Professor Binns' voice floated monotonously and repetitively around the classroom. "...and after the signing of the Treaty of Calais, relations between the magical clans of France and Scotland experienced a brief but significant truce..."
Aurelian, his chin resting on one hand, looked up at the ceiling, which reproduced the gray sky of an autumn morning. The raindrops seemed to slide over the stone, but not even the slightest sound of rain accompanied the illusion.
"How ironic... so much history and so little life in it," he thought with a small smile.
Around him, the students slept or wrote half-heartedly.
Some pretended to pay attention, others had given up long ago and rested their heads on their books. Aurelian watched them for a moment. Life is simple in many ways. He saw a Hufflepuff boy sleeping peacefully a few seats away from him and, with a sigh, turned his attention back to the professor.
He felt his power vibrating beneath his skin, like a river rushing out of control. After his time with the Flamels, nothing was the same. Controlling his magic was easy, very easy. He could mold it effortlessly, feel it respond whenever he needed it.
And yet there he was, trapped in a class where words fell apart before they could make sense.
Stinky was right when he told him that even great wizards needed time to rest.
But Aurelian only felt like he was on pause.
His mind wandered between his memories and plans, from his training in France to his most recent conversations with Nythoros.
The sound of a scroll sliding out of its holder pulled him out of his thoughts.
Cedric, sitting to his right, gave him a knowing look and a small note. Aurelian opened it without much interest, discovering a sentence written in his friend's elegant handwriting:
"If I die of boredom, tell my parents it was a sacrifice for knowledge."
He couldn't help but smile slightly. He replied with a simple stroke of his pen:
"I promise to build you a statue in front of the library. Here lies Cedric the Hufflepuff, the most Ravenclaw anyone has ever seen."
Cedric stifled his laughter, and some students turned at the sound of his muffled giggle.
Even Binns paused for a moment in his account of medieval wars and looked at them with the severity of a ghost offended by their intrusion, before continuing as if nothing had happened.
The rest of the class passed very slowly.
Aurelian looked up at the ceiling again and let his mind wander once more. He thought about everything he had to do, the letters he had to send, what awaited him outside the walls of Hogwarts.
The world was moving, he could feel it, and although his body was sitting in that quiet classroom, his mind and soul were far away.
When the bell finally rang, the students who had been asleep woke up and quickly gathered their things. Cedric stretched his arms and muttered something about "escaping eternal sleep," while Aurelian calmly put away his things. In the back of his mind, a deeper voice told him that the quiet days were numbered.
"History is just a cycle, kid," Flamel had once told him. "And when you stop to look at it... it's already about to repeat itself."
The murmur of the students filled the air as soon as the classroom doors opened. Cedric walked beside him, still stretching his shoulders as if he had just survived a particularly exhausting battle.
"If I ever get lost in the Forbidden Forest, let Binns come and tell me about his life," he joked with a tired smile. "I'd fall asleep so quickly that the centaurs would have to wake me up."
Aurelian laughed.
"It would be a pretty peaceful way to die, at least," he replied calmly, almost distractedly. "Although I think your ghost would still be yawning."
Cedric gave him a friendly nudge, and they both crossed the hallway filled with students. Everyone had just left their classes; time inside the castle moved more slowly, oblivious to what was happening in the rest of the world.
As soon as they turned the corner onto the main corridor, two familiar figures appeared behind him without warning. A pair of arms wrapped tightly around him, and the light scent of flowers and sweets surrounded him.
"Aurelian!" Hestia and Flora exclaimed in unison, with that mixture of joy and mischief that characterized them.
The young man barely had time to react before he felt one of them rest her head on his shoulder and the other whisper close to his ear.
"That class was endless... I thought I was going to turn into a ghost."
"I had already accepted my fate," added Hestia, laughing softly. "Although, if you were the teacher, I wouldn't mind staying in the classroom forever."
Cedric let out a small laugh, shaking his head.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," he murmured, giving them space as he walked away, amused by the interaction. "See you at lunch, Aurelian."
Aurelian sighed softly, though an inevitable smile spread across his lips.
Both girls watched him with bright eyes, identical, deep, full of that devotion that sometimes baffled him and other times filled him with calm.
"If this class is always like this," he said calmly, "But they seemed focused... or asleep, I'm not sure."
Flora feigned indignation.
"I was taking notes!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms theatrically.
Hestia laughed softly and confessed.
"I was wondering what you would be dreaming about if you fell asleep."
"Probably nothing," Aurelian replied mockingly. "If I fall asleep, Binns probably won't notice for another two centuries."
The twins giggled together, walking beside him as they left the building.
The midday sun streamed through the tall windows, bathing the hallway in golden tones. Hestia linked her arm through Aurelian's, while Flora settled in on the other side, naturally joining her hand with his.
They were a curious sight. The young Lord Gaunt, with his serene demeanor and dark gaze, flanked by the two most devoted and charming witches at Hogwarts. The younger students who passed by looked at them with curiosity, while the older ones looked at them with respect, some with a certain veiled envy.
"And what shall we do now, my lord?" Flora asked playfully.
"I hope something more interesting than listening to stories of ancient medieval battles," added Hestia, giving her a little nudge.
Aurelian looked at them both patiently, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Perhaps a walk by the lake... or we could practice..." he suggested calmly.
The two looked at each other, sharing a mischievous smile.
"Why not both?" they said at the same time.
Aurelian shook his head slightly, but couldn't help laughing. These were the moments of his life at Hogwarts when he felt normal, and for a moment, amid the murmurs in the corridors, the warmth of the sun, and the laughter of Hestia and Flora, Aurelian allowed himself to forget all the problems that filled his mind.
The fresh air outside enveloped them as soon as they crossed the castle gates.
The distant laughter of some students mingled with the sound of the wind in the trees. Hestia and Flora walked on either side of Aurelian, chatting happily, and he enjoyed the constant echo of life at Hogwarts.
However, that calm was broken when they turned toward the Quidditch fields. From a distance, they could hear shouting and heated arguments.
"What's going on there?" Flora asked, raising an eyebrow.
Hestia narrowed her eyes, trying to see better.
"Looks like another fight between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Not a week goes by without something exploding," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
Aurelian tilted his head with interest.
The group of students in front of the Quidditch pitch were arguing animatedly. On one side were the scarlet uniforms of Gryffindor, on the other the green and silver of Slytherin.
Marcus Flint was shouting something about having reserved the field, while the visibly irritated Weasley twins replied energetically.
What caught Aurelian's attention was not the argument itself, but a detail glinting in the sun.
Each Slytherin player was holding a new broomstick with the GauntCorp emblem engraved on it. The Noxum Series II.
"How nice..." Flora murmured with a touch of pride. "Your brooms are always the most popular."
Aurelian nodded without comment.
Seeing his creations in the hands of others gave him a quiet satisfaction, although it wasn't the kind of recognition he sought.
He was about to walk on by, without intervening in the argument in any way, when a familiar voice broke the air with a venomous phrase.
"Get out of the way, you filthy mudblood!" spat Draco Malfoy, with his usual haughtiness.
Silence spread briefly around him.
Hermione Granger, holding a book to her chest, looked at him with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Harry and Ron stepped forward, furious, Draco kept his chin up, enjoying the provocation as the Slytherin players chuckled.
Aurelian stopped.
The phrase echoed in his mind. It wasn't directed at him, but he took it personally. For a moment, he didn't see the field or the students. He saw Elaine Harper, smiling as she read books and performed magical experiments, a witch born of Muggles, intelligent and kind... his mother.
Anger quickly coursed through his body.
Flora and Hestia noticed it immediately.
"Aurelian..." Hestia whispered cautiously.
He didn't hear her, already walking toward the group with a firm step.
The conversations gradually ceased and silence fell over the field when his figure stopped between the two teams. The wind gently lifted the edges of his cloak and his obsidian-dark eyes fixed on Draco with an intensity that made those closest to him recoil without knowing why.
"Repeat what you said," Aurelian demanded in a low voice with a force that froze the atmosphere.
Flora and Hestia looked at each other, noticing the change in the atmosphere.
Draco hesitated, his masquerade of confidence broken.
"I... I just said... I just said..."
"You said mudblood," Aurelian interrupted, slowly approaching him. "Do you know what that means?"
The boy tried to compose himself, with his usual arrogance.
"I was just telling the truth," he managed to say.
Aurelian stared at him intensely.
"The next time I hear you say that, the Malfoys will be extinct," he finally said, in a grave, icy tone. "Is that clear?"
A chill ran through everyone present.
No one dared to move or speak. Flint, who used to be arrogant, lowered his gaze, hoping no one would notice.
Malfoy took a step back, swallowing hard.
Without adding a single word, the young lord turned on his heel and continued walking toward the lake. The twins followed him without saying anything, although their glances at Draco were cold enough to make him lower his head.
As they walked away, Hermione murmured a timid "thank you." Aurelian did not respond but nodded slightly, acknowledging the gesture.
Flora broke the silence a few feet ahead.
"I've never seen him so pale," she said, referring to Draco, amused.
"I thought he was going to wet himself," Hestia added with a laugh and a smile.
Aurelian returned to his calm tone and replied.
"There are things that need no explanation... and words that should not exist."
Their steps led them to the lake shore, where the castle's reflection trembled on the water. The tension began to dissipate and the air was once again filled with the soft sound of the wind and the rustling of leaves.
The twins glanced at him sideways, knowing that even though he didn't say it, that episode had touched something very personal within him. Aurelian just remained silent, staring calmly at the horizon, a calm that hid more than it revealed.
---------------------------
I have a Patreon account. If you want to support me, I would really appreciate it, as you will be able to read up to 15 more chapters and find images of the characters in the story for free. Thank you very much for reading my story :D
patreon.com/Daoistrg