"Did that Rosier girl say something to you?" Liriya's imagination was already running wild. "I knew she was up to no good! Don't you—"
"No, I haven't even seen her since we got to school. I just guessed," Julien interrupted. "Whether you believe me or not, Liriya, promise me you'll stay away from Professor Quirrell. Don't go to see him alone, and don't tell him any secrets about your family, your bloodline, or the North."
Liriya looked at Julien's serious expression and fell silent for a moment. She could feel the genuine concern in his words.
"Alright," she finally conceded. "I'll be careful. But I still think that even if Professor Quirrell is a bit strange, he can't be... he can't be a bad person, right? Otherwise, why would Dumbledore let him be a professor?"
Dumbledore? Please, that old man is as sly as they come, Julien thought.
Knowing he couldn't completely convince her right now, he simply sighed. "Just play it safe, that's all."
---
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The Ravenclaw first-years were taking Charms with the Slytherins—a noticeable deviation from the original story. The class was taught by the Head of Ravenclaw House, Professor Flitwick.
Professor Flitwick was a tiny old wizard with a shock of messy white hair. He had to stand on a thick pile of books just to see over his desk.
He started the lesson in a cheerful, enthusiastic tone. "Good morning, children! Today, we will be learning a very basic, yet incredibly important spell—the Levitation Charm!"
"Remember," Professor Flitwick emphasized, "your wrist must be flexible. Like this—swish and flick! The pronunciation is also crucial. The emphasis is on the 'o' in Leviosa, not the 'sa'!"
"Just like this." He waved his wand and said softly, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
A white feather on his desk immediately floated lightly into the air, doing an elegant little twirl.
"Alright, your turn."
The classroom instantly erupted into a chaotic chorus of "Wing-ardium Levio-sa" and "Wingardium Le-vi-o-sa."
When Julien had first walked into the classroom, he had immediately spotted Elizabeth Rosier sitting in the front row. Today she wore a deep blue robe that made her skin look even paler, a serpent brooch gleaming on her chest. She had been looking down at The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, her expression so focused that the rest of the world might as well not have existed.
Right now, in the row behind Rosier on the Slytherin side of the room, Malfoy was loudly chanting the incantation in a highly arrogant drawl. His feather twitched slightly before dropping right back onto the desk. He shot a glance toward the Ravenclaw section, a sneer curling the corner of his mouth.
Julien ignored him. He closed his eyes, recalling the key points from Why Do Feathers Always Want to Hit You in the Face?, a volume stored away in his Magical Resonance Library.
He adjusted his breathing, feeling the flow of magic within him. With a light swish and flick of his wrist, he spoke clearly: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
His feather immediately rose smoothly into the air, hovering perfectly still. It even drifted slowly in response to his thoughts.
Truthfully, this was the result of him holding back. Otherwise, he could have made the feather dance. The can-can, maybe. Oh, wait, the can-can wouldn't work—feathers can't do the splits.
"Beautifully done, Mr. Black!" Professor Flitwick cried in sheer delight. He hopped down from his stack of books and hurried over to Julien's desk.
The execution is arguably even better than that Gryffindor girl, Hermione's. A true Ravenclaw student, indeed. "Perfect pronunciation, perfect movement! Five points to Ravenclaw!" Flitwick's voice rang out loud and clear.
The moment the words left his mouth, a cool, precise voice drifted from the front of the classroom. "Wingardium Leviosa."
Flitwick turned to look. It was Rosier. Her feather rose just as steadily, her movements clean, sharp, and entirely free of wasted effort.
"Brilliant, Miss Rosier!" Professor Flitwick praised, thoroughly impressed once again. "Five points to Slytherin! It seems we have two exceptionally gifted students today!"
The whole class broke into applause—except for Malfoy. His face had gone stiff. He shot subtle, venomous glares at both Rosier and Julien, as if blaming them for stealing his thunder.
The lesson continued. Most of the students were still locked in a bitter struggle with their feathers. Some only managed to make them twitch, while others sent theirs shooting uncontrollably straight into the ceiling, drawing bursts of laughter.
When the bell rang, Professor Flitwick clapped his hands for silence.
"Your homework for today is to write an essay on the Levitation Charm. There is no maximum length. Summarizing your experience will help you further improve your spellwork, so please take it seriously."
He paused, then added, "Furthermore, you must undoubtedly continue practicing the charm until you can keep a feather steadily suspended for at least ten seconds. And..." He looked toward Julien and Rosier. "Mr. Black, Miss Rosier, please stay behind. I would like a quick word with you both."
The students filed out of the classroom. Before leaving, Malfoy shot Julien one last, vicious glare. Julien couldn't help but feel that his cousin was a bit unhinged; it was best to keep his distance.
Soon, only Julien, Rosier, and Professor Flitwick remained.
"You both performed spectacularly," Professor Flitwick said with a warm smile. "Far beyond your peers. I am curious—did you have much practical experience with magic before coming to Hogwarts?"
"Not much, Professor," Julien and Rosier answered almost simultaneously.
Professor Flitwick nodded, a flash of understanding in his eyes. "Pure talent, then. Truly enviable. However, talent requires proper guidance. I noticed that your magical control during the casting was incredibly precise. That is quite rare. Especially you, Mr. Black. Your control seems as though... it has been trained thousands of times over."
Julien's heart gave a slight jolt, but his face remained perfectly composed.
"Well then," Professor Flitwick said, pulling two thin booklets from his pocket. "These are some notes on fine magical control that I compiled in my youth. They might be of some use to you. Take them. I hope you put them to good use."
The two accepted the notes and thanked him.
By the time they walked out, the corridor was mostly empty. They flipped roughly through the contents of the professor's notes and decided that they would each copy one booklet first, then swap.
Just as they were about to part ways, Julien hesitated, but eventually asked, "Rosier, regarding your family and Liriya's tribe... could you tell me a bit about that?"
Rosier stopped in her tracks. She fell silent for a moment before answering softly, "I don't know much either. I only know that many years ago, Grindelwald commissioned our family to search across Europe for several ancient stone tablets. Those tablets supposedly contain powerful natural magic, though I have no idea what they actually do. My grandmother's generation... definitely did some dishonorable things for the sake of that mission."
She lifted her head, meeting Julien's eyes with utter sincerity. "But I can promise you, I have nothing to do with any of that. I despise that history, which is exactly why I left my family to come to Hogwarts. I refuse to become like them."
Then, after a moment's thought, she added, "But all of that was years ago. Since Grindelwald's defeat, I haven't heard anything about my family looking for the tablets. This time around, they merely wanted to send me to Durmstrang. They only agreed to let me come here after Headmaster Dumbledore personally negotiated with them."
Julien looked at her and nodded. "Of course I believe you. I just fear the matter of the stone tablets isn't as simple as you think. But we can talk about that later. For now, our studies come first, right?"
The two shared a smile. The previous tension between them seemed to vanish into thin air.
"Oh, right," Rosier said, suddenly remembering something. "I once saw an antique book in a secondhand shop in Diagon Alley. It mentioned things like the 'Evernight Forest,' 'Leyline Energy,' and 'Guardian Stele.' If you're interested, that book might be helpful to you. I think the title was Leyline Nodes."
"Alright. Thank you, Miss Rosier."
"Just call me Eliza." She turned and began walking in the direction of the Slytherin dungeons.
Suddenly, she rose slightly on her tiptoes, taking a light, bouncy little skip forward, then another. The hem of her robes swished happily along with her.