her magically resistant hide. Every time she was struck, the succubus let out a girlish squeal that Nobu'tan was sure would drive older men crazy, but he simply pressed the attack, finally knocking the demon aside with a powerful blast of pure chaos.

"Enough!" the demon cried, staggering to her knees. "I yield, you are clearly powerful."

"Good," Nobu'tan said, not stepping forward just in case it was a ploy of the lust demon. "You're name, so I may call upon you, my newest servant."

The demon seemed to deflate at the order, but obeyed. "Sarti… master. Now what would you ask of me?"

"Nothing presently, return to the Void and heal yourself, I'll call to you if I need anything." Nobu'tan said with a grin. The Succubus smiled toothily at him, "Try not to miss me too much…" she said even as she faded back into the Nether.

Xorton was dismissed soon after, and Nobu'tan sat on the stone floor, breathing hard. It had been too long since he had expended that much magic through his body, and he had grown somewhat soft. It irritated him, but at least he had a place to go now to retune himself to the energy of the Nether. Subtly he started to feed off his tentative connection to the ley lines under the castle, and the old magic flooded into him, replenishing his muscles and rejuvenating his mind. For a moment he could sense through the castle, knowing where a great many of the students and teachers were, and something else.

Partway down the castle was something that didn't belong, something with powerful magical properties that was purposefully left out for anyone to sense if they were looking hard enough. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was whatever was hidden on the third floor, but before Nobu'tan could investigate further, the connection to the castle closed, and he was rejuvenated, albeit festering with more questions.

Nobu'tan wasn't foolish enough to go running after whatever it was just yet, however, as there had to be some sort of security measures blocking the way, and knowing the power of a Archmage like Dumbledore, it would be formidable. For now he would bide his time, see what happened and how much of a danger it was before tempting fate to have a look see.

Focusing on his more arcane elements, Nobu'tan distracted himself from the secret floor by conjuring his water elemental, and running through a drill of ice and fire-based magic, watching with amusement as the flames he created were altered by his knowledge of demonic lore and the darker fires that they created, and the shadows that filled his bolts of frost.

Even the water elemental itself was more ferocious and dangerous that its counterparts back in Dalaran, partially resembling Xorton in the dark shadows that flowed through the water of its form. Granted, the elemental was a conjuration only, and therefore a representation of Nobu'tan more than its own living entity, so it made sense.

Soon enough it was after dark, and Nobu'tan knew that he would be missed if he wasn't present at dinner and to retire, so he discontinued his training, leeching more magic from the ley lines of the school to replenish himself once again. Walking through the castle with a slightly springier step than usual, Nobu'tan paused outside the Great Hall. There were still a fair few that were entering, so he wasn't terribly late, but he steeled himself regardless for the scrutiny he was about to receive from the Archmagi at the Head table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Albus spotted Harry the moment he entered the Great Hall for dinner, looking much happier than usual and meandering toward the Ravenclaw table. The great wizard had to admit that the boy was far less of a burden than he had feared, with all the Dark Magic that had been around him. He was a quiet and studious child, eager to absorb every scrap of knowledge that was offered, especially those that would make his transition to Hogwarts easier.

Aside from the effective prisoner status that he was in, and Albus admitted that it was somewhat unfair to the boy to be thrown into the castle with no freedom to leave, Harry was handling it well. Perhaps the next weekend Albus would take Harry out to Hogsmeade or Diagon again to give him another chance at some shopping, not that he knew what he might want to purchase.

From his many eyes throughout the school, he had learned somewhat of the boy's great dream for renovating the world of magical transportation, with great standing portals to ferry people from place to place, and Albus was glad that the boy had such keen interests. Arithmancy and runes seemed to be the boy's favorite subjects, even if he wasn't yet allowed to officially take the courses.

Pausing while he ate, Albus considered that October was just around the corner and with it the anniversary of Voldemort defeat and Harry's parent's death. Perhaps it would be appropriate to take Harry to Godric's Hollow and visit their graves? It would be an opportune moment to teach Harry about the importance that he represented to their world, and the price defeating darkness cost.

'Yes,' Albus thought to himself as he took a large drink from his goblet, 'that would do quite nicely.' A sober visit to Godric's Hollow after an afternoon of shopping in Diagon would do well for the orphan hero, and it would be a reason to depart the school to give Quirrell another chance to examine the defenses of the stone.

Oh, he knew that Voldemort had smuggled his way into Hogwarts, but for the time being there was little Albus could legally do to stop the man. Even if the parasite on him as revealed it would only cause a massive panic, and Albus would prefer to eliminate the shade of Voldemort first before exposing to the world that he had indeed survived.

That was why Harry had to 'accidentally' discover what was hidden on the third floor and go confront the Dark Lord once again. His tentative friendships with Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger would help, but by and large the boy seemed unconcerned about the goings on of his fellow classmates.

There could be all sorts of reasons for that, but Albus chose to be optimistic that that too will change in time. What had the wizard more concerned was how insanely tight lipped the boy was being regarding where he had been for so long, and the identity of the wizard that taught him Dark Magic.

Albus had scoured the world far and wide through his network of allies and informants, but there was no place that matched the location and political climate that Harry let slip. But at the same time it had been such a difficult bit of information to gain that Albus wasn't completely sure that it was simply made up.

Alas, until that little mystery was solved, there was little that Albus could do without that knowledge. The longer this went on, the more Albus was simply tempted to use Legilimency and be done with it, but he still had reservations about how Harry might react to his mind being invaded.

Perhaps an opportunity to do so without provoking the lad might arise soon, but until then Albus had little choice but bide his time and try to endear the boy's favor. For several weeks he waited, simply watching Harry go about the Hogwarts day to day life, until around mid-October, when Albus finally summoned the boy once again to his office early on Saturday.

"Hello, Harry," Albus said congenially as the boy entered his office, "I thought it would be nice to go out to Diagon or Hogsmeade once again, now that you've had time to experience the Wizarding world, there might be more things that you wanted to purchase."

Harry's eyes sparkled for a moment as he thought. "I would be delighted, Archmage Dumbledore."

Albus distinctly caught on the term of Archmage that the boy used, but didn't react. The title of Archmage was archaic, and wasn't used since well before the Middle Ages, but it seemed to be the immediate thought for a strong wizard with the boy.

"Excellent," Albus said, standing. "We may take the Floo from my fireplace." Gesturing to the fireplace, Harry looked somewhat apprehensive, but nodded as Albus took a fine pinch of the powder and tossing it inside the fire.

Leading the boy into the emerald fires, Albus stepped in beside him, "keep your arms tucked in tightly, and don't open your mouth to breath until you stop spinning. Diagon Alley!"

The flames surged, carrying them through the network of fireplaces to the Leaky Cauldron.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nobu'tan wasn't sure whether he approved of the Floo Network, but he needed to understand the concept if he was to build up to recreating the portal concept on this world. That would mean heavy amount of Arithmancy and Runes along with the fel magic of the Twisted Nether to pierce through the great space between this world and Azeroth.

"Now I know you have great interests in the methods of wizarding transportation Harry, so I presume you'd want to go to the bookstore first." Archmage Dumbledore said knowingly. Nobu'tan smiled, nodding vigorously.

Inwardly he laughed. The old fool had little idea what he was assisting into his world. Eagerly walking past the many shops of various goods, Nobu'tan twisted his head every direction, finally able to actually read what the English script was declaring the businesses and products to be. Unfortunately, most of it was rather disappointing, as he had seen far more varied and downright useful items in the markets of Dalaran for his uses, but there may yet be something in the future for him to procure here, so he kept his eyes open as they arrived at Flourish and Blots.

Pursuing the many tomes was pure joy for the young warlock, and quickly he found at least five that matched his needs, outlining the usage of Arithmancy and Rune in the creation of Portkeys and the Floo Network, as well as one on the darker aspect of their uses.

"I don't believe you'll need that one, my boy," Dumbledore said leaning over Nobu'tan's shoulder as he read the titles.

"But sir," Nobu'tan complained, "How would I know if the current creators missed something because it wasn't magic they were comfortable using in creating my project. One must study all aspects of something if they are to understand it fully, not merely the dogmatic, narrow view of the fearful."

Dumbledore seemed to ponder that with a critical eye on Nobu'tan, "I don't think I am inclined to agree, but I will allow you to purchase this volume if you only read it while I am present. Some things are simply too dangerous for young minds to see or read about, let alone anyone for that matter. We wouldn't want your curiosity to lead to a painful and dangerous end now would we?"

Chuckling with the old man, Nobu'tan sensed the irony of the man's words, and the strange twinkling in Dumbledore's eyes told Nobu'tan that the man intended just that, but for some other sort of danger rather than the borderline 'dark' magic that the book spoke of.

Happily paying the store owner for the books, Nobu'tan stepped back out into the street, wondering where they might go to next, and how long Dumbledore would allow them to remain in the shopping district.

Back in Azeroth, he had started to tamper with a few of the great magical professions of the world, namely alchemy, inscription and enchanting, only starting to test the water of the latter two when he was in the Violet Citadel, but here there seemed to be comparable concepts in Potions and Charms, but he wanted to see about finding supplies that he was accustomed to and try his hand once again at those former methods.

Pointing toward a store that sold parchment, ink and feather quills, Nobu'tan looked imploringly at Dumbledore, who smiled and nodded his assent, probably seeing it as an innocent purchase or two.

The store was dusty and well worn by time, filled with jars of multicolored ink in many different jars and vials, along with stacks and stacks of parchment. Some of the quills were very stylish, while a select few were even outlandish, like one that was solid gold. Shaking his head at the madness of these magi, Nobu'tan set about collect a large stack of parchment, before carefully selecting inks that looked somewhat familiar to him from Dalaran.

From what he could tell, there was a single white colored ink in great quantities that somewhat resembled that made from the alabaster pigments that he once worked with on Azeroth, and so he took four vials of it just to get himself started once again. a simple yet well created feathered quill would suffice for these writings, and when he brought the supplies back to the smiling Archmage, Nobu'tan actually grinned at the old man.

These little side projects were something that he had once grown to love, sitting in his Master's tent copying books or practicing the human and orcish written languages as Gul'dan dictated correspondence to the various clans or the surviving members of the Shadow Council. It reminded him of happier times, and he was more than pleased that Dumbledore saw no threat to allowing him this hobby, if the wizard even acknowledged the usefulness of it.

Nobu'tan doubted that he would find herbs in enough quantity that the old man would allow him to acquire for Azerothian Alchemy, nor would enchanted be quite in the realm of feasibility at this time, so the orc raised human was contented to stick with inscription for now and wait for another opportunity to search for the rest of his old life's tools.

The pair once again ate at the ice cream shop, and Nobu'tan set his face as he endured about bout with the sugary substance. It hadn't grown on him in the slightest. Soon enough after that, it was time for them to leave. "I have one other stop that I'd like us to make before we return to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, offering his arm for Nobu'tan.

Knowing what unpleasantness was coming, the warlock took the mage's arm regardless, holding his breath as they were squeezed through the personal teleportation to a small human village. It seemed slightly familiar to Nobu'tan, but as they walked there was nothing that stood out to him in memory. They bypassed a human sight of worship, and for a moment Nobu'tan wondered what these human's regarded as deity, whether they worshipped the Light as the humans of Azeroth did or something else altogether.

Not that he was going to voice such a question to the Archmage that was still trying to pry as much out of Nobu'tan about his life on the other world as possible, so he kept silent. The pair circled the sanctuary to the rear side, where rows of stones were imbedded into the ground, with English words upon them, naming each as a grave marker for specific persons.

It was an interesting human custom, burying their dead in the earth. The orcs of Draenor burned their dead on large pyres, offering their bodies back to the elements from whence they had come, back when Shaman were in power over their clans. When the warlocks rose to control the might of the unified Horde, for the most part their ceremonies remained unchanged, but once they arrived in Azeroth, the dead were simply left behind as they marched onward to press the advantage of their physical might and numbers over the humans of Azeroth.

Archmage Dumbledore seemed to be looking for a marker in specific, and when he found it, he gestured for Nobu'tan to approach and read what was written. "Here we are, Harry."

Obeying, Nobu'tan read the names that were written upon the cold, white rock.

James Potter – Born 27 March 1960, Died 31 October 1981

Lily Potter – Born 30 January 1960, Died 31 October 1981

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death

Nobu'tan wasn't sure what he was expected to do, cry over the tomb of his human parents? He had never known them, his family was the Stormreaver Clan, Gul'dan, Cho'gall and the other orcs, trolls and ogres of the Horde that had respected and taken him in as one of their own, regardless of his race.

"What happened to them?" he settled on asking the old man, which seemed to be enough of what the wizard wanted to hear.

"That would be a very long story, Harry, but if you're sure you want to hear it, we will discuss it back at Hogwarts at a later time. For now though, you may either stay here or we may return to the castle for dinner, whenever you feel like it." Dumbledore replied gently.

"No, I'm ready to go," Nobu'tan said slowly, not wanting to reveal how much he didn't want to be here to the old man, who simply nodded solemnly and offered his hand once again. Thinking how much he hated this mode of travel, Harry accepted the instantaneous ride back to the castle. Answers would have to wait until the Headmaster could find a reason to trade them for what he wanted out of Nobu'tan once again, most likely, but the warlock hoped to have a plan to dodge around those unwanted questions yet again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione had never found a more obnoxious boy than Ronald Weasley. The contemptuous ginger was by far the most insensitive and hotheaded person that she had ever met. Not only would the boy stuff himself silly every meal, causing all manner of disquiet and destroying every peaceful moment that could otherwise be used to study during the mealtime, but his constant sniping of any student that he didn't approve of was downright sickening.

It didn't help that the red head's primary target was Harry Potter. Despite the boy being in Ravenclaw and not the 'hated' Slytherin, foolish Ronald was dead set on declaring Harry a traitor to the wizarding world, merely because his school house was not Gryffindor.

Now was just such an instance, as they waited outside the Charms classroom on Halloween the period before dinner and the feast that had been building in anticipation for the entire month. They were supposed to be practicing the Levitation Charm, but the red headed idiot thought it would be far more productive to whisper with his fellow Gryffindor boys and made stupid jokes from across the room.

"Now, don't forget the nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Professor Flitwick said from the pile of books behind his desk, kindly instructing them while looking over at Ronald, who quieted while the Professor was speaking at least, which allowed Hermione to run through the incantation in her mind again. Across the room, amid the other Ravenclaws, Harry was silent as well, paying keen attention to his Head of House.

Casting spells was far more than just waving your arms and saying the words, Hermione had learned quite early on. There was precision required, and a strong amount of will to power what you wanted the magic to accomplish. Ronald and the other Gryffindors probably knew that too, but just didn't seem willing to put in the effort.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he bellowed lazily, waving his arms like a windmill.

Hermione tried to block out the idiot as long as she could, but when his arm holding the wand came within inches of striking her face, Hermione reached her boiling point. "Stop, stop!" she said at the red haired boy, "You're going to put someone's eye out, besides your saying the incantation wrong. The second syllables need to be longer, Wing-gar -dium Levi-o-sa."

Naturally, the boy's reaction was less than ideal. "You do it then," he said hotly, "if you're so clever, go on!"

Sighing inwardly, and glancing up at Harry across the room, Hermione obliged the nitwit, flicking her wand gentle, "Wingardium Leviosa!" the feather rose gentle off the desk and hovered upward about four feet in the air.

"Oh, well done!" Professor Flitwick said, clapping to get the entire room's attention, "See here everyone, Miss Granger's done it!"

Smiling at Harry, her only real competition in the class, Hermione was amazed to see that he had set his own wand aside, gesturing with his hands in strange ways at the feather, which sparked with purple energy as it too lifted off the ground, soaring through the air to join hers above the class.

"And Mr. Potter as well!" Flitwick said happily, turning to his favored student, although Hermione understood exactly why the boy was favored, he spent more time with the Charms Master than anyone else in the castle. Although she noticed the quizzical and almost concerned look that Professor Flitwick gave the boy when he noticed that Harry was not using his wand for the spell, although he did not draw attention to that fact.

"How did you do that?" Hermione asked as the class ended and they joined the throngs heading down to the Great Hall.

"Do what?" Harry replied dumbly, smiling slightly.

"You know what I mean Harry, you levitated that feather without even touching your wand." Hermione persisted, but then someone knocked into her.

"Who cares what the stupid traitor did?" Ronald Weasley said rudely as he passed, "He's nothing but a washed out hero that couldn't live up to what was expected of him…"

"By who?" Hermione demanded, now truly angry, "You? The other students? Who do you think you are to try and demand how someone else is supposed to act or behave? Of all the pig-headed…"

"It's truly no wonder why he's the only one in the school that can stand you Granger," Ronald said snidely, which bit deeply into Hermione emotionally.

Hermione turned abruptly and simply left, not wanting to deal with it anymore. She didn't stop walking until she bolted herself in one of the stalls of a girl's bathroom, simply letting her hot anger stew about the boy and his rudeness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Line Break ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nobu'tan wasn't sure why he got into this situation, but Weasley's comments about Hermione were the last straw. Years of living among a race far more physically strong than himself had done much toward building his muscle mass, even if he wasn't terribly large by human standards, but that didn't stop him from lifting the irritating boy from the ground with both hands around his robe front.

Nobu'tan spun sharply and sent the red haired boy slamming into the wall of the corridor, even as flames started to creep up his arms. Oh how easy it would be to simply snuff out the boy's existence, one bright blossom of felfire and it would all be over, but then he would be found out by the Archmages and they would try to end him. So Nobu'tan settled with stalking off, away from the boy and the direction that Hermione had gone.

He knew far better than to try and talk to her while her anger flared, having been on the receiving end of it once or twice himself for innocent, if not ignorant, comments.

Not even the decorations or food of the feast did much to settle him however, as he had full view of the Gryffindor table, and the gluttonous pig shoveling everything within reach into his mouth made him wish to unleash his newest Succubus minion upon the brat.

For better or worse, that potential event was forestalled by the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell, sprinting into the hall, yelling at the top of his lungs about a troll in the dungeons, and sinking to a dead faint right in front of Archmage Dumbledore.

Instant panic erupted, children screaming and standing to flee all around. For his part Nobu'tan was merely confused. Certainly he knew what a troll was, and the danger it could present here to the children, but shouldn't Quirrell have been more than a match for the tree climbing headhunter, especially in the castle dungeons where there'd be little places for it to hide?

"Silence!" Dumbledore bellowed, his voice magically magnified to ring from every corner of the hall, which stunned the frightened students to silence. Once suitably quiet, the Archmage gave instructions for the Prefect students to escort their houses back to the various dormitories throughout the school, while he and the Professors would go to the dungeons to find and eliminate the troll.

Nobu'tan wasn't too concerned, but seeing how the children reacted in such a blind panic, he felt that Hermione might want to at least return to her dormitory with the others, just in case the wizard's fear of the troll was founded on some information that Nobu'tan wasn't aware of.

Slipping away from the line of Ravenclaws was ridiculously easy, the Prefects so sure that none of their charges would wander off with the creature loose. Even as he followed the route that the ley lines of the castle gave him that led to Hermione's location, Nobu'tan was forced to duck out of sight several times to avoid knots of students, first Gryffindor, then later Hufflepuff, as they fled to their own houses.

A third time, he dodged behind the stature of a gryphon as Severus Snape stalked past, going not in the direction of the dungeons but to the third floor, where Nobu'tan knew the source of unfamiliar magic resided. Curious, but altogether unimportant at the moment, as not several corridors later a pungent order invaded the warlock's nose, of waste and uncleanness that brought back vivid memories to his mind of a specific denizen of the Horde.

Then he spotted it rounding the corner of the far side of the corridor; an Ogre, one headed and stupid, lumbering along with its club dragging on the floor toward a closed door. Why in the Nether did these foolish wizards think that this creature was a troll? The reason was cast aside as the creature reached for the door, which from his magical senses Nobu'tan knew that Hermione was behind.

"Ogre!" he yelled, slipping into the orcish language from the familiarity of the creature, which turned to look at him stupidly, scrunching up its face as it tried to understand. Nobu'tan thought for a moment that it recognized the language of the Horde, but the creature bellowed a challenge a moment later, and swinging its club high, charged at him down the corridor.

But Nobu'tan was a warlock of the Stormreaver Clan; he would not run from this challenge. Drawing together the powers of the Arcane, elements and the Void, he prepared to fight the massive beast. He would attempt to hold back on Fel magic as long as possible, but this was easily going to be a true test of his powers over the magical forces, like it or not.