Studies and Plans

hi everyone I am sorry I took so long but I am back now after doing a very minor operation on my arm, I am all healed up now and ready to write, I also spent my time in the past week editing and fixing stuff in the previous chapters and I am using Grammarly now so I think the quality will be better I hope you enjoy.

I will resume my chapter a day schedule today :)

Also here is the discord server if you want to discuss the novel The link is in the comment.

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Studies and Plans

And that was the order of affairs for Liam's first two months, He spent his time outside of class mostly studying both his actual curriculum and what he needed to achieve his planes, While also trying to decide which cannon this world followed more, The movies of the books because that would impact his plans in the future tremendously, So far it has a been a mix of both if not slightly favoring the movies somewhat, The small details and things that populated the world but was hardly in the movies followed the books but the big moments happened like in the movies like Harry and Draco fight before sorting actually happened on the train in the book but in the castle in the movies, And also Neville's broom shenanigans as well, And all that just left him confused and trying to make alternate scenarios for each of his plans, And he also struggled to try and separate both cannons in his head he had read the books many times but movies were, In general, More visual and easy to remember.

During those two months he noticed a more bonded trio than the canon at this point of time and he one time actually saw just Ron and Hermione studying in the library together while Harry was probably in quidditch practice and they seemed to be having a good time studying together without Ron throwing a fit about having to study, And he also wasn't as clumsy as seen in the movies or dumb as he came off in the books, Yes he was somewhat lazy and leaned to looking at the negative side to any equation and seemed to like to exaggerate, But he was also very charismatic and quite the storyteller and he was good at finding creative solutions, It was mostly done to serve as shortcuts to studying or doing a lot of work but he was a good problem solver.

Hermione on the other hand wasn't as condescending and was more of a quiet girl that preferred to read and enjoyed her alone time, Though hanging around with Harry and Ron brought her a bit out of her shell while she in return raised their grade average, A Bit of an unfair trade if you asked Liam but he was just happy that the were making friends with each other while he slipped into the background.

'At least this time she won't be crying in the bathroom until the troll shows up because Ron called her names '

All and all things were progressing smoothly, Even if the rate of progress was driving Liam insane he was conflicted about the passage of time, When he made his planes he thought about the school year as a period of time with big milestones in the middle, But actually living in it was not as simple as he thought, Before every big event he would spend his time counting the minutes until it actually happened, Feeling anxious and worried something would go wrong or that he would mess something up but mostly he just wanted to be over with, He couldn't stand knowing that something was going to happen in two months and that he could do nothing but wait for it and at the same time paradoxically he wanted more time to develop his spells and knowledge, But between all the secrets he was keeping and lack of human companionship which he was already lacking in for his second life he was anxious and worried most of the time and he was trying to keep that under control.

One way of doing that was that he used to take Strix from the owlery with him into the room of requirement and just pet it and let it fly around him when he worked, And also the letters from Clair helped and Madison even sent one every now and then checking on him.

One morning he noticed Harry, Ron, Hermione, And Neville huddled in a corner in the common room before Hermione stormed off leading Liam to think to himself.

'Huh looks like this part happened like in the book with Harry's midnight duel with Malfoy and Neville being there with them when they ran into the three-headed dog if I remember correctly that little adventure ended with them being locked out of the common rooms, That is probably why Hermione is mad, That means things are going as they should anyway so that's good to know '

A couple of days passed before Liam was making his way to the lakeside and gazing at the lake for a moment appreciating its beauty and its magical nature before he started collecting some rocks from the shore, His sudden interest in starting a rock collection was driven by utility though, He had a plan for those stones and as he was checking the size of his latest acquisition and if it fit his requirements and when he looked up he saw a despondent looking Neville throwing stones in the lake.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, You might make the giant squid angry haha "

"Hi Liam"

Answered Neville after sparing him a look and then looking back at the lake

"Everything ok buddy"

"Not really ..."

"What happened Neville"

"You know what... never mind ok I was just messing about"

He said getting up to leave

"Come on Neville I can tell when you are lying what's wrong"

Neville looked back at Liam before taking a breath and saying

"Liam, You've been very nice to me since we met so I want you to be honest with me... do you think I am a joke ?"

"Well I want to, First of all, Know what makes you ask this sort of question but just to make it clear, No I don't, So why do you think that I would think so"

"I am not deaf ok, I can hear how people talk about me, Not that most of them try to hide it, I know I suck at magic and that I keep forgetting the common room password, Or that I ended up near killing myself the first time I went flying, But still it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt when people keep snickering and talking to each other and pointing at me whenever I walk into a room"

"Hay take it, Easy man, They are just trying to deflect ok, They are in a new place and don't quite fit in yet so they think if they make fun of someone else nobody will notice what's up with them, And what do you mean you suck at magic you are just getting the hang of it, We are still first years you know, Everyone is messing up, I mean Snape is just mean and Finnigan damn near blows something up every class, We are still learning ok, For example, I need to work really hard on every new spell because my wand is very judgmental and it won't accept anything short of a perfect incantation maybe your wand and Finnigan's wand are accident prone and you just need to get used to it "

"Wow, Wands can be like that ?"

"Of course, Wait you didn't know I thought you of all people would know since you were born in the magical world, Didn't Mr. Ollivander tell you when you got your wand "

"Oh, That is the one in Diagon Alley right? I actually didn't buy a wand from him this is my father's wand "

"What but he said that every wand chooses its wizard and you can't just pick any wand and try to cast with it"

"Really??"

"Yes he was very clear, That is probably why you mess up a lot when you try to cast Neville, If I were you I would go and buy a new wand in the next break its only 7 galleons you know "

Neville looked at his wand with a conflicted look of joy and sadness before he said

"I'll think about it, Thanks for the talk Liam "

And then he walked away.

Liam kept his eyes on him until he was a ways away and he went back to collecting his rocks while thinking.

'Let's hope he takes my advice, I am sure there is a sentimental component in using his father's wand after what happened to his parents but being an error-prone wizard isn't doing anyone any favors '

On the day of Halloween eve, The day the troll incident was supposed to happen Liam was setting in his charms class practicing his Wingardium Leviosa which he had actually performed before on his own, Which led to him beating Hermione to the chase this time and successfully casting the spell first this time, And after receiving the praise from professor Flitwick he turned to observe Ron and Hermione making sure that they didn't start fighting like the canon.

Hermione was still lecturing Ron about the pronunciation like the original but her tone wasn't as accusatory and Ron didn't look too annoyed, He was listening and copying her as a matter of fact and with that Liam was assured that his interference was working, That was when he was blinded by the bright white light that came from Seamus's wand which was in his line of sight.

Rubbing his eyes while walking with the trio in the courtyard he listened in and saw that everyone was getting along just fine so he sighed out of relief and said

"All right guys I'll be off to the library then see you at the Halloween feast I heard it's pretty fun from some of the older students"

And then he started making his way to the room of requirements leaving the trio behind

"Who are those older students he keeps talking about do you think I never barely see him talking to students our age, Not mention I barely see him at all and I am almost always in the library"

Said Hermione

"He probably asked one of the older Gryffindor Hermione," said Ron.

"That is what I thought at first but when I asked around nobody even knew who I was talking about, Plus I asked some of the kids our year and no one has any idea where he goes most of the time, Its like he disappears when its not time for class or bedtime"

"Hermione why are you doing all that behind Liam's back?" said Harry.

"Yeah Hermione you sound really creepy right now" followed Ron.

"I AM NOT CREEPY, He is the one acting suspiciously ok, He was acting very strange when the fire started in Mrs hooch's class, He wasn't scared at all and he was acting too normal when something abnormal was happening, His reaction was very strange it was like there was no fire or that Neville didn't fall out of the sky, It seemed like he somehow knew it was going to be ok"

"Are you saying he is the one that started the fire?" said Harry shocked.

"Maybe, I still have no idea why he did it but maybe he wanted to distract Mrs hooch so that Neville got hurt when he fell"

"Ok that's enough you sound like a lunatic what has poor Liam ever done to you"

Ron said with an insulted look on his face

"He is right Hermione, Liam is a nice guy, You shouldn't say things like that about him especially when they are not true" Harry added.

"I am not a lunatic he is the one acting strangely I just think he is hiding something"

Said Hermione who was starting to get agitated by the repeated name-calling which brought back some bad memories from before Hogwarts

"Look Hermione Liam should be able to keep some stuff private if he wants to, That doesn't make him a bad guy, I sure have some things I don't like talking about, I think you should respect his privacy, I also don't think he would do anything to hurt anyone he is a pretty nice guy, So you should drop this ok" Harry said with a determent look

"But I think he started that fire and ..."

"We said that's enough Hermione if you don't want to be called a lunatic stop acting like one"

Hermione looked at Ron angrily and then looked to Harry for some kind of support but she found condemnation instead, She pushed Ron to the ground and then ran away saying something to the line of

"Stupid idiots don't know what's good for them"

Later that day Liam was enjoying the pageantry of the Halloween feast while chatting with Seamus and trying to give him some tips to stop exploding when two-thirds of the trio walked in and sat down a few seats away.

'Why is she not with them, Is she running behind or something, Or did she skip the feast to go to the library or something, No even she wouldn't miss the Halloween feast if not at least so she can see it for the first time, Something must have happened..., let's not be rash she is probably on her way and they just got here early so they could eat more candy or something '

Liam waited while semi holding his breath for more than ten minutes waiting for Hermione to show up but when she didn't he started debating in his head.

'What the hell happened they were getting along fine this afternoon they couldn't have had a big enough fight did they, Should I ask them where she is, Or is that too suspicious'

He settled on asking Parvati Patil since she was the one that told Neville about Hermione in the canon.

"Hi Parvati how are you enjoying Halloween"

"It's pretty fun, I really like all the candy"

"Did you celebrate it with your family before Hogwarts"

"We did, We have been celebrating it ever since we moved to London"

"That sounds nice, listen I wanted to ask you something ..."

Just then Quirrell busted into the great hall shouting

"Troll in the dungeons"

Liam tuned out the rest of his babbling and started looking around the hall furiously trying to find Hermione to no avail before everyone started running he then held Parvati's hand and said in an urgent tone just as people started screaming and running around like headless chickens.

"Parvati have you seen Hermione"

"Liam I think we should go to Gryffindor's common room quickly there is a troll on the loose"

Liam repeated

"PARVATI have you seen Hermione"

"No.. no I didn't, Not since she and Harry and Ron fought earlier today"

Liam released her hand and she started following everyone out of the great hall while Liam's heart was sinking.