Chapter 108
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Chapter 83- Need Directions?
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Riddle had just commenced the attack... on himself.
"Protego!"
It surprises the fuck out of me because that was the last thing I was expecting. I wasn't even expecting it; I thought he was about to attack me or, at the very least, do a kamikaze attack. But no, He just straight up sent a spell in front of the body he is possessing to blow it up. The moment Riddle raised his wand, I was already in motion, presuming he was going to attack. I was already casting the shield spell to protect myself.
Riddle was willing to sacrifice his pieces because those he was possessing were nothing more than pawns and were easily replaceable. He is making a point here, laughing evilly as he suicides the person he is wearing. Showing he is willing to do this and that if I continue to come after him, he will continue to suicide bomb his agents. Hell, maybe he will just start to kill students off one by one if I piss him off enough. Thankfully, tonight that isn't going to happen tonight.
The Protego I cast appears just in front of the student, between his body and the point explosion, and just in time as well as the explosion ensues, my shield just barely makes it in time. I am glad I took the focus potion as it allowed me to see what Voldemort was doing in time and transition from placing a shield in front of myself to placing it in front of the student. I am also glad I took the Maxima potion, as the move I made was very sudden, and the shield did not have time to fully form. It was only from the Maxima potion that my barely formed shield had enough power to protect the boy from the explosion, for all of two seconds, that is.
The shield shatters, and the student I was trying to save goes flying backwards like a ragdoll, consumed by the fiery conflagration of magic. I can only watch as the student's body skips along the floor before finally coming to a stop, leaving a trail of blood and flesh along the ground. I wait for something to happen, just keeping an eye on the body and then the surroundings in case he does have anyone else possessed, waiting to pop out. I don't think that is the case, however.
Tonight was purely about sending a message to me to get me to stop coming after him. If I do, more students are going to keep spontaneously combusting, and at that point, things will have gone too far for me to justify doing this all on my lonesome as some kind of self-validation of my existence. I thought I was just dealing with Tom Riddle. The Tom Riddle that had accidentally killed Moaning Myrtle and decided to not let the death go to waste and made his first Horcrux.
I thought I was dealing with the Tom Riddle that only petrified students and didn't actually kill anyone, only trying to kill Ginny and Harry at the very end. Not whoever this was. A sudden sputtering chuckling intermixed with gasps and chokes sounds out in the hall, the evil laugh sending shivers down my spine. I look around frantically, my eyes shuttling around the place, trying to identify the source of the laughter before I see a spray of blood leave the mouth of the corpse on the ground as well as hear a choke in the laughter, and my mind puts it together.
I walk hesitantly towards the body, leaking lifeblood profusely, my wand at the ready even though the body is in no condition to do anything. I had assumed that the protection I tried to give the student was a little too late, and they had died, in which case Tom Riddle is now puppeting a corpse, which means there might actually be no loss for him if he starts sacrificing his agents. I get as close as I am comfortable, not willing to risk getting closer and the body exploding once more as a final fuck you.
I stare down at the body, legs blown off below the knees, the power of the explosion such that even through the temporary barrier, they were taken off, and looking around, I can't spot them, so they must have been blown to pieces. I can't even identify much of anything anymore, though the kid does still have his arms, but just barely, one of them only hanging on by some loose stringy flesh that was proving to be resistant. Of course, all of that proved to be less off-putting than the one red eye still on the body and the fully exposed teeth that were juddering up and down in laughter as the lower jaws' flesh was singed off in the explosion.
"Excellent work, Lockheart. You managed to save this one, but just barely. It is truly a shame you refused to work for me and condemned yourself to execution. But it is too late to regret now." He talks, the voice raspy and filled with fluid, but not stopping for even a second, uncaring of the damage being done to the throat of the student. Even though the entire eye is red, with the other being non-existent currently, I can tell the pupil is fixed on me with glee in the eye. I can't even say anything in reply, so horrified by the talking carcass in front of me.
"Don't come after me again and patiently wait for death, or more of the students will find themselves in similar situations. Oh, and before I go, tell Dumbledore or anyone else about me and lots of students will start popping like grapes. And if that isn't enough to dissuade you, my new like-minded friend, then perhaps your employee's lives might. It is a true shame that a daughter of the Black family has fallen low enough to lay with filth." Hearing the threat against Andromeda, all other emotions except anger disappear, and I feel like blowing him up but restrain myself from doing so as it wouldn't actually achieve anything except blowing up a student.
I watch as a diary page slithers out from behind the damaged body and then floats up into the air, mockingly slow, drifting forward to levitate in front of me in clear disrespect and humiliation. I can't do anything, simply staying still with a blank face as it looks me in the eyes and then turns around, flying off into the distance, and I have to let it go. For now, that is because I am not the kind of man to let threats go unanswered, but I am also not the kind of man who rushes headfirst into danger without a plan... anymore.
First things first, I have to confirm Andromeda's safety as well as Nym's and make sure Voldemort can't get to them, and only after that can I figure a way out to try and work against Voldemort without revealing myself and without letting the students suicide bomb me. It would be so much easier if I could just get help and go to Dumbledore, but that is no longer an option.
Dumbledore would definitely prioritise the lives of the students as much as possible before taking action, and I don't have time for that; I need to start collecting those pages, and I am willing to risk their lives. Some of them may die, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make. I cannot allow Tom Riddle to gain any more power, and he has made it clear that he is going to try and kill me. It is either me or him now, and I'm not about to go quietly into the night.
A groan of pain wakes me up to reality, and I look at the student on the floor with caution before remembering that Riddle said I had barely saved the student. Seeing that my efforts did not go to waste, I quickly got to work, casting a spell on the dying Hufflepuff student: "Immobulus." And with that, the student is slowed. This is not usually a charm used for treatment and care; it is generally used in combat, but it is effective nonetheless.
With this, the student's death is delayed as he is slowed down entirely, keeping his heart slowly pumping and his blood still inside his body. I go to levitate the boy but realise an issue and also cast a Petrificus Totalus to lock him in place as some of him is in precarious positions, and if I just lifted him up, then surely some of him would just fall off like sloppy playdoh. I made sure the Diadem cage was coming with me, and with that, I levitated him and started to move towards the infirmary to get him treated. Fast is smooth, and smooth is fast.
At this point, I am sure the explosion must have been heard by some portraits or something magical and has alerted the authorities; some teachers are probably already on the way. This means I have an excuse to be here, and I would rather it be an injured student found than a dead student. Students get injured all the time in Hogwarts, some fools even trying to separate and splinching themselves, cutting off limbs. This kid should recover just fine if he makes it to Madam Pomfrey in time. Which I am working on.
I am soon blasting open the doors to the medical wing, levitating the student in as Madam Pomfrey bursts out of her quarters, looking frantic at the sight of the kid I am carrying in. "Merling, what happened?" She says, quickly taking control with her wand and levitating the boy over to a nearby bed; I follow as she draws the curtains around him for privacy and to not wake the others who are injured and sleeping. She already sets about working on him, undoing my spells and starting to do her own, swishing her wand this way and that, calling things over from various points of the room as she also casts spells.
"I don't quite know what happened. I heard a loud, explosive sound and quickly rushed to investigate, finding this boy at the site of it. He was already like this, so I slowed him down and froze him to bring him here. I can only assume he snuck out and was experimenting with magic because I saw no one else in the vicinity." I explained, Madam Pomfrey nodding along.
"It is a good thing you applied the spells. While not strictly medical spells, they did the job and preserved the child's life. Well done, Gilderoy. You ensured this boy would live." She looks at me and smiles, but I just grimly nod my head back, not in the mood for compliments at the moment, as bigger things are on my mind. "Honestly, all these boys are the same. Hurting themselves and relying on me to save them from their stupidity. You can go now, Filderoy. I'll make sure the child is alright." I need no further prodding and swiftly leave.
Finding a secluded spot in the Hogwarts halls, I once more cast a spell on the Diadem, and a trail appeared, showing Riddle is still active and working, not hiding away like yesterday. I could follow this trail right now and try to get a page, but that would be the height of foolishness. Preparation is needed here, and once that is done, victory will be on the way.
I stop the spell and go towards my room, ready to plan and get some rest. Voldemort may have won this battle, but I am going to wipe my ass with that fucking diary.
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The next day, the boy wasn't even mentioned by anyone. A few of the Hufflepuffs were talking about it at their table, expressing concern for their friend, but that was about it. There were no teacher's announcements or anything; things were proceeding as normal. It really was just another normal day when a student seriously injures themselves, no one really caring when the injured party gets to medical help quickly enough because they are then guaranteed a full recovery. Magic really fucks with people's common sense.
With that no longer a concern, I can focus on trying to figure out a game plan to deal with Riddle and all of the obstacles he has put in my path. First of all, I need to work on my stealth. If Riddle is going to start exploding students the second he catches sight of me, then he can't catch sight of me. As far as he is concerned, everybody in this school is against him so it is feasible that someone else or perhaps Dumbledore is going after him. He won't be able to suspect me if I don't show myself. I hope.
Also, the stealth and techniques I am going to try to learn will be focused on quick and decisive action so I can capture the page before Riddle even knows what has happened. How I am going to do that, I don't know right now. I will have to research it. My stealth skills right now are only so much that I can hide myself and move around without being found. But with Riddle as my opponent, I have to take it further. Erase everything there is and... I can just take Harry's invisibility cloak. I am pretty sure the boy doesn't use it for anything this year, so I can just take it.
Who is he going to tell, the teachers? Hi Miss McGonagall, the invisibility cloak I use within the bounds of the school has gone missing. Yeah, that's not gonna fly. He can't tell anyone, and I don't think he knows Dumbledore is the one who gave him a gift for Christmas. So yeah, the cloak sorts that problem for me. I just have to find an opportunity to get it from him. And now that I see stealing from students as a good option, why stop there? I can get something else that will help me out a lot for the rest of the year.
In my class for fourth-year Slytherin and Gryffindor students, I was planning on doing the same thing I did last time. I framed Harry Potter for pranking Draco Malfoy and got him a detention so I could take him to Salazar Slytherin's Scriptorium. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, so I planned to use the same method once again. Except, my targets this time made sure I didn't have to. They are who they are, after all.
The whole class was laughing as all of the Slytherin students who all decided to sit on the right of the classroom were suddenly given afros and fu manchus along with mime outfits, the Gryffindors laughing uproariously at them. I knew exactly who did this, and they just played right into my hand. "Both Misters Weasley. Come up here right now with your bags." The class quietened down as the twins both came up to the desk, both still smiling like nothing could hurt them. Well, I was definitely about to.
"Of course, sir." I had them both put their bags on the table and even when I began to search through their bags, they both kept their sly grins on, not panicking in the slightest. I wasn't planning on catching them anyway, and that's not only because they have been doing this shit long enough to know how to get away with it. It's because they are both quite good entertainment as well, but all the merryness on their faces drops when I grab onto some folded-up parchment and start to unfold it.
"And what's this, then?" I ask them, knowing exactly what it is. They both exchange a glance with each other very fast before looking at me and shrugging their shoulders. "Just some blank parchment, sir." They both say at once, but obviously, I am not going to accept that, am I? I searched through both their entire bags, and this was the only old parchment that was folded.
I slyly released my wand from the wand holder on my wrist while my hand was in the bag, and with a quick spell, I confirmed that this parchment had a lot of magic on it. This was the Marauders Map. Something I need for the rest of the year. I look at both of them and they just smile back, so I do the same. "This is much too old to be of any use, and no teacher will accept assignments on it, so it is going in the bin. Now, back to your seats." And then I drop it into the bin beside my desk.
"B-But—We need that!" They try to get it back, but I don't let them. "Back to your seats, now." With that, they both trudge back to their seats, and I know they are already planning to come back after class to retrieve the map from the bin. Too bad for them; it won't be there when they look.
Papa needs an omniscient map more than you boys.
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Going back to university on Tuesday, wish me to look in my endeavours. Other than I don't really have a lot going on; I'm mostly just trying to focus on the gym. I go three times a week, and I think I'm losing weight and building muscle. I hope. Check in with me in a few months and I'll tell you if I've actually gotten healthier or not.
Upcoming Chapters:
Hero: Chapter 84- Guerilla Warfare.
Super: Chapter 86- Paperwork.
Legendary: Chapter 88- Doo Do Doo Do Doo Inspector Harry!
Galactic: Chapter 92- Frozen Water.
Mythic: Chapter 93- Threats, Taunts and Spiders.
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That is all for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will see you in the next one!
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