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Chapter 2:

Apprenticeship

'toughts'

"speech"

:-:parseltongue:-:

A/N: The world of Harry Potter solely belongs to J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, Bloomsbury, Scholastic Press and Warner Bros. Pictures.

'Unbeknownst to them, there was a dark silhouette hovering in the opening to the cave, watching them with contemplating, crimson eyes. A few moments later, it vanished into the night, leaving behind only a faint trail of dark tendrils, swirling in the air and disappearing slowly.'

Surrey – London

10/13/1990, 05:08 am

Hadrian yawned as he was woken up by the faint trails of sunshine shining trough the opening in the tree, blinking as the rays hit his face and blinded him. With a look at his watch he confirmed that he had woken up quite a bit before the alarm he had installed in the watch would normally wake him. With a sigh he snuggled into the blankets again, wrapping his arms around Chione and pulling her close to him to keep her warm. Since the first time they had slept like that they had been in the same position. Hadrians arms wrapped around Chione from behind, while Chione hugged her brother. After many protests from her they had agreed to let Chione sleep in the middle, giving her as much warmth as possible to keep her warm during the rapidly cooling nights. He dozed off again for a few minutes, and when he next woke up, it was almost time to wake his friends. He had more than enough time to return to Privet Drive, as the Dursleys only started waking up at 07:00 am.

It took Hadrian a few minutes to wake the siblings, because altough Chione was a light sleeper, her brother slept like a log and would only budge if someone started shaking him rigorously. After they had readied themselves and put the blankets and candles away, they made their way out of the tree and into the light. Hadrian made his way back to the orphanage with his friends, and bade them goodbye for the time being; they would be seeing each other again later that day after all. With a sigh, he started the long walk back to the midst of Surrey, bracing himself for the next beating and exhausting day of work at his relatives home.

Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey – London

10/13/1990, 03:23 pm

Chione, Aries and Hadrian had agreed to meet at Privet Drive, from where they would go to the nearby forest to practice their skills. Hadrian had just finished his chores, having been working in the garden, collecting the leaves that had fallen from the trees and dumping them near the shed the Dursleys had built a few years ago. Chione was wearing a shirt and skinny jeans, along with a thin jacket. She rolled the sleeves up to her elbowes, exposing her scarred forearms. Hadrian had overreacted the first time he saw the scars covering her arms, but Chione told him not to worry too much about it and that she would get better. There were cuts all over her wrists up to her elbowes, some of them relatively new. Hadrian and Aries worried about her and where not at all happy with what she did to herself, but they knew she had her reasons. Aries knew why she did what she did, and the memory still haunted even him in his dreams sometimes. He didn't like thinking about it, and he could only imagine what it was like for his sister. Hadrian still didn't know the exact circumstances, but the siblings decided they would tell him sometime in the future.

As they reached a large clearing, their trousers and boots were dirty and muddied, as it had rained all throughout the day and the rain had only stopped a few hours ago.

The clearing bore witness to many of their training sessions; the trees were scarred and branches were lying scattered all throughout the clearing. It had been one of Chiones most satisfying attempts of creating a blast of power that could destroy everything in five meter radius. The children didn't know it yet, but later that day they would get a proposition that they could't possibly deny. The shade that had watched them the day before had been following the twins, and had taken up positions behind one of trees, blending into the shadows. It was curious as to what the children could do, as it had witnessed all three of them talking to their snake quite a few times and wanted to know what else they could do. As it watched the devastation of the clearing the children now stood in, it was impressed. 'Nowhere near what I could accomplish of course, but for such little brats this is quite something.', it tought. It had tried to find out more about them, but to its surprise, they had developed basic Occlumency shields, something the shade could not breach in its current form. It only knew that Aries and Chione were siblings, and that the other boy was called Hadrian. From what it knew, the siblings could very well be Blacks, but then again, what would someone from such a noble bloodline be doing in a filthy and rundown orphanage? But what if… no, that was impossible. 'I wonder if I should… yes, that could be. I would have to teach them quite a bit before their first year at Hogwarts, but that can be easily done. Yes, I shall do my best to teach them as much as I can. So much potencial; they would proove invaluable if on my side when I rise once more.' The shades toughtswhere interrupted when the children started their exercises.

Hadrian was standing in the clearing, surveying his surroundings and analazing them. His eyes snapped to a spot behind him as he turned around and focused on a spot behind the trees. He waved his right hand and on the spot he had been looking at, there was now a humanoid dummy, consisting of branches and leaves. He started throwing invisible blast of power from his hands, then disappeared and reappeared several meters to the right. This continued for several minutes, with Hadrian teleporting every few seconds and immediately starting to throw his blast of power on the dummy until nothing but smoking and charred branches remained. By the end of it, he looked exhausted, tough that could be because of the sprained ankle he had received from the daily beating his uncle bestowed upon him.

'Offensive magic… and powerful too; I wonder what he could accomplish with a wand in his hand… I'll have to wait and see, it seems.'

Now Chione was stood in the middle of the clearing, eyes closed and concentrating. Several minutes passed like that, when suddenly a fox came into clearing with its eyes the exact same as Chiones. It started jumping and running eratically, running throughout the clearing. Then the fox walked up to Chione, bowed to her and sat down while facing her. Immediately after that, the foxes eyes returned to their normal shade of brown, as Chione broke her concentration and opened her eyes, and it left as soon as it had regained its bearings.

'Possession? I must admit I'm impressed… For someone so young to be able to possess someone, let alone an animal of that size… She certainly is powerful, tough her proficiency clearly lies elsewhere than Hadrians. I wonder what Aries will accomplish. Seems that all three of them work as a team, so maybe… maybe he would take the defensive site, with Hadrian being offensive and Chione being a distant fighter; she would undoubtetly be proficient with the Imperius. Just like my dear Bella. My most faithful…'

After Chione was done, Aries walked to the same spot the others had been standing at, and took a defensive stance, with his right leg placed behind him.

He raised both arms with the palms outstretched and pointing forwards. A blue-ish stream escaped his hands and formed a two by two foot shield before him. He closed his eyes and directed his magic into his hands, where he stretched them out into two different directions, all the while maintaining the now seperate shields. He poured more magic into his hands, and the shields grew in diameter and started shining with a green-ish hue. He concentrated again, and while maintaining the shields, a third one of the same size formed behind him. He held those shields for several minutes, when beads of sweat started forming on his forehead. He breathed out through the mouth, and suddenly a layer of magic the exact same as the shields started covering his body from toe to head. The shields he was maintaining until then started flickering, but did not fade; with his eyesbrows furrowed the same shields formed around his friends, covering them in a greenish hue. It only lasted a few seconds, when the shields flickered out of existence and Aries nearly collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. „Fuck. I'll have to work on that. Uh.", he murmured as he sat down on the spot and wiped his forehead. His friend and sister walked towards him, and Chione enveloped him in a hug, saying „Don't worry, it was much better than last time, right? They faded out existence almost immediately when you formed the shield around yourself. With enough training you'll be able to hold them up almost effortlessly, you'll see."

„I sure hope so. It's getting annoying, failing every time, you know?", he answered as he lay down on the ground and closed his eyes. Hadrian sat down next to him, and started talking to their snake that was wrapped around his bicep.

:-:So, are we worthy of thou attention now, pesky animal?:-:, he asked jokingly, purposely talking in Old English to annoy the snake. :-:Stop calling me like that, Master! My name is Medusa, and you will call me by my name, understood? And yes, you have proven worthy of my friendship today, Speakers.:-: :-:You and your worthiness… you think way too highly of yourself, you slithery snake.:-: :-:Shut it! I told you to adress me by my name, and you shall not insult me further or I might just bite you accidentally, human child.:-:

:-:Pff, as if you would hurt us! We are way too precious for you, Medusa.:-:, Aries said lightly. :-:You wish, Master:-:

Their banter was interrupted as Aries hushed them. „Shh. I think there's something somewhere around the clearing. I can feel it." „Oh shit. Shit. Let it not be the Dursleys or Jackson, please, please!", pleaded Chione as she looked around the clearing frantically. Suddenly, Aries eyes snapped to a spot on the right to them, looking into the shadows, directly into the eyes of the shade that had been observing them. His friends followed his gaze, but could not make out anything. Aries eyes narrowed as he spoke. „Show yourself or you will regret it. Now."

Surrounding Forest, Little Whinging, Surrey – London

10/13/1990, 04:14 pm

„Show yourself or you will regret it. Now." The shade was distincly impressed that Aries had managed to locate it. 'Well, looks like this my clue.', it tought. With that tought, it moved from behind the shadows into the clearing slowly, observing the childrens reactions. Hadrian was standing now, hands raised and ready to strike. Chione was slowly standing up, watching the shade with calculating eyes. Aries had taken his defensive stance again, and although he was still exhausted from his earlies exercises, he hoped he could still form a shield to protect them from the thing approaching them, however small it may be. The shade stopped three feet before them, and hovered there, seemingly waiting for something. „What are you? Do you have a name?", Chione asked slowly, waiting for the thing to answer. '"Why, of course I have a name, child. As to for what I am, I am but a mere shadow of what I once was.', the shade tought. The children startled as they heard the words being spoken, not out loud, but in their heads. 'While I cannot breach their Shields, I can still project my toughts to the forefront of their minds, if I wish to do so. A particularly useful skill, it seems.', it tought to itself.

„Stop it, how are you doing that? Can you not talk? And you still did not answer my earlier question, Shade.", Chione continued.

'Ah, but I did answer your question. You asked me if I had a name, and I told you that I do indeed have one. You never asked me to reveal my name particularly. But first, you are going to tell me your full names, Chione, and then we shall see.'

Chione bristled as she heard her name being spoken, but recovered quickly. „Fine then. Boys, introduce yourself to that thing. Maybe it will tell us more after that. My name is Chione Aquilla Black." The shade hmmed in contemplation, the weels in its head turning. How could a Black live in a dump such as Wool's Orphanage. It had spent its childhood there, and it remembered the horrors that had happened to it only too clearly.

„My name is Aries Arcturus Black, and this is my friend Hadrian Remus Potter. Do not call him Harry." The shadow sneered and narrowed its eyes as it heard Hadrians full name.

'You! You are the reason I am what I am now! I should kill you on the spot for your mere existence!', it sneered. Hadrian bristled in anger, and retorted. „Excuse me?! I don't fucking know you, I see you for the first time, and you dare say that I am responsible for you being whatever you are right now?" The shade sneered again, but calmed down a bit after it realized that Hadrian spoke the truth. 'You shall respect your betters, boy. You are nothing compared to me!' Chione snorted. 'How dare you, you insolent brats! You are but mere insects compared to my power!' „Fine then, tell us your name. How are we supposed to adress you? As Mr. Shade?", Aries said. The shade chose to ignore the blatant disrespect.

'No. My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle and I am Lord Voldemprt. I am the greatest Dark Lord of the past four centuries. You will adress me as 'My Lord', or you shall suffer the consequences.'

„We are going to call you by your name, Tom. You sure as hell are not our Lord.", Chione said. All of a sudden, the newly introduced Dark Lord vanished, and several seconds later, a large black wolf made its way into the clearing, its eyes a menacing crimson, a growl on its lips. 'I could teach you so much that your heads will start to spin. I could make you bow to my will with a mere tought. I could torture you into insanity with a twist of my hands. I could kill you on the spot, if only I had a suitable body. You will adress me as 'My Lord', and you shall be rewarded with power and knowledge. I will tell you magnificent tales of a world long forgotten by mankind, I will teach you how to make your opponents tremble in fear and terror at the mere mention of your names. I will teach everything I know. Together, the three of you will be unstoppable, you will be feared, you will be recognized everywhere you go. You will be my Apprentices, and you will listen to me. In the end, you will be rewarded for your loyalty.'

The three children looked at the wolf with contemplating eyes, then at each other. Together, they sank to their knees and bowed their heads. „As you wish, My Lord", they spoke as one.

A/N:Soo! Quite a bit happened this chapter, and I finally managed to integrate a few elements I wanted to have in this chapter. The Dark Lord revealed himself, and the three children are now his Apprentices. What will happen now? What an impression will they make on the Dark Lord, and how will they enter Hogwarts? You'll see in the coming chapters.

As always, reviews and follows are appreciated. Have a nice day, fellas.

AATR out.