Hogwarts Mareschal

by Lore or mess

Djemn wanted to scoff. Hogwarts had been completely terrorized by a mere vengeful specter? The world of magic was freakin' unbelievable!" Story starts in year two of Hogwarts. OC Centric, definitely not a MarySue. It gets better towards the end.

1. 1: A Djemn of a Meeting

Hogwarts Mareschal

By: Lore or mess.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I just write fanfictions.

Chapter 1 – A Djemn of a Meeting.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You are being accepted at Hogwarts, Miss Helesande." Professor McGonagall replied, her tone monotonous and slightly annoyed at having to repeat herself.

"You mentioned a school of witchcraft and wizardry?"

"That I did. Perhaps it is difficult for you to believe in magic at the immediate moment, but I assure you, it is very much real."

The young girl in front of her merely looked at the professor calmly. Her gaze was nothing of suspicion or scorn; it was just plain looking, as if the two were having the most normal conversation in the entire world. A conversation that didn't involve magic, wizards and an obscure magical school somewhere in Scotland.

"I see." At this, the girl took out a small device that closely resembled a mobile phone out of her dress pocket. She pressed two buttons then put the device away, sitting ever so serenely in her armchair. From her posture, the professor concluded that she was waiting for something. Assuming the girl had just paged – is that how the muggles call it? – her parents, Professor McGonagall sat back in her own armchair and waited for the girl's parents to arrive.

Not a minute later, a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and eyes entered the room. He was wearing a black suit and had a very proper, neat, yet daunting look about him. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes did a very quick scan of the room, finally coming to rest on the professor. Not unlike the girl, there was no expression on his face. Professor McGonagall, however, felt that this man was not the girl's father or brother.

"Hadrian, please escort this lady off the manor grounds. Our business is done."

Professor McGonagall sat frozen for a moment before turning her head sharply to stare at the girl. She was doing nothing more than sitting comfortably in her armchair, completely not bothered at all at what had happened during the last five minutes. Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes. Minerva McGonagall was no weak-minded person and she knew exactly what this girl was doing; she was throwing her out!

"Miss Helesande, I am aware that this is quite a big shock to you and that what I have revealed is highly unbelievable but believe me when I say that what I speak of is true. You are a muggle-born witch and Hogwarts is offering you a place to study magic. I can arrange it so that you be given some books to familiarize yourself with our world before you attend."

"Yes, of course. If you would follow Hadrian, he will escort you out."

Professor McGonagall stared in disbelief at the –supposed- 12 year old in front of her. The girl was carrying herself with the practiced ease of an adult aristocrat, not a soon-to-be teenager. Said girl was now looking at her with a polite smile, as if bidding goodbye to an amicable acquaintance. Her courteous face betrayed nothing of what she was doing; dismissing everything Minerva had said and then throwing the professor off the grounds.

Minerva's lips thinned. She wouldn't stand for this. She went through too much trouble to come here and meet the girl only to be regarded as a lunatic and be thrown out.

1 HOUR AGO

Professor Minerva McGonagall straightened her dark green dress. In her mind, she sighed in resignation. The school had discovered that a child had been a year late to inherit her magical powers. Naturally, someone was needed to meet her and explain her heritage to her. Plus, there were other issues that couldn't be explained through the customary Hogwarts letter of acceptance.

At first, Headmaster Dumbledore had wanted to send Hagrid but Professor McGonagall had strongly advised against it. The poor muggles would be too frightened of the gigantic man to even think properly, let alone consider letting their child attend a magical school. Of course, that left Professor Snape, who was staying at Hogwarts grounds this summer, and her, herself. No need to ponder on who was best to be sent on this little missive.

Minerva checked herself again before stepping closer to the manor gates. She had done a short over viewing of this new student and was quite interested at what she saw. Djemn Helesande was the only child of Jean-Roy and Cezelia Helesande. The family was from an aristocratic muggle line dating back to the early 1800s. None of the family had ever shown signs of magical potential until now. Djemn was currently studying at Saint Bastian Private Academy where her father is one of the founders and board directors. What truly peaked Minerva's interest though was not the child's family or background. It was her school records. What seemed to be a spoilt girl from another rich family was shadowed by her shocking records of skipping 2 years during her time at St.Bastian. Granted, it could very well be her father pulling some strings behind the scenes, but if there's one thing that Minerva understood about nobles and aristocrats, it is that they are proud and arrogant. Mr.Helesande would not put his daughter in a position where she may embarrass herself or the family. Therefore, it is only logical that the child had skipped the 2 years on her own efforts.

Professor McGonagall stood before the gates in contemplation. Through the elaborate metal grill, she could see a long walkway leading up to the manor. There were neatly cut bushes sprouting dark green maple-like leaves on either side. The manor itself was brick red with huge panes of glass as windows. While it itself was not a thing of great splendor or marvel, the sight of the bare yet elegant manor was soothing to the eyes and emitted a sense of homeliness.

A guard approached Professor McGonagall from the inside and greeted her. He was dressed smartly with a crisp white shirt under a black coat and matching black pants. The man looked to be in his late forties and had a pleasant face.

"Good afternoon, Ma'am. What brings you to Helesande Manor?"

"I wish to speak to Miss Djemn Helesande concerning her schooling."

The guard paused for a moment, in thought.

"There was no mention of Miss Djemn expecting a visitor today."

"I'm afraid my visit was unplanned."

"Then I cannot allow you entry."

Try as she might, Professor McGonagall could not make the guard budge in his decision to keep the gates locked. It went on for at least a half hour before Minerva got fed up and used a compulsion charm to make the guard let her in. Once inside the manor, past the gate, walkway and huge front doors, the first thing Minerva noticed was the silence. It was so quiet inside that she could hear her own breathing. Nothing moved. There was no soft laughter, no talking, not even the wind as all the windows were made permanently shut. It made the hairs in the back of her neck stand but she brushed it off as her own unease and walked further into the house.

Another half hour later, Professor McGonagall was deeply in need of a cheering charm. She had walked and walked and walked only to find no one in the huge manor. Of course, said manor had seemed small at the beginning when she was standing at the gates but now that she was inside, she realized just how large a muggle manor can be, even without enlargement charms.

Professor McGonagall turned a corner and nearly got a start when she finally saw another living being. It was a young maid who was arranging some flowers into a yellow vase. When the young girl turned and saw the professor, she got as big a shock as Minerva did at seeing her.

"Hello. My name is Minerva McGonagall. I am here to see Miss Djemn Helesande. Would you be so kind as to lead me to her?" She was taking no more chances at getting lost in the silent manor.

"I-…. Of course, Ma'am. Right this way." The young maid was still a bit shaken as she led the professor through the maze of hallways to stop in front of a set of double doors made of mahogany wood. At first glance, Minerva could tell that these doors were very thick. Without knocking, the maid opened one of the doors and stepped back to allow Minerva entry.

The moment the door opened, the manor's silence was shattered by vivid, resounding tunes of violin. Professor McGonagall stepped into the room and saw that it was one made specifically for music. The walls were padded and no doubt made to be sound-proof as no sound had escaped the room before the door was opened. There were various kinds of musical instruments placed around the room and in the centre of it all stood a girl. She was wearing a very proper black dress and her eyes were closed in appreciation of the music she was creating. Her hands moved expertly, playing the violin with such ease that Minerva was led to doubt the small girl's age.

She was playing Lake in the Moonlight from the Swan Lake suite by Tchaikovsky. The strong notes rang into Minerva's soul and if she searched hard enough, there was indeed some magic laced within the music. Half a minute later, the girl finished playing and turned to face her. She seemed not at all surprised to see another person in the room with her. When she didn't say anything, Professor McGonagall introduced herself.

"Hello. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. Miss Helesande, I have come to give you news concerning your acceptance at my school."

The girl paused for a moment then smiled politely and gestured for the professor to take a seat in one of the armchairs available. It would seem that Djemn has frequent audience in this room if the sheer number of armchairs, recliners and loveseats were anything to go by. While the professor made herself comfortable, Djemn went to replace her violin into its case on one of the display tables near the door. Then, she asked that the young maid earlier prepare some tea for them before sitting down to speak to the professor.

"I must apologize for my lack of preparation. I did not know that I would be expecting a visitor today. It must have slipped my father's mind to inform me." The polite words coming from a girl so young gave Minerva a bit of a surprise. Of course, she shouldn't have expected less from a girl raised in a family of standing, even if they are muggles.

"It is no fault of your father. He is not aware of my visit as it is unplanned." Realizing that if she didn't explain everything soon there would be many questions asked, she hurried to explain her purpose there.

"Miss Helesande, I am a professor at a magical school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We have discovered that you are a muggle-born witch with potential to learn and use magic. As so, Hogwarts will accept you as a student and teach you the ways of magic."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You are being accepted at Hogwarts, Miss Helesande." Professor McGonagall replied, her tone monotonous and slightly annoyed at having to repeat herself.

"You mentioned a school of witchcraft and wizardry?"

"That I did. Perhaps it is difficult for you to believe in magic at the immediate moment, but I assure you, it is very much real."

The young girl in front of her merely looked at the professor calmly. Her gaze was nothing of suspicion or scorn; it was just plain looking, as if the two were having the most normal conversation in the entire world. A conversation that didn't involve magic, wizards and an obscure magical school somewhere in Scotland.

"I see." At this, the girl took out a small device that closely resembled a mobile phone out of her dress pocket. She pressed two buttons then put the device away, sitting ever so serenely in her armchair. From her posture, the professor concluded that she was waiting for something. Assuming the girl had just paged – is that how the muggles call it? – her parents, Professor McGonagall sat back in her own armchair and waited for the girl's parents to arrive.

Not a minute later, a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair and eyes entered the room. He was wearing a black suit and had a very proper, neat, yet daunting look about him. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes did a very quick scan of the room, finally coming to rest on the professor. Not unlike the girl, there was no expression on his face. Professor McGonagall, however, felt that this man was not the girl's father or brother.

"Hadrian, please escort this lady off the manor grounds. Our business is done."

Professor McGonagall sat frozen for a moment before turning her head sharply to stare at the girl. She was doing nothing more than sitting comfortably in her armchair, completely not bothered at all at what had happened during the last five minutes. Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes. Minerva McGonagall was no weak-minded person and she knew exactly what this girl was doing; she was throwing her out!

"Miss Helesande, I am aware that this is quite a big shock to you and that what I have revealed is highly unbelievable but believe me when I say that what I speak of is true. You are a muggle-born witch and Hogwarts is offering you a place to study magic. I can arrange it so that you be given some books to familiarize yourself with our world before you attend."

"Yes, of course. If you would follow Hadrian, he will escort you out."

Professor McGonagall stared in disbelief at the -supposed- 12 year old in front of her. The girl was carrying herself with the practiced ease of an adult aristocrat, not a soon-to-be teenager. Said girl was now looking at her with a polite smile, as if bidding goodbye to an amicable acquaintance. Her courteous face betrayed nothing of what she was doing; dismissing everything Minerva had said and then throwing the professor off the grounds.

Minerva's lips thinned. She wouldn't stand for this. She went through too much trouble to come here and meet the girl only to be regarded as a lunatic and be thrown out.

"Perhaps I can convince you."

That said, Minerva took her wand and flicked it at the slightly ajar door. Said door slammed shut with a soft 'thum' and stayed shut. Both Djemn and the man were now staring at the door, their expressions unreadable. Then, slowly, Djemn turned to face the professor. Nothing was said for several moments and Minerva decided that perhaps she needed another example. Muttering a soft incantation under her breath, she levitated a violin case over to Djemn, the very same one she had placed her violin in earlier. The case landed gently on the girl's lap and Minerva put away her wand, convinced that now they can no longer dismiss her without acknowledging her magic.

Djemn ran her fingers over the velvet case of her violin. There were no strings attached to it. And there was certainly nothing inside besides her violin; she had made sure of that when she replaced her violin earlier. She raised her eyes to that of the professor's but still she said nothing. What was she to say?

"Perhaps I should return at this time the day after tomorrow?"

Djemn understood that that meant the professor was giving her time to consider everything. And she did need time.

"Yes…. Yes, I shall be expecting you."

Minerva nodded once and rose to leave. The man, Hadrian, who by now Minerva had deducted was a bodyguard, led her back through the manor. Now that her mission was half done and that the silence no longer disturbed her, she took her time to enjoy the interiors of Helesande Manor. The walls were mostly done in deep reds and browns and many of the furniture were made of wood. The designs were distinctly classical English style. She didn't notice before, while she was busy searching for signs of life, but there was a large number of paintings in the manor. Many were Renaissance themed oil paintings and a handful were captured sceneries of the English countryside.

When they reached the gates, Minerva noticed the displeased face of the guard. He was probably wondering why he let her in in the first place. Well, she could just imagine his face when he's told to allow her entrance the day after tomorrow.

Back in the music room, Djemn absently stroked the soft velvet on her lap. Her mind was reeling from the bizarre experience. It seemed simply impossible. But it did happen. She needed to know what to think. What to do.

Sitting back in her chair, she made herself relax and entered what she called Perspicacity. It was in her mind. Where she discussed and thought about everything that needed to be. Perspicacity was a round room made of stone. There was no source of light in sight but the room was lit by soft indirect light that gave just enough to see. The ceiling was a smooth dome. Stone benches surrounded the room, one higher than the other. There were no doors and no windows. No exit and no entrance; just a complete circle of stone benches. In the middle, there was an arena. At the centre of the arena, a stone table rose from the ground. It was small and stood at about a meter high. There was a grey folder on it, seemingly closed and empty. Slowly, the folder flipped open and the discussion began. A carbon copy of herself materialized from thin air and began to speak.

LOGIC: It is impossible. It is illogical. It defies the laws of physics. Magic does not exist.

As if on cue, another Djemn appeared and spoke.

REASON: But we have seen it. How do we explain the violin floating to us from halfway across the room? We know there were no mechanisms in the case that would allow this to happen. How do we explain the logic in that?

LOGIC: We cannot. However, magic does not exist.

As the two spoke on, more and more 'Djemn's started appearing.

EXPERIENCE: We have experience of things happening that may have had the influence of magic. Such is the time when we won St.Bastian's bi-annual draw three times successively.

LOGIC: That is mere coincidence. It can be explained though a series of equations.

REASON: But this is not. We saw it with our own eyes. The impossible made real.

WISDOM: Calm! We must see logic in everything that we do but as we have witnessed something that we cannot explain, then we must listen to reason.

REASON: Should there be no magic in existence, then what we have witnessed is untrue. But it is true as we have seen it and felt it. It is only reasonable to conclude that magic is indeed real.

As the discussion went on, words began to appear in the air above the folder. Every word uttered was formed in silvery blue for all to see. No matter from which end of the room one looked, it was as if the screen of words rotated to follow one's sight. Each new sentence was formed above the old and the list got longer and longer. Once the sentence was low enough to reach the folder, it shrank and disappeared into the grey folder. That way, the newest sentences always remained on top.

WISDOM: Then we shall believe in magic.

BELIEF: We find it very hard to do that.

WISDOM: We have very few beliefs. One more will do more good than harm. For now, we shall believe in magic until we have more reason to discuss further.

REASON: Then we shall agree on this and speak with Father after dinner tonight.

Subsequently, all the 'Djemn's disappeared and the remaining words floating in mid air all shrank into the grey folder. Then, said folder closed and the room's light dimmed till there was no more. Djemn opened her eyes. Discussion over.

Author's Notes: Well, I don't know if this is any good but I can say I tried. Are the descriptions too long or too meaningless? If so, please tell me so that I may do better in later chapters. Any other opinions or thoughts are welcome. If you really must flame me for my lousy writing skills, I'll put them to good use heating up Djemn's reptile house. For questions, I'd advise against e-mailing me as I seldom check my account, just ask them in the reviews. And updates will be probably go from walk to crawl to almost never as my exams are err… next week stretching till mid-December. One more thing, just to put everyone's mind at ease: THIS IS NOT A MARY SUE. Djemn is not going to fall in love and neither will the guys her.

I want to explain some things that you may ask about this chapter. First of all, some of you may ask why didn't Professor McGonagall just apparate into the manor thereby avoiding the hustle with the guard. It is simply because it is impolite. Yes, it is downright rude to intrude into another's home especially if said person is unfamiliar with you. Another thing is that the professor has the risk of getting the wrong house as she's never been on Helesande property before and has never met the Helesande family. Furthermore, if she does get the wrong house, she risks exposing the wizarding world to the muggles therefore making apparition a not-very-safe option.

Perhaps I should make it clear that Djemn is in no way aware of magic. 'Perspicacity' is a room that she made in her mind when she needs deep consideration concerning something. Yes, it is a form of Occlumency of sorts but Djemn only knows it as Perspicacity or 'the room in her mind'. And the young maid mentioned in the chapter was shaken to see Professor McGonagall because it is not custom to have guests at Helesande Manor. Now, I really must shut up or there'll be no point in writing the story as I've already blabbed everything out. Have a nice day, everyone.

Mareschal – Middle English via Old French version of 'Marshall', a high-ranking officer of the armed forces.

Djemn – Pronounced as 'jem'.