Chapter Twenty Four: The Fourth Year

…

In the years since my reincarnation into Robert Pelham I never would've guessed that the most interesting person I'd ever talk to was a ninety four year old man. Albus Dumbledore was easily the first person, well since Salazar had been dead for centuries, first person alive I'd talked to I enjoyed speaking to oddly.

For the rest of the summer, we spoke regularly, Dumbledore and I shared conversations over tea, walking around the gardens in Pelham Manor. I had more or less agreed to become his ward in a way to help the Order of the Phoenix defeat Voldemort personally eventually, and the prospect rather intrigued me. I was looking forward to it. Not fame, not at all, but the rise to power that would come with taking him down.

I was still years away from, about two actually, from being ready to defeat Voldemort. With the Gamer, I could train properly and achieve the skills necessary to defeat anyone on the planet in a magical duel or otherwise within a week, but I didn't want to do that. Not yet anyway.

I wanted to connect to this world and its people before I moved on from this reality in a sense, if, if I could actually leave. It was a prospect I'd really not considered until now, why not try to appreciate the people in this world before I left?

It was a bit difficult, at least with the few friends I had at Hogwarts, but the best part about talking to Dumbledore was that he wasn't my friend. He wasn't even my mentor or someone I went to for advice like Salazar Slytherin.

He was just someone who enjoyed speaking to me and I enjoyed speaking to him. He was the only person I'd began to properly interact with that genuinely seemed to possess an extremely advanced intellect at least on a level I hadn't yet properly encountered.

Emma Greengrass from school was certainly very smart, same with Nelson Wilkes and Severus especially. But Albus Dumbledore was legitimately a genius, and the best part about talking to him was that he wasn't impossible to talk to at all despite how smart we both knew he was.

Dumbledore was among the only people including Slytherin and in a way Severus only that didn't seem confused or frightened by the magical power and knowledge I possessed.

The more I talked to him I wondered.

Did he really not believe there was something supernatural about me? It should've been obvious even if like Voldemort I naturally was very good at and dedicated to magic, like the one wizard in a century that came along like Merlin, any of the Founders, Grindelwald, or himself, no on at fourteen should have been able to duel a wizard like Frumentar.

And it's not like Frumentar was an average teacher. He had to be so skilled at Legilimency that Voldemort couldn't detect he was a traitor, or at least lying. Both of which required absurd skill in magic.

Then I realized that Dumbledore didn't seem to question why exactly I was how powerful I was because maybe what I had accomplished genuinely didn't impress or shock him that much. After all, he broke ground historically in magic as only a young man, he had plans with his best friends to unite mythical magical artifacts that could literally make him a master of Death with the knowledge and skill to do so.

Maybe he thought the magical world did in fact deserve what I had. Maybe he thought as time went on it was possible that stronger and stronger and more and more talented wizards could appear.

Dumbledore wasn't a conversationalist by any means but he made the rest of my summer rather enjoyable by the conversations we had.

He wasn't a philosopher or an idealist, but not too much of a pragmatist. We spent many an afternoon discussing, oddly, the world. Not just magic, but about the muggle world too, how they had advanced in science and technology.

Dumbledore was fascinated by the muggle world, after all, every single password to his office was a muggle sweet, and he found it a genuinely good quality of mine that I found it to not be an affront to wizarding society to appreciate modern technology at all.

"That's not very Slytherin of you Robert," he said one afternoon in the garden. "Not thinking muggles are a scourge upon the world."

"It's not Slytherin to be remotely realistic?"

Dumbledore chuckled quietly at this.

"Professor I have to ask. Why do you spend so much time with me when you should have much more important matters to attend to?"

"Important matters?" Dumbledore asked back.

"I'm to be trained by the Order itself to defeat Lord Voldemort. And we've spent weeks discussing muggles and magic."

Dumbledore shrugged, tucking his hands together making the folds of his robes flow over each other. "Well one day I imagine you'll be so wrapped up in whatever job suits you after the War is over to enjoy proper conversations with me anymore. Just too busy," he said simply. "Besides, all the administrative matters of being Headmaster and Supreme Mugwump, in other words, the paperwork, are held by other functionaries, not me."

"Really? Then what do these positions actually mean?"

"Decision making really. I have to sit down with teachers and decide the curriculum, confer with chairs from several different countries every once in a while, and discuss. One day when you're old enough, I'm sure you'll be elected to an extremely important position as well."

I was curious. "Like what?"

"I doubt you're interested already in running for Minister of Magic, in fact, we've never spoken at all about what you truly wish to do after you and the Order are finished. Your opportunities are near truly infinite."

Because by the time I reached adulthood and passed my twenties my only goal was to depose you from power. Huh, the more I talked to this man I wondered if he was truly worth betraying.

"Honestly Professor, isn't it a bit premature to discuss my future? I'm merely a fourth year, for my sixth year I'll be fighting the war against Voldemort personally already."

"Well of course. Why discuss the future when the present is so present?" Dumbledore smiled.

And in a way that often didn't happen really, I laughed too. Genuinely, happily, fully.

I truly enjoyed having conversations as fulfilling as this. I noticed that everytime I smiled too, Dumbledore knew it was a bit rare, so he seemed to smile too.

I wanted this man's power. I wanted what he basically had but didn't want, to hold the puppet strings necessary to rule over everything.

…

In my bedroom, I sat in a chair at my desk and I levitated a snow globe including animate paper snowy owls around in thought.

If I had to ask myself truly if it was worth it to inevitably betray Dumbledore, the answer was yes. It was the first thing that came to mind, and the first thing that made sense.

Not just because the Gamer let me do nearly whatever I wanted, but because it was truly time for a change. It was time to stop this useless cycle of dark versus light, for magic to just spoil and rot away, not evolving or growing at all for centuries.

It had been one thousand years. One thousand years, one thousand years since Hogwarts was founded and wizarding society had began to form properly into organized society, and magic was more or less as potent, widespread, and above all powerful and useful as it was when Hogwarts first became a school.

I hissed in Parseltongue to myself out of boredom and frustration. "You just can't blame me for wanting to fix this all."

Wizards could murder people without leaving a single trace, erase memories, some wizards could censor their own memories from being seen like Slughorn did, they could teleport anywhere instantly. Wizards could transform furniture into mammals as large as whales, build bridges and towers with a flick of their wrist, and right now, muggle society still had the military and numerical capacity to wipe wizards off the face of the earth in a week.

It frustrated me to no end. It was the summer of 1974, the internet was yet to be invented, and despite this entire world existing in a historical and fictional version of my previous universe, it was eerily similar to my previous one outside of the magic mainly. And yet the magic itself almost need not exist in the grand scheme of things.

Why was the world of Harry Potter like this?

In a single day, wizards could basically upload the consciousness of every major world leader in charge of every important world government to the equivalent of a magical neurological botnet with a few wizards running it, and no one across the globe could ever possibly find out at all. Yet they chose to spend centuries squabbling until they were so innumerable that there was about one wizard alive per thousands and possibly tens of thousands of muggles.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood seemed to have better incorporation and use of its magic into the entire world within the scheme of things than my current world did. And I'd seen only, two episodes of that anime I think.

I leaned my head back, chuckling. I hadn't watched a single episode of any anime at all in years. I kept forgetting I technically was teleported to the past.

I sighed, whispering to myself in Parseltongue again. "If I like Fullmetal Alchemist so much, why don't I go live there?"

Shush Robert, it's not that bad here.

It really wasn't. I did enjoy having Severus as a friend, these weren't really moments of guilt that seemed to spring up when I had to choose between him being a follower or a friend of mine. Or Dumbledore seeming like an honest old man but necessary to betray in the future.

But that desire of mine to explore beyond this world wasn't gone.

Mostly because of one simple fact, and it was the reason why I felt so isolated to begin with and knew I had the ability to someday possibly go past the reaches of this current universe with the magic I had. I was simply that powerful with magic.

The Gamer let me damn near anything I wanted, if I could visualize it, chances were, the Gamer let me do it.

Mana Abilities on their own already put me on the level of most grown wizards, let alone things like Lightning Bolts, or especially abilities like Protego Diabolica which on its own had the potential to be the magical equivalent of nuclear weaponry.

I honestly wasn't looking forward to my next few years of schooling, if I could call it that, I could probably take and ace the NEWT tests for any subject Dumbledore wanted me to take within a month of preparation.

For my plans for the near future and my interest in the world one day in late July, I had to sit down and ask myself if I truly cared about the conflict, the world, and the people inhabiting this world, if I wanted to bother staying here and struggling or caring at all. Instead of just grinding stats with the Gamer and figure out a way to exit this reality within a few weeks.

And the truth was that I did. Partly for nostalgic purposes.

Severus Snape was a character I never liked all that much when I was a small child reading the books, my favorite character by far was actually probably Luna Lovegood or a few of the other Ravenclaws seeing as they clearly had much more interesting lives than what the films and novels let on a little bit.

But Severus' loyalty and especially his intelligence were what surprised me. He wasn't just good at Charms and Potions, he clearly understood magic on a deeply theoretical level. Moreover, he tackled all the advanced magic I came up with and taught to him and the others in the Room of Requirement very well.

I think oddly, deep down, I truly enjoyed having him as my friend.

Now the others were a different story entirely.

I sort of enjoyed speaking more to Remus Lupin and Lily Evans than I did Rosier, Mulciber, Regulus Black, or even Crouch or the Greengrass twins. They were just more…pleasant people.

Mulciber and the others weren't bad people necessarily, but their loyalty to me and their genuine lack of competence and drive truly lowered my respect for them. Oh well, I guess every army needs ranks.

Emma Greengrass' crush on me was not adorable to me at all, I didn't like her back in the slightest even putting aside the fact that she was technically a decade younger than me mentally speaking. Fred was funny typically, but again, I didn't like talking to him that much either. I didn't dislike him nor anyone else in Slytherin just not as much as Severus.

I'd give myself three months of truly trying to engage with and connect to those in my house, if not, I had to call it quits. I had to move on and simply leave Hogwarts, Gamer it up completely, and take anyone loyal enough to call themselves my followers to start our own little wizarding colony somewhere.

It truly didn't seem like a feasible or even smart idea, but I had to ask myself if I liked being with these people at this point.

So that's what I'd do.

…

"How was your summer Rob? Only got an owl o' two from you over the summer." said Mulciber in our compartment.

I stopped looking past the speeding Scottish countryside. "It was fine Jon how about yours?"

"It was alright, honestly holidays are fine. But being at the castle is the best for me, I enjoy the Group. We learn more about magic there than we do anywhere else, practice things that are worthwhile." Mulciber said.

Everyone there seemed to agree.

Severus turned a page over in his book. "I was wondering if there were ways we could test our knowledge. Practically I mean."

"You mean start a fight?" asked Rosier. "A duel?"

"No I mean see if what we know could actually help us in a real fight, with trained wizards. There is a war going on you know." Severus barely raised an eyebrow.

"You mean, outside of the castle?" asked Emma, smoothing out her long blonde hair.

"Yes, Greengrass outside of the castle." Severus slightly looked out over his book. "Doesn't have to be during term of course. I'd rather spend our holiday exploring the countryside together rather cooped up at the castle or at home, wouldn't you Robert?"

I nodded slightly.

"Well pay some bleedin' attention for once if you're gonna talk!" said Rosier.

"Evan give it back." Emma grinned as Fred began to cackle at Mulciber and Rosier passing Severus' book around. "Evan give it back now!"

Severus was quickly outwrestled by the physically much larger Rosier and Mulciber.

Jacob Avery opened the door to the compartment with a grin seeing what was happening.

He passed myself and everyone around us some sweets and snacks he bought while Severus ended the horseplay in a split second. He didn't even have to get his wand out, all he did was snap his fingers and summoned his book back to his hand.

Frowning sadly, Rosier shrunk back into his seat. "I was just having fun Snape, please."

"Hello Sev."

Everyone turned to see Lily next to the compartment, smiling and waving.

He gave a light wave back.

"Might we talk? Didn't get any letters this summer from you."

Severus weakly nodded and left the compartment for a moment with Lily and her friends.

Rosier shot me a look. "I'll bet you a hundred galleons he'll ask her to the ball. And that she'll say no."

I smiled. "Make it a thousand."

It was quite a bit of money, not for me, the Gamer produced a ton of gold for completing quests like learning certain spells or mastering certain aspects of Ji-Han's guide to magic but our families were both known to be very wealthy.

The compartment began to hoot and howl and Rosier nodded. "You're on." we shook on it.

I honestly didn't mind losing the bet, I just didn't like Evan getting an even bigger head than he currently had. Also I felt bad for everyone torturing Severus for so long that he never had a shot with Lily.

"Quite frankly that Mudbloo-" Mulciber cleared his throat. "She seems to like you more Rob."

Emma Greengrass seemed to shift uncomfortably in her seat after he said this.

"They're not just from the same village you know that right?" I asked.

Everyone was quiet.

"They were friends for a very long time prior to school. I don't particularly like Evans much more than any of you, but I don't see a reason to judge Sev for it either."

"But don't you think it's strange she might like you more than she does her own best friend then?" asked Wilkes quietly.

Fred snorted, his knee up on the seat cushion of the compartment while he spoke. "Well Sev's hair is rather. Unwashed most of the time."

Despite several people laughing at this, Emma slapped her twin brother's shin for this while gingerly picking up a box of every flavor beans.

"Stop it." I muttered quietly as the laughter died down in moments.

After Severus returned, I found I did actually enjoy spending time with them. Far more than I remembered.

Severus and Emma were smart, Fred and Rosier funny, Wilkes quiet and Mulciber and Avery were sorta there. Regulus Black popped in from time to time, he had his own compartment with a few younger Slytherins including Crouch who he had sort of seemed to adopt over the summer in an older brother sort of way.

…

After happily greeting the Basilisk that night down in the Chamber I recounted the events of the entire summer to Salazar while drawing a few skin samples from her sheddings.

"It doesn't bother you at all that Luthor Frumentar could easily be a double agent for Voldemort and not Dumbledore?"

"No."

"No!? It certainly bothers me!" Salazar hissed in Parseltongue, his ghost floating by a stalactite. "My word! My last living memory reduced to watching magic's last hope as the ward of Godric's modern poster child."

"I told you this might happen."

"Telling someone you are to smack them upon the face does not make the proceeding smack any less, of a smack."

The King of Sass basically could only be this sassy because of magic I'm sure. He was sassing me even having been revived from a thousand years prior.

I muttered to Salazar in Old English while crushing Basilisk skin into an old paste. "Our plans don't change, besides, like I said we did plan for this."

I heard Salazar curse the equivalent of 'utter rubbish' in Northumbrian under his breath.

"Any news from the war front?"

"None at all. Seeing as I'm not actually fighting yet and little else has changed these last few weeks."

"Anything new up at the castle?"

I stood up straighter. "There is one thing." I sighed, burning away the apparently useless bit of shed Basilisk skin with some summoned Diabolica flames which quickly disappeared from the tip of my wand.

"Yes?"

"There's a ball, a sort of social event, it's a dance party or a dance where people get together and dance-"

"Yes boy, we had what you have just called a dance back during the tenth century. I'm very old but not that old."

"I don't think I want to go."

Salazar's ghost scoffed. "Well of course. What business do you have actually enjoying yourself for once with people your own age?"

"Okay Salazar, first I'm not technically their age. Secondly, why are you suggesting I go?"

"Maybe because you've become Dumbledore's ward of sorts. And you need to establish a good bit of trust between you two. Take a member of his faction, a girl, and enjoy yourself."

I laughed. "So you think someone like Marlene McKinnon would go with me? Someone from a family of Aurors who hates me personally?"

"Think of it this way. You don't actually have to enjoy yourself or enjoy being with this girl. It's a strategic move. According to you, the houses of Slytherin and Gryffindor perpetually are rivals, extend a hand of good faith to Dumbledore by taking this McKinnon girl to the dance."

Ugh. Ugh. Ugggggggh. Why!?

"Fine."

"Really?" Salazar smiled, rare for the ghost. "Wonderful!"

"Yay…"

…

"Show me the Anti Alohomora charm." Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore and Frumentar were both testing me on seventh year spells in Dumbledore's office. They were mostly easy, again, the Gamer didn't let me struggle at all with anything remotely magic related.

I summoned a lock from thin air and charmed it. Then Frumentar himself tried to unlock it only with his wand just to fail.

He tossed the lock to Dumbledore. "At this point we might as well have him take his OWLs in just a few months."

"I have considered testing him ourselves, no harm in doing so with Bartemius present." Dumbledore fixed his eyeglasses. "Robert, I want you to prepare for OWLs in the following subjects. Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Divination, Arithmancy, and History of Magic."

"But Professor. You want me to test for every OWL possible?"

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "It's important that we be thorough to get your formal education out of the way. After all, we're mostly keeping you here at the castle to prepare you for graduation and then, your battle during what would be your sixth year here at Hogwarts."

"So you want my NEWTs ready by next year too?"

"That would be prudent yes." Dumbledore muttered. "Considering your current mastery over most subjects, all that's left is the theoretical knowledge of yours to match your practical. And then just have you practice and then test." he shrugged.

"So when am I going to be assigned to do actual missions for the Order?"

Frumentar stroked his beard. "That will be difficult."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're still underage, and the Order has mostly done scouting and intelligence missions for the past four months."

I was surprised. "Voldemort has people murdering and burning roughshod over muggle cities and towns for well over a year. The current bounty on even his lowest ranked officers is in the millions of galleons at this point. And I can only prepare from here in the castle to become an Order member?"

"While your dueling power and above all, your adaptability are more than adequate," said Dumbledore. "I'm afraid we aren't ready to reveal you as our counter to Voldemort himself just yet."

"Letting a wizard of fourteen on the front lines will raise enough questions among the Death Eaters to figure out who you are rather quickly," Frumentar said with a nod.

I nodded slowly. "Alright."

A part of me wanted to just make my own missions, just go off on my own to battle Death Eaters, I knew I could do it. But if these two found out they'd know I betrayed their trust.

Tricky.

"You're dismissed, Robert."

I nodded, creating an invisible bit of Mana and attaching it to the doorway with just a glance as I left to listen in on Dumbledore and Frumentar.

[Recording Button Created!]

I sat in a small hidden room in the castle walls some Parseltongue revealed to me while I listened.

I recognized Frumentar's voice muttering. "The boy forgets himself. Actually asking us to fight so soon?"

"You sound as if you're still angry over your practice duel over the summer."

"Pah! No."

I laughed, knowing Dumbledore was right.

"Robert is more than skilled enough to handle missions. It's a safety thing, at least for his family. Marianne and Julius would be targeted the moment Robert was identified in battle."

"But he knew that, does he simply not care?"

"I think he wishes to prove himself to us. Or he does in fact wish to battle Lord Voldemort's supporters."

Frumentar mumbled. "He already proved himself over the summer, is it a matter of simply wanting violence?"

"He's fourteen and already able to duel someone like you Luthor. I don't doubt he wants to test his abilities in real combat already."

"Bold, quite bold, I'm a bit insulted."

"And I am not. I'm touched by the offer actually. He has almost a decade's worth of youth to enjoy, and he'd rather spend it with two old men preparing for war than his own friends. Tells you a lot about his dedication to the Order."

Frumentar was silent, I think he knew how right Dumbledore was.

He could even try not to, and he'd still win arguments. That's just the kind of person Dumbledore was.

"I don't like that you told Crouch about him."

"You yourself know how trustworthy he is."

"But making Robert's graduation official in any way? Why bother going that far, he's to be a top secret Phoenix operative. Why allow the Ministry any knowledge as to who or what he is?"

"It's not as if Barty will be waving around his file at the office like a giant flag. I personally trust Barty more than several people. The rapport his son has established with Robert is impressive as well. Moreover, I think some sort of position in Magical Law Enforcement might be suitable for the boy when all of this is finished."

"Official Enforcement position." Frumentar scoffed again.

"I think you're starting to rather like him aren't you?"

Frumentar's footsteps could be heard as he began to exit Dumbledore's office.

"I want that report on Dolohov, Nott, and Lestrange on my desk by this Friday afternoon Luthor." My little bug in Dumbledore's office was so strong that I could even hear the scratching of Dumbledore's quill on a piece of parchment as he said this.

"Yes Professor."

…

At around what would be Thanksgiving in mid November is when people started to buzz about the Valentine's ball.

I was asked so many times I started to wonder when people would get the hint that I always said 'no.'

Bonnibel Beverly, a Ravenclaw girl with light brown hair and glasses asked me after Charms, I said no with barely a glance at her.

Mary McDonald asked me too, that was surprising considering I was sure being in Gryffindor she wouldn't go anywhere near me or anyone she thought the person she followed around like a pup Marlene McKinnon, as 'Dark' was messed up.

One of the Fields twins from Hufflepuff, who was a fifth year asked me. I also said no.

Heading towards an important Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, the lads and I were sitting in a corridor talking.

"Bloody hell Pelham," muttered Rosier. "That makes two more than Sirius Black was asked. Impressive."

"You'd think with a war going on people would be more interested in how their families and safety are doing than a stupid ball." I turned over a page in the OWL requirements and specific text for what I'd need to know for the written portion of my Ancient Runes OWL.

"Well that's just it isn't it?" Rosier smiled. "With everyone's lives probably on a ticking clock soon as they graduate they want to get the, fun, in quickly," he said suggestively.

"That's disgusting Evan," Snape muttered quietly while Fred Greengrass laughed.

"Fun with Rob, should be the slogan of the campaign Bonny Beverly started to get half the castle to ask Rob to the ball." Fred chuckled.

Because Rosier and Greengrass would starting to be a nuisance as they smirked and nodded to a few passing girls and Severus, Nelson, and I were just reading, McGonagall came by to tell us off.

"I'm sure you boys have more important places to be than here. Carry on."

"They're helping me study Professor," I said quietly.

She looked at me blankly. "Yes I'm sure that's why you're here pointlessly in the middle of the hallway Pelham. Carry on please."

I tucked my book into the folds of my robes and began to walk on.

"She's quite an annoying old bat isn't she?" muttered Rosier as we walked towards the common room.

"You were being an imbecile Evan, don't blame her," I said.

Mulciber chimed in when he found us walking from another corridor. "Oi Rob, heard the captain of Ravenclaw Quidditch asked you to the ball."

Penelope Silver, after my third class yesterday. So?

"What of it?"

"Think you could get me a date?"

"Go away Jon."

"Rob-"

"Go awaayyy." I barely looked at him as the lads chuckled.

"Yeah get in line Johnny," Fred smirked again.

"I don't know what you're so smug about Emma's itching to ask him too for sure." Rosier nudged him.

"She is not." Frederick sounded scandalized.

Wilkes had stayed quiet up until now and even he chimed in. "She likely is Fred."

"That would bring it up to what, eleven for Slytherin, and eight for Gryffindor?" asked Rosier, who casually finished eating a croissant he stole from the kitchens and used the Vanishing Charm to make it disappear.

"I can't believe you two are keeping score." I said.

"Sirius Black is an idiot." said Severus. "I think the game is stupid too but I see why Evan and Fred don't want you to lose in anything."

"Is that why you're probably going to let Potter take Evans to the dance?" Greengrass chuckled.

Severus' face grew hot. "What?"

"You heard us." Rosier nodded.

At this rate I was going to lose the bet but that wasn't really an issue. The real problem was I actually didn't want to go to the ball at all really. But, if I was going to, and most people would have a date by the time Christmas came around at this rate, I would have to make a decision quick.

I was going to leave the castle a year earlier than anyone, moreover by the time all of us were sixteen, I'd basically be as famous as Harry Potter for essentially the same reason most likely.

For as long as I stayed in this world, as boring and stupid and pointless as this dance was, this would be the only. Well. Normal aspect of my life.

Besides, if I was going to go, I wanted to go with one of the few girls left in Hogwarts who truly did not want to go with me.

I'd rather enjoy a few short months of normalcy before years of international fame. It was stupid, I didn't like this, I didn't like being in highschool again really.

But I could either hate it and myself for it, or accept it.

…

After the first Potions class in ages where I managed to outperform both Lily and Snape.

The two were both ecstatic and I mostly ignored their excited chattering as we left Slughorn's class.

"You'll still both be on top next week anyway." I smiled lightly.

"Please that was brilliant," Lily said.

I had an idea, after months of beating around the bush and just two weeks before winter break might as well go all in on it.

"Hey Evans."

"Yes?" she turned to look at me.

"How would you like to go to the ball with Sev?"

Severus froze on the spot, I might as well have used the body locking charm on him. I think James Potter happened to drop whatever he was holding nearby.

"How would I? How would I want to, what?" asked Lily.

One of the Gryffindor girls linked arms with Lily. "Hey Rolanda found something on the third floor you're not going to believe."

"Hey wait-"

Before her friends whisked her off Lily looked at both Severus and I and was unable to respond before she left.

Severus cleared his throat. "It's over, it's ruined Rob."

"Now hold on she didn't say anything."

He turned and walked towards the common room without another word.

"Sev."

He ignored me.

I sighed.

Goddamn being a teenager, this was the prelude to war I suppose. But still.

I was glad to see Jacob Avery for once and all the other lads for once not try to follow me around, they had found something better to do in betting on small Transfigured rock creatures they made battle it out in one of the old rooms in the eastern dungeons.

I was proud of them sometimes for boosting their magical skill to such level. And also probably helping teachers turn a blind eye to such stuff next year when I inevitably became a Prefect.

I wandered around the castle for a bit and then found Mary McDonald and Marlene McKinnon talking and sharing a snack and reading together sitting on the windowsill in the corner of a corridor.

Mary saw me walking towards them both and admittedly in a cute way hid her face in her book.

With a leg up on the windowsill, Marlene pretended I wasn't there for a moment.

She wasn't pretty exactly, but not ugly either. She was a perfectly plain and average looking girl with dark brown hair, light freckles, and a generally calm but angry or dismissive demeanor whenever I was around.

She got sick of me standing there for a moment and snapped her book shut. "Have I got something on my face Pelham? Or are you just begging to be hexed or something?"

I laughed.

"What? What?" she repeated, reaching for what I was sure was her wand in her book bag.

"McDonald can you give us a moment?" I asked calmly.

"No, Mary wait-" she almost seemed to reach after McDonald before she left and gave a long tired sigh.

As quickly as Mary left Marlene turned towards me. "What do you want Pelham?" she asked exhaustively.

"Look, in the past I know we argued-"

"No. I was being stupid, I blamed you for something you had nothing to do with."

I could see why she could realize her mistake a few years later. But it didn't explain her attitude now.

I was confused. "Then why do you still act like I'm a Death Eater or something?"

"Well let's see." she shrugged and curled her mouth downward for a split second. "You don't seem to mind that the fathers and in some cases mothers of nearly all your friends are Death Eaters."

"My father's a broom maker. Does that make me one too?" I shrugged. "And are you and Auror because your father is?"

Marlene paused.

Then she looked at me confusedly for a moment. "You almost seemed like you wanted to apologize for something."

"Yes."

"But you didn't do anything."

"Yes." I repeated in the same calm tone.

She still stared at me strangely. "...Why?..."

"Because I was hoping we could clear the air."

"And why's that?"

Again I found no point in beating around the bush like earlier. "Because I was hoping you and I could go to the ball in February together."

Marlene leaned forward slightly off the windowsill, squinting at me. "You, want to ask me, to go the Valentine's ball?"

"Cordially, as friends or whatever you so desire."

"Pelham, you do know you've shown no interest in speaking or acknowledging me until this very moment right?"

"Yes."

Marlene looked around the hallway and then at me. "Why?"

"Because you've shown no interest in speaking to me either until now. I saw it as rather pointless considering the worst I've done is lose some papers I never lost, or spent time practicing with Wilkes to get told off by you when I shouldn't have."

"But I don't really like you. I don't dislike you I suppose you've proven that to be pointless, but I don't like you either."

I shrugged. "I thought the night could be used to properly get to know each other."

Marlene nodded. "Because?"

"Because I find making peace with someone to be in order after four years. I never got why you hated me all that time before and why we couldn't speak to one another until now."

"Why not ask Emma Greengrass or anyone else who actually, wants to go with you?"

"Because I don't want to," I said plainly.

Marlene made a slight clicking sound with her mouth and nodded slowly.

"Fine," she said. "I'll go with you. As friends, and we shouldn't make a big deal about it. I won't give you any special privileges like letting you wander around the castle at night after hours because I'm a Gryffindor Prefect."

Wait. Was she actually a bit nervous?

"So. That's that." Marlene rushed out of the hall as fast as she could.

I guess that was that indeed.

…

I sat at the Slytherin table the next morning chewing on some buttered toast reading the Daily Prophet.

"You asked, Marlene McKinnon?" Fred said.

Emma Greengrass and several other girls in the castle had spent the morning eating their breakfast angrily, barely at all, or in other upset manners.

"I did."

"Marlene McKinnon?" repeated Fred.

I nodded boredly.

"Marlene McKinnon?"

"Yes Jacob, Marlene McKinnon." I looked at Avery exhaustedly. "Why are you all acting like I'm going to the ball with the giant squid?"

"But she doesn't like you." Rosier said.

"Apparently that's not the case," I muttered.

"Is this some sort of favor to Dumbledore for some reason?" asked Mulciber.

"Yes, Jonathan a man I owe nothing to and has no particular interest in favoring me suddenly deserves a favor from me," I said blankly.

Severus piped up. "I find it fine."

"Well no one asked you mate," said Regulus Black.

"No one asked any of you either," I said quietly.

Then that was it, the entire part of the table where I sat mostly was silent.

…

…

…

A/N:

Hello everybody, I'm back.

Now to clarify a few things.

I am planning to resolve the entire Hogwarts plotline in a pretty decent time skip possibly. I plan to have Robert's dance and the OWL test be the same chapter which will be next chapter. Then he would have already have taken his NEWTs and be ready to battle Voldemort by the end of next chapter as well.

He has the Gamer, again, if he really wanted to by year three or much sooner he could have been much more powerful.

I won't just gloss over his abilities I'll describe what he focused on and practiced, and the Gamer will make a pretty decent stat return. I won't spam stat sheets constantly just have a strong summary of where the main character is at in terms of strength and what he can exactly do in a battle.

Then of course, just what I plan on doing after the next chapter. I do plan on having the main character actually stick around in the Harry Potter universe for a bit, but for how long or even having him stay is a decent question I've been asking myself.

I probably won't go with something like RWBY and instead are leaning strongly towards Pokemon or perhaps even Star Wars. Then why categorize this as a "Harry Potter" fanfic? Well Robert regardless of where he goes and does will certainly at the end of the day be a sorcerer, just a very very, very powerful one.

People have also mentioned the pairing, and no, it won't be Marlene McKinnon, you can consider it as Robert saying bye to his years at Hogwarts in a way with the dance. If, and big if, if the main character is paired with someone in the Harry Potter universe, it will have to be Andromeda Black.

I did consider Neville's mother Alice after she graduates, but the Longbottoms will be important for a moment later. Right before the universe jump if I do in fact plan on doing it.

Other than that, thank you all for your comments and feedback, I'll see you soon in the next chapter.