Those who don't belong to this era - A shocking collection of students

Order of the Immortal Lotus!

Darcie didn't recall any instance of reading, hearing, or dreaming of this name. Ever.

She wasn't conceited enough to claim that she had read all the books on Magical History, or knew everything, but she had indeed read a lot. Darcie had not even heard of the Immortal Lotus. Much less needed to be said about an Order created around this name.

Immortal!!!

Was this a word just anybody could add as a prefix? Darcie shook her mind inwardly. No matter how outrageous and unbelievable the claims she was hearing, Darcie believed she must not lose her senses because of it. Not here, where she could not tell if she had come among friends or foes.

Darcie had not forgotten that, in the end, she was a Malfoy. Even if her family had proved its innocence after the Wizarding War, she had potent reasons to believe that her father had indeed sided with the Dark Lord. These were the things of the past, and Darcie had nothing to do with it. But she wasn't foolish enough to take others' mercy and thoughts for granted, either.

Her sudden thoughts made Darcie raise her guard against these people, whose faces were hidden, and that guard brought a veil of calmness over her face.

Somehow, the moment she became calmer, all the six figures nodded to themselves.

"Praiseworthy!" the one hidden under blue mist commented. "I remember there was only one other wizard who had not lost his composure at this moment. He was much older than you when he had come to us, and he was standing in the same spot where you are standing now, young lady. Quite impressive."

The others nodded in agreement.

Darcie had been questioning their intentions before. Now, curiosity barged unannounced into her heart. "May I know who this wizard you are talking about?" she asked, her tone childish, but brimming with intelligence.

"Hehe!" the one under the red mist giggled. The voice belonged to a woman, sharp and enchanting. "You must have heard of him. The brat's gone and accomplished a few things in the outside world," she commented offhandedly. "Isn't that so?"

To Darcie's left was the figure hidden under the blue mist, and to her right was the color violet. It was the latter who nodded and ultimately answered Darcie's question.

"Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," said the figure under the violet mist.

'Eh?!'

Darcie was so thunderstruck that she became even more silent than her usual self. This name meant too much to her. Even if her father hated this wizard, Professor Dumbledore represented everything that Darcie sought after. Greatness, Accomplishments, Loyalty, and Power, but Greatness above all.

Yet, an even more shocking thing was the word the figure under the red mist had used to call Professor Dumbledore.

Brat!

Who in this world could address such an old wizard as Brat?! Who were these people?!!

"Of course, he had come here in his adulthood," the one hidden under the orange mist told her. "You are indeed the first of your kind, Darcie. Not even a 7-year-old, and yet, one of us has already recommended you for the 7th seat."

Darcie took a deep breath. "I don't understand," she said honestly.

Madam Villanelle, or the one hidden under the green mist, nodded at her. "Order of the Immortal Lotus' members are those who don't belong to this era," she told her. "There is only one rule to our workings — Not to meddle with the Present. The only thing that concerns us is the dangers stemming from the Past and the Future which can influence the Present.

"But from generation to generation, we all take students to fill up empty title of Indigo Seat and guide the happenings in the Present through them to a better future. Albus Dumbledore was one of these students under the guidance of Blue Seat, and a potential candidate of Indigo Seat. But he wasn't the first. Nor was he the last before you."

Orange Seat chimed in, then. "I had taken a student before in the 14th century," he told Darcie. "He's still alive."

Waves after waves of curiosity and a speck of unbelievable anticipation were surging in Darcie's heart. The question came naturally to her. "Who was it?"

"Nicolas Flamel."

'This?!' Darcie gaped at the answer. 'The supposed creator of the Philosopher's Stone?'

Red Seat giggled. "Speaking of students…" she drawled, "… I had several. But this one was quite special. Zygmunt Budge."

'Zygmunt Budge! One of the most accomplished Potioneer ever!' Darcie remembered the name as well as he remembered her own. This was just too grand, even for her. All these names could cause a disturbance on a world scale, and that was saying something in itself. Compared to them, she was nothing, Darcie realized.

Yet, the question persisted. "I still don't understand," Darcie said, dejected. "Why haven't I heard this Order's name from anyone? Why is there no book that mentions such an organization?"

Violet Seat nodded at her. "As Green Seat told you," he answered, "we are the ones who don't belong to this era. Those who know about us keep it to themselves, for there's no reason and benefit to do otherwise. All mentions of the Order get erased as well, once written, spoken, and shared by non-permitted members. Not to mention, the Order of the Immortal Lotus doesn't leave behind an imprint in the Present. Remember, we only guide, not indulge."

'Magic on such a grand scale?!' Darcie questioned herself, now utterly flabbergasted. If what this person said was true, then it truly was no wonder that she hadn't heard or read about them.

Yet, at this moment, her eyes couldn't help but fall on the transparent Indigo Seat, and an even grander question surfaced in her mind. "May I know the reason for this Seat to be still empty?"

This was indeed a brilliant question, striking the crux of the situation. With wizards like Nicolas Flamel and Albus Dumbledore already visiting this place in the past, it made little sense that they couldn't even fulfill the conditions, if any, to sit on this Indigo chair.

A few of the six figures sighed at the question.

"All of them indeed had their reasons to give up on this opportunity," Orange Seat explained. "Among all, Albus Dumbledore had come closest to achieving the unachievable, but he was against our policy of Inaction, resulting in him abandoning his recommendation. And before the first Wizarding War, when we refused his demands of taking action for his side, he ultimately abandoned our Order, creating one of his own. Albus had never come here since then. There was one more reason…"

"Orange?!" Madam Villanelle raised her voice as if keeping him from telling Darcie some grave information.

Red Seat giggled enchantingly. "Is the girl your recommendation or not?" she scoffed. "If she is, then don't interrupt."

Madam Villanelle's face shook, and then ultimately blurred, the green mist overtaking her body.

"As I said, there was one more reason," Orange Seat continued. "I told you that among all, Albus Dumbledore had come closest to achieving the unachievable, claiming the Indigo Seat for his own, but that is only half the truth. There was another, between Albus and your generation, Darcie, who had surpassed him. If it wasn't for a few circumstances, this Seat wouldn't have been so empty now."

Darcie could scarcely believe it. Someone in-between her and Dumbledore's generation? Wouldn't that put this man around her father's generation?

"You know him," Yellow Seat spoke for the first time, his voice quite unearthly as if he wasn't here, but somewhere far. "I brought him in as a student. His name was — Tom Marvolo Riddle."

This name didn't ring any bells in Darcie's mind. "Who?"

"He has another name, more infamous than his true one," Green Seat addressed Darcie's doubt. "Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord!"

Darcie couldn't blink as she heard this name.

"Of course, we didn't know that he would become one of the darkest wizards of his era," Orange Seat explained. "Yellow Seat had brought him to us in a comparatively quiet period, during the 1960s. He had ambition, and he had done several things one might say heinous to an unforgivable degree. One can't just hide such things from us. But you must not forget that we are not here to judge right or wrong, and we have absolutely no reason to go against our rule to not meddle in the Present, either. Despite his distorted beliefs, if Voldemort could become the next Indigo Seat, then we would have allowed him."

"Albus didn't like our decision," Blue Seat added. "One can't blame him, either. Somehow, Voldemort came to believe that we were purposely hindering his growth to give Dumbledore's side enough time to prepare, and he retaliated. Not only retaliation, but he even tried to siege a part of our powers. Haha! We banished him after that, but he did leave behind a scar."

Suddenly, the wooden staff, as stable as the world, rotated, churning the blue mist around it. And, to her shock and fear, Darcie saw a long tear running in the middle portion of the wooden staff.

Even if she didn't know the importance of the staff, Darcie could tell that this wasn't something anyone ordinary could hope to damage in one lifetime.

"It's also because of this that we gave a guiding hand to Albus later," Yellow Seat said solemnly. "Red Seat possesses one of the most powerful Sacrificial Love Magic from olden antiquity. We bestowed this magic upon a fated witch from Albus' side."

Darcie didn't know what to say. Alas! None gave her a chance to process all this.

"So, Darcie," Red Seat said mischievously, "after knowing all this, would you be willing to become a Candidate for Indigo Seat? As per the custom that surpasses age-old eras, you will represent our will in the Present until the time comes for you to become one of us, someone who has transcended their era, not belonging to the Present. You will be the manifestation of our guidance, leading the Present to a better Future, and if the need arises, you will also deal with the Past's influences."

Who are these figures? There was only this question in Darcie's mind. But now, after learning so many secrets from them, she had come to realize the depth of her situation. "Past's influences…" Darcie mumbled, "… like the Order's blunder related to Lord Voldemort?"

Silence.

Madam Villanelle's face resurfaced, and she couldn't help but laugh at this silence. "Didn't I say she's different?" she rebuked. "Are we going to repeat our mistakes? I vote to prepare her for the eventual return of Voldemort first, for we all know what he had stolen that day. All things about Indigo Seat can be discussed later."

"I second this vote," Orange, Blue, and Violet Seat said simultaneously. Yellow Seat kept quiet, however.

After another bout of silence, Red Seat scoffed and said, "Very well. It's done, then."

Darcie wasn't done at all. There was still one thing she must know before deciding her fate. "May I know who all your distinguished selves are?"

"Yes, it's time you learn who we are," Green Seat nodded. "How about we all introduce the seat to our right?"

All shared a nod of understanding.

"Blue Seat," Green Seat introduced, her blurry face eying the one on her right, "is one of the most prominent wizards known to mankind. Even among us, he is no less powerful than the oldest. He is… Sage Merlinus Ambrosius."

Darcie backed up a step, trembling all over.

"Haha!" the Sage under the blue mist guffawed thunderously. "You praise me too much. No need to fear this old man, young lady. I know the name is too long and weird. Just call me… Merlin."