Author's Note:

I need a beta as soon as possible. Thank you everyone for reading and commenting. Hope you enjoy it. Tell me what you think.

Chapter Six

At the end of the feast, the large group that was Slytherin moved, rising and filtering out of the Great Hall before taking a sharp left to descend into the dungeons where the Slytherin common room and dormitories were located.

The hallways were dark and mugs, the air stiflingly thick and almost too moist, the consequence of al that torchlight and being so close to the lake no doubt. They quickly walked to more pleasant stone hallways, forking to the left and then to the right.

The Prefects led the way, directing everyone to a specific lantern stand with a well engraved snake curled around the mount.

"First Years", The Seventh Year Prefect announced." This is the way into the Slytherin Common Room. The password is Black Mamba, it is best interest not to forget it, the password will be changed every week"

At the password, the snake shifted ,wriggling free from the stone and working as a latch in itself. The wall around the torch fell and curled in on itself. It rolled, sliding out of the way with a silent flare of light.

The room opened to a large domed cavern. Rigel felt at home. It was decorated in black and several shades of furniture was all in black and it had several highlights in green and walls, floor, and ceilings were in stone but several rugs were spread on the floor giving it a more welcoming feeling. It had two big fireplaces, on opposite sides of the room and one wall was covered in bookshelves. There were several couches and armchairs throughout the room as well as a few work tables and chairs.

"Welcome to Slytherin. I'm Weston Rosier and this is Serra Linndon, we are the sixth year prefects and part of the court"He raked them all with his gaze,"You are all Slytherins. Your House is a place of pride and power. Of cunning and survival. Of unity and strength. As members of this house, I expect each of you will come under suspicion and fear from other students, professors and even the will fear you and what you will be become. You all have the potential to become somebody great and the rest of the world will envy you for that."

"For that reason, Slytherin has one major rule, you must be United. Outside this house, you will act with one purpose, as one body. Those that hate you, those fear you will try to pit you against one another. You must be will keep your housemate secrets. What happens in Slytherin stays in Slytherin. If you see your fellow Slytherin in trouble , you help them. I don't care if your family has a blood feud, If you see a fellow Slytherin in a conflict, you side with them. Inside this walls, however, everyone is fair game." He smirked cruelly while his gaze rested on Ajax.

His silence however made some first year to fidget and the girl beside him barked out, "No fidgeting! A Slytherin does not fidget. They do not twiddle their thumbs. They do not cavort in the hallways like hooligans. They do not disgrace their house in anyway. We will be your family for seven years. You wouldn't want to disgrace your families, would you?"

She waited for their replies, before continuing, "Your rooms are on the first hallway. Each room has generally has two students to it, you can swap roommates in your Second Year until then, enjoy. Our Head of House is Professor Snape, you will respect him you can go to him with any problems that is outside our jurisdiction. Goodnight"

Rigel went up the stairs, staying in the common room will only court trouble. The room was very spacious. Two double canopy beds were pressed to the wall on opposite sides, With a double wardrobe and matching drawers, all made of oak. Their names were written in a golden plate on the bed stand. It seems he would be roommates with Ajax. Ajax entered the room, his face was pale and his shoulders were hunched.

Rigel looked at him, "Were you cursed?"

"No, I just tripped when coming up the stairs"He didn't mention how almost everyone burst out laughing when it happened.

"Chin up, you are a Slytherin, you mustn't show it hurts"

Ajax blanked his face, he had had much practice at home, he just felt that Hogwarts will be different ,that he would have friends, be himself.

"You can be yourself inside this room"Rigel said

"Why do they all look at me like that?"

"You are the first muggleborn sorted in Slytherin in hundred years, you should capitalize on that, that is instant fame"

"What is the court, Potter-Black? Those prefects said they were part of it"

" The Court is created by someone with the ability to control the house, it is almost impossible to go against him. The consequences I have to tell you are rather student must be proficient in magical power, personal wealth,academics,personal connections, family name and purity of blood. He/She is called the Prince or Princess of the house. He rules the house and the members of the members of his court ensures that the rules are carried out. They are powerful and dangerous"

"Oh" Ajax said slowly digesting the information "And this court hate me"

"Not really, some will be indifferent" Rigel said with a smirk.

"That's not helping"

"Most will hate you, they will feel like you have sullied the pure house of Slytherin. It is up to you to to prove them wrong. You will have to work harder in every class. Slytherin respect power and intelligence."

Ajax sat quietly on the bed and Rigel left to take his bath. As he prepared for sleep, Ajax asked him, "Why? Why are you helping? You are an important person so why are you doing this?"

Rigel smiled at the young prodigy, "I don't know, I just believe you are more important than you think"

Ajax beamed at him and a little guilt stirred in his heart, "Thank you"

"Goodnight"

"First years, behind me"A girl with a prefect badge said. She kept on looking around for someone. Few minutes later, a black haired boy sauntered in. She rolled her eyes at him and he responded with a wink."I am Marie Tancerio, this is Elijah Woods, We are the fifth year prefects and We will be escorting to all your classes this week. There will be hundreds of owls carrying mails, do not look surprised. Nothing should catch Slytherins off guard"

"Marie, darling, you are scaring them, Alright firsties now, lets move"

The tugging resume in full force immediately Rigel stepped inside the hall. He closed his eyes, employing every block he knew.

He sat down between Ajax and one other. He looked at the table and tried to pinpoint the court. It was easier than he thought ,they were sitting in the traditional place. In the center of the table, with the king sitting without any obstruction.

"Merry Meet, I am Elias Mentis, Scion to the Noble House of Mentis"

"Merry Meet, Rigel Potter-Black, Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Black.

"Potter-Black, where have you been?" A third year student asked him. Those around shifted closer while pretending to be eating and not listening.

"Oh, around" He answered offhandedly.

He said the traditional words and ignored the gasps of those around and Yaxley curious face.

"So Potter-Black excited for your first day, I am Marcus Flint by the way"

"Would introduce myself but you already know my name, and yes, I am"

There was a loud noise and hundreds of owls flew in. Large gasps of surprises were heard as some stared open mouthed at the sight. Rigel could see what Marie Tancerio meant, it was rather unbecoming. A black raven flew towards him, Rigel reveled in the hidden surprise of the upper levels. The Blacks were wealthy, powerful and notorious. And like many pureblood families, they loved to flaunt this. Using only black ravens to communicate were one of their many ways. Cerise had showed the Slytherins that not only was he the Black hair, he was in contact with another Black.

Yaxley was almost giddy with excitement, the mystery that was Potter-Black was unfolding slowly.

Severus came and passed them their schedules.

"What do we have first?" Rigel asked Ajax

"Transfiguration with the Hufflepuff" The blonde said, his face was serious. Rigel had to hold that his smirk. He had woken up to Ajax reading, and considering that he woke up early, the boy must have up at an ungodly hour.

"Hey Mudblood, Heard Muggles eat children, is that true?"

Ajax looked over at Anthony Turagall, before drawling, "True, I myself fancy Cooper haired boys with brown eyes"

Lorenzo Zabini snickered, "Nice one, Micheals"

"Are you siding with the mudblood, now" Serene Maga said, she was a rather large girl with a permanent sneer on her face

"Just enjoying a good joke, you should try it sometime"

"Why, you little..."

"No fighting, remember" Simon Fawcett said

"Fighting? I don't do such, Simon, I prefer the term friendly disagreement, right Maga" Lorenzo said, his violet eyes filled with amusement

"Enough Lorenzo" Amalia Balish said,"Stop provoking her" The delicate looking beauty chided.

"As you wish, my fair lady"

Yaxley looked on, it seemed the two were close but it was not unexpected. Amalia Balish has been betrothed to Lorenzo Italian cousin, Roderigo Zabini. And the two boys were rather close. His eyes moved to the muggleborn amidst them, Ajax was calm eating quietly though not joining in the conversation, His eyes were not nervous or tense, it was a far cry from the boy yesterday. What had changed?

Elijah came to take them to their first class.

They filed in quietly and took their seats. Anthony Turagall and Yaxley were seating beside him.

Professor McGonagall created her reputation well in her first class, looking at them with a stern face, she started with quite a lecture.

"Transfiguration is some of the most difficult,and most dangerous magic that you will be attempting in this school,I expect every single one of you to take this course one hundred percent seriously. Any rule breaking or messing around in my class will be severely I think you are not mature enough to handle this, you will be told to leave and never return, do I make myself clear?"

"Receiving affirmative nods, she took that attendance and briefly explained her subject. She then proceeded to say,"Today we will be transforming a match into a needle, do not be discouraged if you can manage no transformation, the incantation is Compostious Verto and the wand movement is like this" With that she briefly demonstrated the wand movement and set them to their task.

Rigel wanted a while watching his friends attempt it, he then whispered the spell and his match turned to a pointy needle.

"Wonderful" The Professor gushed, "Twenty Points to Slytherin"

She gave a Gryffindor girl five points as her match turned silvery and Ajax ten for his pointed silver match.

"How did you do it?" Ajax asked, the other Slytherin turned their attention to Rigel, a look from him made Ajax say,"Doesn't matter though, What do we have next?"

"Herbology"

Professor Sprout was indeed a soft spoken woman, her voice was kind and calm when she asked them how one compact the effects of the devil snarl. Three hands went up and she called on Ajax.

"The Devil Snare is a highly reactive plant and movements tend to make the plant more persistent and precise. So if one stays still and does or panic, it will negate the effects of the plants. The best, and only foolproof of fighting the Devil Snare is to produce light or fire. The plant is afraid of light and it will cause the plant to back off out of fear . Fire on the other hand can be fatal to the plant if exposed to it for so long, or if the fire is hot enough, the plant will back off due to self preservation"

"A well articulated answer, Mr Micheals. It is a hundred percent correct. Twenty points to Slytherin"

Anthony who was among those who raised their hands for the question glared at Ajax Micheals. He was clearly annoyed that the mudblood got points.

After break was Potions and Rigel held his breath. He had made sure that his parent will be read, if only to protect him from Severus Snape fury. The Professor hating him would just cause untold suffering.

The Potion class was silent, it was clear that the Professors reputation preceded him.

The Classroom door suddenly swung wide open, crashing against the wall behind it, the Potion Master strode in, robes billowing in his wake. He executed a sharp spin as he reached the front of the room, eyeing his silent students speculatively. With a wave of his wand, several cauldrons and vials appeared on the desk behind him.

"You are here to learn the art that is Potions. Make no mistake as this is the most dangerous, most punishing and least forgiving magic you will encounter here. It is perhaps the most underestimated portion of magic but for those of you who will advance to the upper echelons of the society,you will find out that potions are possibly the most important branch. I can teach you to brew glory, bottle fame, ensnare the senses and ensnare the senses, that is if you are not as big as a dunderhead as I normally have" He seemed to look each of them in the eye as if he was daring them to be one.

He started the roll call.

Rigel Potter-Black. He didn't know how to feel about the boy in all certainty. He was prepared to hate the Potter, no doubt they will be like James Potter strutting around the school like they owned it, then the letter from Gringotts came inviting him to the Potters will reading. He had thought it a prank but one does not ignore the summons of the Goblins so he went.

To say he had been pleasantly surprised was an understatement. No only had James Potter apologized, he had said that it was due to his jealousy that he had Lily. He had also cancelled the life debt. Lily had obviously done the arrogant toe rag well. Lily had also apologized asking him to forgive her for not forgiving him, claiming it was due to her pride, she had left him a few things, sentimental things though.

He then decided to give Harry Potter and his brother a chance till the sorting when he heard that hyphenated name, he almost lost control, Black had been the one bane in his existence. He loathed him with a passion he can't just imagine, and who could blame him that sociopath tried to kill him.

"Present, Professor"

He didn't know what to do about the boy, he was polite and though he walked confidently he didn't struck. He was a Slytherin. He then smirked, Potter would be turning in his grave.

He soon finished the roll call.

"Weasley, Where do I look for a bezoar?"

"Which of us, Sir" They both said in perfect unison.

However Snape's glare caused the one nearest to the Professor to gulp saying,"In a goat, sir"

Snape's lip curled, "A point from Gryffindor for incomplete answer"

"Yaxley, where exactly do we find the bezoar and what does it do?"

"In the stomach of a goat, it can cure most poisons" Yaxley said

"Correct, Three points to Slytherin, Potter-Black" He spat out the Black like a foul poison he can't wait to leave his mouth, What is the most poisonous part of the Baneberry plant."

" The Berry,Sir"

Snape's stared at him for a moment, and what are the ingredients for a wit sharpening potion "

"Armadillo, ginger roots and ground scrap bettles, Sir"

"Correct ,why are you all not writing " He barked

"Today we will be making a simple boil cure potion" Snape said, "You will be making it in pairs, so decide whose cauldron you will be using. The recipe is on page one hundred and sixteen in your textbook."

"We can use my cauldron" Ajax offered

"Alright" Rigel agreed and opened his textbook to find the recipe. It was a pretty basic recipe. "Measure exactly thirty grams of dried nettles." He said as he crushed the snake fangs." Pour three liters of Standard Potion Water into the cauldron" He set aside the crushed fangs and lit the fire under the cauldron for ten minutes before adding the crushed fangs at the forty seventh second."Prepare other ingredients"He then added the dried nettles before stirring three times. "Kept stirring, Start at the top and stir an anti clockwise direction"

"Why does it matter where I start?"

"Because you must start at the same place, each time you begin stirring, Mr Micheal's" Snape said behind them before stalking off to the Gryfindors side of the classroom.

"Put in the green slugs and stir eight times, first in anti clockwise then clockwise" He then added the horned slugs. Rigel switched off the fire before adding the porcupine quills. The potion turned blue. They bottled it and submitted. Snape's asked them to leave so they wouldn't disturb the students.

"Rigel sorry Potter-Black, ehh where are we going?Shouldn't we wait for others?"

"The Library"

They soon entered the library and Rigel took him to a part of the library that most had forgotten, "Ajax, you did well in class today"

Ajax preened under the praise, " So did you"

"You are a muggleborn in Slytherin, Perhaps I didn't explain well, some fanatics will think of you as a stain they should remove"

"Are you saying..."

"Yes, but I am determined that you will survive Slytherin, I will teach you a spell to check your food for poisonous potion"

"This house is dangerous"

"Not for long"

Ajax nodded, his mind still processing that his life was in danger.

"This night, we will be presented before the court, you will act like a Slytherin, you will show respect not fear"

He then proceeded to teach him Protego, a third year shield charm which Ajax learnt eagerly.

"What about you?" Ajax said concern in his face

"Me?"

"I have been reading about this world and your brother is the Boy Who Lived"

"Yes?"

"Some of the children of You Know Who followers is in our house"

"The Dark Lord"

"Yes, they would attack you"

"I can take care of myself " Rigel said, Ajax concern making him feel warm.

After history was lunch then dinner and soon they saw themselves in the common room.

"Come"Elijah Woods said to the First years, his tone solemn unlike this morning.

He led them toward a place others seemed to stay away out of fear and respect. "The Court" Anthony said in a whisper.

Five seats were arranged around the sixth one. "The first years, My Prince"Elijah announced to the group before him bowing respectfully.

"Well aren't you going to introduce yourself" The 6th year prefect said.

"I am Amalia Balish, heiress to the Noble house of Balish" The girl said.

"Balish, you are betrothed to the Zabinis right"

"Yes" the girl said, she was nervous but hid it.

"Anthony Turagall, heir to the Noble House of Turagall"

"Petyr Fawcett, Scion of the most Ancient and Noble House of Fawcett"

"Fawcett ,you say, it's been quite a while we have had a Fawcett in Slytherin" The red haired boy said thoughtfully.

"Lorenzo Zabini"

"Ellas Mentis"

"Selene Maga"

"Sarah Macrux, heiress to the Most Ancient House of Mccrux"

"Turais Yaxley, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Yaxley"

"Ajax Micheals"

"Micheals, you are the mudblood then" Some First year shifted from him immediately and large murmurings erupted from other years about the thing tainting the house.

"Yes" He said in that same blasé tone.

"Rigel Potter-Black, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black"

"A Potter in Slytherin"The red haired said "Your anescestors must be rolling in their grave"

Rigel held his tongue, to speak now would be nothing but folly.

The boy in the middle held his hands and silence ensured.

"My friends" He motioned to the five surrounding him," Yatin Bhagat","Samuel Carrow, Charles Ogden, Weston Rosier, Serra Linddon, I am Antonin Rockwood, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Rookwood"

And then the power plays began.