Disclaimer: I do not own Moriarty the Patriot/Yuukoku no Moriarty or Harry Potter.

Songs/Instrumentals Accompanying This Chapter: Lumos! (Hedwig's Theme) by John Williams (from the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack).


Once Upon a Prophecy Vol. I

First Year

Chapter THREE:

"Tie"


Opening Theme: Double Trouble/Lumos! (Hedwig's Theme) by The Dark Side of the Moon.


Sunlight seeped in through the windows, replacing the moonlight from the night before. A lump underneath the covers of the four poster bed didn't even stir, the person still fast asleep and dead to the world.

Another but tinier lump rested against the other's head. Upon hearing someone approach, Sonata lifted her head up while her eyes were still closed, ears bent back. When she finally opened them, she saw a girl hovering around the bed whose fluffy red hair fell down her back in thick curls.

Without any warning, the girl grabbed the blanket and threw it back, exposing the person who was the larger lump in the bed. In response to having her warmth taken away, Rion began to move, one of her hands fumbling around in an attempt to find the blanket as her eyes remained closed.

When she couldn't find it, she reluctantly opened her eyes, squinting them in the light as she saw for the first time the other person near the bed.

The other girl, whose name was given as Kerry Sawyer during the Sorting Ceremony, continued to look at Rion with a dull look in her teal eyes.

"It's time to get up, Winters," the tone, as well as the lack of emotion in her eyes, made her words come across as rude and somewhat snooty.

Having a feeling that Kerry didn't mean to sound as such, Rion brandished her signature bright smile with her body now sitting up in her bed. "Okay. Thanks for waking me up, I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

And with that Kerry sauntered off to get herself ready for breakfast and classes.

After getting out of bed, Rion also set about to do just that as Sonata watched the former's every single movement. Brushing and flattening the light blonde strands that had ended up sticking up in the air from her constant moving while sleeping, the girl began to tie the scarlet and gold tie around her neck underneath the collar of her white button up, finding the task to be quite difficult for her.

It was the last thing she needed to do, and she listened as the other four girls in her room walked out once they were completely done getting dressed.

Her aunt's instructions on how to manage a tie fluttered through her mind. When Rion questioned Rebekah on why she knew, the woman answered with: "I help your uncle with his sometimes. Not that he can't do it himself, it's just something I do in order to spend even a little bit more time with him."

Rion's eyes had shined. "Mum would do that for Dad! She'd often help him with his ties whenever he had an event that he was invited to attend. Dad would say that he didn't know anything about a tie just so he could see my mum at a closer distance. Mum knew he was lying, but I think she still did it anyway for the same reason you have for helping Uncle Boris."

Rebekah had laughed genuinely as she, too, remembered those moments happening in the past.

The girl continued her ministrations to futility as she failed again to knot the tie correctly.

Rion's face contorted into a troubled frown, fingers still fumbling with the fabric. She was determined to do it, but that determination didn't mean she'd manage to actually get her tie ready before leaving the dormitory.

Sonata watched her human companion struggle while sitting leisurely upon the plush covers of Rion's bed. It was the only thing the kitten could do given the fact that she didn't have opposable thumbs, and therefore couldn't offer any practical help in the girl's endeavour.

Her mismatched irises observed how Rion released a noise of triumph, a victorious smile stretching the corners of her mouth wide. However, upon getting a glimpse of herself in the mirror, Rion realized that what she thought she had done was the complete opposite.

The tie that was around her neck was once again styled in a heap of an unidentified shape.

A disappointed, although comical, sound escaped her as her smile literally turned upside down.


While in the Great Hall, every single student was currently seated at their respective tables, partaking in the grand feast that was laid out for all to enjoy. While idle chatter floated into the air from everywhere, two students in particular who sat at the Gryffindor table waited for a particular person to make her appearance.

She hadn't shown up yet, and the duo were wondering where she was when classes could eventually be starting, and so she wouldn't have much of an opportunity to sit and eat at a leisurely pace.

It was then the person in question finally arrived, and just when the two fifth-years were about to greet her, their eyes had veered down toward her neck where her tie was lying in a haphazard mess. It didn't resemble any one of the different knots that were used, instead looking as though she had just thrown the material around her neck, said 'screw it all' and then rushed out of the common room in a haste.

"Yo, Rion," said Mark, smile wide and playful, practically bordering a grin. "You don't look that great. Did a pixie have it out for you or something?"

Rion released a confused noise before she followed his and Roy's gazes downward. Realization soon hit her after. "Oh! No, actually, I just can't tie a tie."

Mark nodded. "That's understandable. Girls don't usually wear ties, do they?"

"Well, some boys do and they can't even do it properly," Roy muttered, though Mark could hear the other fifth-year loud and clear from how close they sat together.

The prefect soon lifted himself from his seat to approach Rion who just stared up at the redhead in wonder. Stopping directly before her, Roy asked permission and didn't move until he was granted it, hands coming to help Rion fix her tie so it actually looked decent.

Rion watched with utter fascination as Roy's hands moved in a swift and skilful manner. He instructed her on how to do it while he was performing the movements, waiting patiently for confirmation that she heard him before continuing with the explanation.

Mark observed the scene with a playful shine in his russet coloured irises.

Once Roy was finished helping Rion, he sat back down at the table.

"Thank you, Roy," said Rion, smiling brightly.

He returned the smile. "You're welcome, Rion."

As she came to take her own seat near the duo, Mark glanced over at Roy who felt the other boy's eyes on him quite keenly. With a sigh, and a sinking feeling in his gut, Roy questioned Mark on why he was looking at him and in that particular way.

Mark's smile turned into a grin, the kind that Roy didn't like seeing at all. "That was very cute, the way you helped her."

"She needed it. And what's so cute about coming to someone's aid?"

"I'm just saying it was cute. You don't have to get so defensive about it, Prefect, I was only stating a fact."

Roy grumbled under his breath as soon as Mark called him prefect, the topic of discussion eating her food incognizant of what was being said.

As soon as Mark shifted his gaze up and toward the far end of the room, he called out, "Well, it appears the pigeon brigade has arrived."

From the opened windows of the Great Hall, a flurry of bodies and feathers of all colours came swooping in, tubes attached to their bodies with soft, thin but durable fabric. Each one lowered themselves down toward many of the students who were still in the process of eating their breakfast.

Rion looked up, food temporarily forgotten in favour of seeing what this 'pigeon brigade' was all about. When she did, her bright emeralds widened upon catching sight of a very familiar figure covered in snow white feathers making her way toward the girl.

A grin lit up the eleven-year-old's features. "Odette!"

Rion lifted herself up and out of her seat, extending an arm in the pigeon's direction. Odette didn't hesitate in landing on it, gently wrapping her talons around it so she didn't fall off. She soon began to slowly make her way up the girl's arm to settle upon her shoulder where she intended to rest for a good portion of her time before heading back to the Winters estate.

With Roy's help, who had already procured his own letter gifted to him by a family member, Rion unrolled the paper in order to read the words scrawled along the parchment. Her eyes quickly trailed over each word, aura becoming more and more happy and excited with each passing second.

With no forewarning whatsoever, a loud cry filled with the two aforementioned emotions escaped her, scaring both human and pigeon alike with the sound. The other students flinched, eyes hurriedly zeroing in on her while the pigeons took flight, the sound of their wings flapping taking over the atmosphere.

Odette was no exception, taking to the air just as swiftly as her companions as she came to hover above Rion. All the while, the girl continued to release loud cries of utter joy, only stopping when she heard her name being called from across the way.

She looked over in the direction of the call, finding the source to be none other than Amity. With her chin resting in the palm of her hand and elbow propped on the surface of the Hufflepuff table where she sat, her golden yellows shined with amusement as a silent question hung in the air around her.

In response, Rion moved from her spot at the Gryffindor table to run over to where Amity sat, Odette following after the girl loyally.

When she made it to her destination, Amity had met Rion halfway by leaving her spot at the table to face her fully. "Am! It's amazing! It's wonderful, absolutely grand! This is so exciting!"

"All right, slow down then tell me what's gotten you so. . . excited."

"Here! Read the letter! It's from Uncle Boris about Aunt Rebekah!"

Taking the letter in question into her hands, Amity carefully read every word that was written, her eyes slightly wide but not as much as Rion's had been when the latter read it herself moments prior.

In a somewhat mystifying voice, Amity said, "Miss Rebekah finally gave birth. . ."

"Yeah! I'll finally be able to meet my baby cousin! I can't wait to go home for Christmas even more now."

A scoff soon came forth, disrupting the jovial atmosphere that had been created thanks to the infectiousness of Rion's pure happiness and joy. Many pairs of eyes, including Rion and Amity's own, glanced over at the source of the noise to find it to be none other than the current heir to House Drake.

A smirk was on his face, and it was one that spoke of how he was going to have a few choice words to say about what was just discussed and revealed.

Immediately, Amity was on guard, grip tightening perceptively on the letter as her eyes of melted gold turned sharp and solid from their previous liquid and malleable state.

Rion remained silent, though she was obviously worried about what the boy was about to say especially after what had happened the previous day. She appeared defeated with how her shoulders slouched.

Before Lionel could actually speak, another voice piped up, interrupting the chaos that was no doubt about to erupt if the former had been allowed to communicate whatever he wanted.

With a smile while looking at the girls, Albert said, "Congratulations, Rion, on the birth of your baby cousin."

Said girl brandished her signature smile. "Thanks, Al!"

Amity was internally relieved that the elder Moriarty brother had dispelled the coming storm. She wasn't about to say that, though.

Sitting next to Albert was William who smiled upon hearing the good news. "That's wonderful, Rion. Did he come out healthy?"

"Yeah, he—" Rion paused abruptly, eyes now wide in genuine curiosity. "How did you know my baby cousin was a boy, Will?"

William canted his head slightly, feigning innocence. "Hm? I thought that you said he was a boy. You said it yourself that your hunches are always right."

Seconds ticked by as Rion allowed herself to let those words sink in, the events of yesterday replaying back to back in her mind's eye. She then smiled brightly, eyes closing. "Oh, yeah! I did. I must be silly for forgetting about that."

Amity's eyes flitted from Rion to William, her golden yellow irises narrowed a tad before reverting to their natural size. The letter did indeed tell Rion that Boris and Rebekah's newly born child had been a boy, just as the girl had been saying for many months.

Amity read more passages, therefore being informed of other things.

For instance—

"They named him Torin," noted Amity out loud. "Mr. Boris said that it's supposed to be Irish and have the meaning of 'chief.'"

Rion nodded, doing small jumps in her happiness. "Yep! Uncle Boris and Aunt Rebekah chose it to honour my dad's heritage."

"That's right, Uncle Magnus was Irish, wasn't he?"

"Yep!"

"Wasn't Torin supposed to have been born a week ago?" Amity asked, turning her eyes back to the letter. "He really didn't want to come into the world until now, huh?"

Rion contemplated Amity's words, finding them to be intriguing. "I guess. Maybe it just wasn't the right time until now?"

Amity hummed thoughtfully. "Almost like Fate decided it."

In the distance, Clarion had watched the entire scene all the way from when Rion first exhibited her happiness to her jog over to where Amity had come to stand. A fond smile stretched the corners of her mouth up.

Deep violet glanced over to her left, seeing that Zelda's eyes of sky blue were trained on her niece. The look in them appeared far away, almost as though she, too, was somewhere else instead of in the present moment.

Upon hearing her name being uttered by the older woman, Zelda peered over. "Yes, Professor Duvall?"

"It's wonderful, isn't it?" asked Clarion, eyes crinkling at the corners. "Boris's baby has finally graced this world with his presence, and you have now gained a nephew."

Zelda was silent after hearing these words.

She shifted her head so she was once again staring at Rion, said girl grinning from ear to ear as she talked to Amity.

After the girls returned to their tables, breakfast went by relatively quickly with Rion going much slower and eating less than what she had the night before, causing Mark to crack a joke about her sudden loss of appetite. Getting the feeling that his words really were just a joke, Rion laughed good-naturedly, replying with a slightly self-deprecating remark.

When the bell rang signaling the beginning of every student's first class for the day, Rion bounded up and out of her seat followed by Roy and Mark, who were attending the same class together considering they were both not only fifth-years but also Gryffindors.

"Well, Rion," said Mark right before he and Roy fully made their way out of the Great Hall, "good luck with your first class. I heard you along with the other first-years have the Ice Queen herself as your very first professor—really and truly good luck, and I'll see you at your funeral later."

The eleven-year-old canted her head just as one of Roy's hands was formed into a fist to then be bumped against Mark's temple, a mild form of reprimanding the other boy. Mark lifted one of his own hands to rub at the spot that had been hit, lips twisting to allow a silly grin to form.

Roy frowned, clearly displeased by Mark's ability to remain jovial in his disposition despite being scolded for his behaviour.

Throwing a glance over his shoulder, it was Roy who decided to say something then. "Don't take some of the things he says to heart, Rion. He's someone who'll joke about even the most darkest of things and wholeheartedly believe it's funny. With him, what you see is truly what you get."

"Aw, Roy," Mark grinned, not at all disconcerted with the other boy's words, "how mean. But you're right. Absolutely, one hundred percent correct."

Roy sighed, eyes of oceanic blue closing. "I know, and it doesn't make me feel any better to be right either. . ."

During the entire exchange between the fifth-years, Rion only smiled while observing the friendship the aforementioned boys shared.


"All right, everyone," Zelda's voice was loud as she spoke, twin blues looking to each student in turn as she stood at the front of the classroom, a certain glint shining in her eyes, "I hope the lot of you have come at least somewhat prepared, for I am a strict professor and I do not tolerate frivolity and goofing off."

The first-years whose first class had luckily, or unluckily depending on one's view and opinion, happened to be charms which Zelda had noted upon meeting the children for the first time that that was the subject she taught, sat back in their seats and watched the woman silently, not a one making even the barest of peeps.

She was dressed similarly to how she had been the day prior with her hair styled the same way as well. Her wand was held delicately in her right hand, fingers curled gently around the wooden object as though she was afraid she might damage it if she held onto it even just an inch tighter.

The room itself was small with rounded desks where the students sat encircling both the left and right sides. Behind Zelda was a large window where the light from the morning sun came in to provide illumination for everyone.

To Zelda's left while facing the only door, Rion sat with her back straight and shoulders squared. Her countenance was serious, quite unlike her typical self which was usually so cheery and somewhat boisterous. On her right was Amity who sat next to her sister Serenity who was then sitting by Verity on her other side. And then on Rion's left was William, the boy's attention currently focused upon Zelda while the woman continued her speech.

"Today we'll be learning a simple spell that will come most in handy if you ever find yourselves in the dark without a candle to light, among other things," said Zelda, her wand hand lifting into the air.

Suddenly the room was blanketed in a dark veil, causing gasps and hiccups of surprise and shock to leave some of the students. In their panic, some gripped the edges of the desks tightly while others remained still, not moving in their acute fear almost as if they felt they'd be swallowed whole in the darkness if they did.

The noises persisted until the blonde spoke one word, loud and concise without a hiccup of a mistake.

"Lumos!"

A bright but small light soon illuminated the portion of the room where Zelda stood, providing a little bit of relief as sighs escaped some of the aforementioned students. The light was situated on the tip of her wand, and it looked uncannily similar to what the Muggles referred to as a torch, but without the requirement of batteries to power it.

One only needed to know magic and to be able to cast the charm in order to have a free and easy way of lighting their darkened surroundings.

To disable the Wand-Lighting Charm, she called out another word that was different from the other, the light vanishing just as quickly as it had been conjured, once again plunging the room into complete darkness.

The curtains that had been drawn previously were soon opened, allowing the morning sunlight to seep back into the room and illuminate it very generously.

Looking at each student in turn, Zelda said, "Now, I want you all to do exactly as I did: hold out your wand and say 'Lumos' as precise as possible. I recommend to either close your eyes or hold the wand away from your face so you don't end up damaging your retinas."

The children did as instructed, lifting their wands off the surface of their desks to begin practicing casting the Wand-Lighting Charm.

At varying points, the word Lumos left the students' lips, but not everyone was able to produce a light at the tips of their wands. For some it took many tries while for others it was either instantaneous or it was on the second attempt.

While William had gotten it on his first try, and Amity and her sisters took three tries to successfully cast the charm, Rion was having a bit more difficulty with it. She waved the wand exactly as she was supposed to, and her pronunciation of the incantation was as precise as she could manage, but for some reason it refused to work for her.

Across from where Rion sat, Lionel giggled under his breath along with his friends at her plight. They weren't very subtle in their execution as the attention of some of the other students was pulled in their direction.

Monica, who was sitting not too far from the boys, sent them a disapproving stare. More so at Lionel as he was the instigator in this case.

Zelda snapped her head over to look at the trio, disappointment and disapproval mixing together as they showed upon her face. "What are you snickering about, Drake, Tiffen, Pearson?"

The boys in question instantly stopped their quiet chime of laughter.

"I believe I told you, and everyone else, that I don't tolerate frivolity and goofing off in my classes. Did I perhaps stutter when I was informing you three of that fact?"

Lionel sat up straighter in his chair, expression carefully neutral. "No, ma'am."

"Exactly. Now, perform the Wand-Lighting Charm like you're supposed to."

Ignoring the goings-on in front of them, William observed Rion's hand movements very closely. Once he caught sight of what she was doing wrong, he immediately began helping her in executing the charm properly. Rion was, in fact, waving her wand just a tad bit off center, and when she finally managed to do it the right way thanks to his instructions, a light appeared at the tip of her wand just like all the others.

Rion smiled as she stared straight at the light, incredibly happy that she was able to cast the charm even though she needed direct help in the end. A hand came to cover her eyes from her left, Rion's face showing confusion until she realized why. Glancing over in that particular direction, her eyes of freshly polished emerald made contact with melted gold.

Amity raised a brow, silently questioning the other girl's sanity since Rion had been looking directly at something that could irreparably damage her eyesight.

Rion smiled in a sheepish way, shoulders slightly raised.

It wasn't long before Zelda gave out the order to disable their charms by shouting out the same word that the woman had moments prior while also enacting the hand movements to accompany the incantation. One by one, each of the lights twinkled out of existence.

For Rion, casting the counter-charm to the Wand-Lighting Charm was much easier. The light was swiftly extinguished, and her happiness upon being able to perform the spell was very visible and infectious as many of the other students that saw it produced smiles of their own.

With her sky shaded blues looking to each student as they managed to 'turn off' their lights, Zelda said, "Not bad for those of you that just performed those charms for the very first time in your lives, even though for most of you it took more than your first three tries to accomplish it."

Rion didn't need to be told explicitly that she was one of the students that fell under that specific category.

She was silent, listening to her aunt's words intently and with her earlier seriousness, though her posture deflated.

"Once everyone is officially finished with their classes for the day, I highly recommend you all to continue practicing both the Wand-Lighting Charm and the Wand-Extinguishing Charm in your common rooms back to back and as many times as need be until you have finally comprehended them."

She continued with, "And now, I'll teach you another useful charm that all wizards and witches should be aware of and capable of casting."

Without any further words, Zelda lifted her wand into the air to once again demonstrate a new charm for her students to learn.


As soon their first class had ended, the first-years were quickly sent on their way to the next one by Zelda who was already getting everything set up for the second-years that would then be replacing the first-years.

Upon seeing the man standing there, Rion remained still like a statue, eyes trained on his figure as she sat at her desk.

It was a really weird coincidence—truly it was.

The fact that she not only had one family member working as a professor for the prestigious school known as Hogwarts but two really felt like some kind of higher power was setting something up without her prior knowledge.

Eyes of freshly polished emerald scanned the faces of his new students as he stood in front of his desk, hands gripping the edge of said object in a casual manner. Hair the colour of black ink fell around his face messily, giving the allusion that he hadn't bothered to brush the strands before arriving to teach his class. Hanging from the open collar of his shirt was a pair of glasses, and they appeared to be the type for reading instead of for actual seeing.

An amicable smile turned the corners of his mouth up which was met with small, daydreamy sighs from some of the female students. Amity, who was sitting to Rion's left once more, contorted her features into one of disgust.

In a low voice that only Rion and Serenity, who was situated to her left, could hear, Amity said, "What the bloody hell is wrong with them? He's at least two decades older than us."

"Welcome, everyone, to your very first Defense Against the Dark Arts class," the man said, smile never disappearing and voice holding a distinct accent. "I'm sure you all remember me from yesterday when I introduced myself. However, if not, I have no problem doing so again. Think of it as your first revision with me."

The students remained silent, almost dutifully so.

He shifted his body so he wasn't leaning against his desk, instead moving around the corner to go to where his chair resided, hands sightlessly seeking out the papers lying upon the surface.

"Once more, my name is Killian Thorne, professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts as well as one of the Heads of House, specifically for Slytherin."

Upon finding what he sought, Killian took the papers in both of his hands to then beat the ends against the wood of his desk, aligning all the pieces of parchment up together. Keeping the papers in his hands, the man turned his attention back to his class.

"Now, today we will be starting with something that should be quite easy to learn about, as I believe that most of you—if not all of you—will already have some knowledge on this particular topic."

With a flourish, Killian threw the papers out in front him but they didn't slowly descend to the floor as many had thought. In fact the pieces had slowly floated to each student, laying themselves upon the surfaces of their desks with the side that contained the words being face up and, therefore, easily readable.

Rion's bright emeralds skimmed over the words quickly, one in particular flaring out in her mind keenly. Her eyes fluttered over it again to make sure that what she was seeing was real and true before taking the parchment into her hands to read more of the information scrawled across it.

The professor turned silent as he allowed his new students to take in this information, and a small, mischievous grin lit up his features when he saw some of the reactions the children had written across their faces.

The one word that everyone was surely thinking but never saying was finally spoken by one of the kids. By the colours of his uniform, he was a Hufflepuff student. "Vampires. . . We're learning about vampires today?"

Killian nodded, grin never having left. "Aye, that's correct. A wonderful observation if there ever was one."

Laughter rang out at the man's playful words.

He continued, "Vampires are practically indigenous to our culture. I'm sure a lot of you know that their main diet is blood, though they are also speculated to eat and drink what we do. In fact, the wonderful little sweets shop of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade sells candy that's supposed to appeal to vampires. Interesting, eh?"

Moving to stand beside his desk, he then said, "They are also protected by the Ministry of Magic as vampires had once been hunted, and almost to extinction. Can anyone tell me what category and paragraph does the rule of not hunting vampires indiscriminately fall under?"

He was granted a raised hand by a student that had been sorted in Ravenclaw House due to the emblem branded on her robe and buttoned cardigan on the top left. Killian's bright emeralds landed on her, colliding with her own eyes which were a blue-grey colour.

The professor smiled. "Reid."

The girl in question spoke at once, "The rule in question is paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans."

"Yes, that's exactly it," said Killian. "The Ministry set forth this rule to quell the aggression against vampires which, to some, is understandable. Vampires are predators: they feast on the blood of living beings in order to sustain their undead status. This alone is enough to cause people to view them as dangerous and avoid them at all costs."

Shifting on his heels, the man moved himself behind his desk. "Can anyone tell me if it's possible for vampires to turn humans into one of their own with a bite as is mentioned in myth?"

For a short while there was no show of hands until one was finally raised. Eyes of freshly polished emerald glanced over at the owner of said hand, colliding with the most striking shade of red that the man had ever witnessed as of yet.

Killian smiled once more, gesturing to the boy. "Yes, Moriarty?"

William, who'd been sitting to Rion's right the entire time, lowered his hand, countenance serious.

"From what I have read, there is no information given on such a phenomenon being true nor are we informed that it's possible for vampires to have kids. So, it could be possible or not for either one to be the reason why vampires are still roaming the world today."

The other students in the room had turned their eyes and bodies toward William, appearing to be captivated by the boy's voice and the conviction that swirled in and around the tone. The only thing that moved were their eyelids as they blinked. Other than that, they remained unmoving, resembling statuesque figures.

The smile on Killian's face shifted.

He then clapped his hands in approval. "And that is correct. All of it actually. Interestingly enough, despite vampires being around for practically as long as wizards, there isn't much information given about them except for their diet and their repulsion toward garlic and sunlight. And this includes their method of multiplying their species."

Moving once again but this time to a different portion of the room where a board was placed, Killian knocked two of his knuckles against it. "And now, we will learn about the vampires' . . . cousin? Let's just call it a distant relation of theirs."

The word that was promptly written upon the board caused some of the students' eyes to grow big.

The man's smile never left as he announced, "Zombies."

Some of the students swallowed thickly in their blatant apprehension.


For most of the students, lunch period could have come sooner.

As soon as they were all finished with their second classes for the day, everyone huddled together to make their way to the Great Hall. Friendly chatter sprung forth to fill the empty air with noise, something that wasn't always welcoming to others' ears.

Nonetheless, those who didn't find pleasure in loud sounds that consisted of peoples voices ignored them as they simply meandered on their way.

Entering the Great Hall, it didn't take the students long to take themselves to their respective tables just as they had done that morning for breakfast. After sitting down and partaking in the food that had been presented to them, some of the students lifted themselves to their feet to explore more of the castle which was something that would not be granted to them at any other time except for lunch period and the weekends.

Rion was one of the many that had done so, and Amity and her sisters didn't hesitate in joining her. The quartet walked on, looking out through the windows and opened parts of the wall that looked into the courtyard and vice versa. Twin emerald scanned the vibrant grass as its tips were pushed by the wind, a small but strong looking tree providing some shade from the sunlight that they had been graciously graced with this day tucked away in a corner.

Many of the students decided to enter and spend the rest of their break in the courtyard, taking up the space that had once been empty.

Passing it by, Rion continued onward with no particular destination in mind. She soon became swallowed whole by the sea of people that was flowing along the corridor.

And in their distraction, Amity and her sisters were unaware of this fact until they had turned to address her about something.

Climbing a set of stairs and then another and another, Rion proceeded her exploration on her own even as the appearance of the other students dwindled so much that there was no else around except for herself. Undeterred, she strode down a different corridor and saw many doors littering the walls.

In her curiosity she began opening up the doors, finding a lot of them to be old and unused. When she opened one door in particular, she had done so only a little when a very familiar sight caught her eye.

Rion's eyes twinkled as she stared at the grand piano gathering dust in a section of the room. The room itself was clearly abandoned and hadn't been touched in a long time. Cobwebs were in the corners and the dust as mentioned before covered a vast amount of the space within, not just the piano.

And speaking of said stringed instrument, there were other instruments situated in an area not too far from the piano. Violins, guitars, flutes, oboes, even harmonicas. It didn't take a genius to know that this room had once been a music room.

Just as she was about to open the door wider in order to enter the room, her intention being to play the beauty that was still in her focus, the sound of footsteps from behind gave her immediate pause.

Instantly, Rion whirled around with wide eyes as fear at having possibly been caught doing something she shouldn't gripped her heart acutely. Her bright greens were met with narrowed, displeased almond brown irises.

The face that held them was twisted in an expression that made Rion want to run away as far as possible. It was one of both disapproval and scorn. Scraggly brown hair of a similar shade to the person's eyes fell around her face. Upon the woman's shoulder was a cat, one that was much bigger than Sonata, who was clearly an adult with silvery white fur encompassing her entire body.

The cat meowed and Rion lamented how it didn't sound at all welcoming to her ears.

Just when Rion made a slightest bit of movement, the cat reacted, hissing in a swift and intimidating manner.

The girl balked, hands flying to her chest to grip the lapels of her robe as though that would keep her safe from the animal's ire.

A cool voice that was laced with the aforementioned emotions surged forth. "And what do you think you're doing here. . . Winters."

The woman had paused to take a quick peek at Rion's nametag that was plastered on the other side of her robe opposite the emblem of her House. And the supposed question didn't at all sound as such. It was a statement, one that even Rion was able to pick up on despite her inexperience when it came to certain social cues.

"Um, I was just. . ."

She started stumbling over her words, a clear sign that she was unsure how to proceed.

The woman spoke once more, "These rooms are off limits to students. If you don't want to get a detention on your very first day here, I highly recommend you turn tail and go back to where you came from."

From a corner of her heart, Rion felt as though the woman wasn't just meaning to go back down to the ground floor where the former had originally been.

The eleven-year-old frowned, silent.

Waving her hand in a shooing motion, the woman said, "Go on, then! And don't let me catch you around this area again."

Rion's feet moved quickly, taking her away from the scary woman and her scary cat.

A thought so foreign to her that she was surprised it had even fluttered past in her mind appeared.

As she hurried her way down the three flights of stairs she had previously climbed, Rion thought—

Don't worry, ma'am. I won't let you catch me next time.


For some students, lunch had ended too quick. For others, it hadn't ended fast enough. It was now time for the first-years' third class for the day.

And that class in question was to learn how to fly on a broom.

In short: Flying class.

A man stood at the forefront of the lawn as the first year students in question were lined up in two separate rows on either side of him. Sleek and long obsidian black hair fell down his back uninhibited as silvery grey eyes flitted from student to student, taking in each of them in turn.

"Welcome, first-years, to flying class. I am Edgar Talbot, your flying instructor. This is a pretty simple class, especially since we'll be learning only the basics unless you wish to continue your flying education in your future years where more advanced techniques will be taught."

After making sure that the children were positioned by their designated brooms where they were waiting patiently for the signal to start, Edgar began the lesson by first telling his students to say 'up' with as much conviction as they could muster.

Amity scoffed softly to herself. This is child's play.

Thought the child herself.

Throwing her hand out with her palm facing the handle of the broom, she shouted, "Up!"

Zip!

The first-year standing next to her was absolutely startled out of his wits when Amity's broom promptly flew up toward her awaiting palm. She encircled her fingers around the wood to make sure that it didn't fall back to the grass.

Edgar saw this and said, "Good job, Quinnell."

She nodded, her heart swelling with the genuine praise. "Thank you, sir."

From the opposite side, two more loud shouts of 'up' were given.

Zip!

Zip!

Serenity and Verity stood in their respective places with their brooms now in hand.

Walking past, Edgar gave a nod. "Another good job, Quinnell and Quinnell."

Serenity gave a beaming smile while Verity's was more subdued.

Just as the instructor took another step forward, a third shout permeated the air. Instantly the broom went into the first-year's hand almost as though it was naturally attracted to it, fitting itself to the appendage neatly.

Silver grey glanced over to meet bright emeralds. He gave her a nod of approval. "Well done, Winters."

Rion smiled, holding the handle with both hands. "Thank you, sir."

Edgar walked on, gaze flitting to the other students. He saw that a few were still having trouble with the summoning of their brooms, and he set forth in trying to explain to them what it was like to give conviction to one's voice and how powerful such an emotion was when used in the right way.

A girl from Ravenclaw House managed to summon her broom, earning herself a nod and words of approval from Edgar.

Monica bowed politely while holding her broom securely with her hands. "Thank you, sir."

To his right the man heard a boy consistently shouting 'up' but wasn't able to truly command his broom to come to him. When Edgar allowed his eyes to steal a glance over his shoulder, he saw it was a Gryffindor boy with burnt umber brown hair and slate grey eyes.

The instructor approached him. "Brennan."

Said boy jolted, not at all expecting to be called out. His eyes of a similar colour yet different shade from the man's immediately snapped upward. Alexander waited for the inevitable verdict that he was sure he was about to be met with.

Edgar paused about three feet away. "Go on and say it once more if you would."

Alexander didn't need to be informed of what to say. He did, and the broom was again still lying unmoving on the ground. The hand that was outstretched clenched for a millisecond before reverting back to being open with the palm facing down.

The boy's brows pinched together, frustrated at having failed to call his broom for what felt like the umpteenth time now.

"You'll get it."

The words were said with a great amount of certainty and conviction. Conviction. That was what he needed, that emotion. That way of saying the word so his broom would listen to him and obey his command.

Alexander stared down at the object once more and shouted, "Up!"

Zip!

The broom swiftly surged up to plant itself against the Gryffindor boy's palm. Without missing a beat, lest he would have to go through that whole ordeal again, Alexander wrapped his fingers around its handle.

An utterly surprised but positively happy expression was written across his face.

A small, proud smile came to Edgar's own. "Wonderfully executed, Brennan."

Alexander looked up into the instructor's eyes. He nodded. "Thank you very much, sir!"

Walking onward, Edgar saw that one boy in particular had managed to get his broom in hand. Another nod and then: "Moriarty, nicely done."

William brandished a smile. "Thank you, Instructor."

As the man continued watching over his other students who were still having trouble, he thought idly to himself that he did not recall having heard William's voice throughout the entire class until that moment.

Regardless, Edgar took the thought and then threw it away. Absently, he believed that it wasn't something he should dwell over even while he contemplated the possibility that William could've just picked up his broom from off the ground instead of having done the required first step.

The lesson proceeded as planned until the instructor was called forth by a familiar voice that came from the distance.

"Edgar!" eyes of a unique shade of blue with bits of purple looked out from the opening leading onto the lawn. Fianna waved a hand in said man's direction, silently beckoning him over.

A sigh of complete and unveiled disapproval escaped him. Turning back to his class, he said, "I'll be right back. Do not go any further in the lesson until I come back."

Edgar promptly left in a slight huff.

With the children being the only ones out on the field, it was only a matter of time before some sort of chaos ensued.

And, unfortunately, it did not take long.

A laugh erupted from nowhere, startling some of the other students at the unexpected sound. It came from none other than Lionel Drake who was flanked by his two Slytherin friends, Tiffen and Pearson.

Lavender that was of a chillingly cold degree landed on Alexander, said Gryffindor tensing his shoulders at the attention. "As expected. Having trouble with summoning your broom is very much a Mudblood trait. Among other things."

The air around them grew thick upon that particular word leaving Lionel's lips without even an ounce of hesitation. Saying such a foul word came easily to him, and it showed just how many issues he didn't have with using it.

Which was an understandable problem.

Monica frowned, incredibly troubled by her friend's choice of wording. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted before she could get a single word out.

Instantaneously, Amity's voice rang out. "Oh, yeah, Drake? Then why were my sisters and I able to summon our brooms so easily?"

Serenity and Verity remained silent, wisely keeping out of it.

"That's easy," Lionel released a sarcastic scoff as a smirk was fitted to his face. "Your father was an utter reject from a prominent and very well-respected pure-blood family. It would so happen that you and your Mudblood sisters had just taken what little he had left to offer, which is surprising given he had nothing to offer in the first place."

He canted his head a tad. "Quite greedy and self-centered if you asked me."

During Lionel's entire spiel, William's eyes were narrowed dangerously while his hand gripped the handle of his designated broom in the same manner. Events of a year ago fluttered to his mind, and he noted with absolute certainty just how much this boy reminded William of him.

The true second son of the Moriarty family, and the boy whose identity William had taken over as his own five months prior.

The reaction to the haughty Slytherin's words was swift.

"Lionel!" was Monica's affronted call, her expression one of consternation.

Rion started in place, eyes wide and heart beating painfully behind its confinement within her chest. Sadness permeated her body keenly.

Amity's eyes were wide in her anger, hands lifting her broom into the air menacingly. She was fully intent on dealing out whatever she had planned when Serenity and Verity hurried over to her side, the former grabbing the broom while the latter planted her hands on Amity's shoulders.

They shouted at her to calm down and not do something that she would undoubtedly come to regret later. Amity was very adamant that, no matter what had happened, she would never regret putting a Drake in their place.

Which was, in her opinion, under the ground somewhere far away that no one would be able to find them.

Rion walked over and began to attempt calming the angered Hufflepuff girl.

"Amity, you have to calm down. It isn't worth it."

"Now that's a lie and you know it, Rion! He used that word, not once but twice, and insulted my father and sisters! That word is not one you would say when surrounded by polite company!"

"Well, what do you know?" the smirk grew larger on Lionel's face, resembling something sinister and dark. "I'm not in polite company now, am I?"

Amity's restraint was at its limit. Without warning, she released her grip on her broom. Serenity recoiled in shock with the broom now in her hands only while Verity let go of Amity's shoulders in the same emotion.

With a swiftness so sharp that those with the best eyesight could've seen it play out second by second, Amity reached into the interior of her robe to pull out a recognizable piece of wood.

All of the other students' eyes were wide upon realizing that the Hufflepuff had procured her wand.

William figured this would happen and was quick to move to her side. "Quinnell, don't do it."

"Who are you to tell me what to do, Moriarty?" Amity was quick in shifting her anger toward him who, in her mind, was just like Lionel at the end of the day. Pure-blood, haughty, arrogant and apathetic toward those perceived lower than him in the hierarchy.

It all couldn't have been farther off from the truth than it already was.

Undeterred, William tried once more. "Rion is right: it isn't worth it. At any moment Instructor Talbot will return and see you aiming your wand at another student. That will issue you a detention or worse."

The words 'detention' and 'worse' caused Amity to twitch, features visibly registering them in her still anger-muddled mind. Instinctively, the hand holding her wand began to move back behind her robe to hide the incriminating evidence from view. Even though there were countless witnesses in the form of her fellow students, no one in their right mind would out her for her impetuosity.

Especially when most of them knew how wrong Lionel was in what he had said.

Amity's anger slowly began to subside so she was able to think about the current situation in a much clearer way.

"Quinnell, you shouldn't have to lose your right to study here because of one person," said William. "A second's worth of revenge doesn't deserve the possibility of expulsion."

His words rang true and implanted themselves in the minds of some of the other students while also completely flying over the heads of those who didn't have a care.

After exhaling a breath, Amity looked into William's eyes where shining gold met blazing red. She nodded. "Yeah. . . Yeah, you're right, Moriarty. You're right in everything."

A breath of relief escaped most of the students, postures deflating where they had once been tensed.

Serenity and Verity praised their elder sister for her maturity, though in the former's case it was more so playful than actually serious. Amity had half a mind to bring her wand back out from hiding, and even showed a bit of it to Serenity who balked instantly at the sight of it.

The elder triplet released a small laugh at the middle triplet's reaction, all three sisters having a genuine laugh even after what had just been said about them and their father.

William was also relieved to have been able to avert a disastrous event from taking place. To his right, he felt the increasingly familiar presence of Rion as she sidled up to stand next to him.

When their eyes met, she smiled broadly. "Thanks, Will, for convincing Am to not go through with it. It's really difficult to get her to come back to reality when she gets really angry like that."

William smiled back. "I'm just glad I could help."

His smile fell away to be replaced with a serious frown. "I meant every single word I said, too. Drake isn't worth losing one's education over. What one can learn here is invaluable and priceless."

Twin scarlet glanced over at Lionel who was busy conversing with his two friends. The other Slytherin certainly was the very epitome of a pure-blood. But it wasn't what and how a pure-blood should truly act. No one had a right to speak in such a way that the heir of House Drake had spoken.

A difference in blood status didn't warrant an attitude of superiority and excellence above others nor did it warrant an attitude of fear and or anger at being perceived as 'lesser than' those who were 'better.'

The latter was understandable, but both attitudes should have no place in their world. In any world for that matter.

As William remained silent, Rion felt as though something was slowly rising to the surface within the boy which he carefully pushed down with a meticulousness that came very natural to him.

Once Edgar had finally returned to the field, Flying class officially resumed its course.


Ending Theme: Aloysius by Cocteau Twins.


Fun Fact: In the original, actual Harry Potter version of this story, Rion had been sorted into Slytherin House.

Thanks for reading!