It was still dark. Alice awoke before the sun rose. After a refreshing wash and a change of uniform, she left the dorm and wandered on the corridors in hopes of finding the library, but luck wasn't apparently on her side and with her tendency to be confused with directions, she got lost.

"Darn it." Alice sighed. Last night was noisy. Even after lights out, the four Gryffindor girls were having a blast with drinking some alcohol named Firewhiskey. They wanted Alice to join, but they consented when Alice said she was too tired, promising to join them another time. She was relieved that they were considerate of her despite their tiring persistence.

"Ack! Watch your way you buffoon!" A shrill voice underneath her screamed. Alice looked down and found an odd little man wearing wizarding clothes. She tried to help him up, but her hand was swatted away.

"I'm sorry mister. You were too short so I didn't see you."

"Short! Short!? How impudent of you, you giant freak!" The little man pushed Alice aside as he stomped off, unrelenting cussing spilled out from his mouth.

Alice had to swallow the laugh that threatened to sputter of her lips and instead followed after him. "I'm really sorry mister! I didn't mean to!"

"Stop following me you nincompoop!"

"I'm sorry! But please help me find the library!"

"Tch! Find it yourself!" The little man spat on the ground and shifted to the right, disappearing right into the wall. Alice tried to do the same but her forehead met a painful thud against the solid wall.

"Ouch." She pouted. She rubbed her forehead, trying to find another way in but was disappointed when she only saw a few weeds and plants that ignored her.

"If you can't let me in the wall, then at least help me find the library." She pleaded to the dandelion, but it merely shook its head and kept on ignoring her. "Ugh. Fine!'

"Fine what?" Alice jumped up, startled by the voice behind her. She turned around and saw Tom, ever so cool and composed.

"Good morning Tom." She saw Tom frowned a little, but went back to his usual cool expression.

"Good morning Alice. You're an early riser."

"Well, not on a daily basis though. What are you doing here?" Her head cocked to the side, her right brow arched up.

"I should be asking you that question. I told you before I was a prefect, and it's one of my duties to do daily patrolling. Students aren't allowed to go out their dormitories before the wake up call." Tom held himself tall as he reprimanded her, and it wasn't difficult since he was much taller than Alice. "I should be taking points away from Gryffindor, however, you are a transferee and you seemed like you weren't completely aware of the rules, so I'll let you off the hook."

Alice felt herself redden in shame and embarrassment. She facepalmed and sighed. "I'm really sorry. I was too tired last night to read the rules."

Tom chuckled, a charmingly adorable chuckle. "It's alright Alice. Why are you here anyway?"

"I was trying to find the library. Since I am a transferee, I was hoping I could hit the books early and learn a thing or two. I didn't want to lag behind too much."

"That's nice to hear. At least you know your priorities and isn't a clueless transferee." Tom gave her a teasing grin. "Although you are very much going the wrong way. The library is on the 3rd and 4th floor, and this is the 6th floor."

"Oh. I'm sorry." She sheepishly apologized.

"It's alright. It isn't surprising you'll get lost on your first day. Come on, I'll take you to the library."

"Thank you Tom."

The Slytherin Prefect lead the way down the library. Alice quietly observed his wide back that he held straight, his tall height a stark contrast to hers. The castle was infested with lively creatures, from the talking plants to animals that hurry off. Tom didn't pay attention to them, in fact, he was unbothered when a child bumped into him and kept walking. She realized and sighed. Her wonderland creatures are overlapping with Hogwarts. It will be very difficult to differentiate which is her imagination and which is an actual creature in the wizarding community.

Alice's eyes widened in awe at the sight of the library. The library is one of the grandest she has ever seen, and the fact it was a magical library made her all the more excited. Undoubtedly, just the sheer amount of books she could read overwhelmed her as well.

"Well, I'll leave you to your own devices. I still have prefect duties to do. Beware that you won't treat all books like you would with a normal one. Some books might bite and suck you in their own world. The librarian.. Might help you. I'll see you later."

"Really thank you, Tom. I'll see you later too."

Alice stared at Tom's retreating back for awhile before entering the library. She went to the desk and greeted the old lady sitting behind it.

"Good morning. I'm Alice Liddell, a transferee. Would you kindly guide me about the library?"

The librarian barely glanced at her, too engrossed in her work. She however handed Alice a pamphlet and Alice began reading it. Library rules were printed on the paper and although Alice expected a very intricate guide, the rules were almost the same as a normal library except for the obvious few ones. Alice read her Hogwarts guide and schedule and learned that her first subject was History of Magic and the class is held together with the Hufflepuffs. She searched for history books and picked a seat near the windows as she began reading. Time passed and after an hour or more so of reading, her stomach growled and called for breakfast. She placed the book down on one of the many unreturned piles of books and went out. While walking in the hallway, tracing her way back to her room, she bumped into a groggy Flordeliza.

"Alice, good morning! What a surprise to see you." The hufflepuff girl tried to greet cheerily, but ended up yawning mid-sentence. She rubbed her eyes and blinked several times, her eyes wide open as she stared at Alice. "Sorry to stare, but my vision is still a bit blurry and I'm trying to clear it."

"It's alright. Good morning to you too Flordeliza."

"Oh hun, you can just call me Flor. We're friends now afterall, aren't we?"

"Of course." Alice replied Flordeliza's huge grin with a smile. Their stomachs growled loudly at the same time, and both laughed.

"We should head down to the hall now. We're both starving." Alice nodded and followed Flordeliza down, glad that she didn't have to go back to the dorm to ask for the other girl's help.

"Oh.. Oh!" Flordeliza suddenly stopped and looked straight at Alice. "I almost forgot! I've been dying to ask since yesterday. I thought you were a muggleborn!"

"Ssh!" Alice shushed Flordeliza and quickly tugged her along the side of the hallway.

Flordeliza realized she shouldn't have half-screamed the muggleborn part and so proceeded in a hushed tone. "Dumbledore said you were homeschooled in magic, but you didn't say anything about that yesterday. You said you haven't ever heard of the magical community."

"Uh.. Look." Alice sighed. She never really her "magical heritage" to be a secret, but it was what the teachers wanted. However, she has told a bit of herself to Flordeliza, and frankly, she just doesn't see what kind of trouble she is in by just being open about it. "This is supposed to be a secret so.. Will you promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"What.. Why? There's nothing to be ashamed of! Don't tell me that not even the teachers know?"

"I'll tell you if you promise to keep this a secret." Alice squeezed Flordeliza's hand and looked at her straight in the eye. Flordeliza recognized her seriousness and nodded.

"Alright. I may be a huge chatterbox, but I do my best in keeping secrets. I promise."

"Thank you." Alice sighed in relief and looked around. One or two students passed every now and then.

"Oh. I'll cast a spell. No one would be able to hear what we talk about." Flordeliza smiled and casted a muffliatto charm. Alice leaned back against the wall, on the lookout for any incoming students just to make sure and Flordeliza did the same. "It was the teachers who asked me to disclose the information about my heritage."

"But why? Are they afraid you'd face discrimination? Pfft. If they are, they should actually do something about those who bully the muggleborns."

"No, no. It's probably because my grandfather was apparently a pureblood who was disowned and had discontinued the Liddell's pureblood heritage. I don't know about my parents though. My dad never displayed any magical abilities. He went to a non magical school and got a non magical job as a non magical professor. However, he and grandfather were the only people that encouraged my magical fantasies."

"Oh.. So the part where your parents is dead, is true then?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Flordeliza turned to Alice with a look of sympathy. Alice's face was blank, and seemed to be contemplating. Flordeliza wasn't that good at reading expressions, however, she was good at going with her gut feeling and guessing things.

"It's alright."

There was a short silence between them, and after much contemplation, Flordeliza spoke. "But.. How can you be in 6th year if you've never known about the magical world? So the part that you're homeschooled is true then?"

"Not at all. In fact, I'm as clueless as the first year muggleborns."

"Oh Merlin. That's horrible." Flordeliza stared at Alice with much confusion and disbelief. "Then.. Excuse me, but why are you in Hogwarts?"

Alice was about to answer her question when students began to emerge more often, all heading for breakfast. "I don't know exactly why I'm here either. Let's continue this when we have time later. I hope you can keep this a secret."

"I promise! Let's go. We're starving." Flordeliza smiled kindly and held Alice's hand all the way to the great hall. They both waved goodbye as they head to their own respective tables, leaving Flordeliza filled with intrigue and Alice with exasperation on how much truth she can reveal to an acquaintance.

"Alice! Good morning! You were out early. You beat me and Lorna from being the early risers of the dorm. What time did you wake up?" Isla cheerily greeted Alice as she ate her breakfast. All the others were eating breakfast. Madison is eating with her boyfriend, Vivian eating quietly, Zinnia however was nowhere to be seen.

"I don't know. It was still dark out when I woke up. I'm not very good at sleeping." She gingerly placed small but filling enough food on her plate, not wanting to seem too gluttonous even if she really feels so. She'll add in more food later.

"So early! Where were you then? We didn't see you lounging on the common room." Lorna asked.

"I was at the library. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to walk around the school before wake time, so a prefect reprimanded me. He let me go to the library though."

"Oh! He! Whose house's prefect scolded you then?" The twins giggled and grinned widely, teasing Alice.

"Slytherin." By then, both the twins high pitched giggling exploded as they looked at Alice with much excitement.

"Don't tell me it's Riddle? Merlin! You are so lucky!"

"I'm so jealous! Isla, we better wake up earlier now."

"We did that a lot in the past couple of years. We can't play the "I'm lost" card anymore. Especially since we abused it too much."

"Ugh. Such a shame. He's just so dreamy." Lorna dreamily sighed. "Don't you agree Alice?"

"Oh, uhm.. Yes. He's a kind and friendly person." Alice smiled curtly at the twins, happiness blossoming inside her with being able to eat a scrumptious and filling meal after so long.

"That's just two of the endless great qualities he has." The twins both sighed dreamily and everyone continued with eating their breakfast. The bell rang, signalling the end of breakfast and start of the morning classes. Everyone began going to their respective classes, and Alice just followed her dorm mates, with Madison rejoining the twins. Zinnia woke up and ate breakfast late, while Vivian finished her meal fast and went ahead to the class first. Alice took a seat not too far from the front together with her new friends. She looked at the Hufflepuff's side of the room and saw Flordeliza busy chatting with her friends. Flordeliza noticed Alice and gave her a wave, while both Martha and Therese smiled at her.

A middle-aged professor entered the class and placed his things on his desk. He greeted somberly to the class, and was greeted back by a few mutters. Cuthbert Binns, a History of Magic professor as Alice have read on her guide. The professor began his lecture about the current economy of the goblins, his eyes barely leaving the board. He'd talk while writing, then occasionally facing his students in an attempt to make them understand his lessons. His reedy and monotonous voice sent students battling against their heavy lids, some even lost the battle and ended up knocked out at their desks. He knows his classes bore his students, but whenever he tries to ask questions related to the topic, they'd always say "I'm sorry, sir", or they'd give him a wrong answer. He's even more frustrated from being too self-conscious that he can't confront his lazing students.

Alice looked around and saw the other students as fallen comrades. If it wasn't for her excitement as a new student, she would have fallen asleep with them. She glossed over his voice from her head and instead focused on reading the book. She has already read the book, so now she went on with memorization. While memorizing, her eyes went up to the teacher in the pretense that she's listening, then turned her gaze to where Flordeliza is seated and saw her asleep. After an hour of napping, the students were disturbed by the bell and began going to their next class.

"As expected. Every year. Professor Binns' class is the most boring." Madison groaned.

Both the twins both yawned and stretched. "His classes are perfect for napping though. No matter. Our next class is with Riddle. The reason why school is less boring."

"With Riddle, everyday here in school is worth looking forward." Zinnia said as she walked by. The twins made a face at her while Zinnia just rolled her eyes and walked on.

They reached the classroom and both Gryffindors and Slytherins entered the class ignoring each other, except for Riddle who greeted back the Gryffindor girls that flocked over him, Zinnia and the twins were no exception. Alice saw Madison walk towards the tables and was about to follow suit and tell the twins when she caught sight of Tom looking at her. She smiled politely and he greeted back with a smile, and he went to his seat.

Charms class began and a petite and timid-looking old lady entered. She smiled kindly to the class and greeted everyone.

"Good morning class. I hope that you all enjoyed your vacation. I certainly did with mine. To our dear transferee, Miss Liddell, I am Professor Effie Abbott, and I hope you will learn from my class." Everyone turned their gaze to Alice, whose face turned pink from the attention. "Now, I want you all to open your books on page 3, and let's all get started with our lessons."

The students opened their books and on the third page was an introduction to nonverbal spells. Excitement filled Alice at the thought of being taught how to use her wand, so she looked around and saw both excited and frowning faces.

"We all know how tricky it can be by just performing spells with incantation, and the difficulty is much more so when it is to be done non verbally. Performing nonverbal spells are very difficult and requires concentration and mental discipline, so we will be dealing with a good deal of practising of nonverbal spells in this class. However, that doesn't mean I will neglect studying about its theories, in fact, as I have taught you for years, theoretical study is important to grasp more knowledge and wisdom on how you wield not only your wands, but your magic. Let's start with a basic spell. The levitation spell you have all mastered during your first year. Do it with the incantation first, and proceed with practicing it nonverbally."

The classroom was filled with "wingardium leviosa's" then silence and floating school materials. Riddle was the first one who managed to do it, and effortlessly too. Everyone praised him, including the professor, then continued with their own. Alice tried with the incantation first and failed to do it a few times. She heard sneers and snickers from the Slytherin and few from Gryffindor, causing her face to be pink, but she was quickly defended by Madison.

"No Alice, you're waving your hand wrong. Your enunciation is right, but the hand movement is wrong. Swish, and flick. Here, like this. Wingardium Leviosa." Madison swished and flicked and the book in front of her levitated.

"Alright." Alice nodded and readied her wand. She visualized the quill to be levitated first and proceeded with the swish and flick. "Wingardium Leviosa."

Her quill floated above their heads and Alice's face broke into a smile of achievement.

"Great! Took me about hundreds of tries before I finally managed to levitate the apple when I was on my 1st year. Now we both should concentrate and do it nonverbally."

This time, Alice visualized her quill being levitated clearly and waved her wand more confidently, the quill levitated above their heads once more, much to Alice's happiness.

"Woah! You did it at the first try." Madison cheered, along with the twins and the gryffindors near them.

"That was impressive Ms. Liddell." Professor Abbott smiled approvingly, and this time, Alice's pink cheeks is caused by elation and not embarrassment. Alice did it a few more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and she did it perfectly. After awhile, several students managed to get the spell done nonverbally and was asked by the professor to continue reading about nonverbal spells. The bell rang and to those who haven't managed to get the spell done during the class were assigned to practice more, and everyone was assigned to do more studying about nonverbal spells.

"Man! I wish I could easily do nonverbal spells." Isla pouted, and Lorna laughed at her.

"Haha! Right! We both nonverbally destroyed the kitchen when we were younger."

"But that was different! We were kids. Now we're all heading to adulthood. Soon, we won't be able to see our dear Riddle anymore!" The girls sobbed and Madison just rolled her eyes at them. Alice took out the sandwich she packed from earlier breakfast. Everyone's having a short break, and Alice relishes it on eating.

"Well.. I will probably be too busy after graduation to miss Hogwarts." Madison said, sipping from her juice.

"Oohh. What do you mean? Will you be getting a job?"

"Hmm.. No.. but I guess being a housewife is a job in its own right." Madison's cheeks flushed while the twins gasped and grinned cheekily.

"You're engaged with Liam! Madison's engaged with Liam! Everyone! Madison and Liam are engaged!" Both the twins shouted and the Gryffindor girls gathered around Madison and the boys with Liam. Madison's whole face was red but it was obvious that she was elated to share the news. Liam on the other hand was very proud and had a huge grin on his face. Alice merely watched them, her mind flew away as soon as she congratulated and leaned back in her chair. They were already on the Potions Master's classroom, waiting for their teacher to start the class.

"Quiet." A voice demanded amidst the loud room. It was Professor Rosamund. Everyone quieted down and went back to their seats. Professor Rosamund walked towards Alice, and everyone's gaze was on the two of them. Alice however was busy gazing on the small gnome earlier, the gnome taking stuff from Professor Slughorn's cupboard.

'Damn it. I know this is part of my imagination, but I am itching to see the little man be toppled over.'

"Ms. Liddell." Alice quickly tore her intense gaze away from the gnome and onto the voice that disrupted her.

"Professor Rosamund. What can I do to help you?"

"Will you please follow me, Ms. Liddell?" Alice looked around and noticed everyone's gaze on them. She looked back to professor Rosamund and agreed. They both went out and began walking up the hallways.

"Professor Rosamund, where are we going?"

"On Ravenclaw tower. My office is located there, and it's the perfect place to read books and sip tea."

"How nice." Alice didn't say much and continued following the Divination Professor. When they reached her office, Alice was taken aback by the amount of huge bookshelves yet the room, instead of feeling stuffy like the library, it felt more free and cozy. She concluded that it's because of the open windows, and the shelves stuck in the wall instead of being cramped towards the center.

The center of the room is a pile of pillows as the seats and a small but wide table. On the center of the table is Rosamund's crystal ball. The professor prepared a tray of tea and sat down on one of the pillows. She beckoned for Alice to seat across her, which she did so. Alice stayed silent as the professor poured tea into their cups, and she noticed that the professor's usual coldness morphed into comfort even for a little bit. She can feel her relax.

"Do you like sugar in your tea?"

"Yes. I like my tea sweet. Can I be the one to mix it?"

"Of course. Be careful though. It's hot."

Alice took her cup and added three teaspoons of sugar and poured milk on it too. She notices that her professor only added one teaspoon of sugar, nothing more. She felt awkward, but there was a comfortable silence as they stirred their teas, and Rosamund began the discussion.

"Once again, I would like to apologize for inconveniencing you. I find Slughorn's class an interesting subject, and so I didn't want you to miss your first class with him. I've already gotten his permission and you are excused to the class."

"It is fine, Ms. Rosamund."

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"That's good to hear. Now, you might be wondering why you are excused from your class and is being summoned here in my office. It is regarding by the reason you were admitted here in this school, about the prophecy." The professor took out her wand and tapped its tip on the crystal ball, from there, images of war were shown, orchestrated by a brilliant yet cruel wizard. Death was everywhere, and it marked the success of a Dark Lord who orchestrated the first war in the wizarding world. The cruelty of the images shown sent a chill down to Alice's spine. Bumby's business of selling children to the black market was repulsive and downright cruel, but this war.. It was pure evil, and terrorizing.

"Miss Alice.. I assure you, we didn't want to cause you any trouble, and would rather really help. You know, Professor Dodgson is like my grandfather, and you were my childhood." Professor Rosamund gave Alice a warm, kind smile, completely different from her usual icy demeanor. "Alice in Wonderland had always been a favorite childhood book of mine, and I had always admired Professor Dodgson. He made learning arithmetic fun and he always helped out troubled students regardless of background, he's the kind of teacher I aspire to be. He always helped me out when I was still a student here in Hogwarts, and he continued helping me when I started teaching here. Even when he retired, I'd always drop by his place and give him company, since he didn't have any of his family visit him. His last few days were.. Particularly difficult. He said, you were one of his biggest regrets. He always wanted to help you, but he said he was too much of a coward to face you. He uh, he blamed himself for your family's demise and for what happened to you."

"What? But it wasn't his fault at all. It was all Bumby's."

"Well, he blamed himself, thinking if only he had helped sooner. If he dropped by the house to visit, maybe he would have prevented the fire. He was the one funding your bills on the asylum so that you wouldn't spend your parents' inheritance for you, and the nurse told him you were discharged and was off travelling around the world. He only learned the truth much later, discovering that the nurse took all of the money, and you were left impoverished and suffering at the hand of that disgusting doctor. When he finally resolved to facing you personally and bringing you to the wizarding world, you have gone missing."

Alice sighed deeply, her face darkened. She was relieved that Charles had been looking out for her, but she was also angry at that old bitch who stole all her money. She had to live her whole life as a penniless miser, when all along she shouldn't have been suffering financially.

"I'm really sorry, Miss Alice.. Professor Dodgson only knew about your true ability and whereabouts when he discovered your connection to the prophecy. He was relieved and elated to find you are still alive, but was also scared to involve you in the wizarding world's affair when you didn't even know it existed. He couldn't really ignore all the death looming in the future, and I bet he regrets that he wasn't able to see you again and help you through this. It's why I'm here, on behalf of Professor Dodgson, I will do my best to help you through this and let the old man rest in peace." With a kind smile, she held Alice's hand and squeezed it gently. She took her cup of tea and drank, and Alice followed suit.

"Thank you, professor. For telling me all of this. It at least gave more clarity to my situation."

"It is no problem, because from here on out, expect me to always be there to help you in any way I can."

"I'm thankful to hear that. But Professor, how do I exactly fit in this prophecy? I'm already guessing that I need to jump into a student's wonderland, but whose? And what do I do exactly?"

"That.. I can't help you with. The ministry is already tied up dealing with Grindelwald, a maniac who wants to rule both the wizarding world and the muggle world. So we here in the academy are to prevent the rise of another dark lord who is much more sinister than Grindelwald. The problem is, we do not know who this future dark lord is. We are already lucky to find you Miss Alice since your abilities gave you away, but this student, their future is still yet to come. Our only hope is that we still can change this grim future laid out in front of us."

"So we are in the process of finding this student. Anyone on the list?"

"Yes. Here." Professor Rosamund gave her a sheet of paper with the names, houses and years of the students. There were only 7 people written down, and Tom was included.

"Tom Riddle? Who put his name in here?"

"It was Professor Dumbledore. You see Alice, it is difficult for us teachers to put our student's name in that list, much more so when the list is indefinite. We never want for our students to grow into such a malignant being, but the Dark Lord in the future is shown to be brilliantly powerful and cunning. Believe me when I say that almost everyone in the school admires Mr. Riddle, and that includes us staff. My class is always disregarded as an unreliable one, but Riddle aces it anyway. He is a charming gentleman who may have a troubled background, and I couldn't imagine him being that evil. Professor Dumbledore however said that he is suspicious of him and that we should look out for him." She sighed and rubbed her temple, then drank what's left of her tea. Alice however, isn't that surprised. People who hide behind gentle masks can be the most terrifying. Take Dr. Bumby as an example, a man regarded as a brilliant scientist in his society with a kind heart, only to be hiding a hideous monster inside him.

"I honestly find all this hard to take in, but I'm the one who foresaw the future. A student.. I truly want to help students, and guide them to the right path. I'm sincerely glad you're here to help, as I alone don't have the power to fully do it yet. I still am a new teacher, and so I lack experience."

"Don't worry Professor, I'll help you as you have promised to help me too. I'll start by looking out and observing those in this list."

"Yes please, thank you."

The bell rang, signalling the end of the class and the end of both the professor and Alice's discussion.

"Don't worry about the cups, I'll take care of it. You should head down for lunch, enjoy it with your classmates." Professor Rosamund smiled and took out her wand, waving the cups into the sink.

Alice nodded and sat up, taking her stuff with her. "Thank you, Professor. I had a good time talking to you."

"Oh, it's no worry. I enjoyed my time with you too. Miss Alice, after class, you're free to roam about. I'd like for you to rest on your first day on school, but tomorrow, we will be starting our tutoring. We wouldn't want to have you lag around in classes after all."

"Yes Professor. I'll see you around." And with that, Alice left her office and went to the dining hall.

"Alice! Over here!" Isla called Alice over their table, her hand waving and gesturing her to take a seat beside them. Alice smiled and waved back, taking a seat beside Lorna. Lorna greeted her, but was preoccupied with her food and with her notes.

"Where were you? Why did Professor Rosamund called you?" Isla asked as she was eating.

"Oh. Uhm. Well, we were discussing about my extra classes. Since I'm a transfer student, it'd be obvious that I'm going to lack on certain subjects, that's why Professor will be helping me with my studies."

"That's awfully nice of Professor Rosamund, but it's surprising since she is known to be strict and cold. Also, she's a Ravenclaw Head Teacher and you're a Gryffindor, shouldn't it be Professor Dumbledore's duty?"

Alice began filling her plate with food and muttered a silent prayer before digging in. "Ah. I see. I think Professor Dumbledore will be teaching me too, but contrary to how Professor Rosamund looks, she's a kind teacher. She wants to help me and the other teachers approved of her assisting my studies."

"Oh. Okay." Isla nodded, and the three of them ate in silence. Well, the silence was brief though as Lorna argued with Isla about a certain subject's assignment.

As Alice looked around, her gaze fell upon the Slytherin table. Sure enough, she quickly found Riddle in the middle of unabated attention. He was talking to his peers with a charming smile on his face. The boys and girls around him seem to hang on to every word he said, and it made her curious what he was talking about with them. When Riddle began to eat, the others didn't disturb him and he was left alone, eating in silence while his peers chatted away.

'He's quite a mystery.' Alice mused. Then, she remembered about the list. First on it was someone named Antonin Dolohov, one of the four Slytherins listed.

"Isla, Lorna. Do you know Antonin Dolohov?"

The twins face immediately scrunched up in displeasure. "Oh. You mean that git?"

"He's an insufferable slytherin, it still exasperates me that he's a friend of Riddle." Lorna groaned.

"He's a show off, that Dolohov. He's part of the Quidditch team, likes roughing up against us Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs even more. Not only that, but he harassed a lot of girls. Dirty bastard. Yet despite how despicable he is, he's actually pretty good academically." Isla sighed. "It's our 6th year already, I wish I could just play everyday instead of studying. Soon, I'll be finally free from school!"

Lorna raised two thumbs up, nodding at what her sister said. "I share the same sentiment sis."

'Hm.. A boy with despicable reputation yet good grades, no wonder he is in the list.' Alice mused. 'But how do I know if he's the future dark lord?'

Alice remembered about the teachers mentioning Legilimency, a spell to read minds. She'll ask the next professor later. She finished her food and head on to her next class, Transfiguration.

Alice was excited, yet also nervous. Dumbledore has advised her to buy a lot of books, although she would've bought a lot anyways. He guided her to which books she would need and over the course of a week, she may have not fully read all of them, but due to ample time she had, she was able to atleast grasp basic knowledge on the core subjects. It wouldn't compare at all to her classmates, but she'll need whatever she can learn. Alice had always slacked off her schooling, in a way, she's trying to compensate for it now that she was given a second chance.

Transfiguration, as she has read, is a difficult subject that requires diligence, logic and hard work. It wasn't a subject that she would breeze through, and it was apparent when she tried a few transfiguration spells. She couldn't learn it alone easily and was excited to learn more at school, however, sixth years are already at an advanced level of transfiguration, and that deeply worried her. She can't possibly catch up with their years of practice. She feared making a fool out of herself.

"Good afternoon class. I am glad to have you back again at school." Dumbledore greeted, heading towards his desk. Alice sat along with her Isla and Lorna, who chose a spot near enough to easily gawk at Riddle. "Alice, I'm hoping you are enjoying your classes so far?"

"Yes, professor." Alice nodded.

"Good, good. Today is the first day of school, so I won't delve into the lessons to deep for now. I will be recapping our lessons last year, and introduce you to a whole new level of Transfiguration." Dumbledore then began writing on the board and started the lesson, and Alice was relieved there will be no practical exercise like their have been on the charms class earlier. She listened diligently, but found her gaze drifting off to Riddle and his gang. As usual, Riddle is the epitome honor student, but he seemed less interested and looked even a bit disgruntled. How was she able to tell? One time during the class, Dumbledore asked Riddle to show an example of what they have learned last year and explain it since he was the first one out of the class to pull off a difficult intermediate level configuration. He scowled when Dumbledore called him, and had an annoyed look throughout his explanation. It was subtle and others wouldn't have noticed at all except his friends, but Alice noticed. His face stiffened when he was annoyed but his hands gripped his wand a bit tightly. She wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't keeping an observing eye on him and Dolohov. Dolohov on the other hand, was half-listening to the class, half chatting with his friends, and half checking up the girls. He noticed Alice's gaze earlier and mistook it as an interest in him, which he seemed to welcome with a flirty smirk and wink. Alice groaned and immediately turned her head away. She sees why the twins hate him.

"That is all. I expect you children to read ahead so you'll be able to grasp a better understanding. Be careful when you are practicing too, immediately go to Madam Longbottom when you encounter an accident. See you again on wednesday."

Dumbledore left the class and the students began packing for their next class. Alice and her friends were about to exit the classroom when Dolohov stopped them, his hand leaning against the door and blocking their way.

"So new chick, I saw you checking me out earlier. Want to go out alone and go around the school later?" Dolohov asked her out with an impish smirk plastered on his angular face.

Alice cringed and inwardly groan. "I wasn't-" She was about to say no, when she remembered that she has to get to know him better, to see if he could possibly be the dark lord. "You know what, sure. I'd love to." She smiled back, and wished she didn't.

"Woah. Nice. You're a swell girl. I'll see you later then babe." He winked and finally removed himself from the door and went with his friends who were laughing and cheering him, except Riddle who was uninterested.

"What did I just see?" Lorna gasped and immediately grasped Alice's shoulder and shook her. "Why did I just see you agree to go with that git?"

"Seriously Alice. Have you not heard us tell you how much of a bastard he is? You really couldn't possibly be considering going out with him? He's done other girls and you'd no doubt be one of his victims."

"Uhh.." Alice struggled to answer back, but she immediately started walking to class.

"That's the wrong way." Madison chuckled and held Alice's hand as they walked towards the next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Alice! Dolohov is a real jackass. Unless.. You're into guys like him?" Isla and Lorna shivered, disapproving of Alice's alleged questionable taste.

'I prefer men my age.. But considering how I look, then it'd look like I prefer old men.' Alice sighed and shrugged. "I don't know girls. Is it that wrong to go with him?"

"YES." The three girls answered in chorus, and Alice could only sigh again in defeat.

Defense Against the Dark Arts is held together with the Hufflepuffs and Alice met Flordeliza again. She waved at her, Therese and Martha, and they waved back.

"You know those three girls?" Madison asked curiously. "Those three are quite popular, especially Flordeliza. She's quite popular with the boys. With her charm and all. She's a friendly gal."

"Yes, I've noticed. We met at the train station, she helped me and accompanied me throughout the train ride and also at the carriages."

"That was nice of her." Madison commented. The professor finally arrived and the class started.

Professor Elise Hawthorne, a young woman with a strict and no nonsense attitude with a strong preference for Ravenclaws. As soon as she arrived, she reprimanded her class.

"You Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs better not lag behind and mess around my class again like last year. That applies to you too new kid. Now to start of this class, I would like to jog all of your brains with a duel. All that summer playtime made you brats lazy. Now quick. Go to your position."

Alice was completely confused, and had no choice but to follow her friends. They all lined up according to alphabetical order, standing straight and tall. Alice was nervous. The subject interested her greatly and appealed to her dark side, but she has zero experience with duelling.

"For today, we will practice Stupefy and Protego. To remind you idiots, stupefy is a stunning spell and protego a shield charm. It is of utmost importance that you brats know how to cast a shield charm, lest you get injured or jinxed because your idiotic asses don't know how to counter a stupefy or any other jinxes when in a battle. We are in dangerous times, especially with that dimwit Grindelwald marching around the wizarding world with his stupid propaganda of revealing ourselves to muggles. Pah! Damnation! He needs to pull his head over his ass." Professor Elise tutted, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. " When casting a stupefy, remember to point directly at your opponent. For safety reasons, I don't want you to point your wands at your partner's heart or head. Point at the shoulder or the stomach. And not at the crotch! It's a brilliant tactic in a battle, but not here in school when you could make a student forever erectile dysfunctional." The class giggled and males immediately covered their crotches and winced at just even imagining the pain. "For shield charms. You better think and cast quick. You do not want to be hit! That's right. Hold on to that fear and protect yourself, and your crotch. Now, face the student on your right, that'll be your partner. You, the kid on the last, lucky you. You'll be my partner."

On her right was Charles Linton, a tall gangly guy who groaned and faced Alice with a mix of nervous and bored look.

"For now, try practicing your spells in front of the wall. After three tries of both Protego and Stupefy, you will duel with your partner. Start."

The sounds of protego and stupefy reverberated throughout the classroom, with sparks hitting the magically enchanted walls. Alice breathed in and tried stupefy first. Her first try was a lame attempt, and so was the second. She closed her eyes and steeled her nerves.

'This is nothing. I've slashed with the vorpal blade, shot with the teapot cannon and used the umbrella to protect myself against the vomit of the countless bitch babies. Eugh. Bitch babies..' So Alice thought of it as the same as battling inside the wonderland, and she produced the stupefy spell well. 'See. That was easy.'

Alice grinned and casted the protego spell thrice, which also went well.

After everyone finished practicing the spells, the professor and the first student dueled. The student casted stupefy but professor quickly blocked it. Dissatisfied, professor made him cast stupefy against her thrice, but all tried failed.

"Tch. Weak! Your stance is wobbly and the way you held your hand is too tight. Godric's ass! You're trying to render me immobile, not yourself. You better practice this spell well or else you're gonna lose your damn balls." Professor scolded the poor student who was completely red in embarrassment. He hung his head in shame and went to his seat on the side of the classroom, meanwhile the class laughed at him.

"Alright! You two, you're next." Professor Elise pointed on the first two students of the line. Two by two, the students dueled with their partner and so far, none was hit in the crotch. A student tried, but was immediately caught and stupefied by Professor Elise, so no one dared to try again.

It was finally Alice and Charles' turn, they went in front of the class. Alice's initial nervousness was gone, her face ice cold and ready to duel. Charles on the other hand was nervous and frightened by how blank Alice looked. Professor Elise was alert as soon as she saw Alice's cold face. She had been in many dangerous battles back when she was working as an auror at the ministry, and Alice's face looked like the faces of those who have fought many life threatening battles and won. Hell, a face of a person who has killed even. She wasn't wrong, Alice after all battled with many of her inner demons and she wasn't exactly against killing evil people. Wary, Professor Elise clutched on her wand and preparing for what will happen.

"Go!"

"Stupe-" Charles went first, but before he could even finish casting, Alice immediately nonverbally casted a strong protego that knocked him back.

"Ouch, ouch.." Charles was on the floor, rubbing his back. Thankfully, the knockback wasn't that painful. The class were in awe with what just happened. Alice non verbally casted protego, and a strong one at that. Alice looked so weak and bony, Professor Elise doubted her part in preventing the rise of another dark lord, but after seeing how she duelled, she was convinced that she would be a good hand to have. She will help in shaping this girl up to become a powerful witch.

"I'm sorry." Alice helped Charles get back to his feet. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Charles replied, rubbing his butt a bit then stood straight.

"Alright. That was a good one. New kid, your turn to cast the stunning spell."

"Okay." Alice stepped back and went to her previous position. Charles however was intimidated. He was just knock backed by her shield charm, what more if he was hit by her stupefy? This time, he put his guard up and is wary of her. His wand pointed against her.

"Go!"

"Pr-" He could barely even utter the spell, he was hit by a blue light and was rendered unconscious. The class cheered, Alice casted stupefy non verbally too. Her face returned to normal as she heard the cheers, her face flushed red.

"Rennervate." Professor Elise casted rennervate, counteracting the effects of stupefy. Charles groaned and the teacher helped him.

"Very impressive new kid. Your timing was fast and your stance was great too. But the fact that you casted both of it non verbally already earns enough praise. You Gryffindors sure are better with acting first, talking later." Professor Elise chortled and patted her back. "Now brats, if you actually took time to see her stance and see how she held her wand, you'd stand a better chance at duelling. Next!"

Alice helped Charles go to his seat, and those who were already done clamored around her, asking her how she did it.

"QUIET! You kids back there! Class is still not over! Or do you guys want to go another round here in front, with me?" The students quickly shook their head and finally stayed silent. "Good! Stay silent and watch how the others do it too. Especially you brats who got stupefied."

Everyone got their turns and the class finished. Professor Elise gave them an assignment to learn more about nonverbal spells, and to practice stupefy and protego non verbally since tomorrow they will have another dueling practice.

The twins and Madison immediately went to Alice and excitedly chattered.

"Alice! That was so awesome! You're like, super good with nonverbal spells." Madison exclaimed. "Earlier too, during Charms."

"Yeah! How do you do it? It takes a lot of practice to be able to pull off nonverbal spells." Lorna said. It may not seem like it, but the twins do work fairly hard with their spellcasting. They have their own pride to uphold and wouldn't stand just being okay.

She didn't know exactly how to answer that. She is still new with handling her wand, but she definitely is used with battling and using her weapons. Even if it wasn't on her wonderland, the otherlands are dangerous too and she has to fight other people's inner demons.

"I just do? Well. I practiced a lot. I lived by myself for quite awhile along with uhm, muggles, so doing nonverbal spells helped me alot."

"Ah. That's why." The three girls continued to talk about subjects and of other matters, specifically how Madison was proposed too. They were all walking towards the dining hall to grab some snacks, and there they encountered Dolohov talking with another girl.

"See Alice, that's exactly why we told you not to go with Dolohov." Isla whispered aggressively. Dolohov noticed Alice from a distance and immediately waved and went towards them. The girl he was talking with gave them the stink eye then left with a huff.

"Hey! Alice right? Finally found out your name. I asked one of my buds earlier."

"Yes. And you're Dolohov?"

"That's my last name. Call me Antonin, but you can call me whatever you want babe."

"Okay. Alice, we're going to eat and leave you two be. See you later at the dorm, or at dinner." Madison said.

"See you later Alice!" The twins waved goodbye and followed Madison to the gryffindor table. The girls left her with Dolohov, although she never really wanted to be with him. Still, she had already decided to go with him, let's just hope he doesn't do anything funny to her. This Dolohov guy gave her the feeling that he's sleazy.

"Oh good. They took the hint. Let's go. I'll show you around the school. The school's enormous, so I'll just show you around important places."

"Thank you, Antonin."

The two began their tour around the school. Alice expected the guy to just bring her somewhere quiet and coerce her to shag, but he actually showed her around. Although, his loud mouth sure did love to talk about himself. It was easy, Alice just stayed quiet and just nodded along, flattering him here and there, and he seemed to open up more and bragged more about himself.

They reached outside the school, just outside the clock tower overlooking the lake and the forbidden forest. Alice's eyes sparkled at seeing such a magnificent view. She was thrilled, and for a second, she didn't mind that this was reality.

"Great view, right? Honestly, you're not really my type of girl. Too skinny for me. I like my women to be thick at certain places. But you don't seem half bad, Alice. You're the first girl I brought here you know." Dolohov said, sitting on the grass.

'You're not my type of man either.' Alice thought, chuckling. She sat on the grass too, but didn't sit near him.

"Thank you, for bringing me here." She thanked him, sincerely. It was a beautiful view and she appreciated it, but no doubt this guy has used this place to keep girls clinging on to him, making them feel special. Not half-bad of a trick.

Dolohov moved close to Alice, placing his hand over hers. He was feeling pretty confident, once he brings a girl here and tells them they're the first, they go all over him. It was a sure fire way to keep girls clinging to him for more. It made him feel attractive, powerful even.

Alice removed her hand from his. Then all of a sudden, she grabbed his hand instead and pinned him against the ground. She was too quick, even though he was much stronger and heavier, she surprised him by her sudden fierceness.

Dolohov chuckled and smirked. "Hey! Didn't know you had this kind of spunk!"

A devious smile appeared on Alice's face. She stared straight in his eyes, scrutinizing him. "You'd be surprised with how wild I can be."

Dolohov's eyes widened in surprise. He has never encountered a situation like this. All the girls he has been with were weak and submissive, but Alice wasn't. He didn't mind, as long as it leads to them shagging. "Will you show me?"

"Perhaps. If you answer some of my questions." She answered her eyes unblinking as she just stared right through him, and it kind of unnerved him.

"Alright."

"What do you think of becoming.. A dark lord?" Alice just shot through the question, and it caught him off guard.

"That.. Wasn't the kind of question I thought you'd ask." He sighed. "But hey, becoming a dark lord doesn't sound bad at all. You into those kind of stuff?"

Alice shrugged, and got off of him. "Hm. What if I am?"

"Damn. Didn't peg you to be that kind of crazy." Dolohov scratched his head. "Holding that kind of power. Being able to do what I want and kill off those that oppose me.. Doesn't sound too bad. If I could become one sure. But eh, I don't have any lofty goals to become one. I'd rather leave it to someone who's crazier than me."

"Who'd be crazier than you then?" Alice poked further.

"Well, that'd be-" Dolohov stopped midway, then clicked his tongue. "Don't know anyone crazier than me to do that. But, if you want to be one, I suppose I won't oppose it." He smirked and brought his face near Alice's. Out of reflex, Alice knocked him out.

"Oops." Alice sighed and stood up. If she knew more spells, she wouldn't have resorted to this. She looked around and decided to go back inside the castle and ask a teacher for help. Preferably Professor Dumbledore or Professor Rosamund. Thanks to Dolohov who guided her around earlier, and most especially the school map, she was able to return without getting lost. She decided to go to Dumbledore since he is the head of her house. The wizard laughed at her and assured her Dolohov is alright and will be taken care of Madam Longbottom.

"Oh no. What do I do if he wakes up? While I don't think that he's the prophesied dark lord, but I can say that he has a dark personality."

"Don't worry Ms. Liddell. I'll take care of it. I have to say, I'm glad to see you taking the prophecy seriously. You even tried to pry Dolohov open today."

"I am curious. After seeing what Professor Rosamund showed me earlier, I don't think I'll be able to easily ignore the plight of people from the future. I think it's good, preventing a catastrophe instead of fighting its aftermath. Prevention is the best cure."

"That's admirable of you Ms. Liddell." Dumbledore patted Alice's shoulder. "I've also heard of your extraordinary performance during charms and defense against dark arts. You truly are a talented person. My only regret is of the school discovering you way later. Fate sure has its funny ways of twisting paths."

After talking with Dumbledore, Alice passed time in the library til dinner came. She went to the dining hall and found Dolohov absent from the slytherin table, much to Alice's relief.

"Alice! There you are! How did it go with that git?" Isla grabbed Alice and made her sit beside her.

"Well.. It was alright at first." Alice sheepishly replied.

"What happened? He didn't try anything perverted, did he?" Lorna asked, her eyes squinting in suspicion. "We'd kill that bastard if he did!"

"Don't worry. I knocked him out when he tried to kiss me."

"HE WHAT!?" Lorna shouted and stood up, immediately all eyes were on her. "Sorry, sorry!" She apologized and sat back down.

"That bastard!" Lorna slammed the table with her fist. "Just wait til that git shows his face! I'm gonna hex him!"

"Agreed!" Isla nodded. "Let's make him barf slime. Oh! Oh! Our make his lips get stung by tons of wasps!"

Alice giggled. She does love a good prank. The twins' rowdiness reminded her of her childhood. She was one queer, troublesome child. She still is though, just grown up a bit.

"But wait." Madison was pissed off like the twins, but suddenly interjected in their spewing of expletives. "How did you knock Dolohov out? He deserves it, but you'll be making an enemy out of him."

"Uh.. About that. He might probably not have noticed. I didn't stupefy him or anything. Just hit his neck with my hand."

"What? How did you do that?" The three of them were flabbergasted. Dolohov is a strong guy, and Alice, well she looks so much weaker than him and wouldn't stand a chance at all against a physical fight. She's a girl, and bony looking one at that.

"I just hit his neck. Out of reflex. I must've put in all my strength cause my wrist is in pain right now. He was coming close to me so I panicked. Don't worry, I'll just tell him he got hit by someone who was on a broom."

"That's a good excuse!" Isla said.

"I don't even know where to begin. But seriously Alice, don't come near him anymore. That guy's a danger to all women." Madison warned, sighing.

"I won't go with him anymore. I've learned enough that I need to stray as far away from him."

"That's good to hear!" Lorna said, and the four of them began eating dinner and returned to their dorm right after. It sure was an eventful day.