Scars Of White

Bang! The thick wooden door behind us crashed as it was burst open roughly.

A shadowy figure emerged through the open door. Taking us students by surprise as he appeared. Our professor for Potions. Professor Snape. He had a crooked nose and jet-black hair that emitted a slight sheen by the slivers of light cast through the tiny slit window. I couldn't tell whether it was a deliberate fashion choice or just a side effect of not bathing for a long time.

"There will be no incessant wand waving or ridiculous incantation within this classroom." His nasally voice drawled with utter contempt for the students within the classroom. He reeked of distaste and exhibited a sense of nihilism. He stood sneering down at us from the teacher's podium at the very front of the class. His gaze which had soared from the ascension had now dived down onto us like a bird of prey.

"I don't expect most of you to understand or appreciate the art and subtle science that is potion making." He paused, attracting the audience's attention. "But to those select few of you that have the aptitude…" His eyes slowly levelled at a Slytherin student; his slicked back blonde hair made it clear who he was even from behind. "I can teach you to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death itself."

I wondered just how much of that was true. At times some things seemed almost incongruent with the promises of magic. For example, many aged professors wore glasses, you'd think that could be healed in some way. In that same vein a certain student came to mind. The daughter of the ANHS director. She walked with a cane; some sort of congenital disease must've been the cause. From what Fred and George had told me broken or even limbs absent of their bones could be healed, repaired even grown back. Apparently, George had broken his leg during quidditch last year, not an uncommon occurrence. What made her problem different? If I were born blind, then could I become able to see with magic?

With those thoughts in mind, I found my attention waning from the class. Instead focusing on just where the boundaries for what was possible with magic lay. For example, if I were blind and the problem was present in my eyes. Rather than treating the eye, could I not remove them and grow them back in the same way that bones were? Or would they continue to have the same problem as the formula was derived from the person's immutable genetics?

"Get out your textbooks. Open to page 56."

On one hand he operated with a systematic strictness expected of a seasoned professor, on the other he also didn't adhere to societal etiquette. On a dime his presence flickered from determined and professional to ghastly and spiteful.

"Today we will be concocting a green thumb's extract. You. Can you tell me what the use of the green thumb's extract is?" He directed that question to a student a few seats ahead of me. He was a Slytherin student. One I was acquainted with… reluctantly.

"Increases the rate of growth of plants and herbs doused with it." The boy stroked the snake still draped over his shoulders. Did he have separation anxiety? I haven't seen him without that snake even once.

"Correct. Well done, Draco. Five points to Slytherin house." The blonde turned smugly to his persistent retinue. Both boys chortling at the gesture.

"Now, can anyone tell me the role that Canis root takes in the solution? You." He pointed to a Ravenclaw student this time. Terry Boot, one of my roommates.

"…Uh, ah…" Terry always seemed withdrawn, apparently, he was quick to fold under the pressure. Professor Snape on the other hand operated on the understanding that pressure made diamonds and had no sympathy for those that cracked. He'd get along with my father.

"What is it? Speak boy, I don't have all day." Despite his pale visage it almost seemed that fire would spew from those nostrils if Terry delayed any longer.

"…I'm sorry. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"…No, sir."

"That simply isn't good enough. And you will address me as Professor. Am I understood?"

"…Yes, professor."

"Ten points from Ravenclaw for lack of basic manners and knowledge. Canis root is used to reinforce the roots of the subject's. All plants grow from their connection to the earth. Even if we accelerate the growth, it cannot only grow in one direction. The plant still needs to adhere to the laws of magic. Re familiarise yourself with Gamp's Principal Exceptions." Application questions were much harder than simple memorisation. My fingers brushed over the explanation of green thumb's extract on the page. I noted that an explanation for Canis root's purpose in the solution was absent for a few pages. Terry seemed to be full of bad luck, well it seemed that way. Inadvertently I had gained some useful information, there were exceptions to some fundamental system, which meant there was a fundamental system present.

That there were principal laws which magic couldn't deviate from. Rules and regulation made a system grounded; by grounding the system I can work out the structure of the whole thing. I needed to learn those fundamental laws as soon as possible.

"Gather your ingredients and follow the instructions I'm about to write on the board. Any mistakes and I'll deduct house points. Gather around a cauldron in groups of three."

Looking to my left I noticed that all of my roommates had already formed a group. Michael shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'take care of it yourself'. How utterly heartless. Fortunately, Anthony was at least pretending to make an effort, approaching me. I simply shook my head. I could manage this much at least.

I can do this. I just need to find someone that was equally as lonely as me… Okay, I might be searching for a while.

But there should be someone. I mean, surely just by numbers these people would reveal themselves. Though the idea of being the last to sort would be embarrassing. It'd make you feel like the leftovers, as if you weren't good enough.

I did have a somewhat safe bet. The other Japanese students. I hadn't spoken to any of them yet, but there were four in each house. I could hope to find at least two others… Hmm…

8/3 was a remainder of two… Then there was the possibility they didn't form all Japanese groups… I'm going to get left alone, aren't I?

With my spirit severely weakened and my heart heavy I looked around the room for any students that hadn't formed a group yet.

One utterly conspicuous character stood in the centre of the room. He towered a head or two taller than most other students, he was probably as tall or taller than Fred and George. Even in this dimly lit room he wore those same sunglasses as he did at his sorting ceremony.

I was debating approaching him. Evidently, he was left out of the group of Japanese students. Did I have a better chance talking to him in English or Japanese? I assumed it was either his limitations in the language or the other students being scared of him that made them exclude him. In that fashion I felt a small sense of kinship. Just as I was about to make my way over, a girl approached him. That same fairy-like girl that was a member of my house. Even in this dank and dark room she shone quite brightly. I wasn't sure if that was a trick of my mind or something else entirely.

Ah, no good. I need to hurry, or they'll form a full group and I'll be left all alone. Before I could even take another step forward the girl did an about turn. Staring at me for a few seconds, then tilting her head to the side slightly. In what I was assuming was visible confusion or a strange gesture to draw me closer.

Swallowing my nervousness, I approached the two of them.

"Good morning. Do you mind if I join your group?" It felt strange to start with that greeting, but I should greet them somehow, right? Or maybe I should've introduced myself and asked for their names?

"I was going to ask you." Those words came from the girl, rather confusingly.

"You were?"

"Hm." Apparently, she wasn't one for speaking much. I was still interested in why she was going to ask me, but pushing at this stage would probably be more troublesome.

"Ah… What are your names, I'm Ayanokouji Kiyotaka." I asked as if I wasn't already aware.

"Shiina Hiyori." Her eyes glittered as she stared blankly at me. She had decent English skills but reverted to introducing herself in the typical Japanese manner.

My head turned to the left, inclining so I could meet the gaze of the taller African boy. Or where I assume his eyes were, I couldn't see anything past those sunglasses.

"Albert Yamada." From how he introduced himself, I guess that English would be the way to go about speaking to him.

Mentally I appalled at my situation. I was the most talkative of our group. As you can imagine that means we were cursed in terms of communication. Three brick walls would've had more engaging conversations between themselves. I just had to make sure I wouldn't be the wall that caved in so to speak. I doubted Snape would be too hard on a group with a Slytherin student present, though that was just a guess. I could easily be wrong about that. Better to just not give him anything to complain about.

I could easily become a target for frustration in Ravenclaw house if I was already getting points deducted, it was hardly conducive to the efforts of the house competition. My eyes shifted to Terry Boot. He was likely to become an outcast if this continued on… It just depends on other teachers' strictness and willingness to give deductions. Though I found it hard to believe that many other teachers could retain the same bleak outlook and obvious hatred for the human condition as Snape did.

My eyes narrowed on the cauldron in front of us, specifically the hands stirring it.

"Um, Shiina-san?"

"Yes, what is it Ayanokouji-kun?"

"I can't help but notice that you're stirring the wrong way…" Though I doubted the importance of such a step I also pondered that it wouldn't have been specified if it wasn't pertinent.

"Is it my clockwise or your clockwise?"

"…That isn't how that works." She made a cute expression as if flipping a clock face in her own mind.

"…Ah, so you say. Apologies." Her smile never faltered at all, but she made an eloquent bow.

"It's fine let it settle, and we'll stir again." I wasn't sure just how reactionary these potions were, for all I know it might explode. Spells and experiments often had unexpected effects in failure, or so I had been told.

"Albert, would you mind handing me the next ingredient on the list?" The giant nimbly grabbed the next strange looking vegetation, a mushroom like thing with small spiky structures protruding along the bulbous head.

After adding the next ingredient, I begun stirring in the correct direction this time. For now, it looked like nothing particularly wrong was happening, let's hope that would continue.

"And the next one please, Albert. Shiina-san would you mind taking over stirring, in the meanwhile." I said whilst looking over the textbook once more, I had already memorised the steps on the board. Right now, I was just trying to distinguish if there were any notes on direction of stirring. Believe me I know. A magic school and here I am looking for a dissertation on the effects of stirring clockwise. How magical.

Before I could find any information on the topic I looked up to the cauldron and fortunately just in time. Albert had grabbed the wrong ingredient to add.

"Hold on. It should be this instead." Albert stopped and looked over to me. I was holding a similar looking root vegetable. They had similar shapes and sizes though the colour difference was so obvious it made me wonder how anyone could've misidentified them. It was then that I looked back at his sunglasses.

"Can you manage with them on?" It was confusing to me just why he hadn't taken them off by now, so I could only assume it was something unrelated to the lesson.

"…" He didn't make a sound though he did nod to me and grabbed the correct ingredient this time. I resisted shaking my head, at least Shiina was actually stirring the clockwise now. The time for the last step was fast approaching. Increasing the flame and allowing the mixture to simmer. The flame beneath was brought to a roar with bellows, Albert operated the device with such strength that I feared the cauldron might melt. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

30 seconds or so passed by with the intense heat and a sudden smell suffocated the dark damp room.

"Which of you fools can't follow simple instructions?" The professor quietly uttered from the front of the room. He descended like a pale shadow, walking about each and every cauldron coming to ours last, as if he already knew.

"Would the fools give their names?"

"…Kiyotaka Ayanokouji." Shiina and Albert added their name to the list of fools.

"I expected more from my own house. But well, I suppose these things do happen… on rare occasion. Do you know why you have failed so spectacularly?" As the other two were less than compelled to speak, I chose to do so.

"We stirred counterclockwise instead of clockwise for the first three steps."

"Ah, even fools can have redemption. So, you knew about this error and still continued?"

"…Yes."

"I see. 20 points from Ravenclaw. For blatant stupidity and lack of respect for your teacher's instruction. 5 points from Slytherin for complacency."

"Professor, is that not too harsh?" Anthony raised his hand and asked in a polite tone, his face was barely hiding a grimace.

"Not at all. 5 points for the girl's complacency as well, 15 points for the boy's lack of understanding and respect. I'm beginning to see a trend in this year's Ravenclaw students. And you'd do well to focus on your own assignment before I add detentions to that list." Understanding that words would do nothing at this stage Anthony forced his eyes back to his own cauldron.

"Everyone dispense your mixtures into the vials provided and prepare to collect your things for the next class." He changed from his quiet, whispering, dreadful voice and addressed the entire class. "Not you three, I will not have that stinking up my room. Drain that cauldron down that grate and then get out of my classroom." He held constant eye contact with me, whilst he admonished our group. I felt a strange tinge of discomfort as his eyes narrowed in on me. Rather than waste more time I grabbed the still hot cauldron with some gloves and tipped it into the grate with Albert's help.

I grabbed my things, notably taking less time than the others still dispensing into vials. Only after leaving the room did, I notice the others had waited outside the door. I guessed they were waiting for friends that were still working.

I walked past them and down the hallway to our next class. They stepped in line with me and followed by either side of me. Curiously, I stopped abruptly. And they followed.

Is this some new form of bullying?

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes." Shiina answered, Albert responded with his signature nod.

"I see."

"Thank you." It wasn't entirely unexpected, but those words should've come from me not her.

"…I trust you've learnt the difference between clockwise and anticlockwise now?"

Without speaking she tilted her head and smiled slightly. Turning and looking towards the next classroom.

…Was that planned? With a weary sigh I also looked towards the next classroom, hoping that the next professor would be more lenient. Realising immediately that that was a low bar to set.

 [Scars of White]

"Gather around first years. Listen up." A woman nearing her 30's stood in front of the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room. Beneath a black robe she wore a well-fitting suit, matching pants and a blazer. It was a rather corporate look, one which the other Japanese teachers also mimicked, a vivid contrast to the almost renaissance dress that the British staff often wore.

I couldn't help but stifle in admiration at her cold, tuned efficiency. Perhaps her cold heart served to chill her even when wearing all those restricting layers.

"Yesterday you were all given one of these." She gripped a small leather-bound journal. It was the same or at least similar in appearance to our student planners. It held our schedules and a calendar to jot down events, homework, assignments etc.

She continued "However, you have not been made aware of all of its functions. You should all be wondering why a certain few items have been withheld from your baggage when you arrived yesterday." A few students nearby murmured between themselves.

In reality I had been wondering why a certain gift I had received… Or I suppose you could call it a prize… Either way, a certain implement was missing from my baggage. For a short time, I had wondered whether one of my roommates had taken it, though that was short-lived. In the end I assumed it didn't agree with the school's protocols and was shipped back to the Weasley's farm, however from what she's saying it seems to be something else entirely.

"Grab your student planners and repeat after me. Ledger." The book grew a few times in size and floated in front of the teacher. It looked like a typical, well ledger. The size alone made it more than large enough to accommodate several years' worth of accounts, especially for a single person, this was more the size of an actual businesses' ledger book.

Every student had done as instructed and found a similarly large book floating in front of them, each and every one of them open to the very front page. I hadn't managed to cast any magic yet, courtesy of my wand. So, I was a little worried that nothing would happen should I chant the very non-magical sounding word. Muttering it under my breath I was surprised to see that it did in fact actually work.

The first page revealed itself and shown some general information of the person. My name, birthdate, a portrait of me, the house I was a part of and even the school year.

"You'll notice some personal information on the front page already filled out. Ignore that for now and turn to the next page." The sounds of pages ruffling filled the room as all the students followed the instructions. "You'll notice the month's allowance subsection, the equivalent of one galleon has been deposited in every student's balance. That's the equivalent of £1000. Deposits will take place on the first of every month. Keep in mind the currency used on Hogwarts campus and Hogsmeade, whilst equivalent to the real thing. Can only be used on campus. Taking the money home for holiday will do you no good as it won't be accepted in any store. Transactions on campus can take place without cash by entering agreement with a store and noting it in the ledger. Tokens as they are often referred can be received from a few specialist locations on school grounds and will be deducted accordingly from the ledger. Are there any questions?"

Too many to count.

Michael raised his hand from the couch he was leisurely sat on. "We start the house cup with 100 points, are these points related to the allowance in any way?"

It wasn't verbally provided to the students, however in the main hall sat four hourglasses. Each of them held sand and a counter system that provided a numeral scale to the contents. Each house was even yesterday, 100 points at the start of the competition. It was understandable to come to the conclusion that they held some shared significance.

"And in what way do you mean that?" The teacher asked in sardonic tone.

"If we lose or gain points in the house cup competition, will we get a smaller or larger allowance respective to the point difference?" Michael's face held a sort of smug satisfaction for the entirety of the exchange, masquerading as a cordial smile.

"What gave you that idea?" Her face rose in slightly in intrigue, she was enjoying Michael's assertions. I had my own misgivings, especially her wording regarding the allowance. The whole thing stunk. The amount of money given to each student every month was ridiculous if it were true. Even with the assertion that this was a fake currency, the functions and goods provided were still very real.

"A galleon is equivalent to £1000, just ten times the starting points of each house. All houses would be at the same starting allowance which would make them all fair for the upcoming competition." Michael finished his findings, with a small smile.

"I see. You have an active imagination, certainly not a bad thing. But you have my word that the house cup is not related to the allowance. Not at all." Michael squinted his eyes in response. Even that rejection was worded very peculiarly, as if she were reading them off of a script.

"Any more questions?" She allowed an utterly expressive thousand-mile stare dead centre into the crowd as she asked.

A girl with black twin tails spoke whilst sat in front of the sofa. Her eyes were dark with a few bags underneath. She had distinctively Japanese facial features. I believe her name was Himeno Yuki. Terry's study buddy. You would probably be able to hear a pin drop at any time in their meetings, not that mine would be any better. "What's the purpose of withdrawing tokens if stores take transaction through the ledger?"

"Good question. Admittedly there are few uses, however one of the most important requires it. Communal property for the common room and for use of the entire house will be bought using tokens, a catalogue for said items is in both my own and Professor Flitwick's office. The entire payment must be brought to either myself or Professor Flitwick, your Head of House. Additionally, you could borrow or buy textbooks and other resale goods from other students. However, if agreements aren't respected and fraud or bullying in the pursuit of profits are detected then the school will respond to such behaviour with impunity. Anyone else?" If anything, petty cash transactions just made it easier for bullying and fraud to slip through the cracks.

The community property has me wary, just why was it so important and why require the additional barrier for entry by needing physical payment? Looking around, the common room was somewhat bare, it had the essentials though. Plenty places to sit, a warm fire, some decorations from the history of the house etc. Just what would be so important in the catalogue? My mind could only summon a single word: competition. Behaviour and sports were the bread and butter of the house cup, supposedly. If this was such a point of contention, then it could only mean a serious advantage could be gained from using it. Now how could that benefit the sports? Bribery or handicapping the opponent? It didn't seem in the spirit of fairness which everything else seems to be pursuing so far. Equipment? That seemed more of a possibility, though that raised its own issues.

"What kind of items are in the catalogue?" A student asked from the crowd behind the couch.

"Do I look like a book? There are too many items to repeat, anyone interested can visit Professor Flitwick's or my own office tomorrow." The student shrunk back in the crowd from that lacklustre answer. Meanwhile I thanked my judgement for sparing me from asking the same question.

Shiina, the fairy-like girl I had become somewhat acquainted with in potions class raised her hand serenely. "Is it possible we could retrieve the things taken from our luggage? Those items were very dear to me." She looked at the teacher with a faint shimmer in her eyes.

"It's possible. You'll have to talk to the deputy headmistress and the caretaker about that. Please do keep in mind all belongings will still be safe, however it is possible some of them will either be held in safe keeping or sent back to your guardians." A possibility? The reveal of a monetary system just before this statement is definitely not unrelated. We had to pay for our own things? Even if this was fake money it was still a bit ridiculous, still this was their institution, it was within their right to adhere to a certain regulation.

The better question was; why? Why weren't certain items allowed, and why could they be bought back? What determined the price of these items, was it market price or was it the usefulness in this institution? In either case I was worried just how much I would have to cough up for the retrieval of the lovably named Control Critter Mk.1. It was unclear just how much it would cost, it's potential was unresolved. It could very well be the most important, useful tool I had in my arsenal right now. Rather than being in use it was in the hands of the equivalent of magical TSA. I swear, bring a single electronic in my magic trunk and the wizarding world labels you as a terrorist almost instantly. I'm innocent!

My mind immediately wandered to what others would have lost in the baggage checks. Personal effects and the like were the most probable. Did Anthony, Michael and Terry all have something that was taken from their baggage? If this occurred to every student or even a majority there would have been outrage on the first day, yet there was nary a sound about it. That meant that not every student held something that was worth confiscating. The only reasons to do so were to keep the students impartial and to maintain fairness in the competition. Meaning the exposure to better facilities, advanced books, magical tools etc. would be the first under suspicion.

It's just… Didn't this seem a bit far-fetched for a simple competition between houses? An entire closed economy was introduced to the campus, strictly checked baggage, controlled opposition through the sorting hat. Something wasn't quite adding up, it made me feel uneasy.

"Finally, some of you may worry that there's nothing stopping another person from writing in your ledger against your express will." Chabashira-sensei grabbed a loose quill and dipped it within an inkpot scribbling across a page and turning it towards the audience… The ink, it didn't take to the paper. It trickled uselessly across the page and down towards the floor, like water poured over porcelain, it ran to the floor, splodging and eventually setting.

"As you can see a normal quill will not make a mark upon the book. Instead run a finger across the spine of the ledger." As she did a crimson quill rose from the spine and floated gracefully into her hand. "This is a modified blood quill. The use of such a thing is unethical and usually outlawed. Instead, this takes a signature of the body, a mixture of fingerprint and genetic information to be specific to the individual. In short this can only be used by the owner. Of course, it also doesn't hurt the user."

Anthony raised his hand from behind Michael, leaning over the ridge of the sofa. "What if a blood quill is used from one journal on a different journal?"

"Unless the individuals have entered an agreement which stipulates its use in another journal then it will be rejected and recorded. In the event that an unlawful entry occurs then the perpetrator will be punished accordingly." A sort of alarm system? But this doesn't match with the choice to allow petty cash… Just what are they planning?

"This agreement; does it have to be written, or can it be done verbally?" Michael asked, gaining his confidence back from the recent misstep.

"Short of a blood oath or bonding, then it can't be done verbally. The school needs some sort of record of the affair, as well as the ledgers. The ledgers work from a similar system of interconnected notes, essentially like one large directory. It's a primitive internet, in some ways." I suppose advancement comes in all shapes and sizes.

"How does that work…?" Anthony asked, tilting his head quizzically.

"They are all paper formed from the same tree." She said with a measure of finality.

That explained both everything and nothing in one statement. I held the expectation that that would be a trend with this particular professor.

Staring at the journal turned ledger in front of me. The contents of the first chapter entranced me for just a moment. I stared and it seemed as if the numbers reciprocated. I wondered just how fast this allowance would be drained. So many pages, there had to be a reason. Merely visiting the catalogue would force an implication I wouldn't appreciate all too much. Though refusing would paint an even worse picture. As far as I could see there were only a few ways out of that, though that would have to wait until after I retrieved my missing luggage.

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Word count: 4987

A very long chapter, apologies if it was a bit too long for your taste. Just kept writing and it felt wrong to separate the two sections.

Here we have the Hogwarts equivalent of the s-system. You didn't really think we'd go without it did you?

The ledger was an idea to keep the worldbuilding consistent, it seemed like a more realistic depiction of the phones that they would have in modern day. Despite taking place in the modern day the wizards are a bit stuck in their ways.

Hopefully the ledgers were a good enough substitute for everyone. I like the idea, but maybe I failed in the execution.

As always let me know your thoughts on the series so far. Hope you all enjoyed.

P.S. I'll be providing an update as to why it's taken so long for the chapter shortly. But to get the general point across, I now have a Patreon. You can access it here: patreon.com/Shir0249

Chapters will be released monthly as was the intended schedule beforehand. The patreon is just for early access to three more chapters from each of these fics. Any support is appreciated greatly, thanks for your patience and support.

Until next time.