Michael sighed sitting in the room that was his escape. The Ever Changing Room was what he called it and it had served him well through the years. Growing up as the only child of a rich widow Michael Boot had found himself uneasy in the hustle and bustle of the castle but the discovery of this room was his saving grace his first year. As the years flew by rather than learning to fit in among his peers Michael found himself spending more and more time in the room that always had what he needed when he needed it.

Michael was no bumbling idiot his dry wit and sarcasm were well-honed tools that made even the Marauders hesitant to cross verbal swords with him. This was just another thing that separated him from his 'lost in the world of books' housemates. The oppressing separation from those his own age was something Michael had long gotten use to and used it to his advantage learning as much about them and their families as they did about the subjects that are taught in school.

Michael could tell you where every one of his year mates and those in the year above him stood in this war with the newest Dark Lord. He could tell you what way their father's would vote on the latest bill and who listened to their wives and who had vacant trophies with pulses.

He could not tell you, however, how to carry on a conversation with any of them. Therefore, it had taken him by complete surprise when every time he spoke to Jane Prewett that time seemed to slip away and the next thing he knew curfew was being called not that Jane deigned to speak with him very often.

He was tempted to call the pureblood girl haughty but something stopped him. Perhaps it was that mirror look of loneliness in her eyes or maybe it was that she always seemed to choose her words so carefully. Michael could not deny the girl was like a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out.

The Prewett's were notoriously light-sided Gryffindor but Jane kept the company with Severus Snape, a Slytherin Michael would bet his title would wind up in the service of You-Know-Who. Word around school was that they would be getting married in December in a wedding hosted by Lord Malfoy and his son Lucius.

Michael shook his head in an attempt to clear his head and turned back to the brick he had been working one. The spindly creation looked like a muggle cartoon with lanky black legs and arms reinforced by charms to hold the weight of the brick.

Charms were the only thing Michael excelled at in school. He could charm anything to do anything and these bricks were his latest invention. They were his attempt to do something great. He looked up at the gargoyle he had painstakingly carved over the last few weeks. Standing he ran his hand over the rough stone, and into the crevices of the details. The smooth angelic facial features arched upward into horns that rested in feathery hair. The neck blended the humanoid face into the body of dog with long sharp claws in place of toes. On its back are large leathery demonically shaped wings that were extended as though it were about to take off in flight at any given moment. Turning back to the small brick, he snatched it up and wound his way to library, closing The Ever Changing Room behind him.

When he entered the library, he spotted Severus and Jane sitting at a table in the corner, "Hello." He greeted the pair.

Severus ignored him not even designing to acknowledge that he existed and Jane looked up at him with the infuriating distantly polite look she got whenever she was hiding behind her mask. "Hello Michael." She said smiling up at him expectantly. The message was clear, say what you want and then leave.

"What are you up too?" Michael asked as though he didn't notice her tone.

"Studying." Jane said neutrally.

"Looks more like reading." The brick beneath his hand began to wiggle and too late Michael realized he had accidentally activated the charm on it. He dropped it on the table and it landed with a thud.

Severus looked up as the thing stood and grabbed the nearest book and sat down opening the pages. "What is that?" he sneered.

"Oh, it's an invention of mine. It follows simple one word commands, any command really." Michael said, "You can have it, I can make another one." He said on impulse hoping to get the snarky Slytherin to warm up to him.

Severus made a noncommittal noise and returned to his book. Realizing this wasn't going anywhere today Michael wandered off after a polite goodbye, after all, he had research of his own to do.

Hours later just as the library was closing down and Michael was in the process of packing up, he noticed the brick still sitting on the now abandoned table. Feeling rejected Michael retrieved his invention and made his way back to his dorm. Placing the Command Brick on his desk, he went about his nightly routine. While in the shower it hit him like no pun intended a ton of bricks. Turning off the water, he hoped out of the shower and without drying off his pulled on his sweatpants. He ran to the room, pulled out a parchment and quill, and unscrewed his ink. That brick had sat on Severus and Jane's table for hours ignored but active. "Transcript." He ordered and sat down reading his housemate's private conversation that was really more of Jane talking and Severus giving one-word answers. As there was no way to tell how much time had passed between comments Michael struggled to put the sentences into coherent conversations and once he had he felt as though a light had gone off in his head. "Of course." He said as he read comments about time travel and returning Jane to when and not where she came from.

Michael was unsure of what he should do with this information until he read part of the spell that had sent Jane back. He knew what that spell was or rather he knew exactly what that sounded like. Going over to his trunk Michael dug in it and pulled out his Grandfather's seventh year Charms book. Terence Boot had gone to school in a time where the line between what was dark magic and light magic were a little more blurry than it was today.

Michael flipped through the book and found the chapter he was looking for, "Stop." He ordered his Command Brick and picked up the parchment. Careful not to smear the words Michael blew on it to dry the ink and placed it as though a chapter marker. He reached over and grabbed the bronze ribbon his latest care package from home had been wrapped in and wrapped it around the book.

"Forget. Sleep." Michael commanded and grinned, he had a feeling tomorrow his luck with Jane would change. Tomorrow Michael might actually make his first friend at Hogwarts.