The Slytherin Magus

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a while, I hope you're all doing okay. Honestly, I have to admit that after taking a break due to having to move into a new apartment, I found it very hard to pick the story back up, I had to fight the urge to drop it.

I also want to inform the readers that the fic is drawing to a quick end because I prefer that to leaving it incomplete. After one last final fight, all that would be left is the mc's romantic life. If you would rather not be put through that, do comment your thoughts so that I would be spared the trouble and also be able to put my energies into beginning a new book.

Thanks to everyone who gave the book a chance, and thanks for reading.

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…  Albeline Manor…

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It was the night of the gala, Audric was already dressed up but he remained seated in his study, reading a book. He held no expectations of the event but he planned to carry the Abyss gem with him anyway, being prepared for everything never hurt.

A familiar knock alerted him to someone at the door of his study and he waited quietly, already knowing who it was. Ji-hun was prone to walking right inside his study, at least he remembered to knock this time.

"Is something the matte…" He started to ask only to look up from his book and find Ji-hun all dressed up. "Are you heading somewhere?"

"Yes, to the dinner party." He reached for his smoothened-back hair only to stop himself mid-way. "You mentioned that you were allowed to bring one other person with you."

Audric didn't even bother to argue, there was no use dissuading Ji-hun now that he was already dressed up. Besides, Ji-hun was the perfect deterrent against unwanted conversations. "Take a seat, we'll be leaving soon."

During the week, Audric had done a little research into the Roberts Mansion. If he would be attending a possibly dangerous event there, it was wise to scope out the place first. Like every other Wizarding home, there were wards placed all around the mansion. It was nowhere near the level of the Albeline Manor but it would have been a hassle to try to break into the mansion.

It was also relatively far from Slough, the Roberts Mansion that is. They would be apparating to the building.

When they arrived, the large stately building looked slightly different in the night time or maybe it was because celebrations were going on.

The front gardens which were openly visible as there were no outer walls around the property were brightly lit up, the main building itself was no different. It looked like there were many little suns all over the property, electricity was pretty awesome.

There were Wizards placed at the entrance of the walkway, the black-clothed Wizards struck Audric as hired hands and not people that worked for Rowan usually. For one, they looked out of their element amid swarming guests who were all fashionably dressed.

A number of people arrived in automobiles– it would seem that there were also Muggle guests amongst Majes, that didn't bode well. For an event that could very well go horribly wrong, inviting non-Majes wasn't a very smart move.

After handing his invitation card to the Wizards acting as bouncers at the entrance, Audric strode forward, Ji-hun close on his heels. They were relatively early to the event so the number of people arriving at the same time as them wasn't much.

Audric wanted to arrive early enough to scope the interior of the building, something he couldn't do when he came around earlier this week. There were uniformed waiters at the foyer of the mansion to direct guests to the ballroom where the gala would be held.

The rest of the mansion was off-bounds to the guests which was a rather smart move considering that Rowan was already battling a breach of his property. There were more well-positioned guards to make sure that no guest mistakenly wandered off, that wasn't stopping Audric though.

They were ushered into the ballroom, a spacious hall with gleaming marble floors that reflected the flickering light of the candles placed in the hundreds all over the large space. Audric was impressed, he had been expecting to see electricity and was caught off guard when the cause of the glow he had seen from outside the mansion was just the light from way too many candles.

Muted conversation flowed through the hall like the fine golden champagne in flute glasses. Pleasantries were being exchanged among the guests, soft music playing in the background to add to the ambience. There was a required time of attendance on the card so in less than 10 minutes, the hall would be completely filled.

Before that happened, Audric would check out the building. "Ji-hun, I need you to do a sweep of the ballroom, keep an eye on anyone that strikes you as suspicious and report to me after, I'll be gone for a bit."

Ji-hun quickly caught on, nodding to show his understanding. He watched as Master Albeline melded into the crowd with a slight furrow on his brow; he hadn't been expecting that they would be taking an active role in the investigations. He was well informed of the matter on hand and he had been expecting Master Albeline to lean back and observe.

Audric quickly passed through the crowd, picking up a flute of champagne to help him blend further in. It probably didn't work too well because he stuck out like a sore thumb, eliciting stares and gasps from people, mostly ladies as he passed by.

There was a door at the west end of the ballroom that led to the restrooms and that was Audric's current destination. It would be a little weird that a guest was already going to the bathroom so soon after arriving but they couldn't stop him.

Audric could feel eyes on him as he walked down the dimly lit hallway that led to the restrooms, the security positioned at the door had given him strange looks like he expected but they couldn't stop him. There were no rules against going to the restroom as soon as you arrived at a gala. He knew that their gazes would be sharp on him but he planned to circumvent that.

The hallway brought no opportunities, at the end of it, the hallway separated into two, men's restrooms on the right and women's to the left. The restrooms were the same and short of breaking down the wall or phasing through it, there was no sneaking into the rest of the mansion.

Audric was forced to return the way he came after rinsing off his hands in the restroom, spending the required time an average person would spend in a restroom. The way back finally provided the perfect escape, some female guest was making a fuss at the exit from the ballroom, distracting the guards long enough for him to sneak past them.

His luck must be really good tonight… Was what anyone would have thought but not Audric, it had been a little too easy for him to sneak into the mansion, almost like someone wanted him to. The mansion provided nothing new, only a few places were bustling, like the kitchens and the anterooms connected to it where the rest of the preparations were being made.

On his way back, he bumped into someone in the last corridor before the ballroom. Audric hesitated slightly, it was the last person he had been expecting to see.

"Hello." Roxana said in an odd tone, standing right in his path.

This forced Audric to come to a stop, this was rather awkward. "I went looking for the restroom and lost my way." He said blandly.

Roxana huffed out a laugh, forgetting to keep her solemn image. "At least put a little more effort into your lies." She spoke without thinking.

"Like you did?" Audric replied, his voice held no heat or spite.

Roxana flinched. "I was an awful person... I still am." She said seriously, squaring her shoulders.

Audric slipped his hands into the pockets of his pants. "At least you've got the balls to admit it. Well, I certainly wasn't trying to steal or sabotage you so you can let me go now." He pointed out, making a move to walk past her.

Roxana panicked at this. "Wait!" 

"Hmm?"

"I um… I know I was a terrible person but I didn't return your mother's necklace because of what the rumors said about you." She started off in a strong voice, looking him straight in the eye.

Audric stared back, his single blue eye held no emotion as he waited for her to complete her sentence.

"Honestly, I couldn't bloody care less, I just felt bad over using someone for the first time, it was an awful feeling, and holding onto the necklace felt like a noose around my neck. The situation was made worse with the audience but I couldn't bring myself to face you alone." She paused to take a deep breath. "You probably don't care and I don't expect you to, I simply cultivated the perfect image to give my dad the boost he needed in setting down roots in a strange place and I'm not ashamed of that."

Audric blinked. "Huh? Good for you. I have nothing to do with that though so…"

"Wait!" She stopped him again, wringing her gloved hands as she held back from latching onto him. "I know this is selfish of me but I have to ask you a favor." She bowed her head as she said this. "I need your help..."