The castle is still a little too cold, a little too hollow, but it's finally home.
The great library stretches wider every week as we add to it — stone shelves carved by magic, tables smoothed by the touch of countless polishing charms. Light seeps through tall windows that Rowena insisted we enchant to never gather dust. The scent of parchment and old magic fills the air, warm and comforting.
Rowena sits at the far table, her quill dancing across a scroll so quickly it looks alive. Her concentration is absolute; that's one thing we share — the relentless need to understand, to know.
I'm surrounded by books. Piles of them. Handwritten manuscripts, copied charms, ancient grimoires, and a few modern works I reproduced from memory. The Hogwarts Library, centuries before it will be famous, is beginning right here, under our fingertips.
"Rowena," I say, flipping through a freshly bound book. "You know this place is starting to look like my dream home."
She glances up, smiling faintly. "That's because you live here now, Sera. You've slept on that table more nights than in your own bed."
"Guilty," I admit, leaning back in the chair. "I can't help it. Magic theory is addictive. Every page sparks a new idea."
Her eyes soften. "You're brilliant, you know that? Sometimes I think you could rewrite the laws of magic if you tried."
"Please don't tempt me."
We both laugh, but inside I'm aware of how true her words are. My mind hums like a library of its own — alive, growing, categorizing. Every spell I read, every rune, every incantation, they weave into that endless index behind my eyes. It's not just memory anymore. It's evolution.
I run my fingers along the spines of the books we've finished cataloging. Some are mine — "Basic Charms for Beginners," "Intermediate Transfiguration," "Theories of Magical Focus." I'm leaving them here for the future. For the students who will one day walk these halls. They'll need them more than I do.
Rowena joins me by the shelves, brushing her hair from her face. "You always leave the things you outgrow," she says softly. "Books, spells, even habits. You make it look effortless."
I shake my head. "It's not effortless. It's just… necessary. Growth doesn't wait for anyone."
She smiles, eyes glinting. "And that's why you scare me sometimes."
I grin back. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
She nudges me lightly with her shoulder. "Sister, maybe. But terrifying nonetheless."
That word — sister — catches me. She says it so easily now. Maybe it's because we've been through so much together — the hunts, the building, the sleepless nights studying. We've fought for every piece of peace we have.
And here, surrounded by knowledge, I finally feel what family means.
As the candles flicker, my mind shifts again, deeper, faster. Connections form — spells I've never seen before, theories that rewrite themselves in my thoughts. I don't need the System to tell me what's happening. I can feel it in my blood.
Updated Magical Index: 500 Known SpellsNew Skill: Arcane Literacy — The more you read, the deeper your understanding of the structure of magic. All written knowledge is instantly integrated.Eidetic Memory evolved → Perfect Recall (Lv. 1/100)Magical Curation (Lv. 12/200)Genius at Magic (Lv. 35/100)
Rowena looks over at me, quill stilling. "You've gone quiet again. Thinking of something dangerous?"
I laugh softly. "Always. But this time, it's beautiful."
"What is it?"
"A way to make knowledge eternal," I say. "To make sure everything we learn — everything we are — never fades. Not even with time."
Her eyes light up with that same spark of curiosity I've seen a hundred times. "Then let's write history together, sister."
I smile, heart warm despite the cold stone around us. "Deal."
The night stretches on. Two young women in a library that will one day become legendary — writing, laughing, dreaming. Building the foundation of the greatest school of magic the world will ever know.