Helena's ghost's departure took me by surprise... I hadn't expected to have to say goodbye to her so soon. I'd thought I could at least be with her, even if she was just a ghost.
After Helena's departure, I didn't feel like going to the Great Hall, so I called Blinky and asked him to tell Professor McGonagall that I'd like to have dinner in my room.
After Blinky disappeared, he returned a few seconds later, asking what I wanted for dinner. I wasn't in the mood to eat anything, but my stomach started growling, so I asked for some mashed potatoes, pork chops, and broccoli, and some orange juice to drink.
Dinner was much tastier than what I usually ate, and it cheered me up a bit. When I finished eating, I thought about studying to take my mind off things, so I went to my room with all my first-year books and used the multi-clones for the first time.
According to the ability, I needed a certain percentage of my mana for each clone I created, so I thought I'd make 10 clones, each with 5% of my mana, to see how long they would last.
When I raised my wand to channel my mana, I felt something very different than when I used my staff. Now my mana flowed much faster, and I felt like the amount of mana used was much less. I wasn't sure if it was just because of the clone ability that I needed less mana, or if it was something that would happen with all the other spells I know. This is something I need to figure out as soon as possible.
My clones appeared in a puff of smoke.
It was a little surprising to see several identical versions of myself. Each clone took a different book and sat on the bed or wherever they could, since for the moment they would only be here in my bedroom. I didn't want anyone else to find out about this ability, and since there was a portrait of the same lady in the living room as the one on the door, I didn't want to risk another one alerting the headmaster or Professor McGonagal about what I was doing here. I would have to go to the Room of Requirement another time to let my clones study and practice there.
I left my room and sat on the sofa while reading one of the history books. Shortly after, the lady in the portrait told me that Professor McGonagal was at the door requesting permission to enter. I put my book on the small table in front of the sofa and told her to let her in. By the time I got up and walked to the door, I saw Professor McGonagal enter with someone behind her.
"Good afternoon, Miss Ravenclaw. I hope you enjoyed your dinner."
I replied while looking at the person behind her.
"Good afternoon, Professor. Dinner was delicious, thank you."
"I'm glad you enjoyed dinner... allow me to introduce you to Miss Granger. She'll be showing you around the castle. She's one of our best students, and I'm confident she'll be able to answer any questions you may have."
I turned to Hermione and bowed slightly in greeting as I said,
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger. I hope I'm not slowing down your study time, and please call me Selene if you don't mind."
Hermione looked at me, a little surprised, and seemed a bit nervous herself, though I didn't understand why she might feel that way. Seeing me looking at her, she quickly replied,
"Oh, yes... it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Selene. It's my pleasure to show you around the castle. You can also call me Hermione if you prefer."
Seeing that we had been introduced, Professor McGonagall said goodbye and left.
I noticed that Hermione was still nervous, so I smiled slightly as I said...
"There's no need to be too formal, Hermione. I think we're about the same age, so please speak informally... I suppose Professor McGonagall told you a bit about my situation?
" "Oh, yes... Professor McGonagall said you'd be staying at the castle and needed someone to show me around...
" "You were there, right?... I mean, in the infirmary this morning."
Seeing her nod, I continued smiling, as I didn't want her to be nervous anymore, and if possible, I really wanted to become her friend since I liked her character a lot.
"That makes it easier since you know my situation... as the professor mentioned, I'll be staying at the castle for a while, and although I used to live here before the incident, I've discovered that many things have changed. That's why I wanted someone who knew the castle to help me... would you be willing to show me around the castle, Hermione?"
I extended my hand in greeting when I asked the last question. Hermione stared at my hand, a little surprised (I honestly don't understand why), before extending hers for a handshake. She smiled back as she answered,
"It will be a pleasure to show you the castle."
When we left the room, since we were on the fourth floor, she showed me the classrooms and bathrooms on those floors until we reached the first floor. She also told me about the classes they offered and asked me about the classes they had when the school was first founded.
Hermione is a very nice girl, and I noticed that when there's a topic that interests her, she starts asking a lot of questions about it, although she gets embarrassed afterward because she gets distracted from other things. She also seems to be someone who seeks acceptance from others and feels a little insecure.
When we were on the first floor Hermione took me to where the library was. The place was incredible; there were so many shelves completely filled with books on many magical topics, even several in different languages. The only difference is that some topics are no longer available, such as rituals and invocations. It also seemed that some magic had been cataloged as dark and removed from the shelves, although I'm not sure if those books were destroyed or if they were just moved to the restricted section.
When we were in the library, Hermione asked me about the differences between then and now. The first thing I mentioned was that the library used to be on the fourth floor, and I also told her about some things that are no longer available, like summoning. She was completely surprised when I told her that my eagle was my summoned familiar and that it could live as long as me, and that even though it was a normal animal, it could develop its own magic over time. In Artemis's case, she has wind magic that helps her control air currents, and she can even make small attacks in the form of wind blades or create mini-tornadoes. That surprised her a lot, and she even asked me some questions about the ritual.
When we left the library, we agreed that we would continue exploring the castle tomorrow after breakfast. Hermione invited me to have breakfast at the Gryffindor table tomorrow, which I accepted.
I said goodbye to Hermione on the stairs since she had to return to study at Gryffindor Tower and I wanted to practice some spells with my wand, so I had to return to recover the memories of one of my shadow clones.
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