I hurried inside my room, making sure to lock the door behind me.

I had finally gotten my hands on the article.

I got comfortable on the bed, bringing the lamp up close so I could see better.

'DEATH OF THE ALBELINE FAMILY, THE FULL STORY!'

I quickly scanned the first couple of lines and my open curiosity changed to one of displeasure.

Granted, even I wasn't sure how exactly they died but this was outright slander.

Not that I could blame the Wizarding world. Voldemort was only recently defeated so they didn't have a lot of love in their hearts for Wizards and Witches who were affiliated or rumored to be affiliated with the Dark Side.

The article in a nutshell simply said that my dad had tried to steal useful information from the Ministry of Magic and when he was caught, he attacked the Aurors that had come to apprehend him.

He ran to the safety of his home when he was overpowered and was then hunted down. His family got caught up in it and in a bid to protect him had fallen under the onslaught of the Aurors.

I frowned, this didn't add up with what Wilkins had to say. It was almost like they were making my family take the fall for everything, even their own deaths.

To the rest of the world, the Ministry of Magic had taken down rumored Death Eaters threatening the current peace and to the members of Vindicta, they had gotten rid of a weak link.

What kind of useful information had they been trying to get to begin with? It made me remember the note I had found in the diary, was getting information the important mission?

I knew they had botched the mission but Aurors storming the Albeline Manor in a chase for my dad would be very hard to forget or mix up, Wilkins wouldn't forget something like that.

But there had to be a reason for an entire family dying in one night, they very well couldn't tell the rest of the populace that the Albeline family had died mysteriously.

It cemented my suspicions of Malark, he found a way to meet with me alone to gauge how potentially dangerous I was.

I just had no idea if he was on the side of the Ministry of Magic or the Death Eaters.

I had literally saved my own ass by saying that I lost my memory.

Of course, I knew that eyes would be kept on me but I truly had no memory of the past events in my life so I wasn't worried that I would be caught slipping up.

It meant that the Ministry of Magic was on my neck, as well as the Death Eaters.

The Death Eaters might have written me off though because, to begin with, they never had regard for my family.

The Ministry of Magic too would file my case away, I had lost my family and then my memory.

I also wasn't technically a criminal because they didn't have convicting proof except that my dad probably tried to buy or literally steal useful information.

I wasn't in the clear yet though, if I wasn't careful with my steps, I would find myself in danger from both ends.

For now, I had to play the part of a sad kid who lost everything in his life.

=========

<ATTENTION!!!> : 20 SP Awarded

=========

I was startled by this abrupt notification, it was good news though, the only piece of good news I'd gotten from this newspaper article.

The article about my family's death was all I wanted to know but I scrolled through the rest of the newspaper for the sake of it.

There was news about Quidditch matches, a couple of Wizards being promoted in the Ministry of Magic, and some new bestselling author.

None of that information meant anything to me, so I didn't bother reading further than the headlines.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, it was 2:33 am. I still had to return the newspaper to Vannessa's room.

What was the use of staying up late to sneakily read it if I wasn't going all the way?

Returning the newspaper article was less difficult than acquiring it, the two black cats were already dozing off and didn't spare me a glance when I crept in.

Maybe giving them treats was like a password or something, a one-time bribe. Whatever, I was just glad I didn't have to deal with them again.

My thoughts were a mess, the newspaper had just given me even more questions.

I was up early the next morning even though I hadn't slept early, I found it hard to get sufficient sleep.

Vannessa gave no reaction to show that she knew that I had read The Daily Prophet which was expected, she had no idea that I had stolen it for a read.

The two black cats which I came to eventually learn their actual names weren't bad pets, they mostly left me well alone.

I still leveled up my stats diligently, calling it reading and exercising was lame. I made sure to fly on my broomstick every day, I wanted to get used to it.

I didn't get the chance to practice Quidditch so the most I could do was get better at flying and hope that it wouldn't affect how I play when I got back to school.

But considering how I instinctively knew how to fly a broom, I doubted that playing Quidditch would pose a problem to me.

The days and nights passed. Living with my Aunt was peaceful, she went out in the mornings and came back late in the afternoon.

I had no idea what she did and didn't bother to ask, I was funding my own living expenses after all.

Although my Aunt was rich enough to take care of us both, I didn't want to be a burden more than I already was.

The night before the 1st of September, I laid wide awake on my bed and stared across the room at the ticking clock on its wall.

It was almost midnight but I wasn't feeling sleepy, anyone would be excited to be going to Hogwarts, and I was no exception.

The now familiar black, pixelated screen popped up and I could see my stats.

=========

[Audric Albeline]

<SP: 130>

<Health: 100/100>

+ Physical Stats

[Strength: 70/100]

[Stamina: 63/100]

[Speed: 57/100]

+ Non-Physical Stats

[Magical Power: 40/100]

- Sub-stats

[Charms: 23/100]

[Dark Charms: 50/100]

[Knowledge: 80/100]

- Sub-stats

[Intelligence: 60/100]

[Information: 80/100]

+ Skills

[Animagus - -]

<Locked> this feature can be unlocked with 500 SP

[Legilimency - -]

<Locked> this feature can be unlocked with 500 SP

[Bloodline Magic - -]

<Locked> this feature can be unlocked with 2000 SP

===========

I studied my stats with pride, I had worked really hard to get my stats this high up in just a few weeks, roughly a week even.

I was mostly done with the curriculum and was starting to get a bit of muscle definition from all my hard work.

I still couldn't do anything about my Magical Power stat and its sub-stats, but hopefully, that would change from tomorrow.

Sixth Year at Hogwarts was one of the hardest years, even with my preparations, I would have a hard time keeping up.

I was honestly surprised that Audric had managed to pass his O.W.L.S, well, except in Divination and Astronomy but that was fine because I had no plans of taking them.

I hadn't gotten any SP after the one I got from reading The Daily Prophet but I didn't do anything new either.

I had a positive feeling that I would get a lot of chances to earn SP when I got to school. I was looking forward to it.

It was exactly why I couldn't fall asleep, it was well past midnight now but I just stared at my stat board to keep myself occupied. I wasn't feeling the least bit sleepy.

I studied the special skills, wondering which I would unlock first.

I was curious to know what kind of Animagus I would get but Legilimency also seemed like a useful skill to have

But I couldn't unlock any of the special skills without first getting enough SP.

I rolled around on my bed, the pixelated screen dissipating.

In her cage, Echo watched me with large unblinking eyes, her snowy white feathers reflecting the light of the moon.

I forced myself to get some shuteye. I would be going to Hogwarts soon, I needed all the rest I could get.