Yo!

Didn't expect an update, did ya? Well, me neither, but whatever. To sum it up, I still hate the current MCU, but I had so many ideas in my head for this story that even my motivation to write this story somewhat came back. However, if it continues, that really depends. I will explain everything in the AN below the chapter.

Chapter 30. Good old Sal

"Old bastard? Old bastard?!" Salazar bellowed. "You bloody wanker, if only I could use a wand. Sit down right now and explain yourself. Where. Have. You. Been?"

Chuckling, I looked down when Laura tugged at my shirt. "Logan, why is the portrait speaking? He is swearing more than you."

I promptly ignored Sal's squawk of indignation and ruffled the girl's hair. "Laura, let me introduce you to Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of the school I told you about and a major pain in my ass. Sal, this is Laura Kinney, and well..."

"Major pain? You bloody brat. The only pain in the arse here is you!" The portrait growled, cutting him off. "That's what I get for trying to care for my descendants. I should have told my basilisk to eat you when you come back."

I sniggered. "Love you too, but that's enough dramatics for one day... You're right, I got a long story to tell so you better listen. I won't repeat myself. We don't have time for that."

Instantly, the anger left Salazar's face as he frowned. "I see," his eyes darted to Laura and then back to me. "Sit down then. Let me hear this tale of yours."

I plopped down onto the nearest armchair and motioned Laura to do the same. Only then did I open my mouth, beginning my story. "It all started with that damned winter break..."

"I knew we should have waited until the Summer break or found another way to obtain the ingredients," Salazar muttered just after I finished my tale. I left nothing hidden, not even my meeting with the Ancient One. "It was a bad idea."

"Yet you still agreed I should go," I shot back.

The ancient mage bowed his head. "Aye, I did. I hope you can forgive me for this mistake. I should have known better."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Hey, it's not all bad. I mean, yeah, the torture sucked, but in the end, I came out stronger for it. And..." I turned to the only girl in the room, smiling. "If I didn't go, I would have never met Laura."

Salazar hummed, once more observing both of us. "You certainly make an interesting pair."

You don't know the half of it. I withheld a snort, the original story of Laura and Logan from Marvel flashing in my mind. I will tell you one day. I bet you will have a good laugh from it.

"Now for the young Miss Kinney," the portrait said, focusing only on Laura. "Tell me, child, once you are safe from the Obscurus, what do you wish to do with your life? I can only imagine what you must have gone through, but the choice is now back in your hands. You don't need to get swept by the madness surrounding Logan."

I scowled at the unnecessary question. Even if I had never really asked it outright, thanks to our time together, I already knew the answer. In a roundabout way, she had already told me her wishes many times before.

Still, I stayed silent, letting Laura stand on her own two feet.

"I don't care," the girl muttered, gazing at her knees. "I have nothing to go back to. My daddy is gone..." She finally raised her head, looking straight at me. "Logan already gave and promised me more than I ever expected to have after Hydra... I will stand by him, no matter what."

Salazar chuckled, leaning back in his portrait. "Well, well, well. It seems, brat, you've got yourself a trusted ally. I noticed the bond between you when you two walked in, but now? Now I see it. Cherish it and never give it up. Not like I did..."

I smiled. "Don't worry, old man. We got it... Though, you're wrong about one thing."

The old mage quirked an eyebrow, and even Laura leaned a bit forward. "Oh? And that is?" He asked.

This time, I grinned. "I didn't get an ally, Sal. No. What I have now is family. Ain't that right, Laura?"

Without saying anything, the small girl just nodded, a few tears dripping from her eyes. The smile she gave me was also worth everything I had gone through.

"I see then," Salazar broke the moment, his portrait also wearing a peaceful smile. "I glad to know something good came out of your suffering, children. Of course, you shouldn't have ever had to go through that, but we will deal with those bastards in the future."

I grinned. "Oh, trust me, we will. Hydra will have no idea what hit them. Even now, I have an idea of how to make their lives harder."

Laura scrunched her brow at that while Salazar looked curious. "Do tell, brat. I only know as much about them as you have told me."

"Honestly?" I quirked an eyebrow. "It's quite simple. I will just need to prepare a bit and gather some information. After all, I know mostly who can and cannot be trusted in SHIELD. I'm sure with some clues, I can get Fury to start investigating. Considering that magic was involved in this mess, I might try to give something to Dumbledore too."

"That's risky, very risky," the ancient wizard commented, scratching his beard. "Barely a few minutes ago, you said you want to stay hidden. Contacting the current headmaster won't give you that."

I waved him off. "That's why I need some time to figure out some stuff. As I am now, it's too risky, but give me a month or two, and I should be able to sneak into their offices without anyone noticing."

"This doesn't change the fact that you will be walking on thin ice, Logan," Salazar frowned. "I don't know much about this Dumbledore, but people don't become headmasters of Hogwarts without a reason. Getting discovered now may complicate your situation even more than your stay with Hydra did."

"I know," I sighed. "That's why I won't do anything unless I'm at least ninety percent certain it will work."

This gave the portrait a pause. "Ninety?"

I shrugged. "It's impossible to predict everything. This much should be enough... I hope."

Salazar shook his head. "I'm starting to think you just like putting yourself in danger, brat."

Maybe he was right, but getting into danger in a world like Marvel and Harry Potter was just another day. I just had to remember to prepare for everything coming my way and to always finish on top. Information was half the battle, after all, and I had plenty of it in my head.

Now, I just have to use it.

Suddenly, Laura harrumphed, a scowl painted on her face. "I have no idea what you two are talking about."

Salazar chuckled. "Oh, trust me, lass. It might sound like I do, but I am almost in the same boat as you. Although," here the man looked at me, "I'm surprised you haven't told her anything yet."

I grimaced, knowing well this subject would sooner or later. "It's too risky. You're a portrait hidden in an ancient chamber. I'm not too concerned about you revealing anything I don't want to. With Laura, I have to worry about all the mind readers in this damned world."

"So Occlumency," Salazar nodded, deep in thought. "Among all of the magical arts, this might be the only one that will work for you, lass. Anything else will have to wait until we know more about your condition."

This time, I frowned. Evidently, the old wizard knew more about Obscurials than maybe even the Ancient One.

"What do you mean?"

The portrait hummed. "Tell me, have you tried teaching her any magic?"

I scratched my head, making sure I checked every possible memory. "Well, there was the one time we tried the Lumos spell, right?" Laura nodded at that. "Yeah, that was most likely the only time though. And it didn't work."

"As expected," Salazar clicked his tongue. "Normal magic for obscurials is almost impossible. With enough effort, a spell or two might work, but it only does more harm than good. Forcing magic while carrying an Obscurus is always bad."

"Sounds like you have some experience with Obscurials," I noted, the flame of hope in my chest burning a bit brighter.

"More than I would like to, but not enough to solve this problem right away," the portrait admitted. "Recovery for a normal Obscurial is possible and, in a controlled environment, almost certain. However, this is anything but a normal case."

"B-but, you can help?" Laura muttered, hesitating just a bit.

Salazar let out a heavy sigh. "I can, but as the Ancient One already told you, it won't be easy. I have some theories, but I can't say anything for certain without more information and seeing what you can do for myself. For now, learning Occlumency and meditation should be at the top of your priorities."

"What about rituals or even potions to buy us more time?" I asked just to make sure.

"Not yet, definitely not," the old wizard disagreed right away. "Using magic like that on an Obscurial can be just as — if not more — harmful as them using magic... Like I already said, we need to wait for now and gather more information."

"So, like always, we need time," I leaned back into the armchair. "Nothing can be easy, eh?"'

Honestly, I hoped that despite not being alive as long as the Ancient One, Salazar would know more about Obscurials. However, now that I have thought about it, I definitely expected too much. Laura's situation was unique. Even if Sal had a way to deal with the Obscurus, we had no idea if it would work here...

"That's life for you, brat," the portrait snorted. "We can't rush a delicate matter like this... Even if Obscurials were more common in my time, I can't give you a solution right away. Information, Logan, that's what we need to focus on for now."

I waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. I understood it the last five times you said that. Anyway, do you need something from us right now, old man? We have a few hours left before the Ancient One comes back, and I definitely want to gather some stuff to bring back with me. My magical studies have stagnated way too much, thanks to Hydra."

"Stupid question. Of course, I want something!" Salazar exclaimed. "Bring me out into the chamber and show me what you two can do. I need an idea of what I'm working with now."

"Of course you do," I muttered under my breath and stood up. "Come on, Laura, help me out. This thing is heavier than it looks. You should exercise more, Sal. You're getting fat."

"Bloody brat..."

"Incredible," Salazar whispered just as Laura retracted her claws. "Never in my life had I seen an Obscurus controlled in any way. To see it being channeled into a completely different ability should be..."

"Impossible?" I supplied, leaning against a wall next to the portrait.

"Indeed," the old wizard nodded, hand on his beard. "Even in my times, plenty of people tried to use an Obscurus as a weapon or just to raise their power to another level. It never worked, of course. An Obscurus cannot be controlled."

"Yet here we are," I sighed. "Now, if we could only figure out a way for this damned thing to stay that way. Sooner or later, it will get out on its own."

"You should really stop worrying so much, Logan. You barely came back, and I already can see how it's eating you up," Salazar offered me a small smile. "You're not alone anymore. You have me and this ancient Sorceress at your call now. Trust us to help you, and, most importantly, trust yourself."

As much as I wanted to deny it, the old man was right. I knew how to hide it well, but Laura's condition was almost always in the back of my head. Not even the Ancient One's offer to help really managed to calm my worries, and I doubted that Salazar's little speech would help right away.

Still...

"I will try," I chuckled.

"I guess that's better than nothing," Salazar grumbled. "Now go out there and show me what you can do. The power of time and space... I can't wait. And you, lass! Come here."

Slowly, I passed by Laura and took her old position in the middle of the chamber. The whirling pool of green and blue energy within me stirred, moving to envelop my body like a blanket. I pushed a direction towards it, and with a blink, I was gone.

"Nice. Was much easier this time," I whispered and looked up at Laura and Salazar. Now, only a few feet separated us. "And that's pretty much it for now. Teleportation might not seem that special, but remember, no wards can stop me."

The ancient wizard hummed. "Certainly useful, but tell me... Are you sure this is a time-space energy you're manipulating? If it's not..."

I raised a hand to stop the old wizard. "I'm about ninety-nine percent sure. Hell, even the Ancient One confirmed it, and if there is a person on Earth we can trust about that, it's her. Besides," the dual-colored energy sipped onto my hand, dancing between my fingers, "with time, I should be able to do so much more than just teleport. I only need some practice."

"We will revisit this subject in a few weeks then," Salazar decided before a frow claimed his face. "Although it makes me wonder what your limit will be. The capabilities of a power like yours had been only theorized in the wizarding world. Is there a possibility to help it grow? To make it stronger? Or maybe even share it..."

As he continued to mutter random theories to himself, I gave those ideas a bit more thought. While sharing an Inhuman power wouldn't be easy — as proved by Hydra's experimentations — making it stronger shouldn't be impossible. Shit, the path was almost obvious.

"The stones," I said suddenly, stopping Sal's ramblings. "I carry the power of two base elements of the universe, the same elements represented by two of the six stones. If that ain't a sign, I don't know what is."

"Those mysterious infinity stones?" The old wizard asked, to which I nodded. "Oh my... I see where you're going with this. If we could combine it with... Yes, yes... I can really see it now... This could be the work of my life... well, the afterlife."

As Salazar got consumed by the ideas in his head, Laura came closer and looked at me with a scowl. "Stones? What are you two going on about? You promised to explain."

I sighed, knowing well this was coming. "I'm sorry... Remember when we talked about Occlumency not that long ago? You see, it's a part of mind magic that will help you protect your thoughts, among other things. Once you master the basics, I swear I will explain everything."

Seeing the girl's scowl deepen, I relented. "But I guess a short story about the infinity stones won't hurt anybody... Come, let's take a seat. When Sal gets like this, it can take a bit before he calms down."

"Okay!" Laura nodded, her mood doing a one-eighty as she grabbed my hand.

I patted the enchanted bag on my side as I took a look around the chamber's study.

After I gave Laura a quick rundown about the Infinity Stones, I decided to go along with packing the necessary stuff for the next few months. Thankfully, before my disappearance, I left one of my unique bags here, so at least now I wouldn't have to carry everything in my arms.

For the most part, I only packed books related to the Hogwarts subject. However, upon Salazar's urging, I also picked up some tomes to further my more unique studies. Apparently, the old wizard already had a study schedule ready for me.

How surprising...

"Alright, this should be it," I nodded. "The Ancient One should be back soon, so let's get going, Laura."

Before we could move, Salazar cleared his throat loudly. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

I frowned, quickly recounting everything I put into the bag. "Nope," I shook my head. "I don't think so. We should have enough stuff to last us for a few months."

"Dear gods..." The old wizard muttered with a sigh. "Me, you bloody brat! There is no way in seven hells that I am letting you two go without me. Wrap me up in some cloth and move on. We have problems to solve!"

My eyebrows jumped almost to my hairline. "Are you mad? I can't just take you with us to Kamar-Taj!"

Salazar scoffed. "And why not? I'm a well-protected portrait that can assist you with your studies. My help will be invaluable to you."

"But..." I tried, only to be cut off instantly.

"And if you worry about your secrets, don't. There is no known way to extract knowledge from portraits, and torture doesn't work on me. This might be the only advantage of being dead... Now, wrap it up! We have people to meet and world to see!"

As much as I wanted to protest, I knew I had already lost the battle. No matter what I would say, Salazar would still want to go. Even Laura looked at me and shrugged as she went to grab the large discarded blanket in the corner.

"Just for the record, I think this is a terrible idea," I said, and went to help the girl.

"You worry too much, brat. That's my area of expertise... Move it. I want to meet this Sorceress Supreme of yours."

Yeah... It's definitely a bad idea.

And that's it for today.

Now, as some of you might know, I'm still updating one of my other stories each month (Just one chapter per month). This way, I still give some content to my OG readers while not really putting that much time into it (Thus, I can focus more on my original, which helps me pay the rent).

Anyway, what does that mean for Road to Power? Well, I simply decided to go back to chapter voting, which I did quite some time ago. So, if anyone would like to support me, I have a Pat reon where I will be making polls where you guys can vote for next month's update. This is completely optional, and none of you needs to do anything; I'm still not putting advanced chapters there. You will simply be able to vote, and if I see that there are really a lot of you guys who want Road to continue, I will put a bit more time into Fanfics and write one more chapter per month. And well, if that doesn't happen and if no one will vote, I will just rotate between stories so there will be a chapter every 2 months that is a bit longer than usual. Not the best outcome, but it's better than nothing right?

That's it from me. have a great day/night.

Pat reon: ChaosFF

Discord: b7JaQcpuc7