Ward lessons were scheduled every two weeks on Wednesday evenings after dinner between 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. It was a voluntary class but those invited were advised to stick to the course until the end since it would be a waste otherwise.
Goblin Raglus arrived at his first lesson at Hogwarts with an abundance of curiosity and a small bit of indignation. Many goblins have never been to Hogwarts as the castle was mostly off-limits to the Goblin Nation unless they were needed.
Raglus took in the old castle. It reminded him of the castle the horde lived in before they modernised their architecture to a more Baroque or Rococo, or in lame terms Greek aesthetic.
The Ward Master sneered in disgust at the wards. The wards were thick in some places and thin in others and there were layers with holes in them that were not repaired properly. Like an amateur duct-taped the holes shut and left it there.
It was very much like Wixens to never fix things properly if this half-hazardous patching worked so well for them, so he could only ignore the nagging in his mind to fix everything and move along. He would make mention to his liege and hopefully, they'll make a shiny profit from this ordeal.
The groundskeeper, a squib named Filch led him from the entrance courtyard to a door next to the grand entrance of the castle and unlocked it then checked the inside and gave the goblin the key.
"Dumbledore says not to let the brats pass through this door out of the castle but you are free to enter and exit this way. That door," He pointed to a door directly across from them, on the other side of the teaching stage, "is the entrance from the hallway. Turn left is the Great Dining Hall, turn right there's the moving staircase. Level five, there's a Griffin statue. That's the entrance to Dumbledore's office. You're free to roam and have access to all teaching facilities. Dumbledore will escort you to your chambers after your lesson."
The squib wandered off and left Raglus to ponder on his reception. He did not know if it was a standard procedure but it felt underwhelming and normal, as if Ragulus expected these racist bigots to scorn him, a 'goblin'.
'Don't relax yet. The battle hasn't even begun.'
Raglus magicked the chalk to write his name on the board then stood at the podium with a haughty sneer in wait. His posture was stiffened like a soldier at attention, as the first student curiously wandered in and took their seat. He scanned every student who walked in, and a sense of satisfaction rose in him, seeing the correct textbooks in their hands.
Tiffany, one of the last few students to walk into the class, also felt her mentor's satisfaction and smiled at him, earning a faint nod of acknowledgement from the goblin. It was right of her to extend the invitation school-wide, thanking them in her heart for following the recommendation.
The audience seemed to be a mix of students from different years, that filled every seat in the classroom. Hermione, no surprise, had waved her over to a seat in the front. There were some others from Hermione's year that Tiffany recognised from her childhood.
One was Draco Malfoy of the House of Malfoy, the current Heir of House Malfoy and tentatively the heir of House Black. He was a carbon copy of his father, pale blonde hair with blue eyes with the sharp, aristocratic features of a Black.
Second was Daphne Greengrass of House Greengrass, another pureblood. She was a playmate of Tiffany's when she was known only as Penelope and often had her younger sister tagging along not far behind her. Hermione had mentioned she was in the running for top student in their year along with the Malfoy scion.
The third was Theodore Nott and the fourth was Blaise Zabini. Two politically powerful houses, Nott being a prominent pureblood family and Zabini being the son of the renowned Black Widow, Cassandra Zabini, a fearsome and wealthy witch in her own right.
There were a few other familiar faces— the Patil twins, an Ernie Macmillan followed by the Hufflepuff's male prefect, Cedric Diggory and a few Hufflepuff seniors and a large portion of senior Ravenclaws and a few junior Ravenclaws, one wearing kooky glasses that Tiffany instantly felt kindred spirits with.
Mentor Raglus cleared his throat and all noise ceased almost immediately.
"Rules. You will follow them all. Number one, you will not speak when I speak. You can leave and never come back, I get paid either way. Two, I assign homework, you must do it. Homework is for your education, not mine. Three, I'm not obligated to answer your questions outside of class—, Yes Miss…"
"Granger, sir. But what if we have questions after class?"
"Well Miss Granger, if you must ask questions after class you can ask Miss Williams, your fellow peer who has already learnt this part of the course. However, if you annoy her with silly questions, I would have to reconsider whether you're a fit for my tutelage. The last rule is… I am a Goblin and I will always be a Goblin. If that bothers you, leave now or by my honour, I will not rest if you disrespect me after this moment. Questions?"
After a brief pause and no show of hands, he nodded and moved on to begin his lecture.
"Before we start, quick quiz. I'll call your seat number and you'll answer. What are charms, number 17?"
"Charms are spells that add force to a target."
"What is force, number 17?"
"Uh— Magic? Energy? The spell adds to something. Like 'Wingardium Leviosa' adds levitation when cast on a feather."
"Acceptable enough, and the difference between charms and enchantments, Number 10?"
"Um— Enchantments are for objects?"
"Not bad, however, I'm looking for a specific answer. Number 3?"
"There are no differences between the two other than the words. Charms and Enchantments are spells that add properties to an individual or object."
"Correct. So if Charms and Enchantments are spells that add magical properties, what are Runes? Number 12?"
"Runes are an ancient language system that translates and channels magical properties well, like Parselmouth or Latin."
"Yes, why do we use Runes on enchantments? Number 7?"
"I—I'm not sure sir." The girl flushed in embarrassment, sinking in her seat as the surrounding Ravenclaws glared down at her with shame.
"Would you like to try?" Raglus gave the shy girl an opportunity, willing himself not to troll his eyes at her peers' scorn.
"Runes help power the charm so they last longer."
"Correct! Charms and Enchantments are strengthened using Runes like transfigurations are strengthened using Latin and Wand Movements. Why is this important? Number 5?"
"Wards require charm work and Runes to function efficiently."
"Yes, it seems we are where we are meant to be. Let's start with an introduction. The word "ward" means protection or to guard. Magical wards in their fundamental state, are shielding charms…"
After his initial hostilities, Raglus became more comfortable during his lecture, after all, despite his inclinations towards wixen kind, he was an educator at heart and one that thrived under his students' enthusiasm.
Mentor Raglus began to speak about anchors. Magic-conductive materials are materials that conduct magic like electricity.
"Sir!" A hand shot up and Raglus paused, allowing the question to be asked, "What is electricity?"
"In your text, Basic Wards, chapter 1, paragraph header, Electricity, should answer that question. It will be on page 5 and should have been part of your holiday reading. But for the lecture's sake, electricity is a current of energy. A natural phenomenon similar to magic. It is easier to harness and is used by muggles to power their technology."
"I already hear your brains churning. These are terms you must learn even if it hurts your itty wixen heart. Technology is the process of simplifying life. For example, the sun was the prime heat source. When people learned that they could harness a small amount of 'sun', they made fire. Fires were first created as a heat source, cooking food and boiling water. Then technology made torches and stone-slab stovetops. The technology created the oven, kettles and candles, then the light bulb and heaters. This brought innovation, convenience and efficiency. From pages 5 to 7 there are better examples but we are moving on."
"Runes conduct magic. It's what powers rituals to work. The usual formula or types of runes used on an anchor first must harness magical power…"
Raglus summarised the magical theory behind anchors as a host for magic like a magical core. Then like magical veins and intent conduct magic, runes and their predetermined intent will move the harnessed magic to project a shielding charm. The size of the shield is dependent on the amount of magic used. By creating a magical core that can harness and generate its power, the shield will not need to be renewed by a Magical, since the core is sufficient in renewing itself.
'Like a closed circuit with a self-charging battery,' Tiffany wrote and slid the note to Hermione whose eyes lit up with understanding.
Rune formulas carved into Ward Anchors usually consist of generating magic, holding magic and disbursing excess magic.
In the last ten minutes of his class, Professor Raglus set homework to read the next two chapters before next week's session. He left as soon as his lecture was over and the classroom buzzed with excitement.
"Wow. It's so fascinating." Hermione bounced after Tiffany with enthusiasm. Tiffany nodded along sagely, listening to her boast through the lesson as they walked towards the Gryffindor common's room.
——
"Well? Aren't you dating her? You've stuck yourself to her the moment school started!"
A blonde Ravenclaw senior was having a hushed argument with Percy outside the Fat Lady's portrait. Said fat lady was pretending to be asleep, peeking at the drama every so often with a nose for gossip.
"We're not dating. And even if we were, it wouldn't be any of your business, Penelope. You broke up with me, remember?"
Percy was exasperated. His ex-girlfriend had cornered him outside his commons area after he had successfully avoided being alone with her despite both of them being Head Boy and Girl respectively. It is unreasonable for her to be as harped about this as she was since the pair had split almost three months ago.
"You've never let me hold your arm in public. People didn't even know I was your girlfriend because you didn't like public displays of affection. But she's been here, what? Three days and she's all over you. And you let her!"
Penelope was reeling in jealousy. The new girl was a preening beauty, an academic and an athlete and Penelope, as a striving woman and a scholar, appreciated her tenacity and bright mind.
She drew the line at Percy's open affection.
How dare he treat her like a princess, escorting her out of the Hall on his arm like a gentleman. He sat with her during her first class even though they were of different years. He offered to pin her badge personally to her robe in front of the whole school next to a Thunderbird. They have nicknames for each other!
Why was the Percy she dated different from the Percy he gave to that Tiffany girl? Why did he never escort her laugh with her or show her off in front of people? And yes, they broke up. But she wanted to illicit some fear into him, that if he didn't shape up, she'd leave him. She didn't want to leave him.
Her eyes watered a little. She didn't want to cry. She had cried when her plan failed and he calmly accepted her break-up notice, then tried becoming more womanly and have him reeling in regret only to cry again when she had seen Percy at the Welcoming Feast escorting someone else out on his arm.
"Please, do— don't cry," Percy begged softly. He went to hug her but pulled back awkwardly and grimaced, tapping her arm platonically.
Percy searched the crowd for a certain someone and caught her trying to hide behind a shorter Hermione. He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, forcing her to come over and help him. Tiffany huffed and made her way over.
"Tell her we're not dating." Percy declared. He felt that once she knew, she'd be okay again and it would be less awkward. Tiffany was quick to smack him over the head and hug the reluctant and teary-eyed blonde.
"Don't fight me. It'll feel better to hug it out." Tiffany whispered and Penelope choked out a silent sob before burying her face in the other girl's shoulder and crying softly.
They stood there for a while, Percy herding bystanders away from the hugging girls and soon the hallways were empty. Penelope pulled away from the vanilla-scented shoulder and felt a little better, more so pathetic but less sad.
Percy was quick and pulled the two girls by the wrist into an empty room. It was a simple seating room with two armchairs, a sofa and a coffee table. He lit the fire and soon the room became warmer and more comfortable.
"Sorry, thought you might want to sit so we could talk," Percy confessed.
He took a seat on a single armchair opposite the sofa and let his best friend hold his ex-girlfriend as he spoke.
"I didn't know it bothered you that I didn't hold your arm in public or that no one knew you were my girlfriend. To begin with, I was under the impression that we were only experimenting with each other."
Penelope pondered on his revelation and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and a little hurt. Experimenting?
"Remember? You brought up experiments and I said if you didn't mind, we could experiment with each other…"
"I thought you were flirting!" Penelope defended.
"I— was. But it was just casual… Not actual dating?"
"You ass. We were dating! We went on dates and snogged in broom closets! We wrote letters daily! We snuck out together on patrol all the time! Of course we— we were dating… What did you think that was?"
Tiffany wanted to bury herself into the ground and be anywhere but here. She knew about the experiment, under the impression that they were both consenting participants. Most of what they did together, sounded similar to what he and Percy did together, minus the snogging.
"No, no no— We— I—, Tiffany." The cry of distress had drawn attention to the silent third of the conversation. "Help."
"Hi. Um— so what is your impression of your relationship with Percy?" Tiffany asked the older witch.
"He is— was my boyfriend," She muttered softly. "He bought me gifts during the holidays and on my birthday, even though he said he had no money— so he must have saved up to buy them and I thought that was sweet."
"He kissed me first. During a patrol, he said I looked pretty with my hair down and he asked if it was okay to kiss me. When I asked why, he said he wanted to know what it felt like so I let him."
"He's passionate about politics and becoming a member of the Ministry to make his parents proud. He's at a disadvantage because of his status as a 'blood traitor' in a government run by bigots but it doesn't deter him or discourage him."
By now, Penelope's voice was quivering and Percy without hesitation sat next to her and rubbed her back, realising the error in his actions.
"He loves his siblings. When his sister was possessed last year, he went into a frenzy of worry. At least, that's what a friend told me—," She choked, remembering that she had been petrified but it felt more like a long blink and she woke up in the future.
"He has a dry sense of humour that people don't appreciate but it makes me laugh at how unbecoming and witty it is."
"I did— didn't want to break up with him. I wanted him to be more aware. That I could leave him at any time. I— I didn't realise that I could also be left. If I knew— I probably would have clung tighter and—," A harsh sniff and soon tears streaked down her face again.
Tiffany swept her into an embrace and Percy also hugged the two girls, letting Penelope cry her emotions out.
After a few minutes, Penelope's sobs became soft sniffles and shallow gasps and Tiffany pulled away gently.
"I hated you so much when I saw you. He looked at you like you hung the stars in the sky. You make him laugh in ways I never could and you hold his attention when I could barely get him to look away from his papers when we study together. Why?! Because you're prettier?! That's not my fault! And it's not— it's not fair!"
Penelope ranted away, the other girl listened along as if she wasn't the topic of her hatred.
"I'm so sorry, Penelope—," Percy started, only for the other to roll her eyes and snort.
"I'm sure you are."
"No, I am. I wasn't aware our situation had changed. You're my best friend. I had always felt that we were close but I never thought of you as a serious girlfriend—,"
"Why did you kiss me then? Do you kiss all your not-girlfriends?" Penelope glared accusingly at Tiffany who just put her hands up in defence.
"Don't look at me, he's only kissing lips with you."
The other two blushed and Percy coughed to clear his embarrassment.
"That night— I— I wasn't thinking straight. You were just so pretty and I— just wanted to kiss you. I took advantage of the situation—,"
"No. I was already waiting weeks for you to kiss me—,"
"No, still I—,"
"Alright! She was pretty, we can see that."
Tiffany rolled her eyes and Penelope flushed a little, which did not seem noticeable under the redness of her crying.
"What happens now? Penelope wants to get back together and Percy…?"
"I stand by our original agreement to break up. We are not on the same page and being together is hurting you more than you think it is."
"But why?! Why is it okay with her but not with me?!" Penelope pulled Percy's robe and forced him forward. "Tell me. Tell me that you aren't attracted to her."
"I— can't tell you that," Percy confessed and Penelope looked distraught and a little disgusted. She pushed him away and stood abruptly.
"I'm going to leave. I'm done being the butt of this pity party and I don't care too much about either of you right now. I pray that I forget everything I ever liked about you, Percy Weasley." She strutted out with as much dignity as she could muster, slamming the door shut as she left both her accompanied comforters in silence.
"Percival…"
"That went better than I anticipated." Percy let out a deep sigh of relief. He had been dreading the possibility of this conversation all summer.
"Why did you lead her on?" Tiffany gave him a scrutinising look over. "People like to dismiss how high your emotional intelligence is because of how reclusive you can be and even if it isn't as high as it should be, you would have noticed that she liked you."
Percy's eyes flickered away in shame, like he was caught doing something terrible and Tiffany pulled him close letting him lie in her lap as he pushed his face into her torso, finding comfort in her just being there. He let the question linger in the air before he turned to face the ceiling, eyes still closed.
"The first time I noticed her, she had come first in a half-yearly exam for three subjects. Charms, Herbology and History of Magic. When I found out her name was Penelope, I thought she was you."
"I met her officially… my excitement died. Of course, I didn't think about the fact that Penelope was in my year and not two years younger— She wasn't you but she was still cool. She was her own type of Penelope. I liked her. She was very comfortable and easy to be with."
"The more I was with her, the more caring her actions became. She laughed at all my jokes, left treats for me when I studied for too long and often helped with the study group I ran or she just stared at me randomly during the day." Percy took a deep breath and Tiffany could do nothing but place a gentle hand through his hair as he spoke.
"I felt like I could fall in love with her, you know. That I could be normal. So I proposed the experiment casually. She agreed too enthusiastically. I knew then I fucked up."
Tiffany reeled in Percy's rare profanity, trying to imprint his voice and lock the rare memory away.
"I dug a hole for myself, so I gave her as much as I could while holding back on the notion that 'it was an experiment'. The bare minimum made her fall in love and now I couldn't bring myself to break her heart. Until she finally broke up with me."
"I thought that was that. But something was bugging me. She was so in love that this couldn't be the end. So here we are."
"You didn't have to kiss her Percy."
"I—…" Tiffany let him recollect his thoughts, "My brothers had found out about a Penelope I was talking to— said she was an 'ickle smart Ravenclaw girl' that their mother would be proud of."
"I wanted it. To make her proud. So I wanted to force myself to like her. I liked kissing her, but it became an addiction. But I wasn't addicted to who I was kissing…"
"I'm fucked up, aren't I?"
"What? Pft— You? No… No, no. No." Tiffany gave a playful side-eye that made it look like she was lying before giving Percy a genuine smile.
"You're 17, Perc. You can kiss a girl and not feel shit. I've put the worst things in my mouth— Wait, no. Pause—," Tiffany rolled her eyes as Percy laughed immaturely. "I meant, I cannot judge if you kissed a girl for the sake of kissing."
"You're fucked up for playing her, though. That's like douchebag 101, my dear Percival."
"What is a douchebag?"
"Douche is shit," Tiffany informed, pushing her imaginary glasses higher on her nose.
"So I'm a shitbag?" He questioned and Tiffany had to force herself not to smirk, "Good to know." He accepted wryly.
"I love you, Perc. I will always love you, even if you're a douchebag. But I hope you apologise tomorrow morning, even if she doesn't want to hear it. Don't let her hatred brew. You make sure you apologise and let her feel your sincerity."
"She knew all those things about you and all you said about her was she was comfortable and pretty. Tsk, my mother would be disappointed."
"I'll try and apologise again—,"
"Without me being there, please."
"… Okay. I won't drag you into it… This time. But if I choke, I need you to be around the corner— OUCH! You punch like a gorilla!"
Tiffany continued to pelt Percy as he laughed and screamed 'Mercy' before she finally pushed him off her lap and onto the floor. There he laid dramatically still.
"I'll go now, it's curfew."
"Help me do my rounds, please," Percy asked softly. He was no longer laughing and a tinge of sadness left the back of his throat as he faced the underside of the coffee table.
"You are normal Percival Ignotus Weasley. You can love and be loved. If— If your mother loved you, she would never abandon you."
'But what if she does…'
Percy did not voice the thought, even though they were both thinking it.
"Come on. Be sad about the past, not the future. It hasn't even happened yet!"
Tiffany hauled his lanky body off of the ground and Percy made it his mission to be difficult by relaxing his body into dead weight.
"You think this is a game— AH!" With a burst of power, Tiffany flung his almost adult body onto the sofa then flexed her muscles, "You think these bad boys are just for show, huh?"
She continued to pose as power-lifters do, relishing in Percy's hollering and laughter before she dropped her vibrato into a shy snicker.
"Come on, Dux. I help keep you company on your Head Boy duties."
Percy scrambled to fix his uniform after being manhandled then stuck his elbow out her, ironically.
"Shall we go, my lady?"
"Toddle-lo, empty room that Percy probably had sex in but I have no proof!" Percy guffawed as she pulled him out into the hallway. If anyone had seen them, it would look as if Percy were a blushing maiden and Tiffany, a rogue that led him to a broom closet.
After a brief interlude, Percy led Tiffany along his patrolling route while Tiffany filled him in on the Warding lesson he missed.
They patrolled the fifth and fourth floor before retiring at midnight when Filch would patrol until five or six in the morning.
"Goodnight, Pen."
Goodnight," Tiffany gave him a strong hug, pouring in all the affection she could muster then relaxed. "If anything happens, let me know. My mother's not above kidnapping you and adopting you as her son. God knows I wouldn't even have to convince her."
Percy laughed, then cleared his throat. Their affection was overwhelming and new even though he'd known her for ten years— It's still always so fulfilling.
"Athena, the Queen of my Life. If she wanted me, I'd go to war for her."
"Me too."