CH 04 First Encounter
For the Slytherin first years, September 2nd involved Charms and History of Magic in the morning followed by Herbology in the afternoon, as would all their following Mondays for the rest of the year. While Lycoris found Charms to be fun, it was also ridiculously easy. It only remained amusing because the Charms Professor had a fairly humorous teaching style, a young teacher just four years older than the seventh years and only began teaching this year.
History was deathly boring, no pun intended. How cheap was Hogwarts if they couldn't even afford hiring an alive professor? As for Herbology, the subject never interested Lycoris and remained as unchallenging as ever.
In conclusion, Lycoris found the much anticipated schooling experience to be rather disappointing.
After classes were over for the day, Lycoris ditched his minions in favor of some time alone to vent and relax with a walk by the Black Lake. Maybe he would explore the Forbidden Forest a bit too.
His explorations mostly remained on the fringes of the forest because while he might be dying for some challenge he didn't think it very smart to go in half blind. While he might be magically powerful with a sizable repertoire of spells and curses, Lycoris was too aware to become arrogant in his own abilities; there was always a better opponent to be found. Besides, he was not yet comfortable with his duelling skills so it was best not to practice them with a dangerous magical creature. Thus, as it was still early, Lycoris chose a nice tree for a quick nap.
What he was not expecting, however, were the jeers and flashes of spellfire interrupting his peace. Lycoris was not amused.
He was even more irritated when he caught sight of the actual scene and culprits causing the disturbance.
Three burly Gryffindor fifth years were cornering a gangly Hufflepuff third year and trying to hit him with hexes and spells that Lycoris identified as the malicious prank variety.
"Hey, where do you think you're going, freak!"
"Nasus Limus!"
"Get him! He's trying to escape!"
Just as the Hufflepuff tripped on his overly large feet and went sprawling right into an orange colored spell, Lycoris who had been watching the debacle finally moved.
A bright white sixth year Shield Charm materialized in between the hapless Hufflepuff and the oncoming spell.
"Picking on a 'Puff of all things? That's as pathetic as kicking a crup puppy."
.
.
.
Newton Scamander had once again been making his way to the grounds to go sneak a look at the creatures the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Kettleburn, was keeping for their next classes.
It turned out, however, he wasn't the only one to do so as he stumbled across three mean-looking Gryffindor boys trying to steal a niffler from its enclosure.
That confrontation ended with a black eye for Newt and the Gryffindors switching their target to him.
He was a fairly fast runner and dodger from his experiences with escaping bullies but unfortunately puberty made him more than a bit clumsy and at the wrong times.
Squeezing his eyes shut in resignation as he lay sprawled out under a tree, Newt waited for the spell to hit. After a moment of silence in which he heard nothing, not even the jeers from his attackers, he cautiously opened his eyes only to see with amazement a bright manifestation of a Shield Charm in front of him.
His thoughts were soon interrupted by a clear arrogant drawl coming from somewhere above his head, its owner clearly young.
"Picking on a 'Puff of all things? That's as pathetic as kicking a crup puppy."
Looking up, Newt caught sight of his savior and couldn't help but gape in surprise.
A young boy sat on a branch high up on the oak tree Newt had fallen down in front of, slender boot clad legs swinging playfully. His green tie denoted him to be a Slytherin. Newt couldn't make out who his savior was as his face was hidden by the leaves. What he could make out were slender fingers idly flipping an elegant ivory colored wand, lazily catching it by the handle every time in a way that was rather condescending in general.
Then the boy jumped down from the tree with catlike grace to stand a short distance from where Newt was laying.
Newt's second glimpse of Lycoris Black left him feeling like a strange case of having swallowed a bunch of butterflies that were even now trying to escape from his stomach.
Newt first saw the Slytherin first year during the sorting. It was hard not to notice the boy, even the professors sitting up at the staff table were drawn in by his slight figure, let alone the students. Dressed impeccably in a tailored Hogwarts uniform, subtly different from the standard issue of black Hogwarts robes, he stood tall and confident among his peers, lacking any of the nervousness that Newt had felt during his own sorting. And despite his young age, the aura of magical power that surrounded the boy was comparable to that of Professor Dumbledore the Transfiguration teacher and known prodigy during his time at Hogwarts.
For him, what left the most impression however, was when he went to sit up front on the stool. Intense green eyes with a ring of mercury swept the Hall and its inhabitants and felt like an electric shock when they passed by him. Though young, the boy had an obvious charisma that effortlessly captivated and drew people into his sphere of influence. It didn't seem to even matter that the boy came from the notorious Ancient and Noble House of Black and Newt had to swallow down the lump of disappointment when the boy was sorted into Slytherin, not that he expected anything else. He didn't think they would ever have any interactions together, after all they were not only in different Houses but also different years. Not to mention an heir of Black House wouldn't have bothered with the likes of him anyway, a pureblood but just any other ordinary light wizard and the Hufflepuff outcast to boot.
But he seemed to have stumbled upon that very same boy just a day later, and probably in one of the most humiliating fashions.
Newt was left gaping unattractively as Lycoris Black made quick work of his recent tormentors, stripping them, sewing their lips shut, and tying them upside down by the ankles to the very tree branch he had been resting on with a quick flurry of nonverbal spells.
He didn't even know it was possible for a first year, a boy two years his junior, to be that advanced at magic. Hogwarts must be a bore for him, Newt thought in shock.
"Well aren't you going to get up? I doubt the floor is all that comfortable. Or sanitary."
The familiar arrogant drawl snapped him out of his musings and Newt flushed in embarrassment as he noticed he had been staring at the other like a lovestruck girl. He averted his eyes and clambered to his feet. It was at that moment that the accursed clumsiness decided to make its appearance again.
With a startled yelp, Newt tripped and fell again, this time taking the nearest stationary figure with him.
Which so happened to be one Lycoris Black.
Falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs, Newt winced as he looked down into the face that was a dangerously short distance from his own, their noses almost touching. The utterly shocked Slytherin's usual poise and lazy arrogance was currently nonexistent as silky ebony waves were ruffled and fell into wide green eyes which stared up at their owner's 'assaulter.'
A moment of silence in which Newt found himself slowly flushing red while thinking idly on the length of Lycoris Black's eyelashes. The Slytherin boy truly looked like a porcelain doll - large eyes, small face and long limbs. Not to mention how flawlessly pale and poreless his skin looked even this up close.
He was soon snapped out of the trance he had fallen into when -
.
.
.
"Would you get off me!"
With a huff, Lycoris pushed the taller boy off him and got up. Flicking the creases on his robes and tidying his appearance back to its usual flawlessness with a few quick irritated flicks of his wand, Lycoris glared at the Hufflepuff who finally managed to get up without being an accidental hazard.
This was the first time in his short life that he found himself entangled in such a ridiculous and undignified situation. Thank Merlin no one was here to see it otherwise his image would be ruined.
He was slightly regretting saving the 'Puff. He didn't think he had met such an awkward and clumsy person before. He was like a crup puppy tripping over its overly large paws all the time. It was pathetic enough that he couldn't even muster up the ire to curse him with an appropriately painful and embarrassing spell like he would have had it been any one of his minions.
"Sorry-Are you alright-I didn't mean to-Did I hurt you?!"
"Alright, stop. It's fine. I'm fine." Pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, Lycoris put a stop to the flustered rambling before the older boy could work himself into a nervous breakdown. Eyeing him warily, Lycoris began walking back up to the castle.
After a moment of dithering, the Hufflepuff boy followed. "Err. Is it alright to just leave them like that?"
"I placed a timer on the spell. The ropes will dissolve after dinner." Lycoris replied shortly.
A moment of silence in which only the shuffling of feet could be heard.
"Thank you. For back there. I don't know what that spell would have done but I'm glad it didn't hit me." Ducking his head the Hufflepuff peered with embarrassment through his curly tawny fringe.
He was abnormally tall for a third year though he tried to hide it with a horrid slouching posture and ducked head. He also had a habit of hunching into himself in an unconscious defensive gesture. His tan skin was also rather unfortunately freckled. He supposed the Hufflepuff had decent bone structure characteristic of purebloods but it was hidden underneath hair that could only be described as a curly mess. Combined with a painfully awkward and shy disposition, he didn't make a very inspiring picture.
"It was hardly to help you specifically. I was just feeling rather annoyed to be interrupted from my rest by a bunch of bumbling fools." The frown shot at the other's direction told him that he was included in the 'bunch of bumbling fools' description.
Strangely, the Hufflepuff did not seem offended or intimidated by Lycoris' acerbic tongue or glare. Everyone else had always been intimidated when he was in a mood.
That caused him to cast the other a second look.
"Why aren't you avoiding me at a respectful distance?" Lycoris demanded, rather childishly. Despite his maturity for an eleven year old, he was still a child in all senses of the word.
Suddenly, the Hufflepuff broke out into a wide-mouth grin that wrinkled the skin at the corner of his hazel eyes, "Should I be avoiding you at a respectful distance?"
The change was sudden as for some reason the Hufflepuff gained a spine and actually talked back to Lycoris.
Startled and out of his depth, Lycoris examined the strange Hufflepuff out of the corner of his eye. As long as he had been aware, everyone was always falling over themselves to either get in his good graces or were too intimidated to approach whether due to his status as a Black heir, his magical power and genius, or his status as a necromancer among those in the know. He stopped suddenly and turned to face the taller boy. "I'm Lycoris Sirius Black. Your name?"
"Oh! I'm Newt. Newton Artemis Fido Scamander, but I prefer Newt." The social awkwardness was back as he gingerly reached out to shake the offered hand, his tan callused one completely enfolding the pale slender one.
Lycoris hid his surprise at the name and narrowed his eyes at him, "Well, you should be avoiding me at a respectful distance. I'm a Black after all. And Artemis, really?"
Newt grinned sheepishly, "My mother wanted a girl. And I don't really care if you're a Black or not and I know you weren't trying to be hurtful before either. I can tell when people are trying to be hurtful." The last part trailed off into a whisper.
Lycoris frowned to himself, slightly uncomfortable. The Hufflepuff, for his bumbling plebeian ways, reminded him of Regulus. But unlike Regulus, he was completely harmless and soft like the crup puppy he was so similar to. He hardly believed he became a famed Magiczoologist by Harry's time.
"Are you being bullied?"
The blunt question left Newt at a loss for words but at the same time put him strangely at ease because he saw no pity in the other's intense eyes. "Not usually no and not by them. It was a coincidence that I bumped into them trying to steal a niffler from the Care of Magical Creatures enclosure."
"Hmm. And you decided to take on three older students on your own." Lycoris finished for him, taking note of the unspoken answer in 'not usually' and 'not by them.' He found he didn't quite like the idea of the silly crup puppy being picked on.
Newt flushed in embarrassment. "Not my most thought out moment but I couldn't let them take the niffler."
"You would have probably done well in Gryffindor. The majority seem to think being brave and chivalrous meant reckless idiocy."
"I'm not normally so reckless. My brother's the Gryffindor in the family." Newt protested halfheartedly.
"You're brother Theseus Scamander?"
"Oh, you know my brother. Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised, everyone knows him." Newt sounded torn between jealousy and pride.
"My brother Arcturus went to school with him, just a few years lower. He mentioned the Gryffindor Head boy one time. I personally don't know much about him nor do I particularly care to."
"Oh, alright." Newt appeared visibly cheered.
They soon neared the main doors and stepped into the Entrance Hall. The both of them stopped at the floor of the Hufflepuff common rooms and the stairs that would lead further down to the Slytherin common rooms.
Newt appeared nervous again and started to fidget in place, head ducked low into his chest.
After examining the increasingly nervous boy for a moment in amusement, Lycoris finally spoke up. "You should brush up on your repertoire of Shield Charms and defense spells. Throw in some curses and hexes as well. Maybe next time you can save yourself and your creature of the week. Oh and do something about that black eye, yes? I'll see you around Scamander."
Newt's head snapped up in surprise. "You-you're willing to be seen with me?"
Lycoris' eyebrows shot up in surprise before he raised his chin condescendingly, managing to look down his nose at Newt who was at least a head taller than him. "You're hardly a bad conversationalist, much better than Malfoy anyway. Despite your unfortunate resemblance to a crup puppy, I'm not opposed to being acquaintances."
Lycoris left Newt gaping after him, pleased with himself. Maybe Hogwarts wasn't all that boring after all.