To those who cared, thank you, and I'm sorry.
Chapter 1: Alternative Magic
The rain outside gently knocked on the window as the last of the students left the potions classroom.
Snape, in his ever-serious persona, watched them with beady eyes, almost as if cursing them one by one as they left.
"I expect you all to have investigated and researched the properties of unicorn hair by our next class. Those of you who have no idea, Mister Copper, shall have the pleasure of wasting my time by staying after class as punishment."
He announced calmly, making the young Gryffindor shiver in fear.
Meruclaw watched her fellow students shuffle out, biding her time as she slowly put her instruments away. The sooner everyone had left, the sooner she could make sure to avoid the masses of idiots rushing back to the common rooms to go and watch Quidditch or discuss famous Aurors of whatever it was the rabble did when wasting time they could spend studying.
Ben tripped on his way out, smashing one of his empty vials on the ground. Snape rolled his eyes, walked over and with a silent flick of his wand, the scattered pieces were slowly pulled together forming a reborn vial.
"Please leave my classroom before I decide to ask McGonagall why Gryffindor has decided to treat midget trolls as students"
Meruclaw grinned slightly at the comment. She enjoyed Snape's direct and dangerously insulting comments. Potions class was fun.
One of the boys from Slytherin extent his hand out and helped Ben up. Meruclaw felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end slightly, but she quickly flushed the emotions back down to the depths where she kept them.
Anon, the only student to have managed to beat her during a duel. Granted it was an unofficial duel as the result of a fight they had had during the first year, but that day still haunted her. How someone from the common present masses had managed to best her was beyond even her comprehension.
She watched as he pulled the weak boy from the ground and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
What was so special about this boy? Why was he able to beat her? She watched them exit the classroom and she shook her head. There was no point in wasting brain cells on him.
She finished putting her things away and headed towards the door.
"Miss Snyde"
Came the professor's voice from behind her.
"Yes, professor?"
She asked calmly without looking back.
"What do you know about unicorn hair?"
She hesitated but decided to play along. She turned around, her dark eyes looking at the professor.
"Unicorn hair, as its name suggests, comes from the tail of a unicorn, usually taken after it has shed its fur. They are most commonly used in the fabrication of wands, as they are very resistant to blockades or fluctuations. The downside to them is that they can begin to act up if the user is subject to excessive melancholy. They are also used commonly as ingredient in potions. Even though its actual properties is unknown, it has been established to have healing attributes, although, given its high value on the market, I personally believe that there are better and cheaper substitutes that would not sacrifice the healing properties of the potion produced. Lastly, unicorn hair can be woven together to create a very effective bandage that will heal most any wounds at an exceptional rate, but the amount of hair required would be considered a waste in almost all situations."
Snape observed her in silence as she spat back at him every last word there was in the classes' potions book.
"I see you have exceptional memory Miss Snyde, a testament to your lack of personality. All that information is well and good, but I want to know what your opinion is on unicorn hair."
That caught her off guard. Her opinion? What could he possibly care about her opinion? She straightened her shoulders and let out a breath.
"Unicorn hair is overrated. It is true that its healing properties are amazing, but I believe that it is clear to everyone that the true healing power comes from unicorn blood, but as we all know, unicorn blood is practically a taboo subject given the fear of being cursed from harvesting it. There are much better substitutes for the hair. So once again, I believe unicorn hair is overrated"
Snape's little mouth curved into a slight smile.
"Very good Miss Snyde. You have reached a conclusion that most potions students would never even consider. I solemnly say this, but you may have the talent to be a great potions maker. Ten points to Ravenclaw, you may leave now."
Meruclaw turned around and left the room without saying a word, grinning slightly to herself. Of course, she had what it takes, she was the best witch in Hogwarts by far, and not only in potions. Charms, Transfiguration, even Herbology wasn't within her knowledge-absorbing grasp. She had been raking up house points as if there was no tomorrow, without even trying, quickly and singlehandedly putting her house far into the lead. Not that she cared in the slightest. She had no interests whatsoever in the house cup or in the other students.
Hogwarts was a stepping-stone for her. There was but one person she was interested in in the school, the headmaster himself, Albus Dumbledore.
His name carried weight throughout the entire wizarding world.
As she took her time walking back to Ravenclaw tower, she went over the few things she knew about the man.
He came from a broken family full of mystery but had managed to prove himself during his time at Hogwarts. He eventually became the professor of Transfiguration and later on singlehandedly defeated the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, been awarded the Order of Merlin, one of the highest awards available to a wizard and ended up as the headmaster of Hogwarts.
His track record was impressive, to say the least. Many considered him to be the best wizard there ever was.
He was a sort of inspiration to her. He admired and hated the man at the same time. No one could be better than her, but those who were, were to be admired, but also studied so she could one day overcome them.
For a few weeks now, she had asked Flitwick for an audience with Dumbledore, but apparently, the old headmaster was absent from the school, looking for someone.
No doubt someone to help with the curse vaults that had been popping up. That idiot Anon had been tracking them down, something to do with his brother.
As much as the vaults peeked her knowledge interest, there was someone already working on opening them, all she had to do was befriend one of his little friends and learn from them what they had been finding.
Making friends… She realized that that would be her weakness.
Headless Nick floated by, saluting her by tipping his head, but she didn't even realize, her mind lost in thought.
Meruclaw wasn't exactly the most sociable girl in Hogwarts, in fact, it wouldn't be farfetched to say she was the least sociable person the school had ever had.
Her social interactions were loosely based around basic interactions with classmates when asking to pass ingredients or move out of her way.
She was aware that there were a few students that looked up to her and her grandness, they might be a good place to start.
Being sociable was, after all, another skill to be mastered.
She reached the tower's entrance. A voice called out to her.
"A man with a field has not enough money to buy a scarecrow nor does he have the right equipment yet he has no crows in his field. Why?"
She sighed. The riddles seemed to be getting easier lately.
"He hasn't any vegetables in his field"
After a moment's hesitation, the door churned with the deep sound of the ancient magic inside moving the door and the same voice echoed out.
"Welcome home my child"
Supposed words the founder of Ravenclaw, Rowena Ravenclaw, had spoken when the first student of Ravenclaw entered the tower for the first time.
She took a step inside and a few of the students in the round room looked up at her, acknowledging her and returning to their books and papers. Ravenclaw was after all the home of knowledge and study.
The evening sun was setting and its last rays were casting a warm orange light through the windows that decorated the walls, mixing comfortably with the blue tint that already painted the room.
She made her way up to her quarters, dropped her bag on the oversized bed she had and took a seat on the windowsill.
When not studying or investigating, this was her favourite place to be. She could observe the world around her, yet not be observed, as the tower was concealed by magic from the eyes of those who weren't Ravenclaw.
She briefly wondered how the students whizzing around on brooms managed to avoid the invisible tower, but her ever-inquisitive mind had already told her the answer. The answer was magic. There was probably some kind of warping magic at play that made potential intruders stray away from this location.
She would have to remember to try and crash into the tower on purpose one day, just to see if the magic could be worked around by knowing how it worked.
She let out a long sigh. She longed for something more in life, something that could fill her curiosity about the world. When she was but a child, the world around her was a mystery, it pulled her interest in everything, quickly making her delve into how things worked and why they were.
For years she had dedicated all of her time to understand the world around her, leading her to be so much more advanced than her fellow classmates upon starting Hogwarts.
"I know that feeling all too well I'm afraid"
Said a soft voice from behind her. It caught her off guard, making her jump momentarily, but she still managed to regain composure fast enough to spin around, wand ready to curse anyone foolish enough to creep into her room.
Dumbledore was sitting, crossed legged in the chair at her desk, hands holding up his chin as he observed her, oblivious to her aggressive wand stance.
"You have a good taste in curtains. I hated mine when I was a student"
He said with a warm smile.
The observed him for a moment, wand still ready, but then slowly put it away. Usually, people like him would annoy her to the core, but there was something oddly soothing about Dumbledore, something magical that made you feel safe around him, even when he was talking about curtains.
"Do you usually sneak up behind students when they are looking out of windows?"
The old man gave her a toothy over the glasses grin.
"You'd be surprised"
She let out a huff and folded her arms under her chest.
"I was told you were away and wouldn't be back for some time. Why and how are you here so quickly?"
Dumbledore paused a moment, almost as if acknowledging her keen intuition skills.
"I am away from school as we speak, but when a student needs me, I will always return"
She raised an eyebrow.
"You aren't here? Now? Hm…"
She said, raising an arm and rubbing her chin gently.
"You didn't apparate here, I would have heard you, and I closed my door, so I would have heard you come in"
She pondered out loud as Dumbledore observed her, pacing around the room.
"There are certain limitations to how magic works, not that we understand them all, but I'm fairly sure that to actually transport a human mass, there would need to be some kind of audible indication of your arrival, therefore…"
She scooped up a little plushy raven from her bed. One of the last mementoes she kept of her early years, from before her parents had...
She suddenly turned and threw the little toy at Dumbledore.
"You must be some kind of spirit apparition!"
Dumbledore flinched slightly as the toy bounced off his face gently. Meruclaw took a step back, open-mouthed.
"What the… you're real! You're actually here! How did you achieve that? Its… there is no known magic that could achieve that! Did you appear somewhere else and Metamorphus into a fly and fly through the lock of the door and then transform back? No, you aren't on the list of registered Metamorphmagus and I doubt someone of your importance would keep that hidden… How did you do it?!"
She exclaimed, her thirst for knowledge very evident. It had been a long time since she had faced a dilemma she couldn't figure out.
Dumbledore grinned and rubbed his head where the toy had bounced off.
"You should take better care of the things you hold dearly, there is no telling when they can suddenly disappear"
He said, reaching down calmly, picking up the toy and rubbing some dust off of it. He stood up, walked over to the bed and placed the toy on it again, staring at it almost lovingly for a moment. He looked like he was remembering something from the past, something he held dearly, but Meruclaw was still enticed by his magical appearance.
"Enough with the riddles old man! How did you appear here?"
Dumbledore turned around and looked at her, almost as if he was enjoying their mismatched conversation.
"I told you, when a student needs me, I am always here"
She stared at him for a moment and rolled her eyes.
"Oh common, save that talk for someone else"
"I'm currently travelling around Egypt. They do the best silk there. Would you like me to bring you back some to exchange for these curtains?"
For a brief moment, Meruclaw was tempted to say yes. Something about spending an afternoon simply cutting and sewing together a curtain from silk seemed appealing to her.
"D-don't change the topic!"
Dumbledore rolled his eyes with a chuckle.
"Youth, magic isn't as cut and dry as you make it out to be. It is true that we have some understandings on how it works and how to bend it, but that does not mean we have a full understanding"
Meruclaw took the information in and processed it slowly.
"So… you're telling me that you have found a way to utilize magic beyond our current knowledge?"
Dumbledore chuckled and walked past her, looking out of the window.
"Me? No, that privilege isn't in my reach"
Meruclaw rolled her eyes and turned around with anger.
"What does that mean? Why is everything riddles with you?"
Dumbledore looked at her from the side.
"Oh? I thought you enjoyed my riddles"
She blinked her eyes.
"Why do you think you are here at Hogwarts? You are a very, very special girl"
He said, reiterating the second very.
"But you are still a very young person who lacks the equipment"
"The equipment?"
He turned to her with a grin.
"You could say, you lack a scarecrow"
It hit her like a brick. He was the one who asked her the riddle at the Ravenclaw Tower door. How much power did this old man have?
"I was expecting you to realize that was me sooner"
He smiled playfully.
The young girl lowered and shook her head, mimicking his smile.
"Excuse me for not expecting someone to have magic beyond that which we currently understand"
He let out a warm chuckle.
"Well then little one, what is it you wanted from me?"
He said, resting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. Usually, such direct physical contact would seem alien to her, but as everything with this strange old man, it felt warm to her.
"I… I seek more. I appreciate learning new magic in class, most of which I already know, but it isn't enough. I want to explore, discover things that no one else has discovered... I feel… as if my life is missing that"
She tried to explain, amazing even herself at how easy she had opened up to the headmaster.
He nodded his head gently and removed his hand, walking over to the bed and gently sitting down on it.
"I was just like you as a student. Intrigued by the world around me, never feeling fulfilled enough with the classes I had. I would explore this castle top to bottom, many times leading me to punishment, but it also helped me grow as a person. This castle contains magic that no one can explain. Magic long since forgotten and only held in each brick that makes up the walls. I personally believe that it can place obstacles in our way to test us, make us grow as humans and change with time. This castle is alive in its one way."
"So you're telling me to explore the castle?"
She extrapolated, raising an eyebrow.
"I believe there are already a group of students exploring the castle, why haven't you joined in the search with them?"
Meruclaw lowered her head, avoiding his analytic gaze.
"Other people? No, I work alone"
Silence flowed through the slightly open window and made itself at home between them.
"You can't do everything alone Miss Snyde. Never forget, friendship itself is also a form of magic"
She raised her head, confused.
"What do you mean friendship is-"
The old man was nowhere to be found, as quickly as he had appeared, he had disappeared, almost making it seem like he had never been there to begin with.
On her bed, the little plushy resembling a black crow with an orange spot on its head peered back at her, innocently.
"Friendship is a form of magic, eh?"
She repeated and walked over to pick up the toy, cradling it between her arms gently with a love and tender care oh so unnatural of her.