A chapter about Merlot!

In the last book, she didn't struggle as much with her trauma from the facility, nor her experience at the Dursleys.

Now that the horcrux is pretty much gone, that is all going to change. There is a reason that the prophecy in the preview said that their mind would be at war with itself, I plan to have the trauma of Harry Potter and the childhood of Tom Riddle blend together throughout this installment.

So let's go

—0—

Pain.

Everything was pain.

Merlot tossed and turned in her bed, back at the dragonlodge. Visions of the past haunting her as nightmares ran rampant through her mind.

"FREAK!"

"You're a freak!"

"Get back in your cupboard!"

The girl whimpered and whined as she became entangled in her blankets, which twisted and became the bloody hands of her past tormentors within the deepest shadows of her mind.

"You and your freakishness are a stain upon our family!"

"Doll her up…"

"Can't handle a bit of order?"

"Pretty little Ella…"

"Ella."

"Ella."

"Ella."

"Tom!"

Their eyes shot open at the voice. It had been so long since she had been back here, to his room. He had been good to the other orphans. He had been!

"Charles told me that you pushed him into a puddle, is that true?"

No. No, he hadn't done that. Charles was being mean and the wind. The wind blew him over. He didn't push him.

"I see… well if you want to stay quiet you can. No dinner for the next three days. And no time outside of your room!"

She slammed the door as she left, and tears rose unbidden from his eyes. He could hear the deadbolt sliding across his door, confining him to the tiny prison once more.

"Please! Please, I swear I didn't do it! I swear!"

"Think of what you have done, boy."

The woman's footsteps echoed as she walked away. Tom fell to his knees in front of his door, heat building in his chest.

It burned, fiery, biting, angry. The heat became a steady fire in his heart which filled his veins with pain as he let out a howl of rejection.

And Merlot woke to the sound of her own screaming.

The girl quickly realized that the wails were her own, and went quiet, her eyes roaming about the room madly, searching for anything that may try to harm her.

At that moment, the door burst open, with both Charlie and Scortwit flying into the room, wands drawn. "What happened?"

"Who goes there!"

"Whoever hurt this girl will find their jewels taken off and placed with a dragons hoard so help me-"

"Scortwit." Charlie spoke, frozen in place.

"Hm?" The man turned, his angry expression melting away as he saw Merlot, blankets clutched around her as she squeezed herself against the wall. Her wand was in her hand, pointing shakily at the both of them.

"Hey… hey now… are you alright?" Scortwit slowly put his wand away and approached the girls bedside.

"S-stay away from m-me." The young witch stuttered, her eyes flicking to Charlie, then back to Scortwit.

"Merlot. Put the wand down. It's me. It's Scortwit."

Merlot squeezed her eyes shut, the faces of the past assailing her mind behind her eyelids.

"Freak."

"FREAK!"

"Mum! Look what the freak is doing!"

"Merlot!"

The girl's eyes snapped open as she continued to shake. That's right… she was safe. She was with Scortwit and Charlie at the dragon preserve. Merlot felt tears rise in her eyes as Scortwit sat down upon her bedside. Charlie lit the tip of his wand and began to search the room for any intruder.

"Come here, come on now." Scortwit said softly, beckoning Merlot over gently.

She obliged, inching her way to Scortwits side and melting into his side as he rubbed her back.

"Nightmare?"

Merlot nodded, her lips dry. "Bad memories."

Charlie returned to the doorway. "Nobody in here, and I checked the wards. No intruders."

"Thank you Charlie-boy." Scortwit nodded. "Would you mind setting up the kettle?"

The young man nodded and walked out of the room. "He's very protective of you, you know."

Merlot nodded, her body still shaking a bit. "The good uncle."

Scortwit remained silent, his eyes regarding his adopted daughter with a bit of worry. "Come on, let's get you downstairs by the fire."

Merlot nodded and slowly stood up. Scortwit guided her out of the room and down the stairs, stopping in the living area, beside the fireplace. With a quick mutter, the brick was lit with cheery orange flames.

"Sit on down, get comfortable."

Merlot sat back on the sofa as Charlie walked in, carrying three steaming mugs of tea. She accepted one from him and sat clutching it close, staring at the flames of the fireplace.

Scortwit accepted a mug from Charlie as well, and took a sip, watching Merlot stare at the flames, her eyes slightly glazed over.

"We have another visit to Gringotts this week. Would you like to go, Merlot?"

The girl blinked, looking up at Scortwit as he took another sip of his tea. "I'm certain Spearmint would be happy to see you."

Merlot nodded, her gaze returning to the fire.

"What do you make of it sir?" Charlie whispered from beside him. "She's had nightmares before, but this."

"Relax a bit, Charlie. It's been two weeks since the alchemist performed the ritual. We were told this would happen."

"You think it's the horcrux?"

"No, the horcrux is gone. All that's left of it became part of her."

"I know what you're whispering about." Merlot spoke, her voice hoarse. "I'm not crazy. I'm not."

Scortwit sighed and set his mug down. "We don't think you're crazy, Merlot. Your past experiences were horrible, and it takes a lot to overcome them."

The girl looked over at Scortwit, who practically melted at her expression. "You think so? I'm not crazy?"

"No. Not crazy. Never crazy." Scortwit shook his head.

Charlie cleared his throat and sat down upon the open sofa seat. "Do you want to talk about something to get your mind off of it? How's Despereaux doing? Any letters from your friends?"

Merlot looked at the fire, watching as the flames licked the brick walls of its den. When she spoke, it was soft again, more like her usual voice, just… less.

"I received letters from Hannah and Cedric." She nodded. "Hannah was telling me about how quiet her house was compared to the parties in Hufflepuff, while Cedric sent a letter about studying over break. He wanted to ask me about a few runes…"

Charlie nodded. "It sounds like they like you a lot. When I was in school, my best friends took weeks to send their first letters. I didn't get them until halfway through the summer."

Scortwit leaned back in his chair and watched as the two talked about Merlot's school friends, their likes and dislikes, their best subjects. He noted how Merlot's hair slowly changed from a scraggly black mess, to nice combed waves of caramel.

'I wonder if that's from the horcrux as well…'

"Has your report from Hogwarts come in yet?"

Merlot shook her head. "We got our test results in person. I made a few people jealous, but that was before… you know."

Charlie nodded. "Well… I heard from someone that you wrote a book. I think Bill has found the information in it very useful."

Merlot blinked. "Bill? As in your older brother, who works for Gringotts?"

Charlie nodded. "Oh yes. He told me in his last letter that he had seen it in Diagon Alley, and recognized your name. Found it a little funny that an eleven year old was writing on such a complex subject, but after looking through it, he purchased a copy."

"He really found it helpful? It's just theory…"

"I believe the exact words he wrote were, 'Genius', 'incredible', and 'inspiring'. That was around a week and a half ago." Charlie nodded.

"We can swing by Flourish and Blotts later this week to look. And since you wrote the book, you should get a share of the profits." Scortwit nodded. "They'll either have it there, or we can ask your account manager."

Merlot nodded and went back to looking at the fire. After a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "I really should go back and work some more on my rune study…"

"I'm sure that there are many out there who would enjoy seeing another of your works." Scortwit nodded. "I believe that the first has already made quite a few waves in the runecarvers association."

"It's nice to think that." Merlot chuckled. "But my work is mediocre at best. I'm probably a laughing stock. Nobody would want my opinion on such things, oh no… can you imagine how hard it will be to get an apprenticeship when I'm older?"

"Come now. Surely there will be a lot of people who think your theories are incredible."

"Incredibly stupid. I can't just waltz into the magical world and redefine an entire magical study." Merlot nodded. "No, I probably should have waited. No one's going to want me as an apprentice."

—0—

"I want her Albus."

"It is out of my hands."

Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, his fingers steepled before him as he gazed through his halfmoon spectacles at the professor of Runes, Bathsheda Babbling.

She was a wonderful woman. Tall, for a witch, with black hair and a stern face. She had taught the Runes course at Hogwarts for the last ten years. Her daughter had chosen to study abroad at Ilvermorney School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, located in the United States. If Albus remembered correctly, she was in her fourth year.

"How is Sarah doing?"

The woman gave a huff. "She's fine. Ilvermorney has the option for summer terms, and she takes them. Don't change the subject on me Albus!"

Albus sighed and shook his head. "What makes you think I can do what you ask?"

"You are the headmaster!" The woman spoke. "Is it not you who oversees each students schedule?"

Albus took off his spectacles and began polishing them upon his robes. They were one of his favorite sets, covered in golden stars, with comets that would whiz across the surface of the fabric every so often.

"While that is one of my duties, it is useless in this case."

"Why?"

"For the simple fact that it would be improper." Albus shook his head. "A complete violation of her parents trust, as well as a cause for concern about safety."

"I can guarantee you Albus, she will be in no way threatened by-"

"Not just her, Bathsheda. You."

The rune mistress blinked incredulously. "Me?"

"Yes, you. The student you want is responsible for the death of an adult mountain troll. At the end of the term, she was attacked by a malevolent spirit, and witnessed the death of Professor Quirrel." He spoke, placing his spectacles back upon his crooked nose. "She retains injuries from that fight as well. A permanent limp, aftershocks, similar to the aftermath of cruciatus exposure. Now… tell me why you think it is a good idea to place a traumatized student in an environment, one-on-one, with another professor? What if she begins to have flashbacks? What if she lashes out? What will you do if she becomes panicked after snapping you like a twig?"

"I am an adult Witch." Professor babbling spoke curtly. "I would like to think that I can take care of a student in need, and I would imagine my skills are above hers when it comes to magic."

Albus chuckled. "You would think…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Albus shook his head. "For now, my answer stands. I cannot, in decent mind, place the two of you in such a situation."

"But have you read her works Albus? Under my direction she could-"

"I do not have time for what she could do, Bathsheda." Albus interrupted. "I am sorry, but my hope for Miss Scortwit is that she have a semi-regular year here at Hogwarts. So as I said before, my answer stands. I will try to find another solution that has the two of you collaborate."

The woman was upset by this answer, but decided to keep her mouth shut. She had tried her best, practically begged. But Albus was firm in his answer, so she would yield for the time being.

"Right… Well, I'd better return to my office then."

"Do you have everything for your trip to the States?"

Bathsheda nodded and began walking out of the room. "I placed the request a few months ago, when Sarah informed me of the summer term. I will return before the holiday ends."

Albus nodded as she stepped out, making sure to cast an incredibly weak banishing charm at the door to make sure that it clicked shut. Fawkes gave a low croon from his perch.

"I know, my friend. But the girl won't benefit from rigorous and strict instruction from Bathsheda. And you know how she is." Albus shook his head. "But… perhaps I could invite her to my office when Scortwit is under my watchful eye. Perhaps teach her the proper way to receive the full product of Miss Scortwits study…"

The phoenix bobbed its head back and forth, before reaching around to preen its tail feathers.

"Of course my friend, you always do have the answer." Dumbledore smiled, standing from his desk and walking to the back of his office. "Which reminds me… I have a certain gruff Auror to write to."

—0—

You may not agree with me on the Dumbledore part, but I think that it actually is the most logical way to go about his response to Quirrell and the events of first year. Yes, Mad Eye Moody might be a bit gruff, but he'll realistically only be brought in to teach Merlot about spellcasting with a cane, and getting used to tremors.

As she goes as a student, Merlot really doesn't need runes. Her self study in the subject will see many more developments, especially when it comes to her position in the wizarding world.

Anyways, as always, leave a review, and until next time,

Adios.