Severus watched his students with well concealed pride and well displayed concern, not for their wellbeing, but for the future… They were making outstanding progress in their capacity to handle the Dark Arts. He'd expected Addams and the cannibalistic Weasley to excel, but had been side-blinded with how proficient the others were. Maybe he shouldn't have been – after all he was aware they'd been studying other forms of Dark magic for some time now.
"Professor? This isn't working at all. What am I doing wrong?" He walked over to assist Addams. He would deny it under torture, but he did truly enjoy teaching these children – even Addams. The boy was focused and respectful and surprisingly he wasn't stubbornly prideful about asking for help when he needed it. This attitude had rubbed off on the others, and now even his godson would happily concede his weaknesses in order to overcome them, learn and grow stronger – though only in friendly company of course. Addams general arrogance was even starting to aggravate him less and less the more time he spent with the boy. It also helped that he could gloat internally about just what James Potter would say to seeing his son being taught by Snape and casting all these wicked spells so eagerly.
After practicing for some time, Snape told them to break up into pairs in order to duel – something they hadn't done before, at least not in front of the potions master. He had them duelling one pair at a time, because that's all he could handle keeping his eyes on at once. If any of these children landed one of the more damaging curses, he'd only have seconds to intervene, and he really didn't feel like explaining to Dumbledore why his students were in critical condition, or, well, dead.
When asked why Snape had chosen now to allow them to turn their wands on each other, he informed them of the duelling club Lockhart was setting up, and that none of the twelve students present were to attend.
"What? Why not?" They cried together, all thinking this was a great opportunity to test their skills against someone new.
Heri understood this duelling club was likely introduced to quell the growing fear within the student population since another student had been petrified a week prior, and to give them a sense of control in this uncertain situation. It was all psychological. Participating in a duelling club would hardly prepare them to face Slytherin's monster.
He did wonder what Tom was up to right now… Surely an attack a day would be of greater impact…
"It's not like we would use any of these spells." Blaise argued helpfully as he gestured towards the evisceration hex narrowly missing Daphne.
"You cannot know that for sure. You can't always stay in control in the heat of the moment, and I am not willing to take the chance that you will expose yourselves. Or me!" Heri's face scrunched up in distaste at the insinuation that he couldn't remain calm under pressure, or indeed that he or any of his friends could be made to feel cornered by their fellow students.
Snape sighed as he watched the glances being sent to Addams, and suspected he would have a fight on his hands when he saw the small smile break out on the boy's face.
"Perhaps we could just attend one meeting?" Blaise pushed after understanding Heri wasn't going to back down on this. "I think that will be enough to prove ourselves." And ensure the entire school understood his group of friends were not to be messed with, even on an individual level.
Snape opened his mouth to object, but was cut off by an unwanted but now familiar guest.
"Perhaps this could be a test of self-control. And if they do use any Dark spells, they'll be expelled and you won't have to deal with them anymore professor." Snape quietly fumed about being exposed to the strange first year again, but the consideration of her words flickered through his mind without his permission. He would certainly sleep better if this band of dangerous children were thinned out just a little…
"What are you doing here, Miss Lovegood?" He asked with a dark drawl.
A spell flew passed the intruder, leaving a large gash in the tree behind her and Snape spun to call a pause to Draco and Daphne's duel, somewhat to the relief of the children who were panting from exertion.
"I just came by to say hello, Professor." She looked across to Heri, much to the annoyance of Snape, for he was the one she should be looking to for permission. "And to see if I couldn't join this little club." She smiled blankly at Herido's suspicious frown. Nobody in this 'little club' knew Luna personally and were therefore far from willing to let her join them in their illegal activities.
"You told us you are unwilling to learn Dark Magic." He challenged.
"I am, though now that you're duelling I could practice fighting against it." She replied easily.
"How did you know…"
"You wouldn't stand a chance against us!" Ron declared, and the others nodded in agreement. There was just no way some Light-loving first year could hold her own against them after everything they'd learned.
"Well, that's why I need to practice. Let me prove my worth, Herido. Duel me." Everyone broke down in laughter and even Snape had to fight valiantly to stop the pull of his lips. This girl fight Addams? Ha!
"You'll have to work up to fighting Heri!" Astoria cried after she'd wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'd be more than happy to face you in the meantime Loony." The twins were taking bets before the challenge had even been accepted; their eyes alight with sadistic glee.
Heri turned to Snape with a grin. "What do you think, professor? It might be entertaining." And Snape acquiesced with a long sigh and a wave of his hand. Lovegood had proved herself trustworthy – might as well see what she was made of.
With a wickedly please grin, Aster stepped up to take a bow, a bow that was returned by a carefree Luna while the betting was called to a close and the rest of the group fell silent.
"Incarcerous!" Luna cast with a speed admired by even Heri, but Aster just about managed to roll away. Standing as part of the circle around them, Daphne didn't blink as she intently watched her sister, ready to step in and kill the Ravenclaw girl if Astoria was injured and for once not caring a bit that her clothes were ruined as she avoided the spell."Petrificus Totalus!" This time Aster was ready and threw up a shield, scampering up before taking aim.
"Sectumsempra!" Luna spun out of the way with the grace of a ballerina, but Aster was on a roll. She didn't have Luna's speed or reflexes, but she wasn't afraid of casting every spell she knew and did not hold back. "Exentera! Infringo! Debilito!" She fired curse after curse, but Luna dodged or blocked every spell, moving quickly and looking utterly ridiculous as she danced about in order to avoid being hit. When it looked like Aster finally had her, she pointed her wand to the floor and cast a blasting spell – effectively throwing herself back by the force of it. "Expelliarmus! Diripio!"
"Stupefy! Locomotor Mortis!" Aster screamed in embarrassment and frustration as the Leg Locker hit her, leaving her unable to dodge. Whatever, she thought. It's not like dodging was her strength anyway. She raised a shield and waited for an opening. When she found one, she was relentless. She knew if she didn't end the fight with this barrage she would lose.
"Debilito! Expulso! Expelliarmus! Impedimenta! Sectumsempra!" She was so focused on her next move it took her a few moments to realise she'd gotten Luna with the disarming charm. With a relieved sigh she fell back and waited for someone to free her. Snape had taught them all the counters to the things they were learning, but she had been more interested in the offensive spells. This experience had at least taught her not to overlook such things.
"The House always wins!" George cried happily as Fred gathered their winnings.
Snape ignored them and waited until Lovegood had gathered herself before speaking. "How do you know so many spells, Miss Lovegood? You certainly haven't covered them all in school yet."
"You let yourself get hit by the disarming charm." Heri noted. "Why?"
"I thought it prudent to learn how to defend myself." She told Snape before turning to answer Herido: "I believed I would get hit by Astoria's next spell and thought it better to lose to an Expelliarmus than to something nastier. That spell threw me out of range of the others." Everyone considered her answer. Most of them couldn't think so many steps ahead in the middle of a duel, and they'd been practicing with each other for months. Maybe there was more to this girl than met the eye.
"Ok." Heri said at length. "You can join us here. But you really don't want to learn the Dark Arts? I think you're wasting a rare opportunity."
"I told you, I can't learn Dark Magic. I just want to be able to defend against it. You see, even being subjected to Dark Magic leaves traces, and I can't have that."
"Why?" Her only answer to that question was an eerie smile.
The weeks passed but the clouds remained, leaving the temperature arctic, and so the few Slytherins brave enough to stay in the common room continued to huddle for warmth beneath blankets and heat charmed clothing. All apart from Heri's group, who took the highly desired seating before the fire without shame.
"You know everyone still thinks we're responsible for the attacks." Daphne said, bringing up the subject of Voldemort's Diary yet again, much to Heri's annoyance. They'd had a fit when he told them the Diary had been returned, but they were slowly coming to terms with the reality of the situation.
Heri bet Ginny was boring the Dark Lord to tears…
"And Ginny is starting to look ill again. It's only a matter of time before the Weasleys decide it's too much and take the diary from her again. Then what will you do with it?" Draco asked, obviously wanting a confirmation that Heri would eventually be returning it to his father. Heri however was still trying to decide on a method to contain Tom if he achieved corporeal form again.
"Heri, do you have a plan here?" Daphne asked, her tone clearly telling him she didn't think so.
"Why should I have a plan? Let's just see how it goes." Seeing the disapproving frowns, he continued: "It's cinema vérité. Enjoy it."
"Look Heri, it's not like I particularly care one way or another about what the Dark Lord is trying to do, but you don't piss in your own pool, you know? What happens at Hogwarts affects us all." Blaise continued to push.
"What do you mean you don't care either way?" Hermione hissed. "He's trying to rid the school of people like me! You don't care about that?"
Blaise rolled his eyes, because he was maybe the only one here who did care. He was slowly coming round to the idea of using people for sacrificial magic, but still had a problem with people getting hurt for no good reason, or possibly even killed.
Thankfully Vince answered for him. "Not particularly. It's not like he's going to hurt you! Nor will he be able to attack every muggleborn at Hogwarts."
"I don't think we need to worry about losing a generation of them any time soon." Draco added.
"So it's ok for just a few of 'them' to be killed? Am I a 'them'?"
"Oh stop being so sensitive 'Mione, it's nothing personal…"
Heri stopped listening, but smiled as his friends argued about the value of muggleborns. They all agreed in their equality but somehow still managed to find a way to argue about it. Really, Heri was impressed by their ability to bicker about absolutely anything. He also knew that their main concern about the young Voldemort being set loose again was the vessel he'd been given: Ginny. They didn't like the thought that Herido would throw one of their own under the bus.
Heri was bored, which was never a good thing. He sat alone beside the fire of the common room, which was still roaring even though it was almost 3am. In an effort to retain a little natural heat, the fires had been kept lit for months now. He was also irritated about the whole fiasco surrounding the Diary, and an irritated Herido was even less of a good thing. This week his friends had finally backed off after he assured them that no serious harm would come to Ginny (an assurance, not a promise), but he wondered whether in the future he should explore these things alone. He had long ago accepted that having friends greatly enriched his life and experience of school, whether they were learning together or whether they were trying to give him a headache. He appreciated it all. And they'd given him an opportunity to try out the new strain of Grandmamma had created. They effects were better than expected and had kept Draco and the Weasleys in the hospital wing for the duration of winter break. However they were all at different stages in their exploration of the Dark and he sometimes forgot they might have objections to things he found as natural as breathing.
Today though, it had been Dumbledore's turn to try to ruin his enjoyment of the Tom Riddle/Diary experiment, and he did not appreciate this from a man for whom he had no natural affection.
He'd been called into the headmaster's office and asked outright whether he had any knowledge of the Chamber of Secrets or of Slytherin's monster, and though Heri had been able to duck and dive and avoid answering the man directly, he had been left with a dreadfully dull headache.
So all in all, his bad mood had absolutely nothing to do with any kind of withdrawal. He had absolutely not become addicted to using the Diary, or to the infuriating games he and the young Voldemort had taken to playing. Nor were his thoughts being constantly being drawn back to said Diary.
A harsh pop resounded throughout the empty room, snapping Heri from his thoughts.
The elf that appeared was only spared death-by-kunai due to the incredible magic of the house elves. Heri sniffed, the interruption having only served to increase his irritation. The elf could have at least had the decency to bleed a little. He considered the shocked wide eyed creature for a moment.
"Elf, retrieve the knife and come here." He commanded as he waved a hand to summon a desk chair from across the room, and placing it in front of the arm of his own chair. "Jump up. I don't want to have to bend my neck to look at you." He said with distain and a nod to the chair. Seeing as the elf was here he might as well help Heri relax. The elf complied, though its confusion was evident. He took the knife. "Hold out your hand and spread your fingers."
Heri lifted the knife and slowly sliced through the delicate webbing between its fingers.
The elf squeaked, and was about to pull it's hand away until he noticed the dark look in the student's eye. "P-Please, I…"
"Don't speak without invitation elf! I'm in no mood for it." Heri had no idea how the castle managed to run with such efficiency having such strange elves. Then again their master, Dumbledore, was an odd one too. He took a trembling finger and proceeded to make another cut. Why was it trembling? He'd seen his elves iron their own hands – surely that was infinitely more painful than a few little cuts! Dumbledore must have broken this one with his strange ideas.
"Now, care to tell me why you appeared before me without being summoned?" He asked, thinking he should probably find out if it had been sent for him, or had a message or something.
"Ninky is here to clean the Slytherin common room." Heri looked up sharply. "S-Sir." It amended. The Hogwarts elves were definitely spoiled, but at least this one could still remember its place.
Heri thought for a moment. "Do you always clean in here, or is there a rota?" Knowing the elves could be beneficial, he thought while absently gesturing for the other hand. The elf let out another squeak and Heri looked up to see it trying to bolster its courage – its hand held tightly down by its side.
"S-Sir, Hogwarts elves are only to answer to the headmaster. Students are not to punish elves." Closing his eyes, Heri let out a long breath. The nerve of this elf, challenging his authority!
Without opening his eyes he leaned back into his chair. "Tilly." He called softly, and then waited, knowing it would take a few moments for her to answer him as she made multiple jumps to cover such a long distance. Finally she popped in and at once noticed the dark mood of her master. She dipped into a low bow.
"Yes, master? You called for Tilly, master?" She asked immediately. Heri put a hand to his head and cracked an eye open to look down at her.
"Take this elf back to the house and have him punished for insolence, then come back here and clean this room. Return him in a few hours – I think that should be enough. You may go." He spoke with sharp clipped words.
"Yes Sir." She looked at her fellow elf in pity, but moved to obey, grabbing him quickly when she noticed he was about to pop out.
"Wait! I can't leave Hog…" And they were gone.
Ninky had done nothing to alleviate his mood, but no matter, he had a suitcase full of criminals at his disposal. He was glad he'd thought ahead and resourced Hermione's victims before school this year!
The next day Herido was called in to see Dumbledore again. Apparently Ninky had gone running to its master the second he returned that morning.
He walked in to the headmaster's office to find the old man finishing up with Lockhart, and when the sorry excuse for a Defence professor caught sight of him he paled dramatically before stuttering out an excuse and making a quick get away, leaving Heri to chuckle quietly. Dealing with Lockhart was something else he needed to get round to sooner or later – he had all but promised him a gloriously horrific deathday after all.
"Mr Addams, please take a seat." Dumbledore didn't present Herido with much of his grandfatherly façade anymore. His face was hard and unyielding as he watched the boy get comfortable. "Herido we need to discuss what happened with Ninky last night."
"Oh?" Heri asked with feigned ignorance, which made the old man frown.
"I am shocked and disappointed in your behaviour. That is not how we treat elves at Hogwarts, and students are not permitted to deal with them at all." As expected, the Addams boy didn't look at all abashed.
"Excuse me, headmaster. I was in a bad mood." He said dismissively by way of explanation, though by the deepening of Dumbledore's frown lines it wasn't convincing him. "If you require compensation for the lack of productivity today, I'm more than happy to have father send money." Dumbledore didn't know whether to be angry or to despair. What he did know was that he didn't want the Addams patriarch involved directly.
The disappointed old man of authority approach clearly wasn't having an impact, so he began to use an altogether harsher tone. "That is not the point or problem Mr Addams." The new tone made Heri look up, and Dumbledore was sorely tempted to take a peek into his mind, though he instantly thought better of it. Merlin knows what defences the mind of an Addams had. "You cannot torture our elves, or anything else for that matter. Not even if you are in a bad mood." He qualified after seeing Heri about to speak. "Now, I'm going to have to suspend you. For two weeks." He watched closely for Herido's reaction – mostly to glean any indication of how his parents would react to this punishment.
Heri thought about it for a moment. He supposed it was only fair – he had been neglectful after all, not ensuring the elf's silence. "Very well." Dumbledore almost wanted him to fight this. He still had no clue about how this news would be received and the last thing he needed was any more Addams turning up – he'd dealt with enough for a lifetime. Herido sent him a knowing look that made him deeply uncomfortable. "Don't worry, headmaster. I can use the time to recommence my lessons with Dracula." Oh great, now Dumbledore was enabling the promulgation of the Dark Arts. He sighed.
"Perhaps…" He was interrupted when his office door flew open, and Snape all but tumbled over the threshold, his face unreadable, though the manner of his entrance told the two present that something was very wrong. "Severus? What..?"
"There has been a death, headmaster. The creature has killed a student." Dumbledore's face turned to stone, while Heri fought to keep the excitement from his. He didn't revel in the wasted loss of magical life, but Tom had stepped up his game and this was an interesting development.
"Who died?" He asked.
"You are dismissed, Mr Addams." Dumbledore snapped, standing to follow Severus out, not doubt to investigate the body.
Heri followed discretely until he heard the name of the deceased: Penelope Clearwater. Hmm, Percy Weasley's girlfriend – someone loosly connected to him that made him think the target had been deliberate, perhaps Tom's way of saying 'hello', but no one he believed his friends would be mourning. He could live with that.
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