8. Alastair takes a year off. Part 2

When I found the majestic and flowing waterfall in the Catskill Mountains I knew I had found the right place for my first hidden laboratory.

Almost as it was calling to me, or I was calling to it, as I had always liked waterfalls.

After learning how to build a pool I finally had a use for the digging spell once more. I took off all my clothes except my underwear and I used it to dig a hole in the wall of the mountain that the waterfall was cascading off of.

This would keep my newly carved cave hidden by the waterfall, but the real way it was hidden was having my house elf make the cave unplottable and set up some muggle repelling wards around it.

The reason I built it this way, was I had always wanted to build my own hidden place behind a waterfall, ever since I saw it done once in a television show, in fact when I came upon most waterfalls, if I was able to, I always checked to see if they had a hidden entrance behind them.

Once that was done, I had my house elf store the dirt somewhere he would remember, if I ever needed it.

Now that I had carved a nice roomy, large and vast, cave abode for myself, it was time to decorate and furnish it, then to set up the equipment I would need for my expirements. Then I would have myself or my house elf cast any more spells, I needed, for my safety or too keep my location hidden and too keep away any magical spying, such as the magic spell of scrying someone's location, which as such also showed a real time image of what they were doing.

My family as an Ancient and most Noble House had protections for this on all their properties, so all I had to do was find the magic to set up these protections, which I had done before this "vacation" started. Any magic that I may have overlooked I could just call for my house elf to get, or find.

During the expirements though I would make sure no one was there or watching, even my house elf.

It would be alot easier if I could cast the "Fidelus". That spell had its own limitations too though, like needing a secret keeper, and it couldn't be a house elf who was ordered to keep the secret. Though I wonder if it could be a house elf that wasn't ordered to keep the secret, or if I could oblivate the secret keeper.

I had practiced the oblivate spell alot, because I knew I would have many secrets that I would need kept, and some people might stumble upon them, especially my house elves. So after I taught them to swim I would wait awhile to make sure their gratefullness and loyalty set in, although I needn't really, but I wanted to be careful, I then asked them if I could ever oblivate them if I ever felt the need to, and like most house elves would, they instantly agreed.

For now I got to work on setting up my cave abode the first thing was the cave walls, they were bleak and drab. So with some help from my house elf I permanently transfigured the cave walls to look like sparkling crystal clear walls made up of actual see through crystals, which had the same effect as a two way mirror, I could see out of the cave, but any one outside the cave wall would see a normal rock wall.

Except for myself I could see inside of the cave, when standing outside, as some of my more volatile expirements could collapse the cave, so I felt it safer to activate those experiments once I was at a safe distance.

The next was to line it with artistic tapestries, displaying majestic dragons, wonders from all over the world, displays of amazing magics, and all of the tapestries could be used as interactive screens to be used as a television, security or spying monitors or a pensive. They also acted as curtains, but they were designed to become see through whenever I needed by tapping on any tapestry in a specific pattern.

House Elf Magic was incredible, it seems like the fact that they were able to help set up a house or use magic to guard a house was a fact that wizards had overlooked, or was hidden from most, or just lost in history. They were only able to set up simple wards like the muggle repelling wards, making a location unplottable, and some other small wards. When I asked how they knew to do this I was told that all house elves knew how to do certain things instinctively from birth.

I wondered if they had inherited memories from their ancestors, so after asking my house elf many, many questions, I was sad to find out they did not have any inherited memories. This was just one more mystery of house elves that I was determined to figure out, in my future research or studies.

The way the were able to help build a house and design it was also amazing, almost like I was a scultpter and the house elf the chisel, or some combination of the two, as they brought my artistic artwork into being before me, from my mind to reality.

I knew house elves were handy little creatures of magic and often overlooked by wizards and witches, but this just made my plans of acquiring my own house elves, and in great number, more important to me and to make sure I implemented it sooner, rather than later.

Now that that was done I didn't want to waste too much time on furnishing it. So I split the cave into two areas, the front area which is; the living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, pool, hot-tub, library and entertainment room, with all the needed furnishings, such as; chair's, sofa's, bed's, reclining sofa and chair's, shelf's and cabinet's.

Then in the back, hidden by a bookshelf, was the second area which was slanted downward, like a ramp, till it levels out into a vast and large sized room for my laboratory for all the expirement's I had planned.

I then had my house elf bring in all the equipment, supplies and materials for my expirements that I had bought, stole, made or otherwise acquired.

Since he was all done setting up, I then had my house elf set up the anti-spying and anti-scrying magic that I had researched and studied about earlier.

As soon as they were set up, my magic mirror communication device started ringing and vibrating, a simple enchantment I had my parents add.

I quickly answered it. "Mother, to what do I owe the pleasure for receiving your unexpected call?"

My mother answered shamelessly. "I was just using a spell to see how you were doing and weren't in any danger, but suddenly it was cut off, so I grew worried, and called you, to see if you were alright."

I grew irritated at that, and also knew my paranoia was starting to pay off. "Well as I always say, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!! To put it in more words than that, I had just built myself a nice house to rest in, and I set up some anti-spying and anti-scrying magic. Do you see how this worries me mother, my own parent or parents spying on me?"

I heard my father choking on his drink in the background, making it clear both my parents were watching or spying on me.

My mother ignored my father's undignified behavior, and answered me. "Ohhh, My Baby! He's all grown up!! Starting to rebel against his parent's!!!" My mother wailed.

Growing annoyed, I walked out if my cave abode. "Can you see me now mother, can you hear me? Also I am not rebelling or any such nonsense, I merely want some privacy, and I would thank you as my parents to respect my decisions. Now if there was nothing else, I will talk to you later, at our scheduled time when we regularly communicate, so as to reassure you and father that I am fine on my own."

My mother looked a bit sad, but then smiled a little. "Yes I can see you and hear you, and it's just you've grown up so fast, I remember it just like yesterday when I held you in my arms. Anyway just be careful, your father and I worry about you, and I'll talk to you at the regular time. I and your father give you our love, my son."

I responded. "Yes mother, and don't worry I'll be home a couple weeks before the start of my first year of school at Hogwarts, and thank you for worrying, but stop spying on me, or ask permission, or give me something that lets me know it's just you or dad looking in. Also I love you too father and Mother."

My mother then said one last thing. " Okay son, and that's a wonderful idea, I will have two rings made, one with your father and your names engraved, and one with mine and your name engraved. Then when we look in on you your father's will grow warm and glow so only you can see it, the color green. Mine will do much the same, except when it warms it will glow with a purple light only you can see, also it will feel like receiving a warm hug from me. I'll have a house elf deliver it, when it's done, Goodbye Son." Then my mother disconnected her mirror from mine.

After realizing my emulating "mad-eye moody" was paying off, I made sure I would yell CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Twice as many times from now on, Also when I got to school I should regularly check my food and drink and even the places I sit or lay my body down, for nefarious magic using some of the detection charms I had learned from my tutor.

I had been doing it at home ever since I learned them to get into the habit of it, but I should really look into if there is any magic to make myself immune to most if not all poison's.

I also wondered shortly if I should start yelling YOUTH!!! Before I quickly decided against it, unless it was for messing with people.

Tired from dealing with that, I sat down in a reclining chair, that was part of the furnishing of my cave abode, that I had done before, then I did some light reading.

I woke up to my house elf alerting me it was time for my nightly training, I got myself up, I used a "cheering" charm to fully wake myself up and started my hours long training and workout session, oh how I looked forward to the day I could invent some magic to do this for me, but for now I must do it myself. Though it is good mental training, but I honestly don't think I could do it without having started from childhood and magic also makes it a bit easier.

After I was done with my nightly workout, I relaxed in the pool for awhile, then got my nightly magic mirror communication from my mother and father. Then getting out of the pool, dried off, then I went to my bedroom layed down on my bed and went to sleep.

I woke up, did my morning workout, bathed, and relaxed in the tub, with a nice bubble bath. Then I dried off and got dressed and I was ready to start my expirements.

The first expirement, that I was doing, had to do with the massive amounts of blood that I had been storing for all these years. I had watched some anime and even read some fanfiction and with that knowledge, it gave me a chance to create something I wouldn't normally have been able to do till I was much older. So this experiment, if it succeeded, would only be able due to my past life's knowledge.

Although I was expecting some problems, after all in those fictional stories, which I happened to now know that fictional universe's existed, though it happened in a different universe, so they could have slightly or much more different rules.

Yet as they say "No risk, no reward" but with my magic I could minimize, most if not all of, the risks.