"How many students are in your School Year?" Salazar asked as soon as Altair visited him the next night.
"One hundred and twelve."
"Why so few?" The old man frowned.
These numbers were not what he was expecting after thirteen centuries, and Altair understood what confused him.
"Hogwarts isn't the only school in Britain now. There are five more schools, and each year, they take in more than twice the number of Students that Hogwarts accepts. They are not as prestigious though. The Pure-blood and other kids from notable Wizarding Families only choose Hogwarts," he informed his ancestor as he picked up a book on the Patronus Charm.
"How many Muggle-borns?"
"Forty. Always forty. The Ministry set the quota a few centuries ago. The rest are all taken in by other schools."
Altair saw that Salazar was not pleased at all, and smiled but did not say anything.
"What do you think about them?"
He heard the old man ask after a while and answered without raising his head from the book.
"Muggle-borns? They are important for a functioning Wizarding Society, and since their numbers are steadily rising, they cannot be isolated and allowed to fester into a threat to the Magical World. Better integrate them, teach them our ways than to let them grow strong enough to change our laws and traditions."
Salazar frowned at his words and nodded his head.
"What's the Magical Population of Britain now?"
"Just slightly over sixty-two thousand."
"Notable Families?"
"Selwyn, Rosier, Lestrange, Malfoy, Bones, Fawley, Greengrass, Ollivander, Prewett, Longbottom, Macmillan, McKinnon, Potter, Weasley, Rowle, Shafiq, Diggory, Nott, Bulstrode, Avery, Carrow, Crouch, Abbott, Scamander, Malfoy, and Black."
The old man frowned some more.
"I only recall Selwyn, Rosier, Lestrange, Fawley, Ollivander, Prewett, Longbottom, Macmillan, Weasley, Abbott, and Black. Greengrass were Mournwyl; did the others change names too?"
"No, no one else changed names. Bones, Potter, and Diggory are descendants of the Peverell Family. All three were Pureblood, but the next head of the Potter Family is considered a Half-Blood. The boy is a year younger than me, and his mother was a Muggle-born Witch."
"His father?"
"Dead."
"No other male relatives with the name Potter?"
"None."
"How tragic..." Salazar sighed. "What about the others?"
"Gaunts too were Peverell descendants, but they are gone now as I told you before. McKinnon are an offshoot of the Macmillan Family. Pureblood, but their fate is unknown. Notts come from the Lestrange Family. Some migrated to Britain, like Shafiq, Rowle, Bulstrode, Avery, Carrow, Crouch, and Scamanders being the lastest Pureblood Family to come to Britain. They are originally from Greece. Malfoy descend from the Morvaine and Delacour Families, and they migrated to Britain a thousand years ago. There's also the Lovegood Family that descends from Malfoys, Blacks, and the Ravenclaw Family. They also have Peverell Blood for centuries, but they don't claim descent from them. The current wife of the Head of the Lovegood Family is a Potter by birth. Her mother was a Black, and her father a Potter."
"Oh, does she have a daughter?"
"Yes."
"Good. Marry her." Salazar said it as if it was an order, and Altair rolled his eyes. However, soon he heard his ancestor whispering to himself. "Peverell are gone... Gryffindor... Hufflepuff... so many gone..."
There was a sense of melancholy in his voice...
"There are other families, but these produce truly powerful Wizards due to their heritage. As for the Hufflepuff Family, they changed their name, and some lines exist, but none are Pure. Gryffindor family only had a daughter left and they merged with the Weasleys."
Salazar nodded his head and lost himself in his thoughts again.
"Who is the Headmaster?"
"Albus Dumbledore."
"Dumbledores live?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes, but neither Albus nor his living brother has any children. They are over a hundred years old now, and both are Half-Bloods. The line is over. Fawleys are the closest relatives, and maybe someone will emerge in the future to reclaim the family."
"A Half-Blood is the Headmaster of Hogwarts?!" Salazar fumed, and Altair nodded his head.
"He's powerful and regarded as the Greatest Wizard in the world."
"That doesn't change his blood!"
"Not exactly a Half-Blood. His mother was a Muggle-born Witch, not a Muggle."
Salazar calmed down a little after those words and then sighed.
"Another Pureblood Family ruined. How dare he carry the Dumbledore name... His father did not take a Pureblood wife?"
"Just the Muggle-born Witch."
"Ridiculous..."
The young Black chuckled at his ancestor's words and then turned his attention to the book, going through the Magical Theory of Patronus Charm.
"It's a highly advanced Charm, used to counter Dark Creatures, and also for communication."
"Can a person have two or more Patronuses at the same time?" Altair asked curiously, not taking his eyes off the book.
His question surprised Salazar, who stared at him meaningfully and then laughed in amusement.
"Yes and no."
"Yes?" Altair looked at him in surprise.
"Only someone exceptionally powerful can have two Patronuses, and they must also have a very resilient soul and a powerful wand core. Three are unheard of. Patronuses can also change after a very significant moment in your life, but almost everyone can only have one Patronus. The Patronus can also depend on the Inheritance you carry. Mine was a Naga, and my elder sister's Patronus was the same." Salazar smiled. "Your case is special. You are the Heir of three Bloodline Gifts, three Families. In theory, you should be able to have three Patronuses, each representing one of your Inheritances."
Altair's eyes brightened at those words, and he smiled.
"Well, then I just need to work on creating two more."
The old man raised his brow at his words.
"You can already create a Corporeal Patronus?"
"Yes." He nodded his head and took out his Yew Wand, pointing it to the side. "Expecto Patronum."
Salazar's mouth dropped open in shock as he saw a Naga, a perfect Patronus, shoot out of Altair's wand and protectively coil and tower behind him.
Soon, however, he was madly laughing in happiness.
The Naga represented his descendant's personality as well as his Slytherin heritage, and he felt immeasurably proud in that moment.
However, his attention quickly turned to something else, and his head shot to Altair's hand.
"A second wand?" He looked curiously at the reddish-brown wand.
"Yes. Yew, sixteen inches, Nundu Heartstring soaked in Naga Blood."
Salazar stared at him as if he were looking at a monster, and his expression amused the young Black a lot.
"A tainted core... How?"
"Blood bound to me. Maybe that's why it worked." He smiled, and Salazar clearly felt dizzy at his words.
"I see... It's wise to hide your Elder Wand," he nodded and then stared at the Yew Wand in a daze. "Don't think about it."
"What?"
"About creating two more Patronuses. Let nature take its course. It will happen when the time is right, and the second Patronus will only take form after you face a very significant and life-changing event in your life. Your existing Patronus won't change. You will just get another one."
"You tried it?"
"Yes."
"And you knew someone with two Patronuses?"
"Yes." The old man nodded again and stared at the locket Altair was wearing. "When Morgana lost her brother, she displayed two Patronuses in her battle against Merlin; a Simurgh and a Nundu. She was a master of this spell. She managed to transform it into something even more: a spell she could use passively in battles where her Patronuses would become more corporeal and lifelike. They would defend her against low-powered or medium-powered hexes and spells like her protectors, but they did not have offensive capabilities. The Patronus Charm, in essence, is a defensive Charm. However, she created something darker too, much darker, inspired by the Patronus Charm. She would create Dark Patronuses that would bring ruin to her enemies... She once slaughtered a hundred wizards and witches using only her two Dark Patronuses."
Awe, fascination, and unmistakable fear flashed on Salazar's face as he recalled some memories and lost himself in them.
The old man did not speak again for the next two hours, and the young Black quietly finished going through the Magical Theory of Patronus Charm.
"Slytherin doesn't have any Muggle-borns, does it?"
"You don't trust the Charm you placed on the Sorting Hat?" Altair looked at the old man curiously.
"I do, but Godric was trying to convince Rowena to break my Charm when I had a fallout with them. If there was anyone who could have broken it, it was she."
"She didn't. No Muggle-born has ever been sorted into Slytherin. There have been a few Half-Bloods, though. Real Half-Bloods."
Disgust flashed on Salazar's face at what he had just said.
The two then chatted until dawn, when Altair filled him in on what had happened after his disappearance to the best of his knowledge.
"I will not be able to visit you tonight. There are Duelling Cup Trials. When I come to see you again, I will tell you about the First Wizarding War and the Boy-Who-Lived."
"The Boy-Who-Lived?"
"Yes. Harry James Potter. The Half-Blood and the next Head of the Potter Family."
"Not interested."
Altair chuckled and stood up to bow to him.
When he exited the tunnel and the vault door closed behind him, the maze of corridors shifted.
The Slytherin Ring on his finger guided the way out through darkness, and unfortunately for him, he was a little late.
Gemma, Cho, and Aurelia were standing outside the entrance to the Dormitory, and when they saw him coming over from the darkest corridor in the dungeons, all three frowned.
"Good morning." He smiled at them, and his fiancée glanced at the ring on his finger.
She had been curious about it ever since she saw it yesterday morning, but he had refused to tell her where he got it from.
"Where were you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Just a morning stroll..."
"I was in your room the whole night," she cut him off, and he sighed.
"Be honest, Altair." Cho insisted, and he smiled at her.
"I was inside a secret room, studying and chatting with a Living Portrait." He answered honestly, and all three of them looked at him in surprise.
"Who?" Gemma could not help but ask, as she stared down the dark corridor, which gave her a very eerie feeling.
"An ancestor of mine." He said, not telling them exactly who it was, and Aurelia frowned.
She had the answer now, well a guess, but she did not want to say it out loud in front of Gemma and Cho.
Her eyes drifted to his ring again; the serpentine detail, the emerald, the silver.... A smile formed on her lips.
"Let's go get ready."
Aurelia grabbed his hand and led him inside, and Cho soon joined them in the bath.
At exactly 6:45 a.m., they arrived in the Common Room, dressed for the day, the First Years and the Quidditch Team carrying their Brooms, and then Altair and the Prefects led them to the Great Hall.
After breakfast, whilst the rest of the First Year students went for the Flying Lessons, the trio went to the Quidditch Pitch with the Team for practice.
They had their match against Gryffindor in the afternoon, and they wanted to get in some training. However, the dark sky and bellowing winds whispered omens in their ears.
The storm was inevitable, and they would have to play their match in the toughest weather conditions possible.
To avoid any fatigue, Damien ended the practice at 9:30 am, and the trio returned to the Dormitory to get some rest.
Altair, having not slept all night, took a nap, and was woken up at 1:45 pm by Aurelia and Cho, who had just returned from lunch.
Without any haste, they all got dressed in their Quidditch uniforms and serviced their brooms, making sure they were in the best condition.
At 2:20 pm, they rushed out of the Dormitory, and as soon as they exited the castle, they climbed their Brooms, heading to the pitch.
The stadium was full, bustling, roaring, and Slytherin and Gryffindor flags were everywhere.
Damien and the rest were not even worried that they had arrived a little later than expected.
The good thing was that Altair looked fresh, and the Team then discussed their game plan.
"We will be focusing on defence in this round, but I want us to still be in the lead or even on score. Gryffindor will be very desperate to score, so the Beaters have to work extra hard today. Send the Bludgers their way. Make them hurt, but keep us safe too."
"Yes!" Darius and Felix answered, promising they would give it their all.
"Altair, if you see the Snitch, go for it. No need to wait or stall for time. I don't care even if we end the match in the first ten minutes. It will be better for us if we don't have to play a long game out in the storm. Besides, nothing will hurt Gryffindor more than losing the round without scoring good points."
"I understand." The young Black nodded his head and took a deep breath.
Even though he did not show it on his face, he was quite excited. After all, this was his first official Quidditch Match.
There was no way he was going to let the other Seeker catch the Snitch. No matter what.