Thanks to those who reviewed, and also those who voted. The new version of 'A New Player,' rightfully called Harry Potter and the Age of Magic, had its prologue now uploaded, and will be updated every so often as I get around to editing the chapters. I expect a minimum of twice a month for that story, but it will not be on a set day or time like the others. Enjoy the new chapter, and thanks again. ~F

Chapter Twenty Two

Results

Albus refused to allow himself to be idle the moment the students had left the school, but diligently searched the sites of both mysterious attacks, looking for any other clues that had been overlooked previously, but sadly there was just not enough for him to follow up on for any sort of concrete hypothesis. He still strongly suspected some plot of Voldemort's doing, which was why he had allowed Harry such a close interaction to the investigation, as it gave ample opportunity for the dark wizard to slip up and prematurely reveal himself in an effort to eliminate his prophesized rival.

Whether it was still too early, or Voldemort had grown wise after the battle over the stone, he had not so much as stirred outside of the two attacks, and that also worried Albus. Voldemort was never that keen on patience unless it was absolutely necessary, and thus for him to show such restraint now meant that something indeed devious was in the works of that twisted mind.

Soon the holiday would be over however, and the vast majority of the students would be returning to the castle, including Harry, and Albus was greatly concerned for their overall safety if these attacks persisted.

During one of his many excursions through the castle searching for clues, Albus stumbled upon something that turned the entire investigation on its head. Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor House Ghost, was floating morbidly in an unused classroom, no longer pearly white but more blackened, and completely rigid as the other victims of the mysterious attacks. How the ghost had not been noticed as missing Albus had no idea, but it didn't seem like any sort of recent attack, from the utter lack of any magical residue in the room.

Discreetly, he summoned Poppy to manage removal of the ghost to the Hospital wing, to wait with the other victims for treatment when the Mandrakes were ready, meanwhile Albus started a new tactic, scouring the area with Arcane Magic to see if there was indeed anything that he could detect. He was not terribly skilled in the magic according to his own standards, and he hoped to be able to convince Harry to use everything that the brilliant boy had to help solve this mystery, but Albus was able to use the magic of the castle to sense that there was indeed something that had been in the room, something large and vicious that had attacked the ghost in some manner. Worse still was the very faint magical signature of the creature was still in the castle somewhere, but Albus lacked the skill to pinpoint exactly where its lair was located.

Idly he wondered if he could even persuade Harry to use his as of yet unseen dark version of the Arcane to locate the creature. Albus normally wouldn't have approved this, but the threat to his entire staff and students was rapidly growing too great. If this thing was able to petrify even a ghost, then what was the limit of its power and ability to cause harm?

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Nobu'tan was very pleased with the results of the Malfoy Yule gathering, especially the public unveiling of Hermione, the Muggleborn genius, as some were starting to refer to her. There had been a very small article in the following day's paper covering the affair, and the temporary transfiguration of one of the more bigoted members of the Wizengamot, who was fuming, but unable to retaliate to a thirteen year old girl, regardless of whatever humiliation she had put him through.

Hermione was currently oblivious to the publicity that she had generated, but Nobu'tan was well aware that once they returned to Hogwarts that would change, and she would have many more flocking to her to learn the magic of the Arcane, which suited his purposes just fine.

After the festival had been dispersed, the warlock had filled his time with intense study over runes and the orcish script, wanting nothing more than to be able to craft portals of a small sort before returning to the school, and he was extremely pleased to believe that he had mastered the secret, with assistance unknowingly from Narcissa Malfoy, who had taken quite an interest in his desire to learn about runes and their application.

Now, in the warded dueling room of the manor, shielded away from those other warlocks from the former Death Eater cult in case something went awry, along with Draco and Theodore, Nobu'tan was about to make the first attempt at conjuring a temporary portal to another location on the planet. He wouldn't dare attempt to summon the Legion with this method, as the gateway would be far too small and underpowered to handle even a moderately sized demon before collapsing, let alone the high leaders of the Legion.

Pulling out a pair of carved runes, which bore the symbols of transportation and magic in the orcish script, Nobu'tan set the palm sized stones on the ground evenly spaced from himself and each other, before opening himself up to the magic of the Arcane, and indeed the Nether, simultaneously.

Both rune stones flared to life in an instant, fel green and void purples radiating off of them as Nobu'tan moved his arms in the gestures of rituals that Gul'dan had painstakingly made him memorize. Energy crackled between the stones once, twice, and a third time, before a rift started to appear, shooting upward until it was twice the height of a man.

Illusionary hands appeared at six points along the rectangular portals, each grasping an edge of the tear in reality and literally pulling it wider, showing the darkness of the void well beyond. Air seemed to momentarily be sucked into the void, before a vision of his destination appeared on the other side, a darkened side street of the infamous Knockturn Alley, a spot that he had been shown by Lucius for this very test.

Still maintaining his spell, Nobu'tan beckoned for one of the other warlocks to approach, and investigate the functionality of the gateway. The man, Crabbe Sr. if he recalled correctly, was able to step through and back with no issues, and Nobu'tan smiled at the successful creation of the first portal on earth.

Releasing his incantations and stopping his gestures, together they waited and watched for how long the portal would remain open on its own, harvesting magic from the void in small trickles from the gap in reality that it produced. It wasn't longer than a quarter minute, but it was progress.

Once the gateway shut itself, Nobu'tan turned to view the rest of his gathered Shadow Council. "It has begun," he said simply, letting each understand now why he needed the artifacts that the Dreadlord of the Legion had shown him.

The others were sufficiently impressed with his ability, and Nobu'tan wasn't surprised when Lucius was the first to step forward and congratulate him. "I believe I understand the pressing need for your artifacts now, seeing how powerful and efficient these portals will be."

"What obstacles still bar our way to the Grimoire of Merlin?" Nobu'tan asked casually, giving the other former Death Eaters something to think about at the level of artifact that they sought.

"Much still," Lucius said, annoyance at the thought returning, "The Unspeakables still deny any claim that they possess the tome, yet I know for a fact through other sources that it is indeed there, locked away where none are supposed to be able to get at it."

"And how long do you expect it to take for you to worm you way to seeing the book first hand?" the young warlock countered, knowing that the answer would not be to his liking.

"Probably months, at the very least, after many a political battle to make them admit that they have it." Lucius admitted.

"That is time that we do not have to waste over the first of several artifacts that we need. At the earliest convenience, you will bring me to this Department of Mysteries, and I will break them open and take what we need from them, and there will be none to stop my power." Nobu'tan demanded, turning away as Lucius shuddered before his anger as fel magic flared slightly in response.

"And any news regarding the others?" he asked blatantly, watching the others of his servants for reaction. "None yet," Lucius responded, "The Diadem was lost, and none know where to find it, and the Elder Wand is all but a myth. I have several investigators discreetly seeking the Torque, but it would be some time before they track down a clue to its possible whereabouts. Personally I would doubt the possibility of finding any of these objects if you were not commanding to find them, which means that it is indeed possible."

"But never simple…" Nobu'tan agreed, speaking to the unsaid statement that Lucius was keeping from his fellows.

"As you say, Lord Nobu'tan…" Lucius replied, making the others shift slightly with the usage of the clearly foreign name to their tongues.

Addressing them all, Nobu'tan began slowly, explaining in modest detail his 'vision' of the Dreadlord Mephistroth, and their quest to find and unite the four artifacts from the various points of the world where they may or may not be hidden. "I want you all, my Shadow Council, to seek out these items far and wide, as quietly as you can, through whatever means you have available. We need to find them as quickly as possible, and our heart's greatest desires will be granted by these beautiful sources of our great power…"

"What of Dumbledore, and the Dark Lord, not to mention all others who may stand in our way?" Yaxley asked intelligently, and Nobu'tan looked the tall and somewhat imposing man in the eye as he responded. "They will die if they stand in my way."

A flick of his wand revealed that the time was growing late, and casually Nobu'tan dismissed his servants, knowing that he must return to the prison of Hogwarts the next day, and to the watchful eye of the Headmaster and his minion, Snape.

But there was a use for this as well. Not only was the man consumed with his little problem in the castle, but having Nobu'tan underfoot would blind him to the movement of all others, both within and without the castle, which would push his many schemes forward unhindered.

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Draco wasn't sure what had changed in Harry, or Nobu'tan as his father had called him, over the Yule holiday, but the boy seemed to have grown somewhat icier in general, as though he was deeply consumed by his need for these artifacts that the demon had commanded him to gather.

Draco knew that they were important, extremely so if they were being told about them in detail, but the other boy seemed to believe that it was a life or death situation that they find these as quickly as possible.

Nevertheless, he was excluded by default from that particular part of their quest, and Lord Nobu'tan had told him specifically to continue teaching those in Slytherin, and any who would follow them the ways of the warlock, to counterpoise Granger and her Arcane users. Ever since the debacle at the festival, Granger was the talk of all his acquaintances, and even as they boarded the train to return to the school, they found it abuzz with people mentioning her ability to instantly transfigure a full grown wizard into a humorous sheep.

Granted it was obvious that very few knew exactly what she had done, but it was only the more impressive when one knew the truth, and Draco was sure that the girl would have multitudes flocking after her to learn this magic once word got out that she had used some ability other than Transfiguration.

It would be interesting, however, to find out how the professors reacted to this. Not that Draco expected her to be punished, as she had been well within her rights as a guest of House Malfoy to defend herself, and use magic within another wizards home, but the academic implications of the revealing of the Arcane was something that could start a wildfire of fame for the girl not only in Britain, but across the globe.

The glint in Harry's eyes when it was mentioned however seemed to indicate that the boy had a plan for all this media publicity, and Draco couldn't help but shudder at the thought of such a creature being against him, even though he knew that he was allied with the same at this present moment.

The train made its way across the British countryside without too much event, all the student's focus being on Granger over Draco or Harry themselves, and while the Slytherin group of warlocks in training did nothing to prevent others from having access to Harry, none came to call either.

"Barring any great misfortune," Harry said abruptly to the group as a whole, catching all of their attention and even making those who were engaged in other activities freeze in their tracks, "We will be heading out into the forest within the first week back. I doubt that Dumbledore will have the time to track me as well as manage the extreme amount of attention that Miss Granger has acquired, and what it will mean with the entire Chamber problem, at the same time, so that will give us the cover we need."

Their leader smirked, "I tell you now, it won't be easy, and I expect you all to get hurt at one point or another, but survive and you will be far stronger for it in the end."

Shortly afterward, the train started to slow as it entered the station, and the thunderous sound of the many children leaving the compartments for the cramped corridor could be head. The warlocks waited patiently for the train to clear before leaving, wanting to put some distance from themselves and the rest of the school. It worked out that they were able to claim two of the rearmost carriages for themselves as well, and Draco, along with Theodore, piled in with Nobu'tan, completely silent as they bounced and shook their way up to the castle grounds.

Draco studied Harry's face, still wondering where in the twelve year old boy was hiding that cold blooded person that had imposed his will over even Lucius, and his eyes widened when they entered the ward line of the castle. Harry visibly stiffened, his eyes growing narrow, and a glint of red wove its way into the green of his eyes, before vanishing again.

Harry had never hinted that there were physical changes that went along with the power of the warlock, but then again, Draco wouldn't care too much so long as they were huge deformities. Pureblood though he may be, there were lines of what was an acceptable change, and honestly magic could shroud almost anything through with illusions or potions, so it wouldn't be that big of a problem.

Still, it proved without a doubt that beneath the surface, the relatively innocent face of Harry Potter dwelled a being that was far more blood thirsty than one would expect. Lucius had always mentioned the man's red eyes, whenever Draco wound up the courage to ask about the Dark Lord, the infestation of the eyes being a paramount sign of one's heavy use of dark magic.

It was true then, that the magic of the demons was dark in nature, not that Draco had any reasons to doubt, but some things were good to confirm rather than take at face value. It meant that Draco had to be extra careful to not be caught when practicing, as there was a strict no tolerance policy for Dark Magic at Hogwarts. Perhaps if, like his father had wanted, he had gone to Durmstrang, then it wouldn't be a problem if he was found out using this demonic magic, but then he wouldn't have met Lord Nobu'tan, and that would defeat the purpose altogether.

Something that seemed off however, and perhaps the reason for the warlock's agitation, was the heavier amount of magic that was in the air, and not just wizard magic. The Arcane was alive and active in the castle, and according to what Harry had mentioned briefly before, that meant it could only be Dumbledore himself.

What the old man was doing however was anyone's guess, but if it agitated Harry, then it couldn't be very good. Theodore noticed as they exited the carriages a few moments later, especially when there were four Professors waiting at the entrance, watching the students enter. "They've stepped up security; do you think it's because of the Chamber?"

"There may have been another attack over the break…" Draco suggested, but Harry looked thoughtful.

"What is the Headmaster thinking he can do, saturating the school with Arcane Magic? I mean, firstly it shows that he is actually far more powerful than I expected, which is problematic, but still. Does he honestly think that…?" Harry broke off as they entered the school to find the Headmaster himself there in the Entrance Hall, and not waiting in the Great Hall.

"Ah Harry, just the one I was waiting for, would you mind lending me some of your time before the feast begins, I promise it won't take too long."

"Of course, Headmaster," Harry replied, his attitude changing from night to day.

Draco just watched the pair as they disappeared up the staircase to the rest of the castle proper. "What do you think?" he asked absently as the rest of the Slytherin warlocks appeared.

"No idea, but I doubt that Dumbledore would try anything so soon after the students return to school. It's not like Harry actually did anything, right?" Blaise said casually, starting to follow Crabbe and Goyle into the Great Hall, where the aromas of the feast were already wafting out into the entrance hall.

"He didn't, as far as I know," Draco said, "then again, who knows what's going on in that head of his from moment to moment…"

"Ravenclaws…" Theodore said, and the others chuckled slightly, before tugging Draco by the arm and guiding him to the Slytherin table. He allowed it, knowing that there was little point in worrying over Harry. Not only could the boy more than handle himself, but Draco and the other Slytherins had to make sure that they kept a low profile, which included a less than companionship with the other boy, to deflect attention from their conjoined actions.

With that in mind, Draco tentatively start to partake of the feast, however he still felt drawn away from his focus by all the ambient magic in the air, which was a thing so strange from the Hogwarts he had left before the break that it was somewhat off putting. Glancing around however, it seemed only those who had touched the arcane or fel magic was even aware of the changes, which was concerning enough as it was. Was Dumbledore trying to flush out all those who were connected with Harry at once? He certainly hoped that was not the case.

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Albus wasted no time in pulling Harry aside to the room where he had stumbled across the petrified form of Nearly Headless Nick. "I apologize for the abruptness of my request for your presence, but I felt it would be the best opportunity for you to examine this place before the rest of the children diffuse through the castle and interfere with the intense amount of magic that I placed over the castle to monitor if the creature went on the move again."

Harry nodded, before taking a long, slow walk around the room, making some gestures while his eyes flashed the purple white of the Arcane. "I don't see anything specific, but it is definitely the same sort of attack as the previous ones before the break."

"Harry…" Albus said, but the boy was carefully studying the place just below where Nick had been.

"I believe the intense aura was here, but I cannot be sure…" the boy continued.

"Harry…" Albus said again, and the young wizard turned to look at him, confused.

"Use you other abilities, rather than just the magic of the Arcane," Albus said seriously, watching as Harry paused, taking his time to fully digest what he was being asked.

"I…" the boy said, trying to start denying that he had such magic.

"It is quite obvious that you possess some dark variant of the Arcane, which might possibly be of use to investigating the other dark activity that is threatening the school. Normally I would never permit such a method, but it is growing dire, as the victim of this particular attack was one of our resident ghosts. We must figure out the culprit of these attacks as quickly as possible, and to this end I am permitting you to use the full employ of your abilities, this one time, to solve this mystery."

Harry didn't seem to be convinced of Albus' sincerity, but he was considering it. "You must understand my hesitancy, but I will do what I can; only you would be less than safe if you remain in the same room as me while I utilize these powers."

Albus was not overly willing to allow Harry to perform this magic unsupervised, but they were in a hurry to solve this case, and the boy was probably going to refuse to do anything if Albus didn't give him an olive branch of trust first.

"Very well Harry, but I will be just outside until you are finished with trying to determine whatever you can regarding this attack."

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Nobu'tan refused to move until Albus shut the door behind him. The obviousness of the trap was ridicules. There was zero chance that he would do any fel magic in front of the Headmaster at this point, but the man did seem to be growing desperate to discover the cause of these attacks on the school. The door received a very powerful ward to keep the level of dark magic suppressed, just in case the old man was still trying to determine how powerful in dark magic Nobu'tan truly was. Instantly calling Khiighun to him, the orc-raised human allowed the Felhunter to meander the room, especially the area that the ghost was attacked.

Meanwhile, he himself removed the metal wand that he had carried with him from Azeroth. It had been curious that the wands of this planet were highly inefficient in channeling the Arcane or Fel magic, but the one from Azeroth worked just find for this, allowing him to start drawing fiery green runes in orcish script that were descriptive of sight and understanding. His knowledge of runic magic and the power may have still been basic, but he did know enough that intent was the most important in creating a functional array.

Still, jotting out the rough ideas of what she wanted in a circle around him, Nobu'tan turned as the Felhunter approached; extending its feelers that had been siphoning the raw magic from the scene. Using his demon granted powers, he condensed the magic into a crystal shard, allowing him to examine it at his leisure. That would be enough to keep Dumbledore happy, but Nobu'tan was curious as to this madness himself, so he would indeed use a wider array of his abilities to investigate.

Banishing the Felhunter so that it wasn't discovered or got in the way, Nobu'tan started weaving Fel magic, lifting himself off the ground as he invoked the powers of his runic lines in combination of the magic captured in the crystal shard to try and see what had occurred here.

Before Nobu'tan, the air started to shimmer as a shaded vision formed before him, which replayed the events of the attack, with the ghost sliding through the far wall on its way toward some destination unknown. But instead of proceeding, the ghost stopped, before there was a golden flash of light and the spirit froze where it was, before blackening as though burned.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the magic was from the creature of whatever sort, and therefore the vision was from its perspective. There was a feel to the vision however, more of a taste really, as though the creature could naturally sense the air around it, but whether through normal senses or by magic was undetermined.

It was irritating, but still, as he settled down and banished the excess fel magic, scuffing the orcish script away so that it dissipated completely, he turned to admit Dumbledore to the room again.

"Finished already?" he asked congenially, looking around, and Nobu'tan could tell that the man was casually examining the room again for any trace of his fel magic. To distract him however, the orc raised warlock raised the crystal in his hand, "I was able to procure this, the condensed and crystallized magic from whatever was the attacker."

Dumbledore looked impressed, and took the crystal gingerly, examining it from several angles. "This may help immensely to try and give a lead on this, however, I do believe that I've kept you long enough, and it's some ways through the feast, and I do have some new announcements to make."

Nobu'tan nodded, following the Headmaster as they returned to the Great Hall. While all attention did turn to the pair of them as they entered, Nobu'tan just shuffled quickly to his seat at the Ravenclaw Table, and the Headmaster continued up the Great Hall to the head table, taking most of the attention with him. Those who remained watching Nobu'tan were already known to him, and would just have to wait if they wanted any answers about his time with Dumbledore.

Otherwise, the old man was announcing the changes for the returning term, including the increase of security as well as their hope that the students will comply with all the necessary changes for their safety.

The feast was already almost over, so Nobu'tan took some food quickly before it all vanished so that he had something inside him for that evening, and departed with the rest of his house. The others would be patient and wait for the right time to approach him without others overhearing or watching.

Nobu'tan took his time preparing to retire for the evening, allowing the others in his dormitory to drift off to sleep long before him. he had a great many things to prepare, and Headmaster Dumbledore had no idea what he had unleashed in his school by flat out asking Nobu'tan to use the power of Fel magic in his school.

That, combined with his newfound ability with portal magic, gave a strong desire that Nobu'tan couldn't simply ignore. He was free to come and go as he pleased from place to place, so long as the magic of the school couldn't interfere with the arcane might of his portals, and when better to make the first attempt to come and go from the school at his whim.

Throwing another robe over his night clothes, Nobu'tan snuck into the boy's bathroom and after making sure he was alone, closed and locked the door before withdrawing the metal wand from a pocket inside the robe. The runes were easier to sketch now that he had done it multiple times in practice at Malfoy Manor, and soon enough the soft crackle of magic sounded as the doorway was literally pulled open by conjured shadowy hands.

The same alleyway in Knockturn reappeared, but this time Nobu'tan crossed through without a pause, smiling widely as he watched the portal from the school gently close behind him. He was out and free, and technically he could just vanish into the night if he so desired. Unfortunately, he needed his newfound allies if he was to accomplish his primary goal of returning to Azeroth, and that could only be easily accomplished through Lucius' contacts, and that required him to remain nearby.

But still, he had the ability to vanish from the school whenever he liked, and therefore he was able to take on multiple goals at once rather than plotting from the school for the various vacations.

Grinning madly, he made the same gestures and opened a new portal, sliding through the Nether to Malfoy Manor to inform his ally of his discovery, and the new availability that it granted him when necessary.

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Lucius was studying late into the night in his private office, making sure that he had every scrap of information regarding the Department of Mysteries and their policies memorized for the future, when a gust of wind kicked up, pulling some of the warmth from the fire right off Lucius' skin as a tear opened up in the fabric of space. If he wasn't already somewhat aware of who could cause such a disturbance, Lucius might have been worried, but instead he merely nodded as Nobu'tan stepped through the gateway, smirking from ear to ear like his son when Narcissa bought his first broomstick.

"I gather that the wards of Hogwarts are no match for your portal magic, then," Lucius said astutely, and the young warlock nodded.

"This will facilitate our ability to keep up with your training, among other important things, while I maintain the perfect alibi of being locked away in Hogwarts." Nobu'tan said, to which Lucius agreed.

"Just be careful not to overuse the ability," he warned, "Albus may not know about it now, but the man is overly sharp and will come to the logical conclusion if given enough evidence."

"Much like the Chamber of Secrets issue and whatever creature is attacking the students there…" Nobu'tan said, which caught Lucius' attention.

"I don't quite follow what you're talking about, my Lord…" he asked guardedly, and suddenly the warlock's eyes flashed with menacing excitement.

"Ah, Dumbledore you clever fool…" he said abruptly, "Let me guess, the man has failed to mention the several attacks that have occurred at the school thus far, including the petrifaction of a ghost, a student and a cat…"

"No, not a word has been mentioned to the Governors," Lucius affirmed, but he could see the reasoning why, as Lucius would naturally use this opportunity to remove Albus from the school. The only question he had was whether the diary he had dropped upon the Weasley girl was the cause of this.

"Still, this opportunity, along with my freedom of movement can both aid us in attacking the Department of Mysteries. It's not like I could possibly go somewhere I do not know about when I'm at school now can I."

"No, I can't presume that Albus will be in any position to blame you if a certain unknown artifact goes missing in the near future from the vaults of the Department…" Lucius said, smirking himself now. The level of planning and scheming he had to do just magnified, but it would be worth it to see this through.

In response, Nobu'tan only smiled widely, before turning back to the empty space in the office, "I'll be in touch then, Lucius…" he said, before casually tearing open another portal in the void and stepping through. Lucius caught a glimpse of a Hogwarts bathroom before the gateway shut itself completely.

With that, and the revelation that they be infiltrating the Department of Mysteries far sooner than he had expected, Lucius incinerated the parchment he was working on. The plans to coax out the location and particulars about the Grimoire were pointless if they were just going to steal it anyway now. Instead, he started mapping out the layout of the Department as he knew it, and speculating the best places that the Unspeakables would have hidden the more 'forbidden' items and texts.

While he may not fully trust the Legion, or the madness that they sought to bring upon the world, perhaps Merlin's tome would have some clues as to how they may protect themselves from being betrayed.

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Hermione awoke the next somewhat refreshed, but at the same time rather bothered by the events of the previous night, and thoughts of what she would have to endure today. Apparently her simple act of polymorphing the drunken fool of a Pureblood had been circulated throughout not only the school but the entire wizarding world. She was now being heralded as some sort of magical prodigy, as it seemed that knowledge of the Arcane had not yet been distributed outside of those select few that were learning the art, as well as the Headmaster now thanks to Harry.

Still, there were a great deal of more students wanting to know her secret, of how she had mastered transfiguration to the point of silent casting and full human transformation, and no one wanted to hear that it wasn't transfiguration as they knew it.

Although, inevitably, there were those few, primarily Ravenclaws, that figured out that it was impossible for Hermione, brilliant though she was, to have done what was reported through wizard magic alone, and came to her, primarily in ones and twos, and at various times throughout the train ride up to the school, as well as even a few brave enough to get up and walk about during the feast.

Hermione did catch sight of Harry when he entered with Professor Dumbledore halfway into the returning feast, but she had not had opportunity to approach with all the people focusing on her. Many of these people had also gone to the rather infamous Dueling Club that Professor Lockhart had attempted to start before the break, but it had failed miserably after just one meeting, leaving all those who wanted to learn to defend themselves with no one to turn to.

Hermione supposed that if she tested them accordingly, she may be able to take the more trustworthy to learn to be Mages. The Arcane was a rather combative style of magic, and was something of a comfort to know that she had something to fall back on for her protection.

Unfortunately, throughout the morning of the first day back, Hermione was prevented from speaking to much of anyone between the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws that would approach her for this or that reason, and she started to just direct them to meet with her and some others on the seventh floor that weekend, where she would eventually wheedle out who was trustworthy enough to teach regarding the arcane.

Harry was about, but the boy always wore a deep smirk when he spotted her, surrounded by those clamoring for her attention. It was rather frustrating, but she knew it wasn't his fault. The boy hadn't forced her to act in her own defense, and at least with her knowledge of how the Hogwarts rumor mill worked, everything would die down by the weekend, and she would be able to find him and finally ask for more particulars regarding the Arcane.

So it was with a sigh that she gave up the attempts to meet with Harry around lunch of the first day, and attempted to actually enjoy being a positive center of attention among the student body for a change.

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Nobu'tan was quite enjoying the view of Miss Granger's rather annoying predicament, she being the sole focus of the school rather than him for a change, as it allowed him a level of anonymity that was as of yet unprecedented since he arrived back in this world. Even better than that, he was able to move about unobserved even by some of the staff, which was put to use in investigating the old attack sites of the previous victims of the unknown creature.

He had already investigated the area where the young Gryffindor first year had been attacked, and found nothing new, but did acquire another shard of magic crystal to go with the first that he gave Dumbledore, this time for himself to hang on to. He was just about to arrive outside the second floor girl's bathroom and investigate where the cat was attacked, when he heard the angry wheeze of the school caretaker, moments before the man angrily brushed past him, muttering to himself about muck and filth and his hatred of the school poltergeist, which was promptly ignored by the young warlock as he continued to the area of the red letters written on the wall, which still shone brightly despite the cantankerous old man's attempted to clean them off.

There was a familiar level of water on the floor again, and Nobu'tan decided to hold off performing fel magic in a public corridor where anyone could wander in on him, and investigate Moaning Myrtle, the school ghost that haunted that particular bathroom.

Upon entered the bathroom, the sound of the ghost's weeping was immediately apparent, as well as the source of the water, as all the taps had been turned at once, causing quite the flood to begin all over the room. A couple of wand waves later, and the flooding had stopped, leaving the floor sopping wet but eventually would dry out, and what looked like some sort of small black book lying innocently on the floor.

What was strange, however, was that, while the floor it was laying on was soaked through, the book itself was as dry as charred wood after a fire. Curious, Nobu'tan stooped to pick up the small book, when he felt a powerful and intensely dark magical aura pouring off the book, like tendrils of magic trying to coax the young warlock toward it. It was also a drastically familiar bit of magic, quite like that he had place into his crystals for study, retrieved from the previous sites of the attacks.

So either the attacker had this book in their possession, or this little innocent looking book was indeed related heavily to the unknown creature that had attacked the cat, ghost, and student. Now aware of the book's true nature, Nobu'tan had no qualms about seizing the little book and hefting it with ease. Casually rolling it over in his hand, the orc raised human read the name inscribed in gold upon the spine. 'T. M. Riddle,' it was a curious name, not one that Nobu'tan was aware of, but he wanted desperately to study this book and how it was related to the attacks. Flipping it open, he frowned as he uncovered that every page was blank.

"Interesting," he said aloud, before pocketing the book and turning to leave without bothering to continue his investigation of the site. He had acquired something of far greater worth toward solving this mystery, an actual clue that he intended to force into helping him. It was nearly the weekend, so he would soon have time enough for it, so until then he merely locked the little book away at the very bottom of his trunk, piled under everything else just in case someone went snooping through that which didn't belong to them. And he couldn't blame someone for trying, it's not like he hadn't done so already with every one of his dorm mates, finding them as boring and bookish as the stereotype claimed Ravenclaws to be.

Unfortunately, someone trying to sift through his possessions would be caught unaware by the fel curses that would take effect immediately, wracking the person in pure agony and blasting them well away. So far none had attempted, therefore none knew of that feature…

After bearing through another day and a half of classes, it was finally the weekend, and Nobu'tan happily went to the tower to recover the book, as well as several other items to go with his normal bout of inscription and alchemical activities. Thankfully, the others in his House just figured he was eccentrically studying, much like the rest of them, but more of a practical means rather than the book laden theory that they were primarily obsessed with, which suited him just fine.

Arriving in the dungeons, where he normally did all of his extracurricular activities, Nobu'tan quickly darted through the tunnels to an unused section far in the back, where no one commonly went, and secured himself in an old lockable classroom, before setting up his cauldron and inking sets, the vials and herbs that normally he would be using for his potions and elixirs, and waited for Professor Snape to arrive as per their usual arrangement. The man had shown genuine interest in the arts that Nobu'tan had taken from Azeroth, and even if he was secretly spying for Dumbledore, the man was an academic at heart, and truly appreciated the delicacy that Nobu'tan took in these activities first hand, so the warlock continued to allow the man to observe as he honed his skills. Meanwhile, he pulled out a runed copper rod, and several bags of magical residue, as well as the small book with Riddle's name on it. It was time to discover what exactly it was.