A/N:
I'm assuming you've read the summary. Don't click away when I tell you this is set before Harry's enrollment. Specifically when Fred and George start schooling. So, Tonks and Charles's generation. Expect multiple OC's due to the setting. Including a new Weasley who I think you'll love as much as I do. And although its not related much to canon, it will somewhat serve as a prologue to another fic I have that will follow canon storylines.
Side note: I'm experimenting with first-person writing so I've tried to create different voices for each character. Let me know what you think.
1. Sven Returns
Dewey Dabuy last term...
To whomever it may concern,
I, Dewitt Jackson Dabuy, fourth-year Ravenclaw, have no fault in regards to the irreversible emotional modification done unto Estrella Grenhart, third-year Slytherin. And before you may ask, I refuse to submit any memory of mine for use of a Pensieve in any future trials pertaining to this matter for I do not wish to testify against Sylvin Evander Burke, who should be a fifth-year Gryffindor at the time this was written and is the one truly responsible for what caused these events. Whether his sudden disappearance could be the results of his manifesting guilt or simply just a coincidence is of a topic I do not wish to discuss. I am just a potion-brewing prodigy who is often consulted by many students who seek out my knowledge. In no way could I have predicted that Sylvin Evander Burke's request would lead to such events. I would like to stress that this is not at all a stand against Sylvin Evander Burke of House Burke, grandson of part-owner of Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley, who is conveniently missing as I write this. This note will simply be kept for my records to be of use in the future.
After reading through it twice, I saw my mistake: the usage of the word "request". It may cause suspicion of me brewing him the potion, which I did.
Other than that, it was well-written.
Sven cannot be upset with me for trying to preserve my freedom. Especially since I made it clear that I wouldn't be testifying against him. Come to think of it, I should make a copy of this to prove to him that I didn't. I'm sure he wouldn't read into the subtle clues I had left for whoever its other receiver would be.
Now, I will admit that I'm not completely innocent. I practically jumped at this idea of his for a Valentine's Day prank, eager to see how well I could invent a Love Potion from scratch.
However, as I spent all summer working out possible solutions to the Grenhart Case, he decided to fall off the face of the earth, which I took as his attempt to escape imprisonment, thus, leaving me with the responsibility.
I won't let the spineless goon get away with it. Which is why I wrote this letter. So if things ever get out of control and it somehow gets traced back to me, I have a letter proving my innocence.
Cooper thinks it's a foolish idea, but he's one of Sven's close friends.
Tuh!
Like I'd ever take his advice into account. He must think I'm foolish.
Penny Weasley in the present...
It's been about three minutes of nothing but deadly silence between her and I. Usually by now, I would have went to claw and tooth with the young witch, but for some reason, I get the sense that she is not one to underestimate. Even though she was at least five years younger than me.
We sat across each other, the commotion outside unheard and the air around us still. I can see in her a formidable individual in the making. And I am not so selfish as to simply just strip her of the confidence that she radiated so glowingly. Although if she continues to push it, well, I suppose I must.
Our staring contest was one for the ages. I'm sure she'd tell her future kids about this.
I shot her a wicked grin while keeping her gaze.
"This compartment," I said, enunciating every syllable, "is taken."
She raised her chin even higher, nothing but defiance in the green of her eyes. "I can hardly see your little frame taking up all this space."
You bint!
"Little frame!? You're like ten!"
"I turned eleven two days ago, I'll have you know." Her tone was calm. And the small curl of her lips told me that she saw victory in my brief outburst. I'd never admit that she was right, however.
But she was, and since I've gone so far as to lose my resolve, I figured I might as well show her who's boss.
I hopped onto my feet before lunging at her, fixing to show her out of the compartment by her blonde pigtails.
The sight of her leaning back into her seat and lifting both feet defensively only gave a portion of the satisfaction I was looking for.
I grabbed a hold of her pigtails, but apparently, it was all part of her plan. The sly little witch poked me in the eye. It would have been a great strategy and I was impressed nonetheless, considering she had no idea of who she was actually dealing with.
I withstood the pain and tears of her otherwise useless sneak attack and even the pain her kicks had brought to my stomach. Then, I lifted the witch by her hair. But before I can get her arse off the cushion, we both were struck frozen.
"Penny, you can't be attacking first-years!"
Even if I wasn't frozen, I would have kept my eyes fixed on Blondie and would have paid no mind to my older brother.
I then heard a laugh that had to be from Harold. "Starting off early this term, are you?"
After a brief coordination between the two, I regained my ability to move but then was immediately blasted into the exterior wall of the compartment. It was a shame I wasn't able to bring with me even a strand of the lock I was going for.
The girl quickly grabbed her things and left the compartment, glaring at me the whole way out.
"This isn't over," I shouted after her, not yet fully content with my well-earned victory.
"What's the matter with you," said Charles, helping me up.
"You really need to keep that temper of yours in check, Penny," said Harold, who remained amused with a smile on his face.
--
The trip to Hogwarts started off terribly. Mainly because there was barely any room to fit us all.
Fred and George started schooling this term along with Aaron, Maya and Edward's little brother. And not even ten minutes into the train ride, the three started bickering as they fought over who was the best quidditch player for each position.
Fred and George, who were blatantly biased for each other, consistently won with two votes to one. This led to little Aaron storming out of the compartment. It did give us more space, but at the same time, gave room for the boys to bother us with their never-ending questions. I just about had it when they asked about Hogwarts's plumbing system.
"Don't be silly! You're here to learn magic, why would you have any need to use the loo? That's what cleaning spells are for!"
The two look with a mix of confusion and disgust. Clearly, I did not just go as I pleased. I just thought it brilliant to plant a seed in their heads as a gag. It'll take them a bit later into the year before they actually learn how to cast cleaning spells, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.
"I'm going to check on Aaron," Maya said before leaving.
"So you guys just go in the middle of class," asked Fred, looking to Harold for confirmation as if he can be trusted.
"Of course not! It's only respectful to announce it first before going in the far corner."
Maya Wilkins
I searched the train for Aaron, opening the doors to each compartment as I passed them.
While doing that, I accidentally walked in on Valentine Buckets and Samuel Bones snogging. I should have shut the door right away, but then I got curious as to what their reactions would be.
I stood at the doorway with false shock as my housemate pulled away gasping from my ex-boyfriend's embrace. It was satisfying seeing her eyes grow wide as she stuttered out my name.
"Mi-Miss Wilkins..." She turned to Sam with a face of disgust.
Typical Buckets.
"Mr. Bones! That is not what I meant when I asked you for a chewing gum! This isn't what you think, Miss Wilkins."
I slammed the door on the both of them, but not before I caught a glimpse of Sam's extremely red face.
Afterwards, I went to keep looking for my little brother. I had trouble fighting off a smirk, knowing I'll be getting a rather exquisite apology from Buckets sooner or later.
Now, where did that ninny run off to...
As I opened and shut compartment doors, I came across one that was locked. Without thinking, I stepped towards the next one before I remembered that the compartment doors can only be locked through means of runes.
Sven was here!
I turned around on my heel so quick that for a second, my vision was spinning. I put my ear to the door and couldn't hear a thing. It had to have been sound-proofed.
It had to be him.
My fist was practically shaking as I knocked on the compartment door to the tune of "My Little Leprechaun."
Time seemed to have slowed down as it took a while before the door opened.
"Wilkins?"
I was deeply disappointed to see Dewey Dabuy peek through the slight crack. I had to stop myself from poking the pansy's eye out.
"Edward?"
... He is here.
"Sven!"
"Maya?" He said my name with a tone of uncertainty. It made me hesitate. It made me wonder if I had sounded too eager calling his name.
He slid the door wide open and the sight of him smiling down warmly at me put me at ease. He spread his arms out wide before wrapping me into a hug. I hugged him back, of course.
"Maya! It's good to see you," he said before releasing me and pulling away. "Where's Edward?"
"I... He's over there. Where were you last year," I asked immediately.
His captivating smile slowly formed into a rather smug grin. "Oh, I just had some business to attend to in the muggle world, you know."
"Well, come on to the compartment so they could see you, you twat," I said, turning around to lead him down the corridor.
"You all are sharing a compartment," he said, looking for clarification. But he followed me regardless. "We'll have this conversation later, Dewey."
Sven Burke
Apparently, while I was under punishment in my mum's dungeon, the younger sisters to two of my best buddies had gotten closer with the rest of our circle and found their way in.
It didn't bother me at all. Except I was planning to talk to them about the Grenhart Case before reaching Hogwarts. With Maya and Penny's addition, I wasn't sure if I should go forward with that. So I jumped right into the story of the three months I spent as a magic muggle.
After a warming moment of hugs and kisses, Edward's kisses, we all settled down and I took the invisible microphone.
Of course, I exaggerated a few things here and there. It wouldn't be my story if I didn't. Except for the dungeon part. It was very depressing down there. Mum wouldn't even let me read my letters.
After what seemed like an hour, Charles went straight to the core of my whole adventure.
"So, why'd you do it then?"
I shrugged. "Mostly curious, honestly."
Edward clicked his tongue. "And you didn't think to bring us along, eh?"
I shrugged again. "It wasn't like I planned it, mate. I just saw the opportunity and took a train to the muggle world instead of Hogwarts."
"Well, was it worth it," asked Harold with a smirk. "Nine months in the dungeon?"
I hit his forehead with a toffee. "Try it and tell me watchu think, yeah?"
As the brief laughter that filled our small compartment slowly faded, I noticed Cooper, who was as quiet this whole time as he usually was, waiting for us to settle down. I nodded upwards at him.
"So, you'll be a fifth-year this term," he asked.
... That's a good question.
--
"Why can't I just take my OWLs," I asked kindly.
Dumbledore sat across me and had the same smile on his face for our whole conversation. It was the usual, passive smile he wore. Except with the current situation, I couldn't get a good read on him.
So far, it seemed like he was rather disappointed in me, but also satisfied that I'm being held back. I had an odd feeling that he was doing it to help me and at the same time, to see me fail.
To keep me from my own distractions, I thought back to when Edward thought Dumbledore was taking psychoactive potions.
Hehe, twat...
"Mr. Burke, if we would allow you to skip a whole year and just take the OWLs, I'm sure every fifth-year of this term would rebel and want to do the same... It'd be quite funny, wouldn't it?"
I quickly wiped the smile off my face. "Sorry, headmaster, I didn't quite get all of what you just said."
He continued unfazed by my restricted competence. "I cannot let you bypass a whole year of schooling, Sven."
"But headmaster, I studied at home," I argued.
He chuckled. "Your mother thought you would say that and said I shouldn't believe you."
That bint!
I sighed, trying to think of a good argument. But I couldn't. Though I figured it'd be a waste not to negotiate for something smaller.
"Well, what if I could impress you for the first half of this term, and I mean wildly amaze you, sir, would you consider letting me take the OWLs early?"
I notice his expression had finally twitched in just the slightest.
I'm one foot in, mate.
After a short pause, he piped up. "Well, that would only leave you with the last half of term to prepare for the secondary OWLs."
"And I'll pass 'em, too, I bet ya," I said with no hesitation. I tried my best at an eager smile, knowing Dumbledore was a sucker for naive students.
It took a while, but he eventually nodded. "I expect to be wildly amazed, Mr. Burke."
Edward Wilkins
Upon reaching Hogwarts, Sven went right away to see Dumbledore. I'm not surprised that he missed the old bloke, but for some reason, he didn't look too happy going up the steps.
He also told us to wait before we head off to the Feast. I'm not sure how long exactly we were supposed to wait for, but I hoped it was long enough. I didn't want him in a bad mood on his first day back. Plus, we had three new Gryffindors to be sorted tonight. So, we had to actually be at the Sorting. To applaud them, of course.
As expected, the boys made the cut and were now sitting with with the rest of the firsties. I couldn't help but smile from afar. Aaron's gonna make a great Gryffindor. Fred and George, too, no doubt.
"You think Dumbledore's gonna make Sven a sixth-year," asked Charles.
Ohh. That's probably why he went to see Dumbledore. I should have known.
Penny: "Clearly not."
Harold: "Of course not."
Harold: "Dumbledore ain't gonna hear it. But Sven would probably try to talk him into something. Like taking his fifth-year OWLs by the holidays."
"Why would he do that," I asked.
Harold: "So, he can move up to sixth right after. I don't think Dumbledore would go for it though."
Cooper: "No. Then he'd only have six months to prepare for his secondary OWLs."
Harold: "Right."
"Well, it sounds like a fair deal to me," I said. "I'd bet money on it."
Harold: "I bet Dumbledore would, too."
"What, you don't think it's possible?"
Harold just shrugged in response.
Penny: "Sven's an idiot."
Charles: "He's not an idiot. He just sucks at learning."
No, Sven was an idiot.
"Why are the six of you not at your tables," said a familiar, terrifying drawl.
Even though I've grown taller than Snape over the summer, it still felt like he was looming over me, looking down on me with his lazy, pitch-black eyes.
The wanker was a living nightmare. I immediately turned to walk away.
"Sorry, professor. I was lost. I thought I'd ask the nearest prefect for directions," said Harold, poking fun at Charles.
--
Right after the last student got sorted, flames emerged and gave birth to Dumbledore, terrifying the poor firstie.
It was amazing! I stood up to applaud him.
"Oh, now he does the fire thing!"
I looked back to see Sven walking towards us with a wide grin
"Oi, how'd it go?"
"We found a middle ground and worked things out!"
He squeezed in between Charles and I before quickly snatching Charles's badge.
"So, the letters were true," he said, clearly amazed that Charles was made a Prefect. "McGonagall made our boy a Pinhead!"
Charles snatched it back unamused. "Ey, that's one less wanker to worry about, yeah..."
Penny: "What did Dumbledore have to say..."
It turned out Harold was right. Except there was no money involved.
I'm sure Jack would do just fine. The OWLs were just a bunch of writing anyways. Plus, he'll have Cooper there to help him. Cooper's a genius.
Dewey Dabuy earlier...
I was surprised to see Sven on the platform. Despite my hopes of him resurfacing, I didn't think it would actually happen. But then again, he may have just spent all of last year looking for solutions to the Grenhart Case as opposed to what I originally assumed.
"Psst..."
He turned his head immediately at the sound of my hiss, a small smile forming on his eager expression as he nodded upwards to greet me.
Without communicating further, I boarded the train and as expected, he followed my lead.
Once we found a compartment, he dug through his bag and pulled out a purple jar. He dipped his fingers into some sort of lime-green powder and started drawing odd symbols on the compartment door.
"What are you doing," I asked.
"Locking the door," he said smirking. "I have my own talents, you know? Might not be as fancy as potions, but it has its usefulness."
I didn't take Sven for a rune-enthusiast. Then again, our relationship before our shared issue surrounding Grenhart was strictly between potion brewer and overly friendly buyer.
I went straight to the the point. "The Grenhart situation has only gotten worse since the start of it. I've come to find-..."
"Well, how's Lenny taking it all?"
He interrupted me immediately. It reminded of me that annoying habit of his.
I stressed my patience in a deep breath. "He's... come around, I guess."
Sven's brows shot up as he broke into a wide grin. "Are they an item now? Aw, I should have never gone off to the muggle world!"
"No, they are not-..."
The muggle world?
Sven waved me off, seeing that I was a bit shocked. "Go on."
You can't simply just ignore a statement like that!
But I suppose it'll have to wait. "... They are not an item. The Temporary Infatuation Potion did not work like we intended it to. Firstly, it had shown no signs of being temporary at all. Secondly, it wasn't infatuation that it produced. It-..."
"Well, what then," he said, interrupting me once more.
"... I was getting to that. It made her admire him. " I paused briefly to gauge his reaction. It was appropriate. "So last term-..."
"Admire?"
Utterly incompetent, I swear!
" ... That's odd. Elaborate."
"I was going to..." I cleared my throat before continuing. "So last term, she made efforts to befriend Pindlebrook. I wasn't around for their interaction, but it worked in her favor, I suppose. From what I've seen, the two have gotten acquainted rather nicely."
"That's a shocker."
"Yes, it is," I replied. "I think-..."
"Well, it's better than Grenhart picking on him. Honestly, this might be a good thing."
"It is not." I took a deep breath again. He needed to understand the drastic changes Grenhart had gone through since the potion took effect.
"Well, are you gonna tell me or what, Dewey?"
"Estrella Grenhart is now dating Sailor Newman. There."
I figured that the current relationship between Grenhart and Pindlebrook's past beau would get him to realize how serious things have gotten.
His wide open eyes and his gaping mouth implied that I should further explain. And I knew he wasn't prepared to hear it.
The idolization Grenhart had developed for Pindlebrook was beyond a simple explanation that those outside of the issue can begin to conceive. Her sudden change of appearance was the most alarming of it all. She had cut her hair short and since then, kept it in a wavy and unruly manner just like Pindlebrook's. Her robes were no longer tidy and straight like most Slytherins' would be. She even imitated and mastered the pretentious strut that most Gryffindor boys walked with. She had truly transformed into a whole different person.
I watched as Sven looked down, rubbing his chin, lost in thought. After a moment's passing, he finally looked up in my direction.
"And we've made no progress at all?"
"Well, I wouldn't call it progress. But I have worked on a few theories for a cure since then. I have one that I believe would at least enlighten us if not work effectively."
"And you haven't tried it yet?"
"I have no means to," I told him. "I'd need to have someone drink the same potion we gave Grenhart, and then have them drink the prototype. Clearly, finding someone willing enough to test it isn't so easy."
"And we don't want another Grenhart," he finished.
He nodded his head up and down continuously for a while, his eyes downcast, clearly contemplating over something. With one final nod, he looked up with a determined expression, a grin on his lips.
"I'll be your guinea pig," he said.
I paused, waiting for a laugh but it never came.
Is he joking?
"Are you joking?"
He shook his head. "It was my idea, Dewey. Plus, we can hardly lose the potions guy to the experiment, can we..."
He had a point. Although, I was still shocked at how quick he's come to this decision. He's known to be impulsive, but this, this can ruin his life.
After a moment of recalling the risks, which were many, and rewards, which was peace of mind and freedom for us both, I decided that I'll work on my potion theory more thoroughly before testing it on him.
"Seems like a good idea," he said.
"Yes, although, time is of essence. The whole school had already noticed her "tomboy-phase", as they call it. It's only a matter of time until someone does some digging and takes it up with authorities."
He seemed taken aback at that. "Are you saying we could do time for this?"
"Yes, we could do time! This isn't just Amortentia or anything of that sort. The potion is not wearing off and so far, we have no cure for it. This is at the very least a Wihzenop-rated offense."
Silence filled the compartment.
In retrospect, I should have known to explain how illegal this all was. Perhaps it was my fault for assuming that he would have came to the conclusion himself.
A knock on the door shifted the air and Sven gestured for me to answer it.
A/N:
I posted this here before but I took it down cuz of poor writing. Had this in my pocket for a minute and I think I can finally write it the way I want it.
I think that was a good start. I was trying to make it so that it would introduce the OC's and the main plot while at the same time, being fun to read. Let me know what yall think.
Also, since there's a bunch of OC's, I think it's only fair that I make things clear.
Cooper, Penny and Maya, fifth-year
Sven, held back to fifth-year
Harold Greengrass, Charles, Aaron, sixth-year
Cooper's a Ravenclaw, Harold's a Slytherin, the rest are in Gryffindor. That would sum up our protagonist group.
There's gonna be a bunch of OC's, which is called for because of the time it's set in. Again, let me know what you think.
Oh, and Wihzenop (WIZ-IN-OP) is a behavior facility for those who committed minor and moderate crimes. I thought Azkaban being the only punishment facility was stupid.
Let me know what yall think overall in the reviews.