Thursday was uneventful. There were Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and History of Magic classes today, like on Mondays. Now that I had all of my supplies I could treat History of Magic like an unofficial study hall, finishing the light homework I'd been assigned in the other two classes. We were assigned a couple chapters to read for the class, plus a written summary of said chapters due by the next one. Since the topic was brand new to me - and also vastly more interesting just reading on my own rather than having Professor Binns dictate it - I knocked the assignment out that evening. I also received an owl from Fig; he'd left for London, and unfortunately didn't expect to return for at least two and a half weeks. At the very least he could return home and gather some things to aid him in studying the book, but...
...Two and a half weeks?! And I thought Canterlot's bureaucracy was slow.
Friday was largely the same as Tuesday, in that I had Herbology and Potions in the morning. Instead of Divination, however, there was Transfiguration with Professor Weasley later in the day. She was already seated at her desk when I walked in, an owl swooping down from above and landing in front of her. With a wave of her wand the owl transformed into a book.
"Settle down, settle down," she chided as the rest of the students took their seats, and she stood up and walked to the center of the room. "Transfiguration, as you may be weary of hearing me say, is an exact science that can take a lifetime to master. But, we needn't be daunted... almost anything can be transformed if you can just perceive the potential within it, as I see in all of you! Tremendous witches and wizards, every one of you... or, it could just be my eyesight." She smirked as she held up a marble for everyone to see, and with a flick of her wand it transformed into a monarch butterfly. "Now... you all know what to do."
From the murmurs and confused looks on my classmates' faces, I saw that they did not know what to do, and I shook my head. Transfiguration - or Alteration, as it was known in Equestria - was one of the first types of spells I had mastered as a filly. Spells like Weasley had just demonstrated were incredibly basic: simply imagine an object becoming another with an approximately similar mass to it. Transforming a small object into a large one, or vice-versa, was when you needed to add thaumaturgical physics calculations into the mix, and was far more interesting.
Yet another way I can show these idiots I'm far better than them all.
We were each given a marble. I simply pointed my wand at it and muttered the incantation, the marble instantly transforming into another monarch butterfly. Then I transformed it into a luna moth, then a peacock butterfly, then a poodle moth, then an emperor butterfly, then an atlas moth... all while the creature fluttered about midair.
"How in the world are you doing that?!" Natty, who was sitting next to me, gaped.
"It's not that hard," I shrugged. Now the bug became an orchid mantis, then a cicada, then a giant stag beetle. It flew around snapping its pincers at the other monarch butterflies that soon joined it in the air.
"Beautifully done," Professor Weasley praised before turning towards me with a smirk. "And, I see that our newest student seems to think that butterflies are a bit too boring."
"Not at all," I replied plainly, turning the stag beetle back into a monarch butterfly as it zipped by.
"Well, that was just a warmup... let's see how you all fare with something a little larger." The butterflies all transformed back into marbles as Professor Weasley brought out some apples to transfigure. The rest of the class was spent changing the apples into rats, and those that managed to do so were allowed to move on to even larger objects. By the end of class I was transforming an entire desk into a life-sized living plush of a Manticore. Professor Weasley was both impressed and congenial enough that I let it run around the room for a bit, half of my classmates either yelling and moving out of the way, or laughing and feigning an agonizing death as the stuffed Manticore tried to bite or sting them... I had slightly more respect for the ones that realized it was, indeed, not real.
The class finally ended, and we were dismissed. I remembered that this would be the first meeting for that Crossed Wands dueling club Sebastian had mentioned, and I hurried to the Clock Tower Courtyard.
~
The club appeared to be held in the space beneath the gigantic bell tower of Hogwarts, a massive pendulum swinging back and forth above the heads of the other club members. Besides boxes, suits of armor and other items stored away and forgotten about, there were practice dummies set along one wall and an entire shelf full of potions, salves and other healing items along the other. Glancing around I could see Sebastian over in one corner talking to Natty, but I wasn't interested in them just yet. Instead I turned my attention towards a short Gryffindor boy with a mop of curly black hair.
"Can I help you?" he asked as I approached, his voice squeaky and prepubescent.
"Lucan Brattleby?" The boy nodded. "Ah, yes, I was told to speak to you about joining your club. Sebastian sent me."
"If Sebastian vouches for you, that's all I need to know," Lucan grinned. "I coordinate the duels for Crossed Wands and draw up the grand tournament. Invitation only, so you must've really impressed him."
"Impressed him?" I laughed once. "I embarrassed him. He didn't even touch me once!"
"So I heard! I bet it was really something seeing the two of you duel."
"Right... so, what exactly is the point of this club? Just duel each other until I'm the last one standing?"
"Well, you can always challenge someone to a duel," said Lucan. "Once I get the tournament ladders all organized, then we'll be focusing on that for the last half hour of the club every meeting, just before supper. It's our way of determining the school's greatest duelists once and for all! And, to liven things up, the winner of the tournament is awarded a prize. Interested?"
A prize, huh? Wonder if it's worth it... then again, just trouncing all of these losers is a reward all its own. "Sign me up then, little man."
"Excellent!" cheered Lucan, quickly pulling out a quill and parchment. "I'll add your name to the list! ...Er, what's your name?"
"Sunset Shimmer."
"Alright... Sunset... Shimmer. Got it," he nodded, putting his list away. "Now, if you're interested, we do have a couple of members that wanted me to let them know if someone wanted to have a one-off."
"Let's begin my reign of terror," I smirked. Lucan got me paired up with a Ravenclaw girl by the name of Astoria Crickett. After showing us where to stand and laying down some basic rules (try not to hit innocent bystanders or inflict serious injury on each other), he stood off to one side and raised his hand.
"Let the fireworks begin!" he said as he brought his hand down quickly.
"I'll make you regret signing up," Astoria growled as she prepared to cast a Flipendo. The last word barely made it out of her mouth before my Depulso slammed her into the wall behind her, leaving behind a slight impact crater. She could only cough and wheeze after that, the wind knocked from her lungs. Much of the other club members around me stopped what they were doing and stared, first at Astoria and then at me.
"U-Uh... we have a winner!" Lucan stammered as Astoria fell limply out of her crater. I went ahead and cast Reparo on the crater for courtesy's sake while Astoria gracelessly dragged herself over to the medicine shelf. "Wow, Sebastian wasn't wrong about you," he muttered.
"I do hope someone here will provide me with a challenge," I hummed.
"Oh, there'll be some strong competition for you up ahead in the tournament," said Lucan. "Keep this up and you could be the next school champion!"
"Could be? Oh, I will be," I corrected the little boy. "Mark my words."
"That's the spirit! Congratulations on your first Crossed Wands victory! Would you like to duel someone else?"
The only other club member who wanted to try me, a Gryffindor boy by the name of Lawrence Davies, also lost in spectacular fashion, being Descendoed into the floor seven times in quick succession. Once he'd taken a few breaths he just about ran out of the courtyard screaming in terror, making me giggle at his cowardice.
"So it wasn't just me you were entirely ruthless upon," Sebastian strutted over calmly, hands in his pockets as he watched Lawrence disappear into the distance.
"The tournament has not even started yet, and I already do not look forward to facing you," Natty frowned in concern.
"Well... you could always luck out and lose before you ever get to face me," I grinned.
"Being last year's tournament champion, I predict that you and Sebastian will be the finalists. I don't even need my mother's help with that prediction."
"Looks like I'll have my work cut out for me," Sebastian replied coolly. "Best get to practicing, then. Can't let the new student polish the floors with my face next time we duel, now can I?"
No one else wanted to duel against me, so I settled for the use of a practice dummy. After I'd torn it to pieces and repaired it multiple times, making sure everyone knew just how hopeless their chances were in the future tournament, I got bored and left to go get dinner.
~
After eating I decided to explore the castle. Using the map within my planner I marked down various waypoints and landmarks as I wandered, taking the time to carefully inspect every statue, every portrait, every tapestry and relic. The castle had many a hidden nook or cranny, sometimes even a secret passage I'd make a note of to investigate later, with very few rooms I was unable to break into. So many fascinating things even sat in storage rooms or abandoned classrooms under a layer of dust, long-forgotten by all.
It wasn't until I had reached the Trophy Room that someone finally addressed me. "Oh, Sunset!" I heard from behind me, Natty walking in from the opposite side of the room.
"Oh. Hi, Natty."
"Do you mind if I speak with you?" she asked, glancing around quickly before approaching.
"Uh... sure?" Can't you see I'm busy...?
"I haven't had the chance to talk to you about it until now... but I was there, and saw what happened with Rookwood and Harlow at the Three Broomsticks! I have been worried about you!"
"You have?" I blinked incredulously. "Why? I can take care of myself."
"If you don't mind my asking, why were they looking for you?"
"Well..." I looked away. I really shouldn't be telling everyone who asks about this whole business... having already told Sebastian was bad enough. "...They want something I found."
"Something you found? It must be extremely important to them, especially if they would try to accost you in such a place."
"Yea, it's... a long story."
"I see. Well, it is safe to say that Rookwood and Harlow are a threat to both of us... to all of us! Which is why I wanted to speak to you."
"Eh?" I grimaced. "What do you mean they're a threat to both of us? They want me, not you."
"Everyone has been talking about you defending Hogsmeade from that troll attack, and I shall never forget watching Sirona stand up to Rookwood and Harlow. Both of you have inspired me to take a stand of my own!"
I did? "...What kind of stand?" I asked slowly.
"Men like Rookwood and Harlow are the reason my mother and I left Matabeleland... and I am not going to sit by and watch them destroy my new home!" Natty scowled, clenching her fists at her sides.
"Oh. Well... I guess that's a good enough reason," I shrugged. "I should warn you, though, Rookwood's working with Ranrok. If you're not careful, you'll be dealing with goblins, too."
"I had heard they were seen in Hogsmeade together," she replied. "All the more reason they must be stopped." The more she spoke, the more I could tell that she was serious about this stand of hers... could I perhaps be so lucky as to recruit a potential third lackey to use in my quest? "Now, rumor has it that Harlow runs Rookwood's day-to-day operations. Taking him down would cripple Rookwood's entire enterprise!"
Ah, yes... cripple. A word that sounded delightful when it came to my enemies. But now this was getting to be a trio of school students taking on a criminal organization... it begged the obvious question. "Shouldn't we let the police handle this sort of thing?"
"I spoke with Officer Singer. She was polite, but perhaps understandably would not discuss details with a student. I overheard some of Rookwood's lot talking about a massive poaching operation that Harlow is planning... I was thinking that we could investigate a bit. Try to get the evidence that Officer Singer needs."
"Us?" I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment. "...Well, I suppose if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. What are you going to do?"
"I am going to watch and listen, find out precisely what Harlow is up to. I shall reach out when I know more," said Natty. "In the meantime, remember - I am here if you need me."
"Right," I replied blankly. I don't need you, though. Satisfied, Natty turned around and left me alone in the trophy room, leaving me to reflect on everything that had happened during this one short week.
Let's see... I had almost died a handful of times, gained the ire of no less than three villains, also gained at least three acquaintances that I could definitely throw at said villains... and now I had to wait two and a half weeks before Fig could even possibly come up with our next move. Not to mention I still only barely knew anything about my ancient magic.
...Well, nothing much I could do about Fig, or the magic for the time being. And as far as Ranrok, Rookwood and Harlow were concerned, they'd better hope they never crossed paths with me... their little rebellion would be over in ten seconds flat if I ever got my hands on them.
With a shrug, I resumed my explorations.
~
The rest of the weekend passed by in the blink of an eye. Saturday after breakfast I went outside and got on my broom, then took off on a flying tour of the entire valley. From high above I peered down on the vast, verdant expanse of the Forbidden Forest, then flew over the hills to the west of Hogsmeade to the north, where the terrain became swampy marshlands. The only landmarks were a pair of small hamlets called Upper Hogsfield and Pitt-Upon-Ford before the valley turned into mountains.
I flew across the valley before turning south. Opposite Hogwarts and on the other side of Hogwarts Train Station was another hamlet called Aranshire. Further south was another called Brocburrow, to the northwest of that hamlet was Lower Hogsfield, and then following the river that flowed from the Black Lake led me to Keenbridge. From there, to my left I could see the road snake up the hills and vanish within the trees, while to my right was a singular mountain. More towards the center of my vision, however, I could see a massive windmill - the grand landmark of Irondale. Past that town, around the mountain and hugging the coast was the hamlet of Feldcroft, and a long, winding road led upwards from there, northeast back towards the South Hogwarts region. All in all, the round trip took me about four hours, with even the two furthest hamlets from Hogwarts only being about a 30-minute flight each.
The rest of my time, when I wasn't eating or sleeping, was spent perusing the vast selection of books in the library. A section of bookcases were devoted to textbooks, but the rest of them covered almost every magical subject I could imagine, and even a few nonmagical ones. It wasn't long until I'd amassed a couple stacks of books, and I sat down at a long desk facing a window to soak in the knowledge. At some point in time during Sunday afternoon, Sebastian sat next to me with a book of his own, though I barely noticed his presence otherwise. He kept to himself, reading quietly alongside me.
Many of the books I'd picked out were quickly put back, as I already knew basically everything there was to know inside... my knowledge of Charms, most Defense Against the Dark Arts spells, Transfiguration and Potions was already stretched to the extremes. Supplemental texts for Astronomy and History of Magic were definitely helpful, as were tomes about Herbology and Beasts. There were even more books about monsters and demons, jinxes and hexes, the subjects of Magical Theory, Arithmancy, Ancient Studies and Ancient Runes, books about Muggle Studies - wizards theorizing insane ideas about how Muggles went on with their lives - and even the broad, esoteric topic of Alchemy. There were also quite a few books about art and music, both magical and mundane. Sadly, however, what little the library had about ancient magic was generic and sparse, the most in-depth passage being about the fact that Hogwarts was created from it.
Remembering the Restricted Section, I also skimmed titles for anything pertaining to Dark magic, but only found books that merely described such spells and rituals, without actually telling me how to perform such things. The good stuff must be under lock and key... but now that I knew where said key was, it was simply a matter of sneaking around.
And I did just that after the library closed for the night. With how much dust covered some of the tomes, it was evident that hardly anyone was ever granted access. I happily read myself to sleep in bed with the curtains drawn, making sure to spirit the book away to my pocket dimension before I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.