Hey everybody,
I will be heading for vacation so I am posting next week's chapter early.
Everyone enjoy your vacation and see you next year!
As always, I'd love to hear from you.
- ravenclawblues 2019-12-23
CHAPTER 24
THE SERPENT'S LAIR
August 23, 1970 (Sunday)
WESTERMONT'S MAJESTY EMBLAZONS ENGLAND TRIUMPH
by A. Carnierus, Quidditch Correspondent
England 260 : 100 Liechtenstein
Rejoice! To the accompaniment of expression of praise, thanksgiving, and in some cases, utter disbelief, England became Quidditch champions of the world by defeating Liechtenstein on August 22, 1970 at White Goat, Canada. This day marked the first time in a century that England has reclaimed the throne...
September 1, 1970 (Tuesday)
Before Turais knew it, the rest of summer has passed by. He has said his teary goodbyes to his family just an hour ago and was now barreling towards Hogwarts on the scarlet train with dark, ominous clouds hanging low on the horizon. Jonty has disappeared from the compartment as soon as the train started moving and has yet to return. But as the scenery transitioned from highrises to suburban neighbourhoods, the boy reappeared.
"I just heard from Sayre that Professor Zīvert is not returning as the Defense Against the Dart Arts Professor this year," Jonty panted as he entered the compartment. "He's being replaced by Professor Jeanette Talbot."
"Aw man..." Gerald said in mild disappointment, "I liked him. He was a great teacher. What happened to him?"
"I've heard that he has sustained some terrible injuries in the Paris attack this summer and is still recovering from his wounds," Jonty said.
"I hope he gets better and can return to us soon," Alice said.
Turais frowned at the news. He wasn't surprised that the Defense professor was being replaced due to the knowledge of the curse, hence, he has not allowed him to be too attached to the professor. But Zīvert was a good teacher and this was a terrible reason for him to become unavailable for the position.
Snapping his book shut, Turais stood up and announced, "I'm going to check on the first-years."
"Why, Turais? You're not a Prefect," Jane asked. "Also, I didn't have a chance to fill you in on my trip to the Grand Canyon yet!"
"Sorry, Jane. We will have time when we get to Hogwarts, I promise. But, I would just like to get to know them before they are all scattered in their own Houses. And I would also like to announce to them that I will be continuing the homework club so they can ask us questions about homework, if you would like to help with it," Turais said.
"Of course we wouldn't mind, Turais. Your homework club was so helpful last year. I would have done so badly on the Potions project if it weren't for you three," Gerald said appreciatively to the three Slytherins.
"Nah, you're fine, Gerald. You just always mix up your Fluxweed and Flaxseed and your Snargaluff and Shirvelfig," Jonty commented nonchalantly.
"I'm getting confused just from hearing the words next to each other," Gerald grabbed his hair in frustration as the rest of them laughed.
"I best head off now if I wish to get to the end of the train by the time we arrive at Hogwarts," Turais exited the compartment.
He was so distracted by the Slytherin House politics and creating the Wolfsbane Potion with Damocles that he barely had time to check on his fellow yearmates. This time, he was determined to get a head start and familiarize himself with the first-years and try to sniff out Prometheus.
To be honest, he still had no clue how he was to approach this problem. How did you tell if a first-year would become a mass-murderer? Turais highly doubted that he would've realized what Voldemort was capable of doing if he went to school with Tom Riddle without any previous knowledge - at least not about the Horcruxes . But still, he has to try. Fate and Death have decided that Turais should be reborn in this body and told him he would have a fighting chance to stop Prometheus; so he would have to trust that this task was doable. And now, he would have to start by introducing himself to as many first-years as possible and creating the friendliest environment between Houses as possible.
So if Project "Find Prometheus" failed, Project "Overhaul Slytherin" would have to remain his top priority.
He has now reached the front of the train and started to scan the compartments for first-years. He looked into the second compartment and saw four girls in all-black school robes. Finding his targets, he knocked on the compartment door and slid the door open slightly.
"Hello, I am Turais Black and I am just walking down the train to welcome all the first years. What are your names?"
"Hello Turais, I am Amelia Bones," the girl with grey hair and brown eyes said. Then, she introduced her fellow yearmates. Sitting beside her was Stacey Donavon and across from her was Valeria Sloan. Finally, across from Amelia was Cassidy Brown.
"Pleasure to meet you all, and I was wondering if you have any questions for me regarding Hogwarts?"
"Aren't you too young to be a Prefect?" Cassidy's eyes narrowed at him and his green and grey tie suspiciously.
"Oh, I'm not a Prefect, Ms Brown," Turais said gently.
"Then why are you doing this?" Cassidy demanded.
"Stop this, Cassie. You're being rude. Mr Black is a nice person," scolded Amelia as she turned back to Turais, who stood awkwardly and was taken aback by the hostility. "I've heard about you from my brother. Are you familiar with Edgar Bones? He graduated last year."
"I'm afraid I don't know him personally. However, I hope you've only heard good things," Turais said as he smiled slightly.
"Of course, Mr Black! Did you really save two first-year Muggleborns from three sixth-year?"
"Oh that..." Turais blushed slightly, remembering the outcome of that fateful night. "I got in a bit of trouble -"
"But you shouldn't! You did the right thing!" Amelia looked horrified at the notion that Turais was in any trouble because of his heroic actions.
"But you shouldn't duel in the hallways, it's the school rules. No matter what, don't do it!" Turais said hastily.
"But you duelled against three sixth-year students and won ! That's so impressive!" Amelia spoke feverently, her voice shown with admiration and awe. "My uncle also personally vouched for your brilliance as well... although I'm not sure how the two of you would have crossed paths..."
"Is that so?" Turais was surprised that he received such high praise from Lord Bones. And indeed, he has only met him briefly during Ministry-related functions, but there was never any substantial conversations between them... except... Lord Bones is a member of the Grand Jury Court so he was part of the court that decided the Yaxley case. He was magically bound by oath and unable to reveal that Turais was the victim of the case as he was underage, but the Lord might have been impressed by his actions to give him a ringing endorsement.
"Yes!" Amelia said excitedly. "I look forward to emulating your achievements!"
"Now, now. Your brother didn't tell you that story so you could get yourself in trouble, Ms Bone," Turais spoke hastily. He did not anticipate such support in the form of a child version of Amelia Bones.
"Well, the rules are wrong then. You did the right thing and you should not be punished for it. My point is that you're a good person and Cassie should be nice to you." Amelia shot a pointed look at her friend, who flushed and looked down at her lap.
"Hi, I'm Turais Black, a second-year, and I'm welcoming all the first-year students to Hogwarts. What are your names?" Turais has uttered a variation of this introduction for the tenth time and met about three dozen students.
"Jocasta Shafiq, please call me Jo. And this is my friend, Stella Thurkell," the blonde girl said enthusiastically as she nudged her equally excited friend. "Please join us!"
Turais accepted the invitation and sat down on the seat across from them as they started to chatter quickly.
"You are the youngest person to be featured in Potions ! I've read the teaser snippet of your transcript on the uses of aconite in the August edition. How did you do it?" Jocasta asked.
"It was a lot of good luck and a bit of critical thinking," said Turais. "Do you like Potions class? You're very young to be starting to read journals. I'm very impressed."
"Thanks. I try to read them but they are so complex that I never fully understand them. But I think Potions will be my favourite subject," Jocasta said.
"I don't understand Potions at all !" Stella said despairingly. "I don't understand why stirring the pot in different directions makes any difference? Also, the potion ingredients are all so smelly and disgusting ."
"Stella, I don't know why you are so against the class. It is perfectly interesting," Jocasta said, annoyed.
"Don't worry, Ms Thurkell. I will be able to help you with your Potions homework if you have any questions. I made a homework club for my yearmates last year and I intend to continue it this year. So if you would like, you can join us," Turais said kindly as Stella's eyes sparkled with thankfulness. "Also, our Potions professor, Professor Slughorn, is a very good teacher. You should be able to learn a lot from him. However, I won't be able to help you with avoiding the smell and squishiness of the ingredients."
"That's so nice of you, Mr Black. Thank you!" Stella said. "You wouldn't mind if we spread the word about your homework club right? Many people will find it very helpful!"
"Of course! Remember you bring all your friends," Turais responded. The girls beamed at him.
"Hi, I'm Turais Black -"
"Turais! What are you doing, terrorizing first-years?" Dolohov snarled as Turais turned away from the compartment to see the large seventh-year Slytherin stroll down the corridor. Turais was halfway down the train when he was reminded by the unsavoury part of his school experience.
"Antonin! How was your summer?" Turais asked with a faked cheeriness.
Dolohov ignored the question and stopped when he stood a foot away from Turais. He looked into the compartment of frightened first-years and back at Turais. "You're Heir Apparent Black. People should come to you , not the other way around like a commoner , especially when they are filthy -"
"Antonin, thank you for your concern. I am quite well aware of my title and I do not need your reminder. Please don't interfere with my activities when I never interfered with yours," Turais interrupted. "If you have nothing pressing, I would like to continue with my own affairs."
Dolohov sneered and strolled away without a word. Turais narrowed his eyes at the shrinking figure before relaxing his frown back to a small smile as he turned back towards the first-years.
"I'm so sorry about that. I assure you that not everyone in Hogwarts acts in such a rude manner. Let me start over, I'm Turais Black, a second-year, I -" Turais was starting over for a second time when he was interrupted again. This time, it was a first-year in the compartment.
"You're a second-year ," the boy sitting near the window on the left asked. "You just faced down a seventh-year ! That's so cool!"
"Yeah! The boy was so rude the last time he came by!" The boy beside him spoke up.
"What do you mean? What did he do?" Turais asked sharply at the second boy.
"He just came in and asked all of our last names and started to call us filthy half-bloods and mudbloods! He's the one terrorizing us, not you!" The second boy said angrily, clearly affronted by the older boys antics.
"Don't worry, I'll have a word with Dolohov later," Turais said darkly.
"I thought you were his friend? You referred to each other by first names," a third boy who was sitting at the other window seat spoke sharply with his arms crossed.
"We're definitely not friends. We just pretend to be nice to each other in public. But I will not respect him if he hasn't earned it. I apologize on his behalf for causing you any discomfort -"
"But you're a Black , why should I trust you?" the same boy spoke.
"What is your name?" Turais asked calmly.
"Why? So you can insult me and my family as well?" He said harshly.
"No, I do not believe in pureblood supremacy. Blood purity does not matter to me. As you just saw, Dolohov claims he is a pureblood but he has worse manners than a troll. Blood purity clearly didn't do him any good," Turais said firmly.
No one spoke for a long moment until the same boy spoke up again. "The name is Ralph McLaughlin, muggle father and witch."
"I'm Orlando Dearborne, muggle father and witch as well," the first boy said.
"Midas Kingston, Muggleborn," the fourth boy spoken for the first time.
"Is Tobias Kingston your brother?" Turais asked wryly. Midas flushed red.
"Yes… is he famous? He refused to tell me anything about Hogwarts…"
"Let's just say he is well-known for being… prone to instigating certain unfortunate events in classes…" Turais said slowly with a rising sense of apprehension for the fate of the first-years if his brother was any indication. Midas flushed even redder and Turais decided to spare him his scrutiny and turned to the second boy.
"Lloyd Hendrik-Wong, pureblood but I'm from Hong Kong so you might not recognize the last names," the second boy said.
"Any chance you are related to William Hendrik, a Healer?" Turais asked, the last name and his origin rang a bell in his mind. Lloyd's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Yes… he is my step-dad. He bonded with my birth father a few years ago," Lloyd said, curious. "How did you know my step-dad?"
"I have close ties with the Selwyn family - Carl Selwyn is a close friend of mine and I recall the last name in a conversation once," Turais confirmed.
"Oh, yes! Uncle Carl used to work with my parents at St. Matthias'. He still visits us every year!" Lloyd said excitedly. "Wait… you're Turais! Right, Carl mentioned that I will meet you at Hogwarts during his visit this summer! It's nice to finally meet you."
"We should organize a meet-up with you and Carl during the breaks," Turais smiled at the surprising mutual connections. "If you would like to, we can arrange something for Christmas and Easter breaks."
"That will be awesome! I was planning on staying in Hogwarts but I will write to my dads to see if they are fine with it. Thanks, Turais!"
"Oompf! " Turais sprawled on the ground with a much larger boy with messy black hair and grey eyes on top of him. They were lying flat in front of another compartment where the first-years looked on with interest and amusement.
"Kaiden! Gerroff me!" Turais' shout was muffled by a mouthful of fabric.
"Hi, Rais! How was the rest of your summer? Mine was spiffing, thanks for asking!" Kaiden mercifully clambered off Turais' body as he started to stand back up.
"I thought you were supposed to be the mature one," Turais scowled as he patted his robes to get rid of the dust.
"Well, James is not here so I will be both the mature and immature one," Kaiden grinned at Turais' annoyed look.
"Aren't you just a little too friendly to someone who you've met for the third time?" Turais wanted to maintain the scowl but he found his lips twitching in amusement. It's good to interact with another Potter.
"Technically fourth time, Rais. Remember the snake-hissing stunt you pulled in front of the greenhouses?" Kaiden smirked.
"Snake-hissing? Your vocabulary is severely lacking for an almost-adult," Turais scoffed. Kaiden ignored the jab.
"- back to your question. What can I say, Rais? We share some of our handsome looks and I feel like there's the soul of a Potter somewhere in there waiting to take over," Kaiden poked playfully at his chest. "Don't ask me why, but I just feel like you are part of the family… like you are my long-lost brother. But I guess you are my cousin if nothing else."
'You have no idea how true that is, Kaiden.'
"Stop changing the topic. You're a Prefect," Turais retaliated with a jab at Kaiden's shiny badge on his chest. "You should not be tackling people to the floor, especially in front of first-years."
"That reminds me, you're not a Prefect. Why are you making rounds checking in with the first-years? Trying to steal my job?" Kaiden ignored the complaint and teased.
"Well, if you did a better job, then I wouldn't have to pick up your slack, Potter ," Turais teased. The first-years laughed.
"Oh, testy! Kids, beware of this little snake here, he's mean," Kaiden stage-whispered at the giggling first-year onlookers.
"Hey, you hairball-coughing poor-excuse of a large furry cat -" Turais retorted to the "oohh"s and "aahh"s of an appreciative audience. "- watch your mouth or you might find a Quaffle rammed up in it."
"Oh, you're on , Black!" Kaiden grinned as they finally turned back to the first-years, who are now sufficiently entertained by the play-fight to speak freely about their concerns.
Turais paused outside the compartment when he saw Pierricoeur sitting beside a boy of similar disposition.
"Hi, I'm Kaiden Potter and I'm a fifth-year Gryffindor Prefect -"
"Black, why are you here?" Pierricoeur asked as his brother, Aigel, shifted uncomfortably beside him.
"Pierricoeur, I can't say it's a pleasure. But for your brother's sake, maybe we can bury the hatchet for a moment."
"What's a hatchet, Turais?" Kaiden asked as Pierricoeur looked at Turais in scrutiny.
"It's a muggle saying, sorry," Turais mentally berated himself for the slip.
"Um… so as I was saying, I'm a Prefect so if you have any questions or concerns about Hogwarts, please feel free to find me or anyone with this shiny badge." Kaiden pointed at his badge. "So what's your name?"
Pierricoeur's younger brother looked at his older brother, who nodded. The boy turned towards the two of them.
"Hi, I am Aigel Pierricoeur," the boy spoke softly. It was so quiet that the rumbling noise of the train almost drowned his voice.
"Hi, Mr Pierricoeur, nice to meet you again," Turais smiled kindly but the younger boy just frowned at the gesture.
"Okay! You've done your introductions. Now can you both leave?" Pierricoeur snapped as he pointed at the door.
"Okay… thank you for your time, Mr Pierricoeur," Kaiden said pleasantly as he led Turais out of the compartment and closed the door behind them. As they strolled away, Kaiden spoke again.
"That was so strange…" whispered Kaiden as he waved into a compartment. "Pierricoeur looked so… controlling and his brother was so meek ."
"I don't know what to think," Turais admitted. "Pierricoeur and I did not get along since day one. So it might've been that."
"But you have met his younger brother previously?" Kaiden inquired.
"It would barely count as an encounter," Turais sighed as he recalled the situation. "He was standing alone at the campsite in the Quidditch World Cup and Sirius thought he was lost. So he walked up to him and asked if he needed assistance. But the boy was completely freaked out by our presence and Pierricoeur showed up seconds later to whisk him away."
"That's very odd indeed," Kaiden said. "I'll keep an eye on him if he ends up in my House."
Turais nodded, although he highly doubted that Aigel Pierricoeur would ever be Sorted into Gryffindor.
Soon enough, they reached the end of the train and there were no more first-years in sight. There were a few future Death Eaters, such as Jugson and Travers, but they are harmless first-years that Turais could control for now. But Pierricoeur's brother was a surprising twist in the equation and Turais vowed to keep a closer eye on him. By in large, however, Turais was no closer to figuring out who Prometheus was and how to stop him.
"Brrr..." Kaiden sounded as he cast his view out the window at the end of the carriage. Fat droplets of icy water pelted on and trailed down the frosted window while the wind whipped around the rest in maddening swirls. "I pity the first-years who have to brave this weather across the Black Lake."
Turais hummed his agreement. Suddenly, he remembered one burning question he wished to ask Kaiden.
"Hey Kaiden, when is your birthday?" Turais asked.
"Aw, I didn't know you liked me so much. Thank you for your present in advance," Kaiden said as Turais scoffed. "I'm turning sixteen on July 17."
'July 17 is when he turns sixteen. So Kaiden must have died before his seventeenth birthday then because he did not have a chance to sit down for a portrait,' Turais thought. 'Dorea and Charlus' portrait never mentioned anything about Kaiden or his death... so I will have to keep a close eye on Kaiden's safety for the next two years.'
Snapping out of his reeling mind, Turais exclaimed, "What? Really? I thought Fleamont said the Quidditch World Cup tickets were presents for your sixteenth birthday!"
"Well, they were a bit early for my birthday," Kaiden shrugged. "But in my defense, Michael's birthday was last week so it was a perfect present for him!"
"And by Michael, you mean Carmichael Wilkins?" Turais asked as Kaiden nodded. "Huh, I wouldn't have guessed you were such close friends with Wilkins, considering he was a Slytherin, rival team Beater, and all that."
"Well..." Kaiden spluttered and looked uncomfortable for a slight moment before recovering. 'Well... our friendship is sort of an open secret... as in everyone knows but pretends that it is not happening..." Turais raised his eyebrows at the information. "... It's for all the reasons you've just listed. I've known and played with him in Quidditch summer camps ever since we were able to mount a toy broom. But now that we are both made Quidditch team captains, I think people expect us to play-act as rivaling team captains and be hostile with each other despite knowing that we have been friends for a long time.
"But Michael and I are both very serious when it comes to Quidditch so I don't think that would be too much of an issue..." Kaiden's voice trailed off as he sighed. "It's the same thing with Natalia. I've heard from her that you two are on friendly terms. She lives just a few miles north of me and we're childhood friends. And as you know, she is a brilliant Chaser and she always comes over to my place to play Quidditch. But at school, we sort of have to pretend we barely know each other even though everyone knows we're close outside of school. I sometimes wish we can go back thirty years before all this ridiculous Slytherin-Gryffindor animosity..."
For the first time, Turais saw a different facet of Kaiden's life that he was not privy to previously. This serious side of Kaiden was completely opposite to the carefree, spoilt image that he portrayed usually.
"Your pseudo-secrets are safe with me," Turais said comfortingly.
Kaiden faced Turais and gave a weak grin. He punched Turais' shoulder lightly and said, "Knew I could count on you, Rais. Always had a good feeling about you." Kaiden cleared his voice and returned to his more cheerful self and announced, "Well, I think we are almost at Hogwarts. You better re-join your friends and change into your robes. I'll see you around."
"Catch you later," Turais replied as he gazed out the back of the train out onto the endless train tracks under the darkening skies.
Well, full steam ahead on project "Overhaul Slytherin" then.
And new additional mission objective: Protect Kaiden Potter.
All the returning students were chatting boisterously in the Great Hall as they reunited with their old friends after two months while they waited for the arrival of the first-years. The enchanted ceiling showed torrents of rains cascading down towards the floating candles before they disappeared above the flickering lights. There was also the occasional flashes of lightning and claps of thunder.
However, the dreadful weather could not dampen the interest on the incoming professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Woah... she's really pretty..." Jonty said dreamily as he rested his cheek on his arms to continue to stare at the new professor. "I hope she stays for the next six years..."
"I though you were extremely disappointed that Professor Zīvert was not returning this year," Turais smirked as Jonty sighed airily, his eyes still glued to the front of the hall.
After a few long seconds, Jonty finally registered that Turais was talking to him. "Huh... were you talking to me?"
"Don't mind me," Turais smiled. Jonty nodded absent-mindedly. However, he was far from being the only person whose attention was monopolized by the new Professor. Turais noticed that many of the students were also sending not-so-subtle gazes at the staff table. Professor Talbot was, objectively, a traditional beauty by the strictest of standards. He could definitely see the appeal - her waxy blonde hair, dazzling blue eyes, a blinding smile...
Alex smacked both boys on the head as they tore their gazes from the sight.
"Can you two stop gawking at the professor? That's rude," Alex scolded. "Also, Turais. Weren't you about to tell us something urgent?"
Turais blinked and suddenly remembered what Alex was talking about. "Ah - right, I saw Pierricoeur and his brother on the train -"
"That was his brother?!" Jonty exclaimed. "Man, I was about to feel sorry for that boy. Now... not at all."
"I hope he doesn't cause you any trouble," Alex said as he turned around to eye Pierricoeur at the neighbouring table. "If his brother's passive aggression is any indication..."
"I don't think his brother is anything like Pierricoeur," Turais said.
"I guess we will have to wait and see," Jonty said darkly, but Turais could see his eyes wandering back to the front of the room.
The doors swung open as Professor McGonagall walked down the middle of the Hall with a group of drenched and trembling first-years behind her. Turais craned his neck to observe the passing crowd and spotted the wet, red hair of Aigel Pierricoeur bobbing amongst the crowd. Suddenly, his eyes connected with Pierricoeur over their heads and the Ravenclaw narrowed his eyes warningly. Unfazed, Turais stared back with equal force between tearing his gaze from the boy to the Professor.
The Sorting Ceremony went normally as the fresh class of students joined the Houses they would call home for the next seven years. Then, Professor McGonagall announced, "Pierricoeur, Aigel!"
Jonty sat up and nudged Turais' side. He whispered, "Here we go..."
But said boy did not emerge from the crowd.
"Pierricoeur, Aigel!" McGonagall said once more.
This time, the boy did make his way slowly to the front of the small group of remaining first-years. He slowly climbed the stairs, his form trembling. Turais did not know if it was from fear or from the cold. The boy turned around and gazed at his brother, but due to this distraction, he tripped on the last step and sprawled in front of the stool... and in front of the entire school. The Hall filled with muffled laughter at the boy's demise with the Slytherins contributing most towards the noise. Turais looked at Pierricoeur just to find the boy's eyes were filled with worry.
'Interesting...'
Turais has never seen anything but anger and annoyance across the boy's face. Very interesting indeed.
McGonagall helped the boy onto his feet and instructed him to climb the stool, this time, without any incidents. She placed the Sorting Hat onto his head as his closed eyes disappeared from view.
The Hat sat still on his head for one minute... two minutes... Time slowly ticked towards the five-minute mark, the threshold of a true Hatstall, as the Hall started to whisper in equal parts of annoyance and curiosity.
"It's been more than four minutes!" Jonty whispered. "I wonder what he's so torn about."
Younger siblings usually joined the House that their older siblings were in. Unless they were like Alice, whose family did not have a strong affiliation to any of the Houses. But the Pierricoeurs have been known to be affiliated with Ravenclaw and Leon Pierricoeur was in Ravenclaw as well. So it would be a surprise if Aigel Pierricoeur would buck the tradition -
"SLYTHERIN!"
The entire Hall was shocked into silence as everyone suddenly realized the implication. It was the first time in thirty-odd years that a Muggleborn was sorted into Slytherin. And the last time this happened, the student was Tom Riddle (of course, Turais knew Tom Riddle was a half-blood, but no one else knew that fact.)
Jonty and Alex's jaws dropped... so did most of the Slytherins. McGonagall's eyes also widened as she stilled for a second before pulling the Hat off. The newly-minted Slytherin looked out into the crowds with his eyes glistening with tears and his lips quivering. Turais turned towards Pierricoeur just to find his hardening gaze staring towards the staff table resolutely.
Turais' heart was racing. That boy could be Prometheus. Given his blood status and Pierricoeur's open disdain for purebloods, his brother would most definitely have been subjected to intense bullying if he was sorted into Slytherin in the previous timeline.
It was imperative that Turais take care and shield the child from harm to prevent the creation of a future hatred-filled monster.
"Go on, now," McGonagall said softly as she nudged the boy gently towards the Slytherin table, but the boy perched still like a statue and remained unresponsive. His eyes darted between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables frantically.
The Slytherins have also recovered enough to start muttering angrily at what has just transpired.
"Did I hear that correctly?"
"A Muggleborn? In Slytherin?"
"I'm transferring to Durmstrang! This is ridiculous!"
Amidst the mild chaos, the new Slytherin gathered enough of his wit to slowly descend the stairs towards them. But the first-year Slytherins immediately spread themselves apart to occupy most of the benches and shot looks of dagger at the trembling boy, daring him to even think about sitting near them. The boy looked mightily lost as Turais started to shift over and give room to the boy. No one deserves this treatment, not even Pierricoeur's younger brother. However, someone beat him towards the friendly gesture.
"Alex! What are you doing?! Sit down!"
Turais realized Alex was standing up in his spot, fixated at the boy currently standing at the end of the Slytherin table. He swung his legs over his seat and started to walk towards the boy.
"Alex! Stop..." Jonty hissed as he lunged for Alex's robe but missed.
He walked up to the boy and shook the his shoulder gently. The boy turned his head to gaze up at Alex with his watery eyes. Alex whispered something to the first-year. For a moment, the boy looks transfixed at Alex. Then, somehow, those were the magical words that he needed to hear as he walked with Alex back to their location at the Slytherin table. Flint, who was seated beside Turais, immediately scooted as far from Pierricoeur as possible. Alex ignored him as he placed Aigel between Turais and himself, buffering him from the other wary Slytherins.
The rest of the evening went without another hitch, although the gaze from the other Slytherins and Dumbledore weighed heavily on them.
After the feast drew to a close with Dumbledore's normal speech on school announcements and cautionary words on school unity, all the student started to exit the Great Hall.
"Hey Turais, Jonty, head down first. I want to talk to my friend for a moment," Alex announced as he glanced briefly at the Ravenclaw table. He patted Pierricoeur on the shoulder's gently. "Take care of him for me."
Jonty scrunched up his nose in disgust while Turais stepped up. It seemed as though Pierricoeur was afraid to leave Alex's side as he had to physically pry the boy away from his friend as Alex walked away in search of someone.
"What are we? Baby monster sitters?" Jonty grumbled in disgruntlement. Turais shot his friend a warning glare as the first-year tensed up noticeably, looking ill with dread. Without context, one might think he was being walked towards his execution. However, that might not be too far from the truth in this case.
The rest of the walk was uncomfortable and awkwardness hung heavily in the air. Especially with the loathing stares the rest of the pureblood Slytherins were giving him. However, no one dared to utter any disagreement in Turais' presence.
Once they reached the common room, Turais had to leave Pierricoeur with the first-years as he took his spot near the middle of the room with the rest of the Group. As it turned out, the Leader of Slytherin, not the Prefects, always addressed the first-years. Turais shuddered at the abhorrent memory of the introductory speech and subsequent terrorizing last year. This year, things were going to be different; he would be certain of that.
While Malfoy was addressing the first-years, he took the opportunity to survey the room. In fact, things were already different. Bellatrix and Synde had graduated and were no longer present. Yaxley was rotting in Azkaban and probably losing his mind (Turais decided not to give it too much thought). And for Nott, while he was still in school as a seventh-year, he was no longer a member of the Group and waited amongst the other spectators. He glanced across the room and found him seething with anger and muttering with his friends, Mulciber and Tremblay.
His fellow second-years now joined the spectating crowd, waiting in trepidation. Suddenly, the entrance doors opened and Alex slipped into the common room and took his place beside Turais. Turais raised an inquiring brow at Alex and his friend mouthed "later".
Turais returned to look at his fellow members in the Group. Besides him, now there were two moderates, Alex and Narcissa. Rosier's vote was under his control and therefore, posed no risk. Malfoy would never dabble with anything remotely incriminating so he was not a cause for concern. So, only Avery and Dolohov remained as the hard-liners. However, Avery was more of a Nott in many respects - an incompetent bully that has a loud bark with no bite. Hence, Dolohov remained as the most dangerous player in the Group.
" - and that is all, good night."
Malfoy concluded his speech as the first years started to head to their dormitories, unsuspecting of the impending encounter with the Group.
Dolohov stepped into the centre of their path and towered over the first-years dangerously. They halted dead in their path in alarm, frightened at the sudden attention placed on them by him… and the entire Slytherin common room. Dolohov then proceeded to step into Bellatrix's shoes and roared out a speech reminiscent of the one delivered from the year before.
"Hello, first-years. I am Antonin Dolohov," said Dolohov viciously. "There are a lot of unwritten rules in the Noble House of Slytherin but the most important one you must remember is that there is a group called the Group of Seven. They have the final say in every House matter. You must always obey them without exception , or you shall face your just punishment!"
The first-years flinched at his tone and some of them cowered slightly.
"Now, who here is not a pureblood?" Dolohov spoke, although his eyes were trained on one particular boy that was cowering at the back of the group.
Turais schooled his expression into a haughty frown with the regal continence of the Black Heir.
"Antonin," Turais decided to step out of the crowd and walked until he stood beside the boy in front of the nervous first-years. "We should not terrify the first-years like this on their first night in Hogwarts."
Dolohov plastered a pleasant smile on his face as he turned and looked down at Turais. Turais knew that he was absolutely furious for his interruption as he could feel the anger roll off his body in waves.
"Forgive me, Antonin. I merely speak from my own experience from just one year ago when I was being given the speech," Turais spoke calmly.
"Oh really, Turais? I was under the impression that you adapted quite well," Antonin glared.
"You have the wrong impression then," Turais said dismissively before turning to the first-years. He gave off a small smile as he visibly dropped the air of superiority.
"Hello, I am Heir Apparent Turais Black, second-year, but you can call me Turais. I care more about superior morals and the will to succeed. Blood purity is second to all that," Turais spoke as he flashed Antonin a glare to dare him to argue against him.
"I am going to continue a study session I started last year for the first-years to help you succeed in your studies. They will be starting next week everyday after dinner and you are all welcome to join. Now hop on along to your beds, you all must be tired," Turais said cheerfully as he beckoned them to walk around the two boys.
The first-years darted their eyes nervously from one boy to another and back, unsure of what to do.
"Don't worry about Antonin, everyone. If he has any issues, he will take it up with me in private," Turais said firmly, "We don't want another Nott or Yaxley situation on our hands, do we now, Antonin ?"
Dolohov fumed as his eyes flashed dangerously. But he did not make any moves.
"Now hurry on now, you don't want to sleep in and be late for your first day of classes," Turais said cheerily again as the first-years finally decided that they would follow his words and passed by the two older Slytherins. However, they still eyed them with fear as they walked past the duo. Turais smiled at them encouragingly. He also took care to give Aigel a quick squeeze on his shoulder in reassurance.
After he saw them disappear up the staircase to their rooms. Turais masked his expression once more before he turned back to the silent Dolohov.
"Antonin," Turais said sternly. "I know that this may come as a shock. But Aigel Pierricoeur was sorted just like you and I once were. He is as much of a Slytherin as you and I."
"You may convince your goons that, but the rest of the House disagrees with you," Dolohov spat as he took one step forward. "And I would have to wreck your idyllic disillusionment, but you are in the minority, Turais. Tomorrow, the House will sign a petition to request for a re-Sort. The majority of the School Governors are family members of current Slytherins. We will see this through."
"This is not the first nor would it be the last time that a Muggleborn would walk through these doors," Turais said as he pointed at the entrance. "I'd suggest you make peace with the fact that Aigel Pierricoeur is here to stay. I heard the last Muggleborn Slytherin was the brightest student that Hogwarts has ever seen. He was also part of the Group of Seven. So I would caution you to form your conclusions so soon."
"That may be true, Turais. But do you know where he went after graduation?" Dolohov sneered. "He ended up working in Borgin and Burkes as a salesperson. Ha! So much for being the best student in Hogwarts! Then he disappeared off the face of the Earth. Quite a fitting end for a mudblood . I would like to send a bottle to whoever did the final deed. He did all of us a service by putting him in his rightful place for even daring to think he could ever best us purebloods in anything."
'If only you knew the truth,' Turais thought.
"Perhaps," Alex's voice cut through his thoughts. Turais turned to look at his friend in awe. "But Aigel Pierricoeur is now my protégé," the entire room gasped, " - thus, under my protection. So whoever harms him will answer to me personally."
Alex levelled his gaze with Dolohov, who clenched his jaws tightly. "You will pay for this insolence, Alexander!"
As Dolohov walked off, Turais could see Alex sagging with nervousness under the scrutiny of the entire Slytherin student body.
Turais stepped forward and looked around the Slytherin common room once before announcing to the crowd, "I stand by what Alex just said, if anyone threaten the first-years for any reason, you will have to answer to me as well. Consider yourselves warned."
They returned to their dormitories. But once the door was closed, Turais and Jonty turned their full attention onto Alex, who looked mightily alarmed.
"What the heck was that, Alex?" Jonty demanded. Then, he mimicked Alex's voice, " 'Aigel Pierricoeur is now my protégé.' What possessed you to say such a thing?!"
"I... I..." Alex's eyes pleaded Turais for help. "I..."
"Alex must have his own reasons now," Turais said. "I, personally, think he did the right thing -"
Jonty spluttered as he looked at both boys as though they grew a second head. He place the back of his hand on Alex's forehead, "No fever..." he peered into his eyes one by one. "... not Confounded..." Jonty looked at Alex sharply. "What's that weird inside joke that you and Turais shared? - Turais don't answer."
"Uhm... uhm... three dine mice?" Alex said uncertainly.
"Okay, not Polyjuiced either," Jonty said analytically. Then, his face contorted into fiery rage. "Then WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Turais was taken aback by the outburst.
"You!" He jabbed his finger in Alex's face, "Him!" He pointed up to the first-year dormitories. "He is the brother of Mr Stick-Up-His-Arse-And-Petty-Hater Leon Pierricoeur! He's the enemy! You've seen what he has done to Turais! To you! Why are you fraternizing with impure breeds?!" Jonty threw up his arms and paced around in a small circle. "Oh Merlin, save me. I'm going to die of frustration. I'm. Going. To. Die. Of. Frustration. Right now. Right. Freaking. Now!"
Alex's lips quivered. Then he fled the room. Turais was torn between chasing after Alex and talking with Jonty.
"Jonty." Turais said sternly. "Did you realize what you just said?"
Jonty stopped pacing and whipped around to face Turais. "What did I do wrong? Pierricoeur is the enemy. He wronged you both too many times to count. He's - oh..." Jonty's face turned pale as he remembered what he just said. "I didn't mean to..."
"Whether you meant it or not," Turais explained patiently. "You just said something really hurtful about Alex's heritage."
"Oh bloody hell, Turais," Jonty started to pace around the room again. This time, his fingers were carding his hair in anxiety. "B...But Aigel from the same family as that devil-child. How can Alex -"
"Jonty -" Turais said as Jonty raised his hand up to stop him from speaking. "Stop trying to justify your actions. And you also said it yourself. Alex is a half-blood and Aigel Pierricoeur is a Muggleborn. I think due to their similarity in blood status, Alex naturally feels protective towards that boy. I'm going to check on Aigel to see how he's settling in." Turais turned and headed for the door.
"But Turais," Jonty said weakly. "Trusting that boy is a mistake -"
The door swung wide open as a frantic Alex ran back into the room.
"Hey Alex, I'm sorry -" Jonty started to apologize as Alex interrupted him.
"Turais, you need to come with me right now!"
Turais ran after Alex, who turned to head up the stairs for the first-year dormitories. As they reached the top floor landing, Turais could already hear some commotion behind one of the four first-year dormitory rooms. He opened the door just as Aigel was thrown onto the ground right in front of his feet. His face was bruised and tear-stained. His lips were split and bloody. His robes were torn and disheveled. The characteristic green and silver crest on his robe was now a glaring hole that showed the pearly white dress shirt beneath. His missing tie was also in the clutches of one of the boys.
Turais immediately knelt down to help the boy up and he darted behind Turais, away from his roommates. Turais' heart broke a little, but he was also furious and appalled that some first-years were capable of inflicting so much cruelty towards a virtual stranger.
The other five boys frozen as he eyed each other nervously. Turais' eyes glanced over their guilty faces and then turned his gaze to one of the poster beds behind them. Feathers were scattered everywhere, the pillowcases and bed-sheets were sliced and torn, his belongings were spilt across the carpeted floor.
"Someone explain what just happened," Turais' cold, harsh voice reverberated in the semi-circular room. None of the boys motioned to speak. Turais added, this time with more force, "NOW! "
The five first-years jumped upon the intense fury laced in the singular icy word.
"We... he... is a m...mudblood and we... were defining... our relationship with... him... for the next seven years..." one of the boys, Jugson, said stammeringly. However, his face was defiant and without remorse for his actions.
"You shall address me properly, Mr Jugson," Turais said coldly and waited.
Jugson's face twisted into a harrowed grimace before he spat out the word, "Mr Black," forcefully and with extreme distaste.
"Heir Apparent Black for you, Mr Jugson," Turais said.
"Heir... Apparent... Black," he gritted out unwillingly.
"Bear that title in mind, Mr Jugson," Turais said and addressed the five boys. "I am the Heir Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. I am a member of the Group of Seven. I can make your life a living nightmare in Slytherin. And unfortunately for you, I am only in my second year so we will have six long years together before I graduate."
The five boys gulped.
"How you would like our relationship to be defined for the next six years will be dictated by your behaviour," Turais continued. "I'm sure you have heard of my reputation. If not, you will discover it soon enough. Behave like proper, courteous human beings is my sole requirement from all of you. That means no bullying, no violence, no name-calling, being respectful to one another. If I hear that you violate my most basic requirement, you will find yourself in the most undesirable position possible under the school rules. Am I understood?"
The boys nodded quickly, although Turais could sense anger building up in two of them: Travers and Jugson.
"Also, Mr Fawley has just announced it to the House that he has taken in Aigel Pierricoeur as his protégé -" all six first-years stared up at Alex in shock, some in anger as well. " - and Mr Fawley is my protégé. I am sure you all understand what that means..."
"Yes!" the five boys shouted in unison.
"Good," Turais nodded. "I expect a verbal and written apology from all of you to Mr Pierricoeur before the night is over. Remember, what you have done tonight was a severe offense and it will not be tolerated. Consider this your first and final warning."
Turais guided the frightened child out of the room and took him down the stairs. On the way, numerous Slytherins eyed them with burning curiosity before Turais isolated themselves in the relative safety of their room. However, even there, they were not immune to the inquiring stares as Turais' roommates, Flint, Rivers, and Urquhart, were huddled together on Urquhart's bed and whispering.
Turais carefully sat Aigel down in his chair as he knelt down to examine his wounds. Alex was next to him while Jonty stood by the door and watched the entire process silently with a frown of his faces.
"Where do you feel pain?" Turais asked gently. Aigel stayed quiet as he stared at Alex's face unblinkingly through his swollen eyes.
Turais tried again. "Do you give me permission to examine your wounds?"
Aigel continued to stare at Alex until he gave a quick jerk. Turais smiled and nodded encouragingly, although the first-year probably didn't notice his smile at all.
"I will start with several basic Diagnostic Charms, then I will examine your superficial wounds from the head, then your torso, and finally, your limbs. If you feel pain or discomfort or wish me to stop at any point, just give me a sign, okay?" Turais received a second jerk of approval. Turais pulled out his wand and cast a Diagnostic Charm for damages to respiration, consciousness, spine and nerve, spell and curses, and then for broken bones.
"You are doing great, Aigel," Alex said softly as Aigel nodded.
Every Charm came back normal and Turais relaxed. Aigel only had superficial wounds. "So no injuries that an easy Episkey or Ferula can't fix."
Aigel nodded again as some tension left his body. But his eyes were still trained on Alex with great intensity. Turais scanned his wand over Aigel's body. There were a few bruises and cuts on the face, arms, and chest, but he was otherwise unharmed.
"The next step might sting a little -" Turais said.
"Hey Aigel, do you want to hold my hand tightly?" Alex said as he held out his hand. Aigel carefully placed his hand on Alex's palm.
Turais then cast a broad-spectrum Episkey spell. Aigel winced as the wounds were disinfected, then healing rapidly. Turais could see the little boy was biting hard on his lips to avoid yelling out. His hand was squeezing Alex's hand tightly.
All bruises immediately turned dark purple and faded significantly. The cuts also mended and turned into days-old scab. Aigel's eyes widened in wonder and surprise as he touched his face gingerly where his wounds were. Perhaps being a little too enthusiastic, he prodded one of his bigger bruises and hissed in pain. Turais chuckled softly and summoned his Murtlap Essence, which flew into his hand moments later.
"The wounds are not fully healed yet," Turais explained. "It will take a few more days before it clears completely." He held out the vial of solution. "This is Murtlap Essence. you can apply it directly on your bruises and cuts. It has a cooling effect and will help dull the pain."
Aigel's eyes darted between Turais' face and the bottle, He bit down on his lower lip and took the bottle from his outstretched hands.
"Thank you..." Aigel said in a small, shaky voice. "T...Turais." He turned his head slightly to face Alex. "Thank you... Alex."
Once Alex returned after escorting Aigel back to his room, Turais dragged Alex out of the room and to one of the hidden alcoves at the corner of the common room.
Turais faced Alex in the relative darkness. "Why did you declare Aigel Pierricoeur as your protégé?"
"Do you also think I'm making a mistake?" Alex breathed out.
"I think you did the right thing, for the record," Turais said. "But I want to understand as well."
Alex stayed silent for a long moment before he sighed. "Pierricoeur talked to me in private right after the feast."
"What did he want?" Turais asked sharply.
"He... he... wanted me to take care of Aigel for him," Alex revealed.
"And you promised..." Turais said as Alex nodded.
"I know he is the enemy and he has been absolutely horrid to you and I for the past year. But I felt he was sincere with his request and... I have been on the receiving end of your kindness as well so I, of all people, understand what it means to be helped in a time of need and in this House."
Alex turned to face Turais directly and placed his hand on Turais' forearm. "I am lucky to have someone like you as a friend and mentor," Alex said sincerely. "I want to be like you for someone else. And he's definitely going to be eaten alive in Slytherin... even worse than me..."
Turais looked up at Alex's wistful face. He nudged his friend and said softly, "Hey, don't get maudlin on your first day of school."
"I'm not maudlin, Turais. I'm just introspective," Alex said with a smile. "Come on, it's almost midnight. We don't want to sleep in on our first day of school either."
"And about Jonty, he's really sorry -"
"Oh, don't worry about Jonty. I'm not mad at him. I know it was the heat of the moment. I'll talk to him later," Alex said quickly. "But please don't tell him about this conversation. He will think I am stupid."
Turais nodded, "Promise."
Although he didn't like the secrecy, but he would respect Alex's wishes. But what was more important was that Alex was finally feeling comfortable in his own skin.
When they returned to their room, they found Jonty engaged in a shouting match with their three other roommates.
" - I know you don't like what you saw anymore than we do -" Flint's voice shouted.
"Damn you, Flint! I'm with Alex and Turais until the end of the line," Jonty shouted. "Don't even think about this division tactic. It will never work!"
"If that makes you sleep better at night," Urquhart sneered. "Black loves his toys broken. And you're not even close. Just remember that you will always play third wheel to those two. Potentially fourth wheel too with that mudblood in the fold -"
"Shut your trap, Flint!" Alex yelled as he slammed the door open. "Do not insult my friends."
"I see that you have grown a backbone over summer, Fawley," Flint said, his eyes flashing dangerously. "That's good. I love it when they fight back a little. Keeps things interesting, doesn't it?"
"You're not playing with anything under my watch, Flint," Turais said coldly.
"Of course, Black ," Flint yielded. He turned back to Alex, "I'll wait and see how you'll fare when you're without your knight in shining armour, Fawley."
"In your dreams, Flint," Turais said.
"Perhaps," Flint said warningly. "However, the difference between dreams and reality is action . Your little pet project with the half-bloods is unsavoury but, nonetheless, marginally acceptable. But this shameful situation with a mud- Muggleborn?! - Someone is bound to act in response to your atrocious behaviour, Black. And I'm hoping it would be very soon."
Hey everybody,
New characters are now in play! What do you think about Kaiden Potter, Carmichael Wilkins, and Aigel Pierricoeur?! Did these characters change some of your initial theories?
Also, this year doesn't seem to be quite in the bag as Turais once hoped...
Next chapter, Chapter 25: Wolfsbane, will be posted after New Year's Day. Hope you all have a great finish to 2019.
- ravenclawblues 2019-12-23