❝You will never be happy without me. I'm the only one you need.❞

»»-----　♡　-----««

Gilderoy Lockhart still remembered the day when a certain Hufflepuff came to his aid when he was lost on his way to the Ravenclaw tower.

It makes him smile unconsciously whenever he recalls that moment. He was quite talented when it came to memory charms - obliviating people and changing their memories of what happened in their lives, however this is one memory he absolutely cannot forget.

As an eleven year old child who was still new to the castle, you can expect that some of the first years are definitely going to get lost on their way to their common rooms, especially when the staircases that led to them are constantly changing and leading you to rooms that are out of limits.

There's no way around to get to the common rooms as well - the staircases are the most direct path to them.

Gilderoy was stranded in a staircase and didn't know where to go. He was confused and forgot where the way to the Ravenclaw tower was. He almost wanted to cry but knew that it'd look pathetic if he did - he's going to be a famous wizard one day, for Merlin's sake. If he cried because he got lost on his way to his common room, it'd be really embarrassing.

Nobody was around too, and even if there were, the only company that Gilderoy had were the moving and talking paintings that didn't really pay much attention to him. In other words, he was screwed.

"Hey, are you alright?" Fortunately, someone came to his aid when he was about to feel hopeless and cry. Looking down from one of the doorways that led to one of the hallways of the castle, Gilderoy spotted a chestnut brown haired female that looked way older than he was.

The girl wore her school robe that had the colors of her house. In this case, it was yellow, indicating that she must be from Hufflepuff. Embroidered on her robe was the Hufflepuff house symbol and a shiny golden badge pinned on her chest. She looked a bit worried yet confused when she was looking straight at Gilderoy.

"Um..." Gilderoy hesitated for a moment. He wanted to say that he got this under control but knew that he'd only make himself look stupid if he continues to climb the stairs that would lead him to anywhere else that wasn't the Ravenclaw tower. Swallowing his pride, the blonde haired boy opened his mouth to reply to the girl.

"I... I've lost my way to the Ravenclaw common room..." He said, still feeling embarrassed about admitting to a girl, to a Hufflepuff girl at that, that he needed some help. The Hufflepuff girl frowned before climbing a set of stairs so she could reach him.

"Are you a first year?" She asked as she climbed another set of stairs, her (E/C) eyes scanning for any changes of direction from them.

"Um, yes..." replied Gilderoy while he was playing with his fingers nervously. He didn't know how to talk to other people much since they often ridiculed him for his ambition of becoming a famous wizard one day and his ideas to become one. You could say that Gilderoy somewhat developed a trauma from the mistreatment he got from other people. His self-esteem was also kinda destroyed after that.

"Don't look so nervous. It's normal for first years to get lost in these staircases, especially since they change a lot." said the Hufflepuff girl as she finally reached the spot where Gilderoy was with a smile on her face.

Now that she was up close, Gilderoy could definitely see that she was quite attractive. Her (E/C) eyes looked like they were constantly beaming and were so full of life. Her brown hair flowed gently behind her back while some of her locks rested gently on her shoulders. She looked like she's been taking care of her skin a lot because she doesn't seem to have pimples on her face, unlike some of the girls that Gilderoy saw around the castle.

Up close, the golden badge pinned on her chest was clearer too. Gilderoy's baby blue eyes drifted down to her badge, which read 'Prefect'.

"You're from Ravenclaw, right? Let me lead you there. I know where it is." She said and beckoned for Gilderoy to follow her as she glanced around the area for a moment before climbing a set of stairs that weren't moving.

Gilderoy snapped out of his daze and followed her from behind. A small blush tinted his cheeks as he followed her and he wasn't sure if it was because he was embarrassed that a Hufflepuff girl was helping her and his pride was just broken down or if it was because he found her attractive despite being possibly four or six years older than him.

"Oh, by the way," the Hufflepuff girl suddenly spoke up. "I'm sorry if I haven't introduced myself earlier. My name's Aurelia Clemonte. I'm the Hufflepuff prefect."

The girl named Aurelia smiled at Gilderoy when she turned around to face him and briefly introduced herself before giving her attention back to the staircases in case they started changing while she wasn't paying attention.

The blonde haired boy's lips thinned when he thought about how beautiful Aurelia looked like when she turned around and smiled at him. Then, he shook his head in denial.

'No, no. Get a hold of yourself, Lockhart. Love at first sight is a ridiculous thing for you to even think about, especially when you're a child.' He scolded himself but couldn't stop himself from glancing up at Aurelia from time to time.

Noticing the girl's knowledge for the path towards the Ravenclaw tower, Gilderoy couldn't help but be a little bit curious. They were already out of the staircases and they were currently walking through the hallways. It wasn't the usual path to the Ravenclaw tower, but Aurelia didn't look too bothered or even noticed that there's something wrong.

Gilderoy wanted to speak up but chose to trust Aurelia's judgement instead. There's nothing that she could gain if she led him to the wrong path after all.

Twisting and turning to a few hallways, Gilderoy's blue eyes eventually recognized the familiar staircase that led him to the Ravenclaw common room. Aurelia turned around and smiled at him. "Here we are!"

It took them almost two minutes before they arrived at their destination, which was a surprise to the Ravenclaw, considering that it's faster than usual.

"Oh um... T-Thank you." said Gilderoy. "How did you... Well, why did you choose a different hallway to get here?"

"I mean, it's faster, isn't it?" replied Aurelia with a chuckle. "There's actually a shortcut to the Ravenclaw tower if you know where to go. I usually come here so..."

"You come here often?"

"Well yes," Aurelia's cheeks suddenly became a bit pink. "My um... My friend is a Ravenclaw, you see. We often go to the Great Hall together and um... He told me about the shortcut..." She seemed really flustered at the mention of her friend, much to the surprise and suspicion of the blonde haired boy. It was painfully obvious that she fancied whoever her friend was and as Gilderoy pieced these thoughts together, he couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed.

He didn't know why he was disappointed but it surely wasn't justified. I mean, Aurelia was years older than him. Crushing on an older girl, especially since they're minors is a bit suspicious.

"You might know him; he's Lawrence Rosewood. He's the Head Boy." Aurelia's eyes beamed brightly at the mention of her friend, Lawrence. But Gilderoy's face just dropped when she mentioned him.

Of course Gilderoy knew who he was; he was this perfect-looking boy that almost everyone was gushing about. Lawrence was everything that Gilderoy wanted to be while he was at Hogwarts - charming, handsome, confident, exceptional, and intelligent. In every classes that Lawrence attended, he heard that he excelled in every single one of them.

Girls adored him, boys looked up to him. The only flaw that Lawrence had was that he doesn't seem to be showing his emotions all that much. Sure, he does smile but it's like looking at a microscopic dirt - you can't tell if he's actually smiling a bit or if he's just pulling up his usual poker face.

No one would want to put Lawrence on the front page of the Daily Prophet; he doesn't smile. At least, that's what Gilderoy thought anyway.

He did hear that Lawrence has been showing his emotions lately however no one could say for sure because everyone would freak out if they even saw him laugh, but Gilderoy didn't care too much about him and always felt like Lawrence was a rival he needed to defeat.

Needless to say, Gilderoy was envious of Lawrence. He would often make comments behind his back, saying that he'd do better than him or if he attended Hogwarts sooner, he'd be way more popular than him. 

What did Aurelia even see in him anyway?

"Yes, I do know him. Though, he doesn't seem to be expressing his emotions all that much." said Gilderoy.

"Oh, yes." Aurelia nodded at him. "He's always like that, but he's actually nice and talkative if you do get to know him better."

When the conversation looked like it was about to come to and end, Aurelia flashed Gilderoy another smile. "Well then, I'll be leaving you now. Best to remember your way up to the Ravenclaw tower next time - you don't want to get stranded again without no one to help you."

Blushing in embarrassment, Gilderoy nodded his head and kept his eyes on the castle floors to hide his flustered expression. "Thank you again, Miss Clemonte."

Aurelia laughed. "Just Aurelia is fine." Suddenly, her face lit up like she just realized something important. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask you this but what's your name?"

Gilderoy's shoulders jumped at the realization that he didn't introduce himself yet to the Hufflepuff in front of him. He mentally slapped himself for being dumb and forgetful.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I didn't introduce myself earlier..." said Gilderoy, trying his hardest to sound formal so he doesn't embarrass himself again. "My name is Gilderoy. Gilderoy Lockhart. A pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine." said Aurelia with a nod. "I'll be expecting to see you in the castle from time to time. Until then, I'll see you, Lockhart."

With that, Aurelia turned around and walked away from the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower with her brown hair bouncing with every step she took. As she turned to a corner at the end of the hallway and disappeared completely from Gilderoy's line of sight, the boy sighed and scratched his head before turning around to enter the common room.

Gilderoy smiled to himself again at the memory as he began to unpack his last luggage for his new office as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Many of his framed paintings were hung neatly on his walls. The paintings themselves had Gilderoy in them, who were either painting, doing music, dancing, or just anything that showcased his talents.

He observed his office from the door with a satisfied look on his face before nodding. He was proud of himself to be able to be a famous wizard at the age of 28. He was certainly young for a famous wizard but he figured that it was better this way.

His path to becoming famous wasn't an easy task as well. Taking up the credit of whatever wizards and witches have done, trailing them and modifying their memories so they wouldn't remember anything about doing them - all of it took Gilderoy patience, hard work, and cleverness.

He also hoped he could impress Aurelia Clemonte if he ever saw her again, maybe even get to know her better after their limited time in Hogwarts.

Gilderoy was in his first year when Aurelia was on her seventh. Because of the large year gap, the two don't seem to meet each other on the castle often. However, it didn't waver the small crush that Gilderoy had on the witch ever since she helped him get back to the Ravenclaw tower.

He certainly didn't fancy her all that much but he still wanted to do better to impress her or at least wanted to be better than Lawrence Rosewood, who he saw as a rival.

Ever since Aurelia graduated, Gilderoy didn't know where she went or what happened to her. He didn't bother searching for her though as he already had plans on what to do shortly after he graduated from Hogwarts.

He hoped she was doing fine and he also hoped that she still remembered him.

---

(Y/N) stretched their arms as they stepped out of the train with a yawn escaping their lips. Alem followed closely behind his twin, holding Sophie on his arms.

Sophie, (Y/N)'s black cat, was now wide awake and observed the busy crowd of underaged children looking to see where they would be going next after their long train ride. She was also wearing the collar that Aurelia and Lawrence bought for her, which had (Y/N)'s favorite color with a small bell attached to it.

"It feels so good to be back at Hogwarts! It's like we've been gone for years or something!" said (Y/N) as they turned around and gently scooped Sophie out of Alem's arms. "Thanks for holding her for a while, Alem."

"No problem."

As the two children followed the other second years to a different path from the one they took when they were first years, (Y/N)'s excitement of what they could experience on their second year at Hogwarts came to a close as their (E/C) eyes caught an odd creature at one of the carriages that they were supposed to be riding on.

Upon closer observation, (Y/N)'s walk slowed and their heart began to thump a little bit faster than before. At the very front of the carriages was the familiar black horse that was introduced at the fifth book of the series, the thestrals.

(Y/N) didn't dare to take a closer look at the thestral and was more than capable of just staying behind the carriages where they could just see a little bit of their figure.

'Thestrals? Why can I see them?' They wondered with a gulp. 'The only person who can see thestrals are the ones who have witnessed death and gained an emotional understanding of what death is right?'

Suddenly, they panicked at the idea of having someone killed by their own hands when they were still back at the real world. They used to beat up students that teased them about having no parents to the point that they became unrecognizable.

They never bothered to check if they were alive after that; they just leave. The students after that just don't come back to school, although the parents did come and complain about (Y/N)'s behavior and obviously disturbing actions.

So much so that they had to go to counselling.

'Did... Did I kill someone? Did I witness death before?' (Y/N)'s hold on Sophie tightened but their heartbeat quickened once more when they no longer felt Sophie's warmth that lingered within their arms.

Their eyes immediately casted downwards to see if Sophie jumped off of their arms and ran somewhere else without them noticing, but they felt their breath hitch at the sight of the completely different clothes that they wore.

They wore the denim jacket that Zeke gave them last Christmas, some worn out grey shirt, and some denim pants that looked like it hasn't been washed for a week straight. However, the detail that made (Y/N) shiver in fear were the blotches of dried red blood that stained the bottom part of their shirt and jacket. The soles of their black shoes also looked red, indicating that they must've been standing in a pool of blood.

When they lifted both of their hands, their fingers were coated with smudges of dried red blood that travelled up to their wrist.

The harsh winds were whistling on (Y/N)'s ears and the static noises began to invade their mind like they were a malfunctioning signal on a television. Their lungs tightened - they suddenly couldn't breathe properly. 

What was this? Why were they having a shortness of breath all of a sudden?

Their vision was shaky like they were experiencing an earthquake inside their eyes at the moment. Their entire body shivered, but they didn't know if it was from the cold or if it was from the fear that released itself from the depths of their mind. 

Then, it stopped.

When (Y/N) blinked, everything was back to normal. They were wearing the clothes that they changed into before leaving the train, their hands weren't smudged with blood, and their shoes looked clean from Wallace cleaning it up before they left.

The harsh noises of wind whistling was gone and was replaced with the calm noises of the carriages being carried away by the thestrals. Their body didn't shake anymore and their breathing returned back to normal.

It just stopped.

"(Y/N)?" Lifting their head up to look for the source of the voice, Alem stood there in front of them, holding Sophie on his arms with a worried look on his face. "What's wrong? Sophie just tried to climb up to me and when I turned around, you were just standing there looking at your- why are your eyes red?"

(Y/N) was stunned. "(Y/N)?" Alem called out to them again. They didn't know what to do - it was just too much for them to take in. When they regained some of their composure, they finally registered whatever Alem said to them just a few seconds ago.

"S-Sorry..." They briefly apologized and chose to not tell Alem about what they just saw. "Red eyes? What do you mean?"

"Your eyes turned red like last year..." Alem took a step closer towards his twin and examined the cherry red eyes that (Y/N) suddenly had. With a frown, he leaned away from them. "Don't you remember fainting after getting those eyes? Are you fine?"

"I don't really feel anything..." (Y/N) half-lied. They do feel a bit dizzy now that Alem mentioned it but they didn't want him to worry any further, especially since it was their first night in the castle as second years. "Let's just get in a carriage and go."

Alem was about to protest but held himself back when he thought that pushing (Y/N) further wouldn't lead to anything good at the moment. With a hesitated nod, the Rosewood twins climbed up to an available carriage.

(Y/N) made sure to not sit anywhere near the driver's seat in the carriage since they could feel a tingling chill go down their spine, even just from looking at the thestrals, who were pulling the carriages. They tried very hard to keep their eyes off of the thestrals, but it proved harder to do so when there were thestrals in every carriages that carried the students to the castle.

Unable to do anything, (Y/N) kept their head down and kept their eyes on Sophie, who was now on their lap. The little cat was just sitting on their lap and watching the students who were with (Y/N) and Alem with her huge golden yellow eyes filled with wonder and amazement. For a kitten, Sophie was really behaved and calm.

'What the hell was that...? Was I just hallucinating?' thought (Y/N). 'It felt so real too...'

The more they remembered the odd hallucination that they suddenly got just from seeing a thestral, the more they felt their heart hammering inside their chest like it's a ticking bomb that's about to blow. They didn't know why they felt like this. Was it a sign that something bad is going to happen to them that leads them to that scenario?

(Y/N) gulped and closed their eyes, making a small prayer inside their head. They prayed that it was just some random hallucination they got out of nowhere. That's better than it being a vision of a future.

They reached the castle and were immediately told to go to the Great Hall and wait until the first years arrived at the castle. Throughout the entire ride, Alem stole glances towards his twin with worry. They look like they were barely keeping it together and it's just the first night.

He didn't want to push them for an answer however. He knew that they must be feeling a bit too overwhelmed all of a sudden. Alem had to hold himself back multiple times from asking (Y/N) if they really don't know anything about the sudden change of their eye color.

Second years above were earlier to arrive than the first year students, which was understandable considering that they took the most direct path to the castle with the carriages. It took them almost less than ten minutes to arrive, much to the surprise of (Y/N).

Tugging on their oversized Slytherin robe that still wasn't replaced with a smaller one, (Y/N) took a seat to the Slytherin table with Alem taking a seat next to them.

(Y/N) felt sad that they couldn't have Sophie with them to the Great Hall, but understood that a cat would've been stealing food from the table and cause trouble for everyone.

Filch annoyingly reassured them that Sophie would be in 'safe hands' and that she'd be in their dorm room in the Slytherin common room by the time they go to the dungeons. (Y/N) almost doubted the Hogwarts caretaker, but let their doubts wash away when they realized that Filch owned a cat - it would be out of character for him to do any harm against any cats that he sees, even if he looks like he'll have them for dinner or plotting on how to bury them alive in the Forbidden Forest somewhere.

As (Y/N) sat down and began to be more comfortable in their seat, their eyes eventually began to see some familiar faces that they saw last year from their own house as they began to take their seats. Further down from the table was Millicent Bulstrode and some of her friends that (Y/N) never bothered to know about.

They noticed that she didn't seem to change a lot this summer but still took notice of her muscular improvements. (Y/N) almost found it very surprising how this twelve year old child can look like she's used steroids and can lift ten children with one hand.

(Y/N) took mental note that Millicent was not to be messed around with this year. They also reminded themselves to tell Alem that later too, especially since Alem badmouthed Millicent last year.

Scanning their eyes across the Slytherin table, (Y/N) saw Adrian Pucey, the annoying but unexpectedly decent-looking chaser of the Slytherin Quidditch team. He still looked as annoying as he was last school year, except his hair grew a bit longer.

Pansy Parkinson, who actually noticed (Y/N), also changed a bit. Her hair was now on her shoulders, but it wasn't too long that it made her look unnatural. Other than that, her features didn't really change. Before (Y/N) could examine her more though, Pansy already looked away with a small blush on her cheeks before turning around to wait for a certain platinum blonde haired boy.

(Y/N) straightened themselves and tore their eyes away from the Slytherin crowd when Draco arrived with Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise behind him. They couldn't deny that seeing a glimpse of his face made (Y/N) remember the things that happened when they visited his manor.

Draco teaching (Y/N) how to fly, him tucking a flower behind their ear, him encouraging (Y/N) that they can actually fly and is a talented wizard/witch, and them ending up on top of- alright, stop.

It would be a bit of a lie to say that (Y/N)'s heart doesn't skip a beat when they remember those. They're like scenes that only happen in stories and you couldn't help but just punch your pillow in frustration when they happen because you just wish that somebody would do the same to you.

Nonetheless, (Y/N) had to stop thinking about that. They were friends, nothing else. Being friends with Draco if you're someone who doesn't believe in blood purity is really weird. One second, he'd be nice to you and you could actually mentally convince yourself that he's just a really nice person deep down. Then one second, he'll be spouting slurs against other people.

(Y/N) sighed when they remembered what Narcissa had told them; sure, they wanted to be friends with Draco but Draco himself is making that impossible. Should he continue his behaviour like this, friendship is almost not going to happen anymore.

But they stopped thinking for a second. No, that'd make them feel worse, especially since Draco considered them as a friend. He even got them a necklace for that. Should they really just throw this friendship away with the cost of betraying Draco?

They sighed again. 'Come on, (Y/N). Don't be so fucking stupid - you're a 12 year old. You don't have to get too deep into friendships and all that shit. Figure out how to survive this year with the basilisk going all over the place first.' They scolded themselves then concluded their thoughts on the matter.

To their surprise, Draco took a seat right across (Y/N) and Alem. Pansy's eyebrow raised at this but said nothing as she immediately took a seat right next to Draco, blushing a bit as she did so. Crabbe, Blaise, and Goyle took a seat as well.

Alem felt unnerved by the seating arrangements. He disliked the students who were sitting across him. To be honest, he disliked almost every single Slytherin, with the exception of his twin. They were everything that Alem and (Y/N) was against - why were they even placed in this house?

"Hey, haven't seen you with red eyes before, Rosewood." said Blaise with a look of confusion settling in on his face. His comment made the others turn their attention towards (Y/N), who was surprised at the sudden conversation that Blaise brought up.

"Um... It happens. It'll just pass in a few hours or so." replied (Y/N) with a small nervous smile that made them feel awkward. "It's happened before so there's really nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I wasn't worried. I just thought you look decent with red eyes, even if it does look creepy." laughed Blaise before turning his attention towards Draco.

'Was that meant to be a compliment?' (Y/N) slightly tilted their head to the side in confusion while Alem almost wanted to slap Blaise out of the Great Hall. He held himself back by turning away from the group and keeping his attention at his twin.

"(Y/N), should we head over to the hospital wing before we go to the Slytherin common room?" asked Alem. "Maybe something got in your eye."

"No, that won't be necessary." replied (Y/N) with a shrug. "Like I said, it'll pass. It already happened before and it just disappeared after a few hours."

"If you say so..."

While the twins were caught up in their conversation, Draco stole quick glances towards (Y/N)'s way from time to time as he talked to Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. He wanted to talk to them, he really did. But every time he tries to, Lucius' words keep replaying in his mind like a broken loop.

His father's warning made him unable to talk to (Y/N) freely, even if he was at school. Everyone in Slytherin knew Draco's father and were mostly in good terms with the Malfoys since he was a child. It would be easy for one of the students to slip up and tell Lucius that Draco has been very good friends with (Y/N).

How could he defy his father? (Y/N) said that he should go against him for once but how could he actually do that without being afraid?

If only he was gone.

If only

he was

gone.

Holding himself back from doing anything else, Draco tried his best to get his eyes away from (Y/N) from the corner of his vision. Though, it proved harder for him to do when he keeps hearing them laughing from across the table because of a random joke that Alem said.

The sorting ceremony eventually began after a few minutes of the students now being in their respective house tables. Everyone quieted down and diverted their attention towards the front where Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher, stood with a roll of parchment held in her hands along with the line of new first years that just arrived at the castle.

Alem felt a bit nostalgic since he and (Y/N) were also once a part of that line last year. Meanwhile, (Y/N)'s eyes went to the Gryffindor table to see if Hermione was sitting with other Gryffindors since Harry and Ron weren't here yet. As expected, Hermione sat with other female Gryffindors, one of them being Lavender Brown.

As they brought their attention back to the front where the first years were, (Y/N) could see a familiar patch of red hair and platinum blonde hair in the crowd. They immediately knew that it was Ginny and Luna.

As McGonagall called the first name from the parchment, (Y/N) felt their eyes sting and burn for a few seconds. Blinking, they tore their eyes away from the sorting and closed their eyes for a moment to calm themselves down and hopefully soothe the pain until it goes away.

'What the fuck is this? My eyes are burning, goddamn...' They thought and silently hissed in pain. 'Why does my eye color even change in the first place? This doesn't make sense. I thought Voldemort was the only person in this series who developed red eyes.'

Upon remembering that information, (Y/N) began to try and remember why Voldemort's eyes became red in the first place. 'Wasn't it because he was already evil since he was a teenager or something...? I remember googling that but I'm not sure if it's the correct answer...'

Shaking their head, they opened their eyes and drifted their attention back to the sorting. Thankfully, Alem and Draco didn't notice that (Y/N) acted a little off since they were paying attention to the sorting.

So far, there hasn't been a single first year that hasn't been sorted to Slytherin yet, which kind of made (Y/N) wonder what the first years were going to be like. They sincerely hoped that they weren't going to be crazed blood purists like most of the Slytherins are.

"Creevey, Colin." called out McGonagall. They smiled at the mention of Colin's name, especially since they remembered him to be such a huge Harry fanboy. Their heart ached when they remembered that Colin died in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Maybe they could also prevent that death too, along with Cedric's. Nobody that (Y/N) knew deserved to die, even Lavender Brown.

Except Linda and her husband, they can go die for all they cared.

He was sorted into Gryffindor, as expected, which made the Gryffindor table erupt in cheers. After a few sortings, the first Slytherin arrived at the table. He looked very proud of himself for being sorted into Slytherin, which made (Y/N) already know that this guy was just going to be like Draco and Blaise.

Nonetheless, they welcomed the new boy along with Alem, who only flashed him a small smile before turning away since he was uncomfortable with even just looking at people in general.

"Lovegood, Luna." With her name being called, Luna walked over towards the stool like she was in a daze. Her eyes had a faraway look in them yet her very presence made other people know that she was still aware of what was happening in the room.

She was sorted into Ravenclaw, who welcomed Luna as she walked over to the table. However, it looked like most of them became a bit bothered at the platinum blonde haired girl when she started opening her mouth to talk about bizarre things.

A few students were sorted here and there, some of them ending up in Slytherin, making (Y/N) happy that they're getting more housemates. They just hoped that they were decent and nice enough for Alem to be friends with.

"Scamander, Rolf." When (Y/N) heard the last name 'Scamander', their eyes immediately widened and scanned the crowd to see the student who bore that last name. It was a surprise to hear that a Scamander was attending Hogwarts this entire time during 1992. Did they miss something?

'Rolf Scamander? His first name sounds oddly familiar. There was a Scamander attending Hogwa-' Their thoughts stopped abruptly when the familiar boy that they bumped into twice sat on the stool as McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head.

'He was Rolf Scamander this whole time!?' They screamed inside their mind. 'Wait, so that's why he looked familiar - he looks exactly like how young Newt was when he was in Hogwarts. Though, he looks a bit different from the guy who played young Newt in the movies.'

'And didn't he end up as Luna's husband at the end of the series? Damn, I can't believe I forgot about him.' They thought while mentally slapping themselves. Sure, (Y/N) didn't like the Fantastic Beasts films as much as they expected but they still liked the characters because they were somewhat unique. Their favourite being Newt Scamander, who was charming in every way possible.

The magizoologist who was in the 1920s was a Hufflepuff and it felt refreshing to have a Hufflepuff protagonist since they always felt like they were somewhat underrated. Of course there's Cedric, who gave the house some justice, but it was a shame that he was killed off by the end of year four.

"Hufflepuff!" Just like his grandfather, Rolf was sorted in Hufflepuff. (Y/N) smiled to themselves at the idea of befriending the Scamander. Maybe if they bump into each other again, (Y/N) should strike up a conversation.

"Weasley, Ginny." Last but not least, the only person that (Y/N) knew who hasn't been sorted yet walked over to the stool and took a seat. It didn't take long for Ginny to be sorted since she was a Weasley. Being a Weasley means that you'll always be sorted into, "Gryffindor!"

Alem and (Y/N) smiled, seeing that Ginny was sorted to a house where her brothers were. Although, (Y/N)'s smile faltered when they remembered that Ginny showed herself to be very uncomfortable towards them when their eyes met. They didn't know why she acted this way - she was friendly just a week ago.

Frowning, (Y/N)'s eyes lightly furrowed at the idea of Tom Riddle telling Ginny something about them. 'Does he already know who I am? I haven't told him anything that could give out my identity... well, except me being a Slytherin.'

They shook their head and kept their eyes on Dumbledore, who was already walking over towards the podium to make his yearly announcement. 'No, it doesn't matter if he doesn't know who I am or not because Ginny knows who I am and she probably already told him about me. If I had to guess based from Tom Riddle's way of doing things, he's already manipulated Ginny into not trusting me, the only person who knows about his plans.'

(Y/N) zoned out the rest of Dumbledore's words and kept their focus inside their thoughts. 'That'll make her distance herself away from me. She'll also probably make the trio be cautious about me too by blaming the creepy stuff that's going to happen in Hogwarts soon, especially Harry. Though, I don't really have plans on telling them since I'll just ruin the story if I do.'

'The question is, how can I counter that? How can I outwit Tom's plan of getting me out of the picture? I don't want to possibly get expelled because of him.' (Y/N) clicked their tongue and retreated themselves away from their thoughts. 'I'll think about it later before going to sleep. Imagining scenarios and planning out stuff for about thirty minutes before I doze off is something I'm good at anyway.'

They mentally slapped Tom inside their mind and punched him straight on his stomach. 'Fuck you, Tom Riddle, for already planning this shit out earlier than I expected.' 

As Dumbledore continued his speech, he eventually gets to the part where he was going to introduce their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. (Y/N) could hear Alem groaning beside them, which made them snicker, but their face immediately turned sour when they remembered that he was going to be a huge pain in the ass this year too.

Not only is Tom Riddle and the basilisk going to be difficult to get through this year without (Y/N) possibly getting expelled, but Gilderoy is going to make things more difficult by 10x. 

As Gilderoy flashed his "blinding" and "charming" smile and waved at them happily, almost all of the girls in the Great Hall squealed and blushed at the professor. (Y/N) silently rolled their eyes at this. 'I mean, it's not like I can blame them for being fooled by this man but he doesn't even look that good. Wallace is more good-looking than this guy, and Wallace is older than him!' 

The squeals died down when Dumbledore raised his hand to silence the crowd. As his speech ended, the feast began. A delicious array of food appeared in front of the students, making them drool and gulp at the sight. Most of them didn't even realize that they were hungry until they saw the food.

(Y/N) began to fill their plate with a mountain of food, much to Alem's horror, and ate along with him. They tried their best to distract their mind away from Tom Riddle and Ginny, but it was almost impossible since they kept thinking about how he might try to get rid of them.

Knowing Tom, the way he might try to get rid of (Y/N) might be worse than what they're expecting.

(Y/N) frowned and eventually became silent as they ate. So many strange things were happening today and it's almost overwhelming the young Rosewood to the point that they considered disappearing right then and there.

Too bad for them though, they can't.

At least, not yet.

»»-----　♡　-----««

Through the empty halls of the castle, Alem and (Y/N) walked over towards the hospital wing in order to alleviate the throbbing headache that (Y/N) suddenly had after the feast. 

"(Y/N), do you really have no idea what's causing your eyes to change?" Alem frowned as he walked beside them. 

"If I knew, I'd already gotten rid of it a long time ago." They replied with a light groan. They held their forehead with one hand, rubbing it to try and relieve their headache but it doesn't seem to be working. 

"Well, that's true..." mumbled Alem, who continued to show his concern towards his twin. His worried look only strengthened when (Y/N) winced. Their head throbbed in pain once more and they almost felt their life flash on their eyes.

Except what they saw wasn't really their life, per se.

(Y/N) staggered for a second and with Alem's brotherly instincts kicking in, he quickly leaned close to his twin and began to support them by placing his hands on their shoulders and arms so they wouldn't fall to the floor. 

"Woah, (Y/N)...!" Alem was slowly beginning to panic and his voice began to shake a bit. He began to overthink - what if (Y/N) was dying? What if they had an incurable disease? What if they were being possessed by a ghost? 

The headache disappeared as quickly as it came and (Y/N) was slowly recovering every second. "S-Sorry... I don't know what happened to me just then." They said, their voice small but also shaking. They felt like something that has been missing for a long time inside them is slowly being found.

Though, they couldn't exactly pinpoint what it is and that was confusing them.

Alem didn't want to pry any longer and only frowned. "Let's just get to the hospital wing before you collapse." He said, earning a nod from (Y/N). With Alem supporting his twin, the two walked over to the hospital wing silently. 

The only thing that they could hear were (Y/N)'s soft rhythmic breaths that escaped from their lips.

When the Rosewood twins entered the hospital wing and called for the mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey, who runs the place. As the mediwitch walked out of her office, she immediately frowned and let her eyebrows furrow when she realized it was the Rosewood twins again.

"I haven't seen you two in a while and I was hoping that you two wouldn't get into any more trouble," Madam Pomfrey sighed in defeat. "but seeing you two here as early as the first night in the castle means that something must've happened."

"Haha, nice to see you too, Madam Pomfrey." (Y/N) lightly joked with a small smile on their face, but their face immediately turned bitter when they felt their headache acting up again. 

"Madam Pomfrey, do you remember how (Y/N) fainted on their first night here in the castle last year?" Alem asked as he led (Y/N) to a nearby bed to let them lay down and rest. Madam Pomfrey hummed and walked over to (Y/N) to examine them further.

"Well, I don't recall the details but yes, I do remember some of it." replied the mediwitch, who took a closer look at (Y/N). Her eyes narrowed deeper when she saw the unusual color of red tinting (Y/N)'s eyes. 

"Red eyes..." Madam Pomfrey muttered then leaned away from (Y/N). "Miss/Mr. Rosewood, do you remember how you managed to get such eye color?"

(Y/N) shook their head with a frown. "No. I don't even know why this happens. It happens randomly but they always seem to be painful during the first night in the castle when we return to Hogwarts." They replied.

"Yes, I noticed that too." The mediwitch nodded. "And do you feel like you're about to faint?"

"Not really...?" (Y/N) answered, unsure. "I mean, my head hurts, sure. But, I still have enough strength to keep my feet on the ground."

Madam Pomfrey paused and stared at (Y/N) for a moment, not knowing what to do with their condition. She assumes that they might be a Metamorphagus and just doesn't know it. As they're still twelve years old, maybe their body isn't accustomed to the sudden shifting of body parts and facial features.

"I have an idea as to why your eyes might be changing, but it might be incorrect." said Madam Pomfrey with a frown. "If worse comes to worst and your eye color is still changing with the painful headaches that come with it, I might have to ask the other professors to see if they can find anything about your condition and inform your parents about it."

(Y/N) was almost fine with that.

They were okay with Madam Pomfrey asking one of the professors about what could be causing their eyes to change and the weird things that occur when they do, but they felt panicked when she mentioned that she might inform their parents about it.

(Y/N) knew that Aurelia was a tad bit overprotective when it came to her kids. It came to the point where she almost screamed and fainted when she came home and saw (Y/N) with a broken nose after they fell down from the tree in their backyard face first. 

She immediately fixed their broken nose, of course but she said that they weren't allowed to climb trees anymore and that Wallace or Alem would be keeping a close eye on them in case they break more of their body parts in the future.

As for Lawrence, they didn't really have an issue with him. He was mostly a very chill father but he'd definitely take things seriously if he got the news that one of his children is having some sort of an eye color-changing condition that he didn't know about.

(Y/N) might even have to miss a year in school to get this 'treated' and they didn't want that.

"Wait, please don't inform our parents about this..." (Y/N) spoke up nervously, which earned a suspicious look from both Alem and Madam Pomfrey. Compared to Madam Pomfrey however, Alem's look of suspicion was immediately loosened when he realized that Aurelia and Lawrence might not take the news of (Y/N)'s unknown so-called condition very well. 

"I don't... want them to overthink that this might be something serious, you know...? They're kind of overprotective." added (Y/N) and pulled up a nervous smile, hoping that it would be enough for Madam Pomfrey to reconsider telling their parents.

Or maybe at least for the mediwitch to pick up the hint that Aurelia and Lawrence would probably pull them out of Hogwarts in case their 'condition' was serious.

Madam Pomfrey sighed through her nose at the student's behavior. "Your parents do not need to be informed if it is something that I am able to heal or if it's just something that you are aware is nothing serious." She said. "However, I am uncertain if I am able to heal or fix your 'condition' and I'm sure that you also don't know if the reason why your eyes are changing colors and causing you these horrible headaches that might cause you to faint are nothing serious."

"It is better for your parents to know about this if it's something I know I cannot fix." She added. "Who knows, maybe they know why your eyes are like that."

(Y/N) couldn't think of anything to counter what Madam Pomfrey just said. They can't just continue convincing Madam Pomfrey either since she'd definitely be the type of person who you cannot convince as long as her intentions were about helping students.

"I understand." said (Y/N) with a frown and a nod.

The room was silent for a second until the mediwitch spoke up, knowing that there was nothing more to discuss.

"Well, I can tell that you still got your wits about you so you are free to sleep in the dorms tonight." said Madam Pomfrey. "If your head starts to ache or if something odd happened to you, come see me immediately." 

(Y/N) nodded once more and hopped out of the hospital wing bed. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." thanked (Y/N) and Alem before they left the hospital wing and walked back towards the Slytherin common room.

"You sure you're feeling fine?" suddenly asked Alem as they walked through the almost empty halls of the castle.

"Yeah, it's not as worse as before. Maybe I just need to take some rest - that train ride was way too long."  (Y/N) responded with a small yawn. Alem wanted to continue and further inquire if his twin needed anything, until they were interrupted by a familiar figure appearing from the corner of the hallway and walking towards them with a confident smile.

"Oh, it's Professor Lockhart." (Y/N) mentioned outloud, almost stopping on their tracks after seeing the blonde professor strutting over to them with a confident smile that a lot of young female students swooned over after he introduced himself at the Great Hall. 

 Alem didn't say anything and instead kept walking with his twin. As Lockhart came face to face with the twins, he flashed the two a grin while pushing his blonde hair back with his fingers. "Good evening, you two. I was asked by Professor Snape to check up on two students that went off to the hospital wing to see what they are up to. I reckon that one of you might be sick?" Gilderoy asked, looking down at the Rosewood twins. 

 "Good evening, professor." greeted (Y/N) almost unenthusiastically as they looked up at the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a look of indifference on their face. "I am the 'sick' one, but Madam Pomfrey reassured that she will be helping us in assessing my issue and that there are currently no problems in regards to my health for now. I require no help at the moment. Thank you though." (Y/N) responded in a way that made them hope that Gilderoy would actually leave them alone without any dramatic interrogation from him. 

 Merlin knows how Gilderoy can be so annoying when he tries to act all holier-than-thou. 

 "Oh, I see..." Gilderoy nodded, putting up a dramatic understanding nod as he closed his eyes and put his fingers on his chin. Until, he snapped his fingers enthusiastically and looked down at the twins with determination. "However, you are free to tell me about your condition and perhaps, I may be able to provide you further assistance! As you can tell, I am well-versed with curing illnesses that can befall witches and wizards - even curing dragonpox would not be a problem for a wizard as magnificent as I!" 

 Both Alem and (Y/N) looked up at the self-absorbed DADA teacher with a look of dissatisfaction and disturbance. How could you be so out of touch with reality to the point that you keep insisting on helping a student that clearly just pointed out that they didn't need any help? 

'I know I'm free to tell you the shit I'm going through but I'm just choosing not to, so can you please just leave us alone?' (Y/N) frustratedly said in their mind, their face now showing a slight look of annoyance to the professor in front of them. Not wanting to cause any more trouble during their first day back at the castle, they let out a small sigh and gave Gilderoy a strained smile. 

 "No... That's not really needed..." They nervously responded. Alem noticed at how (Y/N) was starting to get uncomfortable and decided to step in before they end up punching Gilderoy out of anger and annoyance. 

 "Thank you, professor, but I don't think we require any assistance at the moment. We'll keep it in mind, however, and we will be asking you if we actually do need it." Alem intervened, taking a small step forward towards Gilderoy and flashed him a small convincing smile. 

 The blonde professor hummed understandingly, crossing his arms. "I understand - perhaps you two are just embarrassed to ask for help from someone as prestigious as me. No need to worry, child. For I, Gilderoy Lockhart, will extend his helping hand everytime you need it..." Gilderoy trailed off as his mind went blank and looked at the twins nervously. 

"What are your names again?" He asked. 

"Oh, I'm Alem Rosewood, sir." Alem introduced himself before pointing over to (Y/N), who was just standing beside him with visible annoyance on their face. "This is (Y/N) Rosewood, my older twin." 

Gilderoy's baby blue eyes twinkled in surprise and he seemed to be taken back by the name he just heard. "...Rosewood?" He repeated the surname in disbelief. His entire demeanour changed as he slowly loosened his confident persona and uncrossed his arms. "Did you just say that you're Rosewoods?" He asked. 

"Um..." Alem blinked, confused by Gilderoy's sudden change of behavior. He turned to look at (Y/N), who just shrugged at him and looked just as confused as he was, before turning back to look at Gilderoy. "...Yes? We're the Rosewoods."

Gilderoy looked at the twins for a few seconds after hearing Alem's answer before opening his mouth to speak once more. "Are you, perhaps, related to Lawrence Rosewood?" He asked as he remembered the Ravenclaw prefect when he was still a student here at Hogwarts.

The twins looked at each other once more before nodding at Gilderoy at the same time. "Yes, he's our father." answered Alem, surprised that someone as famous as Gilderoy knew who his father was. The DADA professor certainly didn't expect meeting Lawrence's children at Hogwarts. He didn't even expect him to have children at all, considering how unappealing he is in terms of his personality. He wasn't even surprised that Aurelia left him.

At least, he assumes that she left him.

Gilderoy put up a small smile, mentally facepalming himself that he forgot to keep up his confidence and smile in front of people to make sure that they never see him losing his temper or let others know that he's not the confident man as he portrays himself as to everyone else. "A-Ah, I see. That's surprising, indeed! I'm well-acquainted with your father so it is quite surprising to meet his children all of a sudden." commented Gilderoy as he put up his confident demeanour once more.

"Well-acquainted?" questioned (Y/N) with their eyebrow raised in skepticism before they retreated into their thoughts to think about what Gilderoy just told them. 'Dad never even mentioned him before... but then again, it's not like everyone's parents mention their best friends on a daily basis to their kids. I'm just surprised that Gilderoy would even know him at all.' They thought as Gilderoy continued blabbing about his relationship with the Rosewood twins' father, to the point that they started to think that it seems so exaggerated and false.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Gilderoy asked and snapped (Y/N) out of their thoughts, turning their eyes towards the professor with an obvious bored expression. “Is Lawrence Rosewood, perhaps, married to a woman named Aurelia Clemonte by any chance?”

Alem cleared his throat for a second before nodding at Gilderoy’s question. “Yes, she’s our mother.” Alem answered. “I’m sorry, but if you’re such a ‘good friend’ of my father, how come you didn’t know the name of the woman he’s married to?” 

“Honestly, yeah.” (Y/N) agreed as they had an eyebrow raised up towards Gilderoy. “Even Lucius Malfoy knows the name of our mum and he’s not what you consider ‘a good friend’ considering he’s probably been trying to murder us secretly ever since that meeting.”

“O-Oh, well...” Lockhart gulped, unsure of how to make himself not sound weird enough to the twins. Although, he’s running out of ideas as he’s already making himself look suspicious and weird just by being nervous.

“A huge oversight. You see, I have known and talked to many women throughout my adventures so I might have gotten the name of my friend’s wife mixed up with some other woman’s name.” He anxiously laughed, hoping that the Rosewoods accept his explanation.

Obviously, they didn’t. But they didn’t want to keep on questioning the professor, especially since the topic isn’t really that serious or life-threatening. It’s not like the world’s going to explode if Gilderoy is just lying to them about being good friends with their father.

“Mhm...” (Y/N) hummed sarcastically before turning towards their brother. “Well, it’s been a very long day so we would like to excuse ourselves, professor. Good night.” Not wanting to prolong any more conversations with Gilderoy, (Y/N) briefly bode him a farewell before beckoning Alem to leave with them and return to the dungeons where the Slytherin dorms are.

Gilderoy, unable to follow the sudden farewell of the twins, stuttered for a bit before yelling out ‘good night’ and walking away by himself. As he did, the thought of Lawrence and Aurelia sank in his mind again. Eventually, his face became filled with bitterness as he walked towards his own office, muttering incomprehensible things that came from his mind.

In the hallways leading towards the dungeon, (Y/N) breathed out a sigh of relief when they managed to get themselves to a distance away from Gilderoy. “Geez, I didn’t expect that creep to just come in and ask us questions about our parents.” They commented.

“Don’t you find it weird that he knows about mum and dad, though?” Alem questioned as he placed a finger on his chin. “Then again, maybe some of our professors knew our parents. They did go to Hogwarts, after all.”

“There’s a chance that Gilderoy was in the same year as them. Besides, Wallace also mentioned that mum and dad were somewhat famous back then, considering that dad was the head boy and mum was a prefect” thought (Y/N) logically. “Of course Gilderoy would know people who are that famous.” 

“You’re right.” Alem agreed then stretched his arms. “Well, there’s no use thinking about it now. Whether he’s lying or not, that’s not really our problem. I don’t want anything to do with him anyway.” 

“True. I might just have to ask you in advance to hold me back because I might end up punching him in the face if he annoys me too much.” (Y/N) jokingly placed a hand on Alem’s shoulder, to which he responded with a light chuckle. 

As they were nearing the entrance to the Slytherin dorm, (Y/N) and Alem stopped on their tracks as they looked at the girl that was standing and leaning to the wall next to the door. (Y/N) felt their body tense up when they saw a small mischievous smile curl up at the corner of the girl’s lips.

Something told (Y/N) that this will not end well.

“Hey, can I talk to (Y/N) for just a second?” asked Ginny Weasley with Tom Riddle’s diary held in one of her hands.

»»-----　♡　-----««

It's been three years.

A lot has happened since then. For starters, I'm in college now! A sophomore, to be exact. Because of college, I haven't exactly been able to write anything for Erised. Everything has been so busy.

I haven't forgotten this story though, not by a long shot. I still really wanted to write this book because it's the only one where I actually already had everything planned out for. But I totally understand why people think that this book has been abandoned or discontinued.

I still read the comments from both the books and my community feed, I guess that's what you call it. I'm flattered that there are actually people who are still waiting for an update and are waiting for me to come back.

I'm sorry for making you guys wait for so long. I can't promise that I'm back or that I'll update after a few days or so. But just do know that I'm still around, in some way.

Thank you so much for all the support these past few years!