Chapter 78: Chapter 78. Power Evaluation

I was already awake before dawn but I remained on my bed, staring out the window to the still dark sky.

A knock rapped on the door. "Albeline, it's time to wake up, today is the day of your first evaluation." Maguire's nasal voice came from the other side of my door.

I sat up at this. The first time I had to wake up early was when I was taken to the meeting of The Cabal.

I had a hunch that my evaluation would be taking place in the same location.

"I'm up." I called out in a lucid voice.

"Hmph, as expected." He huffed and I could picture Maguire adjusting his spectacles. "Get dressed up, Stugg will be by with something light for breakfast and we'll be on our way."

Maguire walked away after he relayed his message. 

Over the space of the past one and half months, I saw more of Maguire than even Stugg, and Stugg was the one to bring me every one of my meals.

I knew he was there to keep an eye on me, no doubt an order of Carleton.

Talking about Carleton, I hadn't seen the psychopath since the meeting of The Cabal. I preferred it that way.

It was the 29th of February, a leap year and my first evaluation.

'Evaluation' was mere semantics. Basically, I would be fighting a Dragon.

I had made immense progress during the time I had been given but I knew that taking down a Dragon with brute force wasn't going to happen during my first evaluation.

I simply wasn't strong enough.

Measly spells like Stunning spells wouldn't work on the Abyss. I could probably take out an average Common Welsh Green down with Stunning spells, that would be taking the easy road though.

I needed to find powerful attack spells strong enough to cut through Dragon scales and if I couldn't find, I planned to create one.

I ate my breakfast with a solemn expression. 

It had taken me a full week to perfect 'Concutere'. I refused to move on to the next spell until I had perfected it because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to even cast the next spell.

Which meant that I had to endure a full week of the straw dolls exploding their guts over and over again with screaming wails.

It was easy to convince myself that they were not alive but the visual transmitted to my brain wore down on my mental state.

It got slightly better when I finally perfected the spell because at least there was no exploding blood and spraying blood anymore.

It made me all the more wary of Carleton, for him to be that skill in human transfiguration.

I wondered if he could make me a Dragon model, it should be possible.

The transfigured straw dolls had the same defenses as an average human, their skin had the same toughness and density.

I could probably convince Carleton to make one for me and also slowly increase its defenses over time.

That would make for a good way to train.

"It's about time to leave." Maguire's nasal voice intruded on my introspecting.

I stood up, leaving my empty tray of food behind, Stugg would handle it.

Maguire eyed me up and down before leading the way.

"We are heading to Master Carleton's study, we will all take a Portkey to the location of your evaluation."

I already predicted this outcome so I wasn't caught off guard.

The snow was starting to thaw, it would be spring soon. It made me think about Hogwarts.

To the Wizarding world, I had been dead for almost two months now. I wondered how the people in my past would have reacted to the news.

Carleton also looked me up and down when I got to his study with Maguire in tow. "We will be departing now."

"Yes sir." I answered like he wanted and I could see his slight smile of reassurance that his Imperius spell was still in place.

Carleton stepped around his desk and brought out his pocket watch to check the time. "We will leave in a minute, hold on." He directed, holding out the pocket watch.

Lightly touching the Portkey was enough to lock you into the journey.

As usual, Carleton and Maguire didn't so much as stumble when we landed, no doubt long used to traveling like this.

I still stumbled lightly because I had only used a Portkey twice before, and it had also been a long time since I did.

We were back in the marble vault of the strange building where the meetings of The Cabal were held.

This time there was something different, chairs were arranged just in front of us, instead of inside the misty hall like last time.

A lot of people were already seated, as a matter of fact, it seemed like we were among the last to arrive.

"They're rather eager to watch a show, aren't they?" Maguire scoffed.

Carleton's response was to sweep his maroon-red robes to the side and step forward to the chair reserved for him.

The chairs had been arranged in the corridor in such a way that they got a good view of the courtyard.

"Come with me." Maguire beckoned to me, walking out to the courtyard.

I narrowed my eyes, there was a Hebridean Black right in the courtyard. I had been so distracted with the strange happenings of The Cabal to notice it.

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"Today's meeting was held solely for your evaluation and so we will get to it right away." He said to me, turning around to find his seat in the corridor after depositing me in front of the huffing Dragon.

The Dragon tamers quickly left as well to the safety of the corridor that the fancy chairs were arranged on, leaving me all alone in the courtyard with the Dragon.

Carleton rose to his feet. "For your first evaluation, you will spend 10 minutes fighting the Dragon, if you can not hold out for that time, you will die." He pronounced without concern.

I wasn't worried about dying because I knew I wouldn't but The Cabal was pretty annoying, especially Carleton.

I was going to relish getting my revenge on him…

"Now, begin!" Carleton slashed his hand through the air, taking his seat one more time.

The Dragon's roar brought my attention back to the intimidating Dragon in front of me.

I firmly held on to my wand, if I was being honest, after learning the 'Concutere' spell, I didn't learn another attack or defense spell.

Instead, I dedicated my time to finding ways to increase my mental and physical capacity.

I was yet to find a spell that increased my mental capacity permanently but I did find procedures and spells to improve myself physically.

I returned the Elder wand to the safety of my robes much to the shock of everyone watching.

The Dragon stomped its front claw on the ground like it was readying to charge.

I braced myself, Dragons had little to fear from humans, especially if they were all alone.

The Dragon opened its impressive maw and poured out a flood of flames.

I didn't bother to dodge, using its flames as camouflage to land my attack.

Being physically strong wasn't enough, if my body couldn't handle the impact, I would break.

I jumped barehanded at the Dragon, jumping through the flames.

I reared back a clenched fist, aiming for the side of the Dragon's large head.

The impact of my fist on the tough scales of the Dragon threw me backwards.

The Dragon was also pushed back about a half of an inch, it shook its head obviously stunned from my punch.

I gritted my teeth to hide my grin, I still had an image to protect.

The Hebridean Black recovered extremely quickly but I was already ready for it.

I had my wand in my hand now, casting the 'Flipendo Maxima' jinx.

The Dragon was blasted backwards, crashing into the pillars behind it.

Even though I had blasted the Dragon with enough force for it to break right through the walls of the building, the pillars were unharmed.

I could hear the clapping and cheering of the members of The Cabal from behind me and it made me want to try the spell on them.

They had basically locked in a teenager with a dangerous Dragon and were clapping and laughing like they were watching a game of Quidditch.

The Dragon recovered after several seconds, charging at me wildly, it was infuriated now.

It let loose another storm of fire which was useless against me.

I also considered something that could be used against a Dragon and hopefully, the Abyss.

It was the spell 'Sectumsempra'. A curse created by Snape that left claw marks behind, a wound that couldn't be healed by any means.

I cast the spell at the Hebridean Black now, it bounced off its scales.

I didn't back down though, trying again and again while aiming for the same spot.

The aim was to break through its hard natural armor just to confirm if the attack truly left behind permanent damage.

It was difficult to achieve this as the Hebridean Black's claws slashed at me with terrifying accuracy, the waves of fire were also a nuisance because they made it difficult for me to see.

I landed the final spell only for Carleton to rise to his feet.

"Ten minutes are up, restrain the Dragon!" He ordered.

I jumped backwards, panting heavily, my eyes trained on the spot where I had been directing my attacks.

I wasn't going to attack a Dragon that couldn't defend itself but I hoped it had worked so that I would have data to work with.

The Hebridean Black suddenly roared in pain, flapping its wings viciously.

The spell had gotten through, three large gashes appeared on its right forearm. Dark red blood, so dark it looked black in the dim lighting of the courtyard gushed from the slashes.

Maguire was already stepping up to lead me away from the courtyard. 

"Congratulations on surviving your first evaluation, on your next you will have to defeat it."

I glanced back at the poor Dragon who just like me was caught in the web of power-hungry Majes.

It was still thrashing about, the Dragon tamers scurrying around to get the creature under control.

I couldn't lose.

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