The Drake of Slytherin
Prologue, Walking into the snake pit…
Harry Potter smirked internally at the dumbfounded shock of the great hall of Hogwarts. Who would have thought that he, their precious saviour and Boy-Who-Lived, would be sorted into the house of snakes. Harry was not one to make a scene or to appear full of himself. Yet, at this moment, he wanted to laugh in the face of those people prejudices.
Still, first thing on his agenda, test the waters around him. He had no doubt that a great deal of people were going to seek his ever living fame for their own profits. He was fine with this. As long as they understood that he called the shots here and no one was going to order him around.
He threw a quick glance at the downtrodden face of Hagrid. It was too bad his first Hogwarts friend would probably not be receptive to conciliation. He would have greatly enjoyed having more talk about the mythical creatures which happened to be well and truly alive, hidden in this new world of possibility.
As he walked toward Slytherin House, he smiled a gentle smile, yet his emerald eyes heralded the beginning of a new rule in this despised and feared house. Feeling bold, he even started whistling a tune as he stared all the other Silver lined students, striding the long table.
He noticed, that many paled when they met his gaze.
Good.
As he arrived at the last part of the table, he circled it, and stood next to the Malfoy boy who had been immediately placed there. He looked at him, the blonde haired boy had a sneer and seemed about to make a snide remark, but stopped, at the glacial and ruthless look in Harry's eyes.
They stared at each other for about four seconds, before the Blonde boy stood up, bowed and sat in front of him instead. Harry sat in turn, appearing to be very neutral in his victory, and smiled happily, as though he was playing a nice game of pretend to be.
"Please, do not stop this school for me." he said in a modest voice, though some laughter could be perceived by the more perceptive in the hall. "It would be a shame to break tradition by not sorting others for little old me."
The Slytherin, some with great forcing, managed to laugh in support of their new first year joke. For the other students, the shock was compounded by this. Some started formulating ideas that he was the next dark lord in the making. Other admitted the joke had been good, but were unsure what was about to proceed in the next seven years.
The Slytherin Students, felt very unsure about the new Potter Boy. He had sent to each person he met the gaze, a very subtle thought that they should laugh at his joke. How someone so young had managed to infiltrate the mind of various students at different level of Occlumency… Well, it was quite the scary thought to be truthful. Some of the Snakes believed that he was the one who will bring to greatness the legacy of Slytherin House.
Ronald Weasley thought this Harry Potter was dangerous. He wasn't one to respect teachers, and his blatant enjoyment of the scene he caused was clear. No, Ron thought that this boy had been playing him along all along the train ride to Hogwarts. Still, he had been so genuine about all of his dreams and hopes.
Hermione Granger was having similar thoughts. While she did not have an active prejudice toward the House of Snake, being a Muggle-born and all, she had seen in him a very polite and respectful fellow first year, but with how he just insulted the whole staff, she started having second thoughts about him. Still, she would strive to make a solid opinion on him.
For Draco Malfoy, he now saw why his father had asked him to initiate an alliance with the Potter Heir. This boy… He had refused his friendship in the train, yet, he now was sorted into Slytherin and had effectively asserted himself as a threat and major new player in the house politics. He also radiated warmth and confidence, yet also an edge and ruthlessness that seemed just barely under his skin.
The staff was in even more shock over this turn of event.
Two of the Head of House felt a little uneasy with the son of two of their favourite students being in the house of Snakes. Fillius Flitwick thought that he must be much more similar to his mother than his father if he had been sorted there, while Pomona Sprout was also quite embarrassed by his joke.
Minerva McGonagall was downright infuriated by this. Not because of his placement in Slytherin, though she lamented the loss of the Potter family from her house, but because of his joke and the reaction he had gotten from her. She had not expected to have too much to say about his sorting, and him calling her out for allowing a breach in tradition was unacceptable.
Severus Snape was in a very conflicting state of mind and emotional turmoil. James Potter Son would never have been sorted into Slytherin. Lily Evans son may have been. He appeared cocky and disrespectful, just like James Potter son would be. But his emerald green eyes were identical to Lily's. His head started to pound and he drank some wine to clear it a little. He was having a bitch of a headache all of a sudden.
Albus Percieval Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was desolated by this turn of event. He knew when Harry had replied, in a letter, that he wanted someone from the castle to come meet with him, to assure this was not a hoax, he was already very cunning. But he had hopped that he would still find himself in Gryffindor, like other akin to him. He would have to thread carefully with the Hero of the Prophecy. It could prove disastrous if he made too many mistakes.
Eventually, the sorting retook its course as the last students were sorted.
The feast had barely began that along the Slytherin table, two pieces of papers were being passed around to all the students. On it was written a time and the words 'Common Room.' The hour indicated was Eleven Thirty P.M.
The students, once inside their common room spent times doing what they could to distract themselves, without much success as everyone wondered what the Potter boy was going to do. At Eleven P.M. the Slytherin placed themselves on a lookout for him. Eventually, there was a noise coming from the outside.
The wall separating the common room from the dungeons opened and Harry Potter walked in, all smiling, dragging by the air a sixth year girl who had clearly spent a rough time, taking into notice the black eye and broken nose she now sported. She was pathetically crying while being dragged.
Most of the other students watched in horror. This girl was from the Lestrange family and had been one of the most vicious recruiter and blood prejudiced student in the whole school. She had also proven herself to be a ruthless bully and duelist.
Harry then lifted her and held her head level with him, dragging a finger from her temple, down her cheek, drifting along her throat, before bringing her head on the ground and placing his right foot upon her head and brushing it through her hairs.
Her boyfriend lifted his wand and sent a curse on Harry, yelling for him to leave her alone. Quickly, fourteen fifth to seventh year stood in a circle around the boy who lived.
The young adolescent, for his part, looked at them as though bored, before a black wand appeared. It was of a midnight black ebony wood, intersected by hexagonal ring of silver and with a flared out base.
Harry, started walking, turning his back on the Slytherin upper year.
"Greetings." he said coldly. "I see that some of you are angry with my entrance, so let's make this quick."
He then spiralled on himself, releasing a bright golden fire which seemed to engulf him whole, before taking on the shape of a heavy mantle of inferno. The Boy-Who-Lived smile sent chills down many present.
At first, the duelling students stared at the new first year, seeing that this fight was about to get ugly. One of them acted first, the boyfriend of the girl on the ground. He cast a blasting curse straight at Potter, who in turn moved his wand diagonally in front of him, reflecting the curse straight at them.
Five of the upper years erected a shield to absorb the damage, which was successful, but immobilized them, allowing Harry to quickly dispatch of them. Two were blasted straight into the castle wall, another was stunned, and the last two were lifted and whacked together.
The fact that all of this happened simultaneously wasn't noticed by most, since meanwhile, the golden fire had seemingly took a life of its own by acting as six whip of blazing fire, which grabbed Harry's enemies while protecting him by, what some supposed, absorbing the spells cast at him.
Quickly, four other students, two sixth year, one fifth and one seventh, were on the ground, knocked out cold. Now remained only the Lestrange bigot boyfriend, a boy from the Carrow family, as well as three seventh years, one from the Nott family and two twins from the Crouch's.
Harry stopped, looking them imperiously, like a lord upon rebelling peasants.
"I will offer you this chance. Surrender now, and you will not suffer any longer from your pathetic lives."
In response, all five remaining aggressor, if they were indeed the one you called the most belligerent from all involved, drew their wand and cast a flamethrower like curse at him.
Harry was engulfed by the fire, which by now had grown to intense heat, and just as the five attacker dropped their weapon, something else captivated the students. The intensely roaring inferno cast by the Slytherin's upper year suddenly began to grow, before being redirected into a fire ring all circling a standing perfectly smug Harry James Potter.
The inferno suddenly took on a new form, the shape becoming that of a giant horned skeleton, with golden flames in place of eyeballs, and teeth made of black flare. All students took a step back at the sight, unsure if the Potter boy had actually unleashed fiendfyre inside of their common room.
Harry moved his wand in a loose circle upside his head, then jabbed its point straight down, and the flaming abomination dispersed into multiple will-o-the-wisp which placed themselves everywhere, some flying inside the corridors leading toward the dormitories.
"Well this was quite fun." said the first year drily. Perhaps due to the heat present in the common room, his tone made everyone throat sore and aching. "You saw that skeleton there?" he asked with a vague wave of his hand toward the ceiling.
None answered him. The fear and abject horror, mixed with awe and apprehension had put a lid of lead upon their voices.
Still, Harry pursued as if someone had answered him.
"This was my guardian. A guardian is a magical entity born from a witch or wizard soul and given both an element and a shape. It is conscious and only obey to one master. I currently asked him to reside within this common room. Should anyone try to attack me, even if I am not aware, he or she will be faced with him and incinerated on the spot." he then smiled warmly and spoke the next words with a colder tune yet. "My death is strongly discouraged, for if I were to die, the fire sealed within this room shall be unleashed and consume this whole castle."
Many fell in chairs, sofas or even the floor.
"So!" said Harry with a cold look. He started pacing, waving his wand bringing back to consciousness the wizards he had neutralized previously.
He looked around the common room, waving his hand and removing all traces of spell damage or magical residues. He then stood straight, hands linked behind his back and a severe, almost austere; expression on his childlike face.
"I find myself, after returning to the magical world, hearing about how one wizard, styling himself as Lord Voldemort, had assembled an army of followers, rose up against a 'corrupt ministry' and began a war of terror." he spoke very calmly, but with an undertone of thunderous rage.
"I find myself, hearing of how most of his followers came from this house. The noble house of Slytherin… And I ask myself this?" he stopped, took a cursory glance around the people. "When have the heir's to Salazar Slytherin's noble goals abandoned the old ways?"
Many adopted furious expression of outrage at this.
"When have we, wizards and witches of Great Britain and Ireland, forsook our heritage and legacy? In favour of following a raving lunatic hell bent on his own power? Did your parents, your grandparents, indeed, all of you present here, have lost the path Slytherin set us upon?"
Many were now confused at what the Potter heir was alluding to.
"What are the qualities Slytherin preached ?" asked Harry, directing his gaze upon the blond haired aristocrat.
Draco Malfoy believed himself to be an intelligent and cunning individual. Full, and with merits, of pride and confidence. But right now, he could not decipher this fellow first year train of thoughts, indeed, his very sentence seemed like words spoken from a towering mountain of power.
"Traditionalism, Resourcefulness, Cunning, Ambition, Self-Preservation, Determination, Cleverness, Fraternity and Power Lord Potter."
Harry hummed a few notes, seemingly having lost himself in his thoughts.
"Traditionalism… Yes, of course. BUT!" he glared at everyone. "It does not come above Power, Self-Preservation and Cleverness." Harry paced like a lion ready to pounce. "Most of you are as powerful as I was when a toddler. I could break all your necks at any of my whims. Self-Preservation is also most important. You are, for a good amount, so inbred and weakened by incest that many noble families have already died out. This is also the cause of your powerlessness in front of truly powerful wizards and witches, as well as your mental faculty being less than adequate."
The insults, as for now, were endured at the cost of their pride and egos. They could not deny that he towered above them in terms of magical might.
"As for Ambition?" he gave a derisive snort. "Most of the old names only ambition to live secluded and peaceful life, enjoying the spoils of centuries of accumulated wealth." The heirs and heiresses of the House felt ashamed at the realisation that this statement was true when it came to their family.
Harry made a careless move of the hand, smirking nastily at his fellow house-mates.
"As for Fraternity, it is meant to be followed against adversity. And while I understand that Muggle-Borns terrifies most of the Pure-Blood elites, they are not the opponent we need to seek and destroy."
Harry stopped then and there and watched everyone in silence. It lasted for a full ten minutes before Daphne Greengrass asked the expected question:
"Who then?"
Harry smiled warmly then. A true genuine smile which sent a great deal of warmth in his auditorial.
"Ignorance!" he said, "Stagnation!" he added, "Pettiness!" he finished.
He looked around himself once more; opening his arms and smiling widely.
"It is time we learned and rekindled our society with our past roots! Let us bring back magic to its true and most purest existence! Let us seek to reform ourselves, so that the legacy and lost heritage of Wizard Kind may be returned to its proper place!"
The students felt both wary and interested at the first year words. Bring back magic to its proper place? This sounded like what Gellert Grindelwald had tried to accomplish.
"And I do not mean dominance over the Muggles for some misguided "Greater Good" he said with a severe face. He then returned to a warm smile and made a neglectful wave of his hand. "I believe that we must stop worrying about our non-magical counterparts, and instead, return our attention and ambitions to recovering the knowledge and secrets the ancient held."
He looked around. Many appeared interested by his words, but there were also quite a few who appeared angered by what he proposed.
"I understand that many of you among us have been led by their past to mistrust or downright despise Muggles. That is also my case. But we must understand that we are not strong enough to defy them. Even Voldemort, Dumbledore or Grindelwald would have been unable to pose a major threat. We simply do not live and understand the world the same way. They are not less, just else. Let go of your hatred and fear, and understand that the best way for the Magical world to survive, is for us to accept any able to wield magic and leave the mundane world of Muggles to their own."
There now was a lot of confusion and uncertainty. A lot of people asked themselves questions. This boy had just proven himself to be above any of them in magical might. He was clearly above a common wizard or witch, despite being a half-blood. Slowly, doubt began to creep up inside their minds and they turned to him as to what he would propose.
"I understand change cannot come into itself. I intend to use the life I have to bring a new golden age to the Wizarding World. It is time we sought to rekindle our self, and bring into this new fold of hope and heritage any willing to follow it also."
"I will not force you to follow me. But I won't tolerate any bigotry from Slytherin. We are not inferior to the other houses. WE, are equal in all but name, and I want for us to finally understand this. To seek to demean other, only prove one's frail esteem."
Harry then walked back toward the dormitory, leaving everyone to think about this. When major events happened which affected the whole of the house, debate and dialogue was organised in the common room, until such a point where a consensus had been reached. But this time, it proved to be too overwhelming and the only agreement was to hold the event this Saturday at eleven P.M.
Harry, for his part walked inside the first year room. Looking around, he smiled at what appeared already better than what the Dursley's had gifted him for room. Even though his memories of the cupboard under the stairs were very fuzzy, his great uncle having found him early on, he still had wisp of despair come up to the surface.
He opened his bed curtain, used magic to change himself immediately and brushed his teeth. As he lay against the headboard of his four-poster bed, he gazed upon his wand. Ebony wood. Fourteen and a half inches. Quite supple. Thestral tail-hair for a core. The brother wand to the Elder wand which Dumbledore held possession over.
Harry, since obtaining it, wondered what his Uncle Gellert would have thought of him holding this particular wand. He had lived long enough to see him accepted into Hogwarts, before succumbing to the Dragon Pox which had assailed him. This disease was awful, making magic turn against its user's body. The more powerful the witch or wizard. The more painful the suffering.
Harry Potter did not know what would happen while he was at school. But as he closed his eyes, he saw the freckled porcelain visage framed by fire of this little girl at station Nine Three Quarter.