章節 16: Mind The Raven
1990 September
The sight of seventh years leading their students to their common rooms was reminiscent of a shepherd herding sheep. It was messy, and the rotating stairs in no way helped their endeavour. Charlotte leaned on the railing and cast a look at the plummeting drop below them.
"People always wonder why Hogwarts has the highest mortality rate of any magical institution. I think the answer's very obvious," She remarked with a glance at the girl beside her. Alana considered the statement and huffed in amused agreement. They ought to at least put a few wards up to stop students tripping to their doom. She said as much and watched a smile light the taller girl's face. It seemed they had a similar sense of humour. The trek to Ravenclaw tower was short, and they soon found themselves huddled around a wall. Here, they experienced their first riddle which would allow one entry into the common room.
"I have a stiff shaft and my tip penetrates. I come with a quiver. What am I?"
The sound of a few older students choking filled the air while the more innocent ones simply looked confused. Charlotte was giving the door an offended look whilst Alana snickered.
"An arrow." The reply came from a stonefaced older year. Charlotte nudged Alana softly to share the male's name. Terrence Bagnold. He was the sixth year 'king of the nest' so to speak. She idly wondered if he had any relation to Millicent Bagnold, the previous minister of magic. If he did, then he seemed to not have inherited the popular Ravenclaw's sense of humour.
The group filtered through the door with minimal murmuring. The room was wide and airy with a domed ceiling littered with astronomical diagrams and maps. There were several bookcases, couches, and windows showing the surrounding mountainous landscape. Alana was instantly grateful for heating charms as the windows looked quite large. They were introduced to the head of their house, Professor Filius Flitwick. The half-goblin greeted them all from a stool but still lacked the height to reach their eye-level. He hardly seemed to notice the height difference and was beaming at them as he explained the basic house and school rules. Timetables were also handed out early as he apparently trusted them not to lose them overnight like the other students. Alana had chosen Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as her electives. Charlotte left for the dorms as soon as they were given out. After that, the professor stepped down (not that it made much difference) and let Terrence take the floor.
"I am Terrence Bagnold, one of your sixth-year prefects and the current overseer of Ravenclaw. You will notice there are two prefects from each year level from fifth upwards. First and second years fall under the fifth year prefects while the third and fourth years fall under the sixth year prefects. If you have any problems, queries or just need an ear to talk to, you go to these people for help. There are also two boards in the common room. The first is for notices approved by the head of our house. The second one, which many of you will come to use, is for posting any difficult or unusual questions you cannot find the answers to in the library. We are a house that seeks knowledge with what resources we are given, but those available may vary from person to person. Naturally, we aim to overcome this as a unified group of intellectuals. On that note, I expect you all to represent your house with pride and dignity. Courtesy is prized by all and costs nothing so use it sparingly. Bigotry and discrimination will not be tolerated within this house or towards another. Offer aid where it is needed, master your studies, hone your skills, share your knowledge and you can soar to new heights in Ravenclaw."
A few of the first years were giving the young man starstruck looks by the end of his speech. Alana tiredly stretched as they were led to the dorms. Each dorm room held two students who would decide on a password for their door. Alana was blessed to be in a year where all the students were already paired, so she got her own room. It came with strict orders not to abuse the privilege, or it would be taken away. Spot checks were a thing, so she wasn't about to use the wall to plan her raids anyways.
Opening the door proved to be a mistake as she was immediately assaulted by a disgruntled great horned owl. Auxilium, as she had named the beast, quickly halted the attack once he realised it was her. She was still left with a gash along her arm where she had tried to shield herself.
"Auxilium, you brute! Check before you try to claw my eyes out next time!" Alana growled as she slammed the door behind her. The damned bird always went for the eyes, which was why she had purchased him. Paying back Marius for his disservice had been her top priority then, and Auxilium was vicious towards all but his owner after much bribery. The owl who was only staring at her hooted in reply. At least she knew someone would have a hard time entering her room. What was this foreign feeling inside her? Could it be pity? She pulled her wand out and summoned Pisces briefly to help her heal her arm. She really ought to find a way to make the creature invisible. She was too noticeable. The witch proceeded to check her trunk and its three main compartment rooms. She had pulled a Newt Scamander and filled one room with fully stocked library shelves, another with all her chemicals and potions ingredients, and the third with a potion-making room. She hardly wanted to be caught crafting potentially lethal poisons for Aquarius to store so the expense had been necessary. Everything was in order, so she began to check her new room.
It was roughly six metres square with two large four-poster beds on either side of a large paned window. She decided to place her owl's perch there rather than put the bird in the owlery. It would probably massacre the others for fun. The walls were a baby blue colour while the floor was a cold stone with a rug in the centre. A bookshelf and desk occupied either side of the door opposite the foot of the beds. She eyed the room critically, already planning to change the walls to a navy blue like her place back in London, spell the ceiling white, and lay down some light wooden floors. The dark blue duvet and grey pillows were already fine with her, and her wooden martial arts training dummy would fit between the desk and bed on one side. If she was going to be there for the next four years, she would damn well be comfortable. She toed the rug. It wasn't fluffy enough. She needed a nice fluffy black carpet in her life. An hour later saw her climbing into bed in blue, silk pyjamas. She felt like a damn princess sleeping in the huge castle - a princess with a seven-inch blade beneath her pillow. Curfew was at 10:00 pm, but she was drained from the emotional turmoil of the day, so she fell asleep quickly.
1990 September
Night turned into day, and the rise of the sun saw Alana poking around the castle with curious limbs. The halls were eerily silent as breakfast in the Great Hall was not for another hour at least. The small girl rounded another corner and found herself in the castle's main courtyard. Pale morning light revealed open, grey stone corridors surrounding the expanse of grass and gravel walkways. A large oak tree sheltered the western corner glittering with morning dew. Vines crept up the victorian arched windows where the corridors met the slice of paradise. Alana relaxed in the silence for a few minutes before attempting to return to the western tower. The portraits proved an incredible help in achieving this goal, and after a few polite words, she found the room again. She still had a good half hour before the hall opened.
There were only a few Ravenclaws awake so early and most were spread through the common room with parchments or books in their hands. Holiday homework procrastinators, she guessed. Alana spied one familiar face amongst the sea of blue furniture. It was the skittish boy from the train. He was actually rather well-built for his age with a mess of black hair and onyx eyes. He was playing a game of chess against himself with a look of intense concentration marring his features. Undeterred, Alana planted herself across from him and watched the game with interest. She was surprised to note the set was not automated as most wizard versions were. The boy seemed content to move the pieces himself. Hmm… She considered the chances of him agreeing to teach her the rules.
It took a few minutes for the boy to reach checkmate and he began to squirm after realising he was being watched. Alana quirked an eyebrow at the suddenly restrained twitchiness the boy displayed.
"My name's Alana. Would you please teach me to play? It looks fun," She tilted her head towards the game in question.
"Leoen Volkov…" She waited for his reply to her question but he seemed determined to stop at his name.
"Well?" She prodded. His mouth opened and closed like a dying fish. This guy… A constipated look came over his features.
"Sure," He wheezed. She sweatdropped at the boy. He looked like he was offering his head on a pike. The following minutes were filled with his rigid movements as he awkwardly explained the game. Alana was the polar opposite with fluid movements and a relaxed posture. She was far more at peace after her morning stroll and resolved to make it part of her daily routine.
Breakfast time soon rolled over, and she led the reluctant male to the table with an iron grip. Meanwhile, Leoen was giving the girl bewildered glances and marvelling at her surprising strength. Her angelic smile did not budge as she sat him next to her and dished up some bacon and eggs. An elbow met the boy's rib when he wouldn't stop shifting under the gazes of a few students. The eyes on them didn't pass her notice, but the boy was ruining her appetite with his display of discomfort. She had observed several things about the boy over the course of the morning. The most obvious observation was that he hated being stared at; however, the few moments he ignored the eyes, his body language spoke of quiet confidence and capability. It was an intriguing contrast.
Charlotte finally made an appearance at the table while deep in conversation with Lola Pierce, the Hufflepuff in their year. Both had already sat down across from them before they looked up. The wide-eyed, borderline hysterical look Lola gave the Volkov youth had Alana choking on her bacon with laughter. Charlotte looked equally uncomfortable but far less traumatised. She cleared her throat whilst diverting her eyes.
"A new friend, Alana?"
"Hmm… I like him." She nodded and took a sip of water. She meant it in the 'he's interesting' way, but Lola looked to be on the verge of passing out. Leoen was as stiff as a wooden plank beside her. She leaned over as if conspiring with the boy and gave him a small grin with devious eyes. "You don't mind, do you? I don't have many friends." She told the boy in a mock whisper. Lola finally snapped.
"You know what his family does, right?" Her breathing was panicked. Alana gave in and sent the girl a calming smile. She was almost as flighty as the criminals of Knockturn when Otavio and his ilk arrived.
"Of course. What does it matter to me?" Her reply was spun silk, both pure and light in tone. She heard a few splutters from everyone eavesdropping and gave a closed-eye smile. Most students thought her ignorant due to her homeschooling. Any pureblood worth their salt would know the Volkov's profession, and most avoid him out of a false hope of self-preservation. They were a family of hit wizards residing in Russia. Every member of the family had eventually taken up the profession, and they were often hired internationally by various magical ministries. They were hunters of all kinds of magical criminal creatures. It was even said that the patriarch of the family had once killed a horde of rampaging dragons in China with his bare hands. Naturally, everyone was terrified of them.
"You don't mind then?" The query came from Leoen who seemed to have lost some of the previous tension in his muscles.
"Not at all." The reply was honest. She had an inkling as to why he was so uncomfortable with stares. It was the same discomfort she had with reactions to her aura. The fear of others was off-putting. It meant having to walk with your hands tied behind your back unless you wanted people to think you had some form of ill will towards them. It meant ostracisation by your peers.
The Volkov's had done nothing to her, and they seldom hunted criminals who operated through the methods of contracting she did. Therefore, she would approach the situation neutrally. The boy was just a child, and in her opinion, there was no point in letting him suffer pointlessly. There was little logic in acting like he was going to murder her in her sleep. If he had the capability, she could do nothing to stop him. If he lacked the skill, he would be dead before her anyway.
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