That night, I dreamt of a group of people calling each other by the names of the Norse Pantheon. There was the Allfather Odin, his sons Tyr, Heimdall, Loki, and Thor - even his wife Freya was there. Yet, I merely looked on as they were in heated discussions at a round table unlike anything I had ever seen before.
And not because it looked so old. No, I had seen ornate, wooden tables here in Hogwarts that looked like they cost more than the orphanage I grew up in. Everything about this dream screamed futuristic. These Norse gods were wearing futuristic, sleek-looking body suits. The table had holographic imagery that bordered on magical, yet it was all distinctly technological... at least that was my impression from this one room I could see.
As I observed this pantheon of gods descend into heated arguments, I wondered why I even knew their names. Because sure, Odin was missing an eye - but any grey haired man could be missing an eye. Sure, Thor was wielding an impressive hammer, but any blonde man could do that. Sure, Loki was looking like someone who embodied cunning and mischief... but to a certain degree that was true for even present-day Slytherin students.
I had to wonder all of that because the dream was completely silent. Except for showing me these supposed gods and providing me with their names, I received nothing else. No sound, no different perspectives that would help me find out why I was shown this dream vision or what to do with it. And I would have thought nothing of the dream and ignored ever having it.
But just when the dream ended, something happened. Heimdall, Tyr, Odin, and Loki looked directly at me. It was unnerving. I didn't even think these gods knew the others were looking at the same thing. Still, it felt like they could see into the future and saw dream-me standing there watching them. Like they were assessing me. To see what I was and... if I was worthy.
Of what I didn't know.
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The next day was a Sunday, and I spent it by going over Hermione's notes for the classes I missed in the library and later outside in one of the less crowded courtyards.
For some weird reason, I was less jumpy than yesterday, not checking every corner with my new ocular ability. I still had my wand ready whenever possible, but my vigilance was... more muted.
I still felt sharper anyway. Like every little movement was in my vision. Like I could react to anything. It was a weird feeling that I knew deep down was untrue.
Monday saw me attending Herbology once more - the only class I didn't miss a single lesson of because our first year only had a single double lesson on Monday for the course. Professor Sprout had me sidelined for the practical part because of my bandages that earned me stares from the Hufflepuffs who didn't get to see enough of me during the last meals.
Since I could still answer questions during her lessons just fine, I was relegated to giving my classmates fun facts and other trivia together with Sprout while the other students were harvesting pollen from a magical plant with no attack power - a rather tame class that I felt I could have done with just one hand and a partner. But obviously, the pitying look from Sprout told me differently.
At lunch, Gemma once more looked at me with even more guilt from the Slytherin table, and my mind was running overdrive on possible scenarios on what that look could mean. The top contender was that she knew about my attack and could name the assailants, possibly even provide some kind of evidence that would lead to an arrest, but something was stopping her.
I heard magical oaths were kind of ironclad. Like, 'you lose your magic or even your life if you swear on it correctly with magic and then break your oath' kind of ironclad. I could see her swearing to never betray a Slytherin or reveal a 'house secret' while she was a prefect or something along those lines.
In any case, if she was not going to talk to me, I would not ask. I had my plans for revenge, and none of them needed her to tell me who it was. Not with my new ability.
During History class after lunch, I once more read a book instead of listening to the ghostly professor, even though I could no longer rely on my mom's notes for the subject. Those were gone, but I had committed the first two years to memory. Well, I had enough of it committed to memory to no longer bother with the subject for this year, at the very least. Enough to get a passing grade in a subject clearly despised by both the ministry and the Hogwarts staff, or else they would do something about Binns.
As I was reading this book and zoning out Binns' voice and not getting bothered by my seatmate Mandy, I got into a kind of weird headspace. I was still looking at the pages with my one good eye, but this book on transfiguration I had with me no longer held any secrets, so to speak. I read the page, a little slower than usual, but the content was printed into my mind with perfect understanding. Like I held the key to knowing about... matter composition.
'Did my elementary knowledge about material sciences, physics, and chemistry merge into my magical knowledge seemlessly for some reason? Is this a new ability or a branch of Occlumency that I came into because of my status as a Natural Occlumens? I should check it out in the library. To see if it works on anything or just things I already had an understanding of.'
I was so deep in my thoughts, I didn't even notice it was time for the next lesson as Harry stood next to my table and asked me to get up for another lesson in Magical Etiquette as Mandy on the neighboring seat gave me a worried look.
"You look like you're spacing out a lot ever since Herbology, mate."
I looked to Harry and figured he was probably right. Today was a weird day.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm meeting Flitwick after, and I'm thinking about the possibilities."
Harry hummed and kept it at that, but Hermione chimed in with a worried look that matched Mandy's, "Are you sure this is okay? Your left hand is shaking pretty bad, you know."
"You saw that? I thought I kept it in my sleeves and under the table the entire time," I inquired with a raised brow.
"Your shoulder, it keeps twitching a little," Hermione answered in a meek voice with a small blush.
"Sorry, I hope it isn't distracting," I answered with a worried look, and I was worried indeed. Not just because I was afraid I was distracting my competitive, scholarly classmates from their studies but also because our next teacher for Magical Etiquette had a red outline and worse still, I knew who it was as he greeted us outside the usual classroom.
"Hello, children. Sit down and remain quiet unless spoken to, the class is about to begin," the blonde wizard with swept-back, shiny hair instructed as he looked at all of us with disdain - especially me.
The only one among us that the ponce, who had yet to introduce himself, didn't look with outright aversion was weirdly enough Harry Potter, but I guessed that was because unlike canon, Harry didn't have a falling out with the Malfoy heir yet.
"My name is Lucius Malfoy, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy. For the duration of these lessons and thereafter, you shall refer to me as Lord Malfoy. On behalf of the Ministry, I was appointed to teach you about the politics of the Wizengamot in this subject until another teacher will be made available to you to teach you about the ever so important societal norms and standards we should all ascribe to."
'Wow, a downright lie? And did my Occlumency really improve enough to be able to call him out like that? He lied about being appointed by the Ministry, so he likely leveraged his standing and his job as a governor on the Board of Governors to be able to teach this class? Is it because of Harry, or is it because of me?'
"Macnair! Tell me, how many factions there are in the Wizengamot," Malfoy ordered with barely concealed venom in his voice.
"I suppose there should be three. The Light under our headmaster and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Albus Dumbledore. The Grey under an alliance led by the Gamps, the Greengrasses, the Ollivanders, and the Bones. And the Dark under you, Lord Malfoy, and your allies."
"Your attempt at flattery is unneeded, and your statement is wrong. The Gamps have no current Lord sitting in the Wizengamot seat and Garrick Ollivander gave his proxy to Albus Dumbledore, the alliance of the Grey is run by different houses now," Malfoy argued back with derision but didn't even outright tell us who the new alliance members of the Grey were.
'What a cunt.'
"How many seats and votes are there in the Wizengamot, Macnair?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I do not have an accurate number," I answered since the number I knew was likely off because I got them from a book just after Voldemorts 'death'. In the decade after, who knew how many lords died and left no heir behind and what that did to the votes.
"Indeed. If you knew, I wouldn't need to be here to teach you," Malfoy said, promptly ignoring Hermione and her outstretched hand.
'At least he has some modicum of subtlety in his bones and isn't like his son who doesn't know when to stop antagonizing someone. If he did, everyone in this class would remember him only for humiliating me, after all. And that, apparently, isn't his goal,' I thought as I wondered why his outline was already red anyway.
He couldn't possibly have started the events of the second year already. He shouldn't have anyway, because not only would he either empower Quirrelmort by feeding him a Horcrux to strengthen the Dark Lord specter, or he would die at Quirrelmort's hand for 'wasting' the Horcrux - no, Lucius Malfoy didn't have a reason to yet.
In the books, giving the book to Ginny was to get rid of the artifact because of increased searches and it was to retaliate against Arthur Weasley, the current patriarch of the Weasley family, because Arthur targetted Lucius Malfoy specifically in a newly ratified law that enabled Arthur to search Malfoy Manor for dark artifacts.
Malfoy was as brazen as giving away a prized possession of Voldemort in the first place because he thought his Dark Lord was dead, not that he was aware this wasn't truly the case regardless.
And I checked the news, that whole thing with the searches and the new law hadn't happened yet.
When the class finally ended and I had to begrudgingly admit that despite his disdain for those unpure and me, Lucius Malfoy was an adequate teacher who knew what he was taking about.
But I noticed something on Malfoy's neck. He had a stiff, high collar on his robes that acted like a turtle neck, but when he moved to the side, I could faintly make out withered scar tissue at the base of Malfoy's skull.
'Was he tortured or is this from the war? Does he hate me because Voldemort gave everyone cursed scars like that after my mother defected and that's why Malfoy already actively hated me or something? That's a little farfetched, no?'
In any case, I wouldn't find out what it was that day.
We made our way toward the Great Hall for dinner with our day of classes finally ending and I found myself suddenly sitting between two twins. Sadly, they weren't the cute girls I was hoping them to be but red-haired trouble makers.
"He's finally back."
"Right, I guess he's like weed or garden gnomes. Pluck him out and more of him pops up right after."
"Yeah, and stronger, too. Look, he's no longer just a wizard. He's a pirate wizard now. Captain Macnair!"
"Captain? I'd peg him more for a first mate or helmsman or something."
"You know nautical terms? Who are you and what have you done to my brother?"
"Gred, you know as well as I do that Bill wanted to become a sailor for the longest time until mom made him see reason."
"Her reason."
"Of course her reason, what else is there?"
"Uh, guys?"
Both twins looked at me after I finally interrupted their twin-comedy-routine.
""Yes?""
"It's not that I dislike the pleasure of your company, but why are you here?"
"Oooh, almost forgot."
"Yeah, same."
"We heard back from our father."
"Three games are already registered. Jango the Magical Tower, Battlebrooms, and Settlers of Avalon. That last one is our magnum opus."
"So far," the twin on the left chided before looking at me. "Is Catan even a real place? Why were people trying to settle there?"
"In any case, you have to settle in Avalon now."
"If Binns was a real professor, I bet we would get O's for the rest of our school years in his class."
"Yeah, we spent like two afternoons in the library to get the details right."
I raised my hand to get their attention once more and said, "If you release it now, you're releasing it before the muggle version. I got the prototype off a German tourist doing research. He said it's due to release next year if he can find the right publisher."
'Or rather Patrick got the prototype off of that German tourist who wasn't really a tourist but a game designer trying to sell his idea... I think Patrick might secretly like stealing from muggles... was this something my grandfather Walden taught him?'
"Nice! Our version is much cooler anyway," one of the twins said in excitement as he patted my shoulder. "You're going to love what we did to the game!"
"So they are ready already?"
"Nah, mate. Jango is because that's just wooden blocks that rearrange themself based on a voice command. Easy enough to enchant. But Settlers of Avalon still needs a little refinement. And for Battlebrooms we were wondering if you heard back from any broom company for this branding thing you talked about?"
"Yeah, use Spudmore's Firebolt. I'll get you a photograph for the model later this week," I answered with a small grin. "So when will you start?"
"Jango later this week. We got the prototype in the Gryffindor common room for testing already. Battlebrooms and Settlers should be done by the end of the month, I reckon."
After a few more quips and jokes, the twins made their way to the Gryffindor table to eat. I stayed back and enjoyed a little banter with my class mates that hopefully put their minds at ease about my distractions and my bandages.
And then it was time for my first private lesson with Flitwick.