My classes were getting easier and easier. I was picking up on spells a lot faster now. If I continued at the pace I was going, I'd quite possibly be competing with Ambleforth for top of my classes.
All the teachers noticed this. It was while Professor Slughorn was congratulating me on my latest successful potion that he decided to drop me an invitation.
"I'm throwing a dinner party tonight for the Slug Club. Are you able to make it?" he asked.
"Sure Professor," I replied, forcing a smile. "Just let me know when you have some free time. I'd like to go over that promised potions study."
"Of course, of course," he said, nodding. He told me which classroom it was being held in and how to get there, then went off to talk to another student.
"Let me know how that goes," Veronica said from beside me.
"And don't feel like you have to stay if you hate it," Will added. "You still have us teaching you."
"I know," I said. "But I'll take all the help I can get."
When class was over, we all headed out of the dungeons and up towards the our next class. When I reached the top of the stairs, Professor Plumble was there, waiting off to the side.
"Miss Castilian," he said, spotting me. "May I have a word, please?"
"Of course," I said, wondering what this was about. For a second I worried that he'd found out about me helping Albus get out of detention, and an uncomfortable feeling developed in my stomach. I stepped aside so that I wasn't in the way of other passing students, and waited for him to speak.
"I have something I'd like to discuss with you. Are you free this evening?"
I grimaced. "Actually, tonight isn't good. I have a prior engagement," I admitted.
"Ah," his face fell. "That's too bad. It's just that I leave on a business trip tomorrow, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. I uncovered some information about your family history that I find to be quite interesting, and I was hoping you'd know more about it."
I frowned, suddenly curious. "What kind of history?" I asked. He ran a hand through his hair.
"This isn't the place to discuss it. If you can find a moment to come see me, I'd appreciate it. You'll need my password. It's flitterwing, but don't repeat that to anyone."
"Where exactly am I supposed to go?" I questioned. He passed me a slip of paper.
"Memorize the route. It will vanish soon," he said, as I unfolded it and found a map leading from the Ravenclaw common room to the Headmaster's office."
"I can't promise anything," I said quickly. "But I'll try and come. Thank you Professor Plumble."
He nodded to me, but before he could walk off there was a strangled scream from the stairwell leading down to the dungeons. Wide eyed, the Professor and I took off down the stairs towards the commotion.
At the bottom of the stairwell Professor Slughorn was restraining a student, who flailed around screaming. She had gastly burns to her arms, legs and face. Another student with dark skin and black curls upon her head sobbed, backed up against the wall.
"I... I couldn't stop her!" she whispered. "The potion... it burned her, and she threw it at herself!"
"Come along," Professor Plumble said, moving the sobbing girl away. He turned to Professor Slughorn and added, "Take her to Madam Pomfrey. I'll organize for St Mungos to come collect her... she's unstable, in the same way Professor Sprout was."
He then comforted the crying girl as he led her up the stairwell. Professor Slughorn performed a spell that relaxed the screaming girl, then hoisted her into his arms.
"Off you go Castilian. You should go to your next class," he said to me, before heading up the stairs after Professor Plumble.
The rest of the day passed without a problem, and I couldn't shake the incident from earlier out of my head. I'd told Veronica and Will, and both of them had been shocked.
None of us knew what to make of it though.
Though upsetting, the incident wasn't the problem at hand. I'd been tossing up between which person to go to all day. I needed to get in Professor Slughorn's good graces if I was going to stand a chance at the Spellmaster Championships, and attending the Slug Club had been part of the agreement.
But alternatively, I wanted to know what the Headmaster had managed to dig up about my family history. Why was it so important?
When my last class for the day finished, I found myself heading towards the Slug Club meeting. This was my first priority, and I could always go talk to Professor Plumble at a later date. Though his absence would definitely annoy me, it was the decision I had made.
When I arrived I knocked and entered the classroom. It was another potions classroom, this one a little bigger than the one we had our classes in, and a circular table had been set up in the middle of the room.
Sparkling lights were situated around the table, and glasses as well as tableware had been set out.
"Ah, Miss Castilian!" came Professor Slughorn's voice from across the room, as he stepped away from another table set up with potions. "You made it. Come in, come in," he waved me over. I became aware of another figure with Professor Slughorn.
"I was just showing Mr Grey here a few of my favorite concoctions," he added, as I got a more clear view of Lucas in the dark room. He grinned at me.
"Hi Aly," he said.
I nodded in response, my gaze drifting around the room. "Where's everyone else?" I asked.
"You two are simply early, dear girl," Professor Slughorn informed me. "Unfortunately, not many were able to come on such short notice anyhow, so it won't be long before everyone's here."
He hadn't been lying; it must have been only ten minutes before three other students turned up, all from different houses and grades and none of which I recognized, and we were all seated for dinner long before dinner in the Great Hall would have even begun.
"So, let's start by going around the table and introducing each other, shall we?" Professor Slughorn suggested. "Who should we start with?"
"I'll start," someone suggested; a tall brunette with a slim figure and an upturned nose. "My name is Heather Bennet. I'm in Gryffindor, and I love using charms to make instruments play music."
"And what a fine use of talent indeed," the Professor nodded. "Maybe some day you'll be the next Celestina Warbeck!"
The girl ducked her head and smiled. Beside her, someone else piped up. The boy from Slytherin was actually rather friendly in comparison to the other Slytherins I'd encountered. The other Slytherin boy not so much; he came across as stuck up and opinionated.
Then it was my turn.
"I'm Alyssa Castilian," I said. "I'm in Ravenclaw, and I'm a muggle." The other three students looked at me curiously, but they didn't comment. Maybe the shock factor of a muggle being at Howarts was starting to wear off...
Lucas introduced himself after me. "I'm in Hufflepuff, and I currently live with the Davis family."
"Oh, the Davis family?" Professor Slughorn piped up. "Yes, they are quite a powerful family, aren't they? It's a shame your younger brother refused my invitation..."
"Oh, he has too much reading to do I imagine," Lucas joked. "He's always been like that. Even when my father died. He never talked to me. He just buried his head in a book..."
An awkward silence settled over us, and I cleared my throat uncertainly before shoving a heap of food in my mouth. I'd already heard part of the story from Will. I knew where he stood in this.
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Heather said softly. "How did he die?"
Lucas let out a wry chuckle. "He was murdered... by the Ambleforths."
I spat out my food, choking. Everyone glanced at me in shock, and I grabbed a napkin and dabbed at my face in an attempt to reclaim some dignity.
"The Ambleforth's are vampires?" I gasped, when I'd finally stopped coughing. Lucas frowned.
"No. But they're a very powerful family. Much like the Davis family... and like mine had been. The Ambleforth family and mine had been at war with each other for centuries. We were always stealing stuff from each other. One day, we stole a seemingly harmless heirloom, but the Ambleforths were ridden with rage. They paid vampires to come after us, and they turned every one of us before burning us to the ground... everyone except me."
The sorrow and anger on Lucas' face was so evident I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Lucas," I said, placing a hand on his arm. He glanced at me and laughed wryly again.
"It's okay. I've had years to deal with it. I've found a way to cope," he said.
"What a tragic story..." Professor Slughorn said quietly. "I'm so sorry, my dear boy."
The others nodded in humble agreement, even the snootier Slytherin boy. The evening passed by quite awkwardly after that, and we ended up leaving much earlier than anticipated.
On my way back to the common room, I realized just how much time I still had. I could still make it to Professor Plumble's office.
Remembering the route, I set off hurriedly towards it.
As I navigated up staircases and through the castle, I couldn't help but think about what Lucas had told me. About the war between Eleanor's family and Lucas'. Did the Ambleforth's know Lucas had survived? And what was the heirloom? Was it so important that the Ambeforth's would kill for it?
I took a turn and found myself at the gargoyle the Headmaster had directed me to. I said the password, and the gargoyle began to groan and rotate, revealing a set of steps. I started climbing them.
When I reached the top there was another door. I knocked, and the door opened a little. Pushing it open wider, I looked around. "Professor Plumble?" I called, stepping cautiously into the room. A figure spun from the window, and he waved me in.
"Miss Castilian, I'm so glad you were able to make it. Please sit," he gestured, waving me towards a chair. I sat, and he took to leaning against his desk.
"I'm going to skip past the formalities. Alyssa... you were raised in London, correct?" he began, cutting straight to the chase.
"Yes," I said slowly.
"And so was your mother? And your father?" he questioned.
"Yes. Both of them," I replied. The Professor grimaced.
"What of your grandparents?"
"Well, most of them died when I was rather young. All accept my grandmother, though I can't say for sure she was raised in London. She can't remember anything past being twenty five years old."
This seemed to spark interest in the Professor.
"And why's that?"
"We don't know," I shrugged. "The doctors ran tests. At the time she was pregnant with my mother. The doctors concluded it to be some kind of concussion. They told her the memories would come back eventually, but they never did."
"Interesting," the Professor said, pushing off his desk. He began pacing, energetically. I frowned at him.
"Sir, why are you asking me this?" I pressed.
"Miss Castilian, you are most likely not aware of the administration process of Hogwarts, but your acceptance was that of a surprise," he said. "We knew you'd be coming long before you requested admission. It was for that reason we even accepted you."
"Really?" I breathed, realizing again how lucky I was to be here.
"What you are capable of... what you have managed to accomplish, in such a short time... for any muggle, is impossible. But the fact that you were expected to come here... that changes things."
"Wait," I said slowly. "Are you saying... that I wasn't meant to be able to do this?"
"We weren't sure. It's never been heard of before," the Professor explained. "You're starting to excel in all of your classes. The power you possess... the skill you have... it's simply outstanding."
"What does this have to do with my upbringing?" I asked, trying to put the two together.
"I was curious about your family. I already checked, but there was nothing out of the ordinary I was able to discover. I thought you might have a better idea, or even a clue. And you gave me one— your grandmother. She has no memory."
"I don't think that has anything to do with this," I protested. "Besides, she's old now. She couldn't tell you anything new."
"She doesn't have to. I only need one thing from you," the Professor said, his eyes wide bright with excitement. "What was her maiden name?"
"I don't know," I admitted.
"Find out for me. Please. It could be vital information," he insisted.
"And what would you do with that information?" I pressed.
He smiled. "I'd look further into your past. There has to be something."
"Something indicating to what?" I asked, still completely lost.
"Indicating to the reason you, a muggle, have such skill in magic. I would almost be convinced, Miss Castilian, that you are not a mere muggle."
I stared at him in shock, trying to process his words.
"No. That's impossible," I said, shaking my head. "I'm a muggle. My parents are muggles. There's no magic in my family. It's just impossible."
I considered telling the Professor about the necklace, for fear that he seriously believed this other idea. It was surely the reason for my sudden improvement in magic. But I didn't want to get in trouble for having it, and furthermore, I didn't want to go back to how I was before. It felt good to succeed.
"I need that name Alyssa. I need to be certain," he said firmly.
I grimaced. "Okay," I sighed. "I'll find out."
It wasn't like it was going to hurt. I didn't even believe the Professor was right. But if he was... if there was something more to me... would I want to know about it?
***
A new revelation! Is Aly really a muggle? And if not, why hasn't she shown signs of magic before now?