Sorry for the long absence, I was dealing with some personal stuff, updates will be less regular but shall continue so here you go! Please enjoy.
Chapter 27 Room of Research?
Albus POV
I watched my friends as they panicked around the library. I looked up, happening to catch Seraphina's eye, two tables across from me. The corner of her lip twitched upwards for a split second, barely noticeable, but I've known her long enough to recognise the gesture. Bemused. And trying to hide it. The OWLs are starting tomorrow, and everyone is desperately trying to pack years worth of content into their brains…in the span of hours.
But as funny as the situation was, I couldn't find it in myself to laugh.
With the exams came the end of the year and the prospect of returning to the isolating hovel. Sometimes, I truly wonder about the ability of many members of my kind in the aspect of logical thought. Certainly there are no benefits to limiting all non-pureblooded students' freedom during the holidays. Who even thought it was a good idea to force a registration of our travels until we finished our NEWTs? It just becomes an annoying chore that serves no purpose, and is tossed aside as soon as it is turned into the ministry.
My other concern was for Aberforth. As much as he tried to hide it, I saw how he paled when he received the letter from mother a week ago. Even a blind man would have seen it. Despite his claims to having stuck an overpowered charm on himself while trying to feed the giant squid when he got dragged in by the scruff of his neck by the headmaster almost two weeks ago, anyone with an ounce of sense could tell that it was a lie. Aberforth might have a flair for trouble, but even he is not powerful enough to cast a spell strong enough to require three teachers including Black to pry his spell off. There are only two people in this school whom I know are strong enough to cast a spell like that…unless an entire team of seven years and the teachers work together.
And neither of us would ever do something like that unprovoked.
I glanced over at Seraphina, she was quietly explaining a diagram of wolfsbane to her group of friends, with the expression of uttermost ease and confidence on her face. It simply is inconceivable that she would harm anyone without fair reason. Glancing out the window, I saw a flash of red and gold. The Gryffendor team is practising quidditch again, Aberforth no doubt with them. I suppressed a sigh. Why can't Aberforth be more like myself? Summer is going to be quite brutal, with his endless arguments with mother and Ariana's outbursts. Thankfully I have Hermes, I would have gone insane ages ago if I could not talk to my friends in that madhouse.
"Help me, Albus!" Elphias snapped. "I need to know Gamp's Laws but I can't remember them!"
"It's easy, Gamp's law states that an item can only be conjured if you have seen it before. With the five exceptions, wands, food, money, functional body parts and potion ingredients." I recited. "It's not that hard, there is logic in that. Afterall, if you think about it, all those items have functional components to them that are simply not observable. Like nutrients or magic. Although the body parts law may be related more to the limits of current healing than conjuration…"
"Argh! How are you so calm? The exams are tomorrow!" Elphias groaned, almost slamming his head into the table in frustration.
I plastered a smile on my face. The OWLs are not daunting to me, considering how much Seraphina and I study on a daily basis.
"I don't see the need to panic." I shrugged.
I am usually more concerned about if Seraphina is going to experiment with some dangerous magic, but she seemed to have done it much less after seeing my hesitance in first year. With the exception of the Gubraithian flame and elemental magic, preferring to focus her efforts on intrahouse politics, then again, I am not stopping her.
Besides, I already submitted my essay co-written with Nicholas Flamel on the twelve uses of Dragon Blood to the International Alchemical Conference. There's no way I am not going to get anything other than an Outstanding in Potions, Transfiguration and Herbology. Not to mention my recent correspondence with Adalbert Waffling, he was helpful with my ideas of new theories and confirming Seraphina's theory of the transfiguration of energy without runes as possible, but correspondence with him was too slow for my taste. In anycase, his enthusiasm towards history certainly helped me touch up on my own memory of it. That's five subjects down the bag. I suppressed a sigh as I surveyed the room full of frustrated students, I am envious of their lack of extracurricular concerns. How much easier are their lives compared to mine?
My only exam related concern would be being unable to beat Seraphina in them.
A few days later.
I walked out of the exam room with a smug grin on my face. The very young marker, Griselda Marchbanks, was positively blown away by the simple water elemental magic I displayed during the charms exam. There is simply no way that Seraphina will be able to think of doing that and get a better grade than me. Speaking of which, she is just around the corner.
"Seraphina!" I called out.
She turned around, smiling happily. "How are you, Albus?"
"I'm great! How did you do in the charms practical exam?" I asked.
"I think I went pretty well, and you?"
I grinned. "I am sure I got myself at least an O*."
She rolled her eyes. "We'll see, Albus. We'll see." With that, she turned and left.
A month later
Seraphina POV
I stood there frozen in horror. All around me, people screamed and wailed, as fire and lead rained from the sky. In the far distance, I could hear screams, both the heinous wailing and some sort of victorious chant. The horrible smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils. Suddenly, a hand gripped my foot.
"Please, you are our only hope." She cried in a slightly musical language I did not understand, that I could somehow comprehend.
I recoiled, scrambling away from the dying woman. Only hope? What hope? What's happening? To my surprise, a hand to my right darted towards the woman, clasping it tightly as she closed her eyes. I turned around.
It was him again. A tall young man with hair almost glittering gold in the sun and pale skin, dressed in duelling robes knelt beside the corpse. I could not see his face clearly, but his entire being gave off the feeling of ice and fire at the same time. Inexplicably, I am drawn towards him. He stood up and raised his wand, a white jet of magic shot out, with it came a shockwave so powerful that I had barely managed not to stumble, yet somehow, I was calm, it shot through the air before it hit the clouds, gathering it into the start of a storm. I was almost gaping at the amount of power this man had. My hair was standing on its end, charged purely from the magic in the air. Suddenly, my arms rose, almost as if I was directing some sort of orchestra, I could feel the power flowing through my body, my wand almost heating up in my hand with it, it was ancient, and dark. But with a slight hint of familiarity. Black and white lightning flew out of my arms and into the ground, instantly causing an earthquake, the ground trembled as it split apart by powerful magic, so much power that I can barely comprehend that it came from me, and me alone.
Necromancy!
I realised with a start. This was some form of Necromancy that I have never heard of before. Wielded with so much skill and mastery that all would mistake the wielder for Death herself! And elemental magic! But it is impossible to combine necromancy with anything. Every book says that. Necromancy is an elaborate ritual, each move precise, with no room for feelings of any sort, you must be tranquil, like death itself. Elemental magic is spontaneous sorcery, born of the purest emotions, wielded partially by nature itself, the two concepts are irreconcilable!
But that is also what they said about Necromancy in general. Yet I managed to turn the inferi ritual into a spell. At fourteen.
Even without looking, I somehow knew exactly what was going on. It was as if my senses has been expanded, where the elements were a part of me, just as much as my arm or leg. I could see everything without my eyes. The Earth trembled, roaring like an ancient beast disturbed from its long slumber, where I was barely holding onto its reins. I felt myself let the last inch of restraint go, then the earth exploded. Countless creatures formed from the earth, blackened and enriched with blood, rose up, animated by some form of necromancy. The storm charged each of them with lightning, which they were somehow able to hold even as they kept growing in size, making the lightning run up and down their bodies like some sort of armour or weapon. Around us, came the warcry of a lot of people.
An army.
Spellfire entered the fray. Within minutes, the area was calm again. The man turned to face me, casually brushing a finger down my cheek and over my lips. It was warm, I could almost hear the hum of power bursting just underneath his skin, somehow exhilarating, yet I was filled with the urge to lean against the hand, just as my hand rose of its own accord and ran a finger under his chin. It was a familiar and comforting gesture. Even without being able to see him clearly, I could tell he was smirking.
"We succeeded again."
With a jot, I sat up in my bed in cold sweat.
I took a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart. Rubbing my hand over my eyes. It was not the first time I woke up like this, in the middle of the night. The vision-dreams of battlefields had ceased once I stepped foot in Hogwarts, but recently, they have begun flaring up again. However, unlike last time, there was almost always the blond man present. I have never been able to see who he was clearly, but he never spoke to me before.
The scene replayed in my mind. It was so painfully familiar, but who would do that? It was almost as if we were in a courtship! I can understand standing in the middle of a battlefield, but someone running their finger down my cheek? I sighed. This is weird and exhausting, especially since my mind is too active and I can't go back to sleep after this. I checked the time.
Great. 4 a.m.
I got dressed, tip toeing to the washroom to get ready for the day. I mean, since I can't sleep, might as well as not waste time, right?
By the time I was ready, the sun had just begun to rise. I pondered what to do, now that I am done reading the few books on wards here, I suppose I can practise warding, but my belongings are already secure, and warding might wake Athena up. It is the last week of term, the exams are over so I don't have to study for them, in fact, the results are to be released today. Looking out the enchanted window, I saw the meagre streaks of sunlight stream through the water, covering the room in a calming, slightly ethereal green glow. I am suddenly filled with an urge to watch the sun as it quietly crept up the sky, beginning the day, preferably with a book in hand. So I quickly got dressed, flinging the dark blue senior winter cloak over myself before creeping out of the dorm.
I tried to cast a disillusionment charm on myself as I climbed up the steps, the portraits were snoring in their frames, oblivious to my actions. Trying my best to trace the path of the sun, I found myself on the seventh floor, heading off the main staircase to the side staircase to continue up to the Astronomy tower when I heard a low voice.
"...don't care about that! We need to reduce the amount of time students use to slack off! We need to reduce the breaks!" Came the voice of Black.
Alright… I don't really fancy having to explain to the headmaster why I am out of bed at this hour. I need a place to hide, at least until he is gone. Turning around, I walked back the way I came. Only to hear the sound of more chattering.
"Look, we can host a deathday party for you if you want, my dear…" Nearly headless Nick's voice drifted down the hall.
Nope. What is with ghosts and professors being up on the seventh floor in this ungodly hour? I turned back around. I really need a place to hide, I don't want to deal with anyone yet! The footsteps of Professor Black were getting louder. So I turned around again, indecisive.
Suddenly, the stone wall behind me gave out a low rumble. I spun around, just to see a door appear out of nowhere. Knowing there was nowhere else to go, I opened the door and ducked inside. Behind me, I heard the wall rumble again as the door merged into the wall.
I looked around the room I found myself in. It was large but cosy. There were pillars extending halfway down the ceiling, a large fireplace crackling merrily with bright orange flames. There was a large mahogany table near the edge of the room, with a large ceiling to floor window with a perfect view of the sunrise and the perfect window seat, covered with cushions.
It was perfect.
Now, if only there was some casual reading material so that I can take my mind off my dream…
Suddenly, a book appeared on top of the table. Myths and Legends of the Wizarding World. Huh. That sounds interesting. Then the wall to my left rumbled, as a giant mahogany bookshelf appeared before my eyes, filled with books of all shapes and sizes. I have no idea where that came from. If only there was a sign or something telling me where I am…
Nevermind. Right above the wall where I entered the room, a sign formed itself from stone. The Room of Requirement.
That sounds familiar. I think I read the title in Hogwarts: A History. I guess I must have stumbled upon it by accident. Oh well, I am in a world filled with magic, and fate likes to play tricks. So I picked up the book and started reading, curling up cosily against the window. Mentally thanking the room as it conjured a warm blanket over my legs.
It was a Saturday, so I read the book until the sun was high up in the sky and my stomach was growling for food. It's not uncommon for me to go missing during Saturdays since I usually go to the library for research anyway. I got up from my seat. It was a very interesting read, the book going on in detail about the most common myths and legends in the wizarding world. I tucked it in my pocket, I will continue reading it later. For now, I need to get down stairs. I have a bet with Albus that needed confirming. On the other hand, we are also betting on our OWLs, which will have to wait until next week, when they owl us our OWLs.
I arrived in the hall just in time for the newspaper to be delivered. Sitting down next to Arcturus, I took a slice of toast, buttering it up as I read the news.
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE YOUNGEST TO RECEIVES GOLD MEDAL FOR GROUND-BREAKING CONTRIBUTION TO THE INTERNATIONAL ALCHEMICAL CONFERENCE.
I raised an eyebrow, I knew Albus was sending his essay on the uses of Dragon Blood to the Conference, but I did not expect it to be this important. Beside me, Alvis almost spit out his tea in shock. I guess I will be hearing a lot of bragging in the coming letters. At that moment, Professor Lemlift walked over and handed our year our report cards. I quickly read the page.
Ancient Runes: Outstanding*
Arithmancy: Outstanding*
Astronomy: Outstanding
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding*
Charms: Outstanding**
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding*
Herbology: Outstanding
History of magic: Outstanding
Potions: Outstanding*
Transfiguration: Outstanding**
Not too bad, I have done better in Defence before, but at least I am still around my usual standards. Feeling a presence behind me, I turned around and came face to face with Albus, who was trying to take a look at my report card over my shoulder.
"Not too bad." He commented, as his lips twitched upwards in a barely suppressed smirk.
I raised an eyebrow, somehow, I have a feeling that Albus is winning this bet. Sure enough, he took out his report card.
Ancient Runes: Outstanding*
Arithmancy: Outstanding*
Astronomy: Outstanding
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding*
Charms: Outstanding*
Defence Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding
Herbology: Outstanding
History of magic: Outstanding*
Potions: Outstanding**
Transfiguration: Outstanding**
"But I did better." He said smugly as I handed him back his report card.
"Congratulations." Well, at least I did not bet on something too drastic this time…
"You know, it's not really fair that I had to set fire to my bed and this time I only get a chocolate frog in return." Albus continued.
Oh no. The bottom of my stomach dropped.
"So I propose…you carve a mark onto a stone that can be seen by everyone before we leave school…Unless you are too scared to do it?" Albus grinned infuriatingly.
I regret leading Albus down the mischievous path.
"Fine." I snapped. Now I just have to figure out what my mark should be. I suppose I can just use a random word or my initials…Or I can design a mark and make that my own symbol. Hmm…
"Good! It will be hilarious when people see a weird mark that you will no doubt carved onto the stones." He grinned.
He knows me too well. I better start designing because I am never going to live this down if I just carved something too common or meaningless.
…wait, he said stone, but he never specified what stone.
I suppressed a smirk as an idea popped into my mind.
"I will show you the carving before we graduate, Albus." I promised.