The next morning went on as Rastaban expected. He woke up, showered, dressed in his robes and went to breakfast. He sat alone as he ate a plate of eggs, waffles and toast. A few feet from him sat Pansy Parkinson and a few of her friends and a little further sat Draco with Crabbe and Goyle. He read over his class schedule for the year. His focus was cut short when he heard the ruffle of flapping feathers above him.
Looking up he saw a flock of owls flying above everyone. He returned to examine his schedule, he wasn't expecting anything from home. As he focused on his schedule a parcel landed next to his plate. He looked up to see Kowalski and Leta standing on the parcel.
"Well hello to you too." He gave them both a quick pat before he unwrapped the string keeping that kept the bag closed revealing a tuxedo, "What would I need this for?" He wondered aloud. He shook his head before he rewrapped the package. Stuffing it in his bag he quickly finished what remained of his breakfast.
He went to his first lesson, Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. He liked Professor McGonagall, she had an air of protectiveness to her. She's incredibly brilliant and quick witted. He always let out a silent chuckle whenever she threw a playful jab at a late student or when someone spoke out of turn. Behind Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration was his favorite subject. They learned about the difference between an animagus and a maledictus. It was a simple lesson, perfect for the start of term.
After Transfiguration he had Care for Magical Creatures. His heart pumped with excitement as he walked down towards Professor Hagrid's house. He sighed in content as he felt a cold morning breeze against his skin. Approaching the house he saw Professor Hagrid standing by his door with his dog, Fang, sitting beside him.
"Good morning, Professor Hagrid." Rastaban greeted before he noticed that no one else had arrived yet.
"Morning ter yeh lad." Hagrid replied with his gruff voice, "Yeh're the firs' ter arrive, like always"
Rastaban and Professor Hagrid grew close over the course of his Third Year. He was by far the most enthusiastic of all of his students. He even aided Hagrid in feeding the Fire Dwelling Salamanders after their lessons about him. He must've fed them about two hundred peppers before the end of the year.
Noticing the small crates by their feet Rastaban asked, "What are in those?" He leaned over to see small creatures he's never seen before.
"Blast-Ended Skrewts." Hagrid said proudly.
"I've never heard of them." The student replied, "They aren't in any of my books."
"No yeh couldn' read 'bout 'em in any book. D'you wan' ter know why?" Hagrid asked. Rastaban moved to answer but Hagrid beat him too it, "Because they're hybrids i bred meself!" He exclaimed.
"Hybrids?" A broad smile formed on Rastaban's lips, "Can I guess what you used to breed them?" He asked practically jumping in the air.
"I don' see why not." Hagrid shrugged as Rastaban tried to get a closer look at the creatures, "But keep a safe distance away from 'em. They're a bit on the cranky side." Hagrid cautioned just before Rastaban narrowly dodged a minor blast.
"Noted." He said before he shuffled away from the crates.
Eventually the rest of the class joined them, or rather the Gryffindors joined them, no doubt the Slytherins of the class were following Draco around like a pack of puppies. Draco didn't consider any of them his friends, he hardly considered Crabb and Goyle his friends. Rastaban kept his attention towards the Blast-Ended Skrewts to make it seem that he couldn't hear the hushed conversations between the other students. It went on like this until someone stepped up next to him, Rastaban looked up to see Harry.
"Hello, Rastaban." He nodded to the younger boy.
"Hey, Harry." He replied.
"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this - Blast-Ended Skrewts!"
Ron blinked before he said, "Come again?"
The half-giant pointed down at the crates. The class looked down at the small creatures before Lavender Brown let out a disgusted squeal. Rastaban still looked intrigued by them and tried to figure out how Hagrid made them.
"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"
"Really?!" Rastaban beamed up at the Professor, "Can we pick?" He asked gaining a set of chuckles from Harry and Ron.
"And why would we want to raise them?"
Rastaban's wonderment had gone to make way for the familiar feeling of irritation. He turned around to see the Slytherins finally arriving and following Draco as expected.
"I mean, what do they do?" asked Malfoy. "What is the point of them?"
"What's the point of you, Draco?" Rastaban shot back.
"Tha's next lesson, Malfoy." Hagrid replied gruffly, "Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things - I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer - I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake - just try 'em out with a bit of each."
The class went on with the lesson although reluctantly. Rastaban seems to be the only one with any sliver of enthusiasm. He went with the frog livers first but when that didn't work he went on with the ant eggs. They lesson seemed to go on without any mistake before Dean Thomas let out a yelp.
"Its end exploded!" He exclaimed, showing the Professor his hand.
"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.
"Eurgh!" Lavender Brown squealed again, "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"
"You mean other than how fun it is?" Rastaban asked getting strange looks from the others.
"Ah, some of 'em have got stingers." said Hagrid enthusiastically, "I reckon they're the males."
Rastaban picked one with suckers up, "So that means the females are the ones with the suckers?" He asked as it latched onto his palm.
"Aye, I reckon they might be ter suck blood." Hagrid replied, causing Rastaban to quickly yet gently return the animal back in the crate.
"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive." said Malfoy sarcastically, "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"
"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione snapped? "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"
"I'd want a dragon for a pet, I mean I sort of do but it's not really mine." Rastaban shrugged, gaining shocked looks from the others.
"You have a dragon?" Ron asked.
"What kind is it?" Hagrid asked enthusiastically.
"A Ukrainian Ironbelly." He answered, "Poor thing is forced to guard my family vault. I sneak him some lamb chops whenever I go to Gringotts."
For the rest of the class Hagrid and Rastaban gushed about dragons before they tried to figure out what the Skewts will eat. The ringing of the bell signaled the end of class and the beginning of lunch. Rastaban would've stayed longer if his stomach hadn't growled. He was the last to leave after taking a few guesses of what Hagrid used to breed the Blast-Ended Skrewts.
Entering the Great Hall he moved towards his house's table before he heard his name being called, "Rastaban." He looked up to see Harry waving at him, "Sit with us."
He blinked before he looked at his table before returning his gaze towards Harry. Should he sit with them? He contemplated before he finally shrugged and went to sit at the Gryffindor table. Having to sit at their own house table was a suggestion at most anyway.
"Hey." He greeted the trio as he sat down and noticed there were lamb chops for lunch today, "Ha! What a coincidence." He chuckled before he grabbed a plate and noticed Hermione eating her food as fast as she could, "Are you joining an eating contest Hermione?"
The girl gave him a glare before she finished her food, "See you at dinner!" She called back as she scurried out of the Great Hall.
"What was that about?" Rastaban asked before he took a bite off the lamb chop.
"She wanted to get to the library." Ron replied, "Don't know why, we haven't any homework yet."
"I've been meaning to go to the library but I guess I can go tomorrow." He shrugged, "I wanted to find out how Hagrid bred the Blast-Ended Skrewts."
"You and Hagrid seem close." Harry commented, "How do you know each other?"
"Last year, I took his class. I helped him feed the Fire Dwelling Salamanders after the bonfire." He explained.
"I don't remember seeing you." Ron chimed in.
Rastaban blushed, "I keep to myself mostly." He replied before eating a spoonful of potatoes, "I love the way Professor Hagrid teaches, he's my favorite teacher in Hogwarts."
Harry gave Rastaban a bright smile before Ron muttered, "Yeah if you like the idea of raising those little monsters."
Rastaban replied with a shrug, "I do like it actually. I love Magical Creatures, all of them."
Ron scoffed, "Even the ones that could kill you?"
"They're more afraid of us than we are of them Ron." He replied, "I for one would love to watch over dragons like your brother Charlie or even travel across the world to discover new creatures like Newt Scamander."
"You're so sure of what you want to do." Harry scoffed, "I have no idea what I'd want to do after Hogwarts."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out, I didn't know what I wanted to do until last year. Before then I thought of being an Auror like Nymphadora, take a job at the Ministry like my uncle or simply stay at home with my aunt." He gave Harry an encouraging smile, "Tell me, what do you love to do?"
Harry seemed to be stumped by the question, "I don't know. I love Quidditch but I'm not sure if I'd do it for the rest of my life."
He shrugged, "Try some things out, see if you enjoy any of them."
Just then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.
"Think about it." Rastaban said before he stood up, "I'm off to Charms." He gave them a parting wave before he scurried out of class.
Professor Flitwick's style of teaching always seemed to make time fly, for Rastaban at least. They learned the Flame-Freezing Charm. First they learned of its history and then its uses. It would change the effects of fire on a witch or wizard. It wouldn't burn them but devoured them in a pleasant sensation. During the middle ages on the rare occasion that muggles actually caught a real wizard all they would have to do is perform this charm and pretend to be burned alive.
Rastaban was the second in class to perform the spell just behind Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. They held their hands over a candle and felt a sensation that almost felt like a message.
It was on his way to dinner that he would find Harry and his friends. They were entering the entrance hall behind the crowd of students piling in the Great Hall, eager for food. He was about to approach them before he heard the voice of his cousin.
"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!" He exclaimed almost excitedly.
"What?" Ron asked shortly, clearly irritated.
"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. "Listen to this! FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC! It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."
Rastaban glared at his cousin before he stepped between them, "That's enough Draco."
"Come on now I'm done yet." He replied before continuing to read, "Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene." He laughed and Crabb and Goyle laughed with him like a pair of parrots, "And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of -"
Rastaban stepped up to look Draco in the eye, "Do you want me to lay you out on the floor again Draco?" He asked, forcing Draco to stay silent, "Oh did you not tell your pack of idiots that it only took one punch for me to knock you down? Shall I do it again?" He clenched his fists but someone grabbed his arm. He looked over his shoulder to see Harry.
"He's not worth it, Rastaban." He whispered before he glared at Draco, "Stuff it Malfoy, you're pathetic." He then pulled Rastaban away from his cousin leaving Draco seething.
"I'll show you pathetic!" Draco pulled out his wand and pointed it at the pair.
"NOT SO FAST LADDIE!" A rough voice echoed before a loud BANG rang through the Entrance Hall.
Rastaban and Harry turned around to see a ferret standing where Draco was. They looked up to see Professor Moody pointing his wand at the ferret. It was obvious that he turned Draco into a ferret. Everyone in the Entrance Hall was frozen save for Mad-Eye who looked at the two boys with his smaller eyes.
"Did you just - "
"Yes." Rastaban answered the question before Harry could finish his question, "Brilliant." He let out a chuckle that slowly turned to a laugh.
"NOT SO FAST YOU!" Moody swung his wand towards the ferret that tried to run towards the dungeons. The animal flew ten feet in the air before landing back where it once stood. It began to bounce up and down, "I'll teach you not to curse someone when their back I'd turned! COWARD! Just like your father!"
Everyone laughed as they watched the ferret flying across the air, its little limbs flailing helplessly.
Rastaban laughed so much that he fell back against Harry who caught him with an arm around his abdomen. They didn't seem to notice their sudden closeness as they continued to laugh at the flying ferret.
"Professor Moody!" A voice yelled, aghast by the spectacle.
Professor McGonagall swiftly moved down the marble staircase with an armful of books.
"Hello, Professor McGonagall." said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher.
"What - what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.
"Teaching," said Moody.
"Teach - Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.
"Yep," said Moody.
"No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing.
Rastaban was amazed with how quickly and flawlessly she returned Draco to his original form.
"Alastor, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall sternly as she pointed her wand at him as if she was scolding a student, "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"
"He might've mentioned it, yeah." said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, "But I thought a good sharp shock -"
"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"
"I'll do that then." He replied glaring at Malfoy with great dislike.
"My father will hear about this!" Malfoy exclaimed.
"Is that a threat?" Moody glared at Draco as he limped towards him, the groaning of his metal leg caused a few students to flinch, "I can tell you stories that'll make even your greasy hair curl, boy. Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"
"Yes." Malfoy muttered.
"Another old friend." growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape. . . . Come on, you. . . " He seized Malfoy's upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons.
Professor McGonagall watched the two of them walk away before she waved her wand, returning her fallen books into her grip, "Off to dinner all of you!" She ordered and every student scurried inside.
It was then Harry and Rastaban noticed their embrace before they quickly pulled away, "Sorry." Rastaban muttered.
"It's fine." Harry said curtly before they both left for the Great Hall.
Rastaban dreaded sitting down at the Slytherin table. Draco's friends all glared at him as he walked past them. Finally finding a seat he let out a sigh before he sat down. He bounced his leg as he waited for the food to appear.
"You were very brave."
Rastaban looked over to see a young girl with long, silky red hair sitting down next to him, "Thank you, Mafalda Prewett yes?"
"Yes, and you're Rastaban Lestrange." She replied matter of factly, "I've asked around about you and I've heard many things."
"Good things I hope." He chuckled.
"Nope, they speak very ill of you." She replied, "But I figured that's only because they stick around that foul boy. I heard that you have the top marks of all of the Slytherins in you year."
He blinked in shock, "How did you know that?"
"That's a secret." She replied, "I figured that I should only associate with my intellectual peers and it seems that no one from the other houses want to speak with me."
She's quite confident, he noticed, "You'll find that there's a stigma against our house. It gets better when you learn to ignore it."
"Don't worry I already do." She gave him a smug smile as their food appeared, "I believe this is the start of a good friendship."
"I don't recall agreeing to be your friend." Rastaban replied.
"You will." She replied surely.