Had to edit Chapter 2 ending cuz I forgot Jack didn't share a dorm with his friends.
Disclaimer: This universe of HP is a lot different than canon. House discrimination is not as bad. There is still some hatred between houses but not like it was in canon and not with every student. In fact, each class has students from all four houses. Some of the bigger batches have two separate classes due to their numbers, but Jack's don't.
3. Anathema Codex, the wizarding band
September 2, 1988
The important stuff had to be cast aside for now as Jack had to focus on his education and his future.
He had taken Ancient Runes twice already, so that was one more elective he had to rule out. He failed three Arts classes, which is what Professor Quinata taught aside from substituting for other teachers. Failing a class three times means you couldn't take it anymore. If he had known that, he would have passed the last time and then take Arts II for another three times. It wasn't because he was infatuated by Bonnie Quinata's looks. That was just one small reason why. Mainly because Arts class was almost like a free period and also because Quinata was his favorite teacher.
He hasn't taken Arithmancy yet, besides reading a couple books about it. And he also had been planning to take it this term, so that was one of two electives already. Now, he had to choose one more from Divination, Care for Magical Creatures, and a new class he wasn't here to see begin, Wizard Law. There was also Muggle Studies, but he heard it was a bore and can easily be learned in the library. Curious about the new teacher, he signed himself up for Wizard Law.
"James Potter of House Potter," Cooper said in reply to Jack wondering about the new teacher.
"James Potter... I've heard that name before."
"He was part of the group of Aurors that cornered and neutralized Voldemort, his wife, himself and five others."
Jack gave Cooper a side-eye. "You mean killed...?"
Cooper ignored him.
"Cooper! You cannot be serious..."
Two terms ago, Cooper Rowling was looking deep into the events of Voldemort's downfall. As time passed, he only got deeper and deeper into it and is now convinced that Voldemort is still alive.
"It's better to be ready than to be caught off guard in the face of darkness...," Cooper simply put. He was a lad of few words, a trait that was unique to him in their whole friend group. He was also the youngest of their friend group and he didn't show it, but he was glad Jack went muggle and was forced to be held back a year.
"You're ridiculous... what did you take?"
"I took Wizard Law again and Arts II." Unlike Jack, Cooper knew enough to pass the class the third time around. He took it purely because he was in love with Quinata.
"I though Wizard Law only had one course," Jack replied.
"It does. But I'm still studying Potter."
"For the Voldemort case, I'm assuming..."
"Precisely."
"Hey, classmate!" Penny was striding towards them, Maya by her side. Jack just shook his head in reply to her teasing.
"What electives did the two of you decide on," Maya asked.
The four of them chatted for a while until the first period's bell chimed. First class they had was Charms with Flitwick. The class was one student larger than it was last year with the addition of Jack. But that batch in particular was one of the smallest ones of the seven current batches. Although being only one year older than the rest, Jack hardly knew any of his new classmates.
Of course, there were those in his circle of friends, Cooper, Maya and Penny. And then Dewey, who sat as far as he possibly could from Penny.
He also knew Ivory Blackjack from the Dueling Club. She was a sweet and quiet Slytherin.
He knew Asher Wilkins, who was in his group project for Arts one time. He wasn't from House Wilkins as far as Jack knew. But if he was, the rest of the Wilkins' didn't care to look into it purely because he wasn't sorted into Gryffindor.
And, of course, he knew Amaya Anderson and Havi Olsen, which made up the rest of the friend trio that Asher was in, all of them Ravenclaws. He knew and exchanged words with each of them a few times at the least, but never enough to consider them friends.
And then, there was Chad Smithsonian. A great guy! Friendly, top of his class in multiple subjects. A way better bloke than Hufflepuff's other Chad, who was a quidditch star and essentially the It Boy of Hogwarts. But he was there too.
"Alright, students!" Flitwick stood atop a stack of books that was on top of his desk. In front of him, a table with apples lined up in rows, one for every student in class. Gladly, he didn't care to announce the addition of Jack to the class. And as always, he was very energetic. One of the main things that kept Jack interested in his teachings.
"First lesson of term, you lot will love this, is the Summoning Charm! Accio!" With a flick of a wand, a book from the shelf along the back wall of the room came flying into Flitwick's grasp.
"Finally, something interesting to start the term," Chad Thunderween said aloud. Followed by many females agreeing with him.
"This is literally the first class of term," Jack said quietly. He could hear Chad Smithsonian chuckling behind him.
"You'll get used to him, Jack," Cooper said.
"No, you won't," both Penny and Maya said in resonance.
"Now, don't get discouraged, students! This charm isn't very easy to get a hang of. Go on! Try it on these apples here!"
Jack had been practicing this specific charm since his first year. After some help from a seventh-year during his second, he was able to consistently cast it correctly.
With using only half of the wand movements the initial Charms book taught, Jack was one of the first students to get an apple. Being second only to Druella Selwyn, a Slytherin girl. She was able to do it with just the incantation and a simple point with her wand. Jack only knew her due to her reputation of being the daughter of the Herbology teacher. Other than that, he barely took notice of her around the school.
"Nice! Ooh, very nice... Alright, that's enough, wands down please! For those who weren't able to get an apple, open your books to page 135. Study the wand movements and the incantation carefully. After 10 minutes, we'll try again!"
So far, only seven students were able to get an apple. Since all three of Jack's friends plus himself were able to get one, this left the four of them at least 10 minutes to chat quietly.
Events from last night left Jack restless. Due to the lack of patience, he decided it wouldn't hurt to ask a simple question.
"Maya, what do you know about the Anathema Codex?"
"The Anathema Codex... I've heard of it before, I'm sure..."
"The Anathema Codex," Chad Smithsonian said, chiming in from behind. He was also one of the seven who's gotten an apple. "A grimoire that the all the Houses thought too dangerous to be available to the public. It was a book that taught Wild Magic and is essentially erased from history..."
Jack just looked at him in awe.
"That Anathema Codex?" Chad asked with a smile.
"No, we meant the wizarding band," Penny replied with sarcasm, to which Maya giggled.
"... Aren't you muggleborn," Jack asked.
"Why, yes I am, Jack. Glad you remembered."
"Huh, you really are too smart for your own good," Maya said, finally remembering what the Anathema Codex was.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Chad replied. "Anyways, what about it? Or is this just small talk?"
"I just caught word about it from a couple seventh-year Slytherins in the halls," Jack said smoothly. "It rang a bell, but I didn't know what it was."
"Well, I'm glad I can help you with that."
Chad Smithsonian just made Jack's list of potential new friends. It's not for social purposes, but you can never be too young for networking. That's what his Aunt Andi always said anyway.
Lunch came and Jack finally had time to talk amongst his friends. The gang was complete when Harold Greengrass arrived at the quidditch pitch.
"Is this the best place to talk about this," Thomas asked.
"Muffliato," about three of them said simultaneously.
"Aw, fuck off with all of that, eh," Marcio Lassiter, a Hufflepuff who was practicing his quidditch moves shouted in complaint to the loud buzzing sound the friend group emitted. Of course, Lassiter was ignored. He was always curious about what spell it was they used to make that sound but Thomas never told him even after he asked multiple times.
Jack quickly recounted the story of last night to his friends, making sure to include every important detail.
"Well, was it," Aaron asked.
"Was it what?"
"The Anathema Codex? The book?"
"It was..."
"Ooh, let me see," Harold demanded, followed quickly behind by the rest.
"What? No," Jack said in refusal. "Not out here at least."
"Alright, well what is your plan," said Aaron. "Are you willing to mess around with this so-called Wild Magic, or are you going to drink the potion and fall wildly in love with Phoebe Butters?"
"First of all, why did Phoebe come to mind?"
"I mean..." It was Cooper this time. "I always catch you sending quick glances her way... none of them are returned, if you wanted to know."
The group was snickering at this point.
"Hey, hey! I do not have a thing for Phoebe. You all know how well we used to get along!"
Aaron: "Honestly, mate, not that well. The two of you were friends for what, half of first year?"
"We were friends for up until second year at the least."
Thomas: "I think it's time you move on, mate."
"Stop it, seriously..."
The group laughed until the subject was changed.
Harold: "Thomas, I heard Thunderween was made a prefect... How's that coming along?"
Thomas: "Merlin... So far it hasn't gotten to his head but I'll give you guys an update in two days."
Jack: "What about Chad Smithsonian? Is he the other fifth-year prefect?"
Thomas shook his head. "Melissa Caldwell beat him out. She's more intimidating."
Charles nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Prefects are chosen in regards of who students are more likely to respect and follow. As opposed to the popular belief which is who has the best marks."
Penny: "WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU LOT AND WE CAN'T HEAR A WORD YOU'RE SAYING!"
Maya: "Seriously, teach us that spell!"
Aaron stood up and harshly rubbed his ear as he shot Penny a look.
They dismissed the spell in order to let Maya and Penny in the conversation.
Harold: "And why are you two here?"
Maya: "Because we're your friends, too..."
Harold: "No, you're our friends' little sisters, those are two different things."
"Well if you want to put it that way, we are also friends of your friends. Cooper and Jack here," Penny said with a smile. "So, what were we talking about that needed such a strong Muriato Spell?"
Jack just shook his head when the others turned to him. But after much shouting from Penny, he gave in and put up another Muffliato Spell. He figured it wouldn't hurt to have more people in his year in the know of the whole Grenhart situation. And he already fully trusted Penny and Maya, so why not?
After the end of the first day of class, Jack met up with Dewey for a short conversation where Dewey basically explained how he needed more time to work his theory out before trying anything. In light of the news, Jack retreated to the Astronomy Tower. Tower #3 to be exact.
Tower #3 was the least used one out of the four. Mostly because it was the nearest to the part of the forest where Pinski Trees grew. The smell those trees emitted was enough to make anyone throw their breakfast up. But Jack and his friends (plus two more now) were equipped with Dewey's original Unscented Candles. It wasn't an actual candle. But a jar with a liquid that temporarily takes away someone's ability to smell odors when they sniff it. Dewey charged a galleon for each jar, but after Jack consulted him and insisted he needed it for the Grenhart case, Dewey didn't mind giving away a couple for free.
Although The Grey Lady's behavior left Jack very curious, it didn't exceed the urgency of the matter in hand that's been relevant for almost two years now.
"Singular Rune of Hate... maybe we can make her hate Lenny again," Harold suggested. "He'll have to deal with getting bullied like before but, hey, that's what we want, right?"
"It is," Jack replied. "Except the Singular Rune of Hate isn't that simple. You know how the Death Eaters had a spell that illuminated a whole area with their symbol or whatever?"
"Their mark," Cooper corrected, "but continue..."
"The Singular Rune of Hate is kind of similar, except whoever sees the giant rune-structure in the air will develop a murderous hatred for whoever the caster had in mind."
Charles: "Wow... That is an Unforgivable if I ever heard of one."
"I swear it is. It may as well be even worse... They should call it an Unforeseeable," Thomas said, giggling.
Aaron: "You growing hair is Unforseeable, Thomas."
The comment was met with laughs along with Thomas's sarcastic laugh.
Thomas: "Ooh, another bald joke, how funny..."
Maya: "Can I see please?"
Harold looked at Aaron first and then Jack. None of the two seemed to have a problem, so Harold let Maya take it from him.
She flipped to the Table of Contents and scanned the page, Penny moving closer to her so she can see as well. "Aaron, who currently has the Wilkins' copy of this?"
"Hell if I know... If I had to guess, it would be Uncle Samuel or one of his children at least. Maybe Clancy?"
"Ooh, go to page 236," Penny said with excitement. "... The Elder Wand, one of three of the Deathly Hallows, has the ability to harness Wild Magic safer and better than any other wand..."
"... The wielder must be seen fit by the Wand itself. They must seek what they believe is just and right as one who only looks to benefit themselves will not only be unable to wield the Wand, but will also suffer deadly consequences," Maya finished.
Penny looked up at Jack. "That's easy, just have someone else wield it for you.
"Hold on, why can't I use it?"
"Because clearly you'll be benefiting off of it. You just want to be free of guilt, don't you?"
"No, not entirely..."
"Well," Maya says, "I don't think it's that simple. The Elder Wand seems to be inspired by esoteric magic, which is known to be very specific."
Harold: "Very true, just like the Unforgiveables."
"Avada Kedavra..." Thomas pointed his wand at Harold, who quickly took it from him and threw it back.
Thomas's goofy smile remained even as his wand bounced off his head.
Charles: "Does it say where we can find the Elder Wand?"
Maya shook her head after reading on some more.
Jack sighed. "Well, either way. I'm sure Dewey will finish his potion theory before we ever get close to it."
After another hour of chatting and reading, the group decided to go down to see if there were any new clubs starting this year. But Jack had other things to do and dragged Cooper along with him.
"You want me to summon The Grey Lady," Cooper repeated.
"Yes."
"And how do you expect me to do that?"
"... Well, you're a Ravenclaw."
"And that means?"
"That means she serves you?"
"She's not the House Elf, Jack."
"Then, what do House Ghosts do?"
"I initially thought they were here to keep first-years in line."
"So we'll grab a first-year."
"No, that theory was outruled when I met Nearly Headless Nick."
"Hmm... then we'll grab Nick!"
It just so happened that Nearly Headless Nick was floating on by.
"Nick!"
Nearly Headless Nick turned at Jack's call and approached the two.
"Hello there, Mr. Black! How was your first day of class?"
"Quite well, thanks for asking. Cooper and I had a question."
Cooper: "What do you do..."
Nearly Headless Nick was taken aback by Cooper's casual tone on his confusing question. "Excuse me?"
"I mean to say, as a House Ghost, what are your duties?"
Nick's eyes lit up at the question. "Why, thanks for asking Mr. Cooper! Forgive me if 'Cooper' isn't your last name, but I'm glad you asked..."
Nick went on about how all of the House Ghosts are bound to magical oaths they agreed to with each founder their respective houses represented. How each of them were all given duties and tasks they were to perform when Hogwarts is under specific circumstances.
"And we also keep the firsties in check!"
"So, I was partially right. Nice. Well, thanks for your time, Nick!"
"My pleasure! My pleasure!"
"Hold on, Nick. One more thing," Jack said, shooting a glare at Cooper. "Is there anyway we can... find The Grey Lady. We had some questions that pertain to her history."
"Oh, well, if it's about her history with The Bloody Baron, I assure you, Mr. Black, she will not be happy to answer any."
"It is not."
"Well then, I'm sure I can find her... Is there a specific time and place you wanted to meet with her?"
"How about... at 7 on Astronomy Tower #3, thirty minutes before curfew."
"I'll be sure to pass on the message."
"Thanks, Nick."
"You're very welcome, Mr. Black, and Mr..."
"Cooper. Byron Cooper.
"Well, Mr. Byron Cooper, it was a pleasure meeting you."
Nick tipped his hat and his head as well, as he always does, and then floated away.
"Byron Cooper?"
"He's technically a staff member. The less he knows about me, the better."
"But who is Byron Cooper? Surely, the actual staff would assume he's talking about you if that name ever comes up."
"No, there's a Byron Cooper. Fourth-year Ravenclaw."
"Oh, so it works out I guess."
"Splendidly."
He was stood up by The Grey Lady.
Curfew was 15 minutes ago and The Grey Lady showed no signs of showing up. Jack decided it was time he left.
Just as he was about pull out his cloak, the last person he expected arrived.
"Curfew was 15 minutes ago, Alcor..."
Snape looked at Jack with slightly squinted eyes. It was the look he would have on whenever he spoke to Jack. It was as if he seen no significance whatsoever in him. But Jack knew better. Snape despised his whole existence, which is why he called him by his first name instead of his last, like he does the other students. Jack used to wish that Snape had never found out how much he hated his first name, but at this point, he felt no resentment towards it long as it came out of Snape's lips. He looked at it as Snape showing weakness letting Jack be the only student he addressed that way.
"4 hours detention, you'll do two tonight," Snape said, his lips curled as if he was trying to hide his smirk even though it was the complete opposite. "30 points from Gryffindor. Come along... "
And then Snape walked off and took lead, a power play Jack was still very affected by.
Without missing a beat, Jack followed Snape. It wasn't to Filch's office. It wasn't to Slickback's own office. It was to none other than the library.
"Madame Pince had requested that Professor Flitwick help return all the books that students mindlessly shoved into bookshelves they don't belong in. Luckily for you, Flitwick pushed it off to tomorrow. If he has to so much as flick his wand in the morning, it'll be another two hours of detention for you... Well, get to it, then, Al-cor..."
Jack gave a half-ass salute accompanied with a sarcastic "yes, sir" before he immediately started.
As he scanned the bookshelf he was currently working on, he realized how many more books there were than usual that wasn't put in its assigned shelf. It gave him a sense that this batch of first-years might have more scholars than the rest of recently.
A few books caught his eye while he was taking the ones that don't belong and putting them in a metal basket he Transfigured from an end table. Books on Arithmancy, some on wizarding politics, a book on Hogwarts, and a biography of Flitwick even. That's when an odd idea struck him.
Remembering Cooper's question to Nick, Jack grew curious about the House Ghosts. He reckoned there was a book on Hogwarts that was well in-depth about them. Even better, he reckoned he could find a book solely about The Grey Lady. There has to be a reason why these ghosts were chosen for their positions, right?
He quickly took the rest of the books that didn't belong on the Magical Wildlife shelf and then floated the basket onto a nearby table. Then, he went to the shelf that housed books on interesting personalities. On the top shelf, covered with a thick layer of dust, was a row of books that seemed to be untouched for many years. Excited as he was, he was dismayed to discover that none of them were about The Grey Lady.
He expanded his searching and decided to also look out for any books on Hogwarts, even better if he could find one specifically about the Ravenclaw House. He found a total of 4 books on Hogwarts in the span of 10 minutes, including the one he already picked up.
He quickly read the the section the first book had on the school's ghosts before moving onto the second, Hogwarts: A History.
He flipped to the table of contents and almost immediately saw a section dedicated to The Grey Lady.
After reading the whole of it, he started besting himself up for not remembering anything about the fact that The Grey Lady was actually Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself.
He returned the shelf he previously was searching through, and on the middle shelf, covered with a cloth colored blue and purple, was a book titled: "Passed Away with Flying Colors". If Jack knew this book was about Ravenclaw, he would have read it even if he had no reason to just because he found the title funny.
He scanned through the table of contents, glad to find a section dedicated to Helena Ravenclaw which probably meant he didn't have to go searching for another book.
An hour and a half passed, other than learning about Helena Ravenclaw's scholarly ways and the bit about Bloody Baron murdering her while she failed to steal something of her mother's, Jack learned a lot about Rowena Ravenclaw herself.
The book mentioned what aspects of Hogwarts were Rowena's idea, such as the appearance of a sky that covers the ceiling from view, the employment of ghosts to ensure a particular kind of maintenance as long as Hogwarts remains, that part was vague, and even the sorting of students into four different houses.
Although nothing that would suggest why Helena Ravenclaw would be giving Jack warnings as such the one she did.
He decided that he'd check out more books at a later time and just continue with serving his detention. Doubting that Snape would come back to check on him, he thought it clever to stay until he finished organizing the books. Of course, he underestimated the miserable git.
"2 hours was up 7 minutes ago, Al-cor... Finish what you're doing and you'll serve an extra 2 hours of detention for disobeying orders..."
"That'll also be another 20 points from Gryffindor."