Damian Drake and the Scales of Justice
Disclaimer/Plot/Challenge Information/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to JustBored21 for being such a good friend: my recommended reads are Knight Errant by ArlyssTolero, Damaged Raven, Trickshot, Apex and Emerald Dragon by JustBored21, Harry Potter and the Hidden Truth by KingFatMan25, The Hollow Prince by FirstSilverKing, Aspirations by megamatt09, Arrow by dannyrockon122, Family Ties by BarbaraKaterina, Harry Potter and the Ashes of Chaos by ACI100, Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man, Who Dares Wins by OlegGunnarsson and Deprived by The Crimson Lord
Key Pairing: Damian/Viktor; Lily/James;
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Mental Speech'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Winged Seer Wolf: We're almost there, my friend: I hope you enjoy what I have planned;
"Don't hold back in this Tournament. Give me everything you've got as my rival and, in return, I will give you everything I have as your beloved."
Clasping Damian's hand over his heart, Viktor licked his lips before he replied, "I swear, solnyshka…I will give you rivalry to be the best…on Heart of Dragons, I make this vow."
"And on the Spirit of Dragons, I accept your oath…hoping you know what it'll mean if you fail?"
Viktor nodded, earning a smile from Damian as he added, "Then good luck, Mr Krum. Against my power, you're going to need it."
Chapter 16: Didn't You Know? Dragons Eat Beetles
Throughout his training, Damian had never really given much stock towards the art of Divination, much less talking about futures and prophecies.
And yet, despite all that, he was perfectly-willing to confess that even he could have seen the reactions to the new regime at Hogwarts coming…
DD
First, when Lily was announced, by Director Black, as the new Headmistress, three Slytherins ended up in detention for a month for calling her a filthy Mudblood who had no place leading them, while four other Slytherins and a Hufflepuff cost their House fifty points each for questioning the woman's credentials and insulting Rose when they decided to remind everyone of how she was a Champion of Hogwarts.
Curiously – at least, Damian thought so – one of the Slytherin perpetrators wasn't Draco Malfoy, but Damian still kept an eye on the blond ferret.
This led to Lily making it clear that she never had, and never would, favour her own daughter, or anyone else, over anyone else, and that went double-double-double-double – toil and trouble – for a certain brunette, who ended up costing Gryffindor fifty points for trying to claim that Lily's ascension to the rank of Headmistress broke the rules and that she apparently knew better than the Heads of House and the Director of the DMLE.
As part of her punishment, said brunette was also assigned to the Potions Lab, to clean up the muck and disgusting residues left by years' worth of neglect courtesy of a certain someone's lack of care towards his charges.
DD
Speaking of Potions, this was also Lily's cue to announce the return of Professor Horace Slughorn, who would be resuming his old post as Potions Master, but, when asked about the Head of Slytherin and the fact that he wasn't there, Lily quickly moved onto the bigger point.
Indeed, when James Potter was named as the new Head of Slytherin and co-Duelling Instructor, the Slytherins went into a frenzy, many of them threatening to contact their respective families and get James booted out. This argument, however, was shot down by Amelia, as well as Filius, Pomona and a somewhat-reluctant Minerva, whom explained that the right to appoint Heads of House belonged to the Headmistress, with an agreement from at least two of the three remaining Heads.
And, since both Filius – the Head of Ravenclaw – and Pomona – the Head of Hufflepuff – had voted yes for James' new placement, it was official.
Of course, this information earned the question of where Snape was, which probably set a new world record for loudest crowd explosion when Lily announced that he was dead!
The terror in the eyes of the Slytherins as they realised they were no longer safe was worth the headache that Damian had afterwards, though when the Slytherins were also reminded by James that he and his friends were well-known for using cunning and trickery to get out of trouble, even the pale colour of Draco Malfoy's hair couldn't match the pallor of the snakes as they were warned about three major changes ahead.
First, the use of a certain M-word would cost Slytherin House fifty points every time it was said, with detentions, revocation of privileges and even tasks that would be better suited for a House Elf following that punishment if the perpetrators didn't learn their lesson.
Second, there would no longer be any undermining of any other House's students, because of their blood, ability or even because they were someone you didn't like. As James said; save that for the Duel Field.
Third, and finally, the Slytherins were put on notice as a whole, because of how James and Lily both explained that there would be no more favouritism or protections for the Slytherins.
Get in trouble enough to attract James Potter's attention and, as Rose had said, you were fucked!
DD
As well as the new staffing, James then announced the return of Remus Lupin, which earned cheers from roughly 60% of the populace of Hogwarts, while the other 40% made complaints about Remus' furry little problem, which led to Lily making assurances that Remus would not be a threat to his students.
Unlike the previous Potions Master, Horace and Lily would both ensure that Remus was safe and, when he couldn't teach, James would either be assisted by Sirius Black or Alexander Phoenix.
As for Charms, with Lily now Headmistress, a collective round of applause was given to Professor Flitwick, though, in many eyes, the news wasn't anywhere near as big as the changes at the top of the proverbial food chain.
DD
Yes, Damian could have predicted many of the responses, but, at the same time, he was impressed by how quickly, and professionally, the new Headmistress, as well as the new Head of Slytherin, took charge of the situation.
Still, this didn't force Damian to drop his guard.
Being with Viktor had made him feel better, no doubt, but he still had a new focus for his future.
And its name was the Triwizard Tournament.
DD
BANG!
It was only the quick and firm grip from his Mother that kept Damian from impaling, burning or even drowning the source of the light-filled explosion as he stood with his fellow Champions, all of them watching with bewilderment and curiosity as they were introduced to a harridan – as Damian thought of her – who looked like she either made wig shops rich, or made make-up stores just as wealthy.
'Talk about overcompensating,' thought Damian, clenching his fists tightly as he immediately decided he did not like this person, who proceeded to introduce herself, unaware of how she'd already damned herself in Damian's eyes thanks to her disgustingly-flashy entrance.
"What a charismatic quartet! Hello, I'm Rita Skeeter…I write for the Daily Prophet, but, of course, you know that, don't you? It's you we don't know. You're the juicy news…some juicier than others…"
She seemed to zero in on Damian as she said the last part, earning a scowl from the young warrior as Skeeter then proceeded to fondle and inspect the other Champions as she asked, "What quirks lurk beneath those rosy cheeks? What mysteries do the muscles mask? Does courage lie beneath those curls? In short, what makes a champion tick? Me, myself and I want to know, not to mention my raving readers…so…who's feeling up to sharing?"
No-one moved, though Skeeter seemed to have made her choice, as she went to grab Rose, "Shall we start with the youngest? Lovely."
"Take your hand off my daughter!"
'Took them long enough,' thought Damian, looking past Skeeter and her photographer to see Lily, James, as well as Ludo Bagman and Amelia – both of whom were there representing the Ministry – walk into the room, accompanied by an old man, the sight of whom made Damian cock an eyebrow as he recognised said man as Garrick Ollivander, Britain's so-called master wandmaker.
As Damian took note of the appearance of the Headmistress and Head of Slytherin, he also saw Karkaroff and Maxime walk into the room, the lesser glaring with absolute hatred at how confident, proud and even battle-ready Damian looked.
Unlike Delacour – whom was wearing the same blue ensemble her and her school had arrived in – and Viktor – who, for some insane reason, Damian had noticed was dressed in the thick overcoat of his own school with tight-fitting clothes underneath – Damian had opted to come to the so-called media event dressed to impress.
It was for this reason that he was dressed in a crisp-looking black shirt and a pair of finely-cut dress trousers with his favourite dragon-stamped cloak – the one he'd worn when he'd 'returned' to help his former family – draped over one arm, displaying his personal monogram as well as making him look like a warrior ready to greet the masses.
As for Rose, she was dressed in Gryffindor robes, though Damian knew that she would have preferred him to be dressed in Hogwarts attire, being the Hogwarts Champion himself, but, as he had reminded her, he wasn't representing Hogwarts anymore; he was representing the Drake Clan and the legion, Libra, which led it.
Fixing Karkaroff with a glare of his own, Damian cocked his head to one side before he asked, "So, what, exactly, does it say when the visiting schools' so-called authority can't be arsed to turn up on time to assist and represent their Champions?"
"Shut your mouth, Drake!"
"Make me, Death Eater!" growled Damian, now moving away from Artemis and Viktor as he squared up to Igor, "After all, your lifeline isn't here to watch your back, so I suggest you invest in a mirror, because it won't be too much longer before you have a blade embedded in it!"
"My, my, my, my…such conflict, so early in the game…"
"Excuse me," said Damian, turning to Skeeter, who was now hovering around the two conflicting wizards like a vulture circling her prey.
Unfortunately, not only was this prey not dead; he also had fangs of his own to show, as he proved when he asked, "What do you think you're doing sticking your plastic surgery-made nose where it's not wanted, Skeeter? You know, I've heard all about you and, from what I've heard, I only have one thing to say."
Here, Damian looked to Karkaroff as he sneered before, turning his back on the Death Eater – who went to attack Damian, before he was stopped when he saw Artemis hold up a knife of her own, shaking her head warningly as she glared daggers at the Durmstrang Head – he looked to Skeeter with an almost-derogatory air about him as he leaned in close.
"You should remember…dragons…they love the taste of water beetles!"
Suffice to say, Damian wouldn't have been surprised to see Skeeter's hair turn grey, if not white with fear, as she took several steps back, falling over her own feet and her overcompensatingly-long coat, before she asked, "Is…is this what…what you call…being in control, Potter?"
"That's Lord and Lady Potter to an insect like you, Skeeter," drawled James, watching as Damian returned to Artemis' side, though, as he watched the young man, James couldn't help but feel a sense of pride, if not amusement, at how the boy he now had to accept was no longer the boy they'd lost was so strong-willed and able to stare down his enemies without flinching.
In the meantime, James walked past Karkaroff, intentionally nudging him, so Karkaroff also had to fall on his ass, before James leaned down and, drawing his wand, he pointed the tip of it beneath Skeeter's chin as he whispered to her, "And, speaking of bugs, I should warn you: I've always been taught to sweep for them and, if I ever find any, either squash them under my boots or feed them to a Big Bad Wolf I know and love, so…try and keep your nose clean, won't you, Rita-darling?"
Fearing James' words, as well as the hidden meaning, Skeeter nodded so fast that, to Damian's amusement, and the surprise of Bagman, her blonde wig fell off her head, exposing signs of what Damian was admittedly surprised to recognise as alopecia, judging by the bald patches and clumped areas that seemed to be missing most of the woman's hair.
"Well, now this is newsworthy."
A short chapter that not only gives a taste of what happened next, but also a funny twist to the inevitable meeting with a nuisance: still, now with the Tournament ahead of him, what will Damian's plan be?
Also, it seems that the more time passes, the more Damian seems willing to show a less-cold, more-humane, supportive side; might that change because of what's going to happen with Rose and the Potters?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Damian has a shock waiting for him as he proceeds to cleanse his mind, body and spirit of all that might remain of the weakling he used to be; also, the First Task draws around and, as if facing his family's namesake isn't bad enough, Damian receives some bad news that brings stormclouds gathering once more in Hogwarts…
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