Chapter Two

Klaus sat next to Draco, as he was only person he knew. He was still being looked at weirdly by people who thought they were being inconspicuous.

They failed miserably.

Quite a few thoughts were racing through his head, most prominent among them was what he had to sacrifice to enter Hogwarts. He scoffed at how he had thought it would be the necklace his mom left him but it seemed that he held something as close to his heart as the necklace.

His anonymity.

For years he had been the only one he could rely on. The books his mother left him taught him how to behave as a pureblood and the roles of different families as the cogs of the wizarding world as well as how to stay hidden without the use of magic. She had also left him a copy of the Daily Prophet that updated itself on the latest news. So that was how he kept himself hidden all these years, but it was not that hard in the first place as the world never even knew that he existed.

The pureblood mannerisms that the book told him was appropriate for their stations was quite interesting to read. He took on some of them but left others as they seemed useless in the long run. Such as the rule that all muggles and muggleborn were inferior. Having hid in the muggle world a few times he knew intimately that muggles were one of the least weak beings on this planet.

But having that knowledge also gave him the ability to understand why purebloods fear muggles as much as they do. Because it seems that purebloods have an innate ability to sense 'power'. Not physical or magical, just the power to do. In this world, muggles were the only race that had the same amount of potential power as magical folk.

This made him come up with his own rule: respect only equals no matter their race, tolerate all others.

Klaus was so lost in his thoughts that when Draco tapped his shoulder he jolted. He looked at the boy questioningly.

"You seemed lost in thought. Dinner has been served," Draco said pointing to the spread of food laid out on the long table.

His mouth watered and his stomach groaned.

He had not eaten since the rabbit he caught in the morning and he had not considered that very filling. There was so much food that he did not know where to start. Draco must have seen this as he pointed out some chicken that he said tasted good. Klaus filled his plate with the chicken and closed his eyes and crossed his hands.

Smoke and Air

Fire and Earth

Cleanse and bless

This home and hearth

Drive away all

Harm and Fear

Only good may enter here

He opened his eyes and started to dig in. Unbeknownst to him, all the other occupants of the hall had felt itchy and uncomfortable during his small prayer, though they knew not the cause. But one pair of twinkling blue eyes stared at the young Lestrange in curiosity.

As Klaus was about to dig in on his second serving of lamb chops someone tapped his shoulder.

What was it with people tapping his shoulder when he was busy?

He swallowed a big bite and turned around. A girl with long flowing silver hair and piercing grey eyes looked down at him. She was definitely a pureblood, her high cheekbones and fair skin led credence to that. She was strikingly familiar though.

"The Headmaster would like you to talk to you in his office after your orientation," the girl said and she turned and walked away as soon as she was done.

With his eyebrows furrowed he turned back to his meal before turning to Draco with a question on his lips. But the boy was already ahead of him.

"Her name is Luciana. She's my older sister in fifth year," Draco said.

"Good to know, but which one is the Headmaster?" he asked. Draco paused and gave Klaus a look.

Harry Potter happily ate his Shepard's pie as he thought about the letter he would write to his mum and dad about his acceptance into Gryffindor. He knew they would be overjoyed but he also knew what would occupy their minds.

Druklaus Lestrange.

He was young but he wasn't so naïve to not know that the news of the Slytherin's surface would send waves into the wizarding world that would be higher than his survival of the killing curse.

As he polished off the last of his Shepard's pie he thought about how Uncle Frank would react to this news. If Neville's reaction was any indication then there was no love lost.

As he went to grab a helping of beef stew he felt a faint itch on his neck and looked up long enough for emerald to lock with amethyst. The boy's eyes appeared to be bright with curiosity but the longer he stared into them the more his heart raced. His fingers started to itch irritatingly and as he looked down at them, he felt a weight being lifted off of him.

He looked back at Klaus but the boy was more occupied in polishing a plate of lamb chops.

What the hell was that?

Klaus followed behind Draco as they walked down into the depths of the castle. At first they walked alongside the Hufflepuffs but they split up form them at a higher level as the Slytherin's descended deeper.

The locations of the houses made sense. The Ravenclaw House at the highest tower. The Gryffindor House somewhere below them. Then the lower levels belonged to the Hufflepuff House and the deepest part was the Slytherin House's territory.

Ravens in the sky. Lions on the land. Badgers in their burrows. Snakes in their pits.

And from all the talk Draco was spewing he guessed that was how it really was down here. A Viper's Nest. No mercy and all cunning. Only the strong had influence down here. A small smile stretched his along his face as he thought about how this was his house. All his life he had lived of mind that the only those who are powerful to can do what they want unchallenged.

And it seems that phrase was what was represented by this house.

He could still feel eyes on him but this time he couldn't find the onlookers. It seemed that Slytherin's were more subtle with their observations. His eyes lost focus and he moved on autopilot as he bathed in his thoughts.

Klaus knew that Hogwarts was an option and that if he wished he could have remained in hiding. He knew that he could have consolidated his power without Hogwarts and with his anonymity still in hand. But his mom's note warned him about growing in the dark. So he wrote a letter to this 'Cissy' and it seemed that this person was connected to Draco's father.

But that was not his only reason.

In his Daily Prophet an article was written about how the Lestrange estates would be sold off since there were no heirs or living members. His blood ran hot at those words. He felt deeply disturbed with his the thought of his family home being sold off. The coffers were already emptied by the Ministry. He knew getting that money back from them would be fruitless. So he had to find a way to raise the flag of his house back into the air.

That would be quite a mission indeed.

They finally stopped in front of a wall. The prefect turned to them with a grim look on his face.

"The location of the Slytherin common room, along with other common rooms, is a cherished secret among the Houses. No House knows of the others locations. And it shall stay this way, am I clear?" he said. The students nodded.

"Good. The password is changed every month. Should you not find out what it is then you shall sleep in the passageway and hope that your allies shall aid you," he finished and turned to the wall.

"Basilisk," the wall then slowly rippled and disappeared revealing the common room. They all walked in and he turned to the door quickly enough to see the wall melting back into place. Neat trick.

The common room was quite immaculate. Stone walls with a vaulted ceiling. Green furniture surrounded the fireplace that burned with a green flame. There was a glass wall that held the Black Lake on one side and the dark depths of the lake gave the room quite the ominous atmosphere.

They all stopped in front of three upper year students. The prefect that lead them went to stand at the side of the room. It was obvious that the three upper years were to be respected.

The boy in the middle stepped forward. He had dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes that seemed black in the room.

"My name is Icarus Avery and I am a Seventh year. For years it has been the eldest to teach the young how things are done in this House. First and foremost, there are three circles of hierarchy in this House. Third, Second and First years are the lowest circle. Fourth and Fifth years are the second circle, Seventh and Sixth years are the first circle. And that is how orders are given. Know your place," he seemed to leave that in the air to make sure that it was absorbed. Klaus raised his hand. This time everyone shamelessly looked at him. Draco seemed to warn him to lower his hand with those grey eyes.

"Lestrange," Icarus prompted.

"In these circles of hierarchy can I increase my rank if I prove more capable than those above me?" he asked. Silence hung in the air for a while. Icarus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and stared deep into his. His eyes began to itch and by instinct he immediately focused on Icarus' nose. His gut told him that the eyes were dangerous. A small smirk creeped onto Icarus' face.

"Ambition is a trait that is nurtured here in Slytherin. It is our life blood and Cunning is the heart. But be careful to not let greed taint the blood and poison the heart," Icarus said. He gulped but did not back down. If he backed down he would never be respected again.

"It is not greed. I just want to know that if I have the might, do I have the right," he said. Icarus raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"That is quite old school Lestrange, I'm surprised you even know that Law," Icarus said.

"It is the only law I live by," he stated.

"Then it shall apply to you. I am curious how you shall survive. From now on you Druklaus Lestrange may use the law of might to climb the rank. But this comes with the condition that that is the only way for you to climb the ladder. And that no is always an option for your opponent. Do you accept?" Icarus said.

"I accept," he replied without hesitation.

"Good," with no warning whatsoever a flash of light collided with him and with a crack he crashed into the wall. He coughed as he tried to catch his breath and stood up as quickly as he could. He looked up to see Icarus sheathing his wand.

"But until you rank up. Know Your Place," Icarus emphasised. Klaus wiped his mouth of the blood dripping out of it. He understood. Until he was on equal footing with Icarus, he had to obey his superiors. And he knew in his gut that Icarus would accept no challenge unless it was with an equal. He nodded. Icarus nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, now then. Secondly, we Slytherin are a united force. Outside these walls we are brother and sister against everyone else. We do not air our laundry for the other Houses to see. If you have a quarrel with another Slytherin, solve it inside these walls and back each other outside these walls. Understood?" he asked. Everyone nodded, even Klaus as he re-joined his year mates.

"That is all. You shall follow Jacob to your dorms boys and girls shall follow Luciana to theirs," he said and turned to leave. But before he was gone, he turned back to them.

"Lestrange go up to the Headmaster, you fell down the stairs on the way there. Find a way to heal your wounds," and with that Icarus was gone.

Klaus coughed out a laugh. This House was proving more than fitting for him.

Klaus walked back to the Slytherin dorms bitterly. He hated this feeling of weakness. Back in the forest he was the strongest and now suddenly at the bottom of the food chain.

It seemed that a few seconds into his conversation Dumbledore seemed to glean from him that he only respected power. So the Headmaster flexed that power for a few seconds.

Those were the longest seconds of his life.

It seemed as if the whole world was pushing against him. His senses were going crazy telling him of danger. Until it was over. Dumbledore then merely smiled and asked him about where lived up until now. He did not answer and Dumbledore accepted that but asked where he planned to live now.

"I plan to live in the Dragon's Keep, the family estate," he replied.

"But it is ruins, Hogwarts serves as a boarding house for those with nowhere to go," Dumbledore said kindly.

"As long as the land is mine then I have somewhere to go. If it is in ruins then I shall be the Lestrange that rebuilds it," Klaus said strongly. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and he gave him a smile.

"Then build my dear boy, build. But know that as soon as Hogwarts placed you in Slytherin, you became her son and she shall always give you a roof with a warm plate," Dumbledore said before dismissing him.

Klaus finally made it to the common room and found it empty, guess curfew had struck while he was talking to Dumbledore. He made his way down the boy's passage and found that each dorm had a door for each boy. As he walked he felt reality slip and suddenly found himself at his door. He looked to the entrance of the passageway and it seemed so far away. He shrugged and entered his dorm. The dorm was pretty luxurious. With a bed covered by curtains, his small trunk with his meagre belongings at the foot of the bed. He stripped himself down to his briefs and fell into the bed.

He failed to fall asleep many times until the frustration won out and he grabbed the blankets and the sheets. He found the warmest part of the floor and arranged them into a small nest fit for him. He burrowed into the nest and instantly fell asleep.

A/N: Beta Wanted.