Ululatum in temporum Tempus
Chapter Four
"Look, Professor, with all due respect, we are going around in circles. You're avoiding my question! Am I ever going to go home?" Alice leant forewords in her seat, resting her elbows on the large mahogany desk in a valiant effort to resist the desire to sink into the soft chintz armchair that Dumbledore had conjured for her. They had spent the last two hours fabricating a detailed and tragic story to tell her fellow students, should she need to - she couldn't tell them the truth for obvious reasons- while eating a simply enormous lunch which had left Alice feeling so very drowsy. Dumbledore sighed dejectedly.
"As of right now, no. But I assure you that I will work tirelessly to find a way." Alice took a deep grounding breath, hardening her resolve before proceeding.
"If I must stay, then I simply have to remove some of my memories. My self-control will only take me so far." She muttered, his calculating stare penetrated at least two inches behind her nose before he nodded in understanding.
"Very well, but I only ask that you are cautious. You do not want to leave yourself vulnerable." She asked for parchment and a quill, and wrote herself a short note, one that included code words for situations such as this, before pressing the tip of her wand to her temple and meticulously filtering through her memories for all negative instances associated with Peter Pettigrew. When she had extracted them all, she fell unconscious, finally sagging into the chair. Dumbledore took the liberty of bottling them and banishing them to somewhere secure, far away from the castle. When she came to, she looked around in bewilderment before fixing her eyes on Dumbledore whose visage remained stony. Before she could even open her mouth, he wordlessly handed her a folded piece of parchment allowing her several moments to read it. Her eyes scanned over the words multiple times before she nodded sharply.
"I'd ask why, but I imagine that would rather defeat the object." She muttered wryly.
"Quite. Besides, I wouldn't know the answer even if you asked. Now onto the lighter subject of your schooling. What were you taking for O.W.L.S?" Dumbledore inquired, gazing at Alice over his slim glasses.
"Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Herbology and Muggle Studies." Alice said, counting off her lessons on her fingers.
"I hope you understand that we will have to perform a basic assessment of your abilities, just to ensure that there won't be any problems."
"Of course. When would you like me to do it?"
"Now, if you feel you are well enough. I wrote to all of the teachers while you were unconscious so that they could prepare for this outcome. Do not be concerned if you do not feel able, this particular necessity is rather flexible."
"No, its alright, I'm fit to do it now. What will I have to do?" Alice asked, hoping that the undertone of apprehension could not be heard in her voice. She was anxious that magic would be drastically different in this time than hers.
"Nothing strenuous, I assure you. There will be a short practical assessment in most subjects, and a verbal discussion to ensure that you have a sufficient comprehension to take each class." Just as he finished his sentence, there was an echoing knock at the door and Dumbledore waved his hand, allowing it to swing open. "Do come in." The first to enter the room was Minerva McGonagall, although she looked significantly different to the one Alice knew. This was Minnie before the war had taken its toll on her. She still wore a severe expression on her face, but it was smooth and unwrinkled. Her eyes were not so deep and haunted. She was undeniably beautiful, although her age was starting to show. On her heels, quite literally, was Filius Flitwick, who looked almost identical, except for his hair which was onyx coloured rather than the silvery-grey Alice was used to. Flitwick was followed by Horace Slughorn who looked exactly the same, if not a little more rotund, and Pomona Sprout. Then several teachers who Alice did not know the names of followed after, and finally Professor Binns, who did not enter though the door, but rather hovered right through a rather disgruntled painting about four feet to the left of the door. The teachers exchanged cursory greetings with the headmaster, and several were dismissed so that Alice was left facing only the teachers of her chosen subjects. "Professor Carlisle, you may go first." A tall, imposing gentleman with silver hair stepped forewords, his stony expression only broken by the kind smile about his lips.
"Hello, I'm Philip Carlisle. I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts here at Hogwarts. May I ask you a few questions, Alice?" he spoke to her condescendingly, as though she were a small child made entirely of glass. Alice scowled indignantly.
"You may." She said curtly, and his smile faltered ever so slightly. He began quizzing her on the skills used to protect oneself against several dark creatures, and true to form, Alice answered every single question promptly and correctly. His expression changed from one of quiet respect to astonishment when he asked her how to defend against a Chimera, to which she launched into a detailed explanation of their weaknesses, and how to maximise the chances of surviving an encounter.
"Blimey! That's not even on the syllabus until N.E.W.T.S, and even then, it's in nowhere near that level of detail." He marvelled, his eyes bright with enthusiasm.
"Defence is my favourite subject. I like to read around." Alice shrugged lightly, her bad mood dissipating at the professor began to speak to her like an adult.
"Marvellous! Now, I would like to see how experienced you are with duelling. However, if you're not comfortable with that, I can wait until you're in lessons to observe you."
"No, it's fine, we can duel now." He nodded appreciatively and she stood up, moving over to the largest expanse of open space where Dumbledore cast various protective enchantments around his many priceless artifacts. She took up a duelling stance. "Obviously I won't cast any spells designed to harm you, only inhibit your ability to defend yourself. I expect you to do the same." He said seriously and she nodded in agreement. Moments later, Alice was firing defensive spells at a shield constructed by Carlisle, who hadn't had a chance to get a spell in edgeways. Each time he tried, he lost concentration of his shield, and nearly lost his wand. Before long he called out, "that's enough!" and panted as Alice stopped. "Bloody Nora! Who taught you how to duel?" He asked, still panting slightly from exertion.
"Oh... Um my parents were very paranoid." His face took on a pitiful expression, and he looked down.
"Of course, I'm sorry for your loss."
"Yeah… Right, thanks." Alice muttered awkwardly, looking away and hoping that everyone just assumed that she was overcome by emotion.
"If you don't wish to continue, we can do this another time." Minnie said quietly, as Alice pretended to compose herself.
"No, no. It's fine, really. I want to continue." She said, looking up to meet her eyes, and already seeing significant respect reflected within them. Alice battled the urge to grin smugly. Minnie was in for a shock, that was for sure.
"Very well, I'll go next." McGonagall said, her authoritative tone leaving no room for arguments. She then proceeded to repeat the process Carlisle took, ending their brief conversation with a task. Alice was instructed to transfigure the small glass toad into a pocket watch. She thought for a moment before beginning, and less than a minute later, there was a perfect, gold ticking watch in Minnie's palm- displaying the correct time to boot. Minnie raised her eyebrows in surprise but said nothing. Next was Slughorn, and then Sprout. An hour and a half later, it was time for dinner, and Alice had completed all of her assessments, leaving very single teacher astounded by her ability.
"Ilvermorny really seems to have improved their teaching!" Slughorn said brightly, shaking Alice's hand firmly. "Perhaps you will join me and some of my other gifted students for dinner this Saturday?" He asked hopefully, grinning cheerily when Alice agreed. By the look on Minnie's face, she had made the wrong decision, but it was too late to turn back. Eventually, Alice was allowed to leave, instructed to sit at Gryffindor table, having informed Dumbledore about her original Sorting. The teachers all remained in Dumbledore's office to discuss some matters of importance, whether or not it was about her, Alice did not know.
She reached the bottom of the stairs, thanking the gargoyle absentmindedly, but was promptly brought out of her reverie by sounds of commotion from further down the corridor. She walked towards the noise warily, like a cat stalking prey, and peered around the corner to find a plump blond Gryffindor boy, who she recognised immediately from several photos of the old Order of the Phoenix- Peter Pettigrew- surrounded by three Slytherins who were taking it in turns to fire jinxes at him, several of which he failed to defend.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" She hollered down the length of the corridor, already raising her wand to defend the boy. She immediately sent two of the attackers flying down the corridor, leaving only one. She recognised him, too, he looked exactly like Scorpius' father, Draco Malfoy. She knew his name to be Lucius and was filled with bubbling rage. He put up a daring fight but was inevitably disarmed and overpowered by the furious girl.
"What's up, Snowflake? Can't even keep hold of your wand? You think you're so big, ganging up on people and bullying them, don't you? You're pathetic, can't even win a duel against a girl." She sneered up at him, somehow making herself feel ten feet taller than him.
"How dare you? Give me back my wand!" his face went scarlet with rage, making his hair glow even more white.
"No, I don't think I will. You can collect it from your head of house after dinner. How does that sound, Snowflake?"
"I will do no such thing!" Alice shrugged nonchalantly, moving to shield the shivering boy from his line of sight.
"Then you shan't get it back at all, its your choice. Now run along." He looked as though he was going to bite back before he turned on his heel in pursuit of his cronies. Alice tuned around to the boy, who she presumed to be Peter. "Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?" She asked gently, moving her wand over his bleeding nose to stem the flow of blood.
"Uh… No, not really. Thanks for defending me." He muttered, looking up at her with an expression Alice couldn't seem to decipher.
"That's alright. I'm Alice." She said, smiling and holding out her hand to help him up.
"Peter." He said, his voice still somewhat shaky. "Friends call me Wormy though." He grinned cheekily and she smiled back, glad that her assumptions regarding his identity were correct.
"Well, Wormy my friend, this is for you." She said lightly, holding out Malfoy's wand to him as she began to walk towards the chatter emanating from the Great Hall.
"I- what? I thought you were going to give it to Sluggy."
"Now where's the fun in that? Go in, take it. Dangle it over Snowflake's head for a while. His face is hilarious when he's angry." Peter snorted with laughter, finally taking the wand, and nodding appreciatively.
"Do you want to sit with me and my friends at dinner? I can't imagine you know many people here at this stage, and I really can't see you in any house other than Gryffindor."
"I'd be delighted. And of course I'm a Gryffindor! The hat loved me, honestly." She said, wiggling her eyebrows comically. Peter snorted with laughter once again.
"I'm sure it did! It's good to see you back on your feet- when we brought you in from the field you were a mess, we didn't know if you'd live." He said solemnly, shaking his head.
"Ahh, you are one of my mysterious heroes! Don't you worry yourself; it looked a lot worse than it was, I promise I'm fi fiddle." She said, smiling reassuringly.
"What even happened? If you don't mind me asking, that is."
"Ahh, id rather not discuss it now, if that's alright, it's still a somewhat sensitive subject…" she grinned sheepishly, though it didn't reach er eyes. Peter didn't pry though, he simply shrugged and nodded understandingly. They walked the rest of the way to the hall in an easy silence, Alice realising just how hungry she was as the heavenly scent of Shepherd's pie reached her nostrils.
"Merlin. I'm bloody ravenous!" Peter muttered, grinning sheepishly at Alice whose mouth was watering slightly.
"Me too. I could eat a Hippogriff." She grinned back as they entered the Hall, her eyes scanning the room nervously. She'd be able to recognise James instantly, she knew that much, but she had only ever seen photographs of the others after they had been ravaged by the war. She was curious to see how they looked in their youth. As they approached the table, she saw them, laughing at a joke James made, Sirius had pumpkin juice coming out of his nose, and Remus had both hands clamped over his mouth in an effort not to spray the contents over the table as his sides shook with laughter. Alice's eyes twinkled with amusement as he eventually managed to swallow his mouthful, just as the boys began to notice her presence next to Peter.
"Ah, she lives!" Sirius cheered loudly, grinning at her as he wiped the remains of the pumpkin juice from his nose.
"She does, all thanks to Poppy. I'm a new woman." She winked and took a seat next to Peter.
"Oi, Poppy wouldn't have got to you if we hadn't brought you into the castle!" James said indignantly, though his eyes betrayed the lack sincerity in his accusatory tone.
"Ah, yes! My brave knights in grubby robes!" She said nudging him gently in the ribs and smiling. He shrugged bashfully and dug into his food. "Well, thanks for saving my life, I guess. I'm Alice, by the way."
"It's no biggie. I'm James."
"Sirius."
"Remus."
"But you can call us the Marauders!" James declared theatrically, accidentally flicking a bit of mashed potato from his fork over to the Hufflepuff table.
"I will do no such thing." Alice rolled her eyes. "Do you all have weird nicknames, then? Or is it just Wormy over here?" She asked grinning.
"Well, they call me Padfoot, we call him Prongs, and the quiet one in the corner is Moony."
"And why, may I ask do you have these nicknames? Are you in a cult?" Remus sorted into his heaped plate of food and nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah, you can join if you want, but you have to promise your firstborn child and fireworks every time you go to Hogsmeade." He said, his tone serious.
"Do I get a nickname?" Alice asked, also taking a comically serious expression.
"Yes, but you have to earn it, you see." James said, leaning over the table to whisper, "you've got to prank someone."
"She kind of already has." Peter said thoughtfully.
"You have?"
"Yeah, I suppose so, but it's not really a real prank, I just stole Snowflake's wand and told him I'd give it to Slughorn, but I actually gave it to Pete." She said entertaining herself with the thought of Malfoy asking old Slughorn for his wand back and probably being roped into dinner or some other absurd celebration.
"Snowflake?" Remus asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Malfoy." Peter told him, grinning slightly.
"He deserved it. He and his little band of fuck-muppets were ganging up on Wormy." Alice muttered, scowling.
"What's a fuck-muppet?"
"Uh… never mind… I like to be inventive with my insults, it's a muggle thing probably." Alice muttered shiftily.
"I like it. It's got a nice ring to it. Snowflake and the fuck-muppets." Alice laughed loudly.
"You should get that on a t-shirt."
"I might just do that." Sirius declared, the cogs in his brain visibly turning as he thought over just how he might manage it. Alice looked around at the boys, and her anxiety and melancholy dulled knowing that she was with family, even if they didn't know it. A warm, contented glow filled the space between her ribs that had been aching since she had been separated from her James. She felt at home.