Chapter 5
September 2, 1943
Hope
“This has been the worst day of my life,” I complain before dropping my forehead onto the table.
“You’re from a different world, Hope,” Mary says, trying to sooth me while rubbing circles into my back. “There are bound to be hiccups, don’t let it get you down.”
Sitting at dinner, I want nothing more than to be swallowed up along with the rest of the food. Am I being dramatic? Yes, most definitely. I have lived through some pretty horrible things, some traumatic, life shattering days.
But school has never been so difficult. Being forced to use my wand throughout both Charms and Transfiguration was akin to torture. Herbology was fine, I didn’t have to do any magic. But, having to use a wand is like filling a pen with water instead of ink and expecting it to still write. I know what to do, I understand the magical theories, but the actual execution never turns out the way I want.
Scoffing, I reply, “Easy for you to say, you aren’t being dubbed the airhead in Ravenclaw tower.”
So far, I’ve only had classes with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. If I had thought the lack of Slytherins would result in a lack of bullying, I was quickly proven wrong. By the end of Charms, even the nicest Hufflepuffs were shooting me judgmental glances.
The only reason I made it through Transfiguration, was Dumbledore. He managed to keep the Gryffindors from being vocally rude, but there are so many other ways to tear someone down.
Taylor and Amanda did their best to scold their housemates, but even they sent me some pitying looks. I spent most of the class begging Dumbledore with my eyes to let me forego the wand, let me show these jerks what I can do.
After class, he implored me to continue trying my best, but my patience is wearing increasingly thin.
“It was your first day, tomorrow will be better,” Mary practically announces. “Tonight, we can practice all the wand motions for our Defense Against the Dark Arts class tomorrow. We have Potions first, so that shouldn’t be too bad, and we end the day with History of Magic. Compared to today, tomorrow will be a piece of cake!”
Shoveling food into my mouth, I do my best to ignore the seemingly ever present whispers and snickering. Between inheriting my Father’s anger issues, my Mother’s rage, and my activated werewolf side, it’s a testament to my strength that no blood has been shed.
But, I can only bite my tongue and clench my fists for so long. I can already feel my composure buckling under the pressure. I’m more powerful than every single person in this room, I could destroy this entire castle with half the concentration it takes to not demolish this stupid wand with too much magic.
After only fifteen minutes, I officially cannot take the attention any longer.
Shoving myself away from the table, “I’m going to head to the tower, I’ll see you later.”
It could all be in my head, but I swear my departure only makes the gossip grow.
************
September 3rd, 1943
Tom
“My Lord, rumor has it that Mikaelson girl doesn’t know her wand tip from her arse,” Lestrange grumbles from my left as we walk to our first class of the day.
The first day of classes went exactly how the others have; charming my professors, showing up my classmates, and plenty of scheming. I did notice a sour expression on Mikaelson’s face each time I passed the witch, but I couldn’t fathom what would already irritate her so much.
I assumed I’d have to wait for Potions to start, my first class with the Ravenclaws. Lucky me, I might learn something a bit early.
“Oh?” I say, prompting him to continue.
Lestrange glances around before he whispers, “The Gryffindors won’t shut up about it. For some reason, Dumbledore took the girl in after she ended up here. Yet, despite living with an incredibly powerful wizard, she could barely do the warm up exercise, let alone actually conjuring birds.”
Now that is just…odd. If the witch can’t do magic, then how the hell did Dippet let her in? Surely, she had to prove herself in some way, had to show some amount of magical talent.
Then, hearing that Dumbledore took her in…well, that might explain why she dislikes me so far. The old man probably warned her about some of his theories about me. But, if she is his ward, then why hasn’t he taught her how to use a wand? Perhaps she used something else in her old world?
Stopping outside the doors to the classroom, I turn around and search for a head of silver hair.
“Malfoy,” I call loud enough for him to hear.
With a tilt of my head, Abraxas quickly follows me further into the dungeons and away from any eavesdroppers.
“I need to see her use her wand, still planning on being her partner today?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
With wide, determined eyes, “Yes, My Lord, of course. I bet Crabbe and Goyle 20 Galleons that I’ll win your reward, and I refuse to have my gold wasted on their snacking habits. Just keep watch, I’ll get her to light the fire.”
Offering him a small smile, we head back to classroom, just in time to see Weasley arriving. Knowing that’s our target’s friend, I watch as Malfoy practically runs to slide onto a bench next to Mikaelson before the Weasley girl can sit.
“Malfoy! Get out of here, what do you think you’re doing?” I hear the Redhead nearly screech while I take a seat for the impending show.
Just one row back and to the left, I have the perfect view to watch Mikaelson’s already pinched expression.
Abraxas shrugs at Weasley, “I think I’m trying to be friendly, it’s not everyday Hogwarts gets a transfer student.”
Turning to Mikaelson, he offers a hand and a charming smile, “Hello, my name is Abraxas Malfoy. It is my pleasure to meet you, Ms. Mikaelson.”
“Entirely,” Hope grimaces, but shakes his hand all the same.
Which almost makes Wealsey’s head explode, her face and neck turning a similar shade as her hair. However, I feel relieved. Her reaction to Malfoy is slightly worse than when we met, at least I’m not the only one that is immediately rebuffed by the witch.
“It’s okay, Mary,” Hope says, sounding very much like it is not okay. “I’ll be fine.”
At that moment, Slughorn walks in with a great smile, boasting, “Welcome class! First week is always exciting, but we have much to do. Come now, pick your Potion’s partners, and prepare for the lesson.”
That settles any arguing, no one wants house points taken away this early in the year. So, Weasley nods at her friend, but glares at Malfoy with enough wrath that I hear the boy gulp. Dolohov sits down next to me, and I offer him a nod of acknowledgment before turning back to the show.
Just in time to see Hope lift her wand towards the cauldron, looking more nervous than most first years. Lighting the fire is easy, it was one of the first spells I learned to do wandlessly, and wordlessly too. I felt her power at the train station, how can something so simple make her worry so much?
Doing everything correctly, Hope attempts to light the flame. But, sparks only sputter before dying out, making her shoulders slump. Unfortunately for her, the two Slytherin girls sitting behind her aren’t about to let that failure go silently.
“Awww, does the new girl need help lighting her fire?” Walburga Black mocks.
Patty Parkinson doubles over with laughter, “For a moment, I thought she might lead some of our boys astray. But even Crabbe wouldn’t bother bedding a witch who can’t do the most basic of spells. Maybe we should thank her for how inept she is?”
Hope slowly turns around, rage radiating off of her, and violence in her eyes. Slowly turning back, I’m practically on the edge of my seat waiting for whatever it is she’ll do. Thankfully, Slughorn is too busy fiddling with papers on his desk to notice anything, muttering to himself about attendance sheets or something.
With clear intent, Hope holds out her wand, and drops it. The wand rolls off the table top, and starts rolling away from the table. Suddenly, the wand changes directions, and rolls under the work space.
With a sweet smile and wide eyes, Hope looks at the Slytherin girls and lets out an innocent ‘oops.’ Moving slower than any person should, Hope starts to kneel to get her wand.
All at once, beneath every cauldron in the room, fire erupts. Each station now has nearly a foot of flames blazing and roaring, heating up the frigid air, and shouts sound throughout the room. People jump away from their work stations, Slughorn falls over in surprise, things clatter to the floor, but nothing else catches fire.
It’s one moment of complete chaos, no one knows what’s happening. Then, just as quickly as it started, each flame relaxes into a tame burn. Five seconds of confused silence passes, and then Hope hops up from the floor with her wand in hand sporting a triumphant grin.
“Oh,” she squeaks in surprise once she sees her station is lit, and turns to the Slytherin girls with a satiated smile. “Guess I didn’t need my wand, after all.”
It takes every sliver of self control to not burst out into laughter. Abraxas shoots me a look of shock, and I can’t help the smile that breaks out across my face. Dolohov stays silent, but looks back and forth between me and Abraxas.
He may not be my smartest follower, but Dolohov is the quiet, brooding type. Which is the perfect person to be around when I’m thinking.
“Settle down! Settle down, everyone,” Slughorn shouts over the various conversations. “Everything is perfectly fine, just a prank to start off the year. As long as that is the only disruption, I suppose we can begin without dolling out punishments.”
With that, Slughorn pointedly looks around the classroom. The threat is obvious, but doesn’t affect the satisfaction on Hope’s face. Now, she has some pep behind her actions, smiling at Abraxas in an almost threatening way, and I can’t tell if I’m more entertained by her actions or thirsty for her secrets.
She wasn’t touching her wand when she did that, which makes me wonder. Hope wasn’t even looking, didn’t say anything. Whatever magic she used, it might simply require her will. If you don’t need a wand, then using one would likely feel weird. I’ll have to find some proof for this theory, and I think our next class will be the perfect place.
“Dolohov, I have an assignment for you.”
**********************
Hope
“What the bloody hell was that!” Mary exclaims once we are away from the Slytherins.
Potions went well after my little explosion, at least no one openly gossiped or said anything mean. I was surprised when a Malfoy insisted on me being his partner, but I guess after my run ins with Riddle, I shouldn’t be. Arguing with a future Death Eater wasn’t on my to do list, so I told Mary I would be okay.
Which I was, excluding when the two Slytherin girls made me snap. But no one got hurt, and Professor Slughorn didn’t mention the incident for the rest of class. Plus, Malfoy was so shocked that he was completely focused on our assignment, much to my delight.
With how uncomfortable he was, I guessed Malfoy knew it was me, and I may have spent a while messing with him. Maybe showing off my powers won’t be the end of the world, it’s been fun so far.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I reply with a shrug.
Mary pushes me, and I let out a big laugh. She’s taking me the long way to our DADA class, naturally wanting to interrogate me on what happened.
“Okay, okay,” I say once my giggles subside. “That was me, just an Incendia with a bit of concentration. Nothing truly special.”
The dubious look she gives me is priceless, “Yeah, I figured it was you. I don’t care about the spell, Hope. How did you do that without a wand?”
After taking a deep breath, I take pity on my friend, “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I’ve never needed a wand to wield magic. After coming to this world, I thought it would help me to fit in. But, if the last twenty four hours are anything to go by, I think I made the wrong choice.”
Mary stops walking, holding my shoulder to stop me, and has a stunned expression on her face.
“You mean…,” she starts, wetting her lips. “You mean that you can influence wild magic? Like House Elfs or Goblins?”
Her expression is oddly close to the look she gave me before asking my blood status. Tilting my head, I wonder why this information would worry her. It’s not like I’m dangerous, at least as far as she should be concerned.
Making sure my confusion bleeds into my tone, I say, “Yeah, I guess.”
Mary’s eyes nearly pop out of her head and her jaw drops, “Oh my gosh, that’s unheard of! I mean, sure some witches or wizards can work up to or learn to do some wandless magic, but not needing one? At all? Wow…”
Then she takes on a dreamy expression and stares off into space. After a moment, I nudge her, mentioning our impending class and my lack of knowledge on how to get there. Mary shakes off her surprise, puts her arm around mine, and continues to lead the way.
“You have to show people what you’re made of in our next class. Prove to them all that you aren’t some charity case or inept witch. If you’re truly that powerful, then we need to do some serious PR work,” she explains with a determined expression. “And if they try to belittle you for this, I’ll show them that this Ravenclaw has some sharp talons.”
The rest of the walk is spent with us joking and laughing, only stopping once we cross the threshold into our next class. Surprisingly, all the desks are pushed to the side, and small groups of chatting students litter the open space.
Mary squeaks with excitement, pulling me forward by the arm. Her destination is a group of Ravenclaws, namely Mary’s friends. They’re all very nice, but I’ve been kept at arm’s length since rumors of me being dumb started.
“Do you know why we’re starting with dueling?” Mary asks the group.
Anthony Potts gives her a mischievous grin, “My guess is either people were lacking during O.W.L.’s last year, or he just wants to watch us smash into walls.”
That makes everyone laugh, but I just shake my head with a small smile. Anthony is nice enough, but his ego keeps me from fully enjoying his company. I can’t really blame him for being so cocky, I’ve seen the way girls nearly wrestle over who can ask him for help on homework.
“Ms. Mikaelson,” I hear someone say from behind.
When I turn, there’s a large Slytherin boy that I don’t recognize looking at me with a blank face. He’s at least a foot and half taller than me, with enough muscle to make a lesser witch nervous, but isn’t coming off as unfriendly as some of his housemates have.
“Uh, hi?” I reply, shooting a quick glance at Mary.
She looks both confused and irritated, but starts shoving her elbow into Anthony’s side. I only manage to catch the pointed look she throws him before the stranger pulls my attention back to him.
“My name is Dmitry Dolohov,” he tells me with a slight bow. “Would you do me the honor of being my dueling partner today?”
The group of Ravenclaws gasp and react like he just asked of he could sell my liver on the black market. In Potions, Mary was pissed when Malfoy decided to be my partner, but now? She looks frightened, her face paler than usual and she gives me one, decided head shake with wide eyes. The message is clear, she wants me to decline.
But, this is my second class with the Slytherins, and the second one where I’m suspicious of my partner. I might not recognize the wizard, but I remember the name. Whether he’s already on the dark side or if he’s just flirting with it, this is yet another future death eater. If I’m going to unleash my strength on anyone, might as well do it to someone I won’t feel bad about hurting.
With a sunny smile, I tell him, “Sure, sounds like fun.”
Mary makes a strangled sound, but I send her a wink before she can voice her opinions. For a moment, her face goes blank, but then an evil smile breaks out. Pulling the other Ravenclaws in closer, she starts whispering, probably warning them to watch for the show.
Following Dolohov, we end up in a space next to Riddle and Malfoy. Both smile at me, but I just tighten my lips and turn away. I’m already struggling to make friends with Ravenclaws, I can’t imagine that cozying up to Mary’s enemies will endear me to anyone. No, I’ll be nice to one Slytherin per class. At least as long as they keep trying to partner with me.
“Let us begin!” A loud voice exclaims from the back of the class.
Turning, I find who must be our professor. He’s pretty old, but I can tell by his strut that his reflexes aren’t to be underestimated. The way he glides through the room with confidence and familiarity, the respectful gazes of the students around me, I just know he must be the school’s Dr. Saltzman. Maybe I can convince him to sparr with me after classes.
“You will be dueling today, I will be assessing who needs further instruction,” He explains once he reaches the front of the room. “Partner up, and make sure you aim. I will be very unhappy if I have to redirect any spells away from me.”
The strict, near glare he gives the entire class almost makes me grin. This is the only class where a no nonsense teacher is a good thing, it makes me respect him that much more.
“Hey, what’s the professor’s name?” I whisper to Dolohov.
He gives me a funny look but answers me after a moment, “Galateo Merrythought.”
Nodding and discarding my robes, I give Dolohov a smile before we bow to each other. As I walk away from him a few paces, I catch Mary’s eye, and we share a wicked look before I focus on my duel. Dolohov takes up a stance like a scorpion readying to strike, and I follow his lead.
He sends off a red curse, which bounces off my waiting shield. One my wand had nothing to with. Looking down at the wood piece, I say a silent goodbye, and use it to send my curse his way. Except, I put a lot of power behind the spell, and my wand shatters into hundreds of splinters, falling all around me like pointy snow.
Students shout in surprise, and the other duels pause momentarily after the boom. Merrythought quickly comes over to assess the damage, but I’m fine. The curse never left the wand, so Dolohov just looks confused instead of hurt.
“How did— never mind. Come with me, Ms. Mikaelson. We will find something else for you to do while the others continue,” The professor says with plenty of irritation.
“Actually,” I start with an innocent smile. “If I may, I can continue with wandless magic?”
That makes Merrythought sneer and he crosses his arms, “Except how can your partner disarm you, if you don’t have a wand? Not to mention the clear disadvantage you will be at.”
With a shrug, I keep my relaxed attitude, “I’m sure Dolohov can try to get me on my back, but I have no problem with my ‘disadvantage.’”
My statement makes Dolohov and a few others snicker, but I don’t look away from Merrythought. The professor’s scowl smoothes slightly, but he’s still a far cry from looking happy.
“As you wish,” he grumbles, but I swear I caught a glint in his eyes before returning to the front of the room.
Wiping my hands, I quickly move back into position. Dolohov and I don’t bother to bow and restart, I just give him a little nod once I’m ready.
Immediately, he sends another curse. With a wave of my hand, it’s redirected into the wall behind me. I hear the stone cracking where the curse hits, shaking the room, but my eyes never leave my opponent.
Dolohov looks surprised, and maybe a little pissed, that I so easily diverted his spell. Cocking my hip, I put a hand on it, and use the other to cover my mouth while I giggle. That only infuriates the man, and he starts sending a flurry of spells my way.
Most I redirect, but I start jumping around the room. I break out into cartwheels, doing hand springs as I out run Dolohov’s attacks. This is the most exercise I’ve gotten in this world, and it makes me feel alive.
Dolohov pauses, panting like he’s just run a marathon. I can smell his sweat, but I’m giddy with energy. The moment I land firmly on the ground, whisper Imitantor Pupulus while moving my hands, and then start having a little fun.
Dolohov has no choice but to mimic my movements, but that doesn’t stop him from shouting. I start doing the Macarena, making sure to really put my hips into the dance.
“Stop it! Hey, Mikaelson, this isn’t funny!”
But I don’t release him, I’m laughing so hard it takes all my strength not to double over. The rest of the class starts paying attention to us, their attention pulled by Dolohov’s shouts.
More laughing joins mine, plenty of conversations start, and I decide to switch it up since we have an audience. Now, I start doing the dance to the song Wobble, and Dolohov let’s out a long wail when his hips follow mine.
At this point, even Merrythought has the beginnings of a smile. Some people are leaning against their friends, others are staring with wide eyes and open mouths, and Mary gives me two thumbs up.
Breaking the spell, I immediately disarm Dolohov, who starts panting with his hands on his knees. Walking over to him, I do my best to wrangle my giggles. I can’t imagine forcing the man to dance and then laughing in his face will get me anywhere good, so I strive for somewhat composed.
But before I can say anything, the man glares at me before stalking away. Shrugging my shoulders, I go over to the Ravenclaws in search of a new partner.