I stared at the girl standing before me, her silver hair reflecting the sun's gaze, helping her to shine—a stark contrast to her meager attitude and worrisome expression. There was something about her that always felt familiar. A strange aura that made me think of myself, with nothing else to compare it to. She seemed nice, being thankful for help, unlike Hermione, who just glared at me. There was only one major problem: she was a Hufflepuff.
Slytherins only conversed and remained close to ourselves. Pansy only sold to Slytherins, Draco only pranked other houses, and nobody I saw in our house ever so much as talked to another student in a different house without making fun of them in some way. Even if this girl were a pureblood, it wouldn't matter.
My mind immediately flashed back to the images of Merlin, scrapped from history by his peers. I glared at her while standing up, finished with this section of the library anyway.
"No, and stay away from me in the future," I said to her, leaving her behind while I went to search another section.
Chiara stood motionless for a few seconds, letting her mind process what had just happened.
"What rubbish! You don't need to be friends with the likes of him anyway!"
Chiara looked toward the voice, seeing it was her only friend, Hermione. She was scowling at the image of Lucas walking through the library, disappearing behind more shelves. Hermione then looked back at Chiara, her gaze much more gentle and caring.
"I have other friends I can introduce you to… ones that are actually good people."
Chiara smiled at that idea, but inside, she felt her stomach sink in fear of being known too much. She only needed to be closer to Lucas—she had to tell him what was being hidden from him by his parents. However, she was too nervous, like stepping on glass. She didn't know what might crack and shatter beneath her if she was careless with her words. Her best idea was getting closer to him so she could break it to him slowly, but he didn't want to be close to her.
Hermione stared at Chiara, waiting for her to finally speak her mind. After getting to know Chiara and becoming friends with her, she quickly realized that Chiara was the silent type—mostly because she actually had a lot to say. Ironic as it was, Chiara had so much to express but only one mouth to do it. Instead of speaking her mind a mile a minute, Chiara preferred to compile her thoughts before talking, but this took time, making her seem empty-headed or strange to others.
Chiara finally nodded with the same smile she wore earlier. Watching her think was a spectacle in itself—her expression shifting from sweet to sour and back again as she mulled over her thoughts.
"I'd like that…" she mumbled before taking a seat where Lucas had just been.
Hermione raised an eyebrow in confusion as Chiara pulled out an old alumni book.
"Would you like to meet them now? We're sitting right over there," Hermione suggested, waiting as Chiara drifted through her thoughts.
However, Chiara mumbled something, most likely a fortune she had made for herself. Astrology was her favorite subject, and she made predictions of her own future almost every day. Hermione had grown used to Chiara's vague mumblings about recent events, as if she were predicting the past instead of the future.
"Moon is waning gibbous… That's six… Page six of…" she continued to mumble as she turned the pages of the book, landing on one that made Hermione's eyes widen in shock.
"Did Lucas do this!?" she whispered sharply, leaning over the table to view the defacement of the book.
Chiara shook her head as they both stared at the scribbled-over student.
"No… he didn't…"
Hermione believed Chiara, and upon closer inspection, she realized this was the Slytherin portion of the alumni anyway.
"Who is that?" she muttered, squinting at the ruined image. The only part left unblemished was the letter M at the start of the name.
'Well, it isn't Nicholas Flamel… That's good. We know he isn't working with Snape to steal the stone,' she thought with relief, but she still wondered who was so hated in Slytherin to warrant such treatment by their own peers.
"M…" Hermione pondered, tapping her finger on the desk.
"Ma… Mo… Mer…" she mumbled the beginnings of names, trying to think of who it could be, though her mind was still preoccupied with Nicholas Flamel.
Suddenly, Chiara sat up straight in her chair, causing Hermione to stumble back.
"Merlin," Chiara said with conviction, certain she was correct.
Hermione sighed at the obvious answer right in front of her.
"Right… Merlin was a Slytherin," she grumbled, but Chiara didn't bother to comment, still lost in her thoughts.
"Follow the moon's gaze…" she mumbled with a small smile of hope, nearly the same as when she first asked Hermione to be her friend.
What Hermione didn't understand was why she was so happy about Lucas reading about Merlin, especially when he had just turned her friendship away so coldly.
"I… I'm ready to meet your friends… if you don't mind," Chiara suddenly said, changing the topic.
Hermione shrugged it off and led her first female friend at school over to meet her closer friends from her house.
"Meet Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
I kept walking around the library, searching for more history on Merlin. However, much of what was written about him was vague at best. Most texts only discussed Merlin as a grand wizard and a master of charms. However, what wasn't discussed was his friendship with a Muggle—almost as if it had been removed from the library's records.
I frowned, my mind whispering of some place that might have more about Merlin's life: the Restricted Section.
I sighed, knowing the term "restricted" wasn't just for show. I glanced at the gated and padlocked area, knowing I wouldn't be allowed to read any of the books beyond its perimeter.
"Lucas, there you are."
I glanced up at Pansy, who took the seat opposite me.
"You have to explain to me what you were riding."
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, her studious nature rekindled before classes even began.
I smirked while turning a few pages of another book I had with me. Flipping the book toward her, I watched her gasp at the ghastly image before her.
"Thestral… Invisible to most, they are carnivorous and scavengers by nature, preferring to live off dead, decomposing creatures. Sort of like vultures."
Pansy studied the image, disbelief filling her gaze.
"You can see them? Why?"
I shrugged, not knowing the reason myself.
"Apparently, only someone who has seen death can see them, but I don't remember anything of the sort. Perhaps there are other ways not yet discovered…" I mumbled, voicing my conjecture.
Pansy nodded while still studying the creature.
It was then, watching Pansy's fascinated expression—lacking the revulsion I expected most students would show—that I spoke without thought.
"How much do you know about Merlin?"
Pansy, confused, looked up at me, then glanced at my history books.
"I would assume you would know more, considering," she scoffed while I tidied my area.
However, she suddenly looked off in thought.
"But… I have heard he was a powerful wizard. Slytherin, of course… master of charms…" She then sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, I don't know much else."
I sighed, nodding in thanks, ready to give up and wait until my second year for a chance at the Restricted Section.
But then Pansy gasped.
"Right! I think I remember seeing a painting of him near the main entrance."
I snapped my head toward her, excitement flaring at the prospect of hearing more about Merlin—from the closest thing to the man himself.
"Can you show me the way?" I asked eagerly.
Pansy nodded with a smile.
"Now that you mention it, I'd be interested in hearing more about the famous wizard myself."
We both left the library, ignoring the scornful gazes of a certain table where the strange Hufflepuff girl sat with Hermione, Weasley, and Potter. Most of the scorn came from Weasley and Hermione, while the Hufflepuff girl and Potter watched on with more curiosity than contempt.