AN: Wow, I honestly didn't expect this much interest in my story. Thanks guys, really.

As last time, I own no rights to any of this.

CHAPTER 2 – Fated showdown

Chandra woke up the next day feeling better than she had since... Well, she wasn't sure. If she had to say, she'd wager on since meeting her mother again.

And she felt awful for it.

Her friends were who knew where in the Multiverse, hopefully alive, while she was stuck in a school enjoying a comfortable bed and silken sheets. She would be the first to admit that she and Liliana were seldom of one mind on things, especially after her betrayal of the Gatewatch, but in all honesty the necromancer was right: silk felt good on one's skin.

She tried sending a mental missive to Jace like she had done the previous evening, but received no reply. Either the mind mage was out, which was entirely possible after their encounter with Bolas, or she was too far from Ravnica or wherever he was nursing his wounds.

Speaking of wounds, the school healer had done a number on her and she felt absolutely great. If only she could leave to look for her friends...

Someone interrupted her train of thoughts by knocking at her door.

Rolling her eyes, she got up, stretched to remove a kink from her back, put on her boots and gauntlet and headed for the door.

One might object that no self respecting teenager girl would open the door in nothing but boots and one gauntlet, but they'd be forgetting that Chandra had grown up in the slums of Ghirapur first and then in a monastery. There was little place for modesty in her life, a thing that had annoyed Nissa and Gideon to no end while amusing Liliana and Jace. She smirked a little at the thought of the Akroan planeswalker and the crush she had developed for him. It all seemed so far away now... She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Rather than modesty, safety was her concern, hence the boots for easier movement and the gauntlet to amplify her spells. Moreover, her state of undress could unbalance possible attackers.

She hadn't bothered taking off her goggles, she never did. They reminded her of her dad and mom and looked cool too! No reason to ever take them off.

Opening the door, she was treated to the sight of a girl around her age with bushy hair. She was gaping like a fish.

"Yes?" she asked trying to jog the girl's mind.

"You're naked!" said the girl in a shrill shriek blushing hot red and staring at her in the eyes.

"No, I'm wearing boots. Now, did you need something or did you just want to ogle me?"

"I... Professor... Can you please put on something? It's pretty distracting!"

Chandra shook her head in mirth and exasperation, grabbed the girl's harm and dragged her into her quarters and towards her bedroom. There, she had her sit on her bed while she proceeded in dressing in her usual attire and ignoring the carefully folded uniform sitting on her nightstand.

"Now," said Chandra doing nothing to hide her lingering mirth for the girl's discomfort "A name would be nice. And your reason to be here too."

"I'm Hermione Granger," dutifully answered the still somewhat shell-shocked girl "Professor McGonagall asked me to guide you to your classes."

Chandra sat next to the other girl and considered both her words, her tone and her posture. It was something Nissa had taught her: you can understand a lot about someone from how she acted and talked.

"It's nice to meet you Hermione," replied the pyromancer with a sincere smile "It's refreshing to meet someone as straightforwardly loyal to as you once in a while. You remind me of my friend Gideon. Anyway, I know it'll come as a disappointment but I'm not going to any lessons."

"What?" squeaked the witch as if she couldn't even grasp the concept of not following the lessons "But you need to! All students have to!"

It's just too easy to wind up her kind...

"Just like him..." mumbled the redhead patting the other's shoulder before addressing her "Tell you what, I'm interested in the local fauna. Any lessons about that?"

"There's Care of Magical Creatures, but you need to follow all your lessons or your magic won't work properly!"

"Are you for real?" asked Chandra staring at her like she had two heads "I'm a pyromancer Hermione, I create fire, I burn things. My only other ability is my planeswalking, and that cannot be taught. I can learn about what I can and cannot burn though, that's why this Care for Magical Creatures seems interesting."

"But what about Charms? Potions? Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

"Ok Hermione, it's obvious you think I can benefit from these lessons and I can't see you changing your mind, so I'll follow you and see, but if I think they're useless I'm out ok?"

"I guess..." accepted the witch in a somewhat unsure tone.

"Great. Now, how about some breakfast? I kinda missed all meals yesterday."

Breakfast at Hogwarts was nothing like Chandra was used to. It was lavish, excessive, wasteful even, and left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

Ideally, she knew that there were people living in even more luxury than what Hogwarts displayed, she was intimately familiar with Kaladesh consuls' lifestyle after all, but thinking back to her early years she couldn't think that if food and riches were more evenly distributed everyone would be better off for sure.

But maybe it's just my past speaking, she mused taking a bite out of an apple The little thief spreading chaos and fire through Ghirapur streets. Everything was easier then. Not better, that's for sure, but at least there was no ancient dragon out to conquer the Multiverse…

Her walk down memory lane was interrupted by an haughty voice that made Hermione stiffen at her side.

"So you are the famous Rose Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived."

Despite not having said a single derogatory word, somehow it had all sounded like an insult.

Chandra and Hermione turned around to see a sneering blonde boy flanked by two guys that just had to have a troll in their ancestry. That, or a Krosan gorilla.

"I am Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and these are Crabble and Goyle," said the blonde extending his hand for a handshake "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Chandra almost laughed in his face. She succeeded in just snorting.

"Yeah no. Look, first of all, the name is Chandra Nalaar, none of this Potter nonsense," she said shaking her head at his surprised expression "Second, I know your type, full of themselves for some inane reason like their race or something similar. Nissa had a phase too. It's all utter nonsense, believe me, and the sooner you realize it, the better for everyone. Now, go away and think on it long and hard, ok?"

It took a moment for the message to breach the stupor, but when it did Draco's face morphed in an angry scowl and he stormed away, the two gorillas trailing behind him.

"I think this is the first time I saw Malfoy losing a word spar," commented Hermione smiling at the redhead "It feels good after all the times he's belittled me."

"Then I fear you're either pathetic or too easy to rile up," responded Chandra sighing "It's just words Hermione, they may hurt but they shouldn't harm you."

It felt weird being the one dispensing wisdom. She guessed it fell on her since the others weren't around to do it.

"It's not so easy... Especially if you're alone like me," replied the bushy haired witch.

"I could tell you about my life now, but I don't feel like it, so either we go to the first lesson or I go out and vent some steam," she said getting up and heading for the doors.