• Published 14th Mar 2019
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A Phoenix Beyond the Veil - The Philospher's Stone - gerandakis



Displeased with her mentor, Sunset Shimmer looks for a new option, she finds it in a Mirror Portal, deep in the vaults of Canterlot. Together with Philomena, she sets out on a journey. Two worlds of magic will be changed forever, by a small error ...

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[RVS]8 - Surprise Cuts Both Ways

Act Two

Magic Unveiled


Chapter Eight

Surprise Cuts Both Ways


Checking the second letter, she found it much the same, but addressed at

Ms. H. Granger

The first bedroom on the right

150 Ryde Park Road

Rednal

West Midlands

Turning them over, she saw that the letters were held closed by a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms she didn't recognize. A lion, a badger, an eagle and a snake, surrounding a placard with the letter H. A stylized medieval knight's helmet sat atop the shield, feathery ribbons falling down from its top to either side of the shield, framing it. Below it was a stylized scroll bearing the motto 'draco dormiens nunquam titillandus'

Turning around, Sunset saw Hermione coming down the stairs, Dan right behind her. She wordlessly handed the normal letters and package off to Dan, and followed them into the kitchen. There she gave the card to Emma and sat down next to Hermione. 《We got mail sis.》

With that she handed Hermione her letter and proceeded to open her own, breaking the seal with practiced ease. Two pieces of folded parchment fell out, followed by a smaller piece of thin cardboard. She picked up the first and began to read.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL FOR WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards.)

Dear Ms. Shimmer,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1. September. As you live with a non-magical family, I will visit you personally in a few days time to formally introduce you to the wizarding world, please do not mention this letter or its contents to anyone outside your household until then.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Barely looking up to see that Hermione's letter was essentially identical, Sunset took out the next piece of parchment. Recognizing it as the list the letter had mentioned, she began to read.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL FOR WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Uniform

First year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

Set Books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllinda Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

A look at the small piece of cardboard revealed it to be a train ticket, Sunset skimmed it quickly.

The Hogwarts Express

King's Cross Station London

Departure: 1 September, 11:00 AM

Platform 9 3/4

Raising an eyebrow at the eccentricity the wizarding community kept displaying, Sunset looked over to where Hermione had just finished reading the contents of her own letter.

Hermione looked up, meeting Sunset's gaze. "I guess we know what Hogwarts is now."

Sunset nodded. "And who McGonagall is."

To say that Emma and Dan were surprised would be an understatement. Still, they decided to wait until Professor McGonnagall made her visit before judging the school and the wizarding community at large.

Four days later, on Monday, the time had come. Not long after they had finished dinner, the door bell rang.


The day had come. Ever since that week spent observing this household and the two young witches that lived there, Minerva had both dreaded and anticipated the day she would come here to give them the muggleborn introduction. One did not teach at a school for nearly three decades without developing a sixth sense for which students meant trouble, and despite the inconsistencies already on display, that sixth sense was rather clearly telling Minerva that she had only seen the tip of the iceberg.

When the door opened, it revealed a now familiar girl with wavy red and blonde hair and bright teal eyes. Minerva would rather they didn't know she'd been spying on them, so feigning ignorance was the only viable course of action. "Sunset Shimmer?"

Tilting her head slightly, the young witch nodded. "Yes, that's me. Now let's see here. Pointy hat, unusual robes, aura of authority. Professor McGonnagall I presume?"

"Yes. Indeed. May I?"

Allowing her in the girl called deeper into the house. "Emma, Dan, Hermione, Philomena! She's here!"

Minerva immediately turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. She knew that Emma and Dan Granger were young Hermione's parents. But none of her observations had indicated the presence of another living in the house. Turning to the girl behind her, she missed the phoenix silently gliding past her and into the living room.

Moments later the family had gathered in the comfortable room and Minerva followed Sunset to join them. The moment her eyes fell on the red and gold bird perched on the edge of the couch, she froze, staring at the bird with wide eyes. "Is that a Phoenix?!"

Sunset turned back to her. "Yes, that's Philomena. I hatched and raised her. Say hello Philomena."

The bird's pleasant trill morphed into something Minerva would later valiantly deny to be a chuckle at the professor's continued inability to form words. Finally Minerva realized that this gave her an opportunity. "Normally I would start this by telling you that magic exists, but I believe this may be redundant in this case."

"I'm inclined to agree." Sunset sported a sly smirk as a glass of lemonade floated beside her in a teal glow.

"I see." Minerva remained outwardly calm, but inside her, her Gryffindor curiosity stirred. This was a spell she had never seen before. Levitation charms were nothing new, but they didn't usually make things glow.

"Though I do believe we'd all appreciate a demonstration of the magic this world uses."

Minerva's curiosity was immediately redirected. "This world? Are you saying you came from another world?"

"Well another dimension, technically."

"Another dimension? Are you telling me that you've come here from another dimension? Is that where Equestria is?"

Sunset focused a frown on the teacher. "How do you know about Equestria?" The Grangers seemed similarly suspicious.

"Mister Brewer. After he visited he checked in with the Records Department at the Ministry. The paperwork there self updates. One of the things listed there was your place of birth. Sire's Hollow, Equestria."

The others visibly relaxed.

"It also seems to have decided that you should be granted permanent residency in Great Britain."

Mrs. Granger actually chuckled at that. "Well, that's convenient."

"Quite. Anyway, I believe you asked for a demonstration?" When she received nods, Minerva shifted into her animagus form. The response wasn't quite what she had expected.

"Oh. You can do that too?" When the little cat on the floor simply tilted her head, Sunset shrunk down, assuming her natural shape. "This is my natural form. My human shape is actually an effect of the dimensional travel."

Minerva sat on the floor, looking in complete bafflement at the amber-yellow unicorn before her. With mane and tail matching the girl's hair even a complete amateur could have recognized her animagus. What was remarkable however was that the girl retained her ability to speak in this form. As such Minerva simply stared at the impossibility before her. That her sixth sense was telling her to get used to it was not exactly encouraging.

"Nice going Sunset," Dan joked, "you broke her."

Looking at the stunned teacher, Sunset tilted her head slightly before walking over and lighting her horn, casting a basic scanning spell to check for life signs. "Nah. She's fine. She just needs a moment to catch up with all this."

Minerva shook off her shock before she could lose the rest of her dignity and returned to her human form, prompting Sunset to do the same. "You can cast magic in that form?"

"Wouldn't be much of a unicorn if I couldn't, now would I?"

"You would actually. The unicorns of this world cannot cast spells. However they also aren't sentient so that may have something to do with it."

"Huh. Weird." Sunset nodded. "Anyway, I think we've gone off topic."

"We have, haven't we?" Minerva then proceeded to demonstrate several simple spells as well as a number of normal transfigurations. She didn't receive the same awed expressions she usually got, but she did notice that both young witches cast spells to perceive magic.

After a few more minutes she handed them the booklet she had brought along, giving them a few minutes to scan through it. Finally she asked, "Do you have any immediate questions?"

Hermione nodded. "The supplies we're supposed to bring, where do we get those?"

"Ah yes. I'll be accompanying you to Diagon Alley in London. There you can buy all the supplies you need, exchange for wizarding currency, and whatever else you may need to do. Normally I would do so tomorrow, but I'm afraid I'll have to delay that a day. The things I've learned today will take a bit of managing. Anything else?"

"Uhm," Sunset floated the envelope of her Hogwarts letter over and levitated the train ticket out of it. "Platform nine-and-three-quarters?"

"Ah yes. The Hogwarts express leaves from a hidden platform accessible by walking through the barrier between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross station."

As no other questions presented themselves, Minerva shook everyone's hands and Philomena's wing, much to her confusion, and apparated back to Hogwarts.


Sunset stared at the point where McGonnagall had vanished.

《You're going to see where she went, aren't you?》

Sunset turned to smirk at Hermione. 《Sure. Wanna come along?》

Hermione contemplated for a moment. Finding no rule against doing such a thing, she nodded. 《Oh sure. Why not.》

Sunset nodded and closed her eyes. Without a sound the two young witches disappeared.

Emma and Dan looked at each other and sighed. "We're not going to be able to keep them in check, are we?"

"Nope."


Minerva breathed a sigh of relief as she reappeared before the gates in the wall surrounding the lands of castle Hogwarts. She needed to take a moment to recover from the madness she had just endured.

She had known that Miss Shimmer was a skilled witch, especially for her age. She couldn't have guessed that she was an extra-dimensional animagus. A unicorn animagus no less. Not to mention that there was no known way of traveling between dimensions. And let's not forget the Phoenix. Miss Shimmer had hatched and raised a phoenix and brought it along from a different dimension.

"Wow. That's a big castle."

Minerva spun on the spot, restraining her reflex to draw her wand as she spotted Miss Shimmer and Miss Granger behind her. "How did you get here?"

Sunset shrugged. "I traced your transit and followed you. I wanted to see where you went. Sorry if I offended you. That was rude of me."

"Excuse me? An apparition can't be traced. The only way to follow it is by holding onto the traveler while they disapparate."

"Apparition? Oh is that what you call that mess of a spell? And if it's untraceable, then how did I just do so?"

"You have a point, I suppose. We'll see. For now, I suggest you return home. I will see you Wednesday morning."

"Okay. See you then. Good night professor." In twin flashes of teal light, the two young witches vanished. This time there was the familiar crack of displaced air that usually accompanied apparition.

Minerva pushed the thought out of her mind, turning back to the gates and slipping inside. She needed to talk to Albus. Again.


"Come in."

"Ah Minerva. I take it you learned something new about our mysterious new student?"

"That's putting it mildly. She has a Phoenix, Albus."

"Pardon?" Dumbledore sat up straighter, his head already swirling with the implications of Miss Shimmer having a phoenix.

"A phoenix, Albus. Her name is Philomena. Miss Shimmer claims to have hatched and raised her."

"Most unusual. It would be advisable to ask her to keep that a secret. Miss Shimmer may be more powerful than we first estimated."

"That is a given, I suspect."

"Am I to expect that that isn't all you have learned?"

"Not even remotely. Miss Shimmer claims to be from another dimension."

"Most unusual. Especially since there is no known way, magical or otherwise to travel between dimensions."

"She is also an animagus. She is able to resume her natural form. She claims her human form to be a side effect of the dimensional travel. Oh, and her natural form is a unicorn." Drawing her wand, Minerva conjured an illusory image of Sunset's equine form.

Dumbledore carefully studied the illusion, taking in every detail. "She is rather adorable, isn't she?"

"That she is. Not to mention she can speak and cast spells in that form." With a swing of her wand, Minerva lit up the illusion's horn with a teal corona."

"Ah, we'll have to get her registered. The law is clear on that."

"It is. I'll take care of that tomorrow." Minerva sighed quietly.

Dumbledore studied her expression. "Are you telling me that still isn't all?"

"Unfortunately not. When I apparated back here, she followed me, taking Miss Granger with her. She said she simply wanted to see where it was I went."

"Impossible. Apparition can't be traced."

"That was my first reaction as well. She answered with, and I quote 'Oh is that what you call that mess of a spell?'. Whatever magic she has learned, it clearly involves a far more comprehensive understanding of magical transportation than what we have."

"Most impressive. I will have to think on this."

"You're not the only one. Good night, Albus."

"Good night, Minerva."

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