I can't say I enjoyed the day after that conversation with Professor Quirrell. After finally being provided the name of my father, it was all I could think about. That night, I was restless, and when the sun rose up, I looked, as Blaise puts it, 'Like I had died and was possessed by Peeves the Poltergeist'.

So frankly, I wasn't having the best day (or night, for that matter). The only thing that remotely comforted me was the fact that Draco had taken my threat of beating him seriously. The morning after Theo and I beat the snot out of Crabbe and Goyle, Draco had found a posse of four or five fourth and fifth years, as if he thought they could really keep me from him.

Unfortunately, Daphne was quite mad at me. Actually, that's an understatement. She actually told me she wants a written apology from me for ruining her evening, and for causing further division amongst the Slytherins, as if we weren't divided enough.

"They'll have to one day choose a side, true, but that doesn't have to be now, Corvus. I don't know how you muggle raised wizards do it, but we rely on our wand skills, not our fists. " She said. "I mean, for Merlin's sake, Corvus, can't you wait until our third year to take control of Slytherin?"

I merely shrugged wordlessly and yawned. Apparently, she didn't like that, as she smacked me on my shoulder, and said "Respond when I'm talking to you!"

"Oh? Are Mr. And Mrs. 'Gaunt' Fighting with each other?" Blaise asked. He snicked to himself as he walked ahead of pace, and said "Why don't you guys just kiss and make up? Or break up, even! I'm sure Tracey wouldn't mind getting with Gaunt."

I took a weary glance at Tracey, and sure enough, her spectacled, but fairly attractive face had grown a tad red at Blaise's teasing. Unfortunately, so had Daphne's, but out of anger rather than embarrassment.

"Theo, would you mind?" she asked, to which Theodore nodded, and then began chasing after Blaise who attempted to get away, but was stopped as the taller, stronger boy grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"And you!" She said, looking at me again, "Leave Theo out of your fights! I don't want him getting into trouble because you pulled him into some crusade against blood purists!"

"Theodore isn't a dog." I finally refuted. "He's not yours to command, nor is he mine. His choices are his own. Even when he's beating Blaise up when he says something stupid, it's because he respects and values you enough to do as you request, not because it's some master/apprentice relationship.

Daphne's face grew even more red, before she finally calmed down. "I know he's not my slave, or my servant. It's just, this infighting will only make us weaker."

"I know that," I interjected. "But if we're going to present ourselves as a strong house, we need to do it by showing we're more than just bullies clad in silver and green. With one of the strongest of the newest generation, Draco, put into place, hopefully it will deter people from resorting to violence against any of the members of the other houses."

"Hm!" Daphne grunted, defiantly. "I still don't agree with it, but it's in the past now. All we can do is work through the future. Still, I expect a written apology by the end of the day, or I swear on the Greengrass name that I will not associate you any longer!"

And then, she stomped off, leaving only me, Blaise, Tracey, and Theodore. Her neatly groomed hair blew through the air as she quickened up her pace.

"Man," Blaise began whilst he rubbed his head in the spot that Theo hit, "You've gotta get your girlfriend under control. At the very least, stop her from sicking her dog on me."

Theodore only grunted in response as we continued.

For the first time in my life, I was wordless. Until now, I've always had a quip. A snotty remark, or witty comment, but for the first time in my life, I couldn't figure out what to write on the piece of parchment in front of me.

"What are you writing about?" Tracey asked. "If it's charms, maybe I can help! Er, if you'd like that, of course."

I waved my hand, as I said "It's fine. I'm just… doing my potions homework.

"Yeah," Blaise said, "I wish Professor Snape would lay off, but I didn't think the homework was that difficult. If I could figure it out within the hour, surely you could too. You're probably the best potions student I've ever seen."

"How flattering…" I muttered. "Just, please-"

Draco finally entered the Great Hall with his posse of older students, as well as Crabbe and Goyle, and noticeably distanced himself from me on the Slytherin table. Murmurs and gossip began to spread as more and more students saw the bandages and bruises on the two boys

In fact, it seems the rumors had diffused across the school so fast that even Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors began to approach the table, including two very familiar red-headed twins.

"Hey, Gaunt!" One said.

"Heard you got into a fight with little Draco of there." said the other.

"Is it true?"

I felt a headache coming on as they asked me more and more questions. Eventually, the other students began asking questions, and I finally slammed the palm of my hand on the table with a loud *Thunk!*

"Beat it, Gryffindors! If I have something to say to you, I'll say it." I announced, to which everyone but the two twins Fred and George were remaining.

"So it's true then." the first one said.

The other chuckled as he stated "Gaunt here's chosen to fight a war with Malfoy over there."

"But does he know," one said, "That every war needs its weapons?"

Each twin looked in a different direction before they opened up their robes, revealing what every normal kid dreams of; an entire arsenal of pranking tools.

"Just for you,"

"The kid who beat up Malfoy,"

"We'll give you one free gift,"

"And a discount on all future purchases."

I held up my hand, and stopped them. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), I'm not a normal kid.

"Listen, Fred, George, you two may be two of the few Gryffindors I tolerate, hell, even like, but I'm not getting into a war so early in the year." I said. The disappointment on the boys' faces were apparent, so I defused it by stating "IF I decide to pull a prank on Draco, you two will be the first people I see, and I promise, I will bring an amount of Galleons more than substantial for your future endeavors."

"Sound like a deal." One stated, now smiling.

"Don't be a stranger!"

And then they walked away.

"Do you think it's alright?" Blaise asked, "Associating with the Weasleys? There are more than a few in Slytherin who despise those two . Hell, one time, Marcus Flint woke up, and found his eyebrows shaved off! Nobody even knows how they got in!"

"It'll be fine," I said, reassuring my group. "Fred and George may be Weasleys, but out of the four here, they are without a doubt the ones I trust the most."

"But why?" Blaise asked, to which I scoffed.

"Because I know their endgame."

"Don't you ever mess with Neville, or anyone else from Gryffindor again!"

"Speaking of Weasleys…" I muttered, as I saw the familiar freckled face of Ron Weasley get in the face of Draco despite him having a full entourage of older students.

Blaise began to laugh. "Sounds like Ronald's about to get whooped!"

"Don't presume that you can speak to me on the same level, Weasley, " Draco spat out. "Everything about you just screams 'poor', and now I know that your intelligence is poor as well. Who do you think you are, trying to take me down?"

Ron had pulled out his wand, and pointed it at Draco, announcing "Then we'll have a wizard's duel! Me vs. You! All wands, no contact! We'll see whose intelligence is poor then!"

"Fine!" Draco spit. "Who's your second?"

"Harry Potter, of course. Who's yours?"

Draco's eyes found mine, and he maliciously smiled as he announced "Gaunt. Gaunt will be my second."

I almost jumped up to refuse, but then Blaise stopped me. "What are you doing?! This is a wizard's duel. You can't just back out of it now, you'll look like a coward!"

I couldn't help but scowl at the golden haired boy. It seems like I'll be arranging a meeting with the Weasley twins after all.

"Midnight. Trophy room. Be there." Draco said, and then he walked away with his posse, giving a confident wink as he passed by.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Tracey asked, to which I shook my head 'no', and sighed deeply.

"No. I'll handle this myself. Just provide an alibi for me if Filch or anyone else comes asking about me. Say I wasn't feeling well r something of the like."

And then I left to find some silence in the Hogwarts Library. If I have any chance of finishing this 'heartfelt' apology to Daphne with my pulsing headache, I'm going to need peace and quiet. Maybe some headache medicine as well. And maybe some coffee.

Luckily, it didn't take much longer to finish the letter once I actually had some time to myself to think on it. Two whole pages written in the formal letter format, just like how Daphne likes it. Unfortunately, I'm not in the best condition to give it to her at this point. Mostly because it's midnight, and I have a duel to get to.

"Nagi, can you sneak into Daphne's room and put this letter on her nightstand? I'll promise to get you a nice juicy rat if you do."

"Cccertainly!." Nagi exclaimed. "I'll be right back!"

"Don't wait up for me." I said. "I'm going out for a little. By the time you get back, I'll be gone."

"Very well." Nagi said as she gently bit down on the letter, and began slithering away. "I'll sssee you when you get back."

Let me tell you, after having to walk around the dark corridors of Hogwarts after dusk, I can confidently say that I really, really am not fond of it. I hope Draco's prepared, because after this duel, he's going to regret even sparing me a passing glance.

Unfortunately, he seems to have not only fooled me, but also Harry and Ron. I honestly can't believe I was gullible enough to actually come here. He probably thinks I'm going to get caught and be expelled or something. Typical rich kid attitude. I can't wait to knock him down a few pegs.

"Where's Malfoy?" Ron asked. "He was supposed to meet us here at midnight, and it's already 12:15!"

"Don't be a fool," I exclaimed. "He's not here because he wanted to get us all in trouble. Chances are, he's laying in his bed impatiently waiting to hear all about how we got busted."

"So why are you here?"

"Even though I detest Draco, I am quite fond of Slytherin. He may not care about Slytherin's reputation, but I do. Now, you have a choice: will you continue the duel, or will you walk away, and forget this whole thing happened?"

The two Gryffindors took a glance at each other before Harry finally spoke up by saying "I think we should forget-"

But he didn't get the chance to finish his line of thought, as Ron pulled out his wand, and pointed it at me, stating "You may not be as slimy as Malfoy, but you're still a Slytherin. We're going to finish the duel."

Harry tried to argue, saying "Ron, we don't need to do this. Corvus is one of the few good Slytherins." but the Weasley was stubborn, and I had to take a sigh out of frustration.

My hand was drawn to my side, and I quickly pulled out my wand, and pointed it at the red head.

"Save your words, Harry. Those who aren't willing to listen to reason will reap the consequences. I just hope you're more successful in future endeavors to convince this 'friend' of yours."

My face got stern as I observed the boy's posture. It was nothing like any of the experienced wizards, which gave me an upper hand. Professor Quirrell's lessons could help me. Whilst Corpus Fractura is a spell with great potential for violence, it should be possible to limit the amount of force I put into the spell. With some effort, I should be able to just stun Ron Weasley for a little. After a few hours, he should be able to regain full feeling in the limb.

"You initiated the duel, Ron, so I'll let you make the first move. A warning, though, if you don't put me down with the one shot, you're going to lose the duel." I said.

The red head's face grew even more red as he let anger fill his body, and he quickly yelled "Flipendo!"

Unfortunately for him, I'm faster than the spell. With one quick movement to the side, I let the burst of energy pass by, and I muttered under my breath

"Corpus Fractura."

And the red and black force launched towards Ron, hitting his arm. His wand quickly flew out of his hand, and he fell down on the table of the trophy room.

"Ah!" Was the only thing he said before he began to squirm on the table.

"I warned you, Ron. You could've taken the easy way out, and now your arm is going to probably be numb until midday tomorrow."

"Don't call my by my name!" he spat out. "You don't deserve to call me that like you're my friend."

As Harry quickly rushed over to his friend's side, and began checking him to see if he was okay, I felt a frown grow on my face.

"Very well. I had hoped we could get past our differences. Maybe even eventually improve relations between our houses, but any hope I had is now gone. Good job, Weasley."

And then, I heard the sound of keys jingling on a keychain.

'Damn it! Filch is here!' I thought. 'I need to find a way to hide, or else Professor Snape will have my hide.'

"Potter, Weasley, Filch is coming. If you know what's good for you, you'll run now to get away from him," I said. One last friendly tip before I have to cut ties with them."

And then, I began sneaking out of the trophy room. Luckily, from the sound of the jangling keys, I should have more than enough time to escape back to the Slytherin Dorms. At least, that was the plan until I heard the voice.

"Gaunt…"

I halted in my tracks as I looked around, but there was nobody there. At least, not anybody that I could see.

'It could be Gellert,' I thought, 'but why would he come now? Did he complete his mission in France?'

But then, I began to sink in the ground, like a rhino stuck in a quicksand pit. Just before I could cry out for help, though, dozens and dozens of pale hands grabbed every bit of skin on my body, starting with my mouth, and dragged me into the darkness.

I can't say how long I was unconscious. Frankly, I was more concerned with the fact that I wasn't dead. That means they either want something of me, or they want to show me something. Those hands wouldn't have dragged me through the stone floors for nothing.

I almost yelled out "Hello!", but I stopped myself abruptly, realizing that just because I wasn't dead, didn't mean I wasn't in danger.

The area I was in was dark, and surprisingly breezy. It seemed to be some sort of surface cave from the looks of the stone walls, but interestingly enough, it seemed that the roof had small holes carved into it to provide natural light during night and day, and to provide some fresh air in the small chamber.

"Corvus Gaunt - I have long been awaiting this meeting," a dark voice loudly announced, causing me to visibly jump. The voice seemed to crawl creepily into my ears, as if they were centipedes burrowing into a small hole.

"The boy who will unravel the world of magic. How… delightful. Though, I did expect you to be a little older." he continued.

"Where are you?" I asked, "Show yourself!"

"You wish the see the visage of hunger, rage, and chaos itself?" the voice asked. He waited for an uneasy period before he finally gave out a weak laugh, and muttered "Very well. Gaze upon my face."

Dozens of blue flames lit on the wall on brazier that materialized out of thin air, and lined up to the end of the cave where a gaunt man clad in a single thin sheet of fabric that exposed both his thin, hairless forearms, along with his bare chest that seemed to cling to his bones from malnutrition and starvation.

His face, however, was the most unnerving part of his body.

The mysterious cloaked figure's cloak reached out all the way past his forehead, and past his nose, which from the faint indentations, looks like his had been cut off. Even his eyes seemed absent as the cloth dug into his eye sockets. The only notable thing not covered by the thin, but opaque black cloth was his mouth, which had stretched until the edges of his lips were only about an inch or so away from his ears. The gums of his mouth were bleeding profusely, dripping down his pointed yellowed teeth.

From where I was standing, the mysterious figure looked like an unconquerable predator, and I was his prey.

"Well?" He asked, "Am I all you have expected and more?"

I swallowed my unease as I finally took a spare step towards him, and I stated "Honestly, you're a lot uglier than I thought you'd be."

The grim smile faltered just slightly before it grew even wider.

"Yes, yes! You are the one I have been waiting for!" he happily cried out, "I have laid here nearly ten thousand years, but you are finally here!"

"Why have you been waiting for me?" I asked, taking one step closer, "What makes me so special?"

"The Prophecy, young Gaunt! The Prophecy! You shall overshadow your progenitors a thousand times over!"

I paused as I processed what he stated. 'What 'prophecy',' I asked myself, 'And who are my progenitors?'

"What prophecy?" the cloaked man asked with his toothy smile fading to a frown once again.

Truth be told, I wasn't sure about the way he read my mind. Up until now, I don't think anyone's ever been able to read my mind. Normally, I'm the one that read minds. I couldn't even feel him try to penetrate it, not like Professor Dumbledore.

The frail cloaked man smiled once more before he nodded, and waved his hand. Out form the stony ground grew a large intricate basin that seemed to fill with a thick viscous fluid out of nothing. The smell of iron, the dark red hue, I knew immediately what this was: it was blood.

"Now is not the time for fortunes and predictions made a dozen millennia ago. For now, drink this:"

I was about to take a step away, the the frail man pointed his bony, clawed finger towards me, and then gestured for me to come closer. I tried to resist the pull, but some force pulled me towards him, causing my paralyzed legs and feet to kick up dirt as they dragged on the ground.

Just as I reached him, the smell of blood nearly overpowered my senses, causing me to nearly gag at the smell of the foul red blood.

"You want me to drink this blood?" I asked, to which the figure nodded.

"It is the first step to your evolution. You shall rise among wizards as their God-King, and rule over the light of Man!" he cried out, before reaching behind himself, and pulling out a silver carved chalice with a skull carved into the metal.

The mysterious man dipped the chalice into the deep blood basin, and pulled out a full cup, and I noticed the skull had changed. Morphed into something more sinister. The fangs of the skull had expanded into sharper, longer points, and the maw had opened just slightly as the eyes of the skull gleamed with a malicious green glow.

He held out the chalice to me, and said "Drink it, please! I am most eager to see your transformation."

But then, a blast was shot out past the frail, cloaked man, causing both me and him to look back at the owner of the blast.

"Now, Dolor, we talked about this; Corvus isn't ready. If he drinks that blood, then there's a good chance his body will rapidly decay. If that happens, we will have failed before we ever really started."

"But the signs!" the mysterious figure, Dolor, exclaimed. "I have divined the stars! They say he is ready!"

The man with the wand finally walked into the light. With the familiar white spiked up hair, the heterochromatic eyes, and the gentleman's demeanor - it was impossible to not recognize the owner of the wand. It was Gellert, my enigmatic benefactor.

"I'm not willing to take that chance. If he perishes, we will never find another like him," He said. "All I'm suggesting is that we wait three or four more years. Is that too much to ask? By then, he will have a better grasp on his magical abilities, and he will be ready to inherit the gifts of the progenitor."

I looked back at Dolor, and watched him uneasily pour the blood back into the stone basin before it receded back into the ground. The skull on the chalice had gone back to normal, with the correct proportions of the fangs, and there being the obvious absence of the dark green glow of the eyes.

"I am sorry, my child," Dolor said to me. "I was too hasty, too eager to see you obtain your full potential. It seems I will have to wait a few years longer to give you the ancient gifts."

I tried to say something, hell, anything, but my mind was coming up blank. The whole event was too mystic. Too occult. What could this all mean? A few weeks ago, I didn't even know magic existed!

"Come, Corvus," Gellert said. "I feel as though I should put your mind to ease before we take you back to your school."

I walked towards the man who appeared to have grown even younger, at least on par with Professor Snape, and watched his arm stretch over to my shoulder before he put his bejeweled hand down on it.

"I apologize. It is much too early for you to learn about such things" he said. "If you wish, I could erase your memories of today, and wait until-"

"No." I refuted. "I don't want to forget today, even if it's been… odd. I just- I would like to learn more about this 'prophecy' before I commit to drinking anything like blood."

Gellert chuckled, and gave me a reassuring smile. "You continue to surprise me, my boy. However, I cannot tell you about the Prophecy just yet. There is still another prophecy that must first rise before we can begin with yours. However, if there was something else you would like to know?"

I saw Gellert's eyes direct over to Dolor who was mumbling incoherently to himself as he stared into the skies.

"The stars, why do you push me so? The boy is not ready. The boy is not ready. The boy is no-"

"Don't mind him," Gellert said. "He has lived for far longer than anyone else I have ever met. His mind has largely been broken by the sands of time. Still, he is eager to assist, and very powerful."

"Just how old is he?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, to be quite honest. When I asked him last time, he merely walked away and muttered something about the 'stars not aligning properly'.

I thought back to when he dragged me from Hogwarts to here. From what the older students have mentioned, travel like apparition is impossible through normal means. You'd literally have to get the current headmaster's permission to travel in such a way.

"How did he bring me here from Hogwarts?" I asked, to which Gellert looked more intently at him.

"Dolor is a mysterious individual. Many of the rules of magic we understand and know don't apply to him. If he wanted to, he could probably transport you all the way to the Americas, but luckily for us, he seems to be restricted to this cave."

"So he can't get out?"

Gellert nodded, but then took a deep breath. "Alright, well, we should probably get you back to Hogwarts. Such events like the ones of today aren't meant for children your age. Dolor!" Gellert cried out, to where the cloaked man's face switched over to us as he grinned wildly.

"Take Corvus back to his dorm. He shouldn't walk around the halls of Hogwarts at night. Even now, the shadows coalesce, waiting for their opportunity to reawaken once more."

I tried to stop him to ask more questions, but I had already begun to sink through the floors of the cavern once again. The hands gripping on my legs, bringing me down.

"One more piece of advice, young Gaunt," Dolor said, suddenly appearing next to me. "There is a rare artifact known as the Philosopher's Stone hidden at Hogwarts. On one eventful night, you will find it, and your world will change forever. Do not keep it, however, naught but a fragment of the stone. Once you unlock the secrets of the fragment, you will learn on an entirely different path of alchemy. Goodbye!"

Just as Dolor bid me farewell, another dozen hands shot up, and dragged me into the shadows, and when I opened my eyes, I was back in my bed.

'The Philosopher's Stone? I've heard that name before. It was…' I thought long and hard about where I've heard that artifact's name before. 'Wait a minute, Nicolas Flamel, the supposed creator of the artifact. It was supposedly capable of granting immortality, and turning subpar materials into pure gold. It would be useful sure, but-'

"Blood hell! When did you get here?" Blaise asked, crawling into the room with what looks like a pastry in his hands. "I leave for five minutes to try to find you, and here you are, as if you materialized out of thin air!"

I stared blankly at Blaise. "Really?" I asked. "You went out to find me, and not to get a pastry?" I asked.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Blaise exclaimed, taking a bite of the pastry. It looked like some sort of tart. Something not entirely suitable as a snack this late at night when trying to go to bed. "The pastry was just a bonus."

I merely shrugged, and pulled my covers over my body as I said "Goodnight, Blaise."

"Wait a minute, you never told me where you were."

"I said 'goodnight, Blaise',"

"Ah, now I see! You and Daphne met up with each other at night to gaze up at the stars or something. Maybe even spare each other a little kiss as you give each other love letters!"

Blaise kissed the air as if to mock me, and then laughed. "Oh, what am I saying? I'm pretty sure you and Daphne hate each other now, and you know what? I say good riddance! Always sicking Theo on me, that Greengrass girl has a lot of nerve!"

I exhaled deeply as Blaise continued talking to himself, and let the sleep take me away.

In the morning, as I walked down into the common room, I saw all of my friends standing together; Blaise, Theo, Tracey, and Daphne. I walked over to them, and Daphne smiled as I entered the group. Daphne's brilliant green eyes, and soft golden hair that smelled of lavender, everything about her made the events of last night seem like a distant memory.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" I asked.

"Thank you for that letter, Corvus." Daphne said, blinking with her long lashes. I felt drawn to her before I finally shrugged away my hesitation.

'I'm only eleven, damn it! I don't need to be thinking about girls right now.' I told myself. 'Hopefully I can put this 'infatuation' nonsense to rest until I'm at least in fourth year.'

"The way your words glided off the page," Daphne said, nearly swooning, "It was almost like your words had enchanted me!"

I took a cursory glance at Blaise who had grown pale in his face as he recalled what he said last night.

"Wait, were they really trading love notes last night?" he mumbled to himself. "But… but we're only eleven…"

"I'm glad you liked it so much. It wasn't easy writing it, especially with Blaise talking in your ear the whole time."

Everyone laughed except for Theo and Blaise, who was still mumbling to himself, and Daphne got close to whisper in my ear.

"Honestly, though, I wasn't serious about the apology letter, but it's nice to know you value our friendship so much, so this is for you."

Daphne gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, and I felt my cheeks flush with warmth as I quickly looked away.

Tracey and Blaise had both flinched, and even Theo's eyes seemed to widen a bit as he realized what just transpired.

"Alright! Let's get going to the Great Hall. After such a long night, I could use a large breakfast!" Daphne said, stretching, and then she walked away, and I followed her as if she was a beacon of safety, and I was a lost soul. Behind me, a few friends who I had met only a few weeks ago, but I could already tell that they were going to change my life. For the first time in my life, I wasn't so concerned with the responsibilities of life, and the identities of my parents. For the first time in my life, I was allowed to be the kind of kid who laughs with people his own age.

Here it is; the next chapter! One reviewer said that he (or she) hopes that Corvus just doesn't do all the same events as Harry. Honestly, I understand the apprehension of that, since that's what a lot of fanfics do. Unfortunately, at this point in the story, there's not a whole lot I can do for original events whilst in Hogwarts (because Corvus is only a first year. He doesn't have the much magical knowledge, and I don't want to put him into a situation that's too perilous at this stage in the story), but rest assured, after the first year, the amount of original events will rapidly increase. Even now, I don't intend on Corvus clinging to Harry. Corvus is going to find Professor Quirrell and Harry with the Philosopher's Stone, but he will find out on his own, not because he's friends with Harry. Next chapter, I'm going to touch on the inter-house rivalries a little bit more, since a couple of you are concerned about that as well. Hope to see you next week!

-CStrain