'Well, I'm finally back at school and shall I say, this break was legen-wait for it... DARY! Absolutely legendary! My father was able to help me fix up the Vanishing Cabinet, my mother took me shopping for all the young master type essentials, and that's not even the best part...'
'Kevin, blessed be his name, patron saint of all that is clickable had a very special present for me this year! As I've been a good boy, his words, not mine he opened up another section available on the pocket... SWEET SWEET DELICIOUS INTERNET!'
'And no, it's not the "super all-powerful akashic knows everything about everything" internet, just the "super all-powerful twenty-first century has all the anime and Netflix" type of internet. If what he says is true, it has everything up to the time I died before. It's got Youtube, Crunchyroll, Wikipedia, and even Google-sama. All I could ever need really! Now Aurora and I can start brainstorming on where to go after this world. Plus, all the great ideas for magic artifacts and books on modern science. My use of Arc of Embodiment can take a huge step forward now that we've got knowledge of mineral and material composition!'
'At least now when I'm bored in History of Magic I can throw on a few episodes of Ruroni Kenshin.'
*******
'Aurora, it's been over a month since we've been back and it's finally completed! Muahaha!'
'Congratulations Boss! Now our jobs will be a whole lot easier!'
'Mmmm yes! Now let's test it out!'
"I solemnly swear, I'm up to no good!" exclaims Lucien as a map starts to appear on the spare piece of parchment in front of him.
'Perfect!' thinks Lucien as he checks for names on the map. 'Dumbledore is in his office with Professor Merrythought, Head Master Dippet doesn't seem to be in the castle, and Riddle and his posse are in the Slytherin Common room.'
'Works like a charm Aurora! Once I create myself an invisibility cloak, I can begin some real reconnaissance. Timeline disfigurement or not, I have the hardest time believing he's not a bad apple. And the way he looks at me in passing, it's like I'm the fresh meat in a yuri novel. Nope! Not for me! No siree bob!'
*******
As the school year moved forward, Lucien continued to impress his professors, and with the acclaim comes extra work.
Between his acquisition of knowledge and magical practice, both in the realm and the Room of Requirement, Lucien hasn't had much time to pursue Tom or work on his other plans.
'Ugh! This is maddening, enough is enough!' thinks Lucien as he flops down onto his bed. The black circles under his eyes becoming more visible by the day.
"Aurora, please put together an optimized schedule for me, and please take full advantage of the time dilation provided by the realm. As of now, we don't have enough time in the day to continue our plans, play detective, and take much-needed rest."
'I agree Boss! I've just pulled together your daily schedule and broke it down into a manageable timetable. Until we can figure out the enchantments done to the RoR and duplicate them in the realm itself, this is the best we can do.
Lucien looks at the schedule arranged by Aurora and nods his head in agreement.
'This will have to do at least until Tom is dealt with. Good job Aurora! I never thought of using the realm to sleep... with this I'll have almost double the time in the day. Now I can make use of the extra time to monitor the Riddle Gang and maybe even catch up on a few episodes of Castlevania...'
'Sir! That is not in the schedule! If you look toward the section for Sunday, you'll see I blocked off quite a bit of time for your "medicine" as you like to call it.'
'Fine, fine, have it your way... we'll use the time more appropriately,' concedes Lucien.
'On more inventions that is.... bacon gun, one day you will be mine'
*******
It's been a few weeks since Lucien revamped his schedule and everything has worked itself out pretty nicely. The extra time available did wonders for his non-existent social life, he was even roped into attending one of the Ravenclaw quidditch matches.
With most of the stress off of his shoulders, the improvements began to bleed their way into other aspects of his life. This new piece of mind brought him a sense of clarity when it came to practicing his new magic system. He even began to read in the library for enjoyment, not just to further is own goals and ambitions. His speed of creating artifacts increased as well with the injection of new modern knowledge and a better mindset. The timeframe to design and create his stealth technology was brought from two months down to two weeks.
'Da na na na na na na na, Da na na na na na na na... BATMAN!' hums Lucien in his mind. 'This utility belt was a great idea! There's a spot for my wand, smoke bombs, taser darts, blue Powerade, and even the turkey club I just snagged from the kitchen.'
*******
Around two months have passed since Lucien and the genie-wonder have started scheduled surveillance of Tommy and his harem. Not much has occurred other than regular meetups and the occasional rendezvous with some other students after hours. Recently, Tom's behavior has started to grow more sporadic, making more and more frequent trips to the library's restricted section.
'Aurora, what do you think he's been looking for? Even when we follow him we can't get close enough to see what books he's been looking at.'
'Hmm, I don't know Boss. I don't think that he's researching Horcruxes yet at least. He could be researching about his family and relation to Slytherin. According to your timeline, he shouldn't make his diary a Horcrux for another couple years,' replies Aurora.
'True, true, well let's see if we can figure anything out tonight. If not, I think we'll need to change our approach a bit. Following him around everywhere has given us nothing but more questions,' says Lucien as he stalks Riddle though the library.
Riddle stops at one of the dusty shelves, darkness encompassing the aisle save for the candlelight. Leatherbound tomes of assorted colors fill row after row of shelving. Books of various shapes and sizes stand out as light cascades across their spines.
Riddle removes a large brown book from one of the shelves and begins to scan its pages. At this, Lucien begins to inch closer so he can finally see what Tom has been reading. Minutes go by as he makes his way closer to Riddle and the candlelight.
Unfortunately for the detective duo, Tom had finished with his nightly reading by the time Lucien was close enough to make out anything but the title, "The Life and Times of Salazar Slytherin". Putting the book away, Riddle began his trek back to the dungeons with Lucien hot on his trail.
While walking through the dimly lit hallways, Lucien and Aurora discussed the night's findings and their first real clue. Slowing their pace, they begin to plan their next steps.
'Aurora, we need to find out what he's up to. I keep feeling like I'm missing something...'
'It's okay Boss! I know we'll figure it out eventually! Besides, after all this time we finally have a clue!' chimes the helpful genie.
'Ahh, you're right Aurora, we'll figure it out eventually. Let's head back to the dorms, it's been a long night.' announces Lucien turning the corner before his thoughts stop and everything goes black.