Lord of the Wind
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel! Partly Animagus story!
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thanks a lot to the kind readers who commented on the previous chapter!
Everyone looked at McGonagall in expectation. The Deputy Headmistress stood there with a long parchment in her hands, glancing at the Headmaster in confusion. Gaoithe, who was standing nearby, heard her mumble something like, "Stupid old piece of cloth gone nuts."
"Now begin," the Hat snarled.
"Sopho, behave yourself," the Headmaster chided him slightly, before he nodded at the cat professor.
"Bones, Susan," McGonagall read from her parchment.
Gaoithe threw his new friend an encouraging look as she glanced around, before she hesitantly sat on the stool. As soon as the cat professor placed the Hat on her head, he shouted into the Hall, "Merlin."
"Sopho, behave yourself, "Dumbledore repeated sternly, "and properly sort the first years."
"I just sorted the first student," the Hat growled, and with a huge 'pop' a fifth house table appeared next to the Gryffindor table, provoking a multiple huge gasp.
Gaoithe and Hermione exchanged a knowing look, while Dumbledore asked Severus for a headache potion, before he explained very slowly with a pensive expression on his face, "There is a fifth house, the Merlin House. I only received the information about this House this very minute, but I'll try to explain..."
Gaoithe chuckled inwardly as he observed Madam Pomfrey unobtrusively feel the headmaster's forehead, before she looked at McGonagall and shook her head, while Dumbledore continued, "The Founders themselves invented Merlin House for those, who didn't fit into any of the four other Houses or would have fit into all of them because they were especially open-minded. However, the house was always said to be mysterious, and often strange things happened to its students. It was finally abandoned in 1627 when a group of its students were said to have passed away for an unknown reason. The house was closed and all information about it was banned from Hogwarts. Only yesterday, it seems to have been re-discovered, and now that I as the headmaster have been made aware of the house, all the information about it has been released from its ban. I assume that you'll be able to inform yourself about the house if you look into a self-updating volume of 'Hogwarts: A History'. Professor McGonagall and Sopho, please continue with the Sorting. Ms. Bones, please take a seat at the Merlin table over there." He pointed to the new house table, before he sat down again.
'Wow, that's too cool. Hermione and I discovered it,' Gaoithe mused, feeling very excited and just a little proud. 'I hope Sopho is going to sort Hermione and me into the new house, although it'll be a little sad to not have any older students. We probably wouldn't even be able to set up a Quidditch team.'
He was pulled out of his thoughts when the cat professor called, "Granger, Hermione."
"Good luck," Gaoithe whispered to his friend and observed how she hesitantly sat on the stool.
"Merlin," the Hat shouted once again, as soon as he even touched Hermione's bushy hair.
Gaoithe watched his friend walk over to join Susan at the new house table with a huge smile on her face. He saw with interest how Neville and Draco were sorted into Merlin as well, before the cat professor finally called his name. "Snape, Gaoithe."
Flashing a smile to his father at the head table, who seemed to be as stunned at the new development at Hogwarts as his colleagues, Gaoithe stepped over to Professor McGonagall, who motioned for him to sit on the stool. Gaoithe obliged and felt the Hat touch his head. Suddenly, a faint voice penetrated his ears.
'Ah, it is you to whom I owe this terrible headache. You're too curious and too slimy for your own good. Of course, being friends with that feathered duster of Fawkes will do that to a boy. But I'm going to get my revenge, and you won't like it.'
Gaoithe groaned inwardly. 'Can't the stupid old rag just sort me wherever it thinks I'd fit?' he thought impatiently, wondering where the Hat was going to sort him assuming that he wouldn't like it.
'I AM NOT AN OLD RAG,' the Hat thought back angrily, before he shouted into the Hall, "Merlin."
"I think it's time to think about a new Sorting method," Gaoithe mumbled to the cat professor as he tore the Hat from his head and handed it back, causing the teacher to nod her agreement.
"Stupid Gryffindors," the Hat mumbled in obvious annoyance, and Gaoithe quickly turned around, facing the Merlin table, happy that all of his friends had been sorted there as well.
The Hat sorted Ron Weasley into Gryffindor and Blaise Zabini into Merlin, before he spoke aloud, "Head of House for Merlin shall be..." The edges of his cramp pulled upwards to an evil smile before he continued, "Poppy Pomfrey."
Everyone looked at the Hat in surprise, and a multiple gasp could be heard.
"Sopho, we use to assign professors as heads of house and not healers," Dumbledore spoke up thoughtfully.
"This house is special, and considering how dangerous it is you better have a healer as the head. Moreover, you should make Pomfrey a professor and make the NEWT students attend Healing classes and figure out what to do against my headache," the Hat hissed back. "And now leave me in peace."
#I know what to do against your headache,# Fawkes trilled, smirking. #You can join me for my next burning day. Gaoithe, translate please.#
Gaoithe chuckled and translated for everyone to hear, causing a huge fight between Fawkes and Sopho to begin that only ended when McGonagall took the Hat in determination and carried it out of the Great Hall.
"What was that?" Hermione asked, chuckling, causing the whole Merlin table that only consisted of eight students to laugh.
Apart from Gaoithe, Hermione, Neville, Draco, Susan and Blaise, Millicent Bulstrode and Mandy Brocklehurst had been sorted into the new House. 'We're eight, so in fact enough to build up a Quidditch team,' Gaoithe mused, 'although Hermione doesn't like to fly.'
"I love being together with all of you; although it's a bit sad that we don't have any older students in our house," he said quietly. "Would you all be willing to put up a Quidditch team together?"
"First years aren't allowed to play Quidditch," Hermione reminded him sternly, "and with a healer as head of house it's the question if we will be allowed to play at all."
Gaoithe couldn't help laughing. "I know for a fact that Madam Pomfrey is as fond of playing Quidditch as Professor McGonagall. We should try to talk them into skipping that stupid first year rule though, considering that our house won't be able to participate in the Quidditch matches if we aren't allowed to play."
"Let's ask your father later on," Draco suggested, turning around when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was Madam Pomfrey. "Hello and welcome to the Merlin House. The house-elves have prepared a connecting door from my office to your common room. However, does by chance any of you know where the entrance to Merlin House is?"
"Yes, Madam Pomfrey. Hermione and I know where it is," Gaoithe replied quietly, noticing that the healer's expression turned to a smile.
"I thought it could have only been you to discover an ancient house, Gaoithe," she chuckled, causing Gaoithe to blush and everyone else to laugh. "Well then, please lead us to the house right after dinner. We'll have a house meeting to discuss several things, before I will meet with the headmaster and the other heads of house to speak about our new and unexpected situation."
"She seems to be very nice," Neville spoke up shyly. "My granny told me that she was Professor McGonagall's and her best friend when they were students here."
"They still are, and yes, she's very nice. If the Sorting Hat would have really wanted to anger me, he should have made Professor Binns, the ghost, or Professor Quirrell our Head. I don't like him very much. He stutters, and sometimes my head begins to hurt when I look at him. He's very strange," Gaoithe said quietly. He looked at the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, immediately feeling a sharp pain in his head.
"Gaoithe, are you all right?" Hermione asked in concern, noticing that he gripped his forehead in pain.
"Yes of course," Gaoithe replied firmly.
To Gaoithe's relief, the feast was over uncharacteristically early, probably because the teachers had much to discuss about the new house. He led the small group to the entrance of Merlin House.
#Password?# the phoenix guarding the portrait hole queried, and Gaoithe translated quickly, looking at the healer in expectation.
"Home," she said simply, and the portrait opened.
'Wow, the house-elves did a good job thoroughly cleaning the house,' Gaoithe thought in amazement at how cosy and inviting the room looked. However, when he glanced at the painting with the animals, many of them simultaneously began to speak at him in their different tongues.
'What the heck...' Gaoithe thought as he tried to understand what seemed to be a mixture of warnings and advice.
Pomfrey motioned for them to sit in a circle on the comfortable looking sofas and chairs and began to speak.
"Welcome to Merlin House. Being the head of this house is as unexpected for me as it is for you to have been sorted here. I believe that it might take some time to figure out what it means to be in this house. Personally, I think that it's a bit sad to not have any older students here; however, I will speak with my colleagues about the matter and ask if there's any possibility to re-sort older students, who'd be willing to change to Merlin."
"That's a brilliant idea. Thank you, Professor Pomfrey," Gaoithe threw in, noticing that his seven classmates nodded eagerly.
"I've thought of a few house rules; however, there might be more, which I'll add upon realising that they're needed," the healer continued. "Independent from the school's curfew, Merlin House has its own curfew, which is at nine o'clock; in case we get older students from fifth year onwards, their curfew will be at ten o'clock. Bedtime and lights out is eleven o'clock for everyone. See that you keep to these times. If you can't manage to finish your homework by then, you may come to my office before your bed time and speak with me. The door over there leads straight into my office." She pointed to a barely visible door right next to the painting with the animals.
"I expect you to be on time at all times. You have to attend breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Great Hall, and of course you must be in your classrooms punctually. If you are ill or for some other reason unable to be on time, you must come and inform me immediately. If you feel unwell, I expect you to come to me immediately, before you make yourself worse or get all of your housemates sick as well. I will try to spend at least thirty minutes in the common room every night to give you a chance to speak with me about school matters or private topics. However, depending on the situation in the hospital wing, I might not always be able to come here."
"We can all understand that, Professor," Hermione said kindly.
"Provided that I can get away from the hospital wing, we're going to hold a house meeting here in the common room every Friday evening at eight o'clock. Everyone has to attend. The only excuse would be to be in the hospital wing. Do you have any questions?"
Gaoithe was the first to speak up. "Can we somehow break the rule that first years aren't allowed to play on their house team and have a Quidditch team please? Otherwise, our house won't be able to play at all, so..." He unsurely trailed off.
Pomfrey let out a long sigh, mumbling something about spending the rest of the weekends in the hospital wing, but finally said, "All right; I'll ask my colleagues, but I think it would only be fair to allow you to play, provided that you have seven players?" She looked into the small faces of the eleven-year-olds.
Six of the eight students raised their hands – everyone except for Hermione and Neville. Hermione sighed. "I don't overly like flying, but if the sake of our house depends on it, I'd be willing to participate."
"I've never flown before, but I can try," Neville spoke up in a small voice. "I don't know if I can fly at all though, because my magic is not very strong."
"I don't think that there is anything wrong with your magic, Mr. Longbottom. Come to me tomorrow after your last afternoon class, and we'll check what might be wrong," Pomfrey replied gently. "All right then; I'll speak with the others," she promised, glancing around. "Any more questions?"
"What is the symbol of our house, I mean like the snake for Slytherin or the badger for Hufflepuff?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"As far as the headmaster told me during dinner, it's a phoenix, a white phoenix like Gaoithe's Yuki."
Everyone looked at Gaoithe, who looked back, startled, and quietly called his familiar. "Yuki."
With a small splash of ice, the young phoenix landed on his shoulder, fondly nibbling his earlobe, causing everyone to laugh when Gaoithe wiped small pieces of ice from his cheek.
"I have another question," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Professor Dumbledore said something about this House being dangerous and that people died in this house. Did he explain what is dangerous or why students died here?"
"No, Ms. Granger; the headmaster apparently doesn't have any further information. Just be very careful, all of you," Pomfrey replied sternly, throwing Gaoithe a warning look, before she rose from her seat. "Very well then, let's go and see where the dormitories are." She chose the left of the two staircases at the end of the room and opened the first door. 'First year boys,' the inscription said. The torches on both sides of the room lit automatically as the small group entered the dormitory. "The house-elves already brought your luggage. Make yourselves comfortable, and I suggest that you head to bed early tonight. The girls please follow me to your dormitory. Good night, boys."
"Good night, Professor Pomfrey," the four boys replied, before they looked for their beds. 'I like this room,' Gaoithe thought, glancing around in amazement. The dormitory looked similar to those in Gryffindor and Slytherin, which were the only dormitories he had ever visited before; however, the walls and the furniture were kept in white, while the curtains around the beds had pastel colours. The wall opposite the entrance was one very large window, and Gaoithe realised happily that his bed was the one right next to the window. Neville's bed was next to his own, while Draco and Blaise slept on the other side of the room.
"This dormitory is gorgeous; don't you think so?" Gaoithe asked, and the three others agreed immediately.
"I love Merlin House," Draco stated, "although my father is going to kill me for not being sorted into Slytherin."
"That's not your fault, Draco," Gaoithe said firmly.
"My Granny was sure I'd be in Hufflepuff, while I'd have preferred Gryffindor," Neville said shyly, "but I'm glad that I ended up here."
"So am I," Blaise agreed, smiling. "It's just a bit sad without any older students, but Pomfrey seems to be a good head of house, and maybe she can talk the headmaster into re-sorting a few older students."
風の力を持つハリー
At the same time, the five heads of the houses were gathered in the headmaster's office, where Pomfrey just addressed the same topic.
"Poppy, I agree completely," McGonagall said sympathetically. "The students learn a lot from their older housemates."
"Very well then," Dumbledore agreed, "are you up to re-sorting a few older students, Sopho?"
"No," the Sorting Hat growled, "unless anyone sees fit to do anything about my headache."
"How about Fawkes?" Professor Flitwick threw in. "Couldn't he re-sort the students?"
Everyone followed Dumbledore's concerned look towards the phoenix's perch as he explained, "Unfortunately, Fawkes is not feeling well either. He must be very close to his burning day."
The good natured and funny phoenix was hunched on his perch, looking obviously miserable. His colour was dull, and he didn't wear the mischievous look they all knew all too well. All of a sudden, while the teachers were still watching him, Fawkes left his perch and hopped onto the shelf. Walking over to the Sorting Hat, he made himself comfortable on the Hat's large cramp, mere seconds before he burst into flames, causing the Hat to succumb to the flames, before Baby Fawkes appeared in the combined ash of his former self and the Hat.
"Well, that looks as if we had finally found a solution to this ludicrous and antiquated Sorting procedure," McGonagall said in apparent relief, when all of a sudden a Baby Hat popped into existence beside Baby Fawkes in the ashes.
The teachers let out a multiple groan, before Severus said dryly, "Since both of them seem to be slightly incapacitated at the moment, I suggest that we ask the students for volunteers. I can imagine that there will be more than enough students, who would appreciate being able to make a new start in a new house."
"Very well," Dumbledore agreed. "However, I suggest that we only allow one student for each year from each house to change to Merlin."
"If there are so many who want to transfer at all," McGonagall added, seemingly doubtful.
"We'll see. We'll ask them tomorrow morning at breakfast, and if there are too many, we'll have to think about something," the headmaster decided, before he turned to the Merlin head. "Poppy, you must tell the students to be careful. As far as I know, there is no information available as to why so many students died in Merlin House."
"I already told them to be careful, and I'll do again," Pomfrey confirmed, nodding. "There is another issue the students asked me to discuss with you."
After a short discussion, her colleagues agreed to skip the regulation for the first years on the Quidditch team only for Merlin House and for this school year. However, the first years were not allowed to have their own brooms, and if they already had brooms, they could bring them to Hogwarts, provided that they left them in their head's office and only used them for Quidditch practice and the matches. It was also decided that the Merlin students should attend classes together with the Gryffindors and Slytherins and that from that school year onwards, the Astronomy classes should take place at eight o'clock in the evening instead of midnight.
"Having eleven-year old students study at midnight is ridiculous," Pomfrey said firmly.
"I agree completely," Professor Sprout said. "During September, April and May, when it's still light at that time, the students can still have theoretical classes. It's not as if they were observing the stars all the time."
The teachers were about to end their meeting, when Severus spoke up thoughtfully. "What I can't understand is why Merlin House so suddenly popped back into existence. What exactly triggered it?"
"Apparently it was Gaoithe who discovered it. I didn't have a chance to ask him about the circumstances though," Pomfrey replied, chuckling at Severus' expression of annoyance. "However, it seems so very fitting," she added pensively. "He's a multiple Animagus, and the Merlin common room is dominated by a huge tapestry of magical animals. They were making quite a noise earlier. Moreover, the symbol of the house is a phoenix just like Gaoithe's main Animagus form. He seems to be predestined for discovering the house."
風の力を持つハリー
In the morning, Gaoithe woke up very early. 'I must speak with the animals in the painting,' he remembered as he recalled the previous evening. 'I love being in this House with all these magical animals around. I'll probably be able to learn a lot about their kinds of animal, which might help me if I transform into them for some reason.' Seeing that his three dorm mates were still fast asleep, he quickly scrambled out of bed and traipsed down into the common room.
"Good morning. Can you understand me if I'm in my human form?" he asked the animals.
#Of course we can understand you, because all of us are magical animals,# the phoenix trilled happily. #Congratulations for being sorted into Merlin House, the most wonderful house of Hogwarts.#
"Thank you," Gaoithe chuckled and transformed into his phoenix form. 'If the phoenix is the one who talks anyway, I can as well make myself comfortable in this form. It's strange to speak with a phoenix in my human form,' he mused as he sat on the back of the sofa that was closest to the painting.
#Can you tell me,# he asked hesitantly as he absentmindedly began to meticulously clean his wing feathers, #what is so special about Merlin House? As far as I heard last night, it seems to be very dangerous.#
The phoenix chuckled. #Ah, but that's only for those who are greedy and evil. For pure souls like you, this house is a paradise. Not all the secrets will reveal themselves to you and your housemates right from the beginning though. You or your friends have to gain all the animals' trust first. Each of the animals has its own secret, which they will reveal to you or your housemates as they see fit, and you will be able to inform your friends about it. However, only tell those, whom you really know well enough. Otherwise, bad things can happen, very bad things.# He let out a sigh and fluffed his feathers, before he continued, #Oh well, considering that you're a fellow phoenix, I'm going to let you in on my secret right away. Phoenixes are always good, even if they might be as naughty as Fawkes.# He quickly told Gaoithe what had happened in the headmaster's office in the evening.
#Will the Hat be all right?# Gaoithe asked in surprise.
#Sopho will be all right. People have tried to kill him before, but he is a strong piece of magic. He can't be killed. Oh, by the way, I am Marlin. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.#
#Marlin,# Gaoithe repeated in surprise. #I am Gaoithe. Please tell me about your secret.#
#My secret,# Marlin began to explain with a mysterious expression on his face, #is the Room of Reversal.#
#The Room of Reversal?# Gaoithe asked in disbelief. #What is this room exactly, and where is it?#
Marlin looked at him sternly. #You will be able to see a door between the sixth years and the seventh years boys' dormitories. That leads to the Room of Reversal. Everything else is for you to find out. Now since I trusted you with my secret, I won't speak about the matter anymore.#
#Thank you so much for letting me in on your secret, Marlin. I really appreciate it,# Gaoithe replied, feeling very confused. 'The Room of Reversal sounds very mysterious. I wonder why everything is so secret here though. Anyway, I better not bring any of my friends, except for maybe Hermione. Who knows what can happen? Maybe that's where people died earlier.'
風の力を持つハリー
All of a sudden, Gaoithe heard voices, and his classmates began to descend the stairs from the dormitories. He hurriedly transformed back into his human form.
"Oh, here you are. I wondered where you were," Neville greeted him, causing Gaoithe to smile.
"Good morning. I woke up early and decided to speak with the animals." He glanced at his wrist watch. "Oh, it's time for breakfast." 'And Dad is already in his classroom,' he thought to himself.
The small group quickly walked to the Great Hall and occupied one end of the Merlin table, which seemed very huge to the eight first years.
When most of the students were assembled, the headmaster rose from his chair. "Good morning, students. The five heads of the houses decided last night to re-sort some of you into Merlin," he came straight to the point. "Unfortunately, my familiar Fawkes saw fit to revenge his friend Gaoithe, who had a small dispute with Sopho at his Sorting, and Fawkes used his own burning day to not only turn himself into a baby but the Hat as well. Since the Baby Hat is not able to re-sort anyone, I must ask you now to consider if you would like to be re-sorted into Merlin House." With a flick of his wand, a small parchment and a quill appeared in front of each of the students except for the first years and the eight children sitting at the Merlin table.
"If you wish to transfer, please write your name on the parchment and hand it to your professors when they collect the parchments after breakfast. Only one student for each house from each year will be able to transfer, and in case there are more volunteers, your professors and I will decide. But now let's have breakfast first."
"Professor, one question," Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team spoke up, "will Merlin House have its own Quidditch team?"
"Yes, of course, Merlin House is going to have all the rights that any other house has," Dumbledore replied, smiling.
'Did you have a good night in your new house?' Severus' voice suddenly entered Gaoithe's thoughts, causing him to look at the head table. He unobtrusively nodded at his father, before he returned the smiles from the cat professor and his head of house.
Gaoithe and his friends had barely finished eating, when the headmaster spoke up again. "Your heads of house will now give you your time tables and collect your parchments. In case you're going to transfer to Merlin, your time table will change automatically, and the new time tables will be valid from your first afternoon class onwards. We'll announce who is going to transfer at lunchtime."
Gaoithe looked at the time table Pomfrey handed him with interest.
"Wow, we really have Healing classes. It says 'only for Merlin House' though," Hermione blurted out eagerly. "And our first morning class is Transfiguration. We better hurry up."
Together with his housemates, Gaoithe left the Great Hall, only to run straight into the Weasley twins.
"Hey Gaoithe," they called him over. "We hope that Dumbledore will allow us to transfer together."
"Really? That would be so great!" Gaoithe said happily.
"Who would be so stupid as to willingly end up in the house of lingering death?" Ron Weasley sneered, standing behind the twins. "Mum is going to have a fit, and believe me, I'll tell her every detail."
"Oh just go to your first class, Ronniekins..."
"... and remember..."
"... you're only a first year," the twins said in a sing-song together, grinning at Gaoithe.
"Oh well, we're off to see the headmaster," Fred said, while George showed Gaoithe a handful of phoenix treats.
"I don't know if he can eat any at the moment, but still..."
"... we hope that he'll be able to convince Dumbledore that the Merlin Quidditch team needs some proficient reinforcement." With that the twins dashed away.
風の力を持つハリー
Gaoithe chuckled and, suddenly realising that he remained alone with Ronald Weasley, quickly transformed into his phoenix form. He flashed right in front of the Transfiguration classroom, grinning inwardly when the youngest brother of his best friends arrived ten minutes late. 'He could have asked me to show him the way before I transformed, but he didn't, and considering that he seems to hate me, it serves him right,' he thought, inwardly giggling when the cat professor, who had been sitting on her desk in her cat form, suddenly transformed into her human form and offered to transfigure Ron into a watch.
If Gaoithe had been able to use telepathy like Severus, he would have sent his father grateful thoughts upon realising that he didn't have any problems using his wand. 'Thank Merlin he practised with me doing wand magic during the holidays,' he thought as he easily transfigured his match into a shiny needle.
"Very well done, Mr. Snape," Professor McGonagall commended him and awarded five points to Merlin House. 'Our first House points,' Gaoithe realised happily, noticing in surprise that no one else except for Hermione managed the Transfiguration during their first class. 'I didn't think it was so difficult, but maybe it is for students, who never cast spells before,' he contemplated, looking up startled when everyone rose from their chairs. He had been so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't heard the cat professor end the class and dismiss them.
"So many older siblings at Hogwarts and still unable to find the Transfiguration classroom, Weasley?" Draco suddenly sneered.
"Oh shut up, Malfoy. At least I'm not in a house in which people use to die," Ron gave back and hurriedly left the classroom.
"Gaoithe, come on and show us where the Charms classroom is," Hermione spoke up, urgently, and Gaoithe led the class down to Professor Flitwick's classroom, once more inwardly thanking his father for practising with him during the summer.
The rest of the morning passed fairly uneventfully, except for a few comments from Ron. "Snape seems to believe he is special, being the son of a professor and sorted into Merlin House," he heard Ron say to Seamus, one of his Gryffindor classmates.
Gaoithe was just about to adequately reply, when he remembered the letter that Ron's sister had sent to him after Christmas, stating that her brother was probably jealous of Gaoithe. Looking into another direction, he decided to not show any reaction at all. 'I hope that the twins manage to convince Dumbledore to let them transfer to Merlin House,' he thought on his way back to the Great Hall for lunch. He looked up in excitement when the Headmaster rose from his chair.
"I know that I promised to announce the new students for Merlin House at this time," Dumbledore began to speak. "However, there is a problem, which I didn't envision in advance, and I have to confer with the five heads tonight after dinner, before I'll be able to make my final decision. Please remain patient. I will inform you at breakfast tomorrow morning."
A multiple groan followed the headmaster's announcement, and the eight first years at the Merlin table engaged themselves in a concerned discussion about what could have happened. Even during their first afternoon class, History of Magic, Gaoithe still pondered the matter. 'Everything is just strange,' he thought. 'Merlin House is so full of secrets, and I'd feel better if there were older students, whom we could ask for help if something strange happened.'
However, their last class for the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Gaoithe's thoughts were diverted as soon as the professor entered the room and his head began to hurt. He had to try hard to concentrate on the practice and was glad that the professor paired him with Draco, who merely cast him a concerned look and raised an eyebrow but did not comment on his relatively bad performance, knowing that Gaoithe had been able to flawlessly cast the same spell when they practised together with Severus during the holidays. During the class, Gaoithe noticed that his headache became worse when the professor was nearby or turned around, so that he faced the man's smelly turban, while it lessened when the teacher walked to the other end of the classroom.
"Gaoithe, are you all right?" Hermione asked in concern when they finally left the classroom.
"Yes, of course. I don't know why Quirrell always gives me a headache, but I'm fine now," Gaoithe replied, feeling slightly confused about the matter.
"Well then, shall we go to the library until dinner?" Hermione suggested, and everyone happily agreed, eager to get to know the library, of which they had heard Hermione, Draco and Gaoithe talk.
"I'll go back to the common room. I'll see you at dinner," Gaoithe replied, unaware of the worried looks he provoked. 'This is just the right time to explore the Room of Reversal,' he thought as he hid in a small alcove, transformed into his phoenix form and flashed into the Merlin common room.
Back in his human form, Gaoithe climbed up the stairs, eyeing the barely visible door with the inscription 'Room of Reversal' with suspicion. 'Maybe I shouldn't go in there alone,' a voice at the back of his head spoke up. He lingered in front of the door for a few minutes, before he decided not to involve Hermione or any other student. 'I'm going to ask Dad if he is willing to go in there with me,' he decided, transformed into his phoenix form and flashed home.
Severus was in his potions lab. 'I'm too stupid. I should have looked at my watch before flashing here,' Gaoithe thought as he hesitantly entered his father's private lab.
"Hello Gaoithe," Severus said in surprise, looking up from his work for an instant, before he turned back to his cauldron. "Is everything all right? How was your first day of classes?"
"Thank you so much for practising wand magic with me," Gaoithe said gratefully and told his father about his classes. He pondered if he should tell Severus about Quirrell and his headache but dismissed the thought, realising that the Potions Master was obviously busy and not able to put his potion under a stasis spell as he often did when Gaoithe came to speak with him while he was brewing.
"Are you busy, Dad?" Gaoithe asked hesitantly and quickly explained what Marlin had told him about Merlin House and the animals' secrets. "Could you perhaps come with me, Dad?" he asked pleadingly.
"I'm sorry, Gaoithe, but I'm in the middle of the brewing process of the goat's flu potion for Hagrid. He came down with the goat's flu when he went to look after the goat of Professor Dumbledore's brother. And in the evening, we have a staff meeting about the re-sorting," Severus replied thoughtfully. "Maybe you could ask Professor McGonagall to accompany you? Perhaps she has time until dinner. Otherwise, I'm willing to go with you tomorrow."
"All right, I'll ask the cat professor," Gaoithe replied immediately. "Sorry for disturbing you. Um... Or do you want me to assist? I can still explore the room tomorrow. I just thought it would be a good time to go when no one else is around."
"It is, Gaoithe, and thank you, but I already finished the ingredients and merely have to brew; so there is nothing you could do," Severus replied, smiling proudly at his son. "Come back to talk whenever you have time. I'd love to hear more about your life in Merlin and about your classes."
Gaoithe agreed and left the lab, flashing into a small alcove near the cat professor's office. Fortunately, McGonagall wasn't busy at the moment and agreed to accompany him.
"Thank you, Professor," Gaoithe said gratefully and flashed them into the Merlin common room. "Here is the door," he said, pointing to the faint line in the wall.
"Ah all right; now I can see it," the professor replied and carefully opened the door, revealing an empty room.
"That's it?" Gaoithe blurted out, feeling half relieved and half disappointed at the sight of the room.
"Gaoithe," McGonagall suddenly said in an uncharacteristically excited voice, making Gaoithe look at her in surprise. "Have you ever heared of the Mirror of Erised?"
"No." Gaoithe shook his head and stepped next to the professor, only now realising that the long side of the room, opposite of the door, seemed to be a huge mirror. 'No, it can't be a mirror,' he noticed as he looked closely at the mirror-like wall. He saw himself, brewing a potion together with his father. "Professor, this is strange," he spoke up quietly. "I see my father, so it can't be a mirror."
However, McGonagall didn't reply but instead cried out in shock and reached out for Gaoithe's shoulder to steady herself.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Gaoithe asked in concern, forcing his eyes away from the scene, in which his father was just putting the simmering potion under a stasis charm and pulled himself into a hug.
"I don't know," the cat professor replied in a strangely thin, anxious voice, "but I feel very weird."
"Weird?" Gaoithe repeated and gave the professor a sharp look, before he let out a huge gasp.