Chapter 104: Home Sweet Home
As Oz felt a wave of nausea pass over himself he opened his eyes to a familiar rock formation. Looking around he could see fields of green spreading out and a light wind tickling his face. To his right was Alfreda who had just let go of his hands. He had already made it back home.
"Right this way master~".
Alfreda snapped her fingers and the pathway down into Merlin's hideout presented itself. She lead him forward and as he reached the bottom of the spiral staircase down they found themselves at the door.
"If I recall Alfreda, this door required me and my dragon blood to open... How have you usually been getting in and out?".
"Well Merlin had to give me permissions in some places didn't he? This door also recognises me as someone who can enter as well as people of Merlin's blood. The only door he completely barred from me was that so-called ritual room you were so pleased to see~".
Alfreda walked up to the door and put her hand on it. The door glowed a dull purple as it opened allowing the duo in. As Oz entered he looked around the hideout with a smile on his face. It appeared the exact same as he left it.
"You've done well in keeping this place nice and fresh Alfreda. Thank you for that".
"No problem master... On the table is a cup of tea prepared for you~".
Looking over to the table Oz saw a hot cup of tea awaiting him. Looking at this he let out a chuckle as he sat down at the table.
"I thought you were kidding about this when we talked in my dorm at Hogwarts... Sure enough you actually did have a cup ready".
"Well I thought after all you've been through this year a bit of service was necessary. I mean slaying a basilisk and destroying those 'horcrux' things... It seems you haven't had much of a break".
"I've had more time to relax than you think Alfreda after all that happened at the beginning of the year... Thank you though for this".
Oz drank his tea as he relaxed in his chair. He noted that the fragrance of the tea was especially rich. Alfreda must have gone out of her way to prepare him the best tea she could. Alfreda proceeded to clean some other areas of the main room before sitting herself at the table with Oz. As she sat down however Oz heard a clattering from the other side of the hideout. Alfreda looked towards the noise and smiled.
"She must have been asleep... Took her long enough to notice~".
Barging into the room was Norberta who had her eyes locked onto Oz. Oz couldn't believe for a second how much she had grown. When he left her here she was already getting bigger however when he left she was only the size of a dog. Now however she was actually having trouble getting through into the main room, hence the clattering sounds she left in her wake.
The dragon didn't let out a single noise as it clawed its way carefully through the room to the table Oz was sat at. As she finally got close to Oz her wings wrapped around him bringing him into her embrace. The dragon stayed silent which spoke volumes to Oz. As Oz began to speak he felt his blood heat up in the presence of a dragon.
{It's been long hasn't it Norberta? I'm glad to see you're doing well...}.
Norberta hugged him tighter as Alfreda watched on with a light smile. In this moment for Oz a slight wave of emotion over himself, something he wouldn't usually feel. Looking at both Norberta and Alfreda along with the hideout he was in he felt like this place was truly a home for him. Something he didn't have in either of his lives.
"It feels like I'm finally home...".
Norberta backed off from Oz as she put on a tough face. Her expression switched from happiness to slight disapproval as she growled at Oz.
"Oz... Stupid...".
Oz's eyes widened as he heard Norberta speak English. He looked over to Alfreda who had her hand to her mouth covering herself chuckling. Norberta seemed to be relishing in Oz's surprise as she puffed her chest out before Oz.
"Seems you've taught her a few things in my absence".
Alfreda stood up and walked over to Norberta stroking her wings. Both of them smiled at Oz who was sat down with his tea.
"We thought we'd try and surprise you... Didn't we Norberta?".
Norberta nodded her head as she looked over to Oz.
"Yes... Oz... did we... Surprise?".
As Oz turned to Norberta he found his blood heat up again.
{You certainly did surprise me...}
Oz sat back after speaking in dragon-tongue feeling a wave of annoyance at his blood. When he was trying to activate it wilfully at school it never played well with him however in the presence of Norberta, a dragon, it seemed to obey willingly. Oz sighed as he noted that this was probably something he wouldn't be able to solve anytime soon.
Norberta and Alfreda both sat down with Oz as they began to chat about the year without him. Alfreda explained her misadventures whenever she went out shopping along with how she met a certain house-elf at the beginning of the year as Oz went to Hogwarts. Hearing this scenario that went down Oz realised why he never saw Dobby in the year that had passed. Norberta then butted in explaining what happened with her in the year passed going into how she has grown stronger and soon feels she will be able to speak fluent English. Hearing the little dragon now grown up so proud of herself Oz stroked her head giving a her a kind smile as he did so.
Oz then went on to explain his year in more detail than he did in the letter. From Lockhart to Basilisks to Horcruxes his story weaved a tale that Norberta and even Alfreda at times were shocked about. As the story concluded on a good note both Alfreda and Norberta seemed happy and calm knowing that despite everything their 'papa' and 'master' had pulled through.
"That Lockhart fellow seems like quite the character... he was the one doing the book signing at the beginning of the year right? I wonder if he's still a teacher at the school now~".
Oz thought back to the canon in which Lockhart was openly exposed for his misdeeds along with also being obliviated by Ron's wand. This time around Lockhart was still around however his 'misdeeds' were actually exposed near the end of the year by certain aurors who came to the school in the wake of Craig's death. As they searched around the school and especially the teachers they found damning evidence convicting Lockhart of fraud within his study. Lockhart who was completely out of the loop didn't realise the aurors arrival and when they burst into the room he had no chance to destroy any evidence he had of being a fraud. The man apparently tried to escape however he was immediately apprehended and put through a trial. Along with a hefty fine he had to admit to the public about his misdeeds before a stint in a wizarding jail for several years. Oz was sad he couldn't get to witness these events first hand however hearing this scenario happen was enough to give him a laugh.
"I believe he's been apprehended for his misdeeds now Alfreda and a shame too... Although I'd usually be angry at such a useless person it was still interesting to watch him spin a story and spout nonsense".
Alfreda giggled as she thought back to Oz's story of his first lesson with the fraud. The teacher explained that falling to the floor passed out was actually a technique to shut down all senses and that he had done it too well. Such bull-shittery was impressive truly in its own right.
{What about that ghost Oz? Helena wasn't it? Did you ever tell her about the diadem being destroyed}.
As Oz heard Norberta's question he felt himself pause for a second. He actually never went back to Helena even after destroying the diadem. He was too preoccupied on other things that he just kept pushing it to the back of his mind. Near the end of the year though on one of the final days he found Luna and asked her to pass on a message to the grey lady saying 'I've found and destroyed the item'. Oz didn't know if Luna had passed the message on before the end of the year or not so he had no clue whether Helena knew about the diadems current situation. He wasn't worried about it though as he knew that Helena wanted this situation anyway, for her mothers diadem to be destroyed and ridded of the dark magic that it was plagued with.
{Someone who I know in Ravenclaw, I gave her the message to pass on to Helena. She should know about what happened in the end}.
Oz looked over to Alfreda who seemed to still understand the conversation despite them speaking in dragon-tongue from time to time.
"Alfreda can you understand me and Norberta when we talk like that?".
"Much like Norberta's broken English I can pick out bits and pieces... If you've seen as many dragons as I have in one life then you start to pick up certain 'words' and 'phrases' despite not ever being able to speak the tongue~".
Oz looked towards Alfreda with praise in his eyes. She truly lived up to her title as an ancient elf.
"Anyway master, what's your plan from now on? Are we to head from Romania as soon as possible?".
Hearing the word 'Romania' made Norberta shrink back a bit as she understood that Oz planned to allow her into the wild there. She knew herself that she needed to be in the wild too however she still wanted to be with Oz and Alfreda a bit longer before then. Oz noting that Norberta seemed reluctant to go so soon shook his head.
"No. I think we should spend a few weeks here preparing first. I have a few things to sort out before we leave anyway... besides it'd be cruel to instantly take Norberta back after I've just returned".
Oz stroked Norberta with a warm smile on his face as he reassured her he wouldn't take her back for a while yet. The dragons mood improved as she hugged Oz back. Alfreda looked towards her master with a curious gaze.
"Oh? So what are we to do in the coming weeks then master~".
"This journey we will go on will be a long one Alfreda... We need to be prepared as possible. Whilst it seems like this journey will be a nice holiday I sadly don't think that will be the case... Voldemort and his death eaters will probably be trying to track me down during next year".
"So there's two main things on the agenda along with a bunch of little things... First I'd like to make clothing that is enchanted with protective wards etc that will allow both me and you to stay safe on our travels... I plan on sourcing the clothing from Twilfitt and Tattin-".
"Master how about you allow me to make the clothing? I'm quite proficient in making clothes~".
Once again revelling in the gem that was Alfreda, Oz couldn't help but grin.
"That'd be great. I'll leave it up to you for the design and what to do... My only request is that you make sure to make a hood/cloak that can hide our faces if need be".
"It shall be done master~".
Alfreda showed her sincerity by bowing to Oz as she accepted Oz's request.
"Along with that Alfreda I'll give you a list of things that we will need from diagon alley on our travels. Provisions and such that will all be stored in my pouch. You should also get yourself a pouch that has an extension charm so as to carry supplies for yourself too".
"As for the other main thing I plan on creating another product under my enchanter alias 'Lee Oswald'. This project may take me some time but when its done not only will it revolutionise the wizarding community it will rake in much more money for my future endeavours. I'll include in the list of items the stuff I'll need as well for that project".
Alfreda nodded along with Oz's request and felt a bout of curiosity as to what her master was planning to make. She had heard whenever she ventured into Diagon Alley the praise for the Health Specs he had made prior. If this product was to be as popular as that then they'd find themselves rolling in cash.
"When the product is done I'll license it under Gringotts... They owe me after fucking me over so I'll be able to get a better deal than last time. Finally I'm gonna need containers in which I'll store all the materials I've collected up to this point for the Ambrosius ritual. I'll be leaving all these things in the ritual room as we travel considering its probably the safest place possible...".
With all the plans laid out Oz stood up from his seat and walked over to Alfreda.
"When all of this is done we will make our trip to Romania and then into the world... I hope you can accompany well throughout then Alfreda".
"Of course master~".
Smiling at Alfreda and Norberta Oz thought about his plans that were coming. The main scheme he wanted to perfect before leaving was his new product and unveiling said product as 'Lee Oswald'. The reason why he wanted to do this was so he had an identity whilst travelling around the world.
'Oz Ambrosius' the genius student would be able to enter into all the schools around the world as 'Hogwarts Representative' whereas 'Lee Oswald' the master enchanter would be welcome into magical communities across the globe along with the products and help he had to offer. Oz did play with the idea of revealing himself Lee Oswald out the gate however some places, specifically magical governments around the world may still see him as a 'kid' looking from the outside in regardless of his talent in creating products and such. Crafting the persona of 'Lee Oswald' would allow all these barriers to be crossed easily and in tangent with Alfreda's powerful transfiguration magic he would be able to disguise himself much more proficiently than most wizards would be able to recognise in this day and age.
The main step before all this though was to show 'Lee Oswald' to the world and give the public a face to recognise.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BoiGeorge
BoiGeorge What do you all think the product Oz is going to make now is? Will it be better than the health specs he initially created?
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