Hi, sorry that I've been gone for a while, had to deal with a lot of personal stuff. Anyway, here's a new chapter, I hope you enjoy. Sorry that the updates are going to be a bit less frequent. Thank you for your reviews, they really encourage me to keep writing this story. I have half of the story planned atm, but am working on the rest. Thank you for telling me how you think I'm doing.
Chapter 30 Myth or Reality?
Seraphina POV
1897
Sixth year, the year we get to choose all of our subjects. Ah, so begins the illusion of free choice, as if we are not all bound by expectations.
I had picked up Advanced Arithmancy and stopped taking History. I didn't really want to do that course, given how much you can learn from books, and the lacklustre performance of the past few years. Alchemy seemed interesting, but with an unknown professor, the chances of it being another Binns was too high to risk. If it was someone already within this school, then I am not sure if I could learn much from them for Alchemy anyway. Otherwise it would be an unknown variable which I am not really willing to waste my time on.
Albus on the other hand, did the exact opposite, he picked up Alchemy but not Advanced Arithmancy. Arcturus and Alvis discarded Potions, Astronomy and Herbology, cutting it down to six subjects, while Athena and Hesper discarded Divination, History, Art and Astronomy. It took quite a bit of convincing on my part to make those two keep Defence, seeing how there are very few of us girls in the class.
It still baffles me how quickly the years had flown past. Looking up from my book, I saw Albus sitting opposite me on the train, his nose deeply burrowed in a book on Alchemy. A strand of his auburn hair fell in front of his eyes, swaying in tune to the rhythmic chugging of the train, causing him to flick his head back every few minutes. His eyes, not once straying from his book. His legs were crossed upon a conjured wooden leg rest, his chosen style of clothing long since departed from when we first met. Instead of the old, ruffled suit, his current suit was much smarter. There were slight faded stains from use, but most people would be hard pressed to notice them. I could tell that he had spent a lot of time fixing up his attire.
It was hard to imagine that this Albus is the same person as the fabled Albus Dumbledore that I know he will soon become. I can only hope that Fate will be kinder to him with the addition of my existence in this reality.
"You are so lucky you get to drop History." Alvis whined. "My parents refused to let me drop it! You know how useless Binns is, but they still thought our professor was like theirs, someone who actually teaches."
"Just get your parents to hire tutors. That's what I do for History." Hesper said, as she delivered the piece of roast beef into her mouth.
"Or you can just study three books like Seraphina." Athena joked.
"It's not my fault they design textbooks with purposely missing parts that require a complimentary lecture, and our teacher is so boring that he can talk ghosts to sleep!" I defended myself.
They smiled at my weak defence.
After the feast, I headed straight towards the common room, taking shortcuts along with my group. We needed to present an image of power for the first years. I can't risk another incident like last year. We were already seated by the fireplace when the prefects led the new batch of first years in. I sat up straighter, casually reading a book on Egyptian Curses while observing the group. Slowly, as the group got over their awe of the splendour of our common room, I pushed out my magic. Nearby, I felt Arcturus do the same. Glancing around, I saw a few more sensitive upper years shiver slightly. I adjusted the way my magic was permeating the room, so that it appeared to be almost blending into Hogwarts itself, unlike Arturus' which was a lot more noticeable. They wouldn't notice that the power originated from a person until after Arcturus's speech. Not exactly hiding, but not overwhelming anyone with malicious intent either.
A perfect show.
"Welcome to Slytherin." Hesper greeted them warmly. "Slytherin is the house of ambition, cunning, resourcefulness, and leadership. This will be your home for the next seven years, where you will find lifelong friends and important allies. But first, some housekeeping."
"Here in Slytherin, we have three main rules. If you break them, you will be excommunicated and no longer be considered a part of Slytherin." Arcturus drawled, pausing dramatically to the wide eyes of the first years. His deep voice carried through the entire room with ease, despite its small volume. It was impressive how the Blacks were all able to do that, almost as if they were trained to be overdramatic. The ridiculous image of the Black family in a ballet studio as Lord Black enacted an over dramatised version of the death scene in Romeo and Juliet with Lady Black while the rest of the family watched, taking notes appeared in my mind, my lips almost twitching upwards as I suppressed a smile at the ridiculous idea.
…They are Blacks, Macbeth would definitely match their style more.
"The first rule is do not shame Slytherin. Any action you take outside of Slytherin can and will be used against your house and against you personally. So think before you act, bullying is also strictly prohibited, since it will destroy the hard earned reputation of Slytherin."
A boy with mousy dark brown hair and a large nose, a Bulstrode, by the looks of it, raised his hand.
"Yes?" Asked Hesper.
"What about mudbloods?" He sneered.
Okay, that's it. I need to nip that one in the bud. We are not risking that again. Trying to correct the entirety of Slytherin once is already hard enough.
"We don't use that term here." I interrupted.
He looked me up and down, sneering. Wow. Maybe it is magic, or the inbreeding, but sneers seem to be hereditary traits in pureblood families. "Who do you think you are to define what I can or cannot use?"
I raised an eyebrow, this kid's got nerve. I'll give you that. Slowly, I closed the book I was reading, banishing it to my dorm with a careless flick of my wrist. Everyone in the room went silent, holding their breath in trepidation. The tension in the air instantly became denser, as I pulled my magic onto the surface, charging it, making it almost electrified. Arcturus took a step to the side, allowing me to take the attention without deferring his position. Powerplay.
The child, finally noticing that something is off, tried to ask. "What's wrong?"
…Really? How is this kid in Slytherin? He's obviously a Gryffindor to not notice this power shift! The air is literally getting harder to breathe in! Arcturus's eyes glimmered like a hungry predator finally spotting a prey, Hesper, noticing his mood shift as well, placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced down at her, almost being an entire head taller than she is, almost imperceptibly, his body shifted, almost melting into a different state, and gave a nod. A lot must have happened during the summer between those two, because the way Arcturus was behaving, I would have thought Hesper was his family. I gave a low chuckle, my voice infused slightly with magic, making the sound more far sinister than normal. Sharpening my hold on the magic, I drew on the magic in the air, turning the room colder. Ignoring his question, I proposed one of my own.
"Tell me, why do you hate muggleborns?" I began.
"I-I-They-well, mudblo-" He opened his mouth to answer, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
"Don't quote blood purity or parrot whatever you have only heard your family say to me. I mean why do you, personally, hate muggleborns?" I asked, I glanced away from the wall, my eyes meeting his at last. The shadows danced across my face, hiding all but my eyes. He flinched under my gaze, trying to look at anywhere else, anyone for help, shrinking into himself by the moment. Slowly, I approached him, my soft footsteps echoing in the deathly silent room.
"What have they personally done against you to warrant your ire?" I asked in a low voice, almost a pitying whisper.
"I-I don't know." He finally replied in a small voice.
"That's because they haven't done anything." I replied naturally. He opened his mouth to argue, but I continued, "muggleborns are magicals, just as you or I. However, unlike us, they lack the knowledge, the education, the decorum, to help them properly adapt to this world."
My gaze turned slightly softer. "They incur the ire of many due to the way they barge in and expect the world to fold to their way, because no one has told them any differently. They expect our world to function the way the muggle world functions. But judging them based on the words of your family makes you the exact same them in behaviour. So do not use the word mudblood. It is uncouth, and such embarrassing behaviour is only befitting of the lowest of muggles."
The boy shrunk back, his face red, but I could see the gears turning in his head as he contemplated what I said. In fact, a lot of the room was contemplating. Good. Hesper just shot me an exasperated look. Oops, I had promised not to scare them too much, she will have to calm them down later.
"The one you questioned is the Slytherin Queen. Why don't you shut up and listen to the rest of the instructions before showing yourself to be an idiot?" A third year boy sharing his nose and hair hissed at him with as much discretion as he managed, which wasn't very.
"Now, as I was saying, before we were so rudely interrupted," Arcturus continued. "We prohibit bullying because we do not condone acting like a filthy muggle. Magic is magic. If muggleborns are deemed worthy enough by Magic to be its vessel, who are we to kick them out? Which brings us to our second rule: blood matters, but power matters more. If you are a squib, I don't care if you are a Malfoy or a Lestrange, you have no power, and therefore will not be accepted in Hogwarts. Simple as that. Here in Slytherin, we make our friends and brings us to our third and final rule. Respect the court. The Slytherin court is the student head of Slytherin. We are led by our queen, and consists of four other members. If you break any rules, it will be the court's job to enforce these rules, and you will not enjoy being excommunicated. Do I make myself clear?" He asked, glaring at each person in turn.
Several students shrinked away from his gaze. It is funny how much he resembles Sirius in his mannerisms. Especially since I know his sister is in this year.
Glancing at the group, I spotted her in the middle of the pack. She has the typical Black family grey eyes, pale complexion and curly black hair. To my surprise, she was staring at me with an odd expression on her face, almost like…fascination.
Noticing my gaze, she tilted her head up, meeting my eyes evenly. There was steel in her eyes. I can tell that she is going to be every bit as stubborn and politically savvy as the rest of her family. She has power, I can tell. If I wasn't here, she has the potential and ruthlessness to become the Slytherin Queen within her first year. And with her family name to back her up, she can gather the allies to do it after I am gone too.
Hesper clapped her hands, breaking the tension in the air. "Now, I believe some introductions are due. I am Hesper Gamp, this is Arcturus Black. We are the sixth year prefects. We are who you go to if you need any help first, since we don't have OWLs or NEWTs this year. Those two over there are Lysander Lestrange and Rosie Parkinson. They are your fifth year prefects. Finally, Isabella Selwyn and Ernest Nott, the seventh year prefects." She pointed out each in turn, and they waved their hands. Then she turned towards me, leading the group near the fireplace.
"Lastly, the court. Our queen is Seraphina Astrum, then we have Athena Greengrass, Alvis Rosier, myself, and Arcturus." She finished.
A few students murmured and I smiled slightly. I have a feeling that they were not expecting me to be Queen. Afterall, I purposely hid my face with the angle of the flames and an obscure use of the lighting charm. I dropped the spell, a few of them gasped as they saw me properly for the first time, not surprising as I was pushing out my magic on purpose. As I stepped forward, my magic shifted with me.
"Welcome to Slytherin. I hope you have a great seven years." I said shortly. They pretty much covered everything, I just felt like I should say something.
They were quickly herded into their dorms. Hesper and Arcturus came back, they collapsed into a couch.
"That was exhausting." Hesper complained.
I smiled at her. What do you expect? It's politics.
"Hey, at least you did well, I am pretty sure there will not be a repeat of last year or third year." I commented reassuringly.
They shivered at the thought of third year. It was very chaotic when the power vacuum left by Sam Greene had to be replaced, since the muggleborns had started to flock towards me before I had time to establish the MAP, and our group got accosted most of the time in between classes as a result, so…not great.
"How well do you think this year will go?" Athena asked.
We were all silent, there were a few potential challengers, we shall see.
We shall see.
A few days later
"Good morning Albus." I greeted him as he plopped down at my table in the library.
"Good morning." He greeted in return. He glanced at the book that I was reading curiously. "Magische Artefakte…Magical Artefacts?"
I nodded. I have been trying to read up on magical artefacts ever since I got back to Hogwarts, partially because of the idea of the Deathly Hallows. It's just really annoying how half the book on the subject is written in bloody Old German. The translation spell only works on spoken language, and the modification I had tried to add to it by cloning a German dictionary into the spell had left me stuck speaking broken German for a week, and worst yet, I still couldn't read! I spent half my summer and almost all my free time this year learning the language, only now can I read parts of the books, but it was worth it. I mean, who would not want a trio of magical artefacts so powerful that they pop up every few centuries? How are they even powered? Even wards need to be recharged every few decades, other than Hogwarts, but Hogwarts is so full of magic, it is almost sentient already. Besides, it is somehow tapping into the ambient magic of the universe. And according to legends, it is built on a ley line. How do three small, palm sized objects even hold that much power? It's so impossible, it would be like telling a muggle that pigs can fly without telling them about magic. Hence my conclusion that some other magic that I simply do not know is at work there. Not to mention the power of the elder wand alone…
"You know, you have been pretty obsessed about magical artefacts since you came back this year, why the sudden interest?" Albus asked.
I summoned the thick tome from my pocket and placed it in front of Albus, flipping to the page of the Deathly Hallows.
"Have you heard of the Deathly Hallows?" I asked.
Albus frowned. "Isn't that just a children's tale?"
I smiled. "Yes, a tale that somehow keeps getting referenced to once every few centuries."
"So?" He asked, quizzical.
"So! Magical artefacts do not keep their magic forever. They lose power at some rate, and people stop trying to find them, hence their fade to obscurity. But! What if the Hallows keep popping up because they are real? Wouldn't you love to learn about how they keep their power over such a long time? You know as well as I do that magic should not be able to exist that long inside a semi-organic object, like a wand or a cloak. Don't you want to know how the three brothers managed to get their hands on objects like that?" I asked.
Albus frowned. "But all this hangs onto the idea that they exist."
I smiled. "Hence my research."
He looked at me unreadably for a few seconds. "I'll help."
I smiled. "Sure, you can start on the history of magical artefac-"
"Excuse me, are you Albus Dumbledore?" A timid first year interrupted.
We turned to face him, he shrunk back slightly, either in fear or surprise.
"Yes, that's me, how may I help you?" Albus asked.
He handed a letter to Albus, then quickly left the scene. I frowned, why would someone deliver a letter via a first year instead of an owl?
"Who is it from?" I asked when he finished reading.
"It's the ministry." He said, his eyebrows rising slightly, "They want me to be the British Youth Representative to the Wizengamot."
Wow. I guess he really made an impression on the Minister during the ceremony. A slight pang of annoyance flared. If I had put in more effort in charming the Minister, his position would've been mine, and what a career boost that would have been! No, no! Albus is your friend, you should be happy for him. Surely he would use his influence to your advantage anyway, right?
"Congratulations, Albus." I grinned.
He looked at me unimpressed. "You know this means that I have to deal with Sprout-Hole Spavin once every month, right?"
I laughed, anything to get away from that long winded puppet. "Why do you think I left as soon as you gave me the opportunity?"
"Sometimes, you are too Slytherin for my own good." He muttered.
"You know you can leave anytime, right?" I teased.
"You're right, I can't wait to tell Elphias the news!" He beamed smugly.
I rolled my eyes as he bounced away happily.
"Any luck?" Albus asked as he plopped down into the chair opposite mine. His leather messenger bag crashed onto the table. The resulting ruckus summoned the librarian like a ghost. She glared at us before vanishing into the shelves once more. I would have sworn she was not human if not for the fact that I have seen that she has a soul.
…unless she was the most realistic golem I have ever heard of, and somehow contained a whole soul.
Now that seems like a project that I need to work on.
"No." I grumbled as I flicked my wand, casting a privacy spell around our table. "The most I could find was on the Quill of Acceptance."
Albus frowned. "Quill of Acceptance? Isn't that a fancy excuse to not let most muggleborns into Hogwarts?"
"Surprisingly no." I replied. "The quill actually chooses-"
Albus waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, I have heard of the tale. The quill chooses the twenty to thirty 'most powerful young witches and wizards' to go to Hogwarts, while the rest are taken in by other schools. It is supposed to be not biassed at all, but somehow the Sacred twenty-eight always end up in Hogwarts."
"Not just them, actually." I quipped. "Most of the older pure-blood houses as well. Which was what the purebloods used to justify their superiority."
"It's a load of balderdash." Albus sighed. "Hogwarts is clearly large enough to accommodate as many students as necessary. And I highly doubt that George Goyle is more intelligent than a piece of stone."
"Ah, but they aren't looking for intelligence, Albus. They are looking at raw power. And connections."
"Connections?"
I gave him a sidelong glance. "Why do you think parents send their children to Hogwarts, some even going as far as to sell everything they own just to keep sending their children here. Just look at the Gaunts. They have been sending their children here even as they squandered their gold. When they ran out, they tried to repeal the muggleborn fund, and instead turn it into the pureblood fund or founders' fund. Only failing because of the Longbottoms, Smiths, Bones, Prewetts and surprisingly, Blacks, Malfoys, Lestranges fighting for the need of new blood."
"But I thought the Blacks were vehemently against marrying anyone who is not a pureblood." Albus frowned.
"Not a pureblood for at least five generations." I corrected him. "That's why they wanted new blood and new power. New houses don't just create themselves. Sure, you could split your house into many subbranches, but then you would be weakening your house, and still intermarrying your close cousins. But if your magic was strong enough to manifest even with muggle parents…"
"You would be a practically guaranteed powerful source of fresh magic." He murmured.
"Precisely. Now, add Hogwarts into the mix, you have a breeding ground for political alliances, and scouting grounds for new power."
Albus was silent. I didn't need to mention that this was clearly what had happened to his family. The Dumbledores didn't exist until three centuries ago. Even after that, they had only married halfbloods, with Albus' father being the sole exception, all the while making connections to the purebloods.
Simply a pawn in the purebloods' game.
I slammed my head into Magical Ways to Extend Your Magical Life in frustration. Albus glanced over at me from his book on wandlore with a conflicted look of concern and amusement.
"Are you alright, Seraphina?"
I groaned. "I tried looking for references to the Hallows in this stupid book, but almost everything in here is about mutilating yourself in one way or another, or sacrificing an entire group of people in gruesome ways. Seriously, it says here that drinking unicorn blood may be frowned upon and give you a cursed half life, but at least you will be alive, no matter the maggots feasting on your flesh or the possibility of living everyday like you are being burnt alive-"
"Stop! I think I am going to be sick! How and why did you even go through over half of that book?" He questioned, looking a bit green around the gills.
Albus, if only you have seen my visions, this is nothing compared to the war to come. "Well, it mentioned a magical artefact, but it was the wrong one." I explained. "It was some Greek Legend about a cave created by Thanatos to test mortals and grant worthy ones a free pass for death." To make things even worse, the entire book was written in Latin. I have never been more glad that I learnt the language in the orphanage. And for the existence of pain relief potions/
Albus raised an eyebrow. "Of all people, you are not interested in that?"
I sighed. "Albus, you know that a cave probably filled with over a thousand ways to kill you is not going to be worth it, right? Besides, I don't mind growing older, I still have my entire life ahead of me, that's at least two centuries of living. Not to mention I don't even think that a magical cave can be hidden from muggles for that long without any myth or legend springing up."
"You know, sometimes I feel like you behave like you are already an immortal. Or a Gryffindor. I know that's what Elphias would say." He replied, before his cheeks tinged pink.
I laughed. If only he knew that I had already tangoed with death! "Alright, Mister friend-of-immortal-Gryffindor, what have you found so far?"
Albus smiled, he put down his book and pulled out his wand and pointed his fingers towards its base, "Look here, according to wandlore, a wand can help predict the future path of a wizard."
"Isn't that, like, as accurate as palm reading?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ollivander does that really creepy fortune telling for his customers all the time. Surely you are not suggesting that stuff is real?"
"That's not quite right." Albus grinned. "What Ollivander does is probably as close to divination for a person's personality as one can without being a bloody Seer like you. Now, as I was saying, my wand is made of Alder with Unicorn Tail Hair. This means that I am helpful, considerate and most likeable. I am also one of the most advanced and powerful witches and wizards. The Unicorn Hair means that I am loyal."
"Or you just like flashy spells." I quipped.
Albus rolled his eyes. "Let me see your wand."
I raised an eyebrow and handed it to him. He turned it a few ways before lifting it to his eye. In the meantime, I took his wand. Gathering the magic in my hand, I pushed it slightly towards the wood.
I almost yelped in surprise as the wood all but kicked me out, but in the split second, I could feel the anger and defiance of the unicorn hair as it rejected my magic, the wood almost humming what it was.
"Albus." He lifted his head from my wand. "It's black walnut and phoenix feather."
"Oh." He frowned. "That's unusual. Phoenix feather wands are rare."
I hummed. "That is just a myth. We don't really know much about wands. We can do a poll. Pushing our magic near the wands is already enough to test what they are made of. We can probably learn about their wands really easily this way."