‘This absolutely useless!’ I signed frustratedly, slamming the book on the table with force that almost startled Luna, ‘We’ve been here since three in the morning, and we’ve got nowhere to a counter-spell, we have to go to our f- classes soon’ ‘We could always just ask Dumbledore for an excuse from classes’ Luna signed, and she reached for “Time Travelling to Far Pasts” from the pile of books on our table. My eyes narrowed, ‘Absolutely not. I already have lost about two weeks of classes. 5 of the days being because of this research. I am not losing anymore’ Luna just shrugged as she flipped the pages. ‘Alright, if you say so’ She signed, not looking up from the book. ‘Wait, you're not going to force me to stay?’ I asked, but Luna was too focused on the book to even look at my hands. Sighing, I picked up my bag and headed towards my first class of the day: Transfiguration. As I walked through the crowded halls of Hogwarts, Regulus stopped me and saluted me as if I were a soldier. I raised an eyebrow and took out the new notepad and quill that I had brought with me once I woke up. ‘Is this now some kind of military school?’ I wrote half-jokingly, but Regulus didn’t seem to buy it, he just frowned at my joke. ‘I thought it meant “hello”’ He wrote sadly, ‘At least, that’s what the book said’ I raised an eyebrow, my fingers hovered over the notepad for a bit before I wrote down my response. ‘What book?’ Regulus pulled out a book from his bag titled “American Sign Language for Beginners” The cover embraced the illustration of different hands displaying different letters of the American Sign Language alphabet. I chuckled, which only seemed to make Regulus frown even more. ‘What? Were my hands moving incorrectly?’ I chuckled even more as I took the quill out of Regulus’s hand. ‘No, at least I think so. I only know BSL’ He raised his eyebrows at my response, confused about the statement I just gave him. ‘But aren’t you American?’ he scribbled curiously. I shook my head with a grin, finally letting out a full laugh at his confusion. But I didn’t know how to give a response without causing more suspicion. Hesitantly, I started to write. ‘Nope, I grew up using British Sign Language for some reason’ Regulus blinked at my response, his confusion deepening. He seemed to be processing what I'd written, his eyes flicking from the words to my face. There was a pause before I took the notepad away and shoved it into my bag. ‘Class starts in like two minutes’ I mouthed slowly and rushed to Transfiguration. _________________________________________ ‘As you know, you’ll be taking your ordinary wizarding examinations. Also known as O.W.Ls’ Professor McGonagall’s words emerged onto the book’s page as I skimmed it down before they disappeared. I sat at my desk, focusing on the lecture McGonagall was giving about study methods for our exams and how important they were. But I didn’t need to know their importance, I already saw how much my sisters and Luna would study in their fifth year; neither of them would look away from their books for even a second. They didn’t stop for dinner or even a snack. Maybe McGonagall would let me skip taking O.W.Ls. There was no need in studying for them anyway since I was probably going to go back to my era in a few months anyway; to face the awful truth of Hermione’s death, to the fact that Hogwarts was covered with the dead and injured. The life here was so much more peaceful than it was in the present. At least there was no threat to muggle-borns from Voldemort, at least there was no horcruxes hidden inside vaults filled with gold, at least there was no Malfoy Mannor to be prisoned in. I shook my head to push those thoughts away, trying to focus on McGonagall’s lecture. The last thing I needed was to drown in the dark memories of the dungeons, especially when I had an entire class of students—many of whom were likely more prepared for their O.W.Ls than I was—staring at me. Still, the weight of the memory pressed on me like a storm cloud. The words in the book just continued but I wasn’t really reading them. I clenched my fists, grounding myself to where I really was. I wasn’t in the dungeons of the Malfoy-Manor. I wasn’t back in the war-thorn reality. I was in a classroom, filled with students who had no idea about the future. Soon enough, class ended and everyone began to leave. Well, everyone except me. I pushed my chair and walked towards McGonagall’s desk where she was grading assignments, the notepad in my hand. ‘Professor, can I talk to you for a moment.’ I scribbled on it in neat handwriting before placing it on her desk. _______ Continued in N/C
McGonagall looked up and nodded as she wrote on the notepad. ‘What is it?’ ‘I just wanted to know if I could… not study for the O.W.Ls. Given my circumstances. There’s a pretty high chance that me and Luna are going to get back to our own timeline before they start anyway, why waste time studying for it?’ Her expression didn’t change but I could see the way she wrote her response with that teacherly manner of her’s. In a brief period, her quill stopped moving and she pushed the note pad towards me to read her response. ‘I get your point,’ it read in McGonagall’s lavish handwriting, ‘and I don’t want to think negative but what if you and Luna never return to your timeline? What if you two are stuck here for the rest of your life?’ The realization stuck me instantly. What if we could never return? Although we only just started on our research, the thought always lingured in the back of mind all the time. Sighing, I scribbled ‘I get your point’ and then packed my bags, preparing for a mountain work of O.W.Ls pre-studying and homework. Not to mention the research of time-related spells I had to do with Luna. ________________ By the time I reached the library after our classes for the day ended, Luna had already left— or maybe she just went to the bathroom, because the books about time-traveling were still scattered across the table like stars were in the sky. I sat down at the table, glancing at the open books scattered around. The pages were filled with complicated diagrams and notes, none of them providing the answers I so desperately needed. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated by the lack of progress. Suddenly, a few minutes later, Barty plopped into the seat Luna was supposed to be sitting in. ‘Hey,’ He wrote on a notepad her brought his own, ‘We’re hosting a party on Saturday, wanna come?’ I wanted to say yes, so desperately, but then I remembered the sheer amount of work I had to do. I grabbed my quill from my bag and started to hesitantly write. ‘I wish,’ I printed on the paper, ‘But I have O.W.L preparations’ Barty raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the paper, then up at me. He tilted his head, looking genuinely disappointed, but after a moment, he shrugged. ‘Could you at least stay for just the first hour? It only starts at eight in the night. Me and Regulus just want to show you to some people’ I thought about it for a moment, then decided to write something when Barty added something else. ‘Why are you so obsessed with time-traveling?’ I stared at the written question and then glared back at him. Why was Barty always so nosy? ‘I’m not’ I wrote so quickly that it almost made a whole in the paper. ‘Do you want me to come to the party or not?’ ‘Fine’ The younger boy gave a mock glare back before he scrambled out of the chair and away from the library. Soon, after Luna came back from the bathroom, I realized that the words I said to Barty might’ve been too harsh. And then, the flashbacks came in; the words I said to Hermione before her final moments, the time I refused to go to Dobby’s funeral even after he saved me, insisting that I would ride the blind dragon alone while I left Harry and Hermione trapped in Gringotts. I was beginning to realize something. Maybe, the hat resorted me into Slytherin because I was already a stereotypical one. __________ Did ya'll notice the very (very) brief Billie Eilish reference? :D I'm gonna add a brief Conan reference for the next one >:d
