Dissindere Temporalis

So I finished this chapter days ago, and angsted over it for a while. I loved writing it, Ross' head was super fun, but I always want to make sure I hit all the beats in each chapter.

Side note: I've been generating AI art for this story. I know it doesn't replace the skills of a talented artist, however it's nice for me to have visual aids when I write a story. Even before AI I'd go on an aesthetic hunt whenever I would write so it would be clear in my head. I'm thinking of posting the ones that have been on the AO3 version of this story on a tumblr.

misscricketfics

And as always I love chatting with you all on Discord. Invite code is MsRt5Pd

As always I hope you enjoy!

Exemplaria

"Let no one think of me as humble or weak or passive; let them understand I am of a different kind:

Dangerous to my enemies,

Loyal to my friends.

To such a life glory belongs."

"Medea" - Euripedes

Ross loved his friends dearly, but sometimes he did wonder how he'd ended up with such a dramatic crew.

As a child he'd heard again and again from the kids he'd hung out with about how Slytherin was a House of slimy snakes, and how bad wizards almost always came from there. Alastor, buoyed by his parents profession, had been one of the loudest proclaimers of this, as well as the virtues of being a Gryffindor.

Of course his social circle was largely those who came from 'Lion Families'.

Just as Bash, Brax, and the girls had grown up among primarily Slytherin and Ravenclaw families, Ross had grown up among those who had long histories of being sorted into Gryffindor House, or the 'almost as acceptable' Hufflepuff.

He hadn't really cared, honestly.

Gryffindor was familiar, and while he didn't consider himself particularly brave or chivalrous, he was pleased when he was sorted into the familiarity of the red and gold.

He'd also felt a bit smug because Moody, whenever Ross decided to be a smart mouthed little prick (which was often), liked to insist that he was never going to make it into Gryffindor.

Of course once he got sorted into the bloody house, that was when Moody's taunts shifted to how sub-par he was as a Gryffindor, galvanised into being more vicious by Ross' friendship with Ron Weasley, who Moody detested.

It was hard not to let the comments get under his skin, because Ross had always wondered if he was actually supposed to be a Gryffindor.

He didn't consider himself to be particularly brave, he definitely wasn't a hero by any stretch of the imagination. Not like Ron, fiercely staunch and loyal to his friends and with no fear of standing up to anyone who said anything against them. Not like Kara, quieter and more determined, and with a keen sense of justice.

Ross would have been happy with a normal, mediocre, boring life.

Average grades.

A fun, charming wife.

An okay career.

Kids that he could love and play with.

He didn't want much, he just… didn't care enough to want more.

But he was protective.

He had to be with three sisters younger than him. They were a complete menace, all emotion, all the time, which was why he found himself getting along so well with the girls of the group. He was the perfect brother to the boys, and safe harbour for the girls.

In fact he very much saw the girls of the group like he did his sisters.

Aurora was fierce, independent, scary smart in the way that made him think that she could and would plan his murder so flawlessly that she'd never be suspected. She was ruthless, driven, and with an air of complete control. He could absolutely see why Tom and Aurora got along so damn well, they were two chips off the same dark ice block.

Scary, both of them.

Druella was sweet, refined and more restrained than Aurora, but she was smart too. He'd seen enough of her gently winding people around her finger, before sending them off to do her bidding, with absolutely no idea they'd been led to that choice by the petite blonde girl.

Kel was quiet, but always watching, those blue grey eyes older than they should be. She had this air of fragility, like glass on the verge of shattering, or mist hanging in the air. He liked her, wanted no harm to come her way but… he was profoundly uncomfortable by her gift. The future, fate, all that rot… well that was too serious. Too confronting.

Ross didn't like considering the future, nor did he like the idea of destiny, fate.

He liked things to be boring. Safe.

He was such a terrible Gryffindor.

Hermione was warm and personable, but she took life way too seriously. That made more sense now he knew her history, knew what she'd been through. He enjoyed making her laugh, especially the times he managed to do it when she was drinking.

She would always snort, and would always get her drink up her nose.

It was one of his favourite things.

Miss T was the safest person he'd ever met, warm and friendly and full of sarcastic retorts and the dorkiest jokes. She knew when to be serious, and when to relax, which was kind of important in a group that took things as seriously as they did. She was emotional though, over emotional at times, and it blinded her to the facts, to the reality of the world.

She could and would get her heart broken so easily, by every hurt, every injustice, every pain…

She had the best intentions. But damn if she sometimes needed to just…

Anyway.

Victoria and Kara were his favourites.

Kara was steady, kind and determined with a bit of steel to her spine. She was still unsure in the world she'd suddenly become a part of, even four years later, but he found her quiet, dogged determination endearing.

She was also fun, goofy in a way he loved. She was the one who would banter back and forth with him, until it became utterly ridiculous. She was the one who would flop onto a squashy chair, uncaring of how graceful or ladylike she was.

She was the one to wander down the stairs on a Sunday monday, red hair half up, half down, loose pajamas on and a grin on her face

She was also the one who dragged him out of bed far too early, by his standards, and made him jog with her around the lake.

"I read somewhere that apparently physical endurance is essential if you want to get better at duelling." Kara informed him one morning when he whined, "I may not have the background but I am going to outlast all those smug, priggish…"

He was the one who always had to go, because he was the unlucky bastard who was in the same house with her. But at least Ron suffered the same fate.

Ron just wasn't as much of a morning person as he was.

That made it entertaining and the others, once they caught wind of what they were doing, started to join in.

But there was always at least one or two mornings where it was just him and Kara, laughing as they ran.

And then there was Vic.

Victoria was dry, full of the most sarcastic and droll commentary and she had a fatalistic view of the world he found refreshing. Most of their friends were idealists, it was exhausting, Victoria, thankfully was very much more of a pragmatist.

He thought she was hilarious, and he also liked that she was smart, but couldn't be bothered really pushing herself about topics in which she had no interest.

Charms? She was a whiz. But anything else? It was done to a passable standard and no more.

Nor did she care that her scores could be higher.

She was also as bemused by their group's seemingly pre-destined glory as he was, but slowly both of them were coming to accept it.

Because Ross would have been happy with a normal life.

Before.

Now…

Now he realised that he would do a great deal to protect his friends.

Even if they were completely dramatic.

One only had to watch Draco bloody Malfoy sweep out of a room in high dudgeon, nose high in the air, to roll your eyes at the drama queen.

Tom wasn't as much of a Diva, but he definitely had a sense of the dramatic. Theatric.

Bash had all the timing of a great tragic or comedy.

Abraxas had the tortured aristocrat down.

Somehow it seemed to be a requirement for Slytherin.

Cunning, Self Preservation, Shrewdness, Ambition and Melodrama.

"What do you think of this Coven thing?" Vic asked him and Kara one afternoon.

It was a sunny winter day, and so they'd bundled themselves outside, using warming charms on the blankets they were sitting on.

The others were off doing various things.

Tom and Hermione were cataloguing Slytherin's Library, using some ridiculously nerdy indexing spell she'd come up with.

Harry, Ron, Tierra, Sebastian, Abraxas and Draco were playing a friendly game of Quidditch.

Druella and Aurora were watching.

Kel had disappeared with some vague explanation about a project that she had refused to expand on.

Which left him and Kara and Vic to enjoy each other's company.

"I mean, I'm wary." Ross sighed softly, laying back on the rug with his arms under his head, "It was banned by the ministry, blacklisted as dark magic, even if most of the ancient families remember it wasn't so… well… black and white. You have to be cautious about that…"

"There's that," Kara agreed quietly, leaning back against a tree, "But, on the flip side…" she hesitated before continuing, "I've been thinking about it. Hermione said that Covens had to be balanced in order to work properly. With the Sorting system here at Hogwarts, with the rivalries between Slytherin and Gryffindor, the biases of purebloods… when do you think was the last time there was a group 'balanced' enough to attempt it?"

"Why does it need to be attempted at all?" Ross countered, relaxed and content to talk through the topic, "Why can't we just go to school, pass our exams, go into boring office jobs, get married, have trouble making children and then die like everyone else?"

Vic laughed, "Merlin, could you imagine Tom in some backend little office in the Ministry? He really would murder someone…"

The mental image of a murderously disgruntled Tom being pelted with flying memos made Ross snicker.

Kara rolled her eyes at them fondly, "Honestly, you two."

Ross flashed her a wink, "You love us."

That earned him a twig gently tossed in his direction, and a grin.

"In all seriousness though." Victoria sprawled on her side, head propped on her hand, "It seems ridiculous, this whole… plunging into deeper and deeper into forgotten magics, time travelling soulmates… it's crazy." she popped a winter berry into her mouth, "And yet it makes absolute and perfect sense when they talk about it."

Kara and Ross nodded.

They knew exactly what she meant. Because when you thought about it, all of this was utterly insane.

But when the group talked about it, when you looked at it within the context of everything, of everyone… it somehow made absolute and perfect sense.

"The other day," Kara mused, "Tom mentioned that seven of us were drawn to dark magic, and seven towards light. Is that… does that mean seven of us are evil?"

Victoria immediately shook her head, "Not at all, though the Ministry… and some others, would say that that is exactly what it means." she rolled her eyes, "It's very difficult to explain. I always saw it as the difference between Justice and vengeance." She paused and considered, "Think on what Potter told us, about his Dumbledore. It sounds like the old version of him pulled a lot of strings, he used magic, including ancient magic, to serve his purpose, which was good, but he also was cold, quite cruel."

Ross mused, "Tom is naturally dark, so is Aurora. They aren't inherently evil, though they might use magic for a selfish or emotion driven reason."

Victoria huffed a sigh, "It's like Harry, his first instinct is to defend, to disarm, to protect. Yes he may have a moment when his temper gets the best of him and he goes on the offensive, but his gut reaction, his almost default state, is to achieve his goals through noble acts, and protection. He's a perfect example of Olde Light magic."

Kara frowned, considering.

"Here's an example," Victoria continued, "A Hall of magical people are threatened, including people that Harry and Tom care about. What do they do? Both of them would go above and beyond to protect their people, but Harry would just as passionately protect the other people as well. Because it's not just about the people he cares for, he cares for the collective too. Whereas Tom would be focused on those he sees as his."

"Light is equality, Dark is proprietary, almost amorality." Ross mused, "Whatever it takes, but it could be for the noblest of intentions. Or the worst."

"So Harry is naturally light, because he immediately looks towards the greater good, beyond his own needs?" Kara considered.

"In essence," Victoria shrugged, "Whereas Dumbledore, well you could make an argument for him being an evil kind of Light magic user. He was willing to manipulate people into harm's way, to allow harm to come to people as long as the 'greater good' was achieved. It was still equality, still justice, but it was the kind that doesn't look at the people. It just sees them as pieces on the board. Dark magic can do that too, that's what makes it good or evil, rather than light or dark."

"You've thought a lot about this," Kara mused, considering them intently, "You both act all casual, like you couldn't care one whit, but you have considered this."

Victoria shrugged, and Ross chuckled, "Nothing is ever as simple as just Good, or Evil."

"So Tom, Aurora…who else leans Dark?" Kara arched an eyebrow at them, "I know you've thought about this too."

They had.

In fact they'd debated it amongst themselves several times.

"Abraxas is Light." Ross grinned, "Much as he likes to pretend otherwise, he cares too much about the wider collective. Miss T, the Hufflepuff is also exceptionally Light. Kel too."

"I'm Dark," Victoria mused, smirking faintly, "I'd roast someone's insides like potatoes if it meant protecting those I love, but I care very little for the wider good. Ross is the same."

Kara glanced at Ross, and he nodded with a shrug.

He could argue but what would be the point?

She was very right.

"You're Light," Victoria winked at Kara, "It's sweet."

"Bash is Dark, and contentedly so," Ross grinned up at the tree branches, "As is Drrrrrraco."

He rolled his tongue on the R in an obnoxious way that made Victoria throw something else at him.

"Leaving Druella and Hermione." Kara mused, frowning, "And I honestly don't know which one is which."

Victoria nodded, "Both have moments of each, I'd call them both grey and be done with it."

"It begs the question though, doesn't it?" The redhaired girl looked at both of them intently, "Here we are, a balanced group in terms of light and dark, and probably balanced as far as the elements go too. Fourteen of us, a multiple of 7, the most magic of numbers. You have Tom, the most powerful, naturally dark wizard Hogwarts has seen in a while, and he has his perfect balance, Harry. All of these factors have come together…"

"And?" Ross asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with it all laid out like that.

"And," Kara's lips slowly curved up. "They talk about Magic like it's sentient, like it is actively working in the world rather than a passive force. Which means Magic brough all of this together, all of us." her gaze sharpened knowingly, "Including you two, cynical as you are."

Ross squirmed, he couldn't help it.

"Well then the Magic is a bit desperate isn't it," Victoria's tone was sweet but biting, "Picking me and Ross?"

"Rude," he affected hurt, but without any real heat.

"Please, you were thinking the same thing." she rolled her eyes at him, and he nodded comfortably.

He had.

Kara frowned at them both, "You're too hard on yourselves. You belong…"

Ross sighed, "Kara…"

"You do!" she was fierce now, "God, haven't you thought about it? Why you? Maybe those qualities that you keep putting yourselves down for, are EXACTLY the qualities we need!"

Ross stared at her.

Kara glared back, "Maybe you should think about what you provide. Rather than what you cost."

She got to her feet, clearly agitated, "Think about it." she barked at them both and stormed off towards the castle, red hair bright against the white snow.

Vic and Ross watched her go, "She's such a spitfire," Vic mused, sounding pleased and proud, "I love her."

Ross grinned, relaxing against the blanket once more, "Me too."

"You're such a bloody flirt," Ron chuckled across the table as Ross watched the blushing Hufflepuff, Abbott, head back to her table, textbook clutched tightly to her chest.

"She just wanted some help with her homework," Ross drawled, turning his attention back to his friend and smiling at the amusement on the redheaded boy's face, "Who am I to deny her my knowledge."

"Uh huh," Ron snickered, scooping a mouthful of pie in his mouth before waving the fork at his friend, "And she came to you because you're known for your academic prowess."

"Are you saying I'm not smart?" Ross faux gasped, pressing a hand to his chest in mock shock, "I am hurt, crushed!"

Ron gave him a dry, wry grin, "She asked you about History of Magic. I haven't seen you awake during History of Magic…uh…well EVER."

"Oh right," he wiggled his eyebrows at his friend, "Nothing like a good Goblin War to put you in the mood."

Ron snorted.

"She's the fifth girl this year to seek out your wisdom."

"Maybe I am very wise."

"Or maybe you're a bloody flirt," Ron chuckled, "I don't know how you do it?"

"What do you mean?" Ross wiggled his eyebrows at the big redheaded boy a second time, "You're the big lump who went on a date with the prettiest girl in our Year."

Ron''s blush was spectacular, and his expression was hilariously bashful.

"She is pretty isn't she.."

"Some would even say beautiful," Ross agreed, sipping his pumpkin juice with a little smile, "I know there are a lot of Slytherin lads who are cursing your fortune."

Ron ducked his head, "She's more than just beautiful… she's… well she's Druella. She's…" he sighed, looking a little lovelorn, "She's perfect…"

"And you're wondering what she's doing with you?" Ross cut to the chase, propping his chin on his hand, "You know that a lot of the girls in our year have a crush on you right?"

Ron gave him a completely bemused look, "You, what?"

"A lot of girls in our Year, and other years honestly, have a crush on you."

"I think you're confusing me for Tom."

Ross chuckled warmly, "So? Pretty much every girl has a bit of a thing for Tom… he's… well he's Tom."

Ron nodded.

He understood.

Tom had this air about him, an aura of charisma, mystery, competence and a hint of danger. He was also almost too perfectly handsome to be believed. Of course almost all the girls fantasised about him a little, Ross couldn't blame them. Even he'd had moments of being attracted to the damn lunatic.

Then there was Bash, with his effortlessly cool air. He was casual, and yet somehow always managed to say the right thing at the right time. He was a lads lad, but he was endlessly polite too. So he was incredibly popular.

Harry too had girls watching him, even if he was completely oblivious to it. Just like Ron.

Ron was tall, and with his shaggy red hair and long face, he was quite appealing. Couple that with the air of confidence and that he was also an athlete that kept him physically fit… and you had a recipe for a swoon worthy crush.

Ross didn't have the air of mystery, the hint of a tortured past or the athlete's frame.

But he knew he had a certain… roguish quality the ladies liked.

"Doesn't stop them liking you too, "Washboard" Weasley."

Ron stared at him.

"Washboard?"

"Abs." Ross snickered as his friend blushed scarlet, "Adorable."

Of course the sub-par Gryffindor would be the one to see it.

He was heading back to the tower after an evening playing Gobstones, something his friends found terribly dorky, when he heard a scuffle in the corridor ahead of him.

"Well, well," he heard a voice purr, in the distinctive cultured tone of Walburga Black, "If it isn't the little Ravenclaw mouse. Where are you off to little mouse? Forget your piece of cheese?"

He heard sneering laughter and then a voice, too quiet to hear.

"Speak up little mouse!" Walburga sneered, laughing nastily, "Or I'll have to make you squeal!"

Ross felt his hand tighten on his wand.

A part of him was loudly insisting he turn around and leave. A large part of him was yelling that surely he couldn't be thinking about what he was considering.

But a part of him, the lion that had woken up after years of hanging out with some of the bravest people he'd ever known, rebelled against that choice.

Walburga had hurt Tom, almost killed him. She'd tormented all of them, she'd hexed all of them at one point or the other, and just because she couldn't attack Tom outright, didn't mean that she wasn't a venomous, nasty sack of-

Before he could lose his nerve he strode around the corner.

What he saw, made his blood turn to ice.

And it made the voice that had screeched he should turn around and run, instantly shut up.

Walburga and her nasty little pack stood a short way down the corridor, and they'd boxed in a girl with soft, pale blonde wispy hair, and straight, expressive brows.

Kel.

Backed up against a wall, belongings scattered across the floor, and holding her wrist which he could see was miscoloured even from here.

Harry would give them the chance to walk away, Ron would yell, Tom would threaten in that deeply scary had.

Ross did none of that.

He didn't give them a chance to explain. He simply channelled his flash of anger into the most powerful stunner he could summon.

"Stupefy!"

Walburga didn't even have a chance to look up before his spell hit her, sending her sprawling to the stone floor as though she'd been shoved. Artemisia Parkinson, her eternal lackey shrieked, whirling on him in shock as did the two third years that were following her. Third years they may be, but Hogden Crabbe and Brabley Goyle were hulking boys with limited intelligence.

Hogden and Brabley blinked at him stupidly.

Artemisia stared at his wand and then at Walburga, and then back.

Then with a whimper she dashed off, leaving the boys confused, and bemused, before they turned on Ross. Clearly they'd decided that fighting was the better option.

"Incarcerous!" he yelled, and ropes sprang from his wand, wrapping tightly around Brabley's thick limbs.

Hogden stared at his friend stupidly for a moment and then turned, facing Ross and raising his wand.

"Stupefy!"

The lumbering boy crashed to the ground, as did his bound friend, still wiggling in his bonds, and Ross blinked at the sight of Kel, mouth set in an unhappy line as she lowered her shaking wand, a pained expression on her face.

"Come on," he moved forward and scooped up her books, "I don't know how long that stunner will last…"

She nodded, and he could see her beginning to tremble all over, the shock clearly kicking in.

A quick glance told him that the wrist was broken. She'd managed to cast the spell, but the wand now hung in nerveless fingers, and she was alarmingly pale.

He steered her away and towards the Medical Wing. But they'd only gotten about ten paces when he heard a hoarse voice behind them.

"Calvorio!"

Thank Merlin for Harry's teaching, Ross hadn't yet dropped his guard, and almost on instinct he cast a shield charm. He did it just in time, before the slime green curse splattered against it.

Turning he looked at Walburga, straggling up onto her feet, face twisted with rage.

"Go." he urged Kel, who immediately began to protest, "Go!"

"Ross…" she was clearly torn, but when Walburga fired another curse, this one an ugly purple flare, she fled.

Incensed, Walburga began to fire spells at him, and Ross tried his best to counter or block.

They were relentless, there wasn't a moment to attack, all he could do was desperately try to hold his own, to hold his ground as she forced him back and back and back.

Walburga's face was illuminated only by the flashes of her spells, like a rictus mask of savagery.

He was losing, he realised, a spike of real fear slicing through him, he simply wasn't as vicious as she was, nor did he have that natural gift…

A stinging hex made him yelp, almost dropping his wand, and then her blasting curse sent him flying into the wall.

He groaned, back on fire, but he cast a silent, desperate protego, fuelled by his fear.

Only to have it shattered by her oil slick black spell.

She strode towards him, face twisted with rage, and he barely raised a wand before she viciously cast a full body bind.

"Oh I'm going to make you pay-" she snarled.

Ross closed his eyes, wincing, shrinking back.

Before suddenly she yelped and his eyes shot back open.

"Get away from him you dead hoofer!" Kara stormed into sight like a spirit of vengeance, and Walburga's eyes immediately glittered with savage delight.

"Mudblood."

And then it was on.

The duel was intense, fierce, and Ross struggled against the curse as he watched his friend fight.

Where Walburga was vicious, cruel and sharp, her spellwork obviously aggressive and full of slashing and hacking casting, Kara was a bulwark.

She blocked and blocked and blocked, diffusing every spell, countering every curse, unyielding and unflinching, and Ross could see, from his trapped location on the floor, that Walburga's face was getting uglier and uglier with rage.

Her casting became more and more erratic, but Kara simply stayed strong, letting her opponent try everything she had in her arsenal.

And fail.

Finally Walburga screamed in rage, looking utterly unhinged, black hair falling over her face, and her face twisted with something truly horrible.

"Kara!" He tried to warn her, but his lips were numb, locked in place.

"Crucio!"

The scream that ripped from his friend's body made him strain even harder against the magic locking himself inside his skin.

"KARA!" Two boys charged around the corner, and Walburga lifted the curse, eyes widening as she took in the two new opponents. Then she turned on her heels and scarpered.

Abraxas started after her but Ron grabbed his arm, "Let her go, she'll get hers. Fix Ross, I've got her…"

A few moments later Ross felt his body unlock and instantly he scrambled over to Kara, Brax right beside him as they crouched by Ron.

"She used an Unforgivable." Abraxas' face was hard as stone, "We have to get that wand, she'll cover it up."

"Too late," Ron's mouth twisted, running his wand up and down Kara's body, a soft blue mist leaving it, "You okay Kar?"

"Yeah," her voice was rough but welcome and Ross reached out to grip her shoulder, overcome by a surge of emotion.

"Thanks…" he managed to get out, and he was relieved to see her lips curve up in an answering, tired smile.

"That's what friends are for."

Two days later, Walburga got her own short sharp lesson in pain.

Only Tom, Ross and Abraxas were there when Ron made her answer for her actions. He didn't use an Unforgivable, he wasn't the type.

But he was creative.

And Ross couldn't help but be pleased when Walburga started spitting up slugs and slime in the Great Hall over dinner.

The rage, and embarrassment, on her face made it priceless.

As was the tongue tying curse Tom placed on her to stop her ever revealing how it had happened.

He really did love those Slytherins sometimes.

"The Coven would make us stronger right?" He asked Tom directly one afternoon, after he pulled him into an empty classroom, "And we'd be more…attuned to each other right?"

Tom considered him.

"Yes."

"So…if that happened again, it wouldn't just be luck that would make me find Kel, right?"

Tom's expression cleared a little, "Yes. And you'd be able to protect her better."

Ross winced, "Yeah… I…"

The dark haired Slytherin moved forward, "Do you feel like you failed her? Failed Kara?"

He didn't look up, but he nodded jerkily, "Yes."

"You did not." Tom's voice was soft, almost a caress, and when he looked up in surprise he realised the Slytherin had moved close, those dark eyes intense and intent on his face, "You stayed, you fought, you protected them to the best of your ability…"

"It wasn't enough…"

"Sometimes it won't be," Tom's voice was quiet, but somehow unusually gentle, "But you held your own, Robins, against a vicious pure-blooded witch a year older than you, with far more experience and little holding her back."

A weight lifted a little from his chest.

"You really think so?"

"I'm not in the habit of giving false praise," Tom reminded him dryly, "I'm not Harry."

That made Ross grin.

But it wasn't long before the smile faded from his lips and he met Tom's considering gaze once more.

"I think we should do it," he said, quieter now, "This isn't going to change. People like her will always hurt people like Kel, like Kara. The only way to stop them is to stop the cycle. To do something so radical it breaks the pattern. I think…" he sighed, "I think it's mad. But I think maybe we're supposed to do this."

Tom's eyes gleamed, "Are you sure?"

Ross nodded, because he'd done a lot of thinking in the wake of Walburga's attack.

He hated that his friends had been in danger. He hated that they had been attacked for no good reason.

He hated that he'd felt helpless.

He didn't want to feel that again.

"I'll fight."

Tom's mouth curved into a smile, "There's our Gryffindor," he murmured, and Ross smiled back, feeling the magic in the air.

Something had happened.

There was no going back now.

To Be Continued...

Reviews

Amk - Oh yeah things are definitely going to go wroooong.

Lucy Elizabeth Dawson - Thank you! I appreciate you enjoying!

Mantis Toboggan - No Wool's Orphanage is not Catholic, however most "free" education at that time was provided by religious institutions, both Catholic and the Church of England. Both institutions have nuns whose charity allowed for the inexpensive education. Especially on the heels of the Great Depression. It is known that discipline at that time was harsh, and often orphans and bastard children were looked down on, as having come from 'loose morals' or unfortunate circumstances. For an obviously intelligent but damaged boy like Tom was pre-Hogwarts, the punishments would have been incredibly harsh, and likely made things worse. His exceptional control of his involuntary magic, suggests that he tamed it as a matter of survival, and self preservation, potentially indicating a harsh childhood.

I'm glad you are enjoying the pairings, there won't be too much of it just yet, they are just 14-15 years old, so crushes absolutely, carnal shenanigans, far less so. Hermione and Sebastian are super fun, he's definitely a charmer and I warm to that pairing every time I write them interacting. Karaxas, as the discord calls them is also a fan favourite, and I think they may be happy with the little nugget in this chapter! As for how it unfolds... the pairings may not stay the same. Crushes come and go, and your childhood beau isn't always your one true love. But we shall see. I'm a romantic at heart, there will be a lot of love in this story.

Tom has already interacted with at least a couple of his relatives, the information has been slipped into the chapters without much fanfare, so I think a lot of people have missed it. But that's half the fun. He's met Ominis Gaunt's daughter, and granddaughter, who are distant relatives at this point. Tom will definitely have to deal with his immediate relatives soon, which will be its own struggle. Last time he went through them like a broom, I'm not sure he'll get away with it this time.

Whew long response, hope you like!

Smithback - It's emphasised in HP canon about the numbers being important to arithmancy which is the numerical study of the worlds magical patterns. Which I find fascinating!