The sounds of bubbling liquid and hissing steam were both bountiful within the walls of my classroom. My students had progressed well enough through their remedial alchemical theory for me to finally feel comfortable allowing them to attempt to brew a potion.

I had been administering a practical test of their skills for the past few days now. Rather than supplying them an ingredient list and a step-by-step process to follow as their previous professor had – an infant could muster the necessary skill to follow instruction and do what they were told until a potion ws complete before them – my students were given materials, a myriad of ingredients and the full class period to produce a potion for me. What they created was not so important to this lesson as to how they went about applying the skills I had bestowed upon them to manifest a usable potion with no outside aid.

It was clear that some students had taken my lessons more seriously than others. In each of my classes, there were one to four students that would get to work right away, a plan already formulated in their heads as they skillfully went about organizing their materials and planning out proper steps. The rest of my students would spend several minutes attempting to determine what ingredients they were given before giving up and attempting to subtly copy their more studious classmates. I was forced to step in on more than one occasion to prevent solutions from turning acidic or explosive. I still had much work to do with these students before the year was over.

My current class was my third of the day with my fifth-year students. For the past two class periods, only a small percentage of the class has been able to provide me with a single, completed potion. This was their last class to create a potion before it would negatively impact their final grade. I had provided remedial lectures and left my door open throughout the school's operational hours. The fact that only a handful of students took advantage of one or both of these resources was not within my ability to control. Perhaps failing the first quarter of the semester would promote a greater desire to exceed in my classes.

I had resolved to teach my students to the best of my ability, but I could not force them to learn or even pay attention without resorting to measures that were inappropriate in an academic setting. If the students were unwilling to learn what I had to teach them, I would do what I could to help them, then move on to those who clearly desired to improve. I would not punish exceptional students by prioritizing those who did not wish to learn over them.

"Professor?" Alice Grace called, her hand raised and a proud smile affixed to her face.

There were no small number of jealous and openly scathing looks directed towards her, but a stern glare from myself sent each of the students cowing back to their own cauldrons.

Approaching Alice's workstation, I was pleased to see everything organized efficiently and properly cleaned. A small, clear bottle sat in front of her with a thick, black fluid sitting heavily inside the bottle.

I plucked the bottle off the table and raised it before my eyes to inspect it. This was Alice's third completed potion this week. She was able to finish one in every available class period while even the other, well-performing students in her class had only managed to complete their projects on the second day.

"Well done." I said, setting the potion down in front of her, eliciting a smile from the Slytherin girl. "While the potency is lacking, that is something that takes experience and experimentation to improve."

I was pleasantly surprised with Alice's aptitude for potions. In her fifth year, she was outperforming all of my students, including those in the two classes above her. This potion, a simple draught that would give the imbiber vision in darkness, was unique from her two others. In her first class, she created a very weak, but complete, healing potion that was sent to the medical wing and used to remedy a scraped knee. Her second potion, one that enhanced the user's reflexices, ws given to one of the members of Slytherin's quidditch team for some favor. Slytherin was by far the House containing the most political maneuvering, and, while I was aware of it, I did not pay more attention to it than was warranted to ensure students were not involved in anything potentially volatile.

After just more than two months of instruction, Alice was well on her way to becoming an accomplished alchemist.

"How can I increase the potency, professor? What would that entail?" Alice asked, pulling a small notebook from her pocket and taking out a quill.

"Unfortunately, there is no sure answer to the question of how to increase a potion's potency. Each potion is different and requires different procedures. A potion like this could benefit from more finely ground ingredients while a potion to restore bones would need to heat longer. Experimenting with the process or researching what others have done is the only way to uncover more effective methods."

"Then why do we have to learn to experiment at all if someone else has already done it?"

I turned and raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the brown-haired form of Leo Oliver, a Gryffindor who had been struggling in my class since I arrived. From his last year's grades, it was easy to tell he excelled at potions before I arrived, and I felt he held me personally responsible for his lesser performance. He had a great memory, and used it to excel in the previous professor's lessons of 'memorize this process and follow it exactly'. My more scientific approach had caused him to struggle, and he was too arrogant and stubborn to learn what I was teaching him as he considered it 'wrong'.

"Because, Mr. Oliver, what will you do when there is no one else to discover how to improve the potion for you? When isolated from others or when improvement in a field ceases, would you prefer to wait for another to come along with new ideas or present your own?"

"I'd probably make sure I wasn't in a useless field in the first place, professor. I would actually have an impact on the world." A cocky smile grew on his face as several other Gryffindors who followed him around like ducklings began snickering at his attitude.

An amused smile grew on my own face at his words. This was the first sign of any openly rebellious actions among any of my classes. There were glares and mumbled discontent, but no one was so bold as to challenge me to my face. While a proper teacher would likely take the time to break apart Leo's horrendously flawed logic to put him in his place themselves, citing how my shop had revolutionized potioncraft and my name was known throughout the world for my alchemical and enchanting exploits. Perhaps they would schedule a detention and orchestrate some task to highlight the flaws in his logic. I had more important endeavors to dedicate my time to. I would allow his housemates to deal with him for me.

"One-hundred points from Gryffindor." I said, offering Leo a professional smile before turning around to deal with the potion three desks down that was a minute from exploding.

Dead silence followed me as I doused the mixture in salt to forestall any destructive rushes of heat.

"Wha…But you can't do that!"

I turned around and saw a red-faced, panicked Leo Oliver. He, like the rest of the class, was likely surprised that I had finally made use of the House points system. Until this moment, I have not awarded or subtracted a single point. The whole system was brainless, seemingly designed to divide the houses further and promote sabotage. I hadn't seen the use of adding or subtracting any points outside of special circumstances. Now, Leo would be dressed down by his entire house even as he likely tried to report me to the headmaster for my unfair harassment.

If asked, I would explain my actions, but I doubted it would come to that. Outside of my meetings with Amelia to coordinate ingredient lessons and the dueling club I co-ran with Albus, I had not interacted with much of the staff at Hogwarts. I had not seen Armando since the opening meal at the start of the year. It was likely that my eating at my home and spending so much time in my office to allow students time to ask for help cut into any time I would have spent with the faculty, but I was not here to make friends. I was here to teach the students and copy Hogwarts's library, a task that devoured what time was not spent in my office or at my home.

"What I can and cannot do has no bearing on your perception of my authority, Mr. Oliver. Now, you should add a spoonful of honey to your cauldron before the solution threatens to release toxic gas into my classroom. I will do far more than subtract arbitrary points if you create a nerve agent in my classroom."

"What is a nerve agent, professor?" Alice asked, her notebook still held aloft, seemingly uncaring of the school drama that just occurred before her.

I opened my mouth to answer her, before closing it with a frown. That was right, sarin would not be invented for several years yet. "Perform well in your divination lessons, and you will know." I said cryptically.

The rest of the class proceeded more or less as I had expected. All but a handful of students were able to turn in a passable potion, Leo Oliver was among those who failed to complete a project, and there were no more unwelcome interruptions. The remaining classes I instructed that day contained nothing of note, allowing me more time to copy Hogwarts's library.

X

"Professor?"

I looked up from the book in front of me, a history of Clan Tremere acquired from Anastasia Romanov, closing it and setting it on a shelf behind my desk. "Please come in, Ms. Grace. I must admit, I am surprised to see you here. I arranged these office hours so I may assist struggling students with course work. You are my best student."

Alice blushed at the compliment, a small, proud smile on her face. "Thank you, professor. I recently heard that you do not see many visitors during your office hours and was wondering if you could help me study ahead?"

I raised an eyebrow as I sat back in my chair. "As I currently see less than five students a week, I would not be opposed to the idea, but I would have to ask why you desire to get ahead? Are you interested in a profession in potions?"

Alice curled in on herself. "I… Ah, no, professor. I enjoy potions!" she hastily added. "But I want to become an auror."

"Potions would certainly assist you with that, but I must again ask how advancing in your potions class will assist you in achieving your goal faster."

Alice swallowed, shuffling uncertainly from foot to foot. "I was hoping you could help me advance i all of my classes, sir."

Frowning, I shook my head. "Unfortunately, I would require the blessing of your other instructors to personally assist you in their subjects. It would be a breach of professional courtesy and would require a substantial time investment I could invest in other pursuits. I am sure that, should you ask, your other teachers would be willing to help you after class."

Alice's posture deflated. "I have already asked them, sir. Only Professor Dumbeldor even considered the idea, but he said I wasn't properly appreciating my time at Hogwarts and would regret it If I spent all of my time studying."

"Professor Dumbeldore is both intelligent and wise." I said, carefully analyzing her. "I believe he is right that you would regret ignoring your classmates in the sole pursuit of academic goals."

Alice swallowed again, conflict apparent on her face. "I…I need to be stronger, sir."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "That is not a sentence I expected to hear from a student of this institution. Why do you seek strength?"

"My housemates talk. I don't hear everything because I'm a… I hear enough. Something is happening with their parents which is scaring or exciting them. I can't be sure, but I think it has something to do with the recent attacks in Europe. I'm not sure what, but something will happen soon. I don't want to be at the mercy of anyone when that happens."

It would seem that Grindelwald's followers had stupidly boasted to their children. That was why I never gathered organizations around myself, they leaked like sieves. Demons were much more trustworthy as impossible as that was for most to comprehend. They only spoke when it benefited them and cared not for the opinions of mortals, containing their boasting to other demonic entities and ensuring none knew of my plans.

Still, it was curious that Alice – a girl clearly not belonging to any noble family and, by her stutter, a witch of impure blood – was able to determine something substantial would soon occur. Not only that, but to have the wherewithal to understand she was in danger. I doubted Gridelwald or his followers would openly target her, but it was possible for her to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and die. It had happened to more people than were currently alive.

"That sounds serious, Ms. Grace. Why would you come to me with this instead of the headmaster or the aurors?"

Alice closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Because they wouldn't care. They'd say I was delusional, but I know something is happening."

"And how can I help you?"

"When you dueled Professor Dumbeldore… You were holding back, weren't you, sir?"

"Yes. But so was Albus." I admitted to her suspicions easily. "If the two of us had truly fought, the area would have been destroyed, and we both thought it best not to harm our students during a rudimentary demonstration."

Her eyes shined with eagerness as she said, "Who would win if you actually fought?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Answering the question of who would emerge victorious from a battle is never as simple as one would think. The environment, preparation time, specific counters for abilities, strength, speed, a pebble placed in just the right spot on the ground to cause a party to stumble – there are more factors than I can easily name that hold sway over the answer to that question. And that is not a question that should need asking. Albus and I are both your professors, we will likely not find ourselves at odds, and, even if we did, it would have no bearing on the school. We would both defend this school and its students with a ferocity few could match."

"That isn't…" She took a deep breath. "Sir, I want to be able to defend myself. Whatever is happening may not come this year. What will I do if you and Professor Dumbeldore are no longer teaching? I know Professor Chalice is not half the wizard either you or Professor Dumbeldore are."

"Ms. Grace, please cease speaking around the issue and clearly state what you wish."

"I want to be strong enough to protect myself and my cousin when whatever is coming arrives. I want to be able to defend myself against adults who may target us."

"You want me to train you to be a soldier then? That is not my job, Ms. Grace. I am here to educate you, not militarize you."

"What good is my education if I am killed before I can use it?" she challenged, determination carved into her features.

Her determination, her eagerness to learn, the ease with which she absorbed my lessons – she was beginning to remind me of someone.

A face flashed past my mind's eye – a dunmer in light blue robes with a cocky smirk on her face, a bronze contraption whirring in her hand.

Having come to a decision, I leaned forward into my desk, resting my elbows against its surface. "I sympathize with your plight and desire, Ms. Grace, but, as I have already said, I cannot be known to assist my students in topics that my colleagues head. It would cause several issues for me that I would rather avoid. In order to assist you with what you ask, I would require a method that did not incur cost to myself. I am sorry, but I may not teach you during my office hours as the headmaster requires a log of all faculty activities at Hogwarts each week. Falsifying these reports would lead to losing my position at this institution. I cannot help you during office hours." I was willing to assist her, but I would not sacrifice my access to Hogwarts's library for her.

"Then what about after school, sir? I could come in early or later and–"

"I would need to report what I was doing with my students which would lead to issues with my colleagues when they hear I am teaching their classes behind their backs. I am sorry, but I cannot help you."

Alice deflated. Her head hung as she turned and began to slowly walk from my office. Clearly, she had misunderstood my meaning.

A glass potion bottle fell off the shelf next to Alice just as she reached the door to my office, shattering against the ground.

"Ms. Grace," I said in a terse voice, standing up from my desk. "Destruction of school property is unacceptable. I am issuing you detention for the remainder of the week to be served for two hours after classes end for the day."

"What! But…" her eyes widened as she stopped speaking. "I will be there, professor." she said quickly, a smile forming on her lips. "Thank you." she said much quieter.

Alice had potential. I had seen it in my class and felt her magical power on a number of occasions. Elevating mages who showed potential to rise to heights most could only dream of was the only way for mages like myself, those who had reached a peak, to progress. If I was able to elevate Alice Grace to such a pinnacle, she would rise to be more impactful than her the combined might of the rest of my students combined. She had potential, and the desire to realize it. I would permit her this opportunity. Whether she succeeded or failed would wholly be determined by her.

As she left, I sat back down and mentally rearranged my schedule. For the moment, I would make no further commitments. Between the dueling club, Hogwarts's library, the basilisk remains, my desire to further explore the Chamber of Secrets, my planar experiments and now lessons with Alice, my schedule was filled. I would make do.

X

The Room of Requirement, while impressive, was not as amazing as I had expected it to be. The fictions of the shorter of my prior lives had proclaimed the room to deliver everything the asker desired, that the room was stalked with ancient treasures of power overwhelming, that a simple trick of the mind could alter it into a space from a dream. These expectations were proven false.

The Room of Requirement did hold a substantial number of magical trinkets, but nothing was overly interesting. There were no lost artifacts created by mythical figures from the past, no spell tomes containing magic unparalleled, no ritual books showing the path to unlocking power overwhelming. The contents of the room were likely nothing more than minor items lost by students or staff over the years. None of it was overly useful to me as I could craft items far superior to everything I found within the Room.

The Room was also limited in what it could create. The actor in charge of the room could not simply will a location into being. The Room could provide locations and areas that a student or teacher might need, but when I attempted to shape the room into Lamae Bal's ritual chamber, I was granted a simple room with a floor of stone slabs.

The room was limited, but still useful. Unfortunately, it was not useful enough for me to use to progress my rituals further. I would need to manually improve the area, and it was far more beneficial for me to continue improving my home's resources than devoting more to a location I may lose access to at some point in the future. Currently, I was using the Room for one purpose, and one purpose only.

"Your stance." I reminded the girl in front of me.

Alice quickly shuffled her feet to assure better balance, her wand up and aimed at a training dummy in front of her.

Three days had passed since she approached me during my office hours. The first two days I introduced her to the Room of Requirement and had her demonstrate each spell she was proficient with so I knew where her starting point was. Forming an effective lesson plan was impossible without knowing her strength. She was superior to most fifth-years, but she was not yet at the level of her sixth-year compatriots.

With a mental command from myself, the wheel the dummy was affixed to rolled forwards, the mannequin raising its axe as it rolled towards Alice.

"Stupefy!" she intoned, slashing her wand towards the oaken form of the training dummy charging towards her.

The mannequin's momentum halted when the spell impacted it, but it quickly began rolling again.

Alice backed away, firing more stunners at the dummy. Each step took her closer to the wall. When she could retreat no further, she reached up and pulled a sturdy, wrought iron torch from a sconce next to her, swinging it around and clubbing the dummy as it closed the distance to her.

She had much ground to cover if she wanted to be able to fight in a life or death struggle. While her instincts were passable, being able to recognize her spells were not working and resorting to something more mundane, her creativity was sorely lacking. A mage's greatest strength was the versatility of their magic. Using a single spell repeatedly before abandoning magic entirely spoke to her inexperience.

"You have much you need to improve on." I said, flicking my wrist and sending the broken mannequin away from Alice. "I did not expect you to be proficient in combat, but I had also expected you to be somewhat learned. You have never fought anything in your life."

Alice opened her mouth to refute me, but she closed it and shrunk in on herself. "No, sir."

"It is not shameful to have never faced true combat, Ms. Grace. Mages like Albus and myself did not rise from our beds one morning greater than our opponents. Every witch and wizard must start somewhere, that you desire to improve is more than can be said for most of your classmates. Your work ethic will take you far."

Alice exhaled through her nose, frustrated, and waved her wand, blasting the remains of the dummy even further away from her. "But not fast enough! I've read the paper. People are dying, professor. If I can't–"

"Stop." I held up a hand, fixing Alice with a hard look.

She threw her head back to look at the ceiling and started taking several deep breaths.

Studying her, I internally debated how best to teach her before deciding to ask for her input. "I offer you a choice, Ms. Grace. I may continue to instruct you as I have in my class. You will show improvement and likely grow more proficient in dueling than the greatest dueler in their seventh year at this institution. When I leave Hogwarts at the end of the year, you will be prepared to defend yourself from wizards long enough to flee."

Alice's eyes widened, fear growing on her face. "You're not teaching next year?"

I shook my head. I had recently made the decision that I would return to my home at the termination of the school year. I had made sufficient progress in copying Hogwarts's library to have finished by the half-point of the year, allowing me time enough to plunder the Chamber of Secrets before the end of the year. I was not overly attached to any of my students or colleagues and wished to devote more time to my planar studies. The planet-spanning ward put in place by the sorcerers of this world was proving more difficult to contend with than I had initially thought. It would take years for me to find a way through it. Hogwarts, while interesting, did not hold enough value to keep my attention for longer than my contract required my presence.

"But I need you!" Alice looked frantic, like a gazelle just noticing a stalking lion.

I tilted my head curiously at the unexpected surge of emotion. "Why me specifically, Ms. Grace? When I leave, I will put in a good word for you with Professor Dumbeldore if you wish to continue your extracurricular learning."

Alice looked down at the floor, her shoulders rising to either side of her neck. "The forest." she said, her voice a whisper.

"The forest?"

Alice swallowed heavily, slowly looking up to meet my eyes. "I should be dead."

Hogsmeade. She had puzzled together the truth, or a sufficient enough comparison to the truth.

"Why should you be dead, Ms. Grace?" I wanted to determine exactly what she had been able to surmise.

"I… I've never been interested in…that kind of thing." She blushed, looking away from my eyes. "Something made me want it. I asked Professor Dumbeldore about creatures that can influence thoughts, and vampires were one of the things he told me about. When I looked them up in the library, everything about them matched with what we experienced that night. I was dazed, my thoughts weren't right, and…" She shook her head violently. She settled herself, and seemed to shrink in on herself, staring far into the distance. "They were going to kill us, weren't they?"

"Yes." I said, refusing to lie to her.

"What…what did you do to them?"

"They are dead."

She nodded sharply. "Good. I want… I don't ever want to be that helpless again. You fought both of them and killed them. My research said vampires are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, but you beat two of them simultaneously." Her eyes were determined as she met my gaze. "I want you to teach me to be that strong."

I regarded the girl before me, my face a mask of stone. "As I was saying, Ms. Grace, I offer you a choice: Learn as I have been teaching you in class, or learn as I would teach an apprentice, as I have taught an apprentice, unhampered by restrictions and regulations. It will not be easy. It will be painful. If you truly wish to learn to be a warrior, I can make you one, but it will be the most difficult thing you have yet done in your life."

Alice's fingers curled into fists, her grip on her wand tightening to iron. "I want to be a warrior."

"You are sixteen years of age, Ms. Grace. If you choose the second option, it will alter the course of your life, likely not for the better. You may still live a quiet, happy life as an accomplished alchemist. You can open a shop and grow wealthy with your aptitude for potioncraft, powerful enough to defend yourself from Gellert Grindelwald and his zealous followers. You are asking me to set you on a path wrought with pain and loss. You will be more than capable of surviving the coming conflict with your first option."

There was no trace of doubt on Alice's face as she said, "I want to be a warrior." Her voice was filled with steel as she repeated herself.

"If you choose this course, I will forge you into a weapon few could match. The process will burn away everything else. You will likely reach the end of your path and find yourself as isolated as myself. You will not be happy. I ask you one final time: Are you sure?"

"Yes." There was no hesitation.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I could sense her desire. She saw me as a titan and wanted to become like me. If I sent her away now, she would not give up. As I opened my eyes, I studied her.

She really was just like Kireth. I couldn't deny the idea of training another apprentice was appealing. It would scatter the monotony of my current schedule if nothing else.

"Very well, Alice." I said. Raising my hand, I called her wand to it. Despite the girl's tight grip, her wand was torn from her hand, flying through the air to come to rest in mine. "These are a hindrance, a crutch the practitioners of this world have grown too reliant upon. You will not suffer from this weakness." I watched her face morph from confusion to abject loss as I snapped her wand in my hands.

"No!" she fell to her knees, grasping futilely towards the fragments of her dying wand as I let them fall to the ground.

"For the time being, you are too accustomed to using a focus to cast without one. We will need to remedy this weakness. Until then, you will use this." I held a clear crystal down towards her. "It is less effective than your wand was, but that is the point. I will slowly lessen the effectiveness of your foci until you are able to cast without them. Only then will I allow you to take up another focus to enhance your spellcraft. You will participate in your classes using this." I held out a perfect replica, less the mystical capabilities, of her wand in my other hand. "Wave this while you channel your magic through the crystal. I expect you to score the highest possible grade on every assignment you are issued in every class. If you require assistance completing your work, I will help you understand the concepts that elude you."

Alice seemed to have finally caught up with the events that had transpired. With shaking hands, she reached up and took the crystal from me. Slowly as if kindling the last ember of dying hope within her, she held it close to her chest and cast a levitation charm on the fragments of her wand. The magic was less controlled than when she used her wand, but the splinters rose shakily off the ground. A herculean breath of relief left Alice's lungs as she realized she could still cast spells. Slowly, she took the replica of her wand from me as well.

"For the rest of our time here today, you will learn how to effectively use the crystal. You will not be able to match your previous mastery of your wand in that time, but I expect you to grow accustomed to the lesser foci within a week's time. After this time, I will lessen the effectiveness of your focus again and repeat this process until you are as effective without one as you once were with your wand. Do you understand?"

Alice pushed herself to her feet, the crystal clutched to her chest like a precious heirloom. "Yes." her voice was quieter, though the fire within it had magnified. There was a small, predatory grin on the girl's face.

I smiled back at her. Alice had potential and the will to realize it. I would enjoy seeing the force she would become in a decade's time.