To be honest, Avada was rather grateful that Dumbledore hadn't pressed him for details about his affairs. Otherwise, there were a whole host of questions he couldn't have answered: Why had a second-year student been able to draw out Voldemort, when even the Philosopher's Stone had proved too elusive? Why had Voldemort trusted him so easily? And why hadn't he imposed any restrictions on him?
And throughout it all, Dumbledore hadn't used even the mildest form of Legilimency on him.
So, if only to repay that kindness and trust, he had to do his best to complete the magic that would restrain the ghost, then present Dumbledore with a spectacular gift from the sky.
And so Avada had proudly taken up Snape's mantle. For the next week or so, he kept in steady contact with Voldemort. Since he'd been branded with the Dark Mark, Voldemort didn't need to send anyone to pass along messages—whenever Avada felt the Mark grow hot, he simply went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office for a lesson.
And just as he'd promised, after Avada released the Troll and formally "pledged his allegiance" to him, Voldemort began teaching Avada more advanced and secret knowledge of mental magic. He also did his utmost to answer Avada's questions about the difficulties he'd encountered while studying Psychodynamics. The two things combined to give Avada's analysis of Voldemort's mental energy another huge boost, and he was on the verge of fully understanding it...
The Dark Mark also brought him an unexpected boon: he'd successfully cracked the principle behind how it synchronized instantly regardless of distance. This greatly deepened his understanding of space and the mind, and he was beginning to get ideas about combining Apparition with the Undetectable Extension Charm.
So he had to pick up the pace—if