In the Shadow of Our Past Selves

by The Iron Assassin

In the past, Lillith Rosier left without a word. In the past, Sebastian Sallow lost everything, and now in the present he is fighting to keep the ones he loves safe. In the present, Regis Landry has a power no one else has and has responsibilities bigger than he could ever imagine. The future is not set and it is up to Regis, Sebastian, and Ominis to make their own future.

2. The Promise to Lie - Summer 1890

"I think I'm going to be sick." Regis placed his hand on his stomach as everything from the past few hours finally hit him. He got stabbed, he got punched, he got tossed across rooms, he got hit with magic he had never seen before, and he even saw someone die before his eyes all within the last few hours. Now that he had arrived at Hogwarts his adrenaline finally started to dwindle and his anxiety started to spike. He already knew that being a new student as a 5th-year was going to have its troubles. He was ready and confident about being a new student but to add on the fact that people wanted him dead was too much for anyone to comprehend. He could prepare for school but he could not prepare for his entire life to change just because people were power-hungry.

Professor Fig turned his attention away from the Great Hall door onto Regis. His demeanor immediately turned into one of concern. The two hadn't known each other for long but they cared for one another and Professor Fig didn't want his student to be in distress. Still, he already could tell that the year would be more than either of them bargained for. He just found out that his wife Miriam had spent the last of her life researching ancient magic and now his protege was getting attacked for the same magic. It didn't signal anything good to come. Still, there wasn't much he could do. People were now out to kill Regis and the only solution Fig saw was to continue Miriam's research. Then hopefully once they uncovered the mystery Regis would be safe. It was a long shot but it was the only one Fig saw for the two. At least for now, he could convince Regis to have fun for his first days at Hogwarts before their work really began.

"You'll be ok. A lot has happened but you don't need to worry about that now. Focus your attention on the sorting ceremony. This is a momentous moment for your future at Hogwarts. Your house will become your family and not to be biased but I highly recommend Gryffindor. It is the best house after all." Professor Fig squeezed Regis's shoulder trying to give him some comfort. Fig knew firsthand how impactful the schooling at Hogwarts was. He met his wife right in these very halls. He even left doing research with her to become a teacher. He loved the school and it would take years for him to even slightly describe his love of Hogwarts to Regis. He knew that Regis would just have to live it himself if he was ever going to understand the importance of the school. Fig just hoped he didn't take too many steps in the wrong direction as many students did.

"Yeah… I guess you are right. I can't do anything tonight so I might as well enjoy my first night at Hogwarts as much as I can." Regis smiled weakly. He wasn't back to one hundred percent but he felt slightly better. Whatever path this ancient magic would take him could be figured out in the morning. For now, he had to be sorted and he could really get something to eat.

"Now, I'm no expert but that seems more appropriate." Professor Fig waved his wand and Regis watched as his clothes slowly turned into the uniform of a Hogwarts student. It felt weird to be wearing and honestly was like a shock to Regis' system. It was really happening. He was about to walk through the massive doors to his left and officially become a new student at Hogwarts. He had no idea what that really meant but he couldn't help but feel a bit excited. So many people seemed to love the school and Regis was ready to find out why that was. "I will study the locket we found as soon as I can but I first need to contact the Ministry. They need to be informed about George and be warned about Ranrok. I ask that for now, you keep everything that has happened a secret."

"Of course."

"Thank you. Are you ready for the sorting ceremony now?"

"As ready as I think I will ever be." Fig nodded and stuck his head out the door to get the attention of someone so that Regis could be let in. Sadly Fig grabbed the attention of Headmaster Black and immediately Black looked annoyed as he made his way over to the door from the other side of the Great Hall.

"Headmaster Black is coming, prepare yourself he doesn't seem to be in a good mood… Actually, he is never in a good mood."

Headmaster Black stepped through the doors and Regis could immediately feel the disdain the man had for life. His face looked like it had never seen happiness and his gait felt like he thought he was better than everyone, though Regis assumed part of that was because he was a member of the prestigious Black family. Black especially seemed to dislike Profesor Fig. Regis couldn't understand why because to him there seemed to be nothing to dislike about the man. He was a great Professor and Regis wouldn't be where he was without him.

"Fig… nice of you to join us. The Sorting Ceremony is over." The annoyance in the headmaster's voice was unimaginable. Regis couldn't believe someone could be so angry just because someone was a little late.

"There were…" Professor Fig looked at Regis trying to find the best words to explain their situation. Out of everyone, Headmaster Black couldn't find out about the ancient magic so he had to tread very lightly if he wanted to keep everything a secret from the headmaster. Though the goblin rebellion was of the utmost importance. "Complications."

"Complications?"

"It seems the goblin problem has-"

"Enough. Goblins. I've no time for rumors. And I am rapidly losing whatever patience I had left." Headmaster Black turned his attention to Regis which made the boy immediately gulp as he prepared himself for whatever the headmaster was about to throw at him. "If you're lucky, we might still be able to get you sorted this evening."

Without another word, Headmaster Black turned around and headed towards the Great Hall doors. Regis didn't know what to do as he stood there frozen in his place. He thought Black would give him some sort of instruction to follow but Regis did not have that luxury.

"Go ahead before he changes his mind." Regis nodded at Fig at his instruction and jogged his way up to catch the headmaster. "I'll be in touch."

Regis stepped through the doors and was greeted with sounds of talking, eating, laughing, and just all the noises of students that are happy to be reunited with their friends again. Regis couldn't help but smile. The scenery also wasn't bad. The Great Hall was a ginormous room that felt even bigger by the fact that the ceiling wasn't even a normal ceiling. It was of the night sky, stars twinkling every few inches. It was a sight to behold and Regis couldn't help but be glad he could use magic. Creating something like that was wonderful and he could only hope his newfound ability to see ancient magic could do something just as amazing.

Regis' stomach then made him focus on the two tables on either side of him. Each table was filled to the brim with students and food. From what Regis knew each table was its own house and it made him wonder which table would be his for the rest of his school career. He tried to look at each table to see if any called to him but he quickly realized that eyes were following him. Not only that but the room was slowly but surely getting quieter.

Regis had completely forgotten that he had arrived late and was now walking in with the headmaster like he was the most important person at the school. He supposed he was going to be the talk of the school in the morning anyway. A new 5th-year student was already surprising enough but he bet that in no time all of the students would hear about the dragon attack. There wasn't much he could do and he definitely didn't want to look at everyone watching him so instead he put his head forward and walked like he was supposed to be the most important person. People were going to talk anyway so at least Regis could give them something to talk about with his show of confidence.

Before Regis even knew it he was sitting on a stool in front of everyone sorting hat on his head.

"Oh, there you are." Regis' face twisted into confusion. He didn't know everything about the hat but that definitely felt like a weird thing to say.

"Do… do you know me or something?"

"Of course… everyone knows you."

"They do?"

"Yes… you are the new 5th-year student after all."

"Oh… ok." Regis was still suspicious about the hat but it was a magic sentient hat so he supposed he really couldn't question the whims of it.

"You come to me with preferences and preconceptions… certain expectations"

"I suppose… I mean Professor Fig wants me to be a Gryffindor."

"Oh, the house of the daring… not quite you yet."

"Thanks…" Regis was so glad a hat just told him he wasn't daring.

"I do see you have found a newfound ability."

"How do you know that?"

"I know everything you know… and then some." Regis wanted to question the hat but he also knew that it had been doing this a long time. It knew what it was doing even if Regis had no idea himself. "I can see your mind racing with what this means for you. I can see that you wonder how much power it holds. If people are willing to kill you, that must mean something important."

Regis hadn't thought about it in detail too much but he supposed the hat was telling the truth. The leader of the goblin rebellion Ranrok tried to kill him mere hours ago. Out of everyone that was a risk to Ranrok, he decided to attack a 15-year-old boy. That alone told Regis that whatever was going on with him was important, let alone the vault at Gringotts that he was able to find. Plus Regis couldn't help but think of Miriam. She died for this ancient magic and now Regis was able to see it. If he was somehow able to understand it better he couldn't even imagine what he could do with it. He could become powerful enough to not only protect himself from Ranrok but also avenge Miriam. It was honestly a fun thought Regis had which was surprising to him. He never really thought about power like that before but it also felt like a natural thought process for him. It was like his kid self was too preoccupied with life to think about power and now that Regis had the whole world open to him he could finally settle into who he was supposed to be all along.

"Ah… I see we have finally chosen a house. I am glad we agree."

"I have?"

"You belong in… SLYTHERIN." Immediately one of the tables had a bunch of people begin to cheer, it wasn't everyone but it was enough to get groans from the other tables. Regis couldn't help but smile at the warm welcome from some of the Slytherin members. He traced his eyes up and down his new table looking at his housemates. There was a girl with short black hair standing up pumping her fist in the air. There was a guy with blonde hair reading a book who couldn't care less. Then Regis' eyes locked on someone close to the front of the table with slightly curly brown hair who Regis could have sworn winked and smirked at him. Regis adjusted his glasses because he didn't have that good of eyesight so he was just going to pretend like he imagined it.

One of the professors took the sorting hat off of him and he stood up off the stool. Then just like Fig had done before the same professor waved her wand and his clothes turned a shade of emerald green. Regis couldn't help but feel like it fit him.

Headmaster Black stepped up as Regis moved back to give him space to make an announcement.

"One more thing, due to the injury during the quidditch final last spring this year's quidditch season has been canceled." The Great Hall filled with boos and Regis almost wanted to join them. He was actually excited about Quidditch. He was hoping to try out as a keeper and take his house to victory. Now it was canceled and he couldn't help but think Black canceled it not for the injury but because he hates his students. "Enough. I could have banned flying altogether, don't make me change my mind about that. You are here for academics and I'm sure you all have plenty to do before tomorrow."

All the students understood the command and stood up to leave the hall. Once most of the students left the headmaster turned his attention back onto Regis.

"Professor Weasley, would you be so kind as to show our new student his common room?"

"I shall see to it, sir." The professor who had dealt with the sorting hat turned her attention onto Regis. "I'm Professor Weasley. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you too, Professor."

"As the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts, you couldn't be in better hands to show you to your common room. Please follow me."

The two made their way through Hogwarts and towards the dungeon. Regis couldn't help but let his mind wander as he passed so many wonderful things through the hallways. There were so many things to look at. Moving paintings. Ghost flying around. Inanimate objects seemingly moving for no reason. Honestly, the only time he didn't pay attention to his surroundings was when Professor Weasly pointed something out like an important classroom or historical statue.

Before Regis even knew it they were at the dungeons and facing a blank wall.

"It's quite uncommon for a student to begin as a 5th-year. It may be a challenge but I am sure you are up for it."

"Well, I am apparently a Slytherin so I would assume my ambition will help me achieve the most at Hogwarts. So I can confidently say I am up for the challenge."

"I suspected as much. And since you are a Slytherin this is the entrance to your common room. To enter you just have to say the correct password, aspiration." Regis stepped up to the blank wall and he couldn't help but get excited as his life at Hogwarts was about to start. He had his house, he had his common room, and in the morning he would start his classes.

"Aspiration." Immediately from the floor, the body of a silver snake started slithering up the wall in a u-shape. In its wake, an engraved door appeared and slowly began to open as Regis took a step closer.

"Well done. Now go get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow. I'll be back in the morning to show you around Hogwarts sometime before your first class."

"Thank you, professor."

"Oh, and you will be sharing a room with Sebastian Sallow, Ominis Gaunt, Adem Lestrange, and Niran Malfoy." Regis' eyes went wide as he registered the names that he just heard. Gaunt, Lestrange, and Malfoy were three of the biggest names in the wizarding world. There was no way he could sleep in the same room as those four. Regis was a no-name new student who was attacked by a dragon, if anyone was going to take an interest in him it would be a member of a pure-blood family. Those families had power and knew everything. They kept track of everything going on in the wizarding world and Regis was the new unknown variable thrown into Hogwarts. He knew he wasn't going to have an incognito experience at Hogwarts but there was a better chance of normalcy if he didn't share a room with the big three.

"Those are some important names…"

"Oh, I see you have heard of Gaunt, Lestrange, and Malfoy before. Don't worry about what you have heard about their families. Students at Hogwarts take care of one another and Fig himself recommended that you dorm with those four." Regis couldn't believe Fig had recommended him to that specific room. Bunking with those four felt like only trouble could come Regis' way. Honestly, he didn't even think about the fact that he would be sleeping with a bunch of other people until now, let alone the most powerful families in the wizarding world. "Are you ok with that?"

"Um… yeah I see no problem." That was a bold-faced lie. Regis saw many problems in his future but he wasn't going to admit that to Professor Weasly. His future self would just have to deal with the consequences when they came.

"Ok then. I will see you in the morning."

"See you in the morning." Regis stepped inside the common room and let the door close behind him. What Professor Weasly didn't know was that he was not going to sleep in his room tonight. It wasn't just because his roommates were more important than what Regis was ready for, it was the fact that he didn't even think he could sleep. His life had changed so fast and his mind raced with all the new information. Though he guessed he was also nervous to sleep with the boys. Everything was so new and Regis couldn't help but think that he would never get used to it.

Regis waited a few minutes before stepping outside of the common room. He knew the rule that students had a curfew but Regis wanted to explore. The call to find every nook and cranny in the school was loud and he couldn't help but smile at getting to spend hours exploring. The tiny bit of troublemaker in Regis enjoyed the idea of trying not to get caught while getting into places students weren't allowed. Plus he assumed he could give the new student card to get out of most trouble. As long as he made it back to the room before Professor Weasly came to pick him up he assumed he would be fine.

Regis didn't know what he should have expected as he made his way back into the common room in the morning but the whispers weren't something he thought would happen. As soon as his feet left the stairs it felt like all attention was on him without anyone even looking at him. He saw no eyes go his way but he felt his housemates' attention. The worst part wasn't the attention though it was the few but very loud whispers talking about him.

"Did you see the way he just waltzed into the Great Hall last night?"

"A Ministry escort… like he's so special."

"Starting as a 5th year? I bet he is absolutely rubbish at magic."

"I heard he lived with Professor Fig. How embarrassing."

"Landry… what kind of wizard name is that?"

Regis wanted to leave and not even deal with it all but he knew that was exactly what these people wanted. Plus if he left Professor Weasly might come while he was gone and not missing her was more important than some assholes. What he needed to do was play it off like he wasn't even listening. He needed to go find someone that didn't care about how weird his situation was, maybe even find someone that cheered for him last night.

Regis' eyes scanned the room and landed on familiar brown hair by the fire. He was walking back and forth reading a book and Regis thought it would be the perfect time to introduce himself. One, the guy didn't notice him enter the common room, and two, Regis needed to make friends and he might as well start now.

"Already knew that…"

"Maybe you need to go find a new book."

"Can I help you?" The boy threw his book down on the chair and Regis raised an eyebrow at him. The attitude seemed unnecessary. "Ah. The new 5th year. I'm Sebastian Sallow. Welcome to Slytherin. I was supposed to welcome you last night but you didn't want to meet your new roommates."

Regis kept his cool and thankfully for him, it was the normal one of the four of his roommates and not one of the pure-bloods. He could talk to a normal guy hopefully.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, I have many sleepless nights myself."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you. My name is Regis Landry."

"Regis… lovely name… So, Regis, I must ask a Ministry escort to school? That's quite unique." Regis wasn't that surprised that it seemed like Sebastian already knew about what happened to him. He suspected that's why most of the students started gossiping about him anyway. A dragon attack in the air was a rare occurrence and students love to talk. Though Regis didn't know how much Sebastian actually knew. He promised Professor Fig to keep what happened a secret so keeping close to the bare bones of the story was the best course of action.

"Oh, he was just friends with Professor Fig and wanted to come along."

"I do hear that Professor Fig works a lot for the Ministry when he is not teaching. I am sorry to hear about what happened to the Ministry guy, glad you and Professor Fig are safe though."

"Yeah, I'm glad Professor Fig was there because I probably would have been dragon food without him."

"How did you and Fig escape?"

"I actually don't really remember. It all happened so fast."

"Sorry, don't mean to press, just curious is all."

"You're good. If our roles were reversed I would probably want to know about the kid who survived a dragon attack." Regis had to change the conversation topic before he got the urge to spill everything to Sebastian. It was not only a cool story but Regis wanted help to understand what happened to him. He knew he could only talk to Fig though. The freckled face boy in front of him was not allowed to be his confidant. "Can I ask about the book you were reading?"

"Just a spell book I picked up but it doesn't have anything I am looking for. Not every spell you need can be found in our assigned textbooks."

"And what spells are you looking for?"

"I actually don't know. I just know that when I come across it I will know it when I see it. If you want you could always come a join me in the restricted section, it is quite the secluded place." Sebastian put on his best smirk and Regis couldn't help but freeze for a second. He was pretty sure now that the wink he thought he saw last night was genuine and it definitely made Regis feel flustered now thinking about the truth. He just hoped his face didn't show anything.

"Um… I'm not really the type to break a rule that's as big as sneaking into the restricted section." It was a semi-lie coming from Regis. He definitely would if he knew he could avoid trouble or if his curiosity was strong enough but to go with Sebastian seemed like a completely different beast.

"I see… well I promise it'll be fun if you do decide to join me."

"I'll think about it…"

"If you want something with less trouble I could show you to your first class if you want."

"Thanks but I have to meet with Professor Weasly before classes start. She will probably be here any minute." That thankfully wasn't a lie though Regis didn't actually know if he wanted to take Sebastain's offer or not.

"Oh well, I'll see you around then. Oh, and you should go talk to my best friend and your other roommate Ominis. He's over by the window." Sebastian winked and turned around to grab his book. Regis swallowed as he tried to calm his nerves. He wasn't used to… whatever Sebastian was doing and couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach. They had potentially just met for the first time so Regis couldn't help with whatever way his body wanted to react. He just hoped if they continued to interact Regis could get used to it if this was something Sebastian always did.

After a second of calming down, Regis decided that he might as well talk to Ominis. Even with all that he knows about the Gaunts, Ominis couldn't possibly be that bad if he was best friends with Sebastian. Plus he would have to interact with all his roommates eventually and he might as well just rip off the bandaid now.

Regis made his way over to the other part of the Slytherin common room. It was a nice little room definitely made more for sitting and comfort than the other room. Plus the giant windows into the lake not only gave an eerie feeling but were lovely to look at. Regis even wondered if any of the lake creatures ever said hi to the Slytherin students through them.

Thankfully only a few people were in this part of the common room and no one seemed to want to pay attention to him. Either they already had their fun gossip time or they just didn't care.

"Ah, the new 5th year, Regis Landry." Regis stopped in his tracks as a voice came from behind him. He slowly turned and there leaning on a small part of the wall was a girl with a black ponytail.

"At your service..."

"So talking to Sebastian Sallow already huh?"

"Um… yeah like a second ago."

"And about to go talk to Ominis."

"Were you listening to our conversation?"

"No, I'm just smart, and talking to him would obviously be your next move."

"And what will I do after I talk to Ominis?"

"Professor Weasly will arrive to show you around the school and give you a book to help you catch up to the rest of us."

"That's oddly specific."

"Well, I have many skills like being smarter than everyone and being the best broom flier in Hogwarts just to name a few. The most important skill for you to know right now is that I… know… everything." Regis couldn't help but imagine that this girl knew secrets that he didn't even know about himself. Maybe she even knew his favorite magic spell because there were too many for him to pick just one.

"So does the smartest person in Hogwarts have a name."

"Imelda Reyes."

"Well, Imelda, have anything that I should know about right now besides my next few minutes of life?"

"Oh nothing of huge importance right now. I just wanted to introduce myself because you're the talk of the school. That means many people will want to know more about you and might come to me for that information."

"And so what… you're going to spill all my secrets to the whole school."

"Oh, Merlin no. I keep most things a secret unless people need to know or if I need entertainment. I like knowing more than everyone so most of your secrets are safe with me."

"That's good to know. Well, I'm going to go talk to Ominis but it was nice talking to you. We definitely should race sometime. I would love to see if I could be the best flier at this school." Imelda's eyes immediately had a sparkle to them at the mention of competition and Regis knew that would be her reaction. If there was one thing Regis already could tell about Imelda was that she loved to be challenged.

"Oh, I look forward to it." They nodded at each other and went their separate ways.

Regis made his way over to who he already knew to be Ominis. He knew what most of the members of the pure-blood families looked like and Ominis was no exception. He looked like most of the other Gaunt's very straight brown hair, white skin, and a posture that looked like he was a man of importance.

"Hi, Ominis. Sebastian said I should come talk to you, I'm Regis Landry."

"I'm guessing you're the new 5th year."

"Yep, also your new roommate."

"It's nice to finally meet you. You had quite the memorable arrival."

"Well, I didn't mean to have a memorable arrival but at least people have more stuff to talk about instead of just me being the new kid."

"That's true, getting attacked by a dragon is something people will want to talk about."

"It's a wonderful way to start my life at Hogwarts."

"I've been here since 1st year and I can tell you it will all blow over but if you need any help navigating your first day feel free to ask me for help."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that. So can I ask about the Slytherin house? Do you like it?" Regis obviously knew what a Gryffindor felt about their house interference to Professor Fig but he wondered what a Slytherin thought about their house especially a pure-blood Slytherin who would basically be destined for this house from the moment they were born.

"Well, I have a complicated relationship with being a Slytherin. Everyone in my family is a Slytherin so I expected to be sorted into this house even if I didn't want to be."

"You didn't want to be a Slytherin?"

"No, I didn't want the attachments of it. The dark arts. The evil wizards. Everything bad that is attached to Slytherin I didn't want. With my family name, people already have their preconceptions about me and I feel being sorted into Slytherin made it worse. It also doesn't help that I am blind and most 1st year students aren't old enough to be mature about it."

"I'm sorry to hear about that."

"Don't be. I do love this house though it took me a while to. Plus my idiot friend Sebastian is also in this house so if we both weren't in Slytherin then he probably would have done something to get himself expelled at this point." Regis laughed at Ominis' comment. It was a sign of true friendship when one of the people in the friendship calls the other one stupid. He didn't know Ominis too much yet but he could see that Ominis might be the smarter one of the two.

"So I guess I shouldn't tell him that you called him an idiot."

"Oh no please do. It helps him keep his ego in check." Regis laughed again he couldn't help it. He could tell Ominis wasn't even trying to be funny it was just him being honest which made it even funnier.

"Actually speaking of Sebastian, he asked if I wanted to go the restricted section alone with him because it's secluded."

"See an idiot. Don't pay him any mind. He tries and fails to flirt with everyone. He even tried to flirt with Imelda our 1st year and she almost killed him." Regis tried to picture that interaction between Sebastian and Imelda and he could only see it going wrong. Regis could already tell Imelda was definitely not the type to go for Sebastian and he's honestly surprised Sebastian is still alive to tell the tale. Imelda just gives the don't mess with me or you'll die personality.

"I'm surprised Sebastian is still alive."

"Sebastian hadn't hit full ego yet so I think he made a complete fool of himself and she took pity on him."

"You know what, that fits."

"New 5th year! Professor Weasly's waiting for you, just up the stairs." Regis looked toward the sound of the yell but saw no one of interest. What Regis did see was Imelda still leading on the wall where he originally met her. They locked eyes and Imelda mouthed the words 'I told you' which made Regis roll his eyes. Regis could already tell they would have an interesting relationship.

"Sorry to leave Ominis but I shouldn't keep Professor Weasly waiting."

"No worries. I'll see you around, new 5th year."

Regis went up the common room stairs coming face to face with Professor Weasly. Regis felt weird about getting a professor to escort him around the school. He suspected that not even the 1st years had the luxury but he wasn't about to complain.

"Good morning. I trust you're ready for your first day at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty excited."

"Given your unique situation, you will need to catch up to your classmates and you are expected to complete your O.W.L.s at the end of the year. Lucky for you and after talking with the Headmaster and the Ministry we've devised something to help you succeed here." Professor Weasly lifted her arms and out of thin air, a massive book appeared. It slowly lowered to her hands. She grabbed the book and then handed it to Regis. He couldn't help but notice the intricacies on the cover. It was mostly brown with a lot of gold detail, especially on the Hogwarts H symbol on the cover. It was a beautiful book and Regis could only imagine what the book could do given that the Ministry was involved. Then the book popped out of Regis' hands and floated in the air. It opened sending papers and symbols flying all around the two. Then just as quickly it closed and Regis grabbed it before it could explode with magic again.

"What is it?"

"It is a Wizard's Field Guide. It should help you keep track of what you are learning as you make your way through the school year."

"Thank you, I really appreciate the help."

"Let me show you how it works." For the next few minutes, Professor Weasly showed Regis around the school and how to use the book. It could do everything Regis could need for the school year. It had a map of not only Hogwarts but of the villages around the school. It kept track of important locations like where Regis' classes were. It also told him about interesting paintings and statues around the school. Professor Weasly also showed Regis floo flames by making him travel to the Central Hall. It was a lot of information at once but Regis couldn't help but enjoy it all.

"Wow, floo flames make traveling around a lot easier."

"Yes, and Central Hall makes getting around the castle easier as well. It's basically our King's Cross station at the school. That I believe is all you need to know for now. Today you have Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms class and your field guide should be able to help you get there. You also need to go to Hogsmeade today to replace the supplies you lost from the dragon attack. Plus many of the professors have extra assignments for you which your field guide can help keep track of."

"Ok, thank you for everything Professor Weasly."

"I know it is a lot to take in on your first day but I trust you are up for the task. Professor Fig has definitely taught you well."

"Yeah, I believe he did."

"I must say he has been pretty vague as to the events preceding your arrival, specifically what happened after the dragon attack." Regis tried to keep his face neutral at the mention of what happened to him. He didn't want to lie to Professor Weasly but he had a promise to keep.

"I'm afraid to say that nothing much happened. The dragon attacked, Professor Fig saved us, and we made our way to Hogwarts."

"Hmmm… basically what Profesor Fig said." Almost as if he heard people talking about him Fig appeared next to the two coming from one of the many stairs of the Central Hall. "Speak of the devil. We were just talking about how well you have taught our new student."

"I can't take all the credit, they have a rare aptitude for magic." Professor Fig looked proudly at Regis and he couldn't help but smile. It felt good to know that Regis had made his mentor proud.

"I'm glad you both arrived safely when there were so many ways to get to Hogwarts yet you chose to fly right in the path of a dragon."

"I wouldn't say I chose to fly in the dragon's path. It seemed to choose us."

"Very well… I must get to class. Have a nice day Regis and after you have attended your classes please come to my classroom so we can get you to Hogsmeade."

"Of course Professor Weasley." Regis waited until Professor Weasly was out of earshot. He didn't know what Professor Fig wanted to talk to him about but he assumed he wouldn't want the professor to hear it. "Good morning Professor Fig."

"I heard you evade Professor Weasly's interrogation, nicely done. I know it's probably hard to lie but our path might not be one that she approves of."

"I understand."

"I just wanted to give you peace of mind about the locket. I have yet to find anything but I promise once I do I will send for you."

"Thank you for keeping me updated."

"Well, you have a long day ahead of you so I shall let you go to your first class. I will call upon you once I find out more information."

"Ok, I will see you later then." Professor Fig left Regis' side and Regis pulled out his field guide. He flipped to the page of the book with the map of Hogwarts and looked for his first class. Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't hard to find and didn't seem too far of a walk. Plus once he had the location set a golden glow emanated from the book and began to head towards the direction of the class. At least that was Regis' best guess. He didn't think the class would be hard to find but he thought he might as well get some use out of the book. Plus he was already the talk of the school and if people saw him follow a golden light he would become the most famous person at the school.

Being a Slytherin was really getting to him.