Virgil shuddered.
"Try not to get murdered, will you?" Genny eyed him, "I suppose we'll meet back here once we're done with the rest of our classes."
They had to go separate ways. Virgil somehow hadn't fully put together the fact that he and Genny only had the first two classes together. After that, the next three were completely different. No overlap.
His one friend: gone.
"Do you want me to walk you to your next one?" she asked, as if she were his personal security or something. It was embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as the fact he actually considered the offer. Quietly, he shook his head before taking a step back.
"Good, because I don't want to be bloody late." Genny glared at the castle around them, which she clearly despised based on layout alone, "Good luck, Banham."
She paused, hesitated, then gave him what could almost be described as a 'reassuring' stomach poke. It still caused Virgil to spasm a little, but he laughed anyway. It was the thought that counted, after all. Genny ducked away and ran off, leaving her friend to fend for himself.
Transfiguration.
Virgil breathed a sigh. From what he could remember, Professor Weasley was supposed to be the Transfiguration teacher. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel at ease around her, even if he'd only spoken to her for a very brief time during the Sorting Ceremony.
If it could even be considered a conversation, really she'd just whispered some words of encouragement to him. That was all. Still, it was more than welcome given the circumstances. The Transfiguration Classroom was located several stories down by the courtyard, though Virgil could honestly say he had no idea if this was where it was supposed to be or not.
He arrived breathlessly, having to ask for directions several times before finally finding it. He filed in, taking a seat near the Professor's table, just across from the main blackboard. He knew there was quite a bit more to Transfiguration than turning rats into teacups and such, which had him interested.
An entire alphabet and formula!
Genny would no-doubt tease him if she knew how excited the idea made him. He took a seat, accidentally catching the eye of a student who instantly lit up with a smile. Virgil's heart sank as he recognized him as 'Titus' from Potions class, but... wait, that couldn't be it. Titus was a Slytherin and this boy was a Gryffindor.
Either way, the boy hurried over and took a seat next to VIrgil, seeming to relax at the Ravenclaw's presence.
"Hullo?" Virgil mumbled. His sudden, new desk partner had sandy blonde hair and freckles, just like Titus, but it clearly wasn't him. Titus might've appreciated him the slightest bit for help with the potion, but not enough to see him as a friend.
"Banham! Good to see you again." the Titus look-alike sat back, kicking his feet up onto the edge of Virgil's chair to use it as a rest, "Should've known you'd be sorted into Ravenclaw. You definitely seemed like the 'brainy' type. Bet you're surprised to see me in Gryffindor, though, ain't ya?"
Virgil's mind was blank.
"Abso... lutely." he murmured.
The new boy rolled his eyes, "Big losses for Slytherin this year, aye? Not that my folks'll mind much, I wager. Titus got in, at least, and we don't really mind the occasional Gryffindor. At least I wasn't sorted into Hufflepuff, aye?"
He grinned, causing his eyes to be lost to scrunches.
Virgil stared at him. Genny probably would've been able to figure out who he was in a second, but to him and his lackluster deception skills it was almost impossible. At least he knew one thing; he was Titus's brother. Twin brother, apparently. As to how they knew each other, he wasn't sure.
"You alright, mate?" the boy asked, his smile faltering, "Look like you've seen a ghost."
"N-no!" Virgil stammered, "I just-!"
"Ooooh!" the blonde boy groaned, "Don't tell me you got me mixed up with Titus, did you? Come on, Banham, I thought we were friends!"
Are we?! Virgil's heart started to race, "I just-"
"Well, I'm not telling you my name." the boy pouted, "If you've forgotten it, that's your own fault. Though I might consider letting you know if you bring me some Chocolate Frogs."
Extortion. Definitely from a Slytherin family.
"Sorry!" Virgil wilted, "It's just...!" he wanted to come up with an actual excuse, but couldn't bring himself to do so, "I'm just rubbish with names, that's all."
Really, he had about a million reasons for not knowing the boy's name. He'd had to learn about a hundred in just the last day, plus he actually had never learned the boy's name, plus there was the minor issue of the entire world being turned upside-down.
He had a lot on his mind, already.
And even knowing the boy's name wouldn't tell him why he knew the boy's name. This was a different timeline! Had they known each other their entire lives?! Was he forgetting years worth of memories or was this all new stuff? If Titus's brother was only a bit miffed at having his name forgotten their relationship couldn't run very deep, could it? So they'd probably just met at school at some point, right?
"I say, where's Professor Corliss?"
Virgil's heart stopped.
His mouth opened.
"Professor... Corliss?"
"Yeah." Titus's brother glanced at him, "Transfig Professor? Lumenlock's House Mum."
Virgil bit his lip and risked sounding like a complete idiot, "What... what happened to Professor Weasley?"
"The Potions Professor?" the Gryffindor cracked a smile, "Hopefully he's not getting fired for that little stunt with Furnunculus, if that's what you mean. Titus told me about it. Can't believe he'd do that. Mental, he is." he shook his head, "Funny, innit? I really wouldn't have expected a Lumenlock teacher to be late to their own class."
Virgil swallowed, feeling heat creep up the back of his neck. Professor Weasley. Was there only the one? If so, who was Corliss? And where had the older Professor Weasley gone? Was she no longer Deputy Headmaster? Was this 'Corliss' also fulfilling that job now?
Suddenly, the Ravenclaw found his gaze matched by the boy sitting across from him and he felt his skin prickle. Morgan Bainbridge sat at the desk across the clearing, his eyes bottomlessly dark. They matched his slightly curled, black hair, staring directly into Virgil's like a statue.
"Oooh! Here she comes!" Titus's brother straightened up as the sound of heels clicking filled the room. In walked a woman of such beauty and precision that Virgil could hardly believe she was real. She carried herself with a carefully honed perfection, chin raised, eyes focused, her posture perfect. Her white-blonde hair was slicked down tightly to her head and pulled into a utilitarian bun. Her skin was pale and smooth, devoid of any sort of blemish or marking.
She wore a suit and tailcoat, which were both perfectly sized for her. Virgil stared, feeling like he was seeing the embodiment of a cold, cutting wind. She looked about as friendly as a freshly cleaned dagger and twice as sharp. She didn't even need an owl mask: it was clear as day she was Lumenlock. Their Head of House, apparently.
"Good day, class." she said, her voice curt and clipped, "I apologize for being held up. I was officiating a duel. Now." she twirled around with a snap, "Class will begin. Today's lesson: the Transfiguration Alphabet."
Virgil heard Titus's brother groan next to him.
The Ravenclaw got ready to jot notes down as the lesson began. It was all delivered so coldly he could hardly believe it was meant for First Years. Even Professor Black had managed to inject a bit of life into his lecture. This was like being taught by a statue.
It was hardly different from just reading out of a book.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" the Gryffindor boy murmured, dreamily, momentarily snapping Virgil out of his studious fervor. He blinked, taking in his surroundings for the first time in what could have easily been an hour.
Corliss was definitely pretty, but she reminded Virgil too much of his own mother. A little too perfect and pristine. Except he knew his mother had something of an affectionate side. Corliss was like an ice statue in comparison.
He shuddered.
"Right?!" the boy next to him lit up, "I think I'm in love, Banham..."
Virgil tried to turn back to his notes and ignore the creeping dread in his heart, but it was impossible. He dipped his quill into the ink pot, taking in information with one ear as his brain churned up more questions. Did Lumenlock graduates just run the bloody school? Was Corliss really the Deputy Headmaster? Where was Matilda Weasley? Was she dead or had she just retired?
Ink drops fell onto the corner of the parchment.
Or had she ever even existed?
Virgil couldn't get the thought out of his head for the rest of the lesson, which - thankfully - wasn't that long. He packed up his supplies as soon as he was let out, rising to his feet in a hurry to try and catch up with his deskmate. He still wanted to try and figure out how they knew each other, even if only to save him from a headache later on.
The Gryffindor lingered for a moment, eyeing him.
"Alright there, Banham?" he asked.
Virgil wobbled back and forth a bit, overcome with a sense of vertigo. There was too much to take in all at once. Not just Transfiguration-wise, but also the people. A Professor who might not have even existed before had replaced Professor Weasley and there was some boy he didn't know at all insisting that they'd met. And were... what? Friends?!
"I'm f... fine." Virgil stammered, "I was just-"
"Edwina keeping you busy?" the boy asked.
"What?" Virgil's brow furrowed.
"Edwina? You two're in the same House, right?" Titus's brother chucked a laugh, "One boat-ride was enough for me, personally. I couldn't handle questions from her like that day-in and day-out. Must drive you Ravenclaw mental."
Virgil's head spun.
He'd... he'd taken the boat ride with Eric Gladstone. Or - at least - he had. Apparently in this timeline he had taken it with Titus's brother. At least that solved one mystery.
"She's... no, she's fine." Virgil felt strangely sick, nerves bubbling in his stomach. It was only a minor discrepancy, but it still made him nervous. What other, weird differences were there that he'd have to contend with? How many people would he end up running into who insisted he knew them?
He followed Titus's brother out, the Gryffindor murmuring to him, "Bit disappointed. That was the most boring lesson I've ever heard in my life. Can't believe Professor Corliss of all people could be so ruddy-" he stopped as he bumped into the student in front of him, "Oof! Sorry, mate! Wasn't looking."
Virgil felt his heart skip a beat.
Morgan Bainbridge. A bit small even by First Year standards, but with a weirdly sinister aura about him. He didn't speak, didn't turn, didn't look or anything. He just paused, then continued walking, completely ignoring the Gryffindor's slight transgression.
"Bit... spooky..." the taller boy murmured to himself, "I've always heard Lumenlock were brilliant and all, but..." he winced, "I dunno. They can creep me out a bit. Those masks and everything?"
"Yeah..." Virgl breathed, trying to act like he was creeped out by Lumenlock for the normal reasons, and not any special ones, "The Headmaster, too. It's a bit... scary."
He eyed his 'friend', hoping he'd elaborate. If he could just get the name of the old man, that'd be something. He knew he could only refer to him as 'the Headmaster' for so long before it bit him in the bum. Someone would eventually find out he didn't know the man's bloody name, and that would just be far too suspicious.
But what would they even think? That he was from a different timeline? That he didn't belong there? Were people like him and Genny common? Were there people locked away in Azkaban who had gone mad, insisting they knew the true history of the world? Could he be 'found out' or would they just think he was a bit thick?
"You're telling me." Titus's brother sighed, "Not that I want any of them overhearing this."
He waved at Virgil before parting ways, the Ravenclaw dearly wishing they could talk more. There was something about the way he said 'them' that sounded... strange. Like there was some deeper meaning to it, beyond just referring to the Lumenlock House.
Virgil was tempted to follow him a bit more, before remembering what his next class was:
History of Magic.
He'd heard horror stories about how excruciatingly dull the class was, but that sort of thing had never bothered him before. He felt like his brain was specially wired to studying dull subjects, which he wasn't overly pleased about, but he couldn't complain. His father had assured him that it would help in the long run. He just wasn't sure exactly how far away 'the long run' was.
Still, the idea of learning the history of an alternate world was thrilling to him. It was a way to learn without needing to seem overly suspicious. Really, he had about a thousand books in the library he needed to start pouring through so that he could better grasp just what had happened.
Though, if there was some conspiracy against people like him, he needed to be careful. It might not be safe to check out books on Hogwarts History willy-nilly. There was always the possibility that sort of thing would earn him an undue level of suspicion.
At least the journey to the History of Magic classroom was fairly uneventful, though he could swear he caught sight of some Slytherin giving him the stink eye.
He slipped into the sleepy, little room and took a seat in the front. It was something his father had always told him to do; sit as close to the board as possible. Apparently Professors tended to 'prefer' students who showed a greater interest in actually learning.
However, as soon as he sat down he realized something simple:
Professor Binns wasn't sitting there.
Instead, it was the strange man who'd helped the First Years onto the boats at the lake. He sat in the chair, his feet up on the desk, looking strangely pleased with himself. He had dark, grey-black hair and a sallow face cut deep with wrinkles. The languidity to his body language seemed to hint at a bit of drink being in his system.
Professor Binns had been one of few Professors Virgil knew, namely because he was a ghost. It sounded terribly interesting to be taught by him, but that suddenly seemed strangely unlikely.
"Excuse me." Virgil raised his hand, trying to keep his voice down, "Is-" he caught himself, checked his schedule and made sure that 'Professor Binns' was, indeed, still the teacher, "Is Professor Binns here today?"
It was hard to imagine a ghost needing to take a sick day, but it was Hogwarts. Quite a bit was possible in the grand scheme of things. The older man at the desk grinned a bit crookedly before kicking his feet off and leaning forward.
"Afraid Professor Binns isn't feeling well, kiddies." he began to address the entire class part way through the sentence, "Wasn't feeling well. A ghostly affliction of some sort, apparently. Not going to be joining us today, unfortunately."
Virgil's stomach twisted.
"Class dismissed, then?" Virgil turned around to find Carver Bentley sitting a row back, off to the right. The boy's question drew a few laughs, but mostly just an excited buzz that the strange substitute was all-too-happy to quash.
"Not so, kiddies!" he leaned back in the chair again, "Study hall for the rest of the period. Chop chop!" he clapped his hands, "And don't even think about sneaking out or slacking off. I've got eyes like. a. hawk."
Minutes later the man was dead asleep.
Virgil glanced back at Carver, the class slowly dissolving into various social circles. Gryffindor chatted amongst themselves, Hufflepuff gathered around a desk to swap trading cards and Slytherin gossiped furiously.
There weren't many Ravenclaw, just Carver and Edwina.
Virgil felt his face redden.
He didn't know them especially well, so he wasn't sure if he should try talking to them, but at the same time he couldn't say he felt like spending the entire period studying. Especially with Slytherin around, it would just single him out as a target for possible bullying.
Still, what did he say to them? Could he really just go up and start talking to them? They had both been perfectly nice to him, but that didn't make them friends by any means! No, it would be better, anyway, to just use the time to study. There were plenty of books that he could read on ancient history, which would be a much better use of time than talking to people.
Probably.
Virgil finally worked up the nerve to stand, making his way over to one of the bookcases nearby. There were volumes of lore there, almost enough to make his head spin. There were entire books dedicated to single years, while others were about individual events. The lives and deaths of Wizards Virgil had never even heard of, various rebellions, wars, battles, duels, the formation of various alliances and-
His heart stopped.
The Hidden War of the 18th Century.
Something about it just sounded... wrong.
What 'Hidden War'? How could it be hidden if there was a book about it? Who was it hidden from? The Ravenclaw had to know. He carefully removed it before returning to his seat, just about to sit down when he froze.
"Oi. Virg."
He looked up, finding Carver staring down at him with a look of... something. Resentment? His head was slumped into his arm, his gaze cold and dead. The Ravenclaw couldn't tell if his Housemate was utterly pissed or completely crushed. He just knew the look worried him.
"Y-yes?"
"C'mere. Wanna word, mate."
Virgil swallowed, shooting a look around the room as he quickly hurried over to his Housemate. His gaze locked with a rather furious looking Slytherin who he didn't recognize before turning away. The Ravenclaw hurried over, stopping on the opposite side of Carver's desk that he shared with Edwina.
"Sorry, did I do something?"
"Are your pants on backwards?" Edwina asked, curiously, "Is that how all Wizards wear their pants?"
"Uuuugh-"
"Those Slytheries put something on your chair, mate." Carver explained, sounding dead inside, "Was thinking 'bout calling them out, but I don't feel like dueling them. Just stay over here, will ya?"
Virgil felt his face burn. He hadn't noticed anything, but he definitely hadn't been looking for it. All this seemed to confirm was that Slytherin hated him already and he wasn't even a week into the first year.
He felt a pang of alarm, realizing if this was how they were treating him then Genny probably had it even worse. He tried to sink out of the way more, hoping the Slytherin would just leave him alone. It took him a moment to realize that he had something he needed to say:
"Thanks!" he whispered to Carver, who nodded glumly.
"Nothing doing, Virg." he glanced at the book the Ravenclaw was carrying before asking off-handedly, "'Hidden War'? What's that?"
"You don't know?" Edwina stared at him.
Carver just shrugged, "Not a history buff, am I?"
"It was a war fought between, well..." her voice fell to a whisper, "Us - the British Wizarding World - and the one out west. Across the sea." she looked between the two boys, "Have neither of you heard about this?! I was a Muggle until a few months ago and even I've heard of it!" her face lit up, "Oh! Does this mean I get to be the one answering questions this time?!"
"Sure. I'm sure Virg has loads." Carver yawned, "I'm keeping an eye on your stuff, mate. Don't want those snakes stealing nothing, you know?"
Virgil wasn't sure what had changed between earlier that period and now to utterly drain the enthusiasm from Carver, but he felt incredibly bad about it. Still, he couldn't bear the brightness shining from Edwina, who seemed desperate to answer his questions.
"I just..." he floundered, "Could use a refresher, I suppose."
"Oh! Of course! Well." Edwina thought for a moment, "It apparently began over arguments about 'secrecy' and that sort of thing. Apparently the Westerners wanted us to have to obey aaall these rules about keeping our society secret from Muggles!" she brightened a bit, "Like me! Except I'm now one of you. So 'we' thought they were too harsh and..." she scratched her head, "Well, it didn't end terribly well."
"What kind of rules?" Virgil asked, head tilted.
"I'm not sure, really." Edwina shrugged, "I just read a bit about it, but apparently they were terribly restrictive. We somehow lost and had to sign the deal anyway, though we managed to negotiate a few things out of it first."
The whole thing sounded like a headache and Virgil didn't like it. The 'West'? As in the MACUSA? They had a war with the MACUSA over the Statute of Secrecy? Or was any of it even called what it was? Was it still the Statute? Was the International Confederation of Wizards still established? And what would it mean if it wasn't?
He stared down at the book, feeling a distinct dread emanating from it. The more he learned about the world the less he liked it. A world that had had a proper Wizarding War between two different countries? That wasn't the sort of world he wanted to live in.
And the fact Binns was gone just made him nervous, for some reason. What could be wrong with a ghost to cause them to miss class? Had that ever happened before? Could ghosts get sick? Somehow, he seriously doubted it.
The Ravenclaw sunk his nose into the book, letting Carver mindlessly ask silly questions to Edwina, who was still quite happy to answer them to the best of her knowledge. It was nearing the end of the hour when Virgil was startled out of his body by Carver suddenly shouting.
"Oi!" he sat up, staring directly in the direction of Virgil's seat, "You mind, mate?"
A Slytherin was worryingly near the blonde boy's things, but whether or not they'd been messing with them, he couldn't be sure. They - an oblong boy with flat, black hair and a wide mouth - froze. He smiled.
"I was just checking to see if the teacher was still alive!" he said, with an overbearing attempt at innocence. Really, he was about as trustworthy as a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"Oi, teach!" Carver called, not bothering to look.
"Whuzzat? Where?" the man at the front of the class jumped back to life, sitting bolt upright and grinding the sleep from his eyes. He looked around, blinking crustily, his eyes eventually fixing on the fat Slytherin boy, "What're you doing out of your seat?"
"Checking on you... Mr. Moon." he said.
"Oh." Mr. Moon waved a hand, "Why? Not like I was asleep. Just resting my eyes! Now get back to... studying." he leaned back, clearly about to succumb to sleep again, "And that goes for... all of..."
He was out again.
The fat boy glared at Carver as he returned to his seat, the Ravenclaw boy not taking his eyes off of him until he was far away from Virgil's things. The blonde boy could almost cry from how diligently Carver was working to keep him safe.
What had he ever done to help Carver? Or to even look good to him? Almost climb in bed with him? Have to get woken up by him, because he was too sleepy? Wear his pants backwards in front of him?
"Th... thanks." Virgil mumbled.
"I just really hate bullies, mate." Carver murmured, stonily, "If they try anything, lemme know and I'll come running. I'm not the best duelist, but I know a jinx or two they prob'ly don't."
"Thanks..."
Class ended not too much later, Virgil freezing as he gathered his things. His seat was covered with some kind of sticky, green slime that he recognized as a Stickfast Hex. Colloshoo. The fact a First Year had managed to conjure so much of the stuff was a bit worrying.
"Ugh! Mr. Moon!" he carted the chair over to the sleeping man, "There's..." snore, "on the..." snoooore, "...chair."
He left it there, out of the way enough that it'd undoubtedly draw suspicion from whoever tried to use it next. It wasn't hard to notice the sticky substance, really, he was just dreadfully unobservant. He elected to keep the book about the Hidden War with him, reaching the doorway just in time to overhear a conversation taking place just beyond.
"-really clever, aren't you, Bentley?"
"So he made one of your boys look like a prat." Carver said, "Not hard, is it?"
Virgil froze.
What was he supposed to do? It was clearly a conversation about him. Carver was getting trouble just because of him. What did he do? Wait for them to leave? He couldn't. Not after Carver had stuck up for him.
"How about a duel later, then?" the fat boy from earlier asked, sounding pleased with himself, "I bet Warty would love to get a spot of revenge on you Ravenclaw nitwits!"
"Fine by me."
Virgil felt his head starting to hurt. It wasn't as if he thought he was a better duelist than Carver, certainly, but he felt like he had to do something. But what?!
"I'll figure out a date and time, Mr. Bentley."
"Yeah, Bentley." there was a second voice, one a lot more rat-like, though Virgil could honestly say he didn't recognize it. He found himself frozen as the confrontation ended, unable to move. He was a coward.
There was a very good reason he wasn't in Gryffindor.
"Pricks." Carver sighed, "You alright, mate?"
The words pierced through to Virgil, who found the nerve to step forward. He couldn't have really been sure they were directed at him, but somehow he just knew they were. The instant he stepped out of the doorway and into the hallway beyond, Carver wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Looks like I'm your big, fat hero, ain't I?" he asked, wearily.
"I should be the one to do it." Virgil mumbled, "They're mad at me, after all. You shouldn't have to-"
"Like I said, mate. I hate bullies." he began to drag the other Ravenclaw away, "And I don't mind a duel every now and then. 'S why I bothered learning wandwork in the first place, innit?" he glanced down at his shorter friend, "What's your next class, then?"
"Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Perfect!" Carver smiled, "Let's get to it!"