The first-year students were glad that they had arrived on a Saturday as it meant they could spend Sunday exploring the castle and meeting its many inhabitants.
For the Black Twins, it gave them a chance to try and forget the howler they had received and it's lingering threat. Sirius and his friends tore around the Castle introducing themselves to the portraits and ghosts, they purposefully sought out Peeves, enlisting his help to prank their year mates, he was flattered that they wanted to meet him and he listened with growing excitement at the ideas they had.
While dashing around the grounds they met Hagrid who told them the trick to making friends with the giant squid and accidentally revealed the location of the secret entrance to the kitchens. The boys careered off across the green grass of the Hogwarts grounds laughing to relieve the elves of several loaves of bread and a huge basket of picnic food. They spent the rest of the afternoon by the Black Lake feeding the giant squid loaves of bread, amazed and awed when it let them stroke it's tentacles, hysterical when it soaked Peter before sinking back into the depths of the lake.
Most of the other first-year students were similarly engaged, only the Slytherin students refrained from dashing around like over-enthusiastic puppies.
Lucius had taken some of the first-years on a guided tour of the castle, making sure to show them the quickest and most direct routes to their classrooms and facilities on each floor. The Slytherin prefects would make sure they weren't disgraced by any tardy behaviour in the first week, by the end of his tour there would be no excuses for getting lost within the school.
The small group of Slytherins came across Sirius and his friends while they were crossing a courtyard on the way to the tower which housed the Divination classroom. Neither Antares nor Severus were planning on taking the subject and would have been quite happy to laze in the courtyard waiting for the rest of their party to return. Lucius had insisted the accompanied the group, even though in all probability they would never visit the tower, there was no excuse to have gaps in one's knowledge.
Dynamics had changed between the twins, the howler had made them stop and think, their hopes that their Hogwarts years would be more relaxed had been dashed and they had been brought to the realisation that they were under even stricter scrutiny than normal.
They had been brought up in a traditional magical family, there would be no hugging both children knew that. Instead, they politely greeted each other with an inclination of the head and a murmured greeting of "Sirius", "Antares".
Remus followed Sirius' lead and didn't attempt to talk to Antares, he had a certain advantage over his friends, he could always sense peoples feelings and all he felt from Sirius and Antares was love.
Peter took the restrained greeting as a slight against their friend and James seemed to agree in hindsight he should have known better, he had been brought up in a pureblood family and Antares had put him in his place once before, this time was no different.
He didn't stop Peter as the shorter boy stepped forwards into Antares personal space, he didn't even step in when Peters hand shot out and grasped Antares arm pulling her to a stop.
The etiquette that his mother had insisted be drilled into him over the summer was niggling at him, this was not the way that any young lady should be treated, let alone a young lady of Antares social position.
His mother had tried to explain that although Sirius and Antares were a part of the notorious house of Black and their father was undoubtedly prejudiced. His prejudice wasn't the distasteful blood prejudice the rest of the Black family was infamous for, it was merely that he was an incredibly rich pureblood patriarch and therefore naturally arrogant.
She had also explained the way that marriages were handled in the Black family informing the disgusted boy that Antares Black was merely an expensive commodity to her mother. He had felt a little sorry for her when he realised that Antares would, in all likelihood never get to experience falling in love, the reality had been hammered home with Walburga Blacks howler, her fate was much worse than not loving her husband. She would be sold off to the man who would pay most for her, regardless of his age or political affiliations.
He leaned in, still making no move to stop his friend, when Peter used his grip upon her wrist to drag her closer to him, bringing his face uncomfortably close to hers, he was a few inches taller than Antares and built more solidly, the size difference made the dark-haired girl look delicate and vulnerable. Although James thought that that probably couldn't be further from the truth.
"Hey, what's wrong? Sirius not good enough for you now you're a slimy snake? You're just like your insane family aren't you Black?"
His words were quiet enough so that Sirius didn't hear them, Remus did and was about to step forward in defence of Antares when he realised he was too late. A shadow fell over the boy, Lucius Malfoy had turned to see what the delay was just in time to see a first-year Gryffindor boy grabbing hold of the newest Black inductee.
He was impressed at the ferocity and contempt she managed to pack into the look she was giving the young Gryffindor and was more than a little surprised that he hadn't burst into flames or at least had the sense to unhand her.
He was now in a little bit of a quandary and not for the first time since becoming prefect regretted accepting the badge, some days it was more trouble than it was worth. The way he should handle the current situation as a prefect was in direct opposition to how he should handle the situation as the scion of the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy. This behaviour was completely unacceptable, even if Antares hadn't been a member of a sacred twenty-eight family he would object to anyone manhandling a woman.
He was also acutely aware that the first year snakes had, as one person withdrawn their wands, the other houses may have scoffed at the movement after all none of the first years had even attended their first lesson at Hogwarts. But as a Slytherin, he understood and took the threat seriously most of the snakes were pureblood and taught offensive and defensive spells while at their mother's knee.
They were born into magic, and their parents saw no reason why they shouldn't practice the magic which they had been blessed with. They also knew the ministry trace was a farce, which could not be used against magical households as they couldn't differentiate between over and underage magic.
Stepping forward between the group and Antares he raised his hand to an outsider it was a casual gesture, to the snakes however it was a clear warning, one which they heeded and slid their wands back into their holsters, confident that their prefect would handle the situation.
"It is Mr Pettigrew isn't it?" he asked, an imperious sneer crossed his handsome countenance. "I would appreciate it if you would unhand Miss Black, it is unseemly in the extreme. I would have thought your father would have taught you to respect ladies, especially ones of higher social standing. He is, after all, a ministry employee and he seems to knows his place in the face of more socially advantaged families. Do you think that he perhaps needs a reminder?" His voice was soft, uninterested, only Peter, Antares and himself knew what had been said.
Later people would tut and shake their heads at the impulsive and violent Gryffindor, he would swear to them that he had been threatened, they would ignore his excuses, having seen the calm demeanour of Lucius and the reaction of Antares. With Lucius' political charisma and Antares consummate acting, they refuted his claim and were, mostly believed. Even if they weren't verbal provocation did not excuse out and out violence.
The Gryffindor let go of Antares, shoving her roughly to the ground, James was closest to the confrontation and without thinking reached down and helped her to her feet. She thanked him softly and was about to say something else when a loud gasp drew their attention. The two of them turned in time to see Peter hurling himself at Lucius his fists and feet flying in an attempt to injure and humiliate the older boy.
Sirius ignored the scuffle, using the distraction to move close to Antares to check if she was ok, she reassured him that she had suffered no ill effects before turning her attention to the scene in front of them.
James and Remus had both groaned in despair, they moved forward grabbing the struggling boy by the arms, dragging him away from the altercation, they were both taller and fitter so it didn't take them too long to get him under control although he still struggled against them. Lucius slowly dusted himself off wondering if it was worth perhaps dropping a line to his father in regards to the elder Pettigrew, but decided that keeping that card in his hand was perhaps his best move. Sirius, now sure that his sister was ok seemed amused by the fight until he saw Antares glaring at him and he quickly wiped the grin off of his face.
The commotion had drawn the attention of other groups of students and also Professor McGonagall, she strode out into the sunshine of the courtyard, she had appeared in time to see Potter and Lupin dragging Peter Pettigrew away from one of the third year Slytherin Prefects and a Malfoy no less.
The students parted letting her through, Antares straightened her back and lifted her head, determined to meet the gaze of the stern Professor. Her father had spoken to her about how to act in the presence of each of the Professors that would be teaching her, Professor McGonagall would appreciate a logical mind with no hysteria.
He had advised her not to use the same method when in the presence of Professor Dumbledore who he was a master Legilimens and apparently not above using the skill on unsuspecting students.
She didn't think that Professor McGonagall practiced the art, but if she did Antares was reasonably sure that her mental shields were sufficient to at least sense an attack being made upon her mind so that she could break eye contact.
"What is going on here?" Peter refused to look up or speak, Antares glanced at Lucius who gave a slight shake of his head so she stayed silent, deferring to his authority as prefect.
"Professor McGonagall I was taking this group of first-years to the divination tower so they don't get lost when lessons begin. I became aware that one of my charges had been physically waylaid by Pettigrew. I asked him to let her go and informed him that it is not acceptable behaviour to manhandle witches and he flew at me, Potter and Lupin had to restrain him as you see."
The stern Professor glanced at Antares who was standing quietly next to Mr Malfoy her hands folded demurely in front of her. "Is this correct Miss Black?"
Antares weighed up her options, she could agree that this was what happened, she could further complain about the insults which the boy had thrown at her or she could admit that Lucius had indeed provoked Peter. Although it didn't take her particularly long, she was growing rather fond of Lucius Malfoy, he had gone out of his way to make her welcome into Slytherin and seemed to be looking out for her. She also didn't want to get the horrible boy into mThat'srouble than he'd alreaI'mbe in, he seemed to be one of her brothers chosen friends.
"Yes Professor". Peter was not going to take this lying down and once again started to struggle in the grasp of his friends "You filthy snakes you're lying, you threatened my father! You're crazy like your parents."
Antares opened her eyes wide as if surprised by the allegation, "Peter I don't think I even know your father so how could I possibly threaten him?" A first-year Slytherin girl called out from the crowd "Perhaps you should familiarise yourself with the hired help?" A ripple of laughter flowed through the crowd of Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws had to cover their smiles, this confrontation was going to cost someone some points and they were glad it wouldn't be their house.
Professor McGonagall whirled around "That is quite enough. Mr Pettigrew, I don't care how this started, you were attacking a prefect who was not retaliating in any way, your friends had to restrain you, I am most disappointed. You will serve an hours detention with me for the next two nights and 20 points from Gryffindor."
She turned to Lucius and Antares "I am not entirely convinced that this is the whole story so 5 points will be taken from Slytherin"
Lucius bent his head in gracious acceptance "Yes Professor" Antares mirrored his actions before moving off with the rest of the group on their continued tour of the castle.
The small girl who had spoken up pushed past to walk next to Antares "I'm Belvina Burke, my grandmother, on my fathers' side was a Black, I'm named after her, rather a weight to bear, don't you think? Although nothing like the weight heaped onto the shoulders of the most senior albeit youngest Black girl. My brother is planning on offering for you, by the way, did you know? He thinks he has a real chance, apparently, our fathers have a few mutual businesses but that's all he had in his favour, he isn't particularly intelligent or good looking.
Mother says nobody is ever going to want to marry me I'm too opinionated, of course, they aren't the words she used, far too tactful for a pureblood mother, tough love and all that. That's fine with me though, I'm not sure I want to marry some pompous pureblood and pop out a dozen or so heirs and spares for him to sell off."
She paused for a moment and Antares found herself liking the girl walking with her, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a friend and she realised they even shared a dorm room.
She recognised the name of Burke and of Belvina, the Burkes were a relatively wealthy family also members of the sacred twenty-eight. She quickly thought back to the lessons she had sat through about the other families. They were a family her mother seemed to approve of, which probably meant they were blood purists, her father had mentioned the fact that Oscar Burke was a rather shrewd businessman, they specialised in property, not many people were aware of the fact as the only property they used for personal use was a dark and dingy antique shop located in Knockturn Alley, known for selling rather questionable artifacts.
Even then it was their business partner that fronted the business. Mr Borgin was a wizen old man with bad hygiene and in Antares opinion worse manners, she had been in the shop on several occasions while attending her mother.
Belvina Black had been a beautiful young woman, there was a portrait of her hanging on the second landing of Grimmauld Place overlooking the entrance hall, she had been born to Antares Great Great Grandfather Phineas Nigellus Black who had been Headmaster of Hogwarts until his death in 1927.
She had married well into the Burkes, it was a marriage that had pleased both houses and more fortuitously one which suited Belvina and her husband Herbert as they had been rather hopelessly in love. If her remembrances of the who's who's book of the wizarding world were correct Belvian's son had married a Greengrass and this Belvina along with two brothers, one older and one younger had been the product of that union.
"It's nice to meet you Belvina, sorry about that altercation, it seems my aim of not drawing attention to myself flew out of the window about the time we left Platform 9 3/4." Belvina laughed and looped her arm through the taller girls arm "Antares, I think we are going to be great friends!" and they continued on the rest of the tour heads together talking about and identifying other members of their house. It was always good to be able to identify someone's pedigree and both girls were determined to try and not marry anyone who was more closely related to them than second cousin. In Antares case at least it was a dream she knew that would very much be in the hands of her mother, who didn't seem to see any problems with the vaguely incestuous relationships which plagued their family tree. It was something she tried not to dwell upon.
She introduced Belvina to Severus, who was polite, but much preferred the company of Evan Rosier and Joshiah Blishwick neither of which were inclined to talk about marriage or family lines and prefered to discuss the first-year curriculum and the chances of the Holyhead Harpies in the upcoming quidditch season.
Severus was learning quickly that influence was everything and was itching to send an owl to Flourish and Blotts to acquire some of the books Antares had referenced in her discussion of family lines, he knew he also needed appropriate reading materials to bring his knowledge of pureblood etiquette up to an acceptable standard. He knew emulating Antares would only get him so far as Men and Women in the wizarding world had such different roles. Not for the first time envied those who had the opportunity to grow up in a magical environment with easy access to magical materials.
Lucius got them back to the entrance hall just as lunch was starting, it had been a long morning and the first years eagerly dug into their meal chatting excitedly about the events of the morning.
The Slytherin and Gryffindors point counters situated behind the long staff table looked sad in comparison to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, there hadn't been any lessons yet and very few opportunities to earn points, Bellatrix' had lost Slytherin 50 points at the opening feast and Peter's attack on Lucius had lost the Gryffindors 20 points. The gems in both glass counters had fallen below the minimum line into negative numbers.
The afternoon was more relaxed, Antares, Belvina and Severus along with a few other first-year Slytherins took blankets out onto the grounds and sat reading and talking.
Observing the way the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were tearing across the grounds shouting and screaming Severus decided he was glad to be in this little group, reading the books he loved and discussing intriguing potions he couldn't wait to try out. Antares and Belvina described what it was like to grow up in a magical home, although Belvina was a member of a sacred twenty-eight family, it was a relatively minor one and the pressure to behave in a certain was less extreme.
They both knew how to perform most of the first year spells and Antares had been taught a few which weren't in the curriculum and that would in all fairness make people very wary of her. She was mostly interested in arithmancy and ancient runes and was disappointed that neither courses were available to first years, although she had managed to check out a couple of beginners guides from the library and was enjoying reading and solving the example equations.
Belvina wanted to excel in charms and perhaps transfiguration, she said she would love to become an animagus, Severus had to ask what they were and immediately agreed with both girls that it would be wonderful to transform oneself into a creature, to feel the freedom of flight or the rush of exhilaration as you ran through the forest.
Severus told them that when he had been little he had found Eileen's old school trunk, it was shoved into a corner of the tiny cramped cupboard under the stairs of Spinners End, most of the books had been damaged beyond repair except for two, he had hidden them under the floorboards of his bedroom, away from his drunken excuse for a father and his mousy submissive mother. At night he would pull them out and sit on the windowsill reading them by the light of the grimy streetlight which stood on the pavement outside his bedroom.
He imagined himself carefully slicing, grinding, crushing and milking the weird and wonderful ingredients he read about and dreamt about using those ingredients to bottle fame, brew glory and put a stopper in death, how wonderful it would be to be in control of destiny, to hold a potion in his hands that would make such a difference, that would kill or cure, create or destroy, the mere thought of it always managed to send a bolt of fear and excitement through him.
The other was a defence textbook, full of magical creatures and hints and tips on how to defend against them, secretly he'd always wanted to be a protector, something he couldn't currently be, he longed to save his mother from the abuse his father brought home, but when he tried he only ended up in pain and his father still took out his rage on his mother. One day he would return home and show his father that he wasn't a freak and neither was his mother he would show him that they were strong, that they were worthy, and that they deserved better than the ramshackle house and Tobis Snape.
He discussed potions with them and their own passion for learning settled the anxiety he had felt for being too bookish, he hadn't wanted to be the odd one out at this school as he had been at his muggle primary school, wanting to read and learn everything he could so that he could better himself.
Antares marvelled at the ordinary conversations she was able to have without the pomp and circumstance of social propriety, right now she was just one of them, a first-year student eager to start her magical education.
Belvina sighed in relief at finding friends who would be acceptable to her picky mother, but also shared her own passions, she didn't want to be a pretty little stay at home society wife, hosting tea parties and charity drives, she wanted to be someone in her own right, an ambition scoffed at by traditionalists.
They stayed out in the fresh air until the air started to feel damp, reluctantly they packed up their blankets and stacked their books for Severus to carry back to the common room, they had just enough time to change into the slightly fancier robes which members of Slytherin house were required to wear for evening meals.
The hall was packed, some students had missed lunch in their excitement to be back at the castle and explore their new surroundings and almost everyone had turned up to eat. There were a couple of exceptions from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, the new years had found the trick to entering the kitchens and had spent a good part of the day indulging themselves with all sorts of goodies the elves were preparing.
Two Gryffindors who had entered into a prank war were also missing, both currently in the hospital wing while Madam Pomfrey tried to ascertain the spells which had managed to turn their skin green and hair a putrid pink, more points had been taken from Gryffindor.
There were no speeches tonight, the children were left to eat their meal in peace and spread the gossip they had ferreted out throughout the day about former students and the newest intake of firsties.
Antares ate quietly listening to the chatter around her. She hadn't been surprised that the silly story about the twins of darkness had filtered through the gossip channels to the muggle-borns and others who hadn't grown up in the wizarding world, with easy access to wizard literature.
She was sad to hear of a new Hufflepuff who had lost his entire family in an attack upon his home, she had overheard her mother and father of talking about unrest among the purebloods and talk of an impending war but she hadn't realised that people had started to die. She wondered what they had done to deserve that fate, she felt ashamed that the majority of her family supported the war, she knew it was targeting the "Filthy Bloods, Half Breeds and Creatures."
She had also ascertained that the boy they were talking about was half-blood, if the psychotic leader of the "dark" had decided he was going to 'off' every half-blood in wizarding Britain there would be very few people left standing as most witches and wizards nowadays were three-quarter blood at best with the majority being half-blood or less.
For goodness sake, the Potters who could trace their heritage back to the Peverells had been excluded from the Sacred Twenty Eight at the whim of its author who thought that the name of Potter was too muggle in origin, which, given the surnames of other Sacred Twenty Eight families, indicated a personal bias held by Cantakerus Nott, as supposed to any real dilation in blood purity.
Severus too was listening to the gossip, the Slytherins were a little quieter than the other houses, they passed gossip to and fro like currency, Antares had explained to him that her confrontation with Bellatrix would certainly have reached a good portion of the pureblood patriarchs by way of the owl post, which was leaving Hogwarts on almost an hourly basis. She'd also explained that Bella wouldn't have complained to her parents, they would have had no sympathy for her plight especially since on this occasion it was certainly her that had come off worse against a first year.
Antares didn't let her parents know either, her mother would have been apoplectic with rage, fighting was not a ladylike thing to do, especially within sight of witnesses.
She was fairly confident that although most of the children sat at the table with her would have informed their parents of the discord between the cousins it would have gone no further. Her father may not be a blood purist, but he was a wizard to be feared and it was unlikely that any of the other family heads would have the courage to bring it up with either father or Cygnus, they would merely keep it, tucked away as possible ammunition for future reference.
The friendship which seemed to have sprung up between Lucius Malfoy and Antares would also be hot gossip and word of the friendship would be winging its way to various families across the country. Their friendship paired with the highly inflated gossip regarding Antares encounter with the young Gryffindor and Lucius part in saving her, it could safely be assumed that the gossips would be awaiting a betrothal announcement.
How easily their imagination jumped from friendship to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.