Summary: Remy's experiences the Dark Lord's academy
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe, sadly. Alas, I must content myself with fan fiction to sate my thirst for power and a say in what goes on in the world of Harry Potter. Sigh
Warnings: Just kissing this chapter, but if relationships between members of the same sex bother you and you didn't peel off after similar scenes in early chapters, I guess a warning is in order. You have been warned.
The remaining days before Remy and Stephan's departure for the Dark Lord's academy passed quickly, and before either of them knew it, they were labeling their belongings with indelible script charms and packing up their trunks for their departure. There were many ways to arrive at the school, from portkey, to the aged old Hogwarts train, for those of lower budget. For Remy, however, it was decided that his status called for an entrance. He would be taking the Sagoicci coach to the school, and it was allowed for Stephan to travel with him. The day they were to arrive at the school, Stephan and Remy were up at dawn, to check that they had everything and to go over all last minute notes on decorum. Just after noon, the boys were ushered outside and into a large black coach, pulled by a team of four black winged horses who tossed their heads in annoyance at being kept to the ground. Remy laughed at their antics as he stepped into the coach and gaped as he saw the interior. The interior was possibly 4 times its outward appearance and decorated in black velvet with silver and red accents. Remy was startled out of his examination however by a hard nudge in the butt, by a very annoyed Stephan.
" Whatever is so shocking to leave REMY, of all people speechless, can probably wait until all other travelers are in the coach, besides, it looks like it's going to rain, and the moisture will simply ruin my hair." Snorting in amusement, Remy let the slightly older boy in and reached to close the door to the coach, but was stopped by Victor's hand. Victor shook Remy's hand heartily and said, "Remy, I'm sure you will do well, keep your eye out for some surprisingly familiar faces, you never know when someone you know well will pop up." Then with a wink, Victor closed the door leaving a somewhat stunned Remy still trying to decipher the half-cryptic message. "Hey, what's that?" asked Stephan pointing to a small black envelope on the floor of the coach. Picking the envelope up Remy instantly recognized Victors, tiny, neat handwriting. The letter was addressed to both of the boys. Remy tore open the envelope and smirked in amusement at the letters contents.
Dear Remy (and Stephan),
I happen to have…connections in this new school who told me the nature of how you will be divided on arrival. There is to be a practical examination of skills following the opening meal. All I can say is don't drink too much butterbeer, and keep a level head. Depending on your actions and the choices you make during the examination, your future will be decided. Failure on your part will not be accepted, though it will undoubtedly occur among the lesser students. I have taught you all you will need to know, do not dissappoint me.
Signed
Lord Victor Sagoicci
P.S. Burn this letter after you read it…I would hate to have nasty incriminating evidence if one were to become suspicious of your performance during the test. Cheers
Laughing lightly, Remy did as he was instructed, tapping the letter and muttering incendo. The letter burst into flames and then disintegrated. Stephan raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this behavior, and Remy supplied a response. Father was giving us a heads up to the way we are to be sorted. He says there is to be a practical examination after the meal to decide our future. He also told me to look for familiar faces while I am there. It's all very secretive if you ask me, why can't a vampire ever be straightforward?" "You are a vampire too, you know Remy, and you aren't straightforward, well at least you aren't straight." Responded the blond with a smirk that earned a slightly hurt glare from Remy. Stephan quickly apologized; making amends with a gentle kiss as he pulled the younger boy onto his lap as the coach took jauntily off the ground. Remy leant up against the blonde's chest and practically purred in contentment. Tilting his head back he brushed his lips against Stephan's in a smoldering kiss that soon had both boys flushed with arousal. Five minutes later, the coach landed with a sudden lurch that threw the boys down on the cushions. A grumbling Stephen, who ended up on the bottom, cushioned Remy's fall. Remy placed one last kiss on Stephan's forehead as he muttered a wrinkle-free charm on his uniform and Stephan's redid his habitual ponytail. The footman opened the door to the coach and the boys stepped out
They were both in awe of the castle in front of them, and even Remy who had been in some of the Dark Lord's more magnificent strongholds was shocked by the size. A soft cough drew their attention to a tall, rather greasy wizard standing in the castle's large doorway. "Mister's Malfoy and Lord Remy, if you would follow me, I will take you to the great hall, your luggage will be taken care of for you." Without waiting for them to respond, he disappeared into the castle in a swirl of dark robes. Looking at each other apprehensively, Stephan and Remy followed the man. They were lead to large twin doors and before they entered the man turned to them again, "Sit anywhere you like for the timebeing, all will change after the meal. Now if you will excuse me, I have more children to usher." The man turned to leave again, but Remy spoke up quickly, "Um…Sir, what am I to call you?" The man sneered, obviously he disliked children, Remy thought. "My name is Severus Snape. Professor Snape to you, Deputy Headmaster, and Headmaster of the school in The Dark Lord's absence." Then the man disappeared into the shadows and even Remy's vampiric senses had trouble following the man out of the entryway and away down a side hallway. Shrugging, Remy and Stephan pulled one of the doors open and entered the Great Hall to find many students already seated at the tables set up in long rows.
At the front of the room, stood a raised platform, where the teachers were seated, Remy's glance scanned over those seated there, and the handful of still-empty seats. All were virtually unfamiliar to Remy, save for a few he recognized from Death Eater parties at the castle. That is, until his eye fell on a tall, heavily cloaked individual seated at one far end of the table. Remy didn't need to see the figure's face to know who it was, the posture told him everything. "Why that sly old dog…" Remy muttered. "He could have told me he would be working here. Stephan look, the cloaked man at the staff table, that's my father, That's Lord Victor, that's what he meant about connections, and looking for familiar faces." Stephan laughed merrily and led Remy to two seats next to each other off in the corner of the room. Noting the food laid out infront of them they prepared to dig in with relish. Then Remy remembered Victor's advice. "Stephan, don't stuff yourself, be prepared for trouble, why else would Victor warn us." Heeding the other boy's advice, Stephan only sampled a few of the richer foods and was careful not to drink too much. This was hard because around them, students were stuffing their faces, quite literally, as though they had never seen a decent meal before in their life.
Once everyone had arrived and had had a chance to eat, silence was called for by the greasy haired professor from earlier. Standing he cast a sonorus charm on himself before addressing the gathered student populous. "You will now be sorted into groups that will be the people you will live, study, and eventually fight with, if you pass the rigors of training to become the Dark Lords followers. You will be taken, in groups of 50, out onto the grounds where you will be tested in your present knowledge of spellcasting, logic, and possible leadership skills. You will be graded on a scale of 0-300, 200 and up being a passing score. All individuals scoring lower than 200 will be put on probation and asked to take the test again in a months time, if you again fail to pass, you will be sent home. The Dark Lord has no place in his forces for dunderheads like you. Now will all of you sitting at the table closest to the doors follow me, you will be the first to be tested. When they return, the next table will go and so on and so forth until everyone has been tested, you will be notified of your results once all have been tested."
The deputy headmaster then removed the amplification from his voice and strode out of the hall, along with most of the teachers, and the very nervous looking first batch of students. Remy noticed Victor was one of the teachers to leave and pitied the students he would be judging. Remy knew Victor to be a hard taskmaster and knew that any minor mistake would be penalized heavily. Mentally, Remy prepared himself for the challenge and mused as to what they would be put up against. Remy had already been taught the proper way of disposing of most magical creatures so they posed no real threat. Remy knew that Victor wouldn't have warned him, if it were something so easy for him as disposing of a creature. There must be a catch of some sort. Remy mused silently. Remy could think of nothing that would pose so much of a challenge that there was a threat of not passing present enough to allow students to retake the exam out of necessity. Nor a challenge so difficult to have the threat the some would have to be sent home because they couldn't complete the task.
The rest of the hall had sunk into an equally deliberating silence, as all tried to figure out what would be set before them. The trials passed quickly and before Remy knew it, a teacher came into the hall and called for the next table of students, in this case, Remy's. Remy and Stephan as well as the other students who had sat near them shuffled nervously out of the hall and onto the twilight darkened grounds. The teachers were organized in a semi-circle; behind which stood the students whom had already taken the exam. Many wore shocked or downcast faces. In front of the teachers lay two dozen small metal balls, before Remy could look closely at them however, the call of "READY. BEGIN!" was given and the balls where flung into the air, where they hovered for a moment before zooming towards the students. Remy drew his wand and ducked as one flew over his head, but was shocked to see it double back and come up behind him. The ball flashed and Remy was hit with a mild electric shock that smarted badly, but caused little physical damage. Cursing softly he aimed his wand at the little orb and shot off a freezing spell before rolling off to the side to avoid another ball that came zooming at his head. The spell had little effect on the previous ball and after a few seconds, the ball was in motion again, moving off to attack Remy again. Remy rolled, dodged, jumped and even tried to form a shield around himself but to no avail. Several shocks later, Remy had made no progress against the little devils, he stopped briefly to take a breath and in his stillness he noticed something. No balls were attacking him; in fact, they had all zoomed off to pursue other students. And then it hit him.
"They're attracted to motion!" He said aloud to himself and then shouted to Stephan who was battling hard against 5 of the little spheres. "Stephan, stop moving, they are attracted to motion, if you stop moving they will ignore you." Stephan hesitantly did as he was told and sure enough the spheres around him broke off their attack and zoomed away. "Tell everyone near you to stop moving, and get back to back to someone." Called Remy and Stephan amusedly began to spread the word that staying motionless stopped the attacks. Soon all the students were back to back with a partner and standing as still as possible. The orbs hung in a lazy state hovering at eye level and spread out among the students. "It's two students to a ball now, freezing spells don't work, let's see if this will. Remy conjured a small whirlwind and sent it towards the nearest ball, the whirlwind stirred up a dust cloud that spun madly around the orb and the intense motion apparently confused the orb's sensors and overloaded it. The orb dropped to the ground in a steaming mass of debris. Remy gave a hoot of victory and called out, "They can be confused by rapid motions close to it, anything that moves fast, or causes it to spin should work."
Many students took his word for it, and found success in disabling the pesky balls. In moments, all the balls lay innocuous on the ground and the group let out a collective sigh of relief. Turning to the teachers, Remy was amused to see that many of them appeared to be in states of mild speechlessness, apparently, this was a test where the options were to be fail, or do miserably. Remy wondered if the group's performance had broken a record of some sort. What really made Remy fell happy was the proud grin adorning the face of his father which had been revealed as the cowl of his cloak had been removed. Remy sheepishly waved to his father before moving behind the teachers to join the other students who had already completed the test and was immediately welcomed as some sort of a hero. He had only been shocked about half a dozen times, and from what he gathered, average was well into the thirties, hence the pained looks on many of the students.
Remy was surrounded by girls and boys alike, all who draped themselves on him or flirted with him. All were rejected quickly. Remy broke quite a few hearts in mere seconds as in one breath he announced to the girls his disinterest in them, as well as girls in general, and told the boys with balls enough to flirt with him, that he already had a boyfriend. Sensing that he was needed, Stephan dutifully appeared and pulled Remy close to him, giving all those unfortunate souls seeking Remy's attention a glare that clearly said, "He's mine." They were eventually left alone to watch the rest of the students battle the strange devices and weren't bothered again for the most part, aside from few hurt and longing glances, all of which Remy pointedly ignored. None of the rest of the students managed to do even close to as well as Remy's and Stephan's group had done, and one student even passed out after receiving a few to many shocks and had to be removed to the infirmary for care. An hour later the results were announced, about 75 of the students passed, most just barely. Remy, as expected passed with flying colors, earning a 275 out of 300, the only points lost due to the times he was shocked 5 points per shock. Then, each student was given a piece of parchment on which their name was written at the top and the score they earned. Snape again stood up and amplifying his voice addressed the students.
"You have all now been scored and the results as well as teacher comments have been recorded in your student files. You now hold in your hand, what will be your identification while at this school. You will not be using your name, as names are vulnerable in battle as they identify who you are at your deepest level. You will be going by an ID number, rank, and the name of the squad into which you are placed. Draw your wand, tap the parchment you hold twice, and say your real name. After this, the information that will define you from this day forth at this school will appear. Following this procedure, names will not be used among students. Also, political rank or status means nothing here, you will be given a military rank based on your aptitude and this will replace social status while your stay within these walls. You will address all those of higher rank than you as Sir, or Mam, all Teachers as Professor, and The Dark Lord, when he is attendance, as Master. Your days at this school will not be easy; this is a military academy, not a joy ride. Failure is expected from many of you, but will be still handled severely. Your families will get progress reports twice during the year, and if any reason to pull you from this school is perceived you will be expelled."
After this speech, the students slowly drew their wands, and tapped the parchment pieces in their hand. Doing as instructed, they waited for their new identity to appear. Remy, with a nervous glance to Stephan followed suit. He removed his wand from the holster at his wrist, tapped the parchment twice, and clearly intoned "Remy Sagoicci" and waited for his new information to appear. At first it looked as if nothing would happen, but then words began to appear in efficient and simple characters across the sheet in smallish print. Remy anxiously waited for all the scrip to appear before bringing himself to read the document. It read:
ID: 42809-275
Rank: Captain
Squadron: Black Asp
Squadron Leader: Severus Snape
Of course I am stuck with greaseball, I wonder when he washed his hair last, or if he ever heard of too much conditioner. Then the magnitude of his rank clicked. He was a captain; he absent-mindedly wondered what the highest rank attainable by a student could be. He didn't have to wonder long, though before Professor Snape spoke again to the students gathered infront of him. "As you may note, you have all been given a rank from private to Lieutenant Colonel based on magical aptitude and your performance today. You have also been sorted into one of four squadrons, each with a different specialty. Cobra Strike squadron will be the ground troops, basic field operatives, Silver Wyverns will be the flying corps, an airborne surveillance team, Red Basilisk squadron will be the information gatherers, the operatives, sometimes, they will be the spy's. Finally, the Black Asps, you will be the nighttime killers, the assassins, the secret agents. You will be an elite force that will answer directly to the Dark Lord himself and will work in small teams of two to three individuals to take down key figures in the opposition against the Dark Lord. Now divide yourselves by squadron, Cobra Strike to my right, Silver Wyverns, to the left, Red Basilisk behind me, and Black Asps, kindly gather in front of me, as I will be your primary instructor. Other squadron leaders will now their allotted squadron and will sort those under their guidance by rank, and introduce themselves.
The students moved almost mechanically to the spots indicated and soon there were clearly defined groups of about 50-75 students, that is there were in large numbers of students gathered to each side and behind the greaseball, as Remy had taken to calling the man. In front of the man however, only about 20 students had moved. Remy saw with relief however that Stephan was one of them. Remy quickly moved close to Stephan and grabbed his hand, squeezing, as if it were is lifeline. Nothing his father had said would have prepared him for this, it was all so sudden and dramatic. "I'm going to need that you know, lay up a bit Remy darling." Muttered Stephan and Remy sheepishly loosened his grip considerably.
The greaseball then turned to the students in front of him and looking down with a snide look of disdain addressed them seriously. "Those of you infront of me have been chosen to be members of the very select and deadly squadron, or are dunderheads that messed up my instructions, and are members of a different squadron. If this is the case, leave now." He paused for a moment, and seeing as no one moved he continued, "Good, apparently you all are smarter than you look. While under my guidance, you will be taught the making of various deadly and, sadly, antidote free poisons, as well as untraceable curses, usually labeled Dark, and quite difficult to master. You may have noticed your small number, that is because, efficiency will be key in your survival, not numbers. A small slip up in a mission may cost you your life; it is your partner's job to bring what ever is left of you to whatever base you are stationed at and to tell the family of your fallen partner. Choose your partner well, you must be willing to trust them with your life, you must be confident that you can work well with them, your skills complementing each others. If you see no one fitting of this description, that wait to choose your partner until you do, do not take this lightly, decisions are final. Now, if you think you can choose."
Several of the students looked around and seeing a trusted friend or family member moved to stand next to them. Remy amusedly realized that for him no motion was necessary, and he merely leaned up against Stephan more closely, earning a soft chuckle from the older boy and an answering squeeze of the boy's hand. Most of the students however just milled around, shifting from foot to foot and waiting for further instruction. Eventually it came, "Now, that some have picked their partner, those who are left will be magically sorted. You who have found your partner will be taken to your rooms by another teacher and given your schedules for the year." Professor Snape dryly intoned, before motioning for Victor to come over. Turning to the vampire he said, "Take those with pairs to the Dungeon rooms, password is: Thestral call." With a curt nod, Victor turned to the scattered pairs and motioned for them to follow him. As soon as the students had fallen into step behind Victor he called Remy up to the front of the line, when Stephan made to follow, he was motioned away. "Stephan, I appreciate your devotion, but this is clan business, and for Remy's ears alone." Remy sheepishly looked back at Stephan then ran to his father who bent low next to Remy's ear to whisper quietly while they were walking.
"Remy, First off, I am proud of your performance, you should have seen the look on Sev, I mean Professor Snape's face when you managed to beat the challenge. Next, remember the promise you made to join the order, your position as spy puts you in a tight spot, you could work as a double agent, or only work for one side. Either way, you will definitely need to learn Occulmency and fast. The Dark Lord is a powerful legimens, as are many of his high-ranking officers. If they ever see any reason to probe your thoughts, they would discover your hidden allegiance quickly and child vampire or no you would executed. There for, I have asked Sev…Professor Snape to tutor you in Occulmency. He knows of my position as spy, he himself was a spy during the final battle with Dumbledore, but was separated and found it in is best interest to stick with the Death Eaters. He is sympathetic to the second order's cause, but is not currently a member. You can only trust him as long as his hide isn't in danger, but you will be on your own if he should be threatened by discovery. Your first order meeting will take place over the Holiday Break. Then you will get your operative name, and your portkey. Until then, devote yourself to your studies. The skills to be taught here will be valuable, even if they will be used against those teaching. Do me proud." Finished Victor as they stopped infront of a large hanging tapestry, pulling it aside, Victor revealed a hidden door, speaking the password he stepped aside and let the students following him in first. Once everyone was inside, he gave his own little monologue to complement the ones they had received from Professor Snape.
"For those of you who don't know me, I am Lord Victor Sagoicci, head of the Sagoicci clan, Remy, here among you is my son and heir. I am also a vampire, just incase you didn't notice. I will be teaching you as well as the other students intricate spell work as well as how to manipulate various magical and non-magical weaponry. Good luck, if you wish to succeed here you will need lots of it. Now it is time for bed, I am sure you are all exhausted and would like to know where you are to sleep. Boys to the left, girls to the right, up the stairs respectively. There will be two pairs to a room; your names are on the door. You belongings were sent up earlier, and your timetables are on your respective beds. Now, curfew is at 10:30 and someone will be down here before then to make sure everyone is in bed. If you stay up past then, it is not my problem, but falling asleep in class is a grave offence and will be handled severely." With that said, Victor exited the room and left the students alone. Remy and Stephan quickly sprinted up the stairs, and turning left, went to find their room. Theirs was at the very end of the hall, right next to the communal bathroom attached to the boy's wing, and Remy high-fived Stephan in elation at their luck.
Turning, the entered the quarters they would share with another team and were shocked at it's simplicity. The beds were basic and had only simple cotton sheets, and no bed hangings. With a snort and a small smirk however, Remy changed that, quickly transfiguring the beds into the high quality canopy beds that he had grown accustomed too. Seeing this change, Stephan clapped Remy on the back and said, "You, darling, are a genius." Stephan then grabbed Remy by the arm, and the next thing Remy knew Stephan was on top of him on a the bed with the curtains drawn and a fiery rain of kisses falling down on any bit of exposed flesh Stephan could reach.
While this passionate exploration was taking place, the other occupants of the room had the misfortune of entering. "Great," muttered one of them, "We get the room with the poufs." Remy, with his vampiric hearing, heard every word of the boy's comment and smirking evilly, responded, "You also have the pleasure of sharing a room with a vampire who is willing to kill to protect the honor of himself and his mate, so watch what you say." A slightly startled Stephan caught on and added his two knuts (no put intended. This just amuses me. So I left it) by opening the curtains slightly and blowing a quick kiss at the boys standing in the doorway, blushing furiously. Then he pulled the curtains again, and resumed his exploration of all things' Remy while the other boys carried on slightly louder than usual conversation to block out the small giggles and snorts coming from the bed in the corner. At 10:15 an amplified voice from the commonroom called for lights out and Stephan reluctantly went to his separate bed after another goodnight kiss from Remy and within moments the two boys were dead to the world, immersed in their dreams.
Well, there it is folks, Chapter 11, premium stock, top of the line subsandwich creativity. Your customer feedback would be very much appreciated as the maker is human, contrary to the maker's wishes, and is capable of making mistakes. Tell her what you think and you may just get a response from her illustrious egotisicalness. No really, I am quite humble…most of the time. Insert Maniacal Laughter Here
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