[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
Third Person POV
Prince Manor.
...
...
"Are you planning to modify the basement, my nephew?" Alaric asked Severus as they entered the lowest part of the house, a large basement used as storage for various unused items and the pantry. Although no one from the Prince family ever came here, it was used by the house elves, who kept the place clean.
"I don't know if this would be ideal for setting up my potion factory... the location is too obvious... I think I should turn this place into something else..." Severus muttered, but looked at his great-uncle.
"I will modify the place, but the potion factory I mentioned will be somewhere else. Either way, I'll be working here now," Severus said, as the man nodded.
Without needing to be summoned, a shadow emerged from Severus' feet and began to grow beside him, taking shape with its red skin beneath the mage's cloak.
Soon, Kargalgan appeared, kneeling before Severus. If he could speak, his voice would sound something like, 'I am at your command, my sovereign.'
"I have some mastery of spatial magic, so I believe I'll need you for this," said the shadow, as it nodded.
"I want you to place a spatial expansion spell on this location. I'll accompany you," Severus said.
He knew a lot about teleportation, but this category within the school of space was his limit. Creating openings and spatial expansions was something he hadn't studied in depth, despite having some ability. What he planned required far more than that—when he had expanded the precise room space, it was the school itself, not him, who had done it.
The shaman quickly began to prepare the spell, drawing a circle with various symbols until choosing one. Severus promptly pointed his wand to amplify Kargalgan's spell, quickly understanding the nature of what was being created.
The space began to shift, while Alaric, already surprised to see the shadow working beside Severus, looked at the basement as the place started to change, expanding as if it were becoming larger and larger, accompanied by some tremors.
All the objects in the space remained unaltered in size and grew increasingly insignificant compared to the vast area emerging before them.
So, it was no surprise when the entire place became a grand hall of at least 200 square meters, without altering the ground outside the basement.
When it was done, Severus nodded in satisfaction at the dark hall. "Now it needs good lighting... and maybe even some pillars." He murmured, analyzing the place.
His gaze suddenly turned to his wand... Severus knew at that moment that, despite all his magical potential and having a vast arsenal of powerful lightning spells, he still had much to work on in magic.
He reflected, in that moment, on all his shortcomings. His magic was excellent, at the level of wizards... but he would need to become even more powerful...
Transfiguration: he had powerful skill with this magical school, yet lacked many abilities to create things that could truly change a war. He wanted to build the pillars himself and create a series of torches to light this room, but he couldn't do that with his current skills.
Not that he could learn this at Hogwarts, since it was far too limited. He could do anything the school could teach—he had already surpassed professors like McGonagall and even Dumbledore. However, if he wanted to accomplish grand feats, he would need to specialize even more.
The same could be said about potions... The Potters had launched, two months ago, their solution for baldness, while Severus's potion had already been on the market since last year, sold at an inflated price to only a select few. His potion remained more potent than the competition.
Obviously, he lost a lot of money with the release of the Potters' potion, but he still had his entire franchise with all sorts of potions.
Severus also began to consider whether he should start developing this area further. He could revolutionize the wizarding world with all the potions he had already discovered, but hadn't commercialized any because he knew the chaos it would cause. Potions that no one else had created would raise many questions and inquiries about him, but now... he no longer needed to hide.
That might even bring him prestige—his current reputation as a dark wizard could shift significantly if he managed to help advance the field of potion-making.
He also wanted to improve his work with magical runes... he should develop that further, and going to the magic school in Africa would be interesting.
In summary, all these areas, and even the creation of new offensive spells, were things Severus needed to work on. Because even though he possessed a force powerful enough to stop time with a magical explosion—as had happened when he unleashed his magic on Voldemort's trap and his followers... He could make much better use of his magic with greater mastery and knowledge.
If he wanted to transition from a close-range fighter to a powerful mage with magic and strength capable of standing on any battlefield, with or without his shadows, Severus could no longer neglect these requirements. He needed to become even more powerful in magic.
Rosária appeared behind him, whistling as she looked at the massive hall before her.
"Are you going to build a lab here?" she asked, as Severus shook his head at her.
"No, I'd rather do it elsewhere. But... it'll be a good place for training. What do you think?" he asked her with a smile.
"An interesting arena," she said, returning the smile.
"Yes, at least we won't need to destroy the manor's grounds if we place strong magical shields here." He said. "Anyway, I intend to go to Gringotts, alone. If you don't mind, I need to handle some business with them," Severus said, as she nodded.
"Of course," she said.
"Also, the girls will be coming over today. If you could entertain them until I return, I'd appreciate it," he said, as she gave a nod of consent.
"As long as Bellatrix doesn't irritate me," Rosária stated.
"Just don't threaten her family, please," he said.
"The way you say that, it sounds like you think poorly of me, Severus. You know I wouldn't do that. My issue is with her as an individual, not with the Black family," she said, knowing her own family was far more powerful than the Blacks—Astraea had been terrified when she first witnessed the anti-magic of the two.
Severus nodded. He knew Rosária wasn't like that, but he didn't want any of his fiancées to feel intimidated by another simply because they belonged to family X or Y. That was irrelevant to him. The same applied to pure-bloods and Muggle-borns. He didn't care. Rosária could be considered a half-blood, while Bellatrix and Clarisse were pure-bloods. Pandora was Muggle-born. Perhaps Severus might have once had an issue with that—except when it came to Lily Evans—but the current him didn't care about any of it.
Severus left the room shortly after that, finding the four elves standing in the entrance hall, with Rosária and Alaric following behind him.
Severus approached the elves. "I hope you're all getting along," he said, as Mippy, Imby, Genini, and Dobby looked at him with anticipation.
Genini had changed a lot... she no longer had that same fear she once did, not since he saved her at St. Mungo's.
"Master, Dobby prepared tea for you!" Dobby exclaimed, holding up a cup.
"I'm leaving, I won't be able to drink it," Severus said, shaking his head.
"Sorry, master, maybe I brewed it wrong... I deserve punishment!" Dobby muttered, while Rosária, already familiar with the elf, stepped forward.
"I'll take the tea. Thank you, Dobby," she said, stepping closer. Severus looked at her, grateful.
"Master, do you need anything?" Genini murmured shyly, as Severus approached her, making her shrink back slightly. He touched her head.
"It's all right, Genini, thank you. I want you to welcome my companions, together with Dobby and the others, all right?" he said, as she nodded with brighter eyes.
"I'm heading out. I'll be back soon," he added. With that, he walked to the fireplace and, using the portkey, the Floo powder flared around him as he vanished from the manor.
Moments later, Severus appeared in the middle of the shop used for portkey travel in Diagon Alley, where a woman was managing the place and reading a book. She only glanced briefly at the young man before returning her focus to the book—then widened her eyes as she realized something.
"You—You!?" she shouted, stammering, as the people in the room waiting to use the fireplaces turned toward the startled woman.
And the moment they saw him, they recognized him instantly, causing chaos.
Severus watched as people began to flee, screaming, while others stood frozen in fear as they stared at him.
He sighed, already expecting this reaction. His reputation as the most powerful dark wizard of all, responsible for the deaths of hundreds and the destruction of entire families, was at its peak.
How could people not fear him? Even at Hogwarts, the professors looked at him with unease when he shared the table with them, before speaking with Dumbledore in private that same day.
"I'm just passing through, I'm not here to cause harm," he said, trying in vain to calm the trembling woman.
With no other option, he simply decided to leave the place, ignoring the commotion as he heard people shouting that he had appeared in Diagon Alley.
He sighed, thinking he should've just teleported directly to Gringotts. He knew that outside, people were pointing at the shop and yelling.
When he stepped out, he immediately saw people backing away, while a crowd formed—split between fear and curiosity—at the entrance of the building as he appeared and witnessed the scene. A wave of gasps swept through the crowd, regardless of age or gender.
He was about to say a few words, seeing that most were holding their breath—he wasn't as terrifying as Voldemort, after all... So he felt everyone's reaction was a bit exaggerated.
But before he could say anything else, a group of Aurors appeared suddenly, apparating between him and the crowd. An entire squad stood in front of him, wands pointed.
"Lord Prince, I ask that you do not resist and allow us to escort you to the Ministry," one of them shouted, though Severus didn't recall ever meeting him. He could see the nervousness in all of them.
"I will settle things with the Ministry later, gentlemen. Right now, I have business to attend to, and I assure you I am not here to disturb the peace of the wizarding world," Severus said calmly, while the man looked uncertain. With his reputation, it was obvious no one could do anything to him. He had just beaten Voldemort a few days ago, after all—ignoring the Ministry's Aurors was nothing.
Seeing they had no intention of letting him go, though equally reluctant to fight him, Severus chose a more peaceful route.
His body simply vanished like a shadow into the ground, leaving everyone stunned, as a silhouette remained on the floor.
Then the shadow darted forward so fast no one even noticed, moving beneath the crowd.
It surged directly toward Gringotts, and the people in front of the bank, distracted by the commotion, didn't even notice Severus reappearing from the ground near them as he stepped into the building.
This was one of his newly acquired abilities after his latest battles. He could now transform into a shadow across the ground or any surface, and use his superhuman speed to move quickly—doing exactly what his own shadows could do.
It was quite useful for entering places without needing to blow up walls or doors. It was also extremely stealthy—far more practical than becoming invisible at night while gliding through the shadows.
In any case, he entered Gringotts, where the staff was already prepared to receive him. Word of his arrival had spread quickly, and they were ready.
"Lord Prince, please, follow me," the goblin manager said.
Severus ignored the other people inside the bank, who looked terrified at the sight of him, and followed the manager through one of the back doors, entering the private VIP section as employees greeted him with a level of respect they showed to no other human.
"You understand my situation, Mr. Manager?" Severus said calmly, as the goblin listened after hearing his request.
"Of course, Lord Prince. You wish to purchase a property that no one else knows about, with no access or information available to others. We can arrange that in the bank's name using your gold. Once you find the property you wish to buy, we'll transfer all the documents to your vault," the manager replied.
"Perfect. And about the other matter I requested... the one I made back during the Durmstrang Tournament?" Severus asked.
"It's nearly ready, Lord Prince... The 300 house-elves you requested will soon be at your service. We encountered some difficulties since we had to pull available elves from all around the world," the manager said.
"Perfect. That will set my plan in motion... I'm seriously considering expanding my business outside the country even more aggressively. It's time to place my stores in the United States, France, Germany, Japan, and China," Severus said, and the manager's eyes widened in astonishment.
"That's... quite surprising. Not that I believe you will fail. Your stores will certainly be a success, but I imagine you must have a solid plan—this may require much more than house-elves..." the manager replied.
"Let's just say the elves we're acquiring are only one part of the plan," Severus said with a smile about his highly profitable business.
After all, he had more than 300 wizard shadows to brew potions. His plan now was to build a factory. Perhaps, with his knowledge, what he truly wanted was to use something unique in the wizarding world—technology to process ingredients and brew potions automatically, just as Muggles did, but with machines.
Severus had revealed this plan to no one. He wanted to create a megacorporation in the magical world, one larger than any that had ever existed. He could even reduce potion prices if he automated their production, keeping his shadows only to ensure the process was done properly.
Obviously, the manager wouldn't understand that—it might even sound like madness to him, since Severus hadn't shared his plans to incorporate Muggle technology. But it didn't matter. If that was the demand of this man, the employees at Gringotts wouldn't hesitate to comply.
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