"Silence!" A silencing charm activated, extinguishing the dragon's roar and nullifying its fiery breath.
Without wasting time, Noah pulled a small glass vial from his cloak, containing a dark liquid inside: a high-potency sleeping potion, crafted with ingredients gathered from his travels.
"This should be enough."
Using his telekinesis, he made the vial float toward the dragon. With precise movement, it slid directly between the Horned Serpent's jaws. Unable to close them due to the branches holding it, the creature was forced to swallow the potion. Gradually, its agitation faded. Its wings stopped trembling, its muscles relaxed, and finally, its massive eyelids fell heavily.
Noah snapped his fingers, and the forest that had immobilized the creature dissipated into a shower of wood shards, leaving the beast lying on the ground. "Alright, time to take you home." He pulled out a storage scroll engraved with advanced runes along its surface. Unrolling it on the ground, he performed a series of hand seals and pressed his palm against the center. "Fūinjutsu: Kūkan Kinko!" A blue light enveloped the Horned Serpent, and within seconds, its massive body was absorbed into the scroll, sealed within an alternate space. With his objective secured, Noah gathered the scroll and opened his magical door, transporting directly to his lab in Tibet. There, with the dragon now under his control, he would have all the time necessary to study it thoroughly and continue advancing in his research on magical bloodlines.
---
In a dark alley in a magical village in Eastern Europe, Noah walked calmly, hidden under a black cloak with an invisibility charm that made him less noticeable. At the end of the alley waited a tall, burly man with a thick black beard and eyes as cold as ice. Boris Ivanov, a Russian wizard known in the black market for selling rare artifacts and substances. Beside him stood two other men, one blond and thin with a scar on his cheek, and another shorter one with the look of a street thief.
"Do you have the product?" Noah asked neutrally.
Boris pulled out a small glass vial with glowing golden liquid inside. Phoenix blood essence, an extremely rare and difficult ingredient to acquire. "Three hundred galleons," Boris said with a predatory smile.
Noah pulled out a bag of coins and tossed it toward Boris, who caught it swiftly. However, instead of handing over the vial, the Russian smiled even more. "There's a small change in the plan, my friend. We'll keep the money... and we'll keep you too."
The two men beside him drew their wands instantly, aiming them at Noah. "Expelliarmus!" A red bolt shot toward Noah, but he had already anticipated it. "Protego Maxima." A blue magical barrier blocked the spell with ease. Before they could react, Noah snapped his fingers and cast a spell. "Imperio." The thin wizard's eyes glazed over. In the blink of an eye, he turned his wand and cast a spell at his own companion.
"Dammit, what are you doing!" shouted the other wizard, barely managing to block the attack. Boris stepped back, cursing in Russian, and cast a fire spell. "Confringo!" An explosion enveloped Noah, but when the smoke cleared, he was gone.
"What…?" Before Boris could react, Noah appeared right behind him. "Too slow." He stomped the ground. "Mokuton: Mokujōheki!" Thick roots sprouted from the ground, winding around Boris and the other two wizards, immobilizing them. The Russian struggled desperately. "You're a monster!" Noah simply smiled and picked up the phoenix blood essence vial Boris had dropped.
Then, he drew his wand and aimed it at the three. "You won't go to waste," he whispered. With a fluid motion, he pulled a black suitcase from inside his cloak. When he opened it, a blue light portal materialized on the ground. It was his new portable laboratory, hidden within an expansion spell. The roots holding the three wizards sank into the suitcase, dragging them inside.
Inside his portable lab, Noah placed the captured wizards into suspended animation capsules, ensuring their vital functions were frozen in time. With the quiet atmosphere and the faint blue light from the expansion spell, he prepared to resume his research. Noah activated the holographic screen of a futuristic-looking computer, where several folders were displayed, each labeled with a name: "Body," "Soul," "Genes," "Bloodline," and "Energy."
He opened the "Bloodline" folder and began updating the database, meticulously reviewing each new discovery and theory he had formulated over the past few months. Noah began to display various genealogies of different magical creatures on the holographic screen, tracing their most powerful ancestors. His goal was to identify patterns of purity and degeneration within their bloodlines. He activated a three-dimensional model of a basilisk, overlaying its genes with those of other magical snakes to detect key mutations.
His hypothesis was that, if he could trace far enough back into these creatures' ancestry, he could pinpoint a point where the purity of their bloodline was at its optimal state, before interbreeding with other species weakened their original characteristics. The computer processed vast amounts of data, projecting simulations of genetic combinations while Noah analyzed the results. He noted several possibilities for synthesizing a genetic purification method, using techniques that merged biotechnology with magic.
Weeks later, summer came to an end, and Noah returned to Hogwarts for his third year under the identity of Max Drake. With his advanced knowledge and studies in the lab, his focus remained on researching magical bloodlines and developing methods to purify them. This year, security measures at Hogwarts were heightened due to Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban. Noah, though aware of future events, continued to keep a low profile to avoid drawing Dumbledore's attention.
Meanwhile, his shadow clone continued working in his secret lab, studying the various bloodlines. Although his main interest still lay in magical bloodlines, Noah began to feel drawn to this year's Divination magic. The arrival of Professor Trelawney piqued his curiosity, and he decided it would be interesting to delve deeply into this branch of magic. While many of his classmates considered it useless, Noah saw hidden potential in predictive abilities and dedicated himself to studying the connections between Divination and other magical disciplines.
With the inclusion of the Care of Magical Creatures class, Noah saw an opportunity to study magical creatures more closely, which complemented his research in his secret lab. Meanwhile, his clone in the lab continued advancing in his studies on magical bloodlines and genetics. After months of work, he had found certain patterns in the lineage of wizards that could be key to his purification goal.
Throughout the rest of the school year, Noah maintained his low profile at Hogwarts. Although events surrounding Sirius Black, the dementors, and the general chaos continued to dominate the castle, he focused mainly on his studies. His magical abilities continued to advance, and his knowledge of magical creatures, bloodlines, and the Dark Arts expanded. He showed no particular interest in the pranks of his classmates, such as the Gryffindor-Slytherin fights or the pursuit of Sirius Black, and kept away from most conflicts.
Conversations about the dementors and the mystery of Azkaban Prison passed by him as he preferred to focus on what truly interested him: perfecting his understanding of magical creatures and their genetics, and advancing his own hidden studies. As the end of the term approached, Noah knew that the summer vacation would provide the perfect opportunity to delve even deeper into his research. He began tracking and capturing rare and dangerous creatures throughout the magical world, employing precise and advanced methods to avoid leaving traces.
When summer vacation ended, Noah, now sixteen, returned to Hogwarts to begin his fourth year, fully focused on his studies and long-term goals. Over the summer, he had perfected his knowledge of magical creatures and made progress in his work on bloodlines, achieving several discoveries that could have major implications for his purification project. The capture of creatures and genetic analysis had been successful, and he knew that soon he would achieve the results he desired.
For Noah, this year represented an opportunity to delve even deeper into his studies and continue observing events without getting involved. His classes progressed smoothly, and although he remained an exceptionally bright student, he made sure not to stand out too much. He didn't want anyone to start suspecting his true intentions, so he avoided being the center of attention in his house, Ravenclaw. In fact, many of his classmates began to see him as a calm, reserved, and meticulous figure, which helped maintain his facade.