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Chapter Forty Eight

Fluidity

Draco watched from the sidelines of the dance floor for a time, with Pansy Parkinson on his arm, even as Lord Nobu'tan made the dance floor his own with Hermione Granger, both of them seeming to shine with inner light from all the enchantment and jewels that were upon their robes. It was as though two magnificent beings had appeared straight out of the Feywilds to attend, glimmering as though they were magical beings among mere mortals.

"I've never admitted this to anyone," Pansy said at his side in a quiet voice, "but she really is quite beautiful." And Draco had no choice but to agree, as both a male's prerogative with a potential future spouse, and because it was the truth. Granger could look more gorgeous than any pureblood witch alive when she worked at it, and that was a saying something when you factored in magic.

"We can't let then have all the attention to themselves," he said after a few moments of appreciating the moment, and took her hand to walk out onto the floor. Pureblood grace met together in a wonderful waltz, and soon they were slowly orbiting the literally shining couple, where were already collecting several onlookers and admirers, not to mention that the camera crew for the many reporters attending couldn't stop taking pictures of them, even over the Veela tramp from the French school, much to the latter's irritation.

"Potter, Granger," Pansey said casually as they circled, "looking absolutely radiant this evening."

"Thank you Pansy," Granger replied, "you look splendid as well."

"Not nearly so much as the pair of you," the Slytherin girl and budding warlock gushed, "every eye in the Hall is on you both, I doubt that there will be many other pictures in the papers over the next few days, as every shot seems to be of you. How did you manage to make everything so eye catching, we simply must swap some beauty secrets. If you like your hair that way, I know a few charms that are far easier than daily potion baths, although I doubt they'd pull off that same sheen that you've achieved."

Draco exchanged glances with Nobu'tan, looked as equally bored with the girl's talk as they talked across both their dance partners, but continued rotating on the spot. Granger seemed in her element, which was strange enough in a social setting, but then again Draco knew well enough that appearance contributed a great deal to one's confidence, and when you were literally the Bell of the Ball, it tended to make one very sociable.

Once the initial song ended, and they applauded the band, both couples drifted to the side tables, and rested for a bit while the girls made plans for exchanging a few of their techniques that made their daily lives easier.

Meanwhile, Draco guided Nobu'tan off toward his father, under the premise of 'getting refreshment,' for their dates.

"My Lord," Lucius said, where he was seated with Draco's mother, who was keeping watch as her husband spoke in a low voice.

"Lucius, I see you managed to once again participate in watching over me despite the supposed regulation of the Tournament," Nobu'tan teased, smiling fondly at the Pureblood family.

"Well, we are nearest magical kin, unless you'd like me to fetch your muggle relations and arrange to have them arrive for the next event." Lucius suggested.

The lead warlock almost looked like he would be sick at the suggestion, "I thought not," Lucius continued with a smirk, "I must ask however, why I cannot detect your power within the magic we hold in common nearly as strongly as it was before…"

Draco watched Nobu'tan's mouth press into a thin line, almost unwilling to answer. "Might I take a guess," Lucius pressed, "Something happened, perhaps a confrontation between yourself and Dumbledore, and some of your powers were stripped? Taken from you perhaps… that is why you wished for extra guards and those very specific components for rituals."

Nobu'tan looked away, "So long as I have a plan of action, Dumbledore's little arcane lock will not last long against all the might I have to bring to this. He overestimates himself to be cleverer than I, so I allowed him to believe it, but he will learn in time that I am not some two-bit Dark Lord for him to out maneuver to his own ends."

"So long as that remains the case, I see no reason to interfere for now," Lucius agreed, "all the preparations are ready for you word of command to move them into place, but I believe your dates will soon start to wonder where you two went off to, get them their drinks and enjoy yourselves tonight. There will be time enough for this sour business in its due." he said dismissively, with a glance at Draco's mother.

Even as they left however, Draco caught his parents sharing a meaningful glance and hurried whispered conversation, before with a smile they strode onto the dance floor themselves, elegantly showing the children the poise of the Purebloods.

"Your fathers concern is noted, and understood with his invested interest in my goals," Nobu'tan said quietly as they returned to their dates with punch in hand, "but I am doing well enough as is, and will be more than grateful for a small amount of trust that I can take care of myself. Do remind him of that when you can."

"Of course," Draco replied, having no such plans to do so. He was not going to be put between the first and third members of the council in this matter, and casually glanced around to make sure whether they had been observed. Moody was in the corner of the room, watching them closely, as was Snape in the opposite side of the room nearest the doors, so it was without saying that they had been at least seen speaking with his father, if not overheard.

"Dumbledore will know some of what has transpired here between us all." he informed Nobu'tan.

"Naturally," the warlock replied, "what else was there to suspect being inside his domain. But there is little else we could have done regarding it, nor is there much he can do to both contain me and stop us effectively."

Draco nodded, and together the pair of warlocks decided that they would take Lucius' advice for the rest of the evening, and enjoy themselves as much as they could.

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Alastor was quite unsurprised when Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy arrived at the Yule Ball, bypassing him as merely part of the décor, and participating fully in the event as though they were back at school. It was the man's right as a Governor to oversee the happenings of Hogwarts, even if few ever took up that charge and actually came to the school. If not for the ulterior motives, it would be commendable on his part, but after watching Malfoy's child and Potter seek them out after the first dance and speak with Lucius for a time, it was clear that all the Order of the Phoenix's suspicions regarding the pureblood were correct.

Lucius was more than entangled with the activities of Nobu'tan, and clearly this had been just one in a countless chain of communications that the man was going between the warlock. Alastor had already seen the man chat up the reporter, Skeeter, clearly trying to feed her more information that Albus had left out of his article regarding Potter, probably things that slandered the Headmaster as much as possible, which would please the old bat Skeeter greatly.

How Alastor would like to get his hands on Malfoy, just to find out how much he had learned from Potter, and whether they were merely political allies, or something more deeply connected. The thoughts of Death Eater Lucius Malfoy as a warlock were just unbearable to comprehend, but the slimy man would be more than keen to prevent even a whiff of Dark Magic to be detectable on his robes, let alone something easily discovered by current Department's Aurors.

The only evidence they had, circumstantial at best though it was, was the presence of demons on the man's property over a year previous, when they had found Potter there when the family had supposedly been away.

Alastor would suggest to Albus that they keep a tighter watch on the man's actions from here on, perhaps they could finally get the drop on what Nobu'tan overarching plans were, as it would seem that Lucius was the go to man over them while the Tournament had the lead warlock otherwise occupied.

Personally, Alastor would relish the opportunity to spy on the man, but his official position as the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher wouldn't allow such a thing. Glancing over at the man's son, still with Potter and their corresponding dates, the aged Auror considered the other possibilities. Perhaps it was well past time he took some matters into his own hands regarding the teaching of some other groups, which Albus had hinted at as a possibility, but never fully gave him the green light to pursue.

Watching as Granger danced with Potter in another, faster paced, bout across the floor, he smirked. Yes, it would be perfectly ironic to turn the girl and her followers into the very tools used to defeat the same mad child that threatened their world.

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It was difficult to admit, but Nobu'tan actually enjoyed the small amount of levity that he was afforded through the Yule Ball. Even days after he couldn't help but smile at the memory, but unfortunately as with all good things it had to pass, and the work he had set himself to do had to return.

Edgran and his centaur were a great assistance, as not only had their appearance been surprising enough to deter many from approaching his tent as of late, but many of their fairer minded brethren were becoming quite adept warlocks in their own rights, and with just the right instruction would be more than effective enough in assisting the ritual that Nobu'tan had designed to break Dumbledore's little arcane lock over his power.

The unfortunate side was learning such a ritual, and more importantly tailoring it so that it would not accidentally kill Nobu'tan in the process. It was agonizingly slow, but a needful task, one that all the ogre mages, including Teg'Ramm to what extent his injuries allowed, were devoting all their time and power toward, but it wouldn't be ready in time for the second task, which Nobu'tan was already angered greatly regarding.

Luckily his power to retain his breathing remained, as it was such a minor enchantment, but he would be mostly relying on the power of the Arcane to protect himself under the water.

To occupy his time, and draw his attention away from those maddening future events, Nobu'tan turned once more to his other occupations, readying what items he could think to use before and during the task. Potions of water breathing were paramount, as he wasn't sure if his spell would be able to last long enough, nor whether whoever was taken would be capable of breathing on their own once rescued.

Scrolls of protection, many items that he had stockpiled in case of such events, things he had been planning to save until the final battle that ushered in the Legion, but alas, times were not on his side always.

"Lord Nobu'tan, Humans come in cloaks of red and grey," Edgran announced from outside the tent, and the warlock swore loudly. He did not need these Ministry fools to come again to assail him. Was it not ridicules that they would so wantonly poke the sleeping beast on the grounds of their children's school, or were they preying on the fact that he would not harm the innocent.

Storming out of the tent, Nobu'tan took only a few moments to recognize that yes, once again it was Ministry Unspeakables and Aurors, here to forcefully harass him, and he didn't wait beyond that for them to approach.

"Kill them!" he commanded, conjuring an arcane barrier around himself, before drawing deeply on the leylines under the earth at their feet. Fire came easiest, only marginally affected by his affinity for the Fel, barely giving it a green tint as it roared across the snow covered grounds at his enemies.

"I will not continue to tolerate such insults!" Nobu'tan roared at them, even as explosions of arcane and flame roared from his hands, and the wizards scattered to avoid the turmoil that he caused. Surprisingly, they actually turned and fled, rather than stand and fight, to which the weakened warlock laughed them to scorn.

Returning to his tent, Nobu'tan refused to even give another thought to the weak minded cowards, as he had excessively too much to think about.

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Albus watched as the Unspeakables in charge of the latest expedition to investigate Nobu'tan returned to him. "You were correct Headmaster," the man said, "Potter has changed what style of magic he uses."

Albus nodded. He had paid quite a bit in his political connections and leeway for this favor from the Unspeakables, namely passing along the basics of Arcane magic, and promices to instruct some of their researchers further once the Tournament ended, but it was well worth it to have them keep up the pressure on Nobu'tan for a time.

Albus had suspected instantly that the boy would fall back on his other abilities, and even still, and underhanded as it was, Albus knew that he would need to strip him of that access as well if he was to render the boy completely unable to summon the Legion. But the appearance of his centaur allies threw a wrench in the works of that plan, as now there were far too many defenders to prevent the Ministry to getting close enough to activate the charms that he had put in place.

"Ah well, I suppose we will have to find another method to stop this flow of dark magic," he said slowly, keeping his eyes always on the Unspeakables. Those who studied the aspects of magic always tended to be the most astute of the various departments of their government, and Albus wouldn't put it past their members to finally see that something was off of the stories that they were being told regarding Nobu'tan and the full reasons as to why Albus wanted him stopped.

As far as they currently knew, much like what was reported in the Daily Prophet, Harry had been taken and likely altered by forces unknown for reasons that had to do with demonic summoning. Granted, he was already being demanded for more details from several political groups, the Unspeakables included, and the Tournament itself was the only factor delaying that undesirable meeting, but for the time being he had the majority of their cooperation in trying to tear Nobu'tan away from his protectors and allow Albus to detain his magical ability so that they could try and remove the supposed conditioning that the boy had suffered through for so many years.

The Ministry wanted to fully obliviate him and restart afresh with the boy, but Albus was highly against that. Vile and dark as Nobu'tan might have become, he wouldn't wish a totally erasure of his identity, the guilt alone would drive Albus to his grave.

More importantly, there would still be the matter of the Burning Legion. With or without Nobu'tan the demons would continue to strive to enter their world. It would benefit the world far more if they could convert Nobu'tan back to them, as his knowledge alone would be invaluable in sealing their world off from the demonic invasion to come.

If they honestly went through and destroyed that precious knowledge of how and where the Legion was planning to enter their world, they would be woefully unprepared for the destruction that may come far sooner than they wished to believe. But naturally the Ministry refused to think of such things ahead of what would immediately solve the problems in front of them.

That was the core reason why Albus had so involved himself with the Unspeakables, making deals with them to prevent further attacks trying to kill or forcefully remove Nobu'tan, but rather just to keep watch on him, and a presumption that the boy was still under threat.

Even with all of the precautions that he was taking to make sure that the important capture went without a hitch once he made his final move, which he was planning for the eve after the third task, it was still a great balancing act between keeping the Ministry occupied and making sure that Nobu'tan was going to be separated from his bodyguards at the right moment.

Despite this, and the great need for the act to protect their world, Albus had a great deal of pressure and guilt, knowing that there would be great dangers for not only his fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix, but the other children and those who took part in the Tournament as well.

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Draco had a strong feeling that something was off when he was summoned out of the Slytherin common room the day before the second task. If it wasn't so close to the Tournament event, he would have greatly suspected that it was something else in relation to the battle between Dumbledore and Nobu'tan.

Arriving at the classroom where he was designated to go by Snape, when the man had come to announce the need, standing outside of the common room because of the guards that the warlocks had stationed to protect their secrets.

He was prepared for both Moody and Dumbledore to be there when he arrived, but he was not prepared for other students to also be in attendance. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy, we are all assembled now," Dumbledore said, rising from the chair he was sitting in and walking around to address the Draco and the other three students that were present.

"As you all are no doubt wondering why we've summoned your four to be here, we shall explain." Dumbledore started, "the fourth task, which will take place under the Black Lake tomorrow, is about the Champions rescuing someone important to them from a merfolk village at the center of the lake, and you four have been selected as the, for a lack of a better term, hostages."

It was exactly as Draco had thought, and he understood why Nobu'tan was so agitated regarding the upcoming task now, as it was highly unlikely that Dumbledore and his people wouldn't try something if they had Draco or another of the warlocks under their control for any amount of time.

"You will all be perfectly safe, under a spell that will keep you asleep and able to take in the air you need from the water, which will break only when you resurface once again, either when your assigned Champion rescues you or after the task is over when the merfolk are to return you all in the event that the champions do not succeed." the man continued to reassure the others, but Draco had overall stopped listening.

He only snapped back to the present when Moody started advancing on him with a drawn wand, having already put the enchantment on the other three with their permission. "And if I choose not to be the hostage?" he asked, but the scarred man just smirked.

"Too little too late, young Mr. Malfoy, by showing up you accepted this role, now if you'll kindly lie down, we'd rather you not fall and hurt yourself when I've finished." The man said gruffly, without a trace of concern or care.

Knowing the he was being observed, and that there were no other options that he was allowed to take, Draco complied, repressing the shudder as Moody's magic wafted over him, coaxing him unwillingly to unconsciousness. Draco's last thought before darkness claimed him was that Nobu'tan would be furious when he learned of how this was accomplished.

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Nobu'tan could start to feel the chill as he stood with the other champions on the makeshift pier waiting for the announcer to stop talking and start the second task. The other three had on heavy robes over whatever they were wearing to enter the lake, but Nobu'tan lacked any such clothing that he was willing to leave behind, and therefore aside from the satchel that held his potions and scrolls he had left most other items and unnecessary clothing with his guards, waiting on a side part of the bank of the lake.

Whether anyone cared to take note of that fact, or were too busy staring at his toned body, Nobu'tan didn't care. He knew quite well that, due to his extensive training with orc youths so long ago, and the minor modifications that came from that he and Gul'dan had employed on his growing body that he appeared to be quite a selective specimen of human, quite their design if he was to be a frequently used spy inside the human kingdoms that the Horde had wanted to destroy, but he had almost forgotten that many would find it that appealing to look at.

Irrelevant information aside, he swept what limited spells he could across the lake, without drawing attention to himself naturally, trying to look for where Draco had been placed. He knew who had been taken, due to the blonde's lack of appearance to support him, and Nobu'tan had almost smirked at how the foolishness of Dumbledore had made the task all the easier for him.

He could very easily sense the aura generated by his fellow warlock, even in his weakened state, and that would prove to be an even better sense of direction than whatever method they were supposed to locate their hostages by.

Soon enough they were given a precious few moments to prepare anything they were going to use for the task, and Nobu'tan hastily withdrew the four scrolls that he had brought. Eyes watching him, he activate each one in quick succession, watching the parchment burn up in his hands as the magic consumed each in turn, layering him with protective magic from the cold of the water, from anything that might attack him, and to aid in his ability to move swiftly through the lake.

Finally, he uncorked the potion of water breathing, which he would be using in addition to his spell, and waiting for the signal to dive, not wanting to waste a second of time with the potion in his system.

The deafening bang of the wand was the signal, and Nobu'tan hastily swallow the entire vial-full of potion, diving headlong into the water and hurriedly kicking with his might to propel himself in the direction of the Fel aura.

Nobu'tan knew that he was not a strong swimmer, as the orcs had not found it a skill worthy of their warrior's time, nor had Gul'dan thought it important either, but with the ability to breath normally, it wasn't difficult to pick up how best to move beneath the water, and soon he was cutting a path like a fish toward the center of the lake, where he suspected that the merfolk village would end up being located.

Giving the long beds of weeds and other kelps a wide berth, as they most likely were filled with other irritants that he did not wish to be distracted by, Nobu'tan quickly heard the sound of mersong, and through the gloom of the water he started to make out a massive statue and the semblance of a community under the water.

These creatures were waiting for their appearance, with a complete choir beckoning them closer, and four captive people tied with weeds to the statue's tail. Not recognizing or caring about the others beside Draco, Nobu'tan swiftly swam to his friend and ally, using a minor amount of Fel fire that he could channel to sever the freshwater kelp that held him there, and quickly fishing in the satchel for another potion.

How he would get the boy to swallow it was a mystery however, and quickly Nobu'tan decided to just tow the fully dressed pureblood behind him, unfortunately slowing him down with all the drag that the boy's clothing created. Infuriating robes, but Nobu'tan knew that the second of the Council of the Black Harvest would not forgive him if even a button was left behind, and so he continue pressing upward while grasping Draco around the waist.

The other champions were nowhere to be seen, but Nobu'tan wasn't about to allow himself to be distracted by the competition. He was however concerned when several large shadows moved in the corner of his eyes, almost stalking him through the water.

That was the last thing he needed, to be attacked when he had such a disadvantage as carrying Draco's body behind him. He saw the movement again on his other side, and turned quickly to spot a long tail darting back into the gloom.

Fire would be useless in large amounts here, and his other abilities would function far differently underwater, so Nobu'tan continued to push upward, trying to gain as much ground toward the surface as he could, but at the same time preparing something to counterattack when whatever it was decided to make its move on him and Draco.

The warlock was not disappointed, when just out of range of sprinting to the surface, something soft and slimy latched onto his leg. Jerking the limb to the side, Nobu'tan looked down and spotted the horrendous creatures that lived within kelp beds. Grindylows, dozens of them, and what appeared to be some sort of merfolk hunter behind them, crude spear aimed at Nobu'tan's heart.

Whatever it wanted, which Nobu'tan was sure wasn't going to be in his best interest, went unknown as frost magic erupted from the powerful caster. The water around his legs cooled drastically, some parts of it freezing around the little beasts, even as his free hand launched dagger-like icicles at the hunter, surprising him long enough for Nobu'tan to heave Draco's body upward, where it would likely float to the surface on its own.

With his other hand free, Nobu'tan could better defend himself, and readied more frost magic that would eventually freeze the water around him and his attacker completely, but that would be a fair price to subdue the aquatic humanoid that dared to interfere.

One of the Grindylows came flying at Nobu'tan's face, and he instinctually swatted it away, only to cut his hands on the hardened spikes that covered the horrible little beast. But even that paled to the searing pain as the hunter's spear found its mark, digging into the warlock's shoulder.

What was worse, the hunter had kelp rope tied to the spear, and was using it to try and drag Nobu'tan further down and away from the surface. Grasping the weapon in his uninjured hand, Nobu'tan's world lit with arcane magic as he permitted the cold to freeze the weapon solid, breaking easily as he left part of it in the wound. The last thing he needed was more blood in the water attracting who knew what else to his location.

Aiming a powerful kick at another offending Grindylow, Nobu'tan struggled to gain some altitude toward the surface, but the merperson arrived, grapping him with the sticky webbed hands, and murmuring something in a strange, bubbly language that had to be their native tongue.

Nobu'tan wasn't having it however, and allowed himself to unleash the taste of fire upon this creature, who probably until that time had never experienced the raw heat or burning pain of such a thing. Short range blasts of flames quickly extinguished in the water, but the super heated bubbles were more than enough to sear the scaly flesh of the underwater creature, and in shock and fear it darted away, its pets chasing after it in fright.

Grunting in pain, Nobu'tan kicked feverishly to the surface, blood trailing behind him as he caught up with Draco's body, catching him with his one good arm and kicking the rest of the way. They broke the surface together, and Draco snapped awake, coughing and sputtering at the sudden shock of being in the lake.

The boy swore loudly, and Nobu'tan smirked for a moment as Draco started to tread water on his own, before starting for the pier. Nobu'tan followed as quickly as he could, his injured arm and hand feeling like numb weight as he dragged himself through the water, and had to be helped out of the lake.

Looking around even as the Hospital matron started for him, the warlock briefly noticed that he indeed was the first one to return, but then he was roughly covered with a towel and the witch was hovering over him, wand working hurriedly to stop the blood flow and close his wounds.

Draco stood, acting as a sentinel to prevent anyone else from approaching Nobu'tan until the witch was finished with his wound, and presented him a potion to warm him up, which he refused, stating he had already taken care of that as precaution.

As soon as she left him alone again, Nobu'tan stood, seeking for the small boat that would take them back to the shore, but it was behind the judges, who seemed more than intent to keep him there until the task fully ended. The warlock's eyes locked with Dumbledore's, who looked partially worried but relaxed as they met the angry glare from Nobu'tan.

"It seems we will be here until the hour is up," Draco commented, coming to stand beside him.

"Teg'Ramm will not be pleased," Nobu'tan added, looking over where his other servants were waiting, specifically at one of the centaur that was crossing back toward his tent, likely relaying the news to the still confined ogre mage.

"It cannot be helped I guess." Draco said with a shrug, and quickly found a clean spot on the pier to sit, staying well away from the water, "two down, one to go I suppose." He added as Nobu'tan joined him.

"Seems that way," the warlock replied, checking to make sure that they were not being overheard, and catching the strange buzzing of a small beetle as it buzzed around the pier. Odd for such a small insect to be here of all places, and it seemed off to Nobu'tan.

Checking what he could sense via the Arcane, he wasn't remotely surprised to find that the beetle was indeed another witch, disguised as the insect. As it flew toward them, he nudged Draco to make him stop speaking, "We're not alone," was all that the warlock said, and deftly ignored the beetle as it tried to lodge itself nearby to him, even if he had to resist the urge to simply crush it. a spy no doubt, that would not go unnoticed if she failed to report most likely.

Draco caught the signals and noticed the beetle, and followed Nobu'tan's lead, refraining from conversation until it flew away, almost in an insect's form of a huff, "Animagus," Draco said as it flew out of hearing range.

"I presume that's the term for a shape-changer on this world?" Nobu'tan asked, the word being unfamiliar to him despite all his studies.

"Yes, high level transfiguration, Professor McGonagall can do it as well, but to a cat, if you recall from first year." Draco replied.

Nobu'tan more assuredly did, but had dismissed it as unneeded at the time, "I see," was all he replied before going silent again, conserving energy from the ordeal until he could leave this place and return to his tent.

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Albus only partially listened to the other judges mull over the points and processes once the last champion returned from the lake, well outside the time limit. There was no doubt that Nobu'tan would gain full points this time, as he had been by far the quickest to return with his hostage, very early indeed, even if he was attacked by something under the water.

Albus had tried to enforce some sort of monitoring system, but had been overruled by the rest of the judges, who clearly wanted only to hide what their champions were truly capable of, or what lows they'd descend to in order to win, but that turned into a net loss for him personally, as it was Nobu'tan that was the biggest threat with his tactics.

The fools wouldn't even reconsider it for the next task, which had been prepared well in advance of the change by adding in the warlock, so Albus had no options but to work with the maze as it was given for the fourth champion.

Still, with only a short four months left of both the school year and the Tournament, it was clear that he was running out of time to make his move to stop Nobu'tan once and for all from summoning the Legion. Leveling in additional security through the Aurors and the Unspeakables was just the tip of what he planned to do in secret for the Third Task, as they were all now convinced that Albus alone had the strength to compete with the boy one-on-one, which he begrudgingly accepted as fact.

But watching as the warlock and young Mr. Malfoy spoke in hushed tones at the edge of the pier, completely oblivious to the dealing out of points, or that Nobu'tan was now second in the running of the Tournament, Albus somewhat saw a bit of himself in their mannerisms, back when he was on friendly terms with Gellert. One the genius with gifted talents, the other a dangerously cunning mind filled with dark secrets.

Albus felt that there might be something that he had a knowledge of, something that they were planning that would be extremely unexpected, but propriety demanded that he show no 'favorites' by speaking directly to the Champions at this time, and it seemed that Nobu'tan was too far gone with his ideals to speak rationally to regarding the matter of the Legion.

Perhaps it was time for a different tactic, coming at this problem from a new angle, or a new person. Albus wondered what indeed Draco Malfoy's feelings on the matter were, and whether he would be more willing to aid in stopping the Legion from burning their entire world just for arcane secrets that they could try and learn from a different route.

This thought buoyed him through the end of the task, when all the Champions and hostages were released to go back and dry off fully, and the judges made their way back to their respective groups of students. Albus chose to go directly back to his office, and send Severus to ask the young man to join him as soon as possible.

In the meantime while he waited, Albus experimented with the Arcane, trying to follow particular individuals with glimmers of semi-sentient magic, thinking along the lines of the elementals of water that Severus and some of Miss Granger's students could summon, but instead of water a servant of pure magical energy.

Small wisps of arcane energy, moving on their own after small orders was his accomplishment before the familiar grinding of the staircase leading to his office was heard, and Albus discontinued his efforts. "Enter," he called at the correct time for Severus' strides, knowing who it ought to be on the other side of his door.

Severus opened the door, escorting young Mr. Malfoy inside, who looked far warmer and dryer than the last time Albus saw the boy, although the looks of suspicion were still present. "Ah, thank you for coming to speak with me on such short notice Mr. Malfoy," Albus said gratefully, "Have a seat, lemon drop?" he offered, but the Pureblood boy ignored the muggle candy, and took the seat directly opposite him instead.

"What is the meaning of this, Headmaster, for you to call upon me once again after the stunt you just pulled." The boy said hotly, making Severus shift as though to reprimand him, but Albus forestalled the Potions Master with an upheld hand.

"At the cost of sounding rather harsh, it has to do with the entire business of Nobu'tan and the Legion, but not in the way you'd expect I think," Albus said, giving the boy a knowing look when he started to shut down and ignore anything that he had to say.

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Draco was more than happy to just sit and tune out the old Headmaster if he wanted to try and get more information from him he would be in for the longest, quietest sit that he likely had since the Tournament began.

But the old man, curse him, had to go and throw the most interesting and gut wrenching question first, "What do you feel, regarding the Burning Legion and their plans to destroy the world in which you grew up, all for a one-way ticket to another world that you have never seen?"

Any thought that he had of silence or retort were dashed as he was brutally forced to consider, what was this new world that Nobu'tan promised to him? All he had ever known was the love of his family, and both Lucius and Narcissa were supporting Nobu'tan in his endeavor, so they had their own reasons.

"I…" Draco stated, before he completely lost trace of any concept of an answer.

As though seeing his dilemma from a mile away, the Headmaster smiled and nodded to himself, "You probably need time to come up with a full answer, but it is something I want to genuinely discuss with you, so just think on it while I explain our side of the problem."

It wasn't as though Draco had a choice or not, but the disarming question had left him vulnerable, "I understand that Nobu'tan wants to go back to the place he considers home, clearly that is where his heart remains, although why I do not begin to try and understand, but he is willing to go perhaps too far with his agenda to get there. I ask you if there is not perhaps another way to discover the means for him to get back there, without destroying our world in the process. Certainly he is angry with me, and many others for reasons that we prevented this or that for him, limited his freedom or simply that we didn't understand him, but can't you, his closest friend for lack of a truer word, see that he is overreacting to all of this?"

Draco tried, oh how he tried to follow what the Headmaster was saying, to see the lies within the words, but it was hard. The man was making too much sense, logically, to be able to be seen as a liar.

"Even if what you say is right, which I do not know for certain if you can be trusted, Sir, I cannot dissuade Nobu'tan from his goal, there is none that can, especially since he has servants that act outside of those in the Wizarding World on his side. And he is not alone, no matter what you think or want to believe; the Burning Legion is watching him at all times. If he betrays them, they will know." Draco said, almost cursing himself for even opening his mouth, but anything to get out of there as quickly as possible.

"That's why I need your help," Dumbledore continued, "If he succeeds and the Legion comes to this world, we are defenseless. I will train those I can to be Mages, whose magic will be better tuned to fighting the demons, but it will only take us so far. Promise you will leave warlocks, if we fail to stop Nobu'tan from opening the gateway, so that we can know what the demons are up to and combat them to the best of our ability."

"I…" Draco said, knowing that there was great danger in what the old man was trying to get him to do. "I need to think about it, about a lot of things…"

"Take all the time you need, but we do have a limited schedule before Nobu'tan plans to make his move, you would know more than I, I suspect." Dumbledore said, dismissing him.