2020 A/N 1: The original incarnation of this story (which never saw the light of day back in 2014) made it to the second task of fourth year. However, I have made so many changes to the story since then that those original chapters are now completely useless. There are ideas and aspects I'm still going to use, but the wording and characterisation is so different it's not even funny. For example, this chapter didn't see the light of day in that original version of this story.
Chapter 45: Year Four: First Lessons
By the time dawn had broken, so had the storm, although the sky remained a gloomy grey threatening further rain. As always, they received their course schedule at breakfast – along with the unexpected news that the staff didn't want them to attend lessons that day – instead there would be workshops throughout the day for different years that the students could attend to keep them busy if they so wanted.
The timetable for the workshops was given out at the same time as their class timetables. Their was handwriting and quill sharpening workshops for the first years, essay writing and construction for all years, household spells, introduction to spell-crafting (only open to 5 year and up), spells and using them in cooking, and several other workshops which used to them basic skills.
"Monday won't be so bad" Ron grumbled as he looked over his class timetable, "outside until lunch time. Ah, man, we've still got Care with the Slytherins."
"Arithmancy that afternoon," Aileen said looking over her schedule, noticing that she now had fixed times, three times a week, when she would be having lessons with Madam Pomfrey as opposed to simply trying to fit in lessons whenever they could. It was quiet well distributed, not having too many magic heavy lessons in one day – lessons like Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care, Herbology and Potions broke up charms, transfiguration and defence. Although, simple due to where her free lessons would have sat, she did have a day where she had healing straight after charms, and on the same day as Transfiguration.
"I've got double Divination," Ron groaned. He hated that subject because he was alone and Trelawney was a complete fraud, but he had refused to swop to a harder subject the year before, and it was now far too late for him to do so.
"You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. "Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy."
"You're eating again, I notice," said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too, and choosing to change the subject as opposed to argue over the lessons he had taken.
"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.
"Yeah...and you were hungry," said Ron, grinning.
Aileen's eyes narrowed. It would seem she would have to send the book off by the end of the week. She was going to keep it for a couple more weeks and read through it, double checking she had included everything she could considering the closer deadline, but she was confident in her work and so, instead, she would just read through it once more and send it off. Hopefully it would be published in time for her to get it for Hermione's birthday (she could probably get her the law book as well) and before she begins her crusade against house-elves.
Once she had finished her breakfast Aileen decided to go and visit the headmaster instead of going to any of the workshops which she didn't feel were offering her anything she didn't already know. There was something she wanted to discuss with him before she went to see Salazar. She had to speak with the founder about a new training schedule, and to update him on what she had managed to achieve since she last saw him.
Since the headmaster had left the Great Hall about twenty minutes before she did, she knew that there was a high possibility that he would be in his office. Arriving before the gargoyle she spoke the password (ginger snap) that she had been given during her last meeting with the headmaster because she would need it for when the curse breakers arrived.
"Ah, Aileen, would you like a cup of tea?" the headmaster offered when she opened the door with his permission. He knew she would never accept a lemon drop – particularly after breakfast – but she would accept a cup of tea since it made their chats less formal. The headmaster knew that Aileen had something really serious to discuss if she turned down the offer of tea. He used it to gage the mood since he'd discovered Aileen was very capable of hiding her feelings from him.
"I would love a cup, headmaster." Aileen accepted while taking a seat.
"This is a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you to visit me until the second week of term." Dumbledore raised his eyebrow with a smile while pouring them both a cup of tea from the tea set that the house-elves had delivered to the office.
"I wasn't intending on visiting either, but then you made an announcement last night I wanted to discuss." Aileen agreed, accepting her cup of tea. "Thank you."
"I'm taking every precaution I can think of to ensure that you do not end up in the tournament." Dumbledore reassured her. Considering the way that her last three years had gone, it was unsurprising that he thought she was there about the danger the tournament presented to her.
"That wasn't what I wanted to discuss, although neither me nor Sirius understand why the tournament has been brought back. I actually wanted to talk about Quidditch." Aileen corrected him. Of course, she was relieved to know he had taken precautions, she trusted the old man's desire to protect his students enough to assume he had already done so. "Has the tournament been cancelled due to the strain on the staff's time or because you're planning on using the Quidditch pitch?"
"The second." Dumbledore answered with a smile, he knew that tone of voice.
Aileen was an extremely intelligent young lady with an outlook and understanding of business which he hadn't seen in people twice her age. Even with all his years running Hogwarts, after two years in the system, she had come up with answers to his financial problems he had been having for years. She had also considered the running of Hogwarts and the safety of the students in a way that he hadn't ever thought of before. Her outlook on things were refreshing, and if she had been older, he would have hired her as an adviser and take some of the pressure off Minerva. He was interested in what new outlook she could provide on the running of the school.
"Without revealing too much about the tournament, as I'm sure you're restricted, will the Quidditch pitch be used for the entire time?" Aileen questioned, pulling out her notebook in preparation for taking notes.
"It will be needed for the first task, 22nd of November. It will need to be cordoned off the day before, and it will take a day to take down. The second task is on the 24th of February and won't require the use of the pitch. The final task is scheduled for the 24th of June, but the pitch will need to be sectioned off exactly one month before." Dumbledore answered, raising an eyebrow as Aileen started writing things down and working out some maths.
In the Quidditch tournament there was three games for each team, six games overall. The Gryffindor Vs. Slytherin game was always first, with the Gryffindor Vs Hufflepuff game being last. With the limited restriction on when the pitch would be available for the game, and considering training, the first game could be done October 16th, and the second game (Ravenclaw Vs. Hufflepuff) the following weekend on October 23rd. The next two games of Gryffindor Vs Ravenclaw and Slytherin Vs Hufflepuff could be done on November 6th and November 13th. The final two games of Ravenclaw Vs Slytherin and Gryffindor Vs Hufflepuff could be done after the first task on December 4th and 11th. She'd picked Sundays, giving them Saturday for practise.
While she was working all this out Aileen noticed something about the first task. After a moment she had worked out what day the second and third task was on. "You are aware that the first task is on Tuesday, and the second one is on the Friday?"
"Indeed. Unfortunately, the Ministry wouldn't budge on the date. Fortunately, the third task falls after the exams." Dumbledore responded with a disapproving thrown. "I had to completely rearrange the exam schedule this year and it took a lot of arranging to get the NEWT and OWL exams moved."
"Well, I've just worked out a Quidditch schedule, so the teams get the opportunity to use those brooms we brought them. It's unfair on those on the team graduating this year if they're looking to go on to be professional players if you cancel Quidditch" Aileen handed the notebook over. "I've got them all sectioned in before Christmas because I've got another idea about what we can do after Christmas."
"Do you think the Quidditch teams would be ready to participate in a competition so soon, and willing to fly so close to each other?" Dumbledore queried since he had never played Quidditch and so didn't have the perspective of a Quidditch player.
"If they could fly, they wouldn't have an issue with it. Although I would recommend Madame Hooch get with the captains in order to work out training schedules which is fair for everyone." Aileen hummed thoughtfully.
"I'm sure we could work with this timetable, and Madame Hooch will be relieved to be able to see the difference equal brooms has on the teams." Dumbledore agreed, writing out the dates Aileen had given him on his own sheet of parchment before handing the notebook back. "What idea do you have for after Christmas?"
"An inter-school Quidditch tournament, with each school selecting 7 people to represent them. Hogwarts will off course have to hold a try out – perhaps under Madame Hooch's leadership to work out who the captain will be and the members of the team. Trying to incorporate people from different houses, and even those who aren't on the Quidditch team. No age limit. Since we need four teams to work out the determination of who wins, have the winning Hogwarts Quidditch team as the fourth team which means they can't be part of the official Hogwarts team." Aileen explained her idea, once more working out dates on her note pad.
"Team 1 and Team 2 would face of 15th January, Team 3 and Team 4 would face of 29th January. Team 3 and Team 2 would face on March 4th, while Team 4 and 1 would face March 11th. Then I would recommend doing the last two matches on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March, within the easter holidays to get them over with before the revision craze." Aileen handed her notebook back over so Dumbledore could see not only the dates she mentioned but also other potential dates.
"Doing a Quidditch tournament means that more than just the champions will be involved, and it gives the younger years something to engage in as well. Otherwise, they may feel slightly left out during this whole process." Aileen explained her reasoning.
"We hadn't even thought about that. But I'll speak with Headmaster Karkaroff, and Madame Maxine about it. But I can't see them saying no and it means they will be able to bring more students. I'll also offer to let them into the lessons and clubs of Hogwarts if they're interested. After all, they'll be here for the entire year." As the headmaster thought he started writing on a spare piece of parchment that he had to hand. He wondered why he hadn't thought about any of these things before Aileen had approached him since it would at least salvage something about this unsavoury situation.
"I'm glad I could help headmaster, I just figured I had better approach you now before the Quidditch teams realise the full impact of what will happen." Aileen smiled when Dumbledore turned his attention back to her once he had finished making notes.
"Is Sirius still planning on taking up his position on the board?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes." Aileen confirmed. "He'll also sit as my proxy."
"Then I hope that you and your godfather continue to positively influence this school." Dumbledore complimented.
"Thank you, Headmaster. I had best get going. I have some other things to get done today." Aileen stood, placing her teacup on the tray. "Thank you for the tea."
"No, thank you Aileen. And remember, my door is always open."
Aileen went straight from her meeting with the headmaster to the classroom that she trained in. Over the last year, since she had added Salazar portrait, she had ensured that she was the only one who could enter the room, but she was thinking about moving to the Room of Requirement to do all her training because it offered more variety in terms of a workspace. She had learnt about the existence of the room the year before from Salazar, and then obtained its location from the House Elves, however she had not had the opportunity to truly explore the room due to how busy she had been.
She was hopeful, that this year, she would not be as swamped with personal issues that took up more time than she had anticipated. Aileen had already sorted out her own personal training timetable, which in conjunction with lesson timetables and Quidditch training, meant that she would still have several hours each day free. The Room would allow her to increase her physical training, and possible allow her to make up opponents for her to fight so as to increase her experience with the sword. When she left school, she had decided she would go to Camp Half-Blood, and learning how to wield the sword against a human would be important for fitting in when she got there. Considering how the school year went, she might ask Sirius to spend a few weeks in America so she could get a feel for how that life would be like before she dived in headfirst.
"Ah, Aileen, it's good to see you again. Was your planning successful?" Salazar greeted her cheerfully.
"It was. My godfather is a free man, and I'm working with the headmaster and a team of curse breakers to restore the wards." Aileen reported. "Unfortunately, it will have to wait until after the school year has ended. They'll be coming in person to access the wards and the best way to improve them."
"Are they thinking about bringing the wards down completely or only some of the wards?" Salazar asked seriously.
"For now, they're undecided. They'll come to a final decision once they've done an assessment of the wards stone. At the minute the only information they have is the information the Headmaster Dumbledore and I have provided them. So, they have an idea of the approaches they can take, but they won't know which is most effective until a full diagnostic has been done." Aileen jumped up onto the desk facing the painting.
"Have you made any progress in finding the others?" Salazar asked. He had been okay being on his own, but in the last year since the child had found him, he found himself craving the companionship of his friends. Particularly over this summer when he didn't have the intelligent and insightful child to distract himself with.
"No, but I was thinking about using the Room of Requirement to see if the castle itself would be able to tell me where they are." Aileen explained the other reason she had decided to make use of the room that year.
"I didn't even think about doing that. That should be possible." Salazar said thoughtfully. "The Room of Requirement was locked to the ward stone and imbedded with our magic so much so that it knocked us all out for three days afterwards. It would have also helped absorb the bleed off from over the years, before slowly giving it to the ward stone as needed."
"If you like, I can go and look for them now. No one's expecting me until after lunch." Aileen offered, seeing the hope in the founder's eyes. She knew that he had been missing his friends these last centuries, ever since he had been moved into the chamber by one of his great grandchildren. He had hidden his loneliness from even himself, but now she had come into his life he was finding it harder to cope with and deny.
"Please. I would like to know if their paintings have survived. Even if the room of requirements can't show you where they are, it should be able to tell you if they continue to exist since we're tied into the wards." Salazar requested.
"I'll be back once I have the answers." Aileen waved at the founder before leaving the room for the seventh floor. Despite the workshops being option, the corridors were deserted allowing Aileen to pass through the school unnoticed. Arriving at the mostly unused corridor on the seventh floor, she paced in front of the wall three times.
I'm searching for the location of the lost founder's portraits. I'm searching for the location of the lost founder's portraits. I'm searching for the location of the lost founder's portraits.
The door that appeared was very nondescript, it was the same as all the other basic wooden doors that was used for the classrooms. Stepping through the door Aileen looked around interestedly. The room that she had been given reminded her of a common room. There was a fireplace with a comfy chair to one side, and the other had three doors. Ignoring the chair and fireplace for now, Aileen stepped up to the first door with her wand drawn. She didn't know where they led, but she had asked for the location of the portraits, and there were three of them.
The first door led to a dark corridor which had cobwebs and dust. The house-elves made sure to clean and maintain all known parts of the school, especially over the summer holiday when they had no students to cook or care for. So, to be led to a corridor that was covered in dust and cobwebs meant that this was a forgotten part of the school – like the chamber had been.
"Scourgify," Aileen overpowered the spell which led to the removal of the majority of the dust and cobwebs, but it didn't get rid of the imbedded dirt that had formed over the years. That would require the specialised and dedicated magic of the house-elves. Next, she used the "Lums Sphera" spell that allowed her to hold a ball of light in her off hand and her wand in her other. After she'd asked, Remus had been more than willing to let her.
About halfway down the corridor from where the door had appeared, she found a painting on the wall that had been covered by a black vail. Pulling the vail off the painting she found who she assumed was Godric Gryffindor. He was a large man, his shoulders broad and what was clearly a fighting figure hidden under golden embroidered burgundy robes. Strapped to his waist was the sword of Gryffindor and framing his face was wild red hair that wouldn't look out of place on a Weasley. However, the picture within wasn't moving, like it had been frozen or put into stasis. The bold and strong colours meant that the picture hadn't been drained off life, so she could re-animate it.
A couple of diagnostic spells later confirmed her theory, but it wasn't a spell holding the picture in stasis – it was a rune. Likely because a spell would have worn off over time due to the nature of magic at Hogwarts protecting the portraits. Whoever had done this was smart enough to recognise that and hide the portrait in a corridor that was no longer recognised as a main part of the castle. Carefully lifting the portrait from the wall, Aileen turned it around and placed it on the floor.
The rune to hold the portrait in stasis had been put on the back of the frame, except it wasn't one Rune. It was a configuration, a three-point configuration. She had only taken one official year of runes, but she was advanced for her age. She could easily sit the OWL test and pass. During the first year as a student, you were taught the elder futhark alphabet, and how each rune has individual power on its own. They were also taught how they could be combined in order to be more effective. This rune combination was Algiz, which in this configuration meant shielding, Thurisaz which had many meanings but seemed to be being used as the strength of the configuration and Nauthiz which was the impossible rune which held the meaning of the configuration. And all of them had the fire element as the base which meant that she couldn't just scratch out the runes without destroying the portrait. She would have to neutralise the runes and then remove them. Which meant she would have to use a combination of water, as a counter to fire, and earth to ground the magic.
It took her only a minute to carve her runes around the original ones. Once she was sure they were perfect she channelled her magic into the runes which glowed briefly. She knew it worked because the portrait started talking:
"…You won't get away with this. We won't let you tarnish Salazar's reputation…" Godric paused in his rant as he realised what was in front of him. "Wait, what happened? Why am I looking at a wall?"
"Give me a minute Lord Gryffindor. I'll turn you round, I just need to remove the stasis configuration since my neutralisation runes will only last a few minutes." Aileen transfigured some sandpaper since she wasn't carrying any in her rune's tool kit – something she should probably change.
"Who are you? How long have I been frozen?" Gryffindor asked, catching up with the situation.
"I'm Aileen and I do not know, Lord Gryffindor. What is the year last you remember?" Aileen made sure that she filed the old runes off first before removing her own so as to not cause a cascade failure.
"1427," Gryffindor answered.
"Um… I'm not sure how to say this, Lord Gryffindor. But it's 1994. You've been frozen for five hundred and sixty-seven years." Aileen tried to say delicately, but blunt was the only real option.
"What about the others? Are they okay?" Gryffindor asked, the worry clear in his voice.
"I found Salazar just over a year ago, he's fine and was never frozen. I found you using the Room of Requirement, and Hogwarts's given me another two doors to go behind. I believe that those doors lead to where Lady Hufflepuff, and Lady Ravenclaw have been hidden." Aileen explained. "Once I've retrieved them, I'll take you to Salazar."
"Salazar? Why do you use his first name and our titles?" Lord Gryffindor questioned, puzzled.
"Salazar gave me permission to his use his name since I am a descended and student of his. And I was also the first person he spoke to since his grandchildren stopped visiting six hundred years ago." Aileen explained, finishing with the runes and banishing her sandpaper. Carefully, she turned the picture frame back around.
"You're a child." Lord Gryffindor stated in shock once he could see her.
"I'm fourteen, Lord Gryffindor. Now, are you okay with me halving the size of your portrait so that I can go and investigate the location of Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff?"
"Of course. And I did not mean offence. I was just surprised especially after you told me how long I had been frozen." Lord Gryffindor apologised as Aileen shrunk his portrait so she could carry it with one hand. She entered the room of requirements and took the door next to Lord Gryffindors.
This time she was in an office and the torches that bracketed the room lit up to reveal a very homely place. The carpet was a soft brown, the walls a cream colour. Even the bookcases along the back wall were made with a light rose wood. Helga's portrait was on the wall, and once again it was frozen. Helga was a relatively round women wearing a simple yellow dress. Her blond curls were pulled up in such a style as to keep it out of her way, and she was painted with the greenhouses as her background.
"This is Helga's office. It's connected to the Hufflepuff dorm rooms." Gryffindor identified the room.
"It's clean, which means the House Elves are still maintaining this room. Yet, no one knows of its location. Not even the headmaster." Aileen frowned as she took the portrait from the wall and rested it in such a way Lady Hufflepuff would see Lord Gryffindor when she woke up.
"It was Danial Shrank, the Headmaster. He could have ordered the house elves to never look for us or tell anyone our location. My section was removed from the main wards so they wouldn't be able to get to me and clean the corridor. With Helga it's likely that they ordered the house-elves to say and do nothing. And unless a future headmaster knew to countermand that order, they couldn't say anything." Godric explained as Aileen worked on inscribing her counter runes.
"This is going to complicate the maths for re-warding." Aileen sighed. "I'll have to show you all the map of known locations, and you're going to have add what was lost back on it. And I'll speak with the headmaster about countermanding previous orders given to the house elves."
"You're re-warding?" Lord Gryffindor asked.
"Yes, over the years several important wards have started degrading. Things like the dark detection ward and the anti-possession ward. And the one that prevents dark creatures from getting on the grounds. We've also found evidence that there are multiples of some wards such as the anti-Apparation ward which is draining unnecessary magical energy from the ward stone. In its present state, Dumbledore and the ward master don't think that the full siege wards can be activated. And if they are activated, they won't hold. And considering the current state of affairs, we'll probably need them in the coming years if we're going to protect the students." Aileen transfigured some more sandpaper and got to work in removing the runes.
"What do you mean, considering the current state of affairs?" Lord Gryffindor asked worried.
"There's a Dark Lord. And he's made me and the Headmaster – Dumbledore – targets. We've managed to keep him weak for now, but he'll get a body eventually. And when he does, Hogwarts will be a target." Aileen explained without going into too much detail. "Salazar will be able to fill you in once I've got you back together. Because I would rather not have to explain this three times."
"Why… Godric? Oh, thank god you're okay. We'd thought you'd been destroyed." Helga exclaimed in worry. "What happened? Why am I on the floor? Where's… oh my… Danial? Where is he?"
"Dead, my Lady. Long since." Aileen stood Helga's portrait upright and moved so she could be seen. "You've been in stasis more than five hundred years."
"The school?" Helga asked worriedly.
"Is fine. And under a headmaster who truly cares for the children and their future education." Aileen reassured her. "Are you okay with me shrinking your portrait so I can go and find Lady Ravenclaw?"
"Yes, of course. Rowena's missing as well?" Lady Hufflepuff asked.
"No one has known the location of your portraits since mid-1400's. The common belief was that your portraits were destroyed. I found Salazar's portrait, and he told me that your portraits are tied into the wards and so it is impossible to destroy your frames without also destroying the school." Aileen explained, levitating both the portraits behind her as she returned to the room of requirement and then entered the final door.
"Where did you find Salazar's portrait, you didn't say?" Lord Gryffindor asked.
"Oh, I found it in his Chamber." Aileen responded.
"He sealed the chamber so it would only be used by the school in desperate times. Such as in the event of a siege. Only his descended and the headmaster could get down there until it was needed." Lady Hufflepuff said in worry. "Has the school been attacked?"
"No, my lady. I am a descended, through my mother's family. I'm also his heir through magic." Aileen explained. "But no one had been in the chamber since before your frames disappeared. It was sealed by a descendant."
"We didn't even think to have the headmaster check the chamber when Salazar went missing. And we didn't have the opportunity to pass the secret on to any new headmasters after the Lord Slytherin of the time died. Traditionally, the secret was told down the Slytherin family to the headmaster." Lady Hufflepuff explained.
Aileen slipped into a defensive stance when she stepped through to the last location. Once again it was dark, the torch bracket having not been maintained and so they didn't light up with her presence. Except it wasn't a corridor she was led to, instead it was what appeared to be a dungeon.
"You know where we are?" Aileen asked quietly.
"Dungeons. To be used during times of war or unrest. As a neutral holding area for enemies." Godric explained. "Not been used in a very long time if the lack of light is any indicator."
"I imagine that it hasn't been used since the goblin rebellion of 1534. Hogwarts was a refuge and there's records of holding instigators of goblin attacks because the ministry prison wasn't secure to the goblin's seeking revenge. And Hogwarts was neutral ground since the goblin's wouldn't attack or kill children." Aileen carefully moved forward, attaching her light orbs to the walls as she went instead of keeping one floating in her hand.
She cleared all of the cells first, finding nothing dangerous or anything that resembled a portrait. Which was odd, since this was where Hogwarts had sent her, and the previous doors had born fruit.
"Any ideas?" Aileen asked her companions who had been silent as she cleared the area.
"The staircase leading to the rest of the castle has been hidden." Lady Hufflepuff said thoughtfully.
"As is the records office, the visitor's room and the guard room." Lord Gryffindor added.
"Right, where am I going to find the rooms?" Aileen asked.
"Walk to the far right of the cells, then walk right. There should be a corridor along there which has all the rooms. The stairs are to the left." Lord Gryffindor explained.
Aileen carefully felt along the wall for indents or markings which would indicate a hidden door. When she found nothing, she stepped back and started casting revealing charms, looking for any magic which would be used to hide the corridor.
"They really didn't want Lady Ravenclaw found." Aileen muttered when she finally came across the magic which hid the corridor. It was complicated and far above her ability to cast. But she could cancel it, with the appropriate medium. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone how I took down the ward on this door." Aileen drew her knife and cut carefully into her hand.
She then used her brush to transfer the blood onto the wall, drawing neutralisation and cancellation runes. Unlike with the portraits, she had to use a five-point rune configuration because she was trying to bring down what was essentially a localised ward. Fortunately, this 'ward' was only spell based because she didn't have the knowledge to bring down one which was formed with a spell and a rune combination when she couldn't find the rune.
"Why do you not want us to tell anyone you're using a basic, blood enhanced cancellation rune?" Lady Hufflepuff asked baffled.
"Because blood magic of any kind is classified as illegal. Doing even this could have my wand snapped and me sent to prison." Aileen answered, frowning in concentration. She couldn't make a mistake, not even one stroke.
"How ridiculous. Blood magic has been used in protective magic and rituals for centuries." Lady Hufflepuff said outraged.
"How long has this ridiculous law been in place?" Lord Gryffindor asked.
"Just over sixty years." Aileen answered. "A lot of the old families don't conform, and the headmaster protected my family home using blood magic based on my mother's sacrifice. My godfather, Sirius Black, has managed to transfer those blood wards." Lowering the brush Aileen critically examined her work before healing her hand once she was sure it was finished.
"Black? Is he a member of the Most Ancient and Nobel House of Black?" Lord Gryffindor asked curiously.
"He's the Lord of the house." Aileen responded before she pulled on her reserves. "Finite Incantatem"
It was like shattering glass as the wall flickered before falling apart. But the pieces never hit the floor, they simple disappeared. Because, despite feeling solid, it had been a very strong illusion. The corridor on the other side of the spell was just as dark and disused. Aileen cast cleaning spells and light spells before she stepped carefully into the corridor. Clearing each room as she went.
The first door on the right was the records room. There were boxes on shelves, untouched by dust or mould.
"The boxes contain the information of each of the prisoners and why they were in Hogwarts's cells. The boxes also include any personal effect that they may have had on them, unless they were collected by the family or individual upon release." Lord Gryffindor explained. "The preservation spells seemed to have done a good job in holding up over the years."
Aileen left the room and went to the door opposite it. This one was the visitor's room. It was empty except for a table, which had a chair on either side.
"This was where family and investigators would speak with prisoners." Lady Hufflepuff explained.
Moving onto the last door Aileen found that it had been locked. A quick alohomora had the door unlocked. The room had a small kitchenette and three desks, each with their own filing cabinet behind it. And over the desk, which was sat on its own, was Rowena Ravenclaw. Rowena was sharper than Helga, as well as taller. She was wearing a conservative purple dress, and on her brow was a diadem with an eagle. Her background was that of a library.
Aileen brought the portrait down, once again making sure that Rowena was facing Godric and Helga.
"Lady Ravenclaw must have been the last one to be placed into stasis." Aileen murmured as she assessed the back of the frame.
"What do you mean?" Lord Gryffindor asked.
"Because this rune combination is more complicated and engraved into each of the four corners of the frame unlike with your frames…. Wait, that's odd." Aileen very carefully ran her fingers around the outside of the canvas. There was a second image behind Rowena's portrait. Turning the canvas around she looked too the corners and found that they were concealed inside the frame like with the other founders. "Oh, Lady Ravenclaw truly was as smart as everyone said."
Carefully, she removed the top of the image of Rowen to find another image of the lady, accept this time she was sat in the library chair reading a book.
"Lady Ravenclaw," Aileen caught the women's attention. "If I completely remove the false portrait, will it transfer the stasis runes to you?"
"Yes, you'll have to neutralise them before removing my false image. Which will then fade since I have a connection rune attached to the portrait." Lady Ravenclaw explained. Aileen looked at the back of the false portrait to see that she was telling the truth.
"Alright, give me a couple of minutes. I need to use a seven-point sequence to cancel the one that Danial used, and he's drawn it four times." Aileen ensured that Rowen could see her friends despite the still mostly attached false image, while she got to work.
"Godric, Helga. It's good to see that you're both well." Rowena greeted her friends.
"We have been frozen for the last five hundred years. Aileen found us and freed us." Lord Gryffindor explained.
"And Salazar?" Rowena questioned.
"Was trapped in his Chamber until Aileen found him a year ago. He was the one who asked her to search for us." Lord Gryffindor continued her explanation.
"Aileen, how old are you dear?" Lady Ravenclaw asked.
"I'm fourteen, My Lady." Aileen answered, frowning in concentration as she carefully carved into the frame.
"And yet, your rune knowledge is impressive, and you've gone on a hunt for us on your own." Lady Ravenclaw pointed out.
"I've been receiving training from Salazar. And no one else knows I've found Salazar's portrait. He's keeping it a secret for now." Aileen explained. "He puts my knowledge between OWL and NEWT depending on the subject. And I've always been advanced in runes because I've been studying since I started at Hogwarts."
"More than that, you're involved in the restructuring of the wards." Lord Gryffindor pointed out.
"Only because they need a Parselmouth. Something you guys should really have thought about when you were putting up the wards. I'm the only Parselmouth we have left." Aileen explained.
"How badly have the wards deteriorated that you need a Parselmouth to power them up? We tied all the wards together, powering one up powered them all up. Adding new wards into the scheme shouldn't have affected that. I made sure of it." Lady Ravenclaw demanded.
"Over the years they've been added to and bogged down, the ward stone wasn't maintained, and wards have started to fade. They aren't functioning properly anymore." Aileen explained, finishing her last carving. Transfiguring her sandpaper, she started smoothing away the frame.
"Who do you have working on it?" Lady Hufflepuff queried.
"I've got the best team from Gringotts working on breaking down the wards currently in place, using what remains of your notes from when you set up the wards. They're coming here in two weeks to assess how they're going to do it; a plan which will likely change when I tell them not all of Hogwarts is included anymore so we need to work out what's been missed and how to re-add those sections so as to not leave any gaps. The headmaster, I and the four current heads will be part of the team powering the wards." Aileen explained.
"What are they like? The headmasters and heads of houses?" Lady Hufflepuff asked curiously.
"The Head of Slytherin is a strict man, who doesn't take bullying within his house or otherwise. He teaches' potions and doesn't take any nonsense. He's also the strongest of all the staff members despite being the youngest. He's 35 years old, been teaching for 13years. He holds a masters in defence and potions. However, his strict behaviour has also meant that he comes across as unapproachable to anyone outside of his own house, who all view him with respect." Aileen began her explanation. "Then there's the head of Gryffindor, a lioness of a women. She's been teaching since the 1950s after she retired from law enforcement. Once again, she's strict but fair. She can glare a full-grown man into retreat. She also holds the title of Deputy.
Then there's the head of Hufflepuff, she's a kind woman who treats her house like they're her own kids. Her power is understated, magical and otherwise, particularly when compared to her co-workers because she's considered soft. But if you're caught bullying by her, oh you'll wish it was any other teacher. The head of Ravenclaw is half-goblin and was the champion of the duelling circuit for twelve years before he stepped down. Despite the distrust and prejudice that is prevalent against goblins in modern times, he has the respect of students past and present. Because his teaching style is engaging for everyone and his lessons fun." Aileen explained her impressions of the four heads of houses.
"Do we not get any names?" Lady Ravenclaw challenged.
"Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout and Filius Flitwick." Aileen listed off. "Then there is the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He's been Headmaster since 1952 and is one of the most respected men in the wizarding world. He helped end a wizarding war in the 1940's and led the resistance against the previous Dark Lord. It's believed that he was the only man the Dark Lord was scared off, and the only reason that the school was never targeted. He's powerful, but he doesn't flaunt his power. He's kind and doesn't accept prejudices against anyone." Aileen explained. "Closest thing to a grandfather I've got."
Finally done filling away the last rune, she moved to the front of the frame and removed the false portrait, the image of which had faded to reveal a blank canvas.
"Right, now I've got all three of you, I'll take you to Salazar. Are you okay with me turning all of you invisible until you've had the chance to talk with Salazar?"
"I don't have an issue with it." Lord Gryffindor said at once.
"If Salazar believes that it is best that we remain hidden, then I also do not have an argument against it." Lady Ravenclaw agreed.
"I agree with my friends." Lady Hufflepuff tagged on.
Aileen spent the rest of Friday and Saturday with the first years who she had located using the map. She showed them the best routes around the school, answering questions about either their lessons or the wizarding world, before dropping them off in the Great Hall for dinner. She spent the evening with Fred and George, making basic recreations of the Map for the first years to use so they didn't get lost. It was something she had been thinking about the previous year but didn't have the knowledge to implement until that year with the help of the twins.
Sunday morning Aileen noticed that Hermione was eating her breakfast a lot quicker than she normally would. She didn't abandon her etiquette, but that might have been because Dumbledore had made an announcement that he had an announcement, and he would appreciate it if everyone would remain in the Great Hall until he had spoken. From the annoyed look Hermione gave the headmaster when she had finished eating, it was clear she had somewhere she wanted to be and waiting for the headmaster's announcement was taking up more time than she wanted.
"Now that the majority of you have joined us for breakfast, I can inform you all of the information I hold. Although, it would be best if you could update anyone who chose to sleep in today." Dumbledore smiled around at the sleepy faces which were staring back at him.
"Now it has come to my attention that I do not have to cancel the Quidditch cup." Dumbledore had to pause as there was cheers from the students, particularly the Quidditch captains who had been sulking for the last two days. "In order to ensure that everyone has the chance to play, we will have to use an accelerated timetable. October 16th and 23rd, November 6th and 13th and December 4th and 11th will be the dates of the games, full details will be posted in your common rooms. Quidditch captains please speak with Madame Hooch to sort out a training schedule. Now, it has been decided to include additional tournaments alongside the tri-wizard tournament so as to include the whole school. The first of these is a Quidditch tournament. This will take place after Christmas, consisting of the winning house team, one team from each of the visiting schools and another Hogwarts team. This Hogwarts team will be co-led by each of the house captains and the team will be formed based on tri-outs."
This got whispers from across the school. Excitement on everyone's faces, because it gave everyone a chance, to if not participate at least watch. Once the excitement had settled down, Dumbledore continued
"We will also be holding an official chess tournament, monitored by Professor Sprout and Professor Sinister, and a dulling tournament monitored by Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick and myself. A timetable will be set up for these after the other schools have arrived. Unlike the Quidditch tournaments, anyone can take part in these two tournaments. Even the champions. That's all I have to say. Please, enjoy your Sunday." Dumbledore returned to his seat as the noise level in the hall rose in excitement.
"I'm going to enter the chess tournament." Ron said at once. "And maybe the duelling one as well. I mean, now I've got a new wand I shouldn't have to much trouble."
"Well, you'll definitely win the chess tournament. I don't know anyone better at chess then you." Aileen smiled. "I won't enter the chess tournament, but I'll give the duelling one a go. See how good I am against other students."
"What about you Hermione?" Ron turned to their friend only to see that Hermione had left the hall at some point during their conversation. "Where did she go?"
"I don't know, but I think she's in researcher mode." Aileen responded with a frown.
Monday started with Aileen rounding up the first years, ensuring they had the books they would need for the day, before leading them down to the Great Hall. They all had a map now, but she figured by walking them to the Great Hall, it established early that she was willing to help them right from the start. She'd made herself available on the Friday afternoon and the Saturday, but by also making herself available once the lessons had started made it clear that such wasn't going to change.
Ron had decided to have an extra couple of minutes in bed, but Hermione and Neville, both joined her in walking with the first years. Hermione's bag was clearly weighed down with more than her class books, and Aileen was wondering about getting her a feather light bag, but she knew that would just encourage her book-aholic tendencies.
"Are you looking forward to Herbology Neville?" Aileen asked as she served herself some breakfast.
"Yeah, and Professor Sprout's going to let me work with her most exotic plants this year. If all goes well, I think I might be in with a chance of getting an apprenticeship." Neville explained, his eyes shining in excitement.
"Do you think Professor Sprout will let you start your apprenticeship after you've done your OWL's instead of after you graduate?" Aileen asked curiously.
"I don't know. But I think I'm going to ask. Because if I start in my sixth year, that means I'll have my master by the time I'm nineteen. No one's ever done that before in the field of Herbology." Neville admitted, with a smile that came across as both proud and shy.
"You're brilliant with plant's Neville, I'm sure that you'll be able to do it." Aileen smiled at her friend.
"Morning," Ron dropped into a seat next to Hermione and started piling his plate full of food.
"Morning," the three of them responded.
"Do you know what we're doing in Care?" Ron asked.
"No, but we should be moving onto things like niffliers, bowtruckles, unicorns; magical creatures that are classed one to three." Aileen explained; it was Hagrid's decision when they learnt something and in what order, she'd simple helped him decide on the year the creatures needed to be taught about. If she remembered correctly, they would also touch upon Class four near the end of the year.
"Oh yeah, you helped Hagrid with the lesson plans, didn't you?" Neville asked. "So, we won't have to face anything really dangerous right?"
"There are some Class 4 and 5 creatures introduced to the class in sixth and seventh year, but Hagrid promised to take the proper precautions. But even some of the class 3 creatures can be dangerous if you don't treat them properly." Aileen reminded them, pouring herself some tea since she had finished her breakfast.
"If you have Herbology, history and care this morning, what do you have this afternoon?" Neville asked curiously. "I've got a free and divination."
"Arithmancy and a free. But I'll be with Madame Pomfrey during my free." Aileen answered.
"I've just got Arithmancy. I'll be in the library during my free." Hermione admitted.
"I'll see you in class." Aileen bowed out of the conversation seeing that it was twenty minutes till class.
She headed to where the first years were all sat together, talking quietly among themselves. From the glances up to the teachers table and to their timetables, she guessed that they were discussing what their lessons and teachers might be like.
"First years, if you've finished your breakfast, I can escort you to your first lesson of the day?" Aileen offered.
"Great, we weren't sure if we could remember the way from when you showed us over the weekend. And map reading isn't our strong suit until we can orientate ourselves." Francis said, smiling brightly.
"You'll get used to it. Tomorrow, you're going to have to find your own way to the Great Hall. I think you'll manage it if you pay close attention to the maps." Aileen complimented them as she began leading the row of first years from the hall and to the transfiguration classroom. Since she had escorted the first years around the school on both Friday afternoon and Saturday, using the Great Hall and the Gryffindor common room as the origin points, she now wanted to challenge them to find their own way in the morning, particularly since they had a basic map to follow.
"Well, Dennis and Tracy will lead the way." Francis said excitedly.
"We decided to have two people lead the way each day to prove that we know the way." Tracy admitted with a blush.
"Well, I think it's a good idea. And if you start going wrong, someone else in the group can offer advice. Tomorrow will be the first day of testing your knowledge." Aileen approved of their plan, feeling an unexpected surge of pride that they had taken the initiative to challenge each other to learn the routes.
"Will you be taking us from transfiguration to potions as well?" Gavin asked hesitantly. "None of us can remember the dungeon route."
"Of course." Aileen said immediately. She had about fifteen minutes between Herbology and History, so she would be able to escort them to the lesson. "I didn't expect you to remember the way to potions since the dungeons can be very confusing, and I'll collect you after potions and get you to main entrance hall where you can spend your free outside or trying to locate the library before lunch."
"Professor McGonagall is the transfiguration teacher, right?" Stacy asked quietly.
"Yes. That's right." Aileen agreed.
"Is she as strict a teacher as she is a head of house?"
"Yes, but's she's also very fair. Transfiguration is a very tough but rewarding subject and Professor McGonagall is one of the best in her subject." Aileen tried reassuring them.
"Will we be using magic in the first lesson?" Dennis asked excitedly.
"You should be, some basic transfiguration to apply the theory." Aileen reassured. "But remember, this is your first-time doing magic, so don't be disheartened if you can't complete the transfiguration. It's about practising the use of magic, and not about succeeding in transfiguration. That comes later."
"Good morning, Miss Potter, escorting the first years I see?" Professor McGonagall left her office carrying a stack of books in her arms.
"Yes ma'am. Don't want you turning one of them into a pocket watch for being late." Aileen answered, keeping her face straight so the first years couldn't tell she was joking.
"At least I only need to transfigure one student since they've got maps now." Professor McGonagall agreed, catching onto her joke.
"Well since you're here, I'll leave them in your capable hands. Pay attention, and I'll see you at the end of Transfiguration." Aileen waved at the suddenly worried looking first year Gryffindors.
For the first week Aileen made sure to escort the first years to all their lessons, even if she had to run in order to make it on time to her own lessons. Since she was now in fourth year the teachers weren't easing them into the lessons, diving straight into the hard theory and homework. Transfiguration and charms had more practical aspects then in previous years.
In Transfiguration, it was the same spell applied to more detailed objects since the more detailed the base object the harder the transfiguration. This was in preparation for the following year when they started doing animate to inanimate transfiguration. Charms was different because the spells were different but were following along a theme based on theory. They started with colour manipulating charms and how changing objects effect the power and theory of the spell. Once they were finished with the colour changing spells, they would move onto summoning and banishing spells which were the advanced versions of the levitation spell. Once Christmas had past, they should be moving onto elemental spells such as conjuring fire and water and turning water into ice.
Wednesday was Aileen's first potions lessons which was different to all previous potions lessons due to the changes made in the classroom. Although the funding had only been released two weeks before the start of school, Professor Snape had managed to find a fast and efficient team. He had managed to get his classroom re-done, but Aileen and the headmaster had given him permission to get the advanced potions lab (for sixth and seven years), the master's potion lab, the second potions lab and his own lab redone as well. Only Professor's Snape lab and the main classroom was in use, but in the event of an expansion of students or professor Snape getting an assistant or deciding to grant access to a seventh-year student, they had decided to ensure that all the labs were up to date.
When the students walked into the potions classroom there was a moment of shocked silence as they took in the difference. The classroom was brighter, the walls had been coated in white stone which Aileen knew had a film to ensure fumes didn't collect on them. The tables had been replaced with grey marble topes which had a special, magic resistant coating on so as to be protected and yet not interfere with any ingredients they were preparing.
All the spare cauldrons and equipment had been placed in a cupboard so that they weren't taking up any of the space where the students cleaned their own cauldrons at the end of the lesson. The potions ingredients that Professor Snape had lining the walls in jars, mostly to freak out students, had been removed. Likely placed in the potion's ingredient store which was now a lot bigger, well organised and properly managed.
Unlike previous years Professor Snape was waiting for them when they entered the classroom. His presences prevented conversation as everyone took their seats, but they didn't stop looking around at the changes.
"As Headmaster Dumbledore said, there has been changes made to this classroom. There is no longer any residue from previous potions, and it has been changed to ensure that it doesn't fall into that state again. To that affect, you will not be using your own cauldrons or equipment. Instead, you will be using the equipment provided by the school and you will be maintaining that equipment otherwise you will pay to replace it." Professor Snape gave the class such a threatening look at this last part that they all nodded in agreement.
Aileen hadn't realised that they had decided to do this, but it made sense. By only using the equipment in the school, they could reduce the amount of money that parents had to spend preparing kids for school. Of course, a lot of students would still bring their own potions equipment since they made potions outside of lesson. These would be the students who brought their own ingredients.
"Now we will be recapping our knowledge, however little of it you've retained, before progressing forward." Professor Snape waved his hand causing a stack of parchment to fly from his desk onto the students.
The same day they had potions; they also had their first defence lesson of the term. Many of the students left potions with a grumble and a headache, which became talk about what Moody would be like as a professor. Rumours had started spreading around the school about what he had done during the war and the number of Death Eaters he had single handily taken in. The excitement that the fifth, sixth and seventh years had been talking about his lessons with, helped to stimulate the conversation and encourage them to forget about the disaster that was their potions lesson.
"I can't believe that Snape would spring a test on us. He's never done that before." Ron grumbled.
"Well, if you'd done your homework and paid attention in lessons you wouldn't have anything to worry about." Hermione said self-righteously since the quiz had covered the same content that they had been tested on at the end of the last three years which meant she was confident that she knew the information.
"Ron's memory isn't as good as yours. And he hasn't revised anything." Aileen pointed out. "Now come on, potions lesson is over. It's time for defence."
Aileen led them into the classroom and took a seat at the front. This was her standard procedure, which she had only been able to take up in defence the year before. She was hopeful that she would be able to keep that up this year. However, three out of three defence professors had attempted to kill her and those just weren't good odds, even if one of them had been an accident.
The three of them placed their books, some parchment and writing equipment on their desks. The entire class waited in tense silence, not daring to talk because of the reputation that Moody had amassed both inside the school and as an Auror.
It wasn't long after the last student took their seat that they heard the distinctive step-clunk of Moody's footsteps heading towards the classroom. Aileen wondered why such a paranoid man allowed his footsteps to not only be so loud, but also so distinctive. If he was so paranoid that he wouldn't drink or eat anything he hadn't prepared himself or triple checked for poisons, then why does he walk around announcing his presents to everyone around the corner.
"You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."
The students returned their books to their bags, most of them looking excited. Professor Lupin had been the only teacher to introduce practical work in their defence lessons, but it was clear that Moody was going to also be teaching them practical instead of theory.
Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled grey hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swivelled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered. Clearly, he was trying to memorise all their faces and names. Aileen noticed that he stared longer at all the children of suspected Death Eaters such as Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle. But he also stared for a longer time at Aileen and Neville.
"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"
There was a general murmur of assent.
"But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with curses," said Moody. "So, I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -"
"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out, his mind to mouth filter not warning him that interrupting Moody was a bad idea.
Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled - the first time Aileen had seen him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as smile. Ron looked deeply relieved.
"You'll be Arthur Weasley's youngest son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago... Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favour to Dumbledore... One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."
He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together.
"So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you counter-curses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."
Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. Parvati and Lavender were both very much believers of Divination and Professor Trelawney so they had completed the homework assignment they had been given the previous day already. Aileen had been wondering about the properties of Moody's eye and apparently it could see through solid objects and the back of his head.
"So... do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" Moody challenged the class, making it clear that he thought they should know the answer to his question.
Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender clearly challenging her to stop paying attention to him.
"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one... Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"
"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."
Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Aileen felt Ron recoil slightly next to her - Ron hated spiders.
Aileen's eyes narrowed as she realised what Moody wanted to do. He was going to demonstrate the three most heavily punished curses in their world. It was one thing to tell them of the curses, it was another to show fourteen-year-olds what they did and the incantations.
Aileen grabbed her bag and stood to leave the classroom.
"Potter, where do you think you're going?"Moody demanded turning away from the jars to stare at her with both of his eyes.
"The imperius curse, the cruciartus curse, the killing curse. One that controls, one that tortures and one that kills. It's one thing to tell the class what they can do, it's another to actually cast them in front of us. One of those killed my parents, I remember what it can do. I won't remain in this classroom if you plan on casting any of the three forbidden spells." Aileen spoke softly but strongly.
She turned and walked towards the door, the entire class staring at her in silence. She had never done something like this before, openly defy a teacher and leave a lesson.
"Miss Potter!" Moody snapped at her back, but she didn't stop. She carried on walking to the door. When she reached for the handle, she found that it was hot to the touch and had clearly been locked closed. "This lesson is important, Miss Potter."
"Let me out, Professor Moody. Give me a detention for leaving your lesson if you must. But if you truly plan on casting the Unforgivables then I'm not staying. Now, open the door." Aileen drew her wand from the hip holster, half turning her body to glare at the professor. The entire class seemed to hold their breath as they watched the two of them glare at each other.
"Detentions are not my way of doing things, Miss Potter. Now sit down. This is your last warning." Moody said sternly. "And I would advise against raising that wand."
"Very well." Aileen sighed acting like she was defeated, putting her wand away. However, instead of returning to her seat, she span quickly and kicked the door with all her strength. There was a crunch as the door came off its hinges and fell to the floor. Without looking back at the shocked class, Aileen marched out and over the fallen door.
That was the thing with wizards, they thought to lock the door by they didn't think to prevent other ways of opening the door. She could have used a non-magical technique to unlock the door – as long as Moody hadn't sealed the door to its frame. She could have attempted to use the alohamora charm, but that run the risk of not working if Moody had used something other than a stage one locking charm – and considering his background that was highly likely to be the case. There were other, magical ways, of opening the door such as using a blasting curse. However, that would take time and there was always the chance of Moody putting enough thought into it to cast a shield charm on the door. Physically removing the door with force like she had done wasn't something easily stopped and actually required a ward and not just a locking spell – no matter how advanced. Not even fusing the door to its frame was enough because it was magically fused and not physically fused and so she was able to overcome the magic by breaking the door.
Once she was clear of the door, she drew her wand and cast the reparo charm behind her. She made sure to overpower it so that the door lifted up and was fixed back in its place. Moody didn't follow behind her.
Aileen headed straight to the headmaster's office. After such a demonstration she would need to explain herself to the headmaster. She also wanted to find out if the old man had given his old friend permission to show the student's the Unforgivables. These spells were so dark that they twisted the soul of the caster if they weren't careful because they drew on emotional magic. Emotional magic was magic which was powered not just by the caster's magic but also by their will and emotions. If you don't pour your emotions – your heart and soul – into the spell, then it wasn't going to work.
The Patronus was one of the most commonly used spells in this category since it drew on the lighter side of one's emotions: love, happiness and joy. Yet it was physically and mentally draining and if done wrong could cause the individual attempting the spell to collapse from exhaustion or full into what is known as a 'mental coma' where they are stuck unable to feel anything until, they are drawn back from their mind. Something that takes a skilled Occlemanences to achieve. As opposed to the Patronus, the unforgivable used hate and anger to power the curse. Which was why they were so dangerous. Anyone who can feel and hold onto the feeling of hate runs the risk of losing themselves to the hate. Someone who cast the negative spells, the ones power by their negative emotions, if they do not counter this with enough neutral or positive spells, runs the risk of never being able to successfully cast the positive spells again and therefore being consumed by their negative emotions. A trap that those who cast the unforgivable fall into easier than those who cast other negative spells because the unforgivable also gives the caster a feeling of power that is difficult to resist.
This was all explained to the seventh years when they are introduced to emotion-based casting, and the unforgivable curse is demonstrated to show how they differ from positive casting. However, in that instance the spells are cast on a non-animated object which had been transfigured for the purpose, and it was cast in a lesson which the students were forewarned about, and they had the right to turn up to that lesson half an hour late if they did not wish to see the effects of the spells. One of the reasons the unforgivable are classed as such, is not just because of their effect on the caster and the recipient, but also on the observer. It has been known to be emotional traumatic – and in several instances magically traumatic – to be witness of these spells, especially when the witnesses are children, even if the effects were not demonstrated on a living thing.
"Ginger snap." Aileen told the gargoyle, causing it to move aside. Aileen stepped onto the spiral staircase. Instead of allowing it to carry her up she walked up the stairs. She never allowed the steps to take her up since she considered it to be the lazy way. Reaching the top of the stairs, she knocked on the headmaster's door.
"Aileen, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in lesson?" the Headmaster asked putting his quill down when he noticed the serious expression on his students face and the emotional storm she was trying to hide.
"Defence." Aileen wondered over to Fawkes perch instead of taking a seat – she felt too agitated to sit down. "Did you give Alastor Moody permission to cast the unforgivable in his fourth-year class?"
"Are you telling me Alastor is demonstrating the Unforgivables?" the Headmaster asked, standing. His face was grave and Aileen could see the warrior that the Dark Lord feared brimming on the surface.
"Yes, I walked out before he could cast the imperious curse." Aileen admitted.
"That is most grave. Fawkes. If you could please?" The Headmaster held out his hand. "Aileen, my dear you're going to have to hold my hand."
Fawkes thrilled sharply and flew to the headmaster's shoulder. Aileen came over and took the headmaster's hand. Fawkes sang a long note, and they were surrounded by flames for a moment which felt pleasantly warm. When the flames died down Aileen found that they had been transported to the defence classroom.
"Class dismissed. Alastor, a word." The Headmaster strode forward, making it clear that he wanted Moody to follow him into the man's office.
"You heard the headmaster, dismissed." Moody growled at the class before following the headmaster into his office.
"Aileen, what were you thinking?" Hermione demanded once the majority of the class had left unwilling to loiter when they had seen how furious the headmaster had been. If the man hadn't been clearly angry, Aileen had no doubt that the class would stay and attempt to eaves drop on the conversation.
"We're fourth years Hermione. He shouldn't be casting those curses in front of us. That's why the headmaster is here. Because Moody shouldn't be casting those cures." Aileen walked from the classroom.
"Well, I'm glad you went to the headmaster." Neville muttered; his shoulders hunched.
"He was furious when I told him why I left the defence classroom. And do you honestly think I would remain in the same room as a man casting the curse that I remember killing my parent's? Especially after last year." Aileen asked her friends, she refused to be judged for such a thing. She may not show her emotions often or to other people, but that didn't mean she didn't feel things. "Now, I've got an hour and a half before our next lesson. I'm going to speak with Sirius."
Aileen abandoned her friends so she could go speak with Sirius. The only man at that moment who understood more about her than anyone else. And quite probably the only person who could help her balance her emotions at that moment. She could meditate and work through on her own, but that would take a lot of time and now that she had someone she could speak with when she needed help, she was reluctant to try and trudge through on her own unless necessary.
Edited: 11/01/2024