The Winged Wolf Chapter 10, a Harry Potter + Avengers Crossover fanfic

Chapter Ten: Progress and Death

Staring at the finished potion in the cauldron within my personal potions room, I was happy with my accomplishment in being able to improve my third position in a series of nine potions in the first-year texts. Turning to my notebook to put in my new entry I make sure the notes are easy and concise.

Being able to feel the magic in each potion as I was brewing undoubtedly helped in refining them and there weren't a lot of improved potion recipes out there since most potion masters worked on higher-end potions and kept their work private.

Even the Potter library mostly focused on higher-level potions when it came to personal additions that previous Potter family members made in the past, above Hogwarts's year's potions. While completely new potions can be patented with the Ministry, improvements are classified as quality differences, unless a qualitative change is made to the potion. Then you can put that under a different name and patent the potion again.

That's why most improvements are kept private, so that position masters can market their work privately or in their own shops, but that also caused progress to slow down at the same time. Since many technological improvements throughout history are built on the shoulders of history's predecessors, progress slows to a crawl when no one is willing to publish their improvements.

This is made even worse because the potion manuals that are used as textbooks are horribly outdated, dampening a lot of the interest that young students may have had in the subject unless they are naturally talented from the start. The first-year potion texts are filled with unnecessary information such as the history of the creator of certain potions, and various uses of certain ingredients in other potions, and all of it is written in a rather dry fashion and dated vocabulary. Going over the following year's textbooks, those follow that same idea, making it hard for most students to grasp the subject well.

As of now, the field is suffering from a steep decline largely due to both the cumbersome texts and more so due to the horrible teaching methods of Snape, creating a very stressful and highly judgmental learning environment. This has also caused a ripple effect in that there is a decline in both Healers and Aurors, since both require N.E.W.T.s in potions, along with four other passing N.E.W.T.s.

Since the current readily available literature on the topic is atrocious, at the very least in my opinion, I figured I might as well work from the ground up as I learn potions myself. My years of learning under my grandfather taught me that one of the most important things to work on is your foundation, no matter what you're working on.

As of now, I have the first three potions with their slightly improved recipes and processing methods written out in my notebook in a much more concise manner. Similar to how a cookbook is made, the needed ingredients for a given potion are listed first so that everything can be easily collected, and then a step-by-step process is written out clearly and concisely. The only information interspersed throughout the step-by-step process is certain warnings and reminders during the process, such as paying special attention not to add quills before you take your potion off the burner for a boils cure.

Heading over to my now cooled-off potion with a selection of vials, I carefully empty the entire contents of the cauldron, giving me thirty vials of Sleeping Drought. I hope to be able to finish all of the first-year potions by December, creating a more modern and streamlined version of the first-year potions text that I can sell later.

I want to eventually have my own version of all seven years of potions texts that will be a consistent source of income and maybe even revitalize the field of potions to create a much more consistent high standard students since they have better material to learn from.

Hopefully, by the time the new and improved texts are completely released, it can be counted as another step in improving the wizarding world.

Sending five of the potions into my personal storage ring, finally having got around to creating my own with the help of Sirius to enlarge it more than I could on my own, I call out to my friend.

"Dobby" I say with a slight smile, seeing him appear from a wisp of smoke in his tailored uniform. Going down to give him a quick hug and a wider smile, I hand him the rest of the potions.

"Can you take these to Madam Pomfrey please Dobby? I need to head to my dueling lesion with Professor Flitwick."

"Happily, Mistress" he replied with a wide smile of his own, disappearing like smoke, oddly similar to my shadow travel when I don't use any available shadow.

After cleaning up and making my way out of the Ravenclaw dorms, with a quick hello and goodbye to Hermione, I started walking down the ancient stone hallways of Hogwarts to Professor Flitwick's class.

"You know you could make even more gold from your further improved storage ring, right?" Yumie spoke out from her hideaway within my tattoo.

Give an internal snort of amusement I turn my attention to her, "Maybe if I can start teaching people shadow magic to access the closed-off dimension anchored to the ring, and people don't really need a warehouse worth of space on their hand" a slight smile tugging at my lips after responding to her.

"Well maybe not that much space, but you could make specialty crafted rings that are made to order and are the most expensive of the series. I'm sure you could figure out some workaround so they can access the closed-off space you filled with shadows. A storage ring that puts things under a permanent stasis has to be worth a lot, right?" she asked, her curiosity coming through clearly through our bond.

"Undoubtedly, but I would rather keep that as a personal and family secret for now, let alone the work involved in trying to figure out a way for others to access the closed-off space. As of now, it's a very useful trick up my sleeve that doesn't need to be monetized. Though I have to ask, what's with the sudden concern for our finances? Making sure to push my amusement through our bond.

"Hey, I'm constantly connected to you, no wonder I'm sharing your greedy inclinations, but see if I share any ideas again" She shot back, sounding grumpy but both of us could feel our shared humor, and I admit to being touched that she was trying to help me out with ideas as well.

"Though I don't get why shadow causes a stasis?" Yumie asked, sending me an inquiring feeling through our bond.

"It doesn't" my tone crisp with dry humor.

"… Then what does?" her tone sounding a tad put out from my lack of a follow-up explanation.

"Honestly? No idea. I can only give it a guess right now. Space and time are pretty interconnected, so when you mess with space, time is affected, with magic allowing you to ignore a lot of those effects. Even with the storage rings, its more of a stable mokeskin pouch in a way, so magic ignores any effect that messing with space may have on time"

Yumie was silent for a moment, seemingly going over what I shared, "and your ring is different how?"

"Well, with my ring being a closed-off space filled with shadows so I can access the interior, magic keeps it stable from the outside, but time is still affected within due to the severe bending of space in on itself, distorting time with no magical interference. In the same way you start having severe time dilation around a black hole because of gravity affecting space, thus affecting time.

Yumie was silent again for a minute before I could feel the disbelief and judgment radiating from her, "you just made all that up, didn't you?"

Letting lose a giggle aloud I sent my warm feelings through our bond, filled with humor and affection, "maybe, but it's still as good an explanation as any other, how am I supposed to know magic and general relativity interact?"

"Sure Elizabeth, whatever you say" she said, poking fun at me, causing us both to give some silent internal laughter.

Honestly, I heartfelt believe in the statement that family is what you make of it, blood ties don't make one family, but the connections you have with others are what's important. Even being so busy studying and working on various projects I'm glad that I make sure that I don't neglect either my family or friends.

More than a month has gone by since my hunt of Dolores Umbridge and the amusing spectacle that followed the discovery of her death a few days after. When her death was discovered, there was of course shock, more so due to her condition and the suddenness, rather than any care for her personally.

Fudge was quick to bluster and rage at the sheer audacity of someone targeting his undersecretary, but he was quick to draw back like a beaten dog when Daily Prophet came out with damning evidence for her crimes, copies of her memories 'somehow' ending up in their possession.

When the magnitude of her crimes came to light to the public, Fudge acted like most politicians and was quick to think of his career first, throwing her under the proverbial bus and denying any and all knowledge of her actions.

The Hogwarts rumor mill was more than happy to keep the story going, coming up with all kinds of theories about her death, from werewolves to dark wizards. I had to laugh about one rumor about Umbridge having an affair with a hag and ended up as her potion ingredients due to a lover's spat.

Regardless of the rumor mill and political posturing, it was fun to see a little chaos in the wizarding world, something it is in dire need of due to its stagnation. The Victorian-like standards in fashion, morals, and ideas gave a stranglehold over the population that didn't allow new ideas to flourish. Something that many prejudicial purebloods encouraged as it perpetuated their notions of social classes and personal power.

Even the spell tied into the creation of my storage ring is something that a talented witch or wizard could have created themselves in some form or fashion, but many who grow up in this society or come into it early, fall into that same stagnation. Taught that there is a certain way to do things and that is simply how things are done, falling into the general populace of accepting the status quo.

Those that do want to push the boundaries of magic and discover new and interesting things usually go into the Department of Mysteries and holding to their title, their discoveries are not publicized. Though from what I could gather from the books, they seem to delve into more esoteric aspects of magic such as Time and Death, rather than innovative utilitarian ideas.

Of course, I have the advantage of knowledge from my previous life where information was widespread and easy to access, allowing for things like storage rings to become a known concept. Where even first-generation witches and wizards would have more access to a library than any early forms of the internet today. Though I'm sure that will take a massive leap forward when Tony Stark gets out of the weapons market and more into wider fields of study.

During this time I've also put more concentrated effort into memorizing the raw material for History of Magic and Herbology, working my way through the first year of both classes at a fast pace. Where Transfiguration and Charms have more practical lessons that take more practice and time to master, the latter two classes have more memorization as their focus.

The first is pure memorization from the given History book, being that it's taught by a ghost that is boring even among other ghosts, and Herbology only has interaction with various magical plants as its practical portion. Since I can feel the magic in said plants and send out my own to them, said interaction is easy, at least in first year so far.

Occlumency and the fact that I sleep so much less than my peers have been a massive help in speeding up the process of both reading over the material quickly and memorizing, with my natural abilities in that regard helping as well. This has left me with more personal free time during the week and weekends for personal areas of study and experimentation that I otherwise would have lacked. My very sharp eyes and quick processing makes speed reading easy as well, which further gives me more private time.

The time during my private lessons also allowed me to spend more time on my interests outside of socializing, since I could improve at my own expedited pace in those two subjects, allowing me to spend much less time in private practice.

Even concerning the time I spend learning healing is only relegated to weekend mornings of private instruction rather than me having to waste time trying to figure out things by myself. Even now I am learning how to break minor jinxes and hexes with their counter curses, while also feeling out weak points in those spells as another way to help break them. Taking the time to learn how to interact with the magic of others under the supervision of our resident healer, getting in very valuable experience.

The last area of study besides potions consisted of just reading various books on the subject, and that was going over more information regarding wards, coinciding with my study on runes. This was interesting to read about more so because wards were never actually mentioned in the Harry Potter books or moves, just protective charms or jinxes. But either they were just never mentioned or it's just a divergence in the world I'm living in, they do in fact exist here. Though they work in a unique way, rather than just being omnipresent in a home or institution.

Wards can be roughly categorized into two categories, the first being intent wards, and the second being boundary wards, with both being capable of doing various things. Intent wards are interesting in that when you are implementing the ward into the ward stone either through runes, spells, or a combination of both, you have to set parameters. While the wards can very well sense the intent of an individual, hence the name, they have to be given parameters on which to act.

If you just set your ward to act on just negative intent then depending upon the severity of your other spells tide into the ward stone, that could result in a very messy situation. Especially considering someplace like the Black family, there is plenty of animosity to go around among the family and various visitors, and you can't have people melting into a puddle of goo just because they want to stab the person in front of them. Most parameters are set to detect the build-up of magic in an individual, either acting automatically or alerting the head of house to implement further actions, usually a combination of both.

You can also set the intent wards to act to physical violence, but due to the heavy reliance on magic that pervades the entirety of a witch or wizard's life, most don't even consider setting such a parameter, especially purebloods. The go-to response for either violence or defense is always reaching for one's wand, this is an ingrained response for every witch or wizard, especially after seven years of education, and further ingrained in their adult life.

Honestly, this could be considered a perfect example of a cultural blind spot to certain dangers yet considering how pervasive this thought process is to the entirety of wizarding Britain, it's at least an understandable blind spot.

Intent wards can also be placed outside of a home or business such as a muggle repelling ward or even just a general all-encompassing repelling ward. These can be a lot less restrictive because you are usually just encouraging people to stay away rather than specifying actions due to their intent.

Boundary wards are fairly self-explanatory, they are set to the boundary of a home or business, such as the blood wards Dumbledore put around the Dursley's home, at least that's what I assume the blood protection was. These can act as the equivalent of a shield to protect against magical attacks or stop physical entry. There are also the known protections to stop wizarding teleportation or the use of portkeys, though these protections don't necessarily have to be applied to a ward stone and can be cast as a charm or jinx as well.

Boundary wards can also act as forms of detection for those not tied into the ward stone, activating after a person physically crosses the boundary line such as Dumbledore's age line, or detects wizarding teleportation. My shadow travel nicely circumvents these protections due to connecting two points of space directly via a medium, shadow in this case, in the same way the vanishing cabinets allowed death eaters to circumvent the protections that Hogwarts head.

I assume this is the same way the Marauder's Map works as well, tying into those same detection wards that activate when someone crosses the barrier into Hogwarts. It's definitely something I have to check out when I can finally manage to get access to the Weasley twins in private.

My natural advantages since I'm a magical mutant and the skills my mutation helps along honestly give me a strong advantage regarding regular schooling. It's not like I'll be able to go wand to wand with even a moderately talented duelist just yet, at least just using magic, but if even a regular student can succeed in Hogwarts, I damn well better put in the effort to make the best use of my abilities to go beyond the normal student.

Dumbledore managed to create a new standard during his final tests for transfiguration and drew the interest of a centuries-old alchemist. Grindelwald was skilled enough to pose a danger to the entirety of the magical world. And Voldemort built a cult-like following with his death eaters and people fear to speak his name. these names reverberate throughout history due to their own natural advantages and hard work, so I will work just as hard so that my name towers above them all.

Finishing my time of woolgathering as I finally reach Professor Flitwick's classroom, I head in for my usual lesson with the man that has been handedly mopping the floor with me as he taught me. Since I'm limiting my physical abilities so that I can work on my foundational knowledge of dueling, the half-goblin continued to prove why he is a champion duelist himself. Though after a month of private lessons and quick improvement on my part, he said it was finally time to start branching out from the basics.

This lesson should have some excitement in store for both of us, and that's a thought I couldn't help but let loose a slightly manic smile at.

ΩΩΩ

"As always, it's a pleasure to see you Ms. Potter" Professor Flitwick said, a wide smile staring my way.

"I feel very much the same Professor, I always look forward to our lessons, both for your company and from what I can learn from you" sharing a smile with him, giving him a slight bow in greeting.

"Now Ms. Potter, we have previously gone over basic dueling stances and worked on the fundamentals of spell parrying, and you have made remarkable progress with both Ms. Potter, truly remarkable!" he said, giving an excited little lead and another wide smile.

"Thank you, Professor, that means a lot coming from you. I've found that dueling in its most basic form has a similar foundation to fencing and other forms of sword work, such as stances creating a smaller target for your opponent and parrying their attacks when you can.

"Of course, it becomes much more complicated due to the versatility that magic offers, but still, the foundation is very similar. So, I managed to convince Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington to add fencing lessons to my morning workout routine. He's had centuries to perfect his skill with not much else to do and teaching me also gives him a distraction from the usual boredom" I replied, a small smile painting my face.

"Very clever Ms. Potter, clever indeed. And I'm sure your respectful nature also helped things along with him" he said, a kinder smile shared in return.

"Perhaps" my own expression stayed much the same, not giving voice to what we both know in that Sir Nicholas dislikes his Nearly Headless appellation. Respect can go a long way in making friends and gaining favors, as you can't take back first impressions.

"Since we have gone over the fundamentals Ms. Potter, I think it is now time to further test your capabilities to see where we go from here. What do you think?" he asked, a questioning eyebrow raised in my direction.

"That sounds perfect Professor" the drum within my chest increasing in tempo, "what do you have in mind? A formal duel or a regulated fight?"

"As you are looking to defend yourself and others Ms. Potter, this will be a fight, though as you pointed out, a very much regulated one," he said with a small smile showing, wearing a more serious demeanor now.

"Understandable Professor, the rules involved?"

"Strictly non-lethal spells of course, I don't think we are quite ready for that level of dueling," he said chuckling, "so stunning and disarming spells only, and if you feel comfortable with any transfiguration or animation, light to medium blunt attacks only. As you know, any bruises can be fixed in a jiffy by our resident healer."

"Madam Pomfrey is a wonder, isn't she?" I replied with a smile. "All of that sounds acceptable Professor, though I hope to prove I can handle more than you think during this fight" my smile turning sharper, eyes predatory.

Whether it was his experience or goblin nature, he easily saw my change in demeanor, giving me a sharp smile of his own, "I look forward to it Ms. Potter."

With a wave of his wand, he moved the various desks and chairs away from the center of the class, leaving an area clear for us both, "let us take our positions Ms. Potter"

Making my way to stand across from him, my wand arm faces him and my body angles away with my weight evenly distributed, easing into such a position without a thought and with the utter comfort of long familiarity.

"Begin!" spoke Flitwick, letting lose a quick flurry of three stunning spells at me a moment later, causing me to sidestep the first two spells and deflect the third with a shield spell. With a quick retaliation, I cast my own disarming spell and follow it up with a conjured pebble that's banished in his direction.

An easy wave of his wand shunts my spell to the side with his own shield spell, dodging the follow-up pebble with a slight tilt of his body.

"Very good Ms. Potter, very good indeed. Why don't we scale this up a bit then?" a sharp smile cut across his face, his gaze focused.

"With pleasure" my own bladed grin matching his, taking the initiative to cast two bright red stunning spells at his face and a banishing spell at his feet, taking the chance to slowly close the distance between us. Though with a rather mischievous grin he deflects both stunners as he steps back, the banishing spell splashing into the ground, and he repeats his first attacks again.

Yet this time the spells come at me like a fastball, much faster than ever before, though I smoothly dodge the first two spells, mirroring him, and let them slide past me with ease. The real surprise comes as I work to parry the third spell, finding it breaking past my shield to make its way to my chest.

Only by showcasing more than I intended and going beyond the human norm am I able to widen my stance as I desperately lean back and to the side to dodge the spell, having it just touch the side of my arm. I surge some of my chi throughout my body and fight off the sudden darkening around the peripheral of my vision.

Moments later my body recovers, and I use the momentum of my dodge to roll backward and up into a lower defensive stance, my wand at the ready.

"You upped the strength of your spells Professor. How fun" a slightly manic smile starting to form on my lips, predatory and hungry, before I fight it down. This is more of a spar than a true fight, and I control my instincts, they don't control me!

"And you Ms. Potter are a lot more than meets the eye, no normal student, no, no normal witch or wizard could dodge as you did, let alone a first-year student pushing through the effects of the spell." Giving me another wide and happy smile, he continues, "Truly Ms. Potter, you will be a joy to teach! Now, show me what you can do"

"On your reciprocation" I tell him with a smile, my body tensing, a blade ready to be drawn.

Taking the initiative, I silently cast a Flipendo jinx in his direction, knowing that I wouldn't be knocking him back with it but giving me enough time to start running to the side, jumping onto the desks, giving me the high ground. Weaving past a series of fast retaliatory spells I send a quick series of three spells, Stupefy, Expelliarmus, and another Flipendo.

The Professor easily parried the first spell to the side while dodging my other two spells before he launched another strong spell in my direction, this time with me honing my senses to feel the spell's strength. Though instead of at me, he aimed at the desk in front of me, hoping to throw off my advantage and get me down to even ground.

"Nice try Professor!" letting out a laugh as I flip over the empty space, sending another knockback jink in his direction mid-flip, happy to see his eyes widen in surprise. As I landed I shot off another spell, the softening charm Spongify, hoping to throw off his balance, but he sidestepped it seemingly out of instinct.

Upping his skillset again due to my own demonstration skills, he sent a lighting quick set of spells at me, alternating between stunning and disarming spells, with his last and sixth spell being a weaker Depulso, trying to bring me down once again.

Adrenalin pumping, I speed up and cartwheel past the first three spells and parry the next two but I cast a shield spell and let the Depulso hit me head-on as I jump back. Using the momentum of my jump and the power of the spell, I go into a barani flip, a front flip with a half twist while keeping my body straight, landing on the chair in the back row. With one foot on the back of the chair and another on the seat, I stay balanced on the back two legs and send my own lighting quick spells, six simple stinging jinxes as a distraction, and a final altered ice jinx spell at his feet.

Flitwick just keeps a strong shield up against my slightly dark jinxes and when the floor under him starts to ice over, he hits it with a quick Incendio, preventing any slipping. A spell he quickly uses again against the transfigured chalk into a dragonfly, burning it out of the air.

"Stupendous Ms. Potter, truly stupendous! Let me return the favor" Professor Flitwick said with a wide smile, giving his wand a quick circular wave above his head. Suddenly all the chalk in the classroom flew up and sprouted wings, launching after me, and finally bringing me back to the classroom floor with him as I dodged.

Seeing the flying chalk above me, I spoke my first spell aloud during our spar, muttering out "Immobulus" as I pointed my wand into the air, dodging the disarming spell coming my way shortly after. Though I sensed another two flying chalk coming behind me as I saw a third one flying toward me. Giving another jump, I use a bit of chi to fight off the effects of gravity just slightly and keep my body horizontal to the floor, letting the chalk pass me by.

What I received for my efforts was a smirk from Professor Flitwick as his wand glowed red for a moment before sending a lightning bolt-like red spell in my direction, making me quickly draw back my chi to cast a weak shield spell that was promptly shattered like a bullet through glass, and then only darkness.

ΩΩΩ

With a start I woke up and sensed someone near me, rolling back quick onto one hand and launching myself upright in moments, my wand at the ready, and was just about to release my claws before I remembered what just happened. I focused my attention in front of me and saw Professor Flitwick looking amused, his wand out and seemingly having paused mid-spell according to the energy I could still feel in it.

"What in gods name was that at the end?" I asked, my body and magic having already recovered, but a confused look marring my features at the unexpected spell.

"That Ms. Potter was a condensed spell, and so to were the fast spells before that. And you recovered remarkably quickly after such a strong stunning spell, within seconds in fact" he told me, an eyebrow arched in my direction.

"I don't remember reading anything like that Professor?" I both said and asked, still confused and going over all the various spell books I had read.

"Well now, I don't imagine you would have, even with your voracious appetite for knowledge" his amusement coming through clearly.

"Such things are found in the restricted section of the Hogwarts library, and for family libraries, you may find it mentioned in various dueling books. It's taught during seventh year in Hogwarts and becomes second nature to many dueling-oriented witches and wizards" he told me, seemingly having slipped into his teacher's mode.

"So much so, that even in the books you've undoubtedly read, many wouldn't even think of mentioning it unless they had thoughts on some improvement on the practice" he shared before his eyes sharpened once again. "And you Ms. Potter are avoiding my question, inferred as it was" his eyes having a crystal-clear focus on me after calling me out.

Blushing slightly at having been caught trying to gloss over his question, I focus my attention back on him, my gaze becoming more serious. "Well Professor, first I would like to ask that you not share anything we discuss with anyone else, save perhaps Professor McGonagall, not even Dumbledore. Can you do that?" I asked, my eyes and senses sharp, reading whatever I could from him.

Pausing at my change in demeanor, he takes his time considering his response before giving me a nod, "As you wish Ms. Potter"

Smiling at him I have a nod of my own, "Perfect Professor, just remember, trust, once broken, is never easily mended, if ever repaired at all."

He gave an understanding and serious nod at that.

"As you may have guessed, I am not your average witch, and among the non-magical population, I would be classified as what is known as a mutant, though I've always felt something like metahuman sounded better" I explained.

"Intriguing, and what makes you a metahuman, as you prefer the terminology, Ms. Potter?" he asked calmly, simply curious, his eyes holding neither judgment nor condemnation just yet, and his heart rate even.

"For me, I have much better reflexes than normal, I'm stronger than I look, my senses are much stronger than normal, and I heal very fast" I explained.

Giving me an excited and happy smile, "that certainly explains much of what you showcased, though how fast do you heal if I may ask Ms. Potter?"

Seeing this as a time for a small, slightly dark prank, as I so very rarely dabble in the passion of my fathers and godfathers, I conjured a small razor and sliced it across my palm, easily ignoring the small sting.

"Ms. Potter!" he yelled, hurrying his way over to me and grabbing my hand, seeing my already healed palm, only a slight trace of blood remaining.

"Very fast Professor," I told him with a smirk before wincing as he slapped my arm. Seems I'm not the only person who's stronger than they look.

"Don't ever do that again! There is no need for self-mutilation young lady, no matter your healing. As impressive as your healing may be" he told me with a glare.

"Yes Professor" I responded with a slight giggle, "though to be fair, I've put my body through worse in my training as well as my grandfather's training" I explained.

"Ms. Potter, I am half goblin, I more than understand that training is one matter, and needless harm another matter entirely. Understood?" he lectured, his eyes firm.

"Yes, Professor" I responded sheepishly, "and feel to call me Elizabeth Professor," I told him with a smile.

"Happily Elizabeth, and the same to you, call me Filius if you wish when we are alone. Can't have the student body of shock now, can we?" he replied with a chuckle, receiving one in return.

"So, condensed spells," I asked, wearing a hopeful look, really wanting that information.

"Ah yes" he said, sharing another chuckle, "let me explain, you see, condensed spells are as the name implies…" he explained, going on to share a new dynamic of magic with me.

ΩΩΩ

Filius went on to explain in his small lecture at the end of our spar, the basic concept of condensed spells, and as the name implies, you are condensing certain spell structures so that they go faster and hit harder. Your basic attack spell can have varying speeds but can usually be dodged by those with the common sense to get out of the way, but is the quickest to cast, instantaneous for those skilled in combat magic

The next level of spell can take a second or a half second to form, looking like a condensed ball of light going professional fastball-like speeds, depending on the power of the witch or wizard. These can pack more of a punch and can crack or break regular shield spells and are much harder to dodge.

Lastly is the highest form of a condensed spell, looking like a lightning bolt shooting from ones wand and going at blindingly fast speeds. The usual reaction times of a witch or wizard is better than your average person, and those who go into combat magic usually have reflexes far surpassing your average non-magical.

Yet, even so, this level of condensed spell always shatters regular shields unless you are prepared and overpower them, or your magic is naturally much stronger than your opponent. Though the cast time is always above a second or more in order to build up the power and concentration necessary for the spell. Unless of course, you're a magical titan like Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Voldemort and can call on the kind of power at a moment's notice. But then again, these men were and are feared for a reason, and it's not just that vast array of knowledge and/or ruthlessness.

This bit of information is something I should probably mention in the later textbooks I'll write for charms and defense against the dark arts. Unlike rewriting the potions textbook and the time that goes into various experiments, the other textbooks are rather easy to rewrite as I go over the material myself.

Taking notes as I help other students during class in what works the best for others to learn, I just use a transcription spell to tighten up the information and an animation spell for the wand movement drawings. At most, Charms and Transfiguration take me a half hour at most using magic to transcribe the information and wand animations.

What takes me the longest is Defense Against the Dark Arts, at about an hour, since a lot of that is self-study during class as I ignore the fake stuttering mess of our teacher, Quirrell. The explanation and wand movement of various introduced spells is easy, but the various dark creatures introduced do take a bit more time to go over and describe in a less Victorian fashion.

I then send the book to my grandfather to draw the creature mentioned in that chapter and double-check and correct any misinformed information. As of yet, there have only been a few corrections, but I wouldn't be surprised if that changed in the future. But with magic helping with the majority of the transcription, at least it doesn't take a massive amount of my time, and more so my grandfather's time for his drawings. Though he seems happy to help and finds it amusing that the future magical textbooks will have his name on it as the mentioned artist, being non-magical and all.

After my lesson with Filius, I also made my way to say hi to Hagrid, having struck up a small friendship with the man and our shared interest in the wilderness and dangerous animals. Honestly, Yumie really is a misunderstood serpent, so what if she has venom that can melt the flesh from your bones?

On my way to my dorm, I ran into Tonks as well, though it's now Tonks Black, though she just says she'll by her middle name instead of her last name like she used to. Receiving an affectionate hug from her rather than the normal side hugs she used to give was just another show that she appreciated being brought into the family. Maybe not as much as her mom did, but nonetheless, she did, though more so in that her family has grown rather than any fondness for the Black name and the history attached to it.

When I told her about my dueling lessons, she showed an interest in gaining some tips herself and considering her future choice in career, that's understandable. I told her that when we both have free time we can try and fit some dueling lessons in, and since I'm being taught by a champion duelist, she's willing to see what I can teach her.

While she may be more magically powerful than me at the moment and has a wider repository of spells, that doesn't mean she's a great duelist just yet. At the very least, it should be fun.

Making my way to the Ravenclaw common room entrance and faced the bronze eagle knocker for the riddle, curious what it would be this time.

"I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?" it asked, making me pause and think for a moment.

"An echo" I finally replied.

"Correct" it affirmed before opening the common room door.

Heading in I saw Hermione reading on the couch by the fire, so I made toward her, laying across the couch myself, leaning against Hermione, closing my eyes.

"Hogwarts: A History again Hermione?" I asked, receiving only silence in return and I could feel her pout above me, making me chuckle.

"Don't pout Hermione" I said, poking her cheek, my eyes still closed.

"But it's not fair Elizabeth! I want to be able to get those lessons as well" she wined, making me chuckle again.

"Life, if ever, is rarely fair Hermione, I just showed myself to be highly competent in the practical and side of magic while keeping up with the literature as well" I told her calmly.

"I also just happened to point out, that being well known in the magical world makes me a target as well, so it was in my best interest to learn at an expedited rate so that I can defend myself as others" I pointed out, a small smile gracing my lips, earning a huff in return.

"Your right Elizabeth" she said, taking a deep breath "I'm just being jealous. It all seems so easy to you is all, and I wish I was like that" she told me, quieting at the end.

Sitting up I drape my arm over her shoulder and give her a close hug, "you're fine the way you Hermione, we all have out own strengths. And I'll have you know I often stay up late to get extra practice in as well" told her, acting snooty, and earning a giggle from her in return.

Though she arched an eyebrow my way, "And what would you say my strengths are then?" seemingly putting me on the spot.

Rolling my eyes at her antics, I responded easily, "you're a bastion of known and esoteric information, able to recall even the most obscure of facts at a moment's notice" I told her.

"Thanks," she said, blushing slightly.

"You would make a fantastic librarian, archivist, or maybe even eventually researching the mysteries that magic has to offer in the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable" I further pointed out.

"You're right!" she said, more energetic now, "like mum always said, I shouldn't compare myself to others, but set my own goals and work hard to achieve them" she proclaimed, confidence regained.

"Exactly" I told her with a wide smile.

After that, we talked more about our day and classes, Hermione sharing a bit of the gossip she overheard while in the common room, laughing and smiling all the while.

Eventually, we both found parted ways to head to our rooms, Hermione being a bit tired, and me, finding someplace private to step into the shadows to head to Potter Manor.

ΩΩΩ

Seeing Sirius in one of the lounge chairs I give him a wide smile and hug, luxuriating slightly in the warm familial affection.

"How're you Padfoot?" I ask with a warm smile.

"Fine and dandy, and never serious" he joked back, wearing a warm smile of his own.

Looking over at the man sitting at the kitchen table with a book in his hand, I gave him a nod and a small smile, "Lupin, doing well?"

"Very well, thank you Elizabeth" he replied with a kind smile.

"How have you both been doing with your appointments with the Mind Healer?" I asked them, seeing that both became a bit more somber after the question.

I had encouraged both to go to a Mind Healer to get some help, telling them that there was nothing wrong with needing help and that they would be better for it. Sirius had one of the more obvious reasons, losing his family in all but blood, and going to Azkaban soon after to be tortured by his worst memories didn't leave him well adjusted.

When I found out that he was having consistent nightmares and that his drinking was starting to become worse to help deal with the memories, I sat him down to talk about getting help. It probably helped that we care so much for each other, and that devastating impact of wide teary eyes aimed in his direction, but he went nonetheless. This came about soon after Lupin made his way to Potter Manor, reuniting the old friends, even if things were a bit tense. Though apparently after copious amounts of alcohol, a fist fight, and crying that will never be mentioned, things were settled between them.

Though I do have to admit to being a bit cold to Lupin at first, being that he was never there for me when I was younger, not even a letter my way. His explanation of being a monster and not being control himself three days a month received a flat stare from me, as the Wolfsbane potion helps him keep his mind. As my guardian, he could have used a stipend from the Potter accounts to help buy the potion.

Even if Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed him to take custody, writing a letter costs nothing and him staying in contact could mean everything. If he had told me he had sent letters, I would just have assumed the Dursleys simply destroyed them, but his look of shame told me enough.

Ultimately when my temper cooled down, and I sat down to talk to the man, I came to the conclusion he suffers from crippling self-hatred and a fear of himself that's almost all-consuming. So when the world that he knew, the emotional support that he had in his friends, he became cowardly and just ran away from it all, including their newly orphaned child.

After that revelation, I pushed for him to go to a Mind Healer as well, ending up at the same one that his best friend went to. I may never be as close to Lupin as I am to Padfoot, but I can at least see that the man has been improving over time and has tried to make amends with me.

"It's … been going well Elizabeth. I needed to face some hard truths about myself, but, I think I'm learning to accept myself more and accept the losses in my life a little better" Lupin responded, showing a slight smile. "It also helps that I feel leagues better than I have in a very long time, once again, thank you for that" he replied happily, showing a wider smile.

"Same here pup, it's been hard you know? Going over all of that stuff in the best, but, the Mind Healer knows what she's doing, so, it's helped and all that" Sirius said, looking honest and like a weight is slowly being lifted from him.

"You're very welcome, Lupin, I was happy to help, both for Padfoots sake, and that you're working so hard to help improve with the mind healer" I told him, giving him a kind smile, looking at the man that shares a shocking resemblance to a young David Thewlis.

"And that's great Padfoot, plus, you've been drinking less and staying to healthy levels. I just want you to take care of yourself, your family" I shared, both of us slightly misty-eyed for a moment before blinking that away, and he gave me a tight hug and smile.

And if people question this shocking change both in Lupin and Sirius, I can just tell them it's a family secret, some of the perks of being from an old pureblood family in the wizarding world that's part of Wizengamot.

"Where are the twins?" I asked.

"In the library" Lupin told me, getting a small nod in return as I made my way to them.

As I walked through the hallways to the library I thought back to another recent discovery, one concerning the hell hole I came from before meeting my grandfather. Being that I've been incredibly busy since starting Hogwarts and they weren't in the old house, I put the matter to the side.

Sirius though, well, he decided that he really wanted to find out what happened to my old abusers and apparated there to ask around. It turns out, that when you come back from a trip missing a husband and child, people get curious, and some get worried.

Some neighbors called the police and apparently when Petunia couldn't answer some very easy questions, more suspicions were raised, and a warrant was soon issued. Evidence of my severe abuse was soon found, and Petunia, not being the most strong-willed individual, soon broke under questioning. She ended up being sentenced to life in prison, Marge got ten years for child abuse, and Dudley went to a foster home and had mandatory therapy sessions and seems to be doing better with better guidance in his life.

It was in the paper and everything according to a few of the gossipy housewives Sirius talked to.

Now, if and when I make my appearance back into the non-magical world again, Petunia's sentencing may change from life to a few decades, but that's fine with me.

Making my way into the library I saw the twins sitting on the couch, their new wands in their holsters that could barely be seen on their arms. Both had a rather eclectic form of education that came from various members of their previous pack but reading and writing were included in that education.

Lupin had taken over in teaching both of them more formal education, using the various books in the Potter library, including earlier Hogwarts textbooks. Something both of them appreciated considering their background and something they both worked hard at since neither wanted to be vulnerable again. Sirius also stepped in at times and liked that he had something to keep him busy for now rather than the periodic Wizengamot meetings that he traded on and off with Andromeda.

Considering that both had a private tutor, worked hard, and were very motivated, they've been doing very well, learning faster than most Hogwarts students. Though to be fair, most students don't have near the motivation to improve as these two do, no matter their talent.

"Ash, Ana, how are you two doing?" I asked, giving them a smile as I entered the library.

""Elizabeth"" both responded, though Ash a bit more bashfully, being the shyer of the two.

"We've both settled in, and well, this has been the best home either of us have ever had, so, thank you Elizabeth" Ana responded, a sincere and wild smile gracing her face, her sister sharing the same smile soon after. Both were very pretty twins as well, sharing a resemblance to Shelley Hennig.

"I'm happy you're feeling as if this is your home, both of you" I said with a smile, "and no need to thank me, either of you, your family now, and I just want you both to feel as such" holding my hand out to them both.

Both nodded, giving me a smile and lightly grabbing my hand in comfort, neither up to much physical contact just yet, but enjoying some nonetheless, wolves are pack animals after all.

"How's the transformation den" I asked, referring to the room prepared for them and Lupin to transform in when the full moon comes. It was expanded using extension charms and filled with various plants at night like peppermint, chamomile, lavender, and jasmine, along with three large beds on the floor. The walls and door have also been coated with tungsten carbide and enchanted with both an unbreakable and cushioning charm. Lastly, the door has a tungsten carbide bar on the outside that opens up with the wave of a wand, all three being stored in a safe within the room.

All in all, a very comfortable and safe room for them to transform in, with their last transformation happening a few days ago.

"It was great, and the potion made the whole thing much easier, it was nice being able to control ourselves" Ana told me, Ash nodding next to her.

"The pain relief potion helped a lot too," Ash said quietly as well.

"That's great guys, I'm glad it went well" I told them, glad they had a safe place to transform. Checking the time I bid them a farewell, happy that I have the ability to come home like this.

Heading back to Hogwarts I make my way to dinner, deciding to spend a little time with Nevil as well, who has been flourishing since the return of his parents, though potions are still his weak point, but has more friends at least.

And after such a workout today, Dobby was nice enough to make some beef ramen for me.

I love that little guy!

ΩΩΩ

Time went on as it usually does and I carried on with my various studies and research all the while, my family getting the help they needed, and improving the bonds between me and the twins. Though Halloween eventually reared its ugly head and as all the school cheered in revelry, I mourned in the somber emotions of loss.

"Let's go Elizabeth, I want to see what kind of food they have out for Halloween!" Hermione said excitedly, the exuberance of youth playing its role, and the lure of sweets playing their siren call.

"I think I'll go for a walk instead Hermione, go on without me, Halloween really isn't my holiday" I told in, wearing a small but sad smile.

"What? Oh, oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't, I just forgot what this day means to you" Hermione said, seemingly mortified and apologetic.

Giving a light laugh I hug her for a moment, "it's fine Hermione, time dulls all wounds as they say, and it's not a happy day, but the wound of their loss isn't raw either. Go on ahead, enjoy some mint chocolate chip and have some fun, and enjoy the Halloween feast" I tell her with a smile, giving her a light push.

"Are you sure?" she asks, hesitant to leave me alone.

"I am, go on, I'll be fine" I tell her.

Later, walking through the empty halls, I enjoy my solitude for now, knowing that I head home later to help comfort those who knew my parents far better than I and are suffering their loss as well. Closing my eyes I start humming "Come Little Children", enjoying the melody, finding that it fits the mood.

Though not ten minutes later I feel the rumble of the stone floors, smell the stench that is beginning to suffuse the hallway, and my skin feels the temperature in the air change. A minute later I see a mountain troll making its way down toward me, confirming that things are still following the script for now, despite the changes made.

"You're a big one, aren't you?" I say, seeing it tower over me, a club in hand. Suddenly it raises its weapon high, slamming it down at me, but I just sidestep it with ease.

"You know" I said, sidestepping the club again, "I know magic isn't supposed to be very effective against trolls," I sidestep another blow "but with you being so dumb and slow, a conjured or transfigured weapon should be easy to use against you" I finish off, seeing it's getting angry.

With a yell, it finally decides to change tactics and swings its club at me, but I just somersault over it, pulling out one of my hidden throwing blades. With another yell it slams its club at me that I dodge again, but this time I jump onto it as it lifts its weapon high, gaining some height.

With a backward rump off from the club, I toss my throwing blade at the troll, the blade speeding through the air before striking my target, one of its beady eyes.

"Arhhhh" it roars out in pain before I send a telekinetic blast at the blade, sending it deep into the troll's brain, and after a sudden silent pause, it falls back onto the stone floor with a meaty thud. Seeing this was Samhain, I decided to dedicate the kill so my favorite Norse goddess, Hela, who's actually known in this world for some reason.

Though oddly enough, after said dedication, a feeling of acceptance and amusement washed over me. Well, odd but interesting at least.

Hearing the oncoming footsteps of various teachers, recognizing their gait, I summon my knife from the troll, hitting it with a strong scourgify as it makes its way to my hand.

"Ms. Potter, what have you done?" muttered a shocked Dumbledore, meanwhile both Filius and McGonagall made their way to me, checking if I was alright.

"I'm sorry Professor, I didn't have much of a choice. I couldn't disable it and I couldn't let it go to maybe kill another student" I told him calmly, happy to see that both my private tutors didn't seem to mind.

"Well done Ms. Potter, well done! Fifty points to Ravenclaw" said an exuberant Filius, making me smile. "How did you slay the beast" he asked.

"A very overpowered piecing curse I learned, just in case I need to protect myself, being who I am and all" I told him, not wanting to have my blades known. While Filius nodded in understanding and was seemingly very proud of my accomplishment, Dumbledore seemed aghast at my use of the deadly spell. Since it was used in self-defense against a troll that appeared due to what can be seen as the school's negligence, he couldn't really reprimand me either.

"Well Ms. Potter, while I am gladdened by your safety, why may I ask you were not at the feast" asked a subdued Dumbledore.

"Albus! The fact that Elizabeth is safe is what matters, give the poor girl some time to process everything!" McGonagall snapped out.

Looking her way I gave her a wide smile, "thank you Professor, that means a lot. But I don't mind answering. Considering today I lost my parents, well, I didn't really want to be part of the festivities. I hope you understand Professor Dumbledore" I told him, looking his way rather pointedly, after having to give such a reminder.

The Professor in question looked abashed but nodded in understanding.

Looking over to Filius, I pointed to the troll, "Can the school send the troll to the goblins to have it rendered and sold? Keeping a few quarts of troll's blood in storage in my trust vault under stasis as well" I asked him.

"It would be my pleasure, Ms. Potter. And you will certainly earn a very positive reputation among the goblins, having taken down a troll yourself, especially at such a young age" he informed me happily.

"Thank you Professor" I said, a proud smile gracing my lips.

Seeing that both Snape and Quirrell were making their way to us, I asked to leave, and Filius was more than happy to lead me to the dorms, and I gave McGonagall a smile before waving goodbye to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded, looking at the troll's body in contemplation, McGonagle giving him a slight glare all the while as I made my way away from the collection of Professors.

Later that night, things were a little less somber after I regaled my family of my newest conquest, knowing that the body should make a good bit of money as well. Enjoying my own moment of youthful exuberance, the memories of the past releasing some of their hold, I reveled in the warmth of my family, not truly caring about the accomplishment of my battle.

After making sure I was alright, they were all more than happy to congratulate me on being able to take down a troll, and even though the day was once again marred by death, it was just a little less sad. The smiles of those who were marred by the pain of this day were just a little less strained, my own included.

Halloween may be a day of loss and tears for me, of broken hearts, and things that could never be, but surrounded by family I'm reminded that throughout it all, I'm not alone. The encompassing warmth of family dulling that jagged edge of loss, and while old wounds may at times fester, it is those around us that will allow them to scar and fade.

Maybe Halloween isn't all that bad after all? Just maybe, I can make new memories to help soothe the memories I have of that night.

At the very least, I can say that this was in fact a happy Halloween.

AN: Hello, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and yes, I know it took a long time. Actually, the only part of this in my outline was the troll section, so it kinda fought me tooth and nail, but at least I finished it at last. I may reupload it tomorrow after proofreading it, but it's 6 in the morning for me and I'm tired as hell, but I wanted to get this done and out to all of you. Might have been better as a Halloween chapter considering the end, but oh well. Once again, hope you enjoyed it!