Chapter 1 – Revelation; A Secret to Keep
I was told that my dreams will come true one day. Therefore, I never sleep, because I haven't forgotten that nightmares are dreams too.
A strict-looking woman paced back in forth in a quite peculiar looking office. She had a worried expression upon her face, and her graying black hair was pulled back in a tight bun. She wore emerald colored robes and her eyes were narrowed in concentration.
Behind the desk was her superior, a man who looked as old as time. He had a white beard that was long enough to tuck into his belt, half-moon glasses resting on a crooked nose that appeared to have been broken a few times, and he was dressed in long, purple robes. A drooping, pointed hat rested upon his crown and his hands were neatly folded together on his desk. His blue eyes twinkled mischievously and a small smile graced his lips.
"Why don't you have a seat, Minerva?" He opened a drawer and pulled out a bag of candies. "Do you care for a lemon drop?"
Minerva stopped her pacing and glared at the man as she sat across from him. "No, I do not want a lemon drop! I want to know where the child is! I checked the list of students attending this year and Kayla Lily Potter is not one of them! I even went to visit the Dursley residence in Surrey and none of them are there! I was told that Vernon, Petunia, and their son, Dudley, are all dead! Kayla has been missing for six years! It's as if she never existed!"
The door to the office opened and a tall man with shoulder length black hair entered the room. He sat in the available chair beside Minerva and spoke in a monotonous voice, "Dumbledore, I just received word that Kayla Potter is missing. Tell me, is it true?"
Dumbledore smiled at the two before him and answered, "Don't worry, Severus, Kayla Potter is perfectly fine. By the sounds of it, she's with an old acquaintance of mine. When you do meet her, do not call her by the name you know. She'll have a completely new identity, and she'll be exceptionally wise."
Severus released a breath he didn't know he was holding, and Minerva visibly relaxed. "Do you know the name she goes by?" Severus asked.
"No, I do not, and to be on the safe side, the two of you won't know until she's sorted. I'll make sure that she gets her letter and the situation is explained thoroughly." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Alright, I'll leave tomorrow morning. I thinks it's best if the two of you head off to bed as well." With that, Minerva left the room. Hesitating, Severus followed.
Wammy's House is an institution for highly intellectual orphans. There are many residents, whom all go by aliases, and the goal of most orphans here is to surpass L, the world's upcoming greatest detective, but L wasn't at Wammy's yet. He was still out in the real world, living as a child with a family, and learning at an exceptional rate.
Instead, the top minds at Wammy's House are A, B, and R. Alternate, Backup, and Raina. Alternate and Backup have met and are somewhat friends, but Raina has never been seen by either of them. Most children at Wammy's, including A, believe that Raina is just an imaginary person that Watari created so they'd have a person to defeat with their intellect, but Backup knew better than that. He knows that she's somewhere in Wammy's. Somewhere secluded, abandoned by others, and practically invisible, that's where she hides.
Backup is absolutely correct. Raina is on the fifth floor, but her room is accessed by a staircase different than the other one that leads to the floor. Her room is at the top of the steps, and at the bottom of the steps is a door leading to the kitchen. From in the kitchen, when you look at the door, all you can see are the shelves of kitchen supplies which is nailed to the door, but if you looked close enough, you could see the outline of the door and the handle which hid behind a bag of flour.
Watari promised her a secluded room, so that's where she stays, but don't worry, she still gets food and there's a bathroom adjoined to her room.
Raina's brown eyes were sleep deprived and her red hair matted and tangled. Just by looking at her, one couldn't tell why she was at Wammy's. The reason for her being was her ability to be calm in the worst of situations, and later Watari saw that she was extremely intelligent. The only disadvantage she held was her fear of people and being touched. She hasn't shed a tear since she awoke in the hospital six years ago, and she's never spoken of her past. On certain days, Raina will just sit in the window seat and stare outside from sunrise to sunset. Today is one of those days.
Raina could easily hear the footsteps approaching her room, but she decided to ignore them as she continued staring out the window at the horizon. The handle of her bedroom door turned ever so slowly and stopped with a click. The door opened and a head peaked in. Smiling, the person completely entered the room. She set a tray down on the organized desk and walked over to Raina. She didn't touch the child because she knew of her fear. Instead, the woman stood behind Raina.
"Happy birthday, Miss Raina! I brought you pancakes with blue raspberries cooked into it! I also brought you maple syrup, bacon, eggs, and a glass of black tea. Of course, with the tea, I brought a lot of sugar cubes, because who knows how many of those cubicle sugars you add to your tea," The woman's bright smile slowly turned to a frown as she stared at the unresponsive child before her.
She gently laid her hand on Raina's shoulder. Raina flinched and she began to quiver unintentionally. A few tears welled up in the woman's eyes.
"Please eat this time. I can't stand to see you like this." A single tear cascaded down her face and landed on the child. Slowly, the woman removed her hand from Raina's shoulder and backed out of the room.
Raina still sat there in the window seat. The only difference was that her quivering had finally come to an end. She happened to debate eating this year, and eventually, she rose from the window and dragged herself to the table which held her breakfast.
The scent had finally enveloped her and caused her stomach to make that dying whale sound. She sat in her chair and basically inhaled the meal. She was unaware of the woman hiding behind her door, holding a small smile.
Raina then stood from her desk and returned to the window seat. Her door clicked shut, and the woman finally returned to the kitchen.
For those of you who actually read the prologue, you might understand Raina's actions. Those of you who didn't read the beginning, I suggest you go read it, for if you don't you'll be left utterly confused.
Exactly six years ago, Raina met her first friend. She blames herself for his death, because if she wouldn't have met him, he would've lived. What
Raina refuses to realize is that if she hadn't have found Arimoto's Death Note, he would've still found the interesting child without a name or time of death. From the Shinigami Realm, he would've watched her grow, and unintentionally accumulated a bond with the girl. He would've loved her from a distance and still would've saved her, but in that case, she wouldn't feel guilt or be as mentally stable as she is now. Also, Raina wouldn't have the Shinigami Eyes, allowing her to see the names and times of death of those around her.
So, Raina is here in the window seat, full of guilt, and believing the delusional lie she gave herself. Raina simply stared out at the horizon, expecting a normal day, and attempting to ignore the feeling of change that seemed to suffocate her.
That's when he appeared. How he appeared, Raina didn't know, but there he was just inside Wammy's front gates. He looked unique and very strange. At first she believed him to be a hallucination caused from her lack of sleep, but the man looked very much real, despite his ancient appearance, his purple robes, and his half-moon spectacles. As she looked at him, Raina's eyes flashed red. She saw his name to be Albus Brian Dumbledore, and his time of death was a jumble of numbers that kept shifting and changing. Albus looked up and smiled at Raina, causing her eyes to widen a fraction. Then Albus's attention was drawn to the front door, where Raina saw Watari approaching Albus. They greeted each other and walked inside.
Never before had Raina been this confused. A peculiar man appearing at an orphanage hidden from society. Said man knowing the owner, and smiling at her as if he knows something that she doesn't know. His smile had thrown her off.
What exactly does he know? Is it something about Arimoto? The Dursleys? Something about my past that'll effect my future? As she was pondering over the topic, Raina unconsciously made herself a glass of Black tea and began dropping sugar cubes in it as pairs. After dropping the sixth couple of cubes in her tea, she stirred it, returned to the window seat, and began to sip on the overly-sweet, hot beverage.
The warm drink improved her thinking process, but Raina came to no conclusions. Her drowsiness caught up with her, and Raina set the empty glass to her side, nearly immediately falling asleep, while leaning against the window.
Albus Dumbledore and Quillish Wammy were walking up the hidden staircase that led to the fifth floor room of Rania. When they reached the door, Watari knocked a few times, and slowly opened the door. His gaze landed on the small frame of Raina, and a smile brought itself to his face. He led Albus into the room and motioned for him to make himself comfortable. Watari, being as fatherly as he is, grabbed a blanket from Raina's closet and wrapped the sleeping girl in it before carrying her to her bed, and he covered her frame with the bed sheets and comforter.
"She has grown so much since I last saw her, but why is her room separated from all the others?" Dumbledore asked as he sat in a black chair, across from the couch where Watari sat himself.
"Raina has developed a genuine fear of large groups of people and physical contact. In order to prevent her from having a panic attack, I made sure that she'd easily be able to avoid the other children. Since, Raina stays in here, the other children believe that she's a myth of sorts, aside from one, but even he doesn't know that Raina's up here." Watari explained.
Albus nodded, a curious twinkle in his eyes, "And how do you think she would cope at Hogwarts?"
"She'd eventually manage, but the amount of people there would make it difficult for her."
The two men continued to converse, not knowing that a certain red-haired girl was, in fact, awake and eavesdropping.
As Raina heard words such as: Hogwarts, robes, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Diagon Alley, and Gringotts, she hadn't a clue as to what the men were talking about. It seemed that a load a rubbish was casually rolling off of the tongues of the two men. Raina grew anxious by the second. She knew that Watari wouldn't come to her room without reason, especially with a stranger, but she didn't want to reveal the fact that she was eavesdropping, not yet. She needed to know more about the newcomer, aside from his name, and the fact that he's Headmaster at this so called "Hogwarts."
Eventually, Raina gave up, and convincingly pretended as if she had just woken. The men stopped conversing and their attention was drawn to the birthday girl. Knowingly, Raina stood from her bed, and sat on the open seat cushion beside Watari.
"What are you here for, Headmaster Albus Brian Dumbledore." Raina said his name in a slow, eerie tone, and she narrowed her eyes at said man.
"I came to visit an old friend of mine, and explain this letter to you." Dumbledore passed Raina a thick envelope made of old parchment.
She studied the envelope, which had upon it, in neat, green handwriting:
Miss Raina
Wammy's House
Fifth floor
Hidden Bedroom
Winchester
Cautiously, Raina flipped the envelope, and studied the bear of arms on the wax seal before breaking it to pull the contents out. She had pulled two letters, and opened the first.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Raina,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress"
The second letter corresponded with the first, but it was a list of supplies for the student for if they were to attend the school. Raina looked from Dumbledore to Watari, trying to make sense from the letters she had read.
"What courses are taught at Hogwarts?" Raina asked. Watari simply smiled, while Dumbledore was surprised that this was her first question.
"Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology are the required courses." Dumbledore answered.
Raina could tell that he wasn't lying about anything he had said, but she couldn't help but feel as if he were keeping something from her. In that case, he must've met her before or known her parents… Dumbledore did, in fact, look at Raina with nostalgia in his eyes and a knowing smile.
"You know who I am, and you knew my parents." Raina then looked at Watari. "You knew them too, didn't you, and you know what happened to them?"
Watari gave a wistful smile. "I never had the honor of meeting Lily and James Potter, but I do know what happened to them. It's what made you quite famous in the wizarding community."
"That's one of the reasons I came to explain everything to you." Dumbledore began. "Since you now live under the name, Raina, I believe that you'd appreciate the entire wizarding world not knowing who you are." Raina nodded. "I've ensured that if you are to attend Hogwarts, our Transfiguration Professor will help you with your Metamorphmagus abilities."
Raina was dumfounded. What's a Metamorphmagus? Metamorphosis is the stages an insect goes through to meet its matured form, but as a human… And a Transfiguration Professor is going to assist me. Transfiguration is changing the outward appearance of something… So I'll be taught how to alter my physical appearance without the use of makeup or plastic surgery.
"Will any other students be learning how to do this?" Raina was genuinely concerned. It was at this moment she realized how many students she'd have to interact with. While Raina was able to hide her fear from her voice and face, Dumbledore could see how scared Raina truly was.
"No, Miss Raina, you are the only Metamorphmagus that will be attending Hogwarts this year." Dumbledore answered.
"What makes you so sure that I'm a Metamorphmagus?" Raina's curiosity was beginning to overpower her logic. She was genuinely interested in learning everything about this new world that she was apparently part of.
"When you were younger, your hair would occasionally change colors along with your eyes. I think that while you were living with the Dursleys your ability was suppressed. I did see your eyes change to a red color for a split second when I had arrived here, and Watari told me that your eyes have changed to the same red color when you met new people."
If they had only used the red color of my Shinigami eyes as their reasoning, then I'd have an issue. I'll have to use my eyes when meeting new people, at least until I begin my lessons. Afterwards, I'll only use my eyes when necessary.
"Alright, when and where do I get my supplies?" Raina wanted Albus to leave. She wished to be left alone to think about all that's occurred so far in this early morning, but unfortunately, she wouldn't be secluded in her room for a while.
"If it's alright with you and Quillish, I can take you to get your supplies now." Dumbledore answered, simply.
"I would be all for that idea, but what would I do for my appearance? I don't really know how to alter my appearance at-will and keep it in that formation, just yet, and I'd prefer not having to socialize more than needed."
"Quillish told me that, already, you know how to disguise yourself using temporary hair dyes and colored contacts. Since you'll be learning the arts of Metamorphmagi, you'll be able to disguise yourself a certain way until you begin your lessons."
"I'll get ready, then. Could you and Watari wait for me in the entrance hall, I promise that I won't be too long." Raina stood from her seat and stepped into the closet, ending the conversation. After a moment, Dumbledore and Watari left the girl's room to wait for her downstairs.
