Some answers

Beta: Zam Zap

Ch 2:

When you're in school, they tell you that learning about how brewing a potion is going to be necessary, or knowing how to find X in an algebraic expression, the thing is, it isn't. We have shops where we can buy the potions we need, and we have calculators to find out what X is. They teach those because they are foundational steps for what we will need later in life.

Take potions class, for example, for the future potions masters of the world. Yes, they need to know how to make a potion, but for the rest of us, well, we don't. The reason why they have potion classes is to help us learn how to cook. The rich pure-bloods have house-elves, but they are expensive, and as such, we, the middle class and lower, cannot afford them. So to solve that problem, they have potions. It is a remarkable show of deceit and cunning. In potions, they teach us the correct way to cut ingredients, prepare them, cook them, etc. I still haven't figured out why finding X in an expression is necessary for life, but they teach it for a reason, right? Maybe the other classes have some hidden meaning behind them; perhaps I can use them to find a job and gain some money.

Those were some of my thoughts entering the Slytherin common room. The room was situated under the lake, several corridors away from the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room. When you first enter the Slytherin common room, you notice four black leather couches facing a small coffee table. Across the rest of the room, black leather chairs are scattered, with tables situated between some of them. And unlike what most would think, it wasn't cold, at least not yet.

"Oi, Johnny-boy, have you started any pointless arguments yet? Do make sure to start one. I don't want to lose my bet."

"Draco, for your information, I haven't. And if you still want the money, bet on yourself fighting with Potter at least ten times this week." I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath in the safety of my bed.

I have been trying to control my recent personality changes, but sometimes it leaks out and causes me to fight back against someone I shouldn't.

Ever since I woke up on the train that day, I have become more irritable, more eager to prove myself. I don't know if it's puberty being the cause of this (even though I don't remember it being like this), the transition between universes altered with my head a bit, or something else. I can usually squash it down, but sometimes it catches me by surprise, making me do things like that pointless argument with Hermione. I have been trying to control it with daily meditations, but I can't tell if it is working; it's only been a week after all.

About this week, it's been interesting. Aside from the occasional jab at my new weird personality trait, it has been incredible. The professors know what they are doing, and unless you are named Harry Potter and/or in Gryffindor, Snape teaches just fine.

I have been abusing the room of requirement. I learned that if an object has been brought into its domain, Hogwarts can make a copy of the item, barring food, anything alive, or anything that holds a significant amount of magic. So that means that I can't just steal the philosopher's stone. Shame.

I should take the philosopher's stone; it would deal with my money issue, but how would I ensure that no one would find out that I have it? Oh well, that's a problem for the future me. But anyway, back to the room of requirements. I have been training my accuracy with spells, having the room set up some target boards, and trying to fire sparks at the bullseye. Aside from practicing my accuracy, I have been trying to learn the shrinking charm. This will allow me to steal more stuff, like the Mirror of Erised. I am not entirely sure what I will do with the mirror, but I am sure it will serve some purpose. I can almost cast the spell; sometimes, only parts of the object shrink.

I have a list of spells to master in the next two years: The shrinking charm, The enlarging charm, The memory charm, Apparition, The fixing charm, The cutting charm, The Protean charm, and finally, the disillusionment charm.

Most of these spells are simple, but they can be handy. The shrinking and enlarging chams will allow me to carry more stuff and let me go into very small places. I don't think I have to explain the memory charm or apparition. The fixing charm allows me to fix my tools and never buy a second set of them. As its name implies, the cutting charm cuts stuff; the things that it can cut are entirely dependent on the power behind it. So I can use it to cut paper, but also to bisect people. While being NEWT level, the protean charm is incredibly useful; it can link two objects together so that the same change happens to the other if one changes. Finally, the disillusionment charm can be used to make one and other objects not noticeable, not true invisibility, but close. There are some other useful charms, but I will focus on mastering these. I don't think that I will be able to master the memory charm nor apparition. But since they are so useful, I may as well try.

There is a project that I would like to try, creating something similar to shadow clones. Maybe I can use the protean charm as a way to get the memories from the clone back. I could use some clones to help out with my tasks.

I have spent this entire week not thinking about my tasks, as I was focused on my current reality. I think it's time to ask some questions.

Dear Hestia,

You said that if I had any questions, I could ask you. Well, here I am. For this past week, I have been doing my best not to think about your letter or my tasks, but now it's time to confront them. What do you mean by tasks? Is it going to be a hunger games-type situation or something else? Will we be able to form alliances with other competitors? When will the task be? How many people will I be expected to go against? How many other pantheons will be participating? I have many more questions, but those are all I will ask today. Finally, ever since I arrived here, something is going on with my personality; I have been more prideful and more eager to get into arguments, no matter how stupid. Could you shed some light on this?

As I finish writing, I remember what she said in her letter, to burn the message in a fireplace. The only fireplaces I can get into without being caught are the ones provided by the ROR (room of requirement).

I arrive in the ROR, and the room provides a cabin, with heavy snowfall outside and two cozy chairs surrounding a roaring fireplace. There was a coffee table between the two chairs.

I fold the letter into a paper airplane and gently throw it towards the fire. It flies, but right before it can hit the brick wall, it catches on fire, and before I can blink, all that is left is ashes. I wait, but nothing happens. I wait again, but this time for another ten minutes, and again, nothing happens. I sigh, thinking to myself that maybe the letter was just a prank when the fire calms down as if a short burst of wind blew into it. And before the fire can pick up again, a brunette woman steps out of it, she is wearing a greek toga, and her eyes are the kindest shade of brown I've seen. I can't help but be captivated, feeling as if I just kept staring; everything would be alright.

"Ahem." Calls a musical voice awakening me from the partial hypnosis.

"Wha- What was that?" I stuttered. It felt like if I looked away, I would lose something of great importance to myself. Is this what being in the presence of a goddess felt like? If so, I never want to experience that again.

"Oh, yes, I completely forgot about that. It's been so long since I was last in the presence of a mortal. Your last visit excluded. This effect is known as The Seduction." Oh, even her voice was beautiful. It was like all the seasons mixed to form this harmony, the life of spring, the warmth of summer, the nostalgia of fall, and the freshness of winter. No, get it together Jonathan, just because she's beautiful – perfect – doesn't mean that I should go crazy.

"Don't worry about that. It only happens once. After you get used to it, it will never happen. Our last meeting doesn't count as your memories were erased." She took the chair opposite of mine and faced the fire.

"Now about your questions. I am sorry that I wasn't clear in the letter, I was in a hurry, and I couldn't explain everything. That being said, I had expected you to call me as soon as you had the time. Would you like some cookies?" She stated, conjuring a plate of them on the coffee table with just a wave of her hands."

"Oh yes, thank you. Sorry for not sending a letter; I was overwhelmed," I say as I reach for the cookies. And they were not just good, but if she sold them, she would be famous. I suppose that is what is expected of a god.

"As I said, I am Hestia. The eldest child of Kronos. It's nice to formally meet you when you are lucid, now onto your questions. There will be a one vs. one tournament-type competition in four years in the Greek pantheon. This is to select our representative for the pantheon battle. A year after that, the representative will fight in a battle royal against other representatives from the other pantheons. The winner of that will be granted a wish." She waved her hand again, and my letter flew to her hands from the fire, unharmed. She took a few minutes to read the letter, only being interrupted by my chewing of her magnificent cookies.

"To answer your questions, yes, you can make alliances with the other representatives, but be warned, you will need to kill each other if the two of you are the only ones left. You can be expected to fight against five other opponents for the greek battles, one for each Olympian. For the pantheon battles, there will be around 13 pantheons participating, so expect 12 opponents," she paused to gather her thoughts as I ate a cookie. "The various pantheons that will be participating are we, The Greeks, The Norse, The Sumerians, The Egyptians, The Japanese, The Hindu, The Celtics, The Various Native Americans from both Americas, The Various Africans, The Aztecs, The Chinese, The Romans, and The Mayans." She took a cookie, "There are various pantheons that make up the African and Native American gods. However, due to the sheer number of pantheons, they formed a council and considered themselves one pantheon."

"As for your personality." She took a deep breath as if readying herself, "I will be the first to admit that I am not great at erasing memories, as I don't do it often, so it is possible that when I erased your memories, it may have done something to affect your personality."

Feeling my anger rising, I take a deep breath to calm myself. I refuse to allow my emotions to control me. "C-Can you at least fix it?" I say with a trembling and pleading voice. I don't want to go insane, at least not before I get her back. I would have been angrier, but she is right; even if she didn't erase my memories, I would have gone insane. That being said, I think she could have done a better job; she is a goddess, after all.

"No, sadly, I cannot because none of my domains are related to healing. However, there is a way to heal your mind. If you win the Greek tournament, you could ask Apollo to heal you, but there is no guarantee that he will. There are some things that you can do, like meditating. Like I see that you have been doing, while it will not completely stop its influence, it will curb the effects." She sighed while standing up and moving towards the fire, "I have to go. If you need to talk again, just send a message. Goodbye, Jonathan."

I spent some time thinking about what Hestia said, and by the time I came out of my musings, the fire had already gone out, leaving the room in darkness. I quickly cast a Tempus, a spell that tells the time, to see that it was 11 pm; I had been in the room for around 2 hours. I picked up the spell on my third day at Hogwarts. I don't have my watch, so I saw it as something necessary to learn. I got up and stretched; it was time for bed. It appears that my new body can't handle staying up until 2 am.

The next day I was woken up to the snoring of my roommates. It is a shame that we can't have individual rooms. This was an everyday ritual, waking up before my roommates, as some of them decided to prank me whenever I woke up after them. Today was Monday again, so Transfiguration and Charms in the morning, with History of Magic in the afternoon. Most of our classes are shared with the Gryffindors, and a few, like History of Magic and herbology, with the other houses. I am not sure why they do this. It seems inefficient, with the ongoing rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindors.

Breakfast starts at 9, and it is 7 right now. So that means I have two hours to kill. I have been working out for one of those hours, as I believe that if I can strengthen my body, I can increase the amount of magic I can channel at a time. The workouts are nothing too fancy, just 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 squats, repeat with a two-minute break between. I would usually do 3 repetitions, as I am just 11 years old. When classes are over, I go to the ROR and run for as long as possible, then I do homework and study magic. That is my usual schedule for weekdays.

Since the ROR cannot conjure food, I usually go to the kitchens. Now, I can't say that I am a food connoisseur, but when people say house-elves can cook, they can cook. Their cheese-cakes are to die for. Additionally, I can't stand pumpkin juice (who thinks of pumpkin and thinks of juice), so the house-elves being the kind little guys they are, give me water.

I finish up my short workout and head to the dorms to grab a towel so I can shower. I notice that half of my dorm mates are already awake; they are probably changing or taking showers. The bathroom is divided into two sections, the toilets and the showers. I head to the showering part of it and see that Theo and Blaise are in there already. Theodore Nott and Blaise Zaibini, my only friends.

"Good morning," I said.

"Ugh, how are you up so early," responded Theo with a heavy grunt. He is the friendlier of the two.

"Early bird, gets the worm."

Theo looked at me in a weird way, "What?" he asked.

I sigh, "nothing, just an expression. What I am trying to say is that while sleep is nice, waking up early reaps you the most benefits."

A thoughtful look formed on his face as he thought about what I said.

"While your logic sounds correct, I refuse to wake up at seven, especially on the weekends," Blaise interrupted in a fake pompous tone. "do you want to head over for breakfast after this?"

"Sure, I'm hungry," said Theo.

"Hey Jonathan," Blaise said, "what do you do when you wake up. On that note, when do you wake up? We've never seen you sleeping after that first day," he questioned.

"Ahaha, well, I spend some of my time studying," which isn't a lie; sometimes I do study. "And the rest I spend training."

I suddenly decided to change the subject, not like my training was anything secret, "Do you have any pets?"

Blaise looked thoughtful, "Kind of. My mother has an owl, but she lets me use it. I don't know if that counts."

Theo, on the other hand, had an excited look, "Yes, I have my own owl, Caesar. He is brilliant. What about you, Jonathan? Do you have any pets?"

"Yes, I have a cat, Schrodinger; he is very independent, so that's why you don't see him very often. Oh, look at that, there he is, what a coincidence," I point to my bed, where Schrodinger is sleeping.

"What kind of name is Schrodinger? Is he a famous person?" Theo asked.

"Yes, Schrodinger was a rather famous muggle," I say after a moment's hesitation.

And just like I predicted, a look of disgust graced their face when I mentioned that he was a muggle.

We walked in silence until we reached the great hall, which was only filled with a handful of early wakers, mostly Ravenclaws. I helped myself to some toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs.

"So, what do you think we will be doing in class today?" asked Theo.

"Well, for transfiguration, we will probably go over the matchstick to needle transfiguration. Hmm, for charms, we will probably start using the wand lighting charm," Blaise said between mouthfuls of toast, "and for history of magic, we are going to go over the goblin wars again."

"At least we get to use magic," I grumbled, "especially with all the theory we did last week." Last week we only did theory with no actual magic done. And apparently, on the train, I was wrong. Control isn't a thing. The reason why lumos didn't work is that I didn't mold the spell correctly. I just imagined what the spell would do, create a light, not the brightness, and so it did light up my wand, only no light was made.

For transfiguration, I almost completed it. I made my matchstick shiny and slightly longer. Blaise was able to completely transfigure it, and Theo got it shiny. In charms, I was able to light my wand. Theo got it but couldn't control the brightness, causing me to go blind for a few seconds; Blaise got it to shine weakly. In history of magic, Blaise fell asleep, Theo read a book on potions, and I worked on the shrinking charm; I almost got it down. After class, I decided to go to Professor Flitwick's class.

"You guys can head over to the common room without me; I need to ask Flitwick some questions," I say while walking over to his room.

"Okay, sounds good," said Theo.

A short walk later, I found myself in the charms classroom, "Professor Flitwick, may I borrow some of your time?" I asked.

"Oh, Mr. Booth, yes, do come in," he said, waving his hand, "so what's going on?"

Professor Flitwick was a short man with a bubbly personality. I was tempted to say that there was a problem just because he has these marvelous muffins in a tin can, and he gives them out to students who are having a bad time.

"Nothing is going on. I just wanted to ask you a question. I was wondering if you could conjure something in a vacuum? I was looking in the library, and it didn't mention anything about it." I ask with a curious voice.

"That would be a question better suited for Professor Mcgonagle. I assume you are asking to see if it's magic that is creating the object from nothing?" He says with an amused tone, "the answer to that is no, you cannot conjure something from nothing."

"Oh, but would creating something from nothing be possible?" I ask, trying to hide my disappointment.

"In theory, yes. However, the body cannot handle the strain of channeling that amount of energy," he says with a thoughtful look, "but please don't attempt that."

"Yes, sir, I do not want to be blown up," that was a half-lie, I don't want to be blown up, but I will need the extra firepower that comes with E = mc2. With E being energy, M being mass, and C being the speed of light.

"Is there anything else?"

"Actually, yes. I was wondering if the shrinking charm could shrink people?" I want to be like ant-man. It would also be useful for my tasks; shrink myself, go in, and ambush the enemy.

"Yes, but it requires a tremendous amount of mastery in that charm, " he said with a curious look, "if I am not intruding, what exactly do you plan on using that charm for?"

"Nothing, nothing, I just want to see what the limits of the charm are," I lie, "thank you for your help, professor, I would love to stay here and chat more, but I need to go."

"It's no problem. Please come in again if you have any other questions. I would love to help," he said with a warm smile.

I left his classroom with a smile on my face as a plan formed in my mind.