Chapter Nine

With Christmas now behind her , Penny thought that its time to find a very specific magical item she wanted to examine. The item she had in mind is the Mirror of Erised, if she remembers correctly it is hidden in an unused classroom towards the left of the restricted section of the Library. Penny waited until late at night and cast a spell of her own making. She moved her wand in a flowing almost backwards L shape and called out "Umbra Mantellum" Her shadow begins to pry itself away from the wall and wraps itself around Penny leaving only her two eyes visible. During a dark night such as tonight this spell is almost as effective at hidings ones self as using an invisibility cloak. In the dark gloom of the castle at night-time Penny began making her way to the mirror. She headed through the restricted section, her desire to stop and read was being put in check by her much larger desire to examine the mirror. Her first impressions of the abandoned classroom was that it was dusty and damp. Penny was half hoping that the mirror would show her, her greatest desire which she suspected to be for knowledge. Penny walked towards the far wall. The mirror was propped up against the wall its height was equal to that of the ceiling and it was stood on two clawed feet. She read the inscription of "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi". Penny realized pretty quickly it meant, I show not your face but your hearts desire. What was reflected to Penny was herself in a large library filled with books. Each book contained lost magic. Sadly however Penny couldn't make out any knowledge from the books. Penny was a bit disappointed but quickly moved onto examining how the mirror worked. As best she could tell that the mirror was partly made out essence of Boggart. The Boggart is a magical creature able to see ones deepest fear and reflect that fear as a defense mechanism. The mirror however is enchanted to see your deepest desires and reflect that instead. This was truly incredible work. Penny could see through a great deal of the magic that went into making it, so much in fact that she feels she could modify the mirror if she so chose to do so. There however was one thing Penny didn't understand. How the essence of Boggart was implemented. Penny was deep in though and writing her notes down oblivious to the sudden arrival behind her. She hears an Ahem" and turns around. Much to her surprise Professor Dumbledore has been watching over her. "Hello Professor" Penny nonchalantly said "I was just examining this mirror, It's quite interesting how it can see ones desires. Wouldn't you agree" Dumbledore was momentarily taken aback. He had recently conversed with young Harry Potter about this mirror not long ago. He half expected it to be Harry again when he detected a student in this room. Dumbledore stares intently at the young girl clutching a notebook in front of him. "Professor, It's not polite to use Leglimency without permission, wouldn't you agree?" Memories of his past student flooded his mind causing the Professor a momentary sliver of fear. Dumbledore's hand momentarily flickered towards his wand but he thought better of it. "Quite correct Miss Partridge" He cheerfully replied. Dumbledore's curiosity was piqued. How can a first year student be so far along in her magical knowledge. A young Tom Riddle and Gelert Grindlewald came to his mind, but this girl seemed to have far more knowledge that even they did at her age. Penny figured the moment she blocked Dumbledores Leglimency that she could no longer pretend to be a normal student so she decided to talk to the professor as fellow intellectual and gain his trust that way. "If I had to guess the mirror is made from the essence of Boggart, but how it was enchanted is still beyond me". Dumbledore strokes his long beard at the insightful young girl whose understanding is far more advanced than it should be for her age. "You are quite knowledgeable for one so young Miss Partridge" Dumbledore was worried that this child had the potential to grow to become another Dark Lord. In fact her thirst for knowledge reminded him deeply of Grindlewald. "Not really professor I just have an outstanding memory is all, I love to read and if I read something once I remember it in its entirety". Dumbledore was quite impressed this seemed not to be youthful boasting. "Well then why don't you come to my office soon, I have several books I think you will find interesting. But for now Miss Partridge it is late so would you please return to the Ravenclaw dormitory". Penny agreed and with Dumbledore escorting her she returned obediently. She passed her notebook to Dumbledore and asked him if he wouldn't mind giving her his views on its contents to which he gladly agreed. Penny soon went to bed after arriving back. Dumbledore decided it is best to move the Mirror before anymore students find it. Dumbledore returned to his private room and sat opening the notebook he was asked to read. Much to his surprise it was filled with insightful comments and improvements for spells along with a few spells he assumed she created herself. Dumbledore has for the first time in a long time wanted to personally take a pupil personally, He was still quite fearful of the past repeating itself so how he handled this situation must be dealt with in the most careful manner. He couldn't be sure she wouldn't grow up to become another dark lord unless he tried to set her on the right path from the start. He has learned too much from past failures to allow a person to dangerously thirst for knowledge and power without restriction.

The next day an at breakfast in the Great Hall, The small amount of students were all gathered on a single table. Everyone was conversing being as it is now close to new year the topic of conversation involves new years resolutions. This is the first real chance Penny has had to communicate with the so-called main characters. Hermoine seems to base her resolution around improving her studies. Ron's resolution is to at least curse Malfoy once, which got a look of displeasure from Hermoine. Harry didn't seem to have anything he wanted to do specifically. Penny and the few other remaining students resolutions were not all that memorable. The longer Penny stays in this world the more she has started to form a theory that every one of the Harry Potter readers imaginations along with the Author's combine and form the basis for the wants and dreams of the main characters. As not much of said imagination is distributed to the minor characters, most of their wants and desires seem to be lacking in comparison. The funny thing to Penny is that no one in this world other than her seems to notice that. While she was lost in her thoughts a purple envelope fly's towards Penny. The hand writing is written in beautiful calligraphy no soon as she reads that it is addressed to her does it begin to unfold itself revealing the letter inside.

"Deer Miss Partridge

I would like to request of you to come to the headmasters office at noon today.

I have several things I would like to discuss with you.

Many of which I think you will find interesting.

The password is "Lemon Sherbet"

Yours sincerely

Professor Albus Dumbledore"

Penny quietly pocketed the envelope and letter without letting the other students know, and quietly left the table. As she had plenty of time until noon she decided to head towards the library to kill a bit of time. Sadly she wasn't permitted into the restricted section, but that didn't mean all the books for general consumption are lacking in interest. She was reading about the known method of becoming an Animagi. Sadly most of the important information is lacking as it only gives a general account of the spell. The majority of wizards that can become an Animagi usually become a normal animal that you can find anywhere, There are however very rare cases of wizards becoming a magical animal. These kind of wizards carry a huge risk however, if control of said form is not properly implemented The transformation can fail resulting in a blood curse that effects your female descendants from then on. These female descendants are known as a Maladictus. They can transform into a degraded form of the original Animagi at will, but they are destined to eventually become trapped in the form of a beast. It is theorized that if one was to become an Animagi of say a Phoenix the likeliness of your descendants becoming a Malidictus with the ability to transform into some form of bird is extremely high. It is because of this very rare possibility that becoming an Animagi is highly regulated. Should the unthinkable happen and the witch or wizard become a magical creature they will be in the care of the ministry during such an attempt and the wizards present can reverse the transformation before any harm is caused. Penny's thoughts turned to Nagini who she remembered to be a Malidictus who eventually become Voldemorts snake. Penny made an educated guess that one of her ancestors became an Animagi for a Basilisk or a Horned Serpent only to fail her initial transformation. Even though the chances of becoming a magical animal are minute Penny couldn't deny that the failure of such didn't frighten her a little.

Penny eventually put this line of thinking away. It was now time for her to head to Dumbledore's office. The office is located in the Headmasters Tower, through the Gargoyle Corridor. upon the third floor stands an imposing Gargoyle that stands guard. Penny walks towards the Gargoyle and says "Lemon Sherbet!" The Gargoyle moves revealing a stair case which begins to move once you step foot upon it. She is spun around as the stairs spiral upwards until entering the Headmasters Office. The office was filled with many fantastical things. The room was large and circular with many windows. Along the walls are portraits of all the prior Headmasters. But what is most eye-catching is behind Dumbledore's desk a huge portrait. The man in the portrait had a frail and feeble aura about him but he seemed to also hold a great deal of pride. While the other portraits were pretending to be asleep he was staring intently at Penny. "Now now Armondo don't stare so hard you will scare the child" said Dumbledore rising from his seat. "Welcome Miss Partridge, I hope you will forgive the former Headmaster he is concerned you may become some kind of a threat to the school". The portrait clicks his tongue in frustration. He believes that Dumbledore is being too trusting. The portrait is more than aware of some of the past failings of Dumbledore which is what is putting him so on guard. Penny taking the portraits gaze as lightly as possible ignores it which seems to annoy the portrait even more. "Well Miss Partridge, I called you hear after reading through your notebook. You have many interesting interpretations of spells and seem to think of things in a far more advanced level than one would expect of a child of your age". Dumbledore's bright blue eyes were intently looking at Penny's reaction. She got the feeling this little bit of flattery held far more meaning than just lip service. She felt a slight pressure from the Headmaster. It was almost as though they were locked in a heated game of Wizards Chess and they were sizing each other up. "Not at all Professor, Like I told you I simply have a good memory is all. It takes a great deal off effort to put what I remember into practice and then I simply make my own assumptions after I see the results". Dumbledore who knows how people with the potential to become dangerous react to flattery so he decided to put the young Witch to the test, While a young Tom Riddle and Gelert Grindleward both would feign modesty it was clear they truly held their own abilities in high regard. This young witch however whilst modest admits it takes a severe amount of hard work for her to implement what she memorizes. The two in his memories never once implied they worked hard because that would undermine their desire to appear naturally powerful. While the two were planning the next salvo in their little game a small bird flew over onto Penny's shoulder. The Phoenix Fawkes who is only the size of a chick at current, perched upon her shoulder happily. Dumbledore was amazed by this as Fawkes only usually likes those who are loyal to Dumbledore. He watched as the small chick sized phoenix was rubbing its head against Penny's cheeks. Whilst Dumbledore is more than aware that Penny shows none of the blind loyalty that certain others show him, Fawkes has made it more than clear she means no harm. Fawkes would never have done such behavior with Voldemort and Grindleward. If Dumbledore could understand what the phoenix was thinking it would be something along the lines of this small girl reminds it of Dumbledore in his younger days.The tense atmosphere is immediately blown away and Dumbledore begins talking to Penny about her goals and aspirations. Penny simply wants knowledge is what she explained. She says "Power is all well and good but power without knowledge is unfocused. There are many dark wizards who wished for power only to be undone by something they don't understand". This immediately struck a chord with Dumbledore his mind going back to Voldemort's failure to kill young Harry because he failed to understand how a Mother's love could possibly have an effect. Young Tom Riddle whose thirst for power only learned about what he deemed essential. In fact Dumbledore thought back to his younger self and remembered just how little he himself truly knew before things turned badly. By looking at this child, for the first time in a long time Dumbledore saw a kindred spirit. To Dumbledore sat at the top of the wizarding world, The machinations of those with power has for the longest time been an all too familiar part of his life. But this young girl reminded him just how much in his youth Dumbledore thirsted for knowledge for knowledge sake. It wasn't until He began having thoughts of gaining power that Dumbledore's life took a turn for the worse. Somehow this young girl has looked at the world and seen it in the way that the Professor has been striving to see it. Little did he know how heavy this had weighed upon him until this moment. Dumbledore wondered why he couldn't have met this child sooner in life. Being strong has been the benchmark for Dumbledore's life for the longest time. Even if he was reluctant to the role he had to turn knowledge into power just like those he battled against. First he had to be strong to stop Grindlward, then he had to be strong to stop Voldemort. The weight seemed to have been lifted slightly by this child. All the plans and manipulations the headmaster had put into effect to keep the wizarding world safe has seemingly been laid bare before himself. "Would you mind telling me about the spell you invented in your notebook Umbra Mantellum. It seems to be a composite of two different spells am I right". Penny was astounded by Dumbledores wisdom, being able to see through the makings of that spell so quickly. "That's true professor. I came across the idea for combining spells that have what I call a synergistic effect" Dumbledore nodded urging her to continue. "You see if two spells have effects that compliment each other, then I thought that casting them simultaneously would provide an interesting effect". Most Wizards are unable to cast more than one spell at a time. To Dumbledore this seemed to be a breakthrough in magical theory that has been stagnated for as long as he could remember. In his youth Dumbledore thought of casting more than one spell at a time but to think of combining spells that have a synergistic effect it was. Penny continued "Professor if you were to cast a spell like Incendio to create a flame, what do you think would happen if at the same time you cast a spell like the Ventus Jinx that creates wind in just the right ratio?" Dumbledore quickly answered

"wouldn't the wind fan the flames creating a hotter flame over a larger area". Penny nodded it seems that Dumbledore understood. "You see Professor, in the Muggle world they have a thing called science. This is how they make things work without magic. You see by using electricity they create light, by using flame they are able to make vehicles move. They taught themselves the mechanics of the world in ways most wizards don't understand. Now what do you think would happen if we start to understand their science and saw how it could affect magic, knowing which synergistic spells to use together come from knowing this science". To Dumbledore he had never seen a witch or wizard in all his years that thought this way, he was well aware of some of the things she mentioned as Hogwarts teaches Muggle studies as an elective course. But it would seem this girl has already learned a great deal. Dumbledore wasn't aware that Penny had voraciously read every textbook available in Hogwarts pertaining to Muggle studies. Because of this her grasp on Science and other Muggle pursuits could be thought of as being the height of the wizarding worlds understanding of such. The portrait behind Dumbledore began to speak up in discontent "learning from Muggles, is this child mad". Penny simply sighed and decided to try something she had wanted to try. "Okay how about this, Professor do you have a piece of parchment?" Dumbledore quickly gave her a blank piece of parchment off his desk. "The muggles have a certain idea called Space-Time. If I was to know the exact Space-Time of this object and make it move Faster than the speed of light what do you think would happen?" Dumbledore stood unable to answer. This is a branch of knowledge he had absolutely no idea about. Penny began moving her wand in a series of complicated movements suddenly the parchment disappears. Dumbledore stood amazed as he thought something that should not be possible within the walls of Hogwarts has happened. It was almost like the parchment Disapparated, it was similar but not quite the same thing. When someone Disappparates it requires conscious thought to disappear and Apparate where you want to go. Suddenly the Parchment reappeared where it was mere moments ago. Penny had made no movement it just appeared by itself. "You see Professor instead of effecting the space the parchment moved to I effected the time instead". Dumbledore had a vague idea about this. It is similar to how a time turner can send a person backwards in time she seemed to have found the way of sending something forward in time instead. Professor by speeding up the Space-Time of the parchment to faster than the speed of light it leaves our Space-Time and when it finally slows down it will come to a stop in a Space-Time we have yet to get to, That is how it went forward in time by just a few moments. Sadly I don't think a person could survive but as I proved a non living object can do the journey quite well". Dumbledore was amazed at what this girl was able to accomplish by herself and her own study method. Dumbledore looks at the portrait of Armondo Dippet who nods in agreement almost knowing what the Headmaster is thinking. "Say Miss Partridge how would you like for me to teach you from now on?" Penny was shocked at the offer but with a simple idea of what she stands to gain by learning under Dumbledore himself she readily agrees. Dumbledore has Penny teach him the method she used to send the parchment forward in time in exchange for his personal lessons. Dumbledore seems to think if he can exchange letters with his future self then he would be one step ahead of any of Voldemort's conspiracies. Sadly even for the great Dumbledore being able to send letters to his future self is pointless as they lack the ability to send them backwards in time.