AN: Hello everyone, I'm back with a new update! The response so far has been very uplifting. Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint :)

CH 05 Second Encounter

Newt spent the rest of the week stuck in a daze.

It was obvious to the point that even Leta, his brooding (and only) friend had even commented on it.

One afternoon during a free period, the two of them were companionably doing some reading for Potions in the library.

Looking up from his Potions text, Newt recalled that Leta was a Lestrange and despite being sorted into Hufflepuff hadn't been disowned. Surely the Lestranges must socialize in the same circles as the Blacks?

"Hey Leta, are you acquainted with Lycoris Black?" Newt winced a bit, he hoped that didn't convey his interest as obviously as he felt.

Looking up from her own Potions text, the Lestrange heiress, who already showed hints of a sultry beauty, raised her eyebrow in a mild show of surprise.

"I've seen him around at balls and galas held by pureblood families in the past. I've never spoken to him personally. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. I just thought he really stands out among the first years."

Leta tapped thoughtfully with her quill. "Yes well, the Blacks always command attention wherever they are, both good and bad. They are the closest thing to Wizarding royalty Britain has, their line stretching back to the Roman empire. It would be advantageous to be connected with one."

"Oh."

"I would be careful of him though. He may be just eleven but he is as adept at playing the political game as his older brother. There are also rumors that he's a necromancer, though I'm not too sure about that. Either way, he would eat up an earnest Hufflepuff like you in seconds and use your bones to pick his teeth."

Newt's eyes widened.

He thought back to his brief encounter with Lycoris Black. To be honest, the young Slytherin hadn't set any alarm bells. Intense and intimidating but not malicious or purposely cruel, judging by the mercy he gave the three Gryffindors. In fact, he sort of reminded him of the hippogriffs his family bred. Magnificent and dangerous with a prideful streak but only attacked others when provoked. And for a Slytherin, he had a surprisingly noble side and could be kind in his own way.

Newt didn't want to admit it, but he was absolutely fascinated in the way only magical creatures could ever inspire the same interest in him.

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"Ugh. I can't believe that muggle-loving fool gave us a twenty inch paper assignment when it's the weekend!"

Aurelius' whine drifted over to Lycoris who was laying on a sunny patch of grass a short distance away from his minions who were gathered under a large willow tree on the Hogwarts grounds. Much like many of the Hogwarts population, the eight Slytherins had decided to take advantage of the sunny warm weather characteristic of early autumn before it turned chilly.

Lycoris' eyes fluttered open to gaze off into the distance, his thoughts drifting to the Transfiguration professor Dumbledore, the 'muggle-loving fool' as Aurelius so aptly put it. He honestly did not see what his past self saw in him. He supposed he was a brilliant wizard but that was overshadowed by the fact that he was a cowardly Gryffindor who ran away from his mistakes committed in his youth. He also overcompensated by going to the other extreme of anti-muggle by being so blindly pro-muggle. Lycoris suspected Dumbledore to not even be all that knowledgeable of muggles despite his proclaims of embracing them. He himself could admit that muggles could be brilliant and despite his upbringing, he had nothing against muggles or muggleborns.

Lycoris just found him terribly hypocritical and to an extent harmful to the Wizarding way of life. It was all well and progressive to speak about embracing and learning from muggles but if it was at the expense of wizarding customs, rituals and even magic then that was when things got out of hand. If he adored muggles so much he should just snap his wand and live as one instead of expecting all the rest of the wizarding World to join in his mad crusade.

Speaking of Dumbledore, his ex-lover Grindelwald must be currently amassing his followers and establishing his power at this time. While he felt contempt for the upstart terrorist, he could at least respect his drive and ambition as well as his honesty. Grindelwald never bothered hiding his power hunger tendencies. Maybe that was why he ended up failing in his goals and hated by everyone. If you thought of it that way, Dumbledore was the more cunning and insidious of the two, managing to remain the most politically powerful wizard until his death by putting up an amiable muggle-loving facade.

It was old men like Dumbledore that were responsible for the wizarding world being so stagnant and corrupt. The long life of wizards made it possible for them to be in power much longer. The muggles got it right when they only voted their leaders into power for a set amount of time. Lycoris was also objective enough to admit that a lot of those old wizards in power belonged to the pureblood class he was part of. Still, Lycoris was very much of the opinion that the old should make way for the young. If there was one thing admirable about Grandfather Phineas, it was the fact that he retired and stepped down from his position as Lord Black in the Wizengamot in favor of his son.

While he wasn't sure he would be entering politics, he knew that he wasn't about to let Dumbledore assert the same amount of political influence he would in his life as Harry. As distasteful as he found the sheep of the wizarding world, even he wouldn't be able to stand watching the man ruining generations of young wizards and witches. And if a slight vindictiveness was behind his motives, well he was a Black after all.

Lycoris licked idly on a Sugar Quill as he ended his current train of thought. It wouldn't impact him in any way currently as Grindelwald's war wouldn't really be relevant for a few years yet. Not until the 1920s if this life coincided with Harry's timeline. And despite the magical participation in the first muggle World War just four years from now, he dismissed it as having nothing to do with him as well.

Getting up, he declared his decision to drop by the owlery to visit Zephyra. It was about time he sent a letter home.

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"We should really stop meeting in this type of situation. I find it rather distasteful, playing the role of white knight."

Standing at the top of the steps leading to the owlery, Zephyra perched on his shoulder, Lycoris stared down at the rather sorry form of one Newt Scamander.

The Hufflepuff only grinned happily, and in Lycoris' opinion, rather foolishly, as he eagerly approached to stand a couple of steps below the Slytherin.

"Thanks for earlier. So sorry about making you play white knight."

"What are you smiling about. And is that sarcasm?" Lycoris' lips turned down into an irritated scowl, not knowing that it appeared more like a pout than anything.

"No of course not, I'm just happy. No one has bothered helping me before." Newt answered earnestly with a hint of self-deprecation.

Turning around, Lycoris walked back into the owlery now that that whole boring business with shooing away irritating flies was done with. He didn't even know why he had acted without even thinking when he heard Newt's nervous stutter among the juvenile taunts just below the owlery.

"Is that your owl? He's magnificent." Newt gazed admiringly at Zephyra who preened at the praise, looking less fierce than usual.

"She's my familiar, Zephyra." Pleased, Lycoris preened in a similar fashion to his owl, to the secret amusement of the Hufflepuff who watched the both of them closely under his curly fringe.

"She's an eagle owl right? I recognize the breed, but I've never seen one this big, except for your brother's. May I touch her?" Newt asked eagerly. He had always been fascinated with magical creatures and Newt could tell that there was something different about Lycoris' owl.

Lycoris examined the older boy under lowered lashes. He then tilted his head in acquiescence. He wondered if this baby magizoologist could tell how special Zephyra was.

Lycoris was almost half-expecting Zephyra to snub the Hufflepuff so it was with a strange mix of emotions that he watched his familiar take surprisingly well to the other boy's attention.

Zephyra, as well as the rest of her feathery family, were excellent judges of character and also rather snobby. It took more than just having no ill intention towards their owners for them to accept the touch of another. To the consternation of Aurelius and the rest of his minions, only Regina had managed to charm Lycoris' familiar. And now it appeared another human had made his way into Zephyra's good graces.

Lycoris could admit that he felt far from displeasure at the turn of events. In such a large school, he had not expected to meet the Hufflepuff so soon nor did he expect him to be accepted by his familiar. It was not often Lycoris paid attention to those outside his social circle and arguably even the people he regularly associated with did not keep his interest for too long at a time. Which was why he was rather confused to find himself actually voluntarily keeping the company of Newt Scamander.

While he attached a letter to Zephyra and let her wing off, Lycoris idly commented, "Why is it that you always seem to attract bullies wherever you go?"

Tying his own letter to a Hogwarts owl, Newt replied in a self-deprecating manner. "Most people find me off-putting, I suppose. They think I'm weird for my interest in magical creatures. I've only one friend and that's because we share the same interest in magical creatures and are both equally outsiders in our House. I don't mind too much, I find animals to be much better company than my fellow witches and wizards anyway."

"Hmm. That's true, most people I've come across are shallow bores. It doesn't take much brainpower to figure them out."

"Really? I find them terribly confusing."

"It's not alchemy. You'll find that observing the details can tell you a lot about a person. In your case, maybe you should just think of wizards and witches as just another species of magical creature. If you look at them that way then it might lessen any discomfort in interacting with them." Lycoris casually advised.

Newt's eyes widened as he brightened considerably. "That's an idea. Did you know, when I first met you in the Forbidden Forest, you reminded me a lot like the hippogriffs my family breeds that I unconsciously reacted the same way. And judging by the fact that it went reasonably well, maybe I should apply the same idea to others!"

Newt yelped as he felt a Stinging Hex to his arm. Turning around he caught sight of adorably pursed lips and a furrowed brow. Smiling sheepishly, Newt hid his amusement and hurried to make amends, "Sorry, I got too excited. Maybe I should have kept that to myself."

"Hmph." There was not nearly as much irritation in that harrumph than Lycoris had intended. Was he going soft?

Still smiling, Newt trailed after the Slytherin as they both made their way to the Great Hall for dinner.

As they separated to go to their respective tables, Newt could hardly suppress the giddy feelings erupting in his chest. He never bantered this way with Leta, the only other comparison he could make on the subject of friends. It was surprisingly fun.

He wondered if Lycoris considered him to be a friend. He certainly did.

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"Was that a Hufflepuff you were speaking to just now?" Cyprian asked with some surprise. The others in the group also looked up with surprise. It was understandable as anyone who knew Lycoris knew that while he might be a natural leader with charisma and charm that made socializing a simple matter, he didn't go out of his way to seek people out. They normally flocked around him and it was up to Lycoris whether he wanted to respond or just ignore you. He would make an effort though, on the rare occasion when someone was interesting enough.

As one, all seven Slytherins turned and examined the Hufflepuff in question, covertly of course. As they watched the unaware boy knock over a goblet of pumpkin juice by accident, brows furrowed in confusion and some in disdain. But they knew better than to question their leader's decisions.

In a spur of the moment, Lycoris addressed his minions and the rest of the Slytherin table, "His name is Newton Scamander. I don't want to hear of anyone picking fights or making a nuisance of themselves with him, clear?"

Eyes practically bulged. Who was this Newton Scamander who caught the eye of Lycoris Black?

Lycoris ignored the whisperings as he focused on his dinner. He knew that Newt wouldn't be dealing with any bullies in the near future, at least not from the Slytherins and a good portion of others in the other three Houses.

The weight of a Black's word was quite considerable after all.