A Deeper Connection: A New Beginning

A Deeper Connection - Part II

After a rather quiet weekend, Tom almost looked forward to the next confrontation with Dumbledore. He had a rather good idea what was going to happen and was curious if his predictions were correct.

"How do I look?" Tom asked while checking his appearance in the Conjured mirror in the living room, "do you think Dumbledore will like my new outfit? I know it is quite different from the usual Tarantula silk, but everyone needs a make-over once in awhile."

While Severus was pinching the bridge of his nose, Harry laughed, "I think the old fool will love your Star Wars jumper. Maybe, his new robes will soon be covered with images of Master Yoda. Lemon drops you must have, my young Padawan."

"I think we should leave now," Severus sighed, rolling his eyes, clearly having had enough of the bickering. Lighting up the fireplace with a flick of his wand, the Potions Master soon disappeared in an inferno of green flames.

Once they stepped out of Severus' private quarters, Hogwarts was eerily quiet. Without the students there, the magic of the castle appeared to be even more vulnerable and drained than during the school year. Hopefully, this would soon be rectified once the Goblins had strengthened the wards, although the Dark Lord doubted that this would be enough after decades of continuous depletion of the castle's ancient magic.

On their way to the great Hall, Harry did his best at being a guide, while an seemingly awestruck Tom was busy taking in all the little details of the magnificent castle. Unsurprisingly, they stopped quite a few times to observe some of the moving portraits and landscape paintings, suits of armour, to greet the Fat Friar, and to point out the entrance to the kitchens.

When they finally entered the Entrance Hall, they were already awaited. Given that her expression was neither primmer nor severer than usual, the Dark Lord was rather sure that Dumbledore had not shared his suspicions with the Deputy Headmistress. The curt but not unfriendly greeting moments later supported his hypothesis. Also, the fact that she did not react to his exterior, despite being familiar with his younger self, spoke volumes. Still, the fact that he was standing next to Severus probably had a lot to do with it.

After expressing her surprise at the discovery of Severus' cousin twice removed and the fact that the Potions Master had taken over the mantle of the Prince estate, the procedure of the evaluation was explained. Basically, Thomas would be tested in all mandatory classes by the specific members of the faculty. While the test would not be as thorough as the regular exams, they would cover both theoretical and practical aspects of the specific classes.

"Mister Prince, please follow me," Professor McGonagall instructed him once she had finished her explanation of the proceedings.

Inside the Great Hall, most teachers were already waiting. The merry Professor Flitwick was listening to Bridget Hawthorne's latest journey to Tierra del Fuego. There, she was examining an ancient ritual site which had been discovered on land recently acquired by Lord Magellan. The Magellan line could be traced back directly to the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the first European explorer who had sailed around the southern end of the South American continent, trying to find a westward route to India and the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. When Ferdinand Magellan, who did not possess an ounce of magic despite his seemingly magical talent at navigation, left Tierra del Fuego to sail westwards, he left behind his name and a child. Contrary to the explorer's knowledge, the mother of his child was not an ordinary woman. She was a witch and a seer, who, according to legend, was cursed and shunned by her own people, the Selk'nam tribe. Therefore, the seer had waited her entire life for men from far across the sea to gift her with a child. Nine months after the departure of the Portuguese, Temáukel Magellan was born, the promise of change blooming on the horizon. The Halfblood son of the Portuguese explorer discovered that the mountains of the archipelago were full of iron. In an ingenious move, Temáukel had acquired the mountainous land with a Gringotts credit only to sell the mining rights straight back to the Goblins, making the Magellan estate one of the richest within the entirety of South America overnight, something they had maintained until the present day. Since the area was heavily warded, the Muggles remained oblivious to the vast mineral deposits of Tierra del Fuego. From what Tom had overheard, the current Lord Magellan had personally assigned the British historian. The fact that the wealthy Lord had waited more than three months for the school year to finish instead of opting for another available historian once again underlined Bridget Hawthorne's standing within her line of work throughout the international Wizarding community, especially since Lord Magellan was not the only one who had enquired for the service of the Historian. Apparently, she was fully booked for next year's summer holidays already. Meanwhile Professor Sprout and Professor Sinistra were inspecting some star charts scattered on a small table in front of the raised platform housing the staff table.