Back again with a timeskip! End of September teacher's meeting and quidditch tryouts.

I'm not going make Merlot a complete god in this story, I should mention that. Yes, she will eventually have to stand against Voldemort and Dumbledore, but that will be much later, when she is much more well learned.

I don't necessarily want this to be one of those fanfics where Harry, or in this case Merlot, are so powerful that there are no real challenges. I've seen stories where Harry earns his power, and I want this story to take the same approach.

So keep in mind that while Merlot may be seen as a prodigy, she isn't truly overpowered. There will also be a few more characters brought up when it comes to this. Hermione would be considered a prodigy as well, and there are other characters that can be used to keep Merlot's magic in the safe zone when it comes to Dumbledore catching on.

So without further ado, let's continue.

—0—

"So now that we are all here, I think it would be prudent to address each grade first. We can start with the seventh years, Fillius?"

The charms Professor nodded and waved his hand. "All of my ravens are ready to pass their NEWTs, I'm certain that the other heads of house can say the same, headmaster."

Albus Dumbledore stroked his beard and raised an eyebrow, his ice blue eyes staring out from the lenses of his half moon spectacles with intensity.

"You seem impatient, Fillius… is something the matter?"

The charms Professor gave an awkward smile, his cheeks flushing a bit pink. "Actually, I figured that this meeting would be shorter, and more geared to the new class of first years."

"As did I." Professor Snape spoke in his monotoned lull. "The other years are well managed, with little to mention other than the Weasley twins' usual pranking… and a bit of ruckus that came from the Hufflepuffs common room on the first night."

Professor Sprout gave an innocent smile, clutching the receipts for the butterbeer from the first night tightly beneath the table.

"I'm sure I don't understand what you mean, Severus."

Albus chuckled. "Now now, the Hufflepuffs have always had their fun. Pomona has done a fine job of keeping them respectful and responsible."

Snape sneered and leaned back in his chair. "Nevertheless, I agree with Filius. I think we should use this time to address the settling in of the new class."

Albus nodded with the rest of the professors. "Very well, we shall start with you Severus. Anything of note in this year's batch?"

The potions professor took a moment to think, before speaking loudly for the table to hear. "I must admit that I am more than a bit surprised with some of your lions, Minerva. So far, the Gryffindors have given me minimal trouble. A few are even… decently practiced at simple brews."

Minerva blinked. A compliment from professor Snape? Head of Slytherin? This was more than she was expecting.

"That is wonderful-" Dumbledore began, only to be cut off as Snape continued.

"When it comes to the Ravenclaws, I have had to remind several that wit is not the only great treasure in life, as many seemed keen on going blind in our first class. My Slytherins, of course, are the top of my class. However, Pomona, your students are aiming to take that title this year."

Professor Sprout blinked. "Oh really?"

"Indeed. Among the small batch of precious gemstones sits Hannah Abbott, and Merlot Scortwit. Though it is sufficient to say that Miss Abbott is where she is thanks to some helpful pointers from Miss Scortwit. The child is a natural."

Flitwick butted in next. "Both have also made some waves in my class, demonstrating charms that we would learn near next year. Although one of my Ravens, Miss Granger, has them beaten for the number one spot in my class currently. She's already invented her own spell!"

"Really?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Ah, such brilliant minds so far… what about you Pomona?"

"Well, I do have to admit that my Hufflepuffs will always be great herbology students. However, Mr Longbottom from Slytherin seems to be quite blessed when it comes to his skills with plants. On top of that, I am excited to say that no bickering has gone on between the Gryffindors and Slytherins this year!"

Minerva nodded. "The attitudes of Mr Weasley and Mr Malfoy in particular have astounded me. One would think that they actually get along!"

The rest of the professors chuckled at her remark, and Minerva continued.

"As for me, Miss Abbott and Miss Scortwit have also shown themselves to be quite adept at transfigurations. Lately they've been working together on the spell to turn rocks into spiders!"

"These two students seem to be coming along well in all of their classes!" Albus nodded, summoning their current grades. "All O's in all subjects…"

"They're just the exceptional ones in their class. Which is quite interesting, considering the most exceptional students in other years have just followed along." Filius pointed out.

"Indeed. The rest of the class is developing faster than any other I have taught. They have a desire to learn."

Albus stroked his beard. "Interesting… if you were to pick two students from your batches of first years, who show the best promise out of all of them, which students, and why? Minerva, how about you start us with this one."

The transfiguration mistress nodded. "For Gryffindor, my first choice would be Miss Parvati Patil. She's quite adept and gives her all to classes. She was one of the ones who took the Hufflepuffs transfiguration as a challenge, and rose to the occasion of keeping up. So far she has completed thirty seven of the textbooks transfigurations outside of class."

"My word!" Fillius squeaked. "Thirty seven?"

McGonagall nodded. "As far as I am aware, she has also been taking strides in your class, Filius. She came to me yesterday asking for a bit of help with the imbalance jinx."

"We were set on moving to that one after Christmas. The only others that have made it that far are my ravenclaws, a few Slytherins, and the Hufflepuffs."

McGonagall nodded again. "She has shown a great interest in learning, and is quite dedicated. Other than her, I would say Ronald Weasley has shown some incredible progress. He is the only Gryffindor that Severus has mentioned to me by name. On top of this, his skills are coming along well in my class, and I hear he has taken an interest in herbology."

"Herbology hm?" Albus blinked, turning to Professor Sprout.

"Ronald is a wonderful student, and he always volunteers to stand by my venomous tentacula, which he has apparently named 'Dave' along with Neville Longbottom."

"Interesting. What about you then, Severus? What two first year Slytherins have caught your eye?"

Snape looked at Dumbledore. "It pains me a bit to say that Neville Longbottom has been progressing in leaps and bounds. He fits in quite well with Slytherin, although I wonder sometimes how his grandmother is taking it. He has come to speak with me from time to time about their correspondence."

"I see… anyone else?"

"I would say Draco Malfoy, however it would be wrong of me, as his godfather, to show favoritism." Snape nodded. "Other than him, Theodore Nott has shown quite a skill in Charms as Filius has informed me, as well as a knack for transfiguration."

Albus nodded and took a lemon drop from his pocket, unwrapping it and placing it upon his tongue as he turned to professor Flitwick. "How about your students, Filius?"

"I cannot talk about my first years without mentioning Morag MacDougal and Hermione Granger. Morag has shown a great interest in all of her classes, looking into books and studying spells above her year, while Hermione Granger is the brightest young mind I have ever encountered."

Albus leaned forward. "This is the girl who invented her own spell?"

Filius was practically quivering in excitement as he nodded to the headmaster. "Miss Granger shows a great interest in magical theory, and often turns in extra work for me to proofread on her main area of study."

"Which would be-"

"Muggle sciences." Flitwick nodded quickly. "While I have met wizards like Arthur Weasley, while wish to understand muggle inventions, Miss Granger is in many ways, the opposite. She was born to two muggles who describe her as a scientific genius. She knows much about muggle sciences that even I had not learned, studying theories on the earth's motion through the universe, and the differences between energy produced by Fire and Water. Her approach to magic is using it to bend these laws, or influence them, twisting the very nature of the world to her will."

"What of this spell she invented, Filius?" Albus nodded.

"A chant that takes roughly fifteen seconds. With it, she can pinpoint where an object or person is by locating what they have interacted with. The dirt, any food or drink, even the air."

"A fifteen second chant? How far does the spell work?"

"She states that she can pinpoint the movements of any person or thing in the last twenty four hours, no matter where it may be in the world! I believe she has run into a slight issue that confuses her, as she doesn't know if apparition, but once she understands that wizards and witches possess the ability to jump from place to place, I'm certain she may fix her spell and make the very first worldwide tracking charm."

Albus clapped his hands in a short burst of applause. "Marvelous! We must encourage this witch's growth. Have her know that I wish to speak with her at some point, Filius. I can schedule a time from there. Now, finally, onto you Pomona."

"As the rest have pointed out, Hannah Abbott has a talent for magic. She can see things and instantly do them, simply because she is pushed by a thirst for magic itself. Hidden a bit behind her, not in any sort of sense other than being out of sight, is Merlot Scortwit. The girl is very observant, and very talented. She looks into things before doing them, not rushing in immediately. The only problem with her is her mood, she is far too quick to let her anger ebb away. I fear that she is bottling up her true emotions, and if we ever come to a point when they spill over… I don't even wish to think about what she might be capable of."

Albus stroked his beard again. "On the topic of Merlot Scortwit, I received a letter from her father. He requested that she go home in a few weeks time, around October, for their family's wine festival?"

"A wine festival?" Filius blinked, leaning forward.

"Miss Scortwit happens to be a wine maiden, and stomps their grapes every year. He assures me that he will send her back with some wine as a gift for all of us here." Albus nodded. "I just wished to bring the matter up, as she will miss classes for those few days, but seeing how you all are giving her such praise, I am certain that she will be fine in her educational endeavors."

Professor Sprout nodded and held up a letter in one hand. "I also have a matter concerning Miss Scortwit. Madam Hooch has requested that she be allowed to play quidditch. She is already trying out for the reserve team, but should the quidditch team ask after her performance, Rolanda has made it clear that she has faith in Miss Scortwits flying ability."

Albus nodded and took the note, reading it over swiftly.

"It seems that she's impressed Rolanda enough to be an exception to the first years rule." Albus nodded. "Very well, if the quidditch team comes and asks for Merlot to join them, I will ask for a memory of the tryouts. If the girl's display is sound enough, she will be allowed to join the main team."

The professors nodded and Albus set the note down. "Are there any more topics that we wish to discuss? Wonderful. Filius, I would like to speak to you about the eight students mentioned today. And Severus, I would speak to you after concerning your request of taking on an apprentice."

The two professors in question nodded and remained in the office while the other professors took their leave.

"First of all. Filius, I wanted to ask if you would enjoy teaching an extra class on Saturdays. I know that the weekends are allotted for NEWT study groups and extra time for any students who have questions. However, given the notes of your peers considering the students of the first year, I was wondering if you might want to teach them how to duel?"

Flitwicks eyes widened. "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

Albus smiled. "We will see how it works out. But I believe we may finally revive the old Hogwarts dueling team. I believe if you work hard, you may even be able to take them to this year's spring tournament of schools."

Flitwick nodded as quickly as possible. "I will consult each of the eight students that we spoke of. I have little doubt that they will enjoy the idea of this as much as I do."

Albus nodded and dismissed the charms professor, before turning to Snape. "Your proposed apprenticeship, Severus. Is that another reason that you chose two students over the Malfoy boy?"

Severus pursed his lips. "I will always be the first to admit to weakness headmaster, even if it is only to you."

The elderly headmaster nodded, turning to pet his phoenix familiars head plumage, causing it to croon. "And you believe that the boy is not as powerful as the other students."

"It has nothing to do with power." Severus shook his head. "It is about opportunity. I know you Albus, and I know you planned to do something for the children listed. Having many opportunities can be a bad thing, it can make others jealous."

Albus nodded. "So… tell me about what you plan for this apprenticeship…"

"The first few years would simply be additional study. Draco is intelligent, his ability to think rationally is what separates him from his father." Snape spoke. "Taking him as an apprentice would open up a great deal of avenues, while making sure that you have extras to choose from."

"You are trying to play to my wishes, Severus. It is quite slytherin of you." Albus smirked. "What do you get out of this? That is what I ask."

Severus nodded. "I get to make certain that my godson has the skills he needs to be independent. His father grows more unstable each passing year. He was and still is a devout follower of the dark lord, there is no telling what he may attempt."

Albus nodded. "Very well, Severus. I will allow this apprenticeship. I hope that you take your time in educating him."

"I will."

Albus watched the potions professor leave and let out a sigh. The true thing he had wanted to talk about was the missing status of Harry Potter. After Minerva had stated that the name disappeared from the sorting scroll, he had gone to see the Dursleys.

There was no sign of the child anymore. Just a grimy closet which held a cot and some old clothing. It horrified the elderly man. Since Light had relinquished control back to him, he had seen the effects of the holy beings manipulations. This was by far the worst of it. A child raised in a closet for eight years.

When he asked the Dursleys, they had said that the 'freak' had been placed in a psychiatric hospital, one that burned down mysteriously several years ago.

Harry Potter had not been seen since.

It did little for Albus's hope that the child lived. He had felt horrible for their fate, but in the end, it warmed him to think that the boy persisted, surviving until at least the day of the sorting, when his name supposedly vanished.

He had wanted to tell the other professors of his findings in concern to the Potter boy. He wanted to tell them that the Potter line was dead.

But Light was beginning to stir. The meeting took turns that he hadn't expected. He had been unable to say anything before he had to cut it short, for the being grew closer to control with every passing moment.

Fawkes gave a low croon from his perch, letting a tear fall upon the back of the mans hand, the magic binding him safely, keeping him in control.

"Thank you old friend." Albus smiled. "There is still much for me to do."

—0—

Merlot raised a hand above her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sun as a gentle breeze floated over the quidditch pitch, ruffling her hair.

Several students with broomsticks flew through the air, their yellow and black quidditch robes easily catching the eyes of all present as they dove down and landed in formation next to Madam Hooch, who was there to oversee the tryouts.

Merlot clutched the case of her silver arrow tightly in hand as the captain of the quidditch team, a boy by the name of Alden Summers, walked to each hopeful student and ran them through a series of drills. She was lucky that it got to Hogwarts in time for the tryouts, barely getting to her the night before via owl post.

The girl felt out of place amongst the older students of her house. They towered above her, looking down with some amusement as the team captain mulled each of them over.

Merlot was approached by Cedric, who gave her a smile and looked at her broom case. "Pretty case, hope it flies well."

Merlot nodded, feeling a bit jittery as the captain drew closer to her. "Cedric… would it be all right if I just did a bit of a warm up flight?"

Cedric blinked. "You'd have to do it over near the perimeter, which means you'd have to go to the end of the tryout line. Might not have much of a choice as to your position by the time Alden makes it to you."

Merlot nodded. "That's okay. I'm not really expecting to get selected anyway. I'll be on the ground before he reaches the end of the line."

Cedric nodded and watched as Merlot walked away. The girl took her case and set it on the ground near the edge of the pitch, undoing the silver clasps along the side before taking out a beautiful broomstick.

From what he could see, the handle was perfectly straight, and the tail was tapered to look like the fletching of an arrow. From the look on Madam Hooch's face, the broom was an older model. One she knew quite well.

He only turned for a second, but that was all that it took. Once Cedric turned back to look at Merlot, she had vanished.

While Alden drilled the potential recruits, Cedric searched the sky, looking for any sign of the potential youngest quidditch player in a century.

"Cedric, come over here. I think we have a potential beater." Alden spoke.

"Just a sec."

"Cedric, I want him to smack a few at you, okay?"

"Just a sec!"

"Cedric what are you even-"

"Look!"

Several of the Hufflepuffs pointed upwards. Cedric's eyes widened as he saw a small shape falling down from the sky, their body poofing through a few small clouds.

"Cedric! Quickly! Whoever that is we have to-"

"I'm already on it."

Cedric mounted his broom and kicked off, instantly pushing himself to maximum speed as he ascended towards the falling individual. As he drew closer, he could make out wavy black hair and a baggy uniform, an arrow shaped broom was clutched in the individual's hand. As he made his way closer, a strange chirping sound filled his ears.

"MERLOT?" Cedric shouted into the wind, pushing himself higher and higher. The girl came into better focus, the chirping revealed itself to be laughter.

"MERLOT!"

The laughter quieted, and the figure wriggled a bit, bringing their broom in close to their chest. With a fluid motion, Merlot flipped back onto her broom, instantly gaining speed as she pitched into a steep dive. Cedric's eyes widened as the girl corkscrewed and spiraled around several students that were rising to catch her, before pulling up and shooting off towards one end of the quidditch pitch. With a whoop, Merlot sped through the rings at one end of the field, before pulling up and ascending quickly, Her speed dropped as she neared Cedric, coming to a full stop right beside him, a grin plastered across her face.

"That was awesome… Thanks Cedric."

The boy shook his head. "What the hell even was that? You could've been killed!"

"Think so? Nah." Merlot shook her head. "I had everything under control. That's my favorite trick, you know."

"MERLOT LILY SCORTWIT!"

"Uh oh."

Madam Hooch rose as quick as she could on one of the school brooms, clutching onto the handle so tightly that her knuckles were white.

"Do you wish me to write to your father and explain why exactly his daughter is in critical condition? If I ever see you doing a stunt like that again-"

"It was brilliant."

The three turned to see Alden Summers hovering on his broomstick beside them.

"Be that as it may Mr Summers, it was incredibly reckless."

"I had it under control." Merlot assured the panicked flying instructor.

"Cedric, I need her to be on the team." Alden said to his seeker. "After losing Gerrard on seeker last year, we need talent like this."

"I agree. So we would start her as a chaser?"

"I think that would be a great idea-"

"ENOUGH!" Madam Hooch shouted. "Deliberate over her position on the team later, for now, I want her back on the ground!"

"Yes ma'am." Merlot nodded, slowly descending back to the quidditch pitch.

"Still…" Rolanda muttered. "That was some brilliant broomwork…"

"What was that professor?" Alden asked.

"Nothing Mr Summers. Now return to your tryouts."

"Yes ma'am."

Madam Hooch floated down on her broom and landed next to Merlot. "You're going to stand right by me until they get to you, alright?"

"Yes ma'am…"

Eventually, Alden made it to Merlot. "Here's the one I've been waiting for. Sorry it took so long, didn't want everyone to wait longer than they had to."

"That's quite alright." Merlot smiled softly. "I did my warm up flight, so I'm raring to go."

Alden smirked. "You certainly did. Well then, I have a few different drills for you. I want to see how good of a chaser you'd be."

"A chaser?"

"You take the quaffle and score at one of the goal posts at the end of the field."

Merlot nodded and held out her broom. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Great. Get up in the air and we'll talk about some of the basics. Intercepting, tackles, and scoring."

Merlot nodded and kicked off. From the ground, floating up into the air, where Cedric and two other players were waiting. One had a red ball clutched under one arm. The quaffle.

"To start with, we're going to run you through how to tackle. It might look a little pushy from far away, but the best can take the quaffle with just a simple nudge." Cedric nodded. "Malcolm and Tamsin will give you an example."

The two Hufflepuffs nodded and took off towards one goal post. Merlot watched closely as Tamsin, the girl without the quaffle, dipped down underneath Malcolm, before pulling up with her arm out, taking the quaffle from under his arm and pivoting. The tackler sped away in the opposite direction, coming back to Cedric and Merlot.

"That was a tackle. You have to do it without knocking a player from their broom. A nudge in the side is fine, maybe moving their arm a bit, but hitting them in the face is a no-no, and completely ramming them is out of the question. Intercepting is similar, you just nab a pass out of the air. Tamsin?"

The girl tossed the quaffle to Cedric. Malcolm sped in and snatched it from the air before the boy could catch it.

Merlot nodded. "I'm ready to try."

Cedric gestured for Tamsin to go. The chaser sped off as Merlot watched, blitzing towards the goalpost at the end of the field.

"What are you waiting for? Get going!"

Merlot flattened herself against her broom, shooting after Tamsin like a bullet. She could feel the buzz of her magic below her skin, it filled her completely, making her body sing as it shot through the air.

Tamsin never saw it, she didn't even feel it. Merlot soared beneath her and plucked the quaffle from the girls hold, before making a broad turn and shooting back to Cedric.

"How was that?"

"Perfect!"

Tamsin soared up next to them. "I didn't even notice you took it. That's bloody scary."

"That was excellent!" Alden soared up to them. "I got my gear all set. Wanna try a bit of scoring?"

Merlot nodded and followed the team captain to the end of the pitch, where he sat at the front of one of the hoops.

"Go on then, shoot."

"But you're guarding it." Merlot blinked.

"That's what a keeper does." Alden nodded. "That's also why there's two more hoops. I have to guard all three, so you have options."

Merlot nodded and looked at the quaffle. "Alright then."

Without another word, Merlot sped away from the hoops, before arching back and making a charge straight for the centermost goalpost. Alden saw her coming and braced himself. Merlot didn't slow, and Alden was considering jumping to the side as she barreled in. However, the girl pulled up sharply and threw the quaffle at the left goalpost, scoring on Alden on her first try.

"Again."

Merlot nodded as she took the quaffle again, before repeating the action. This time, Alden hovered between the left and center hoops, hoping to react to her throw. Merlot simply turned and dove to the right, lofting the quaffle through the right goal.

'Her ability to adapt on the fly is astounding.'

"Again."

Merlot once again took the quaffle. This time, as she turned and raced towards the goalpost, Alden signaled Cedric to release a bludger. The brown ball instantly caught onto Merlots trail and took chase.

Hearing the growling ball behind her, Merlot's face shifted to concentration. She quickly pulled up, rising at a speed that surpassed the comet two sixty. Alden watched as the girl reached a pinnacle and dove, spiraling and corkscrewing on her way down. The bludger followed after, getting confused at the girls erratic movement, before being lodged in the dirt as she pulled up from the dive. Merlot blitzed towards the goalpost and scored while Alden was still stunned.

'She shook off a bloody bludger!'

Merlot hovered in the air with her hand up, catching the quaffle as it was thrown to her by Tamsin.

"Well." Alden smiled. "I think we have ourselves a new chaser. And with those moves, I'd be willing to put you as reserve seeker."

"High praise." Cedric grinned, swooping down from where he had been circling above the pitch. "I'll try to stay out of the hospital wing, Alden."

The captain nodded. "Well, I think that's about it! We'll cover passing and the like in practice, but for now, get some rest. I'll get everything settled and get you your quidditch robes. What size are you?"

"Small or extra small." Merlot nodded. "And don't worry about updating my size, I won't grow much."

Cedric and Alden gave Merlot an odd look, but nodded nevertheless. The girl came in for landing next to Madam Hooch and left the quidditch pitch, looking forward to a bath in the Hufflepuff dorm bathroom.

—0—

And there we have the quidditch chapter! Tryouts are done!

As I said, I want quidditch to have more of a foothold in this story. I've seen far too many fics that have sidelined the sport. This one will take it to the point of an early life career for Merlot, so definitely something to look forward to.

The dueling team is something of my own. I thought that while having inter school quidditch teams could be a bit messy, as you'd have to go by year and whatnot, dueling is specifically geared towards experience. Having a team taught by Flitwick opens up the gates to different schools before the tri wizard tournament. Heck, we might even get to see some action from ilvermorny in America.

As always, leave a review, and until next time

Adios.