I looked around my dorm room.
With me absent, Harry had to find a new partner for the two-wizard bedrooms last year, which left me with the lone single now that I was back. Ravenclaw once more had an uneven number of male students in their now-fourth year.
An unexpected bonus stemming from my rash decision to go to Italy for a year. But not an unwelcome one. Harry and I no longer really talked.
As I unpacked with a few spells to sort my clothes and books, I heard a hurried knock on my door.
"Enter!"
Four girls stumbled into my room after I opened the door with a wave of my wand to silent-cast an opening charm.
"Gyah!" Hermione, at the very front, exclaimed as the other three pushed her inside.
Thankfully, she didn't fall. I could have stopped it with a simple levitation charm, of course, but it wasn't needed.
"Hi?" I asked as I looked at all four.
Mandy and Isobel both blushed, I didn't know why. Hermione was still taking a breath to steady herself. But Lara stepped forward and gave me a crushing hug.
"Thanks for the tome," she whispered into my ear.
Oh right, we hadn't seen each other since her birthday in February.
"I hope you had a blast reading it? I got a few more at home," I coaxed with my hands on her hips.
Lara only leaned back to pat my cheek like one would a younger brother, allowing my hands to rest on her waist.
"You're incorrigible," she finally declared with a small huff and stepped back. I won that game of flirty-chicken.
"So you're finally back? For good?" Mandy asked next and gave me a hug as well.
"What? Nobody sat next to you for history class?" I countered with a laugh. "Yeah, I still need a few O.W.L.s, I guess."
"Just missed you, is all," she mumbled and hurriedly stepped back.
Isobel and Hermione just remained standing near the door, but Hermione still inquired, "So how was the Stati Magia?"
"I mean it was still just a school," I began to explain with a shrug and went over to my suitcase. "The weather was much better. Their library was a little smaller… but they made up for it with regular guest lecturers and a whole bunch of extra courses."
"Like?" Hermione asked with wide, curious eyes.
"They actually taught alchemy, not just pretend they do," I said with a small grin as I got out a whole bunch of pictures. "Sure, Professor DiMatteo is probably a worse alchemist than Dumbledore and Beauxbaton's Flamel. But there won't be any new alchemists if nobody is getting taught the basics."
I gave each girl a stack after creating three temporary copies.
"That was the school uniform?" Mandy asked, shocked. "It looks so nice!"
"Huh? It's just a white linen shirt and dress pants though?" I asked, not understanding her outbreak.
"The women's dresses, you dolt!" She complained, scanning each of them she found. "That's at least seven different colors! Does their school have so many different houses?"
"Nope, no houses at all," I explained and pointed to one of the pictures currently in Isobel's hand. "That's Isabella Riconi. She runs the student council and the 'club dell'eleganza'. They teach seamstress charms there and hold design competitions. Each year, that club selects seven winners and they get the right to create the dress for one of the school years. You can see that the dress is always the same for girls the same age. That's how you can tell them apart."
"So no houses?" Isobel asked again, studying the dresses and finding that I was right. The youngest among the pictured students and the eldest all wore the same dresses in their respective age groups.
"Each year had its own dormitory up to the fifth year, if that counts. Those 'palazzo dell'anno' each have something akin to their own homeroom teacher who organizes events and such."
"So you stayed with the third years?" Mandy asked. "Which one was their dresses?"
"Third year girls wore the yellow dresses," I said as I once more pointed out a few of the pictures with third years in them. "It's a tradition to go through the colors of a rainbow, so red for firsties, orange for second years, third years get yellow and so on. Just that it's not always strictly adhered to."
Isobel tilted her head, asking, "Not strict on tradition?"
"Well, one of the NEWT students told me over wine once, that it's tradition that their underwear for that year is all in the traditional color if the dress isn't. So if the fourth years got a silver dress instead of a green one for example, they'd wear green panties and bras all school year."
The three girls in my year blushed. In one of Lara's hands was a group of young women with gorgeous cream colored dresses. My explanation meant that all these witches would be wearing underwear in the same color. Sixth years, so dark blue or 'indigo'.
"Who told you that? A guy or a girl?" Lara asked, clearly amused.
She probably thought a guy was just trying to make himself look like a real ladies' man.
"A guy, but I'd wager he had it on good authority. He said he came from the line of Casanova and pretty much slept his way through school and I don't mean the dreaming kind. Terrible spellwork, but watching him flirt was a magic in its own way," I retold with a mischievous grin.
"So the guys just get to wear these plain white linen shirts and black slacks while the girls get new dresses each year?" Mandy finally asked to change the topic.
"Yep, though there's a tradition that the boys all wear the same sort of leather dress shoe for each different school year."
They began to look for shoes in the moving magic pictures and probably found several similar pairs.
"Way too subtle," Isobel uttered with a small frown.
"Eh, no stupid rivalries was a pretty big plus," I countered with a shrug.
After discussing fashion for a little while where I could only offer perfunctory answers, we switched to the extra courses.
"So you took alchemy? As a third year? You didn't need to get your potion O.W.L.s first?"
"I never really studied with third years, truth be told. Sure, I attended their potion and history classes for example, but other than that I was told to just hound the professors for knowledge. And the alchemy professor just focused his teachings on things younger students could grasp. Real entry level stuff." Shrugging, I continued, "So yeah, I spent a whole bunch of time with Professor DiMatteo and Professor Veneziano for alchemy and herbology, and the runes professor, Cagnazzo, to learn runes and enchanting."
"We all took runes, too," Hermione said with a wide grin. "Professor Babbling is really good!"
"Uh, we won't be taking runes together, I'm afraid," I offered with a sheepish grin as I evaded looking her in the eyes.
"Why not?" All three of my yearmates asked, horrified.
"Uh, I earned my O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. certificates in Runes and Enchanting," I explained, scratching my nose with a big grin. Watching their dumbfounded looks, I quietly added, "Uh, my O.W.L. in defense, too."
"You pretty much already graduated," Hermione pointed out with glassy eyes that stared at nothing.
Mandy looked at me like I was an alien. Isobel looked at me with a complicated expression.
"You could say it like that," I agreed with a proud nod. No plots on my life or Harry's and no petty squables meant I could focus almost fully on studying. "Without Quidditch and stupid house rivalries, as well as professors who were told to just give me most of their attention… uh, it wasn't all too hard. I guess I fell behind in transfiguration and potions, though."
"Transfiguration, too?" Lara asked with raised brows. "You're an animagus, Talion."
"I am, but the Stati Magia transfiguration professor was a terrible teacher and a careless drunk. She was hired because of her name, nothing more. So I spent maybe a few hours in the same classroom as her that whole year," I explained with a shrug that said 'what could you do?' "The other professors were too good to catch up on transfiguration by holing up in the library."
"Hmm, and the defense O.W.L.? I get that you're an amazing duelist, but why didn't you also get your charms O.W.L. then?" Lara inquired, her brows now furrowed, imagining that I wasn't already extremely stretched thin by craming the O.W.L. level curriculum of three whole courses into my brain all year.
"Flitwick," I answered as if that would explain everything. Seeing the slow nod of Lara and then the three other girls, I was sure it did.
Flitwick was my mentor. I was sure he'd wring my neck if I finished my charms studies under someone that wasn't him. I could have very likely gotten the charms O.W.L. with an outstanding on practical magic alone, but I couldn't do that to the diminutive professor.
"Still, that's an impressive course load, to take so many final exams," Lara suddenly praised. "Didn't know you were that smart."
"Hehe," I gloated a little, pleased by the compliment.
The eldest girl stepped forward and suddenly flicked my forehead. "Don't let it get to your head. Or I'm gonna flick out all that hot air."
"Sure, sure," I waved away with a small scoff. I had earned the right to brag.
"So what classes will you be taking with us anyway?" Mandy asked, tilting her head cutely. "I know it isn't potions, you didn't even attend potions in your second year… or are you coming back now that Professor Slughorn teaches it?"
"Yeah, charms, transfiguration, potions, history of magic, arithmency and care for magical beasts. Those are my courses I'm taking this year," I listed with a calm smile.
"You're taking care?" Isobel asked with raised brows.
"Well, I did attend the survival club, so I know the retired Kettleburn and newly appointed Professor Hagrid. Plus, Flitwick just explained to me that I would need to take two electives even if I already finished studying Ancient Runes in Italy… I could petition the Board of Governors to allow me to get away with only one elective–but with the political climate as it is, they'd rather expel me than do me any favors. Best not to get on their radar."
"Sounds about right," Lara agreed.
Isobel looked a little lost, but she was still the most politically engaged thanks to her noble upbringing, so it made sense that she was the one to ask, "Why the fallout with Lady Bones before you left the isles anyway, Lord Gamp?"
"She used to be my mother's friend, one of the very few to know that Selena Macnair was a spy among the death eaters," I explained with a humorless laugh. "That granted her a lot of trust upon our first meetings. I wanted her to be my guardian, even. She spectacularly lost all that trust in mere months through her actions. Despite that, she insisted I blindly accept her word as gospel among the grey faction when the arrests began."
"So you broke the alliance together with Lord Ogden?"
I only shrugged in answer. Sure, fracturing the grey faction allowed the dark faction to regain some of its lost power after the devastating death toll I inflicted during the 'Quidditch Massacre'. But Bones, despite making the arrests and doing the investigations herself, was still trying to keep up some form of status quo in Magical Britain. She wanted us to side where the wind was blowing instead of throwing all those scum, all those killers, human traffickers, and rapists into Azkaban and throwing away the magical keys.
Her soft stance allowed for some of the 'less criminal' offenders to go free for virtually no real gain.
Yes, they made some of the most heinous crimes stick and we got to throw the 'ultimate scapegoat kingpin' of this whole trouble through 'the veil', a death sentence. And yet my own faction, not the Grey one at the Wizengamot, that I was training secretly killed one of those freed men a month ago when Patrick uncovered his tracks. We didn't aim for him, we just followed the trail of bodies and broken families.
Because Bones allowed this man to go free, he was trying to fill a void, abducting pretty muggle college students to offer to his masters as a commodity.
I didn't condone the death sentence for each and every single crime, not even for each violent crime. My brotherhood teachings allowed me to see that people deserved second chances, that there was change possible… but those criminals with the potential to redeem themselves still had a debt to society.
Naming names was not enough to pay that debt by a long spell for most of those that cut such a Bones-approved deal. We had magic to force the truth out, for Merlin's sake!
Taking a deep breath to calm my minor agitation, I spent a few more minutes with the girls, answering questions, before I shooed them out and got ready for bed.
What a day.
Almost made me wish I could have just stayed in Italy.
— — — — —
The next day was a Tuesday, first day of classes.
Professor Flitwick handed me a timetable that was quite empty, all thanks to my advanced studies and already accomplished degrees.
I was sure I would find myself explaining it all to Dumbledore personally in no time, but he was suspiciously missing from breakfast all morning. Probably had something to do with me revealing the imposter at the feast the day before.
Since I was free for the first half of the day, I was about to make my way over to the greenhouses to crash one of Professor Sprout's herbology classes, but I found myself face-to-face with someone I didn't miss a single bit this last school year.
"What? Hogwarts still good enough for you, dueling master?" Malfoy asked, ridiculing my title by spitting it out all mockingly. Like I hadn't dismantled my opponents more and more easily each year for three years straight despite advancing into the next age bracket two years early.
I looked at the blonde idiot for a short moment before stepping past him, ignoring his efforts to gather attention on us completely.
"Hey, I was talking to you!"
I kept ignoring him.
And he didn't dare attack me in the back. I was already surprised he still dared to do anything to me.
Sadly, that wasn't all for today regarding annoyances and people I didn't want to meet.
Once I was done messing around the greenhouses and rekindling my friendship with Professor Sprout, I was halted at the doors of the Great Hall just before lunch.
"You wearing that robe might be the only inkling one might get that you are indeed still a Hogwarts student," Snape spat with his usual sneer. "Ten points from Ravenclaw for your fractious rule breaking. You missed your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to fool around? Do you think you're better than everyone else?"
The professor got out a stack of parchments as thick as his fingers were long and held them forward. "No doubt you think you could get away with not doing your homework all of last year, either, do you?"
I looked at the heavy stack of parchments, then back at Snape, finally back at the stack before laughing and walking past him.
"Another ten points from Ravenclaw for your cheek!" Snape hissed and I looked back with a raised brow.
"Why do you think I'm taking your class?" I asked, looking at him as if he was an idiot. "I got away with never having to attend what you call potion's lessons. Even if I didn't already achieve my O.W.L. in Defense while in Italy just to never have to step in the same classroom as you for any reason, I'd rather quit than having to call you a professor."
With that I walked away, found the two Ravenclaw beaters, Samuels and Inglebee, and began chatting with them. They were in their final year.
And just when I thought I'd get a little peace outside, chilling with Hagrid as he taught Care of Magical Creatures, two women blocked me.
Both of them looked furious, though I supposed both did so for different reasons.
""Talion!"" Both growled out simultaneously as if rehearsed. ""We have to talk!""
I looked at them, a grin forming on my face, and asked, "Did you plan for that to happen? Did you meet up to agree on that line?"
Natalie, my red-headed 'girlfriend' remained quiet, seething. But the blonde bombshell, Professor Babbling, wasn't quite so nice and dragged me away outside of the castle and into a nearly empty courtyard. Natalie Rosier followed, clearly not done with me.
"Filius told me you already finished your Ancient Rune studies!" Babbling hissed out in a tone of voice that would have shamed Snape.
"Yep, got my N.E.W.T. in Runes, as well as an ICW master certificate in Old Norse and scholar certificates in Cretan and Sumerian," I said with a pleased smile.
Professor Cagnazzo had helped me get those just before I left Italy by throwing her weight around the confederation. Her family, her great-great-great-grandfather and great-great-great-great-grandmother in particular, were involved in the creation of the spell that would result in the muggles forgetting about magic at the end of the 17th century just as the Statue of Wizarding Secrecy came into effect. That gave her family name enough pull to grease a few gears at the International Confederation of Wizards.
I was pronounced a master in Old Norse, because of course I was after learning the runic language from the Norse Pantheon through dreams, and narrowly managed to get lesser degrees for two other languages Cagnazzo insisted I learn for enchanting.
"You were the first student I brought into the magic world," the blonde said through gritted teeth. She looked genuinely upset. "I was supposed to teach you!"
I did remember that summer around two years ago where we did talk about that. I supposed I kind of promised her that I would attend her classes.
"Well, how's your Ancient Egyptian?"
Babbling suddenly lost all of her anger. I knew then that I was played.
"Fine, I'll teach you Ancient Egyptian, but you'll have to compensate me somehow. That's not part of the Hogwarts curriculum, after all," the blonde professor proposed with a pleased grin. In a completely fake 'moment of realization', she 'finished a thought' and offered, "Ah yes. You could help me look over the homework handed in by your fellow students. Clearly a master in Old Norse should have no problem with that."
After watching the professor, pretending to be an airhead to get underestimated, skip away like a happy little girl who tricked some sweets out of a relative, I turned toward Natalie.
"Those Slytherin colors really bring out the lovely green in your eyes," I praised with a sincere smile. "And those silver accents really match that cold fury in them right now."
"You vanished," she angrily accused me. "For an entire year."
"I did write you a letter. My elf said Nyx delivered it," I defended myself.
"You vanished and sent me a letter two weeks after you were gone," she reiterated, clearly more angry than ever before.
"I knew I should have done it differently," I said with a sigh as I shook my head, calmly dodging a slap from my 'girlfriend'.
"Why, Talion?" She asked after failing to slap me a second time.
I lost my smile, asking, "Yeah, why Natalie? Did Grindelwald punish you for your failure? Or was he able to figure out that I saw through his scheme and let you off the hook?"
"Wha-?"
"Heh, two other girls at Stati Magia got the same exact mission as you. Did he tell you? Your master is pretty terrible to his servants, no?"
"No wait, Tali-"
"I honestly expected a little better, their occlumency was atrocious. I guess they weren't lucky enough to be taught by someone like your Aunty Vinda Rosier."
Natalie staggered backwards.
"I did consider that Gellert wanted me to find out, though. He is quite fond of meaningless games like that," I said with a 'reluctant' sigh. "What? Was he unsatisfied with your progress in enchanting me?"
"No-no," she said with tears in her eyes.
Those felt genuine and I finally stopped my tirade.
Sure, I was angry that my loving girlfriend was indeed just a pawn set in my way. Just like my paranoia told me to when Isodora Selwyn and Natalie Rosier sent me those two daring confessions for Christmas during the second year.
"Don't blame yourself. You played your role perfectly," I placated with a gentle tone of voice. "The timeline wouldn't add up only in Italy, right? Me finding out I mean? No, I found out after I killed Maxwell Greenich before I decided to leave the country for a year."
"Who…?" The red-haired witch asked quietly.
"Greenich was one of those freed through Bones' stupid offers of clemency for those who gave up their bosses. He was also a Grindelwald loyalist. Quite high up, I might add," I explained patiently before turning to walk away. "The stupid clown kept a diary, chronologically and religiously writing down every single utterance he ever heard from Gellert's mouth. The dark lord might have done it on purpose and wanted me to find the truth eventually, so you are hardly to blame."
I could only read the diary because of the ridiculous dagger created by the two founders managed to break the ward on it. Otherwise it would have erased itself had I tried opening it up through brute force without it.