DISCLAIMER: SEE CHAPTER ONE!
August 6, 930 A.D., Midnight
It was one hell of a week.
Ronald Bilius Weasley
He hated to admit it, but Ron was lonely. Being the only one in Gryffindor was fun the first day, but after remembering his family, it felt strangely empty. He understood the need to have them all go to their proper dorms, being the only ones in the castle. After all, if they were together all of the time without many other people to break the monotony they would probably start fighting amongst each other. And, unlike in their own time, they don't get much alone time or time away from each other. When he and Harry fight, he can hang out with Dean and Seamus for a while. When Hermione fights with any of them, she has classes that no one else takes to give her time to cool down. Ginny has her own set of friends that she can hang around whenever she doesn't want to deal with them. And, Harry has his cloak and map to stay hidden from everyone.
Ron sighed and resigned himself to getting up and going down to breakfast. After a quick shower and putting on his school robes, he hurried down to the Great Hall. Like yesterday, only Professor Gryffindor was there eating. Ron quickly hurried to the student table and began filling his plate. About halfway through his first course, Professor Gryffindor surprisingly sat next to him.
"Mow are ya fheelen Don?" Professor Gryffindor asked with a mouthful of food.
"Fhine! Whyn?" Ron responded with a mouthful of food as well.
"Ya rooked sab!"
"Ei jusb nisseb meh fahmahly!"
"Bon'b wollee ya'rr ba dak defole ya no et!" Professor Gryffindor said jovially and Ron perked up. They both missed the disgusted faces of Professor Ravenclaw and Hermione.
"That was disgusting," they said together and both marched over to them.
"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione yelled at the same time that Professor Ravenclaw yelled, "Godric Gryffindor!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full!" They yelled together. Professor Gryffindor seemed sufficiently cowed by Professor Ravenclaw's glare, and mumbled a quick apology. Ron on the other hand…
"Aww, come on Hermione," Ron said. "It's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL!" Hermione yelled. "IT'S DISGUSTING!"
"Then don't look!" Ron yelled.
"Why should I have to change how I do things just to accommodate you?"
"Yeah? Well, the same goes for me you crazy know-it-all!"
"Know-it-all! Well, you don't seem to mind me being a know-it-all when you need my help you ungrateful worm!" Hermione yelled red in the face. "You absolute prat! You're just like Percy!"
Ron looked shocked at her and bit back his retort. He looked absolutely murderous with that statement.
"You went too far Hermione," a voice said behind her. She turned around to see Ginny looking just as angry as Ron. "Ron might be a jerk, but don't you dare compare him to that prat! Ever!"
Hermione turned to see Harry looking just as angry as Ron and Ginny, though she noted it looked more like self loathing. Seeing her chance to distract Ron and Ginny she yelled, "It's not your fault Harry!"
Ron and Ginny turned to Harry so fast that their necks cracked and looked angrily at him. "The prat made his own choice!" Ginny screamed. "Don't you dare blame yourself!"
"But, if I didn't get your fam-" Harry started to only be punched in the jaw by Ron. He had had enough.
"Knock it off Harry, and knock it off right now!" Ron commanded. "You can't change what happened! We are involved, and we will stay involved whether you like it or not! You seem to have forgotten that I am a Weasley! I'm involved by my birth alone! Hermione is a Muggleborn and will be hunted! Don't you see you git! You're giving us a chance to save our lives!"
Everyone stood in shock. The Founders realized just how bad it is for these teenagers and what that horrible Dark Wizard is really like. Salazar Slytherin was especially disgruntled that someone could want to kill just based on their heritage. It reminded him greatly of his grandfather, Luzea Slytherin who was currently living in Thestle Village. Luzea doesn't trust Muggles or anyone not of Pureblood decent, much to Salazar's disgust. The time travelers were shocked because it was probably one of the smartest things Ron has ever said. Harry could only nod in shock.
"Good," Ron said going back to the food, not even remembering he was angry with Hermione a second ago. The others quickly joined him; none of them talked to each other, so another fight was avoided. Ron realized that sleeping in the separate dorms won't really help where he and Hermione are concerned; they're natural bickerers.
"Today," Professor Hufflepuff started for the Care for Magical Creatures class, "we will be learning about one of the most abused magical creatures in our society, home elves."
Harry, Ron and Ginny couldn't help but let out a small groan as Hermione perked up. How someone who is overenthusiastic about everything can perk up, Ron will never know, but Hermione sure as hell did it.
"Now what can you tell me about house elves?" Professor Hufflepuff and noticed how three of the students turned to Hermione who had raised her hand enthusiastically. "Yes Miss Granger?"
"house elves are elves that are proficient in cleaning charms and are released from duty when their owner gives clothes to them. They are highly abused by majority of witches and wizards and their magic is so different from ours that they can actually apparate and disapparate through anti-apparate shields." Hermione looked pleased with her explanation but was surprised when Professor Hufflepuff looked appalled.
"Is that all?" Professor Hufflepuff asked incredulously and the four just nodded their heads. "You don't know their history or how their magic works?"
"No," the four confirmed together and Professor Hufflepuff sighed. She should have known that wizards wouldn't have bothered with House elf history. "Well at least this should be an informative class rather than a review."
Hermione looked please to learn more about house elves. The others looked a little excited as well, but not much.
"house elves were originally contracted by Merlin himself to help clean King Arthur's castle as all of his workers had gone off to help with the war against the Dark Witch, Morgan Le Fay.
Before then, house elves were free elves that would go around the world cleaning homes as their magic was directly tied to cleaning charms. Merlin had discovered though, that by contracting the elves to a specific home it regulated their magic and even made them stronger.
When a House elf named Aubrey learned of this fact by allying with Merlin as he owed him a life debt and paid with temporarily tying himself to his house. This was how Merlin made the discovery and he created a permanent mutual bond with Aubrey, by Aubrey's insistence.
Aubrey quickly told his brethren of his discovery, but it was not until the final year against Le Fay that the first true contract was made. You see, house elves unlike humans, were normally naked creatures. Thus it was agreed by King Arthur, Merlin and Merlin's new apprentices that giving clothes for the first time would be a symbol of contract and giving more clothes would be a gift of release—yes, Mr. Potter?"
"Professor you said the first contracted house elves created a "mutual bond", right?"
"That is correct."
"What does that mean?"
"It means, Mr. Potter, that while the elves had to do all the cleaning and cooking, they had the right to refuse requests, did not have to punish themselves, had to be properly fed, given a proper place to rest and could be released if they chose that."
"But, I don't know a House elf that has those rights," Ginny said.
"That is because of Mordred," Professor Hufflepuff explained.
"Mordred?" Ron asked.
"Mordred is the man who had taken over Camelot and taken King Arthur's wife, Guinevere," Hermione said.
"Yes, at some point during the war, King Arthur was severely injured, but refused to leave until Le Fay was dead. Merlin had seemingly fully healed him, and for the next ten years, Camelot was able to rebuild from the war thanks to King Arthur's leadership.
However, the injury was only slowed down, and one day, King Arthur had reached such a severe level that Merlin had to take him to his true apprentice, Vivien.
Vivien was a Natural Healer—someone who can actually see the injuries of a person and instantly know how to heal it, though it doesn't manifest until just before a person's sixteenth birthday—and was able to save King Arthur's life. However, she had grown jealous of Merlin's other apprentices and would not save King Arthur's life unless Merlin stayed with her forever. Merlin, in desperation, agreed.
King Arthur had then bid farewell to his loyal advisor and returned to Camelot. Some time later, Vivien sealed Merlin into a tree to stay with her forever.
During the time of King Arthur's departure, a wizard and knight by the name of Mordred had taken control over Camelot for the two years that King Arthur had been away. It was a time of disease, famine and death. Mordred had placed the Imperious Curse on Guinevere and taken her as his wife, and was the one who helped in creating Vivien's jealousy during the war against Le Fay.
But, more to the point was that Mordred was basically the first recorded pureblood supremist, and worked to remove or enslave those he believed were less than him. He only kept Guinevere as a wife to anger King Arthur and to show the people he was king.
By gaining Vivien's trust, Mordred was able to find out the spell Merlin used to bond house elves to his home and reworked it as a Master/Slave relationship. He then tricked the house elves into believing that he was creating a more beneficial bond, and used the spell that is done now. You see, after he had figured out Merlin's spell, he destroyed all of the evidence of the mutual bond.
When King Arthur returned and they killed each other, no one knew of the mutual bond and so the start of the House elf enslavement age had begun. Mordred is sly as he is cunning, and so he his rework of the spell was so minimal that no House elf has realized they have been cheated until it was too late to change anything. His first order was that he was to tell no one of the original spell and so no House elf could pass it down to someday have the spell redone. With Merlin forever gone, his new apprentices leaving and King Arthur being a Muggle, the spell was lost forever.."
The quartet just sat their stunned from all they learned. Hermione in particular looked blankly at Professor Hufflepuff. They had no idea history could actually be interesting, let alone the story behind Merlin and his time. Very slowly, Ginny raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Weasley?"
"You sound as if you hate the state of house elves."
"That's because I do."
"Then why do you have house elves at Hogwarts?"
"Ah, yes. You see part of the reason I agreed to the creation of Hogwarts was to create a sanctuary for mistreated and disgraced house elves."
"So, this is a place where they can work happily?" Ron asked.
"Yes Mr. Weasley," Professor Hufflepuff said looking out the window. "Oh, look at the time! You best be off."
The four quickly rose and headed outside to where the Quidditch Pitch will someday be built. They were amazed by what they not only learned about house elves but the history of King Arthur and Merlin. However, Hermione was also looking really depressed.
"What's the matter Hermione?" Harry asked noticing her mood.
"I can't believe what an idiot I've been about house elves."
"What, are you finally giving up on spew?" Ron asked.
"It's not spew, it's S.P.E.W.!" Hermione said angrily. "And, I'm not giving it up! I just realized that as a whole, I don't know anything about house elves and should learn their culture before trying to help them."
The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W. was Hermione's project she had created the previous year when she saw a House elf by the name of Winky get abused by her master. Unfortunately, she did not take in account the house elves not wanting the freedom she was trying to give them and was banned from the most convenient place to find them, the kitchens, when she tried to start a revolution. She had bullied Ron and Harry into becoming some of the founding members, but they only agreed to shut her up.
It didn't work.
"So, you're starting over?" Ginny asked.
"Yup." Hermione nodded her head. "I'm going to learn what makes them tick and how they are different from humans before I try 'saving' them. I'm also going to try to find that mutual bond, so that I'll actually be able to make a difference."
"As nice as that is," said a voice behind Hermione, causing her to jump. "You should focus on your class at hand."
Professor Gryffindor grinned as he saw Hermione try to avoid glaring at him. "This class won't be easy; I'm going to make sure you enjoy your lunch and dinner!"
He let out a joyous laugh as the four of them groaned. "Right, from eleven until noon you are going to have a workout to loosen your muscles and build your stamina. Then you have your hour lunch, but I wouldn't eat too much if I were you since the next three hours will be spent actually dueling. You will then have a secondary workout as a way to cool down and avoid stiffness the next day."
If Harry was to be completely honest, this was the class he looked forward to the most. He doesn't know why it no longer exists in their time, but was glad for a chance to improve his dueling skills. Harry could see Ron and Ginny looked just excited as he did to start this. Hermione looked excited but apprehensive about the workout. She was the more studious type after all.
"To start off I want you to do two laps along the dirt path, it goes in a full oval shape, so you'll be back here when done."
Harry found he didn't have much difficulty doing his laps, taking only ten minutes to complete them. It wasn't surprising with all of his Quidditch training, manual chores and running away from Dudley he did, he had at least gotten fast and a great amount of stamina. Ron came running in about two minutes later to be followed by Ginny only seconds later. Hermione on the other hand, need an extra five minutes. Being the bookworm that she was, she didn't exercise very much or build much stamina. That's a problem Harry realized because you never know how long a duel could last or how much time you have between the next one.
"Very good Harry, Ron and Ginny, five points to each of your Houses. Hermione, you're going to need to exercise a lot more. You're the brains of the group and thus have the highest potential of being attacked in order to remove that brilliance," Professor Gryffindor said and Hermione could only nod as she was too winded to speak. "Now that you have done your running laps, it's time for some pushups. You are going to do as many as you can for the next ten minutes."
Harry only managed to ten with Hermione only doing half of that. Ginny on the other hand managed twenty with Ron getting a forty-eight. He guessed years of de-gnoming the yard finally was showing their advantages. He had no idea where Ginny would get the upper body strength to do so many since he knew Mrs. Weasley didn't think it proper for a girl to do that much manual labor, so he just chalked it up to strength required to live with six older brothers.
Their next task was to do as many sit-ups as possible for the next ten minutes. Ginny managed the most at sixty-seven to Ron's sixty-six. Harry managed to get a solid fifty and even Hermione did well, getting a solid forty-five.
They did some basic lunges, back stretches, arm stretches and jumping jacks for the next ten minutes.
"Now your final task before lunch will be swimming a lap around the lake," Professor Gryffindor said and then suddenly grinned. "But, beware the giant squid has been assigned to chase you, if you get caught you have to start over. You can't go to lunch until you managed a lap."
Hermione, it seems, was an excellent swimmer as she out swam not only them but the giant squid. Ron only got twice before he managed the lap with Ginny following only being caught four times. Harry on the other hand, had the misfortune of needing to learn how to properly swim first; the Dursleys had hoped he would eventually end up drowning if not properly taught. Due to his new acquired swimming skills, he was extremely slow and got caught thirteen times before he managed a lap. Needless to say, he was late to lunch.
"Now that all of you are watered and fed, we'll start the actual dueling portion of this class. First, I will test your skills by holding a duel with you myself. Stunners, disarming and shield charms only," Professor Gryffindor said with a feral grin.
Hermione was first and did well, but her habit of perfection made her slow with releasing spells. Luckily, if Hermione learned one thing from her encounter with a giant Devil's Snare it's that you never wanted to stay still for too long. It took a full fifteen minutes for her to get stunned. Ginny was next and did horribly; it took only two stunners for her to go down much to her embarrassment and anger. Ron was next and last twenty minutes, but he was too sloppy with his spell work. Harry did the best, lasting forty minutes before losing his footing and getting disarmed.
"That was very good effort from you Harry, Ron and Hermione. Twenty points each. Ginny you are obviously powerful, but I could tell from your spell work that you are used to getting a surprising first shot that will take your opponent out immediately." Ginny blushed red. "You need to throw this belief right out the window; while it's good to try and win the first strike, you should not depend on it. You must learn how to act when you lose the first strike.
While it's good to hit the place you want Hermione, you should not depend on hitting the exact place. Aim for the relative area unless you are close enough to get an honest strike. Your tactics was good for a Sniper Wizard, not for a straight duel like this.
If Hermione's problem is slowness and direct aim, then your problem is quickness and sloppy aim Ron. You have the unique flaw of being too fast. It is good that you try to stop your opponent from a counter; however you waste too many spells. Just as many spells hit the ground around me as the ones I had to dodge; slowdown and aim a little next time.
Harry, you are without a doubt, the best in the class. Your aim is near flawless, your fast and you can react to new situations. That being said, you waste too much movement. You could use a shield charm, but you rarely did. Dodging is good, but you should know when you don't need to. And, you must learn to have your body move in ways you didn't even think possible."
The four nodded, but it was obvious Ginny was visibly upset. She wants more than anything to be a good match for Harry, but how can she when she doesn't even measure up in a duel? Professor Gryffindor was correct in his assessment about her; she really was a first strike kind of gal. Anyone she hexed never expected it. She was severely underestimated and it gave her the advantage when quick with the draw.
The rest of the class was spent learning to dodge, duck, tumble, sidestep, and shield. Professor Gryffindor was harsh; he would have them ducking but unexpectedly shoot a curse that would cause them a need to dodge. ("An opponent won't be above surprise and sneak attacks," Professor Gryffindor told them) Harry, Ron and Hermione did well as their "adventures" taught them a need to keep moving and be aware of changing situations. Ginny also did surprisingly well, apparently years of living with Fred and George had taught her that much at least.
The cool down exercises were much more pleasant than the warm up ones. They were meant to relax their body and stop muscles from tightening up. So, they stretched but didn't push their muscles. They did laps but they jogged instead of running. Either way, all four of them were starving by the end.
"Very good today all of you, but I have one more piece of information before the lot of you can trot off to dinner," Professor Gryffindor told them after they finished. "This dueling class will not just cover magical combat, but Muggle combat as well. You will learn sword fighting, archery, dagger wielding and hand-to-hand combat. It is essential for a witch or wizard to know such skills in the case that magical means is not always the best approach. An example would be a duel against a centaur is using archery skills rather than magical means; doing this commandeers respect and prevents the centaurs from turning against you by their laws of honor."
The four of them gulped nervously at this, having no experience in Muggle combat. The closest any of them have come to is stupid fights with Malfoy and Harry slaying a Basilisk in his second year using Grodric Gryffindor's sword. Come to think of it…
"Professor Gryffindor do you happen to any goblin made weapons?" Hermione asked suddenly.
"No, at least not yet, but I do have the leader of goblins, Gringott, making me a sword," Professor Gryffindor said. "Now off you trot."
The next day was a day that Ron had been dreading since he saw their schedule. All of the classes fell under stuff he never studied and theories. Breakfast though was a much more pleasant affair this time with Hermione gushing about finally taking Runes and Arithimacy with all of them, and how they'll also be studying Hieroglyphics as well.
"Today," Professor Ravenclaw began. "We'll be studying the two sets of existing runes: Elder Futhark and Anglo-Frisian. Now I know that thanks to Miss Granger's language spell you can read Anglo-Frisian, but from what she told me, it does not work beyond alphabetical symbols. This means that you will not be able to read the magical runes that will be studied in this class. The study of hieroglyphics will not take place until the second term, so please be patient.
Now we'll start with Elder Futhark runes; in all there are twenty-four runes: Fehu, Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz, Gebo, Wunjo, Hagalaz, Nauthiz, Isa, Jera, Eihwaz, Perthro, Algiz, Sowilo, Tiwaz, Berkano, Ehwaz, Mannaz, Languz, Ingwaz, Dagaz and Othala.
Each rune has a special meaning and special use. Runes are meant to be used for warding, as such, each rune has a magical property and must be carved on specific stones. It should be noted that while it is possible to do many wards without runes, they do not last as long and aren't as powerful.
Now I want the four of you to try and create a Sun Dome Ward that should be large enough to cover one greenhouse. Miss Granger has told me that she has studied runes in your time period so she should be able to help with this."
So, for the next two and a half hours, they worked on what would make an effective warded dome. Hermione did not have as much advantage as Professor Ravenclaw would have thought; it seems that Ancient Runes in their time period focused more on translation and learning the magical properties. Only those who went to work for the warders of Gringotts actually put the runes to the intended warding practice. So, they argued over what goes where, which stone to use, how large and how many to use. In the end though, they believed that they found the best ward.
"So, have you come to a compromise?" Professor Ravenclaw asked trying not to laugh at some of their arguments. They nodded their heads and Professor Ravenclaw led them outside to an unused greenhouse. "Good, now set it up and see the results. Tell me which stones you need and I'll have them brought here."
"Okay, let's see," Hermione began looking at the paper. "Six barleycorn worth of shale, four sets of sixty barleycorn worth of slate, nine barleycorn worth of limestone, twelve barleycorn worth of schist and fifteen barleycorn worth of marble."
Professor Ravenclaw nodded her head and summoned some house elves to fetch the stones. However, Harry, Ron and Ginny just looked at Hermione like she said the entire thing in French.
"Barleycorn?" Harry asked.
"It's the measurement in this time period," Hermione explained. "Three barleycorns equal an inch and an inch equals two and fifty-four hundredths of a centimeter."
"Here you are," Professor Ravenclaw said effectively stopping the discussion. "Now, let's see what you've got. You can't go to lunch until you're done."
"Right, Harry take the piece of Marble and place it directly east. Put the sun rune, Sowilo, onto it. You will charge the stone with the boil charm, Cocere, as you have the most power and it takes a great deal to charge.
Ron take the piece of Schist and place it directly south. Put the wind god rune, Tiwaz, onto it. You will charge the stone with the air charm, Spiritus, as you are the third most powerful and also the heaviest so you will not get blown away from the spell.
Ginny take the piece of Shale and place it directly north. Put the dawn rune, Daggaz, onto it. You will charge the stone with the warming charm, Calidius, as you are the second most powerful and it needs only slightly less power than the Sowilo rune to charge.
I will take the limestone and place it directly west. I will put the torch rune, Kenaz, onto it. I will charge the stone with the fire charm, Incendio, as I am the most proficient with it.
Before we start, take a piece of slate and place it Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. Once we power up each of our stones, we have but a moment to carve the shield rune, Algiz, onto it. After that, we must each charge your piece with the dome charm, Convexum, so that all of the other stones will link together and form a dome.
You will know when your stone is done by the color it changes into. Harry's will be yellow, Ron's will be green, Ginny's will be orange and mine will be red. The slate will change blue when fully charged, indigo when linked and purple when the dome is formed.
After that the stones will lose their glow and the dome will become invisible," Hermione explained.
The other four nodded, and Hermione taught them each their charms. Ron had the hardest with the dome charm, but got it eventually. The four then quickly moved into place and started their charms.
It took seven tries to get the ward done right.
The first try, Harry did not put enough power into his charm and didn't finish when the others did.
The second try, Hermione tripped over her robe and missed the time frame for carving.
The third try, Harry put too much power into his charm and finished before everyone else.
The fourth try, Ron messed up the rune and caused it to explode.
The fifth try, Ginny hit her piece of slate and caused it to roll away.
The sixth try, Ron, Ginny and Harry messed up the dome charm.
In all, Professor Ravenclaw was thoroughly impressed they managed at all, even if they were a half-hour late for lunch. Ginny and Ron couldn't wait to tell Bill what they learned about warding. Lunch was spent by Hermione explaining to them how Runes and Hieroglyphics was much more interactive and involved then Ancient Runes was when Harry asked how different it was.
"Arithimacy," Professor Ravenclaw started, "is a class in which you will learn the number representation of your character, heart, social ability as well as the magical properties of numbers.
This class we'll start simple and study the magical property of the number seven. Seven as you may or may not know is considered the greatest magical number in existence. That is why most magical families try to have things done in sevens."
"So, that's why you're so powerful Ginny," Ron said suddenly.
"Miss Weasley?" Professor Ravenclaw asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm the seventh child in my family and the first Weasley born female in seven generations," Ginny explained.
"Amazing," Professor Ravenclaw said well, amazed. "It does explain why you are the second most magically powerful among you."
"So, does that mean I'm just more powerful?"
"No, I have heard of people who are compatible with sevens having certain magical specialties that only they could do," Professor Ravenclaw. "Though Sevens like to keep it secret as part of the magical law is that you must discover it on your own."
Ginny was looking at her with stars in her eyes, but Ron could only grimace. He didn't need something else for his little sister to beat him in. Although Ron would never tell anyone, he often felt like a dulled bronze trophy among shining gold trophies.
He loves his family, but he felt more like an outsider, an intruder. It didn't help that he once heard his mother (when he was eavesdropping) talk about how she had hoped that he was a she, and that was the reason why she and his father tried to have another. Also, to hear that she resented him for the first four months of his life had him running up to his room to cry (it didn't matter that he was six, there was no way anyone was going to see him cry). He noticed that while his mother did love him a lot, she was colder to him then his brothers or even Harry and Hermione. She never remembered his favorite foods or favorite colors; she didn't do much one-on-one stuff with him. He was pretty much left to his own devices and none of his siblings seemed to care too much.
Bill and Charlie felt they were too old to deal with "Ickle Ronniekens" problems.
Granted, Percy would be there for him every now and then, but Ron could tell he was annoyed at having to do it. By the time Percy reached his third year at Hogwarts, he didn't want to listen to Ron at all.
Fred and George really saw him as nothing but a target for their pranks. Half of his fears stem from them alone.
Ginny was his best friend growing up, but that was more due to their closeness in age then actually liking him. She spent more time complaining about what she didn't like about him then she did talking about what she did like.
His father never gave him the private talks like he did the others; he doesn't help with girls, hasn't given him "the Talk", doesn't talk about grades and doesn't even seem that interested in the stuff he, Harry and Hermione get into.
All of them care of course; they just don't seem to care as much. That's why he likes being friends with Harry and Hermione; their outsiders like him. It felt nice to have some people who actually seemed to want him around rather than just have to have him around. But, it didn't help that Harry was famous or Hermione was so smart because he looked dull compared to them; the weakest link in the trio. That's why he got so jealous of Harry last year despite knowing he would never have entered; it was just something else to make him look more dull compared to him. That's why he was glad when Harry told him later on after they made up how he had really missed him being around. It made him feel needed and wanted.
They spent the rest of the class studying times in which witches and wizards seemed to try and take advantage of the magical properties of the number seven. Like how Morgan Le Fay had kept seven hideouts or how Ptolemy I had his most important books on bookshelves with seven shelves.
"I wonder what special magic I'll be able to do?" Ginny said as they walked to the Charms classroom.
"Who knows, but it sounds like you have to discover them on their own," Harry said.
"So, don't expect our help," Hermione said seriously and Ginny deflated a little. She wasn't sure how far she would get without Hermione's help.
None of them noticed Ron walking more slowly than he usually did as he thought about it. He knew it was petty but he couldn't help but be jealous of his little sister. His only talent was chess and he couldn't exactly make a career out of it like some Muggles do. As he entered the Charms classroom he swore he would try to find his other talents and shine like his siblings.
"Welcome to Charms Theory," Professor Ravenclaw said happily. "Charms happen to be my specialty above all branches of magic and I'm glad to be able to teach you.
This class though will cover the theory around charms, so be prepared for more book work today. The reason we are going to cover theory here is that by learning the theory you can find ways to not only use a charm more effectively, but find ways to improve them.
Today we'll start with an example of how I improved a spell by learning the theory around it. Have any of you ever heard of the Disillusionment Charm?"
All four nodded their heads. "A man named Alastor Moody used it on me when he and a personal guard took me to our hideout," Harry told her and Professor Ravenclaw nodded.
"The Disillusionment Charm is actually a charm I created by improving the Transparency Charm cast by Perspicua. The Disillusionment Charm had improved many points of the Transparency Charm, the first being that it does not require an enchantment to cast, but rather is done by wand movement and how you use your magic.
Another improvement is the usefulness. The Transparency Charm when used still had a slight shimmer and you could see a distortion in the air. The Disillusionment Charm on the other hand, causes you to be like a human chameleon so that your body blends with the background making you seem to totally disappear. That is why the Disillusionment Charm has become more popular to use for invisibility cloaks and just ordinary use."
The quartet nodded their heads at this. The only new information was the invisibility cloaks; Hermione had told them all about the Disillusionment Charm when Harry explained what happened when former Professor Remus J. Lupin went to fetch Harry at his aunt and uncle's with an entire guard in tow.
"Now I want you to choose a charm from the textbook and look at the theory around it as well as the equation used to figure out wand or body movement as well as the amount of power needed."
The four took out the textbook that Professor Ravenclaw had given them last Sunday. Ron chose the Levitation Charm, but when he went to the page he blanched. The theory behind it was simple enough:
Levitation Charm: Spell, Wingardium Leviosa
The Levitation Charm is used for lifting small objects such as quills or papers. Natural charm casters can use it on much larger and heavier objects.
That caused Ron to pause a second, he had used the Levitation Charm on a troll's club in his first year and it actually worked. Does that mean he's a natural charm caster? He'll have to look it up later, wanting to keep it to himself for a little while.
Anyway, it was the equations behind it that scared him.
Equation of hand movement:
Ax+3b-4c*(9x+10x^2) = 7x^3 *4b/16a
Equation of power:
Cb*3b+7bc/49bc = Ca-Cc*8a
From what Hermione told him last year when she looked at the equations behind magic, it was some weird math called "algebra". Just the thought of it made his head hurt and now seeing it didn't help at all. But, if he really is a natural charm caster then he should learn it thoroughly because it might help him some day, and give him something special beyond chess.
The four silently worked until it was dinner time trying to make heads or tails of what they were doing. Hermione was surprised that Ron seemed to be making much more headway into his work then the rest of them. She was proud of him for finally taking his work seriously; he always had so much potential but his inferiority complex and laziness has always held him back. Now away from his more accomplished brothers (for now) and the fact he has to help Harry defeat V-Voldemort it seemed to have kicked him into gear.
Dinner was a quiet affair as the four were thinking about all they learned this day and Harry wished that he would have taken at least Arithimacy instead of Divination in his time period.
Thursday morning started off nicely for Hermione as Ron actually ate breakfast slowly. He had been uncharacteristically quiet last night, but she didn't worry too much as he had a very thoughtful look on his face. Something seemed to have clicked in Charms Theory yesterday and got him thinking.
"Welcome to Transfiguration Theory," Professor Gryffindor said. "Transfiguration is vastly different to Charms and how magic is handled. Transfiguration deals with the changing of objects and using the very energy around you to create things.
For instance, if I was to create a chair right here, I would use the very air around me and solidify it. Now that chair is not permanent and is actually made of solidified air rather than the wood it looks like. This is why one cannot just create food, as it would not have the sustenance needed for actual consumption. You could make look alike food but if you tried to eat it, you would not taste anything. It would be like taking air and putting it into your body.
Charms on the other hand is taking already existing objects and effecting them without distortion. For example, the Disillusionment Charm causes you to become like a chameleon, but you do not actually change size or shape. You are basically yourself not seen.
So, that's why you must learn transfiguration theory as well. I want you to read the first chapter of your book which covers the laws of transfiguration and transfigurists."
Hermione looked at her book and opened to the first chapter.
"Chapter One: The Laws of Transfiguration and Transfigurists
Laws
There are several laws that a Tansfigurist must learn in order to understand what can and cannot be transfigured.
-Conjuring of Food
-Conjuring and transfiguring of gold, silver and bronze
-Transfiguring of cursed bodies
-Transfiguration of the dead
-Conjured items
Conjuring of Food
Food cannot be conjured from thin air. Existing food can be changed in appearance to be more presentable but it cannot be changed from rotten food into fresh food. For example, if you were to take a rotten apple and transfigure it into a fresh apple, the apple would still taste rotten and everything that applies.
It is possible to conjure "look alike" food. However, it will only be food in looks only. Taste and smell will not exist and it does not hold any substance.
Conjuring and Transfiguring of Gold, Silver and Bronze
Due to the properties of gold, silver and bronze, it is impossible to conjure or transfigure gold, silver and bronze. So, if you want to pay a Sickle for piece of meat, but only have a Knut you cannot change it into a Sickle.
It is this reason that King Arthur and Merlin had gold called Galleons, silver called Sickles and bronze called Knuts become the monetary system that is used even today.
The only known way to transfigure these metals is to create a mythical stone called the "Philosopher's Stone". This stone is created however by alchemists and thus call the transformation of the metals as "transmuting" rather than "transfiguring".
Transfiguring of Cursed Bodies
Body parts that are intentionally cursed off cannot be replaced. A residue magic prevents Healers or others from transfiguring the body part off. For example, if you are dueling and your fingers are cursed off by your opponent then you will not be able to replace them. This is because one important part of magic is intention and the spell caster's intention was to remove the body part.
However, if you were cutting a piece of meat, let's say chicken, and you accidentally cut off your fingers in the process then they can be replaced or repaired because it goes against your intention to cut them off.
It should be noted though that anything cursed off with Secret or Evil Magic, intentional or not, can never be replaced.
Transfiguration of the Dead
If someone or something has died it can never be brought back to life. It is impossible to conjure life or transfigure someone to life.
The only known ways to bring back the dead are:
-Necromancy
-Forbidden Transmutation
-Resurrection Stone
Necromancy can bring back the dead as soulless puppets using a terrible Secret Magic. These creatures are not really alive, but rather animated bodies that appear to be alive. These creatures are called Inferni.
Forbidden Transmutation is a type of alchemist magic in which a person resurrects the dead. It is actually impossible to bring the dead back to life, but you may create a Homunculus. A Homunculus is a puppet human that is not truly alive, but can fool you into believing it is. It is considered forbidden as one should not mess with the balance of life and attempting it will cost you your life as the Secret Magic produced by the attempt will eat your body and soul into nothingness. There are no reports of a successful Forbidden Transmutation.
The Resurrection Stone is a Deathly Hallow from the story "The Tale of the Three Brothers". In the story, the second brother Cadmus Perevell receives a stone that can bring back the dead. However, the stone does not call the soul back leaving a miserable and soulless puppet in its place. Cadmus used it to reborn his dead lover and committed suicide from the madness he felt after seeing his lover as nothing but a soulless shell. The location or even existence of the stone is unknown.
Conjured Items
Items can be conjured and transmuted easily. It is easy to turn a chair into a couch for instance. However, conjured items such as making a bed appear from thin air can only exist for a period of time. That is why it's best to create real objects from real objects rather than thin air. A transfigured tree into a couch will stay that way, a conjured couch will only stay so long as you are awake and nearby to hold the focus of the couch in place.
The Laws at Work
By understanding these laws and regulations a Transfigurist can learn how to master the skill conjuring and transformation at extremely fast levels.
True Transfigurists
Every so often, a True Transfigurist is born. These Transfigurists can understand and work with the Five Laws with little to no problems. They have also are born with a talent for memorization and a skill in the alchemist's transmutation. These Transfigurists are rare and only appear in once in a generation if that."
Hermione put down the book and noticed Harry staring at her. She knew what he was thinking; she could be a True Transfigurist. It is possible, but she had never even dabbled into alchemy.
"That will be all for today," Professor Gryffindor said. "I hate to say it, but you should expect a lot of book work in this class. Have a good day everyone."
"Come over here everyone," Professor Hufflepuff called as the quartet walked into the Hospital Wing. "Now have any of you ever studied anything in the Healer profession?"
"No," Ginny answered. "Healer magics and charms are reserved for post-Hogwarts in our time for those who are thinking of going into the Healer profession."
"I see," Professor Hufflepuff said disappointed once again at the lack of education these four seem to have. "Well, before we can start to even learn the charms and antidotes, we must learn not only the human body but many other creatures. You should know that the four of you are being treated the same as first years who, if we get any, will show up as eleven years old. If we went by your proper ages, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger would be in their last year as the three of you are considered adults by the land."
"We're considered adults?" Ron asked wide-eyed.
"Yes, in this time period, one year after the legal age to marry has been distributed as the age worthy of adulthood. The legal age to marry, as said by King Athelstan, is fourteen years of age. As such, fifteen is considered the age of adulthood. I take it is different in your time period?"
"Yes, in our time, age of fourteen is still considered the legal age to marry for witches and wizards, however you are not considered an adult until the age of seventeen, the age in which your magic is said to stop growing," Hermione explained.
"Yes, seventeen is the age in which a person's magical core is fully opened and stops releasing the magic to break the shell," Professor Hufflepuff said. "I can understand why the age of adulthood is now seventeen."
Ginny was blushing fully as for the first time she realized she could actually legally marry Harry. Very few witches and wizards marry that young anymore, but the legal age was still never changed. Shaking her head, she tried to focus back onto the lesson.
"Anyway, let's move onto studying the human body. The adult human body has two hundred and six bones in all. Twenty-eight skull bones, Twenty-six vertebrae bones, twenty-four rib bones plus the sternum or breastbone, the pelvic bones, thirty bones each in your arms and legs for one hundred and twenty bones in total, and around six bones related to joints.
Each of these bones has a brittle and strong spot, and the healing required for them is different depending on it. Mending bones is quite easy with magic, but the worse the break the more Muggle you have to do it. For instance, if you smash your knee caps into pieces, you will have to heal the Muggle way because magical means will cause them to lose fortitude they had and become more brittle. The Muggle way will mend them and strengthen them in order to prevent another break.
A clean break however can be healed by magic quite easily as healing this the Muggle way generally makes it more susceptible to breaks again, so healing it with magic will put it back as it was.
I will not go further though until you have learned all of the bones in the body, so take these charts," Professor Hufflepuff said summoning four papers with a skeleton on each, "and memorize them."
Harry, Ron and Ginny looked at the paper and almost put it back. Memorization was never any of their strong suits, but they decided to push through as much as possible. Hermione had no problems, except she kept getting distracted by the fact she could memorize them so well, which ironically made it hard to memorize them.
"That'll be all for today," Professor Hufflepuff called them. "Please remember that Free Study covers from after lunch until dinner and takes place in the library."
"You know," Hermione said as she finished her lunch, "I think we can choose who will write what today. We can't write about the classes we haven't taken yet of course, but we can at least write for all of the attended ones."
"Alright, but let's talk about this in Free Study, okay Hermione?" Harry said taking the last couple bites of his chicken leg.
"Meah 'ernionee! I vand do eab rumch!" Ron said as he took a bite of turkey.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Ronald," Hermione snapped.
"Anyway," Ginny said quickly to avoid another fight. "I think Harry's right, let's leave it until were actually in Free Study, okay?"
Hermione nodded in acceptance and started on her dessert.
"So, who writes what?" Ron asked as he sat down at the library table.
"Well, I think I should write the Transfiguration books, as it is my best subject. Also, I think I'll handle Runes and Hieroglyphics as well as Arithimacy as they are my favorite subjects," Hermione said.
"I'll take Herbology and Potions," Ginny said. "I'm actually really good at Potions and you have to use so many plants with in it, it would be good way to learn them all. And, Hermione you should handle the Healer's Arts class as well since you'll probably know it best."
Hermione nodded her head in acceptance. "Harry, you're the best dueler according to Professor Gryffindor so you'll handle the Dueling Class. You're also the best at Defence Against the Dark Arts, so you'll take that as well."
"What are you talking about Hermione?" Harry asked confused. "You're the top of the class."
"Only first, second and fourth year," Hermione said. "You did the best in Professor Lupin's class and he was the only time you had to take the finals with a decent teacher. I'd bet that you would have beaten me last year if you had to take the test."
"She's right mate," Ron said. "Remember you got full marks on Lupin's test. I got confused by the Hinkypunk and Hermione couldn't handle the Boggart. Face it mate, you had to be good at something."
"Alright, fine," Harry said throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "I'll write the dueling and defence books."
"Guess that leaves me with Divination and Charms," Ron said trying to hide his pleased smile at getting Charms. What he didn't see was Hermione's secret smile when he said Charms. "I'll start in a few minutes I've got something to look up."
Ron walked along the book shelves trying to find whatever he could about Natural Charm Casters. Most of the books either said a quick passage about them or didn't say anything at all. After twenty minutes he finally found what he was looking for.
Natural Charmers or Natural Charm Casters are wizards or witches who have a natural ability to use charm magic and understand the theory around them. They also show a capacity to use a charm beyond the intended ability. For example, a Cheering Charm used by a normal witch or wizard would cause the intended to become happy, but a Natural Charmer would cause the intended to become excitable or extremely happy.
Untrained Natural Charmers though have the unfortunate side effects of being very susceptible to others charms as they can't channel it properly. For example, an untrained Natural Charmer would fall for the Veela Charms very easily and affect him significantly. Untrained Natural Charmer witches have even shown to become susceptible to Veela Charms even though they should only affect men.
That explained so much Ron realized. His charms always seemed to come off more powerful then intended and he would lose points for not properly controlling himself. It also explains why the French half Veela Fleur Delacoeur affected him so much worse than everyone else. He decided that he'll keep this under wraps for now until he gains some control of it; the book had some training exercises he could do. He doesn't want to make a fool of himself by saying something to early and looking like a bragging prat. Hermione hexed him good last year when he did that with the rescue under the lake during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.
"Found what you needed Ron?" Hermione asked with a knowing grin.
"Uh… yeah," Ron said nervously. "Look I'll just get started on my book okay?"
That's how Free Study passed, the four of them writing out their books and proof reading each other. Dinner was a quiet affair due to the headaches they had from reading and writing so much. After dinner, the four headed to their common rooms for some much needed private time until their midnight Astrology class.
Ron took advantage of the privacy to practice his Natural Charmer skills. The first step was to use every charm he knew and compare them how they are supposed to be. So, starting with the simple color change charm to the cheering charms, he used them and wrote notes about the differences and similarities. He decided to take a nap at ten o'clock since he exhausted himself with the charms.
"Astrology," Professor Slytherin started, "is a difficult branch of magic that only centaurs could hope to fully understand. More than likely you will not find much prediction or understanding about yourselves in these stars since they are stars from one thousand years before you shall be born but it is possible to see event predictions within these stars.
For instance, look for the planets. The ones that shine above the others will indicate the ones that will currently affect us. Take your telescope and try to channel some magic into it after thinking of something. For us why don't we ask, 'what will happen in the next two months?'"
Everyone nodded and tried to channel their magic into it and then looked through their telescope.
"I can't see anything," Harry said grumpily.
"Me either," Ginny said.
"Nope, nothing," Hermione said disappointed.
"I-I think I see something," Ron said excitingly. "Harry, can you hand me the star chart?"
Harry quickly handed it to Ron and saw him look through it multiple times.
"Okay, let's see an even number of shines indicate good stuff'll happen," Ron said. "Okay, one, two, three, four, five—five, that's bad! What planet is it? Pluto? Pluto. What is the bad for Pluto? Pluto is the planet of destruction! Professor! Pluto is shining! And, it's an odd amount!"
Professor Slytherin nodded his head seriously planning to tell the other teachers about this. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Do you see anything else Mr. Weasley?"
"Nope, just Pluto," Ron said.
"Very good Mr. Weasley, I think we'll call it a night."
Friday morning's breakfast was extremely tense, it seems Professor Slytherin told the other founders and they were waiting for a disaster. They kept mumbling to each other and jumped at the smallest of noises.
"We can't keep this up," Salazar said. "I have classes this morning and being this jittery will make me useless."
"He does have a point," Helga said. "You two have classes in the afternoon as well. We'll just let it be for now, okay?"
"That's a good idea. I don't think we should let this inconvenience our lives or our classes," Rowena said.
"Yes, after all, we have no way of knowing when it shall come to pass if it does at all," Godric said.
"Good. Well I have class now, so I will see you at lunch," Salazar said getting up.
"See ya Sal!" Godric called.
"Due to the fact that none of you have tapped your magical energy or magical core freely," Professor Slytherin told the quartet, "we will be practicing your meditation technique rather than working on wandless charms or wandless transfiguration. So, if you would assume your positions."
The four quickly got into their meditative positions. Once again Harry saw a green light, but he couldn't follow it to the source. His anxiousness seemed to cause him to lose center just as he found it. Ginny kept getting angry and couldn't find a light at all. Ron was much too impatient and had difficulty staying still for long periods of time. Hermione's mind thought too much and she couldn't relax. It was nearing lunch and they seemingly made no progress.
Seemingly because Professor Slytherin could tell progress was indeed being made. It took longer for Ginny to get angry each time, Ron was sitting still longer (granted a full body bind was placed on him for half an hour to get used to it, but progress was progress), Hermione was getting good at clearing her mind and Harry was relaxing. By lunch none of them managed to find their magical energy or core, but were able to meditate much better.
Lunch was loud and crazy since they didn't have to sit still anymore. It was decided by the founders that they'll never make them sit that long again after stopping an impromptu food fight.
Wand Charms was taught by Professor Ravenclaw, and Wand Transfiguration was taught by Professor Gryffindor. Each class went through what would be the fourth year syllabus back at their time. All of them made it through ("I was really bored at Grimmauld Place," Ginny explained when the trio looked at her in surprise) and it was decided that next week they'll start what would have been second year wand charms and transfiguration 930 A.D. but fifth year charms and transfiguration in their own time.
"Protection of the Arts," Professor Gryffindor, "is training to help with your dueling skills. Your dueling class will specify in actually using the art while this one shall teach you in using the spells. Do you still practice this class in your time?"
"In a sense," Hermione answered. "Our class is actually called Defence Against The Dark Arts."
"Dark Arts?" Professor Gryffindor asked confused.
"Yeah, you know, stuff like the Pain Curse and the Killing Curse," Ron said.
"The Pain Curse is considered Dark?"
"Of course," Ron said at once. "What's it here?"
"It's just a Secret Art. Why would anyone consider it Dark?"
"Well it causes pain and messes with people's heads," Ginny answered.
"'Messes with people's heads'? What rubbish is this?" Professor Gryffindor exclaimed.
"Are you saying it doesn't?" Harry asked surprised.
"Of course not, I've been using these spells for seven years and not one has messed with my head," Professor Gryffindor told them. "I don't know what happened between now and your time, but for now no Art is split between Dark and Light. We have classified our spells into three categories: The Arts, the Secret Arts and the Evil Arts.
The Arts are your most basic spells and they are the easiest to use. You only have to want to do the spell for you to be able to use it. For example, when using a Cheering Charm, you do not have to feel happy for it to work or even want the person to be happy. You only have to want the spell to work on them.
The Secret Arts are different because you have to put a certain emotion behind it. For example, the Pain Curse will not simply work because you want the curse to work, but rather you feel like you want to inflict pain upon your opponent. Nothing extraordinary there, who doesn't want to inflict pain when in a duel? Of course, not all Secret Arts use negative emotions. For example, have any of you ever heard of the Patronus Charm?"
"Yeah," Ron said enthusiastically despite that much of what he has believed is being destroyed. "Harry can even cast one!"
"Splendid, I've never known someone so young to be able to use it," Professor Gryffindor cheered jovially. "But, to the point, the Patronus Charm is considered in the same category as you must put a happy emotion behind it. Just because you want to create one doesn't mean it will work. You have to remember a happy memory or even just a happy emotion to create it. Of course, the Pain Curse uses negative emotions such as anger and hate while a Patronus Charm uses positive emotions such as happiness and love. In that case the Pain Curse could be seen as Dark, but a person would have to feel nothing but negative or sadistic positive emotions to use them. These are inheriting flaws a person has.
The last arts are called the Evil Arts and are the ones I would seriously call Dark. Only three spells have ever been put into that category: the Killing Curse, the Imperius Curse and the Cruciatus Curse. I am sure you have heard of them."
The grimace the four had was enough to convince them that they had; though it was disheartening to see them glance slightly at Harry.
"These three spells, invented by Morgan LeFay herself, are the only known curses that you have to take pleasure," Professor Gryffindor spat out, "in killing, controlling and torturing others."
Ron sat there stunned that everything he believed about the Light and Dark could possibly wrong. Looking at the others, he wasn't so surprised to see Harry and Ginny in the same state. What did bother him was the enlightening look Hermione was giving. As if this was the very thing she wanted to hear. "Uh…Is something the matter Hermione?"
"Yeah," Hermione said. "I had always thought there was something off about this whole Dark and Light Arts thing. Everybody had always said that the Dark Arts were evil and ruined you and I honestly believed them until we met Professor Lupin."
"Lupin?" Harry asked.
"Well, he is a dark creature but he isn't evil, now is he?"
"No," Ron said feeling a bit ashamed of initial reaction to the news of him being a werewolf.
"Right, so why should the spells be evil? I mean Gellert Grindlewald was considered a disturbed individual since he was a little boy, no matter how intelligent he was."
"And, from I got from that…that horrid diary was that Tom Riddle had never changed who he was before he ever even heard of magic. So, if Riddle was terrible individual when he was just sixteen, but never changed, how then did the Dark Arts corrupt him?" Ginny said.
"I guess I never really thought about it," Harry sighed. "But, if it didn't corrupt people how do you explain Voldemort's appearance? I know I explained to you what he looked like."
"Well we all know that V-Voldemort is a really messed up individual," Hermione said. "He may have done something that could now really fall under the Evil Arts."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Harry said. "If it could be considered evil then Voldemort would do it."
"So, you think we should use the Dark Arts Hermione," Ron stated loathingly.
"Not if you don't want too, but I think we should keep our options open to everything at our disposal."
"You are correct Miss Granger," Professor Gryffindor. "Take five points to each your houses for keeping an open mind. It seems we wasted quite a bit of time going over the Arts themselves, so I shall let you out early. I hope you enjoy your weekend."
The walk to dinner was quiet as everyone had to process what they had learned. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if it was Salazar Slytherin talking about how there is no Dark and Light Arts, but it was Godric Gryffindor, the greatest supporter of the Light of all time next to Merlin and Albus Dumbledore, that denied them. They really had to consider everything they had to be told.
Of course once they finally sat down the dinner it went right out of their minds.
"Well, that was nice way to cool down the week," Ron said as he started eating his dinner.
"Yeah, this was one hell of a week," Harry agreed rubbing his forehead. "I have quite the headache thinking about it."
"Well, I personally can't wait to learn more," Hermione said as she cut up her steak.
"Of course you can't Hermione," Ginny chuckled as Hermione huffed.
After dinner the four headed off to their dorms to get some much needed sleep, happy that the weekend was upon them!