Most of the professors left as soon as they were done eating, shooting me
curious glances as they went to classes or offices. I stayed until the end
of the lunch period, leaning back in my chair with a hot cup of l'kona, an
Elven drink of milk, chocolate, and honey that I conjured up. Snape also
stayed, and we exchanged pleasantries for a while. The Slayer in me had
apparently reached an understanding with the professor last night, and we
shared an understanding in our common mastery.
We left the hall together, and I invited Snape to my rooms that evening after dinner for a chat. He accepted with a smile, and I left him to teach my seventh-year class.
I reviewed the roll and groaned mentally. Abbott. Bones. Boot. Brocklehurst. Brown. Granger. Longbottom. Malfoy. Parkinson. Potter. Weasley. Zabini. Three Slytherins. Five Gryffindors. Two Ravenclaws. Two Hufflepuffs. Twelve students.
I looked up and counted. They were all here, some anxious, some excited, some suspicious. This wouldn't do.
"We'll start slow," I said. "I know some of you have questions about me, where I've been, what I do. I think it's best if we take care of those things right away. Who's first?"
Zabini raised his hand, a sly, brown-haired boy seated next to Malfoy.
"Were you ever at Hogwarts, Mage Rowan?"
"No, I wasn't. I was accepted to the Salem Academy in America and graduated there before beginning my training."
"How old were you when you began?" Grander asked me. Smart girl.
"I was nine."
She whitened, then asked, "And when you finished?"
"14."
Weasley didn't understand her gasp, but surprisingly enough, Parkinson did.
"You finished Salem in five years? At 14?"
"Yes, Miss Parkinson, I did."
"Why is that important?" A mousy girl asked me. Susan Bones. Hufflepuff.
"Well, Miss Bones. Salem is the most intensive and difficult wizarding school to graduate from. Most students begin Salem at the age of eleven, same as Hogwarts. While you have nine or ten subjects from your third year on, Salem students begin their first year with twelve. By the time a student reaches their seventh year, they have taken anywhere from fourteen to eighteen different classes, and must pass them all with perfect marks on exams at the end of their seventh year in order to graduate. As a result, very few students graduate by their eighteenth birthday. Most don't graduate until they are twenty or twenty-one. The average length a student spends at Salem is ten years. However, the students, their families, and the wizarding world are willing to accept this because of the education the students at Salem receive."
"So how did you manage it in five years?"
"And why did they let you in two years early?"
"Good questions. They let me in early because I needed to control my magic. It was getting dangerous for me and those around me because I was doing wandless magic. Much like most of you experienced your first magical burst, I did as well, at the age of three. However, I kept doing it uncontrollably, and people felt this needed to be restrained. I graduated in five years because my professors taught me independently and during the summer."
"How many classes did you take?"
"All twenty that Salem offered, and I passed all of them perfectly when I was fourteen."
Silence in the room.
"What did you do after you graduated?"
"Ah, Mr. Potter. Thank you for asking. I trained with different groups of people for six years and also discovered some abilities I didn't know I had. After that, I entered mage training."
"And what did that entail?"
A very good question, and one I wasn't sure I could answer. These children - young adults, were incapable of understanding much of what I went through.
"Well, a mage is someone who can think outside of their own race and see the world in distinctively non-racial terms. For example, when I see a tree, I don't see the same thing you all do. I see a home, or a tree- spirit, or the memory of an ancient magic. A mage learns to perform spells in other languages, coming from other mindsets. Each mage finds a magical race that suits them the best. It's like.. .choosing a wand. Really, the wand chooses the wizard. Much like that, magic chooses a mage. Though I am not an elf, I work best with Elven magic. That's why the crest on my battle robes shows a tree - the symbol of the Elven magic. A mage also discovers that they work best with one of the seven elements, fire, water, wind, earth, light, love, or life. I found that my affinity lies with fire, hence I was trained to become a Fire Mage, and hence the tree on my crest is surrounded by fire."
"Does your name have anything to do with your magic?" Miss Brown asked.
"Yes, it does. To a mage, a true name, the one you are born with, is sacred, a secret. By naming something, you have a certain power over it. My public name is Rowan, which I chose based on my first success with another race's magic. My private name, the one my parents gave me, is something that very few people know or ever will know. Even though none of you have mage names, I will not refer to you by your first name unless you ask me, because, in my mind, that is your secret name and I have no right to use it unless you invite me to."
"What's with all the weapons and stuff you were wearing last night?"
I made a mental note to try and help Miss Bones with her vocabulary.
"Most of my weapons are traditional mage-weapons, my daggers, knives, and swords, for example. In addition to being a Mage, I am also a vampire hunter" - no need for them to know about the Slayer just yet - "hence the stakes. My necklace is a divination crystal, the phials are filled with healing potions I might need. The bells and bandolier are the tools of a necromancer. Before you go jumping to conclusions, there are two branches of the necromantic arts. One of them raises the dead, the other lays the dead to rest. I will have you know I am of the second variety."
"Why do you carry so many wands?"
"While it is true that each wizard has one wand that works best for them, occasionally, when a person finds a particular leaning toward one magical area, a different wand will work better. For instance, Mr. Potter. Your father had his general wand, which was good for transfiguration, I believe. However, he also had a second wand made specifically for transfiguration. The second wand worked transfiguration spells more precisely, but could not have performed a single levitation charm."
"How many wands do you have?"
"I have eight - one general, and seven specific."
"What subjects are they for?"
"Defense, of course, transfiguration, divination, potions, runes, and charms. I also have one wand that is specific for the dark arts."
Several members of the class glared at me, Mr. Potter included.
"You perform the dark arts, Mage?"
"One of the consequences of being a mage, Mr. Potter, is necessity. Just because people like Voldemort use the dark arts does not make the arts evil. They, like Slytherin, are not evil, just dark."
"What were you doing in Japan?"
"The short answer to that, Miss Granger, is that all Elven Fire mages were asked by the Magical government of Japan to aid them in ridding the nation of some rampaging smoke demons. Elven mages have the most power against demons, and only Fire mages can destroy smoke. There are only four other mages with the same designation as me, and it took us a year to round up and destroy the demons. I'm hoping this year I can rest a little."
"How many demons?"
"Three."
"And it took five of you a year?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, don't look so surprised. Smoke demons are elusive. They hide in fireplaces, in factories, everywhere that smoke exists, and they can travel invisibly through the air. They have no magic signature, so tracking is near impossible without help. Let this be your first lesson. Appearances can be deceiving, and just because a person is powerful does not mean they can destroy what they want to easily."
I looked at my class and saw their rapt attention and growing understanding. With a wave of my hand, I dismissed them until Thursday, after telling them to read the first chapter of their assigned textbook.
Malfoy sat at his desk and waited for the rest of the class to file out. He was thrown some odd looks by the Gryffindors, but left alone. Once it was just the two of us, he spoke.
"I was wondering, Mage Rowan."
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy? What can I do for you?"
"When it's just the two of us, I was hoping you could.. .you could call me Draco."
I wasn't expecting that. Such a handing over of trust, by a Slytherin, no less.
"You understand that I am not required the same action? And that this shows you trust me with the information?"
"I understand, Mage."
"Very well, Draco. Thank you for the faith you have in me. I will not let you down."
He smiled and left. I collapsed in my chair. If I was right, this could prove to be an interesting year.
--
AN: Hi everyone! Does that answer some of your questions about Rowan?
We left the hall together, and I invited Snape to my rooms that evening after dinner for a chat. He accepted with a smile, and I left him to teach my seventh-year class.
I reviewed the roll and groaned mentally. Abbott. Bones. Boot. Brocklehurst. Brown. Granger. Longbottom. Malfoy. Parkinson. Potter. Weasley. Zabini. Three Slytherins. Five Gryffindors. Two Ravenclaws. Two Hufflepuffs. Twelve students.
I looked up and counted. They were all here, some anxious, some excited, some suspicious. This wouldn't do.
"We'll start slow," I said. "I know some of you have questions about me, where I've been, what I do. I think it's best if we take care of those things right away. Who's first?"
Zabini raised his hand, a sly, brown-haired boy seated next to Malfoy.
"Were you ever at Hogwarts, Mage Rowan?"
"No, I wasn't. I was accepted to the Salem Academy in America and graduated there before beginning my training."
"How old were you when you began?" Grander asked me. Smart girl.
"I was nine."
She whitened, then asked, "And when you finished?"
"14."
Weasley didn't understand her gasp, but surprisingly enough, Parkinson did.
"You finished Salem in five years? At 14?"
"Yes, Miss Parkinson, I did."
"Why is that important?" A mousy girl asked me. Susan Bones. Hufflepuff.
"Well, Miss Bones. Salem is the most intensive and difficult wizarding school to graduate from. Most students begin Salem at the age of eleven, same as Hogwarts. While you have nine or ten subjects from your third year on, Salem students begin their first year with twelve. By the time a student reaches their seventh year, they have taken anywhere from fourteen to eighteen different classes, and must pass them all with perfect marks on exams at the end of their seventh year in order to graduate. As a result, very few students graduate by their eighteenth birthday. Most don't graduate until they are twenty or twenty-one. The average length a student spends at Salem is ten years. However, the students, their families, and the wizarding world are willing to accept this because of the education the students at Salem receive."
"So how did you manage it in five years?"
"And why did they let you in two years early?"
"Good questions. They let me in early because I needed to control my magic. It was getting dangerous for me and those around me because I was doing wandless magic. Much like most of you experienced your first magical burst, I did as well, at the age of three. However, I kept doing it uncontrollably, and people felt this needed to be restrained. I graduated in five years because my professors taught me independently and during the summer."
"How many classes did you take?"
"All twenty that Salem offered, and I passed all of them perfectly when I was fourteen."
Silence in the room.
"What did you do after you graduated?"
"Ah, Mr. Potter. Thank you for asking. I trained with different groups of people for six years and also discovered some abilities I didn't know I had. After that, I entered mage training."
"And what did that entail?"
A very good question, and one I wasn't sure I could answer. These children - young adults, were incapable of understanding much of what I went through.
"Well, a mage is someone who can think outside of their own race and see the world in distinctively non-racial terms. For example, when I see a tree, I don't see the same thing you all do. I see a home, or a tree- spirit, or the memory of an ancient magic. A mage learns to perform spells in other languages, coming from other mindsets. Each mage finds a magical race that suits them the best. It's like.. .choosing a wand. Really, the wand chooses the wizard. Much like that, magic chooses a mage. Though I am not an elf, I work best with Elven magic. That's why the crest on my battle robes shows a tree - the symbol of the Elven magic. A mage also discovers that they work best with one of the seven elements, fire, water, wind, earth, light, love, or life. I found that my affinity lies with fire, hence I was trained to become a Fire Mage, and hence the tree on my crest is surrounded by fire."
"Does your name have anything to do with your magic?" Miss Brown asked.
"Yes, it does. To a mage, a true name, the one you are born with, is sacred, a secret. By naming something, you have a certain power over it. My public name is Rowan, which I chose based on my first success with another race's magic. My private name, the one my parents gave me, is something that very few people know or ever will know. Even though none of you have mage names, I will not refer to you by your first name unless you ask me, because, in my mind, that is your secret name and I have no right to use it unless you invite me to."
"What's with all the weapons and stuff you were wearing last night?"
I made a mental note to try and help Miss Bones with her vocabulary.
"Most of my weapons are traditional mage-weapons, my daggers, knives, and swords, for example. In addition to being a Mage, I am also a vampire hunter" - no need for them to know about the Slayer just yet - "hence the stakes. My necklace is a divination crystal, the phials are filled with healing potions I might need. The bells and bandolier are the tools of a necromancer. Before you go jumping to conclusions, there are two branches of the necromantic arts. One of them raises the dead, the other lays the dead to rest. I will have you know I am of the second variety."
"Why do you carry so many wands?"
"While it is true that each wizard has one wand that works best for them, occasionally, when a person finds a particular leaning toward one magical area, a different wand will work better. For instance, Mr. Potter. Your father had his general wand, which was good for transfiguration, I believe. However, he also had a second wand made specifically for transfiguration. The second wand worked transfiguration spells more precisely, but could not have performed a single levitation charm."
"How many wands do you have?"
"I have eight - one general, and seven specific."
"What subjects are they for?"
"Defense, of course, transfiguration, divination, potions, runes, and charms. I also have one wand that is specific for the dark arts."
Several members of the class glared at me, Mr. Potter included.
"You perform the dark arts, Mage?"
"One of the consequences of being a mage, Mr. Potter, is necessity. Just because people like Voldemort use the dark arts does not make the arts evil. They, like Slytherin, are not evil, just dark."
"What were you doing in Japan?"
"The short answer to that, Miss Granger, is that all Elven Fire mages were asked by the Magical government of Japan to aid them in ridding the nation of some rampaging smoke demons. Elven mages have the most power against demons, and only Fire mages can destroy smoke. There are only four other mages with the same designation as me, and it took us a year to round up and destroy the demons. I'm hoping this year I can rest a little."
"How many demons?"
"Three."
"And it took five of you a year?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, don't look so surprised. Smoke demons are elusive. They hide in fireplaces, in factories, everywhere that smoke exists, and they can travel invisibly through the air. They have no magic signature, so tracking is near impossible without help. Let this be your first lesson. Appearances can be deceiving, and just because a person is powerful does not mean they can destroy what they want to easily."
I looked at my class and saw their rapt attention and growing understanding. With a wave of my hand, I dismissed them until Thursday, after telling them to read the first chapter of their assigned textbook.
Malfoy sat at his desk and waited for the rest of the class to file out. He was thrown some odd looks by the Gryffindors, but left alone. Once it was just the two of us, he spoke.
"I was wondering, Mage Rowan."
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy? What can I do for you?"
"When it's just the two of us, I was hoping you could.. .you could call me Draco."
I wasn't expecting that. Such a handing over of trust, by a Slytherin, no less.
"You understand that I am not required the same action? And that this shows you trust me with the information?"
"I understand, Mage."
"Very well, Draco. Thank you for the faith you have in me. I will not let you down."
He smiled and left. I collapsed in my chair. If I was right, this could prove to be an interesting year.
--
AN: Hi everyone! Does that answer some of your questions about Rowan?