Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based on the Harry Potter Universe. All recognisable characters, plots, and settings are the exclusive property of Joanne Kathleen Rowling.
I make no claims to ownership, nor am I making any profit.
Some lines have been taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone. I'm not the owner of Harry Potter else, Harry would've been way more competent, and Sirius would've never died.
Type: Self-Insert OC Fanfic.
Pairings- Not decided yet.
Author's Notes: I'll be taking a lot of liberty with some canon knowledge of events, and specific facts have been liberally changed to better facilitate the story's plot.
Special thanks to AJAvenger01 and Madness Immortality & Magic for being the betas for the chapter.
My other fic, Dulce Periculum, is also something I've been working on. I hope you check it out. I also have a Discord Server where I talk more about the story and updates, the link for the server is in my profile.
Sortes Qui Facit
by
Ares Alexander Peverell
Year1: Rising Powers and Sorcerer Stones
Chapter6: Familia Prima
Ares, Daphne and Tracey were the first ones to arrive in the Transfiguration classroom. After placing his bag and taking out his books and quills, Ares made a beeline towards the tabby cat sitting on the cat.
"You're not the professor's cat, aren't you? What are you doing all alone here?" he spoke, picking the cat up and travelling to his desk.
He then proceeded to pet the cat who kept purring in satisfaction, lavishing the attention.
Hardly a minute had passed before the students started arriving. The Ravenclaws were surprised to see someone arrive before them. They looked around for McGonagall and finding her absent, they silently settled themselves in a corner of the class.
However, Ares was busy petting and scratching the cat. Taking out a bow from his pocket, he then proceeded to tie it around the reluctant cat while Daphne held it firmly.
Tracey, who had a cat herself, produced some catnip and fed the still struggling cat.
By now, the entire class was watching the byplay with a sense of confusion as well as amusement due to the cat's antics.
"Good, McGonagall isn't here," Draco Malfoy said, entering the classroom with a bang. The rest of the Slytherin first years soon followed before taking their places.
"Look Draco, Potter has brought a stupid cat with him. Is it gonna study for you, since you're not smart enough?" Pansy Parkinson laughed.
The rest of the Slytherins simply joined in the laughing and giggling, pointing it at the feline.
"No, the cat's here to teach, Parkinson," Ares replied calmly.
"You're worthless Potter. Just like your-"
A bell rang. The cat simply jumped and transformed mid-air into Professor McGonagall, interrupting Malfoy's words and settled a sharp gaze on all of them.
"Ten points from Slytherin, Miss Parkinson and Mr Malfoy," McGonagall said, giving them both a sharp glare. The two in question gulped heavily before lowering their heads in shame.
The entire class gaped at the scene. Even Ares was impressed, despite knowing that she was an animagus. The magic was simply astonishing. He assumed that this was used to impress the firsties and make them excited about the classes. Well, she was not wrong. There was anticipation for the upcoming class.
McGonagall transformed the deck into a pig before reverting it back into the table with a silent flick of her wand.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
As the class went on, Ares was disappointed to see that they were just discussing theory.
Ten minutes before the class ended, McGonagall asked them to change the matchsticks into the needle.
"Since we have very limited time, I do not expect any of you to succeed at all. I do not even expect you to do it until our third or fourth class. But it will prove good practice for you all to get started in the art Transfiguration. However, if at all, someone manages to do it, they would be exempted from the assignment." she informed them.
Ares stopped watching the entire class break into whispered murmurings of the spell as they tried to cast the spell. Everyone was busy trying to repeat the spell again and again. He wanted to stay under the radar, but the prospect of not doing the assignment was too good to pass.
Besides him, Daphne had managed to get her matchstick to look a bit more pointy. Tracey's matchstick also had a silver gleam to it. Many Ravenclaws were having the same dilemma.
"May I know the reason why you're daydreaming in my class, Mr Potter, instead of attempting the spell." snapped McGonagall, shaking him out of his stupor.
"Sorry Professor," Ares replied, apologetically.
Flicking his wand from the holster, he pointed it at the matchstick. Visualizing the transformation in painstaking detail, he moved his wand and murmured the incantation.
"Acus ad Inhero"
Instead of the matchstick, there was a gleaming silver needle on the desk. The Ravenclaws were giving him jealous and dirty looks. He ignored them before looking at the professor.
"He did it in his first attempt too." he heard Tracey blurt out in surprise.
McGonagall picked up the silver needle before proceeding to observe it intently. Ares gulped in nervousness. It looked as if he broke her.
"Umm… Professor?"
"Fifteen points to Slytherin, Mr Potter," said McGonagall, giving him a rare smile. "You possess your father's talent in transfiguration. He was the only person to do this transfiguration in his first attempt." The professor had a reminiscing look on her face.
The students left as soon as the bell rang, leaving the Transfiguration professor lost in old memories that reminded her so much of her favourite students.
The Charms class, Ares decided was going to be a fun class in his opinion. The diminutive charms professor preferred a more hands-on approach and loved to discuss theory and practical simultaneously.
Besides, this was also the first class he had with Harry. He could see his brother sneaking glances at him during the classes. Ares vowed to himself that he'll meet his brother today no matter what.
The Slytherin-Gryffindor class were currently practising the Lumos spell. Ares had managed to get it on the first try, getting jealous looks from everyone in the room. Granger though was looking at him jealously. Feeling happy, he winked at her before looking at his brother.
Since Granger was happy to answer all the questions, he had not bothered to raise his hands. Besides, he was happy with knowing the answers, no need to show it off.
Most of the class had managed to get the spell done except for Crabbe and Goyle who had lost their wands. It was made his head spin in sheer amazement.
After the lunch break, Ares was walking towards the DADA class. Penelope was kind enough to guide him towards the class when he had asked her. The other classes had been very informative and he had learned a lot of things. He would be the first to admit that he was more of a practical person.
However, the class he was most excited about was the DADA class. There could be no better teacher for that subject in entire Europe. No matter how knowledgeable Dumbledore was, he would've never practised the Dark Arts as extensively as Voldemort. And who was better for defending against it than the most feared Dark Lord in history.
Most of the Gryffindors were already present when he arrived. Harry was sitting in the front seat, clearly waiting for the class to start. Making up his mind, he moved towards the empty seat.
"Hello brother. Is anyone sitting here?" inquired Ares.
Harry looked at him with clear shock. He shook his head, signifying that it was empty.
"Good. I'm quite excited about this class," he said, attempting to make conversation.
The two brothers spent some time conversing with each other about various other topics. Ares tried to inform him as much as he could about wizarding customs without being obvious. He may admire Voldemort's success and brilliance, but he was not naive enough to consider that he was an enemy of theirs.
"G-G-Good Afternoon, class." Quirrel entered the class and greeted the students, which was returned in kind.
The man straightened himself before drawing himself to his full height. His eyes swept across the room in a calculating manner, before resting in the middle.
"Keep your textbooks inside. They are not needed," commanded Quirrel.
"You're all here to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, you cannot hope to defend against the unknown. So let me ask you? What is the Dark Arts" Quirrel questioned the class? Ares had to admit that it was an interesting way to start the class. Everyone was paying proper attention to the man.
"The Dark Arts are evil" shouted Ronald Weasley from behind.
Ares could see many students sharing the same sentiments as they murmured in agreement.
"Dark magic is used by dark wizards," said Lavender Brown
"It can be used to do wrong things."
"Slytherins practise dark magic."
Soon, arguments broke all over the class, with weirder and stranger theories erupting each second, Ares could see Quirrel smirk in amusement. Perhaps he had underestimated the man.
A loud bang erupted from the professor's wand. The whole class fell silent.
"I didn't ask what the Dark Arts can do. I asked what are they? " he asked them with a gleam in his eyes.
"Sir, Dark Magic is the magic that has been classified by the Ministry of Magic as such because it can be easily used to harm people. It was-" parroted Hermione Granger.
"- Quoting words from a textbook will earn you no favours from me, Miss Granger. I assure you, I'm quite capable in the art of linguistics and I can simply read a book if I want a textbook answer." Quirrel told her harshly, almost bringing the girl to tears.
"Back to my question, would anyone else like to add your opinion?" asked Quirrel, looking directly at him.
Ares raised his hand and was motioned by the professor to speak.
"I think that a spell is just a spell professor. Magic is not light or dark in my opinion. It's ridiculous to think so."
"But so many dark arts spells are used to harm people. I would certainly not say that it's not harmless. They're banned for a reason." he challenged, a smirk on his face.
"I don't deny that, Sir, but it's up to the castor how they intend to use the spell. It is us witches and wizards that have used these spells in the past. By this logic, every magical person should be in Azkaban prison."
"Then what should be the criteria between light and dark spells in your opinion?" Quirrelmort asked the class.
"Intent professor?"
"Are you asking me or telling me, Mr Potter?" the professor barked.
"Telling you, Sir"
"Sit down. The intent is the most fundamental building block of magic. It doesn't matter if you know the spell, wand movement or the incantation. If you don't want it to happen or think you can't, you will never be able to achieve it."
"Then why are they banned by the ministry, Professor?" he turned to see Blaise Zabini asking the professor.
"While it is not my prerogative to say, the ministry states that they can be easily misused by the wrong people to harm others."
"You don't agree with the ministry's opinion, sir?" Ares questioned the man. He wanted to know the man's perspective.
Quirrel turned to glare at him sharply. He simply adjusted his turban before addressing the class.
"As you stated Mr Potter, magic is magic. During my travels and studies, I've found out that anything can be used to help or harm others. It all comes down to intent. But that doesn't mean that the dark arts are not dangerous. They are extremely addictive and not something you should practise. However, you have to know your enemy to defeat it. Without proper information, you can't defend against the horrors of the dark arts."
Ares almost snorted. If only the class knew that Voldemort was almost quoting the Art of War, it would've been hilarious.
The class continued at the same pace and just like Transfiguration and Charms class, they were asked to try to perform defensive spells.
"The spell that we'll be trying to learn is the Sunlight spell. It's a derivative of the Lumos spell and can be used to repel a large variety of dark creatures since most of them are affected by the sunlight to a certain extent. The wand movement is a semi-circle and the incantation is Lumos Solem. BEGIN."
Since Ares had already perfected the spell, he performed the spell in a second attempt to make sure to avoid suspicion(and also gained ten points for Slytherin). Since it didn't look like Harry required any assistance, he turned to his other two classmates.
He had managed to help Daphne and Tracey who had managed to produce a weak burst of sunlight. He noted that Daphne's charms were significantly better than Tracey's. Although Tracey had been more suited to Transfiguration.
"Done brother?" he asked Harry who was rereading the spell. Ares knew that his brother had managed to cast a Lumos so it shouldn't give him much trouble. Even in his fifth attempt, the light was
"I'm trying to. But it's like the normal light spell. " Harry replied, looking frustrated. It was clear that he had been trying hard to concentrate. But with so much noise, it was hard to do so. Granger was trying to deafen the entire class with her loud spellcasting again and again.
"Granger, remain silent. Not everyone has finished." Ares snapped at her, finally fed up.
"Why does it matter to you? You have finished already." she looked at him as if he was crazy.
"Cause you're sitting behind me and disturbing my brother. Now keep quiet and let others do their work," he replied to the girl.
Harry looked at him warmly and gave a small smile before nodding back and getting to his work.
Ares observed him. He was doing everything correctly and yet the spell gave the same effect as an incorrectly cast Lumos.
"Intent brother. You have to mean for the light to be a sunlight beam and not a Lumos. You're doing everything correctly. Try imagining it. You can do it. " Ares encouraged.
Harry nodded at him before closing his eyes. Opening his eyes and the wand was moved into a semi-circular manner
"Lumos Solem"
A bright burst of yellow light almost blinded Ares. His eyes soon recovered to see a grinning Harry holding his wand.
"Excellent work" Ares praised his happy-looking brother who blushed in response.
"You did it before me though," he mumbled.
"Doesn't matter" Ares waved off the compliment. We're twins after all. All compliments are therefore divided." he joked making Harry laugh.
They spent the remaining fifteen minutes alternating between laughing and practising the Lumos Solem."
[Harry's POV]
The past few months of Harry's life were the most confusing moments of his eleven-year-old life. He had come to know that he was a wizard and that his parents were not drunken freaks. Rather, they were witches and wizards who had been killed by a Dark Lord. The same dark lord who had failed to kill him thereby giving him a cursed scar.
But the best news was when Hagrid had told him that he had a twin brother who was going to attend Hogwarts with him.
He had always wanted a family. The Dursley's were never his family as far as he was concerned. But he would admit that he was nervous. At school, Dudley had always scared of other people around him and he never had any friends. He just hoped that it didn't happen at Hogwarts too.
When he had first set the eyes on Ares, he was surprised when he was sorted into Slytherin. Hagrid and Ron had told him that every person sorted into Slytherin was bad. He just hoped that his brother would not turn out so.
Imagine his surprise when his twin joined him during the Defense class. Ares was a smart and dedicated student and he could do magic so easily. To his astonishment, his brother not only helped him with the spell but also started the conversation himself. It was the most he had talked to someone in years and he had loved every moment of it. When the class had ended, his brother had invited him to hang out in the evening.
Harry seriously feared that it was just a cruel joke and that Malfoy had somehow managed to play a prank on him. When he had told Ron, the boy had all but declared that he would not allow him to go alone to meet a Slytherin. Ron had also somehow managed to drag Neville Longbottom with him to protect him. Harry was still not used to having friends but if this was what friendship was, he liked it.
Ares, Daphne and Tracey were currently sitting in the corner of the library. He had invited the duo of girls to hang out in the evening along with a reluctant Susan (who had been too polite to refuse the offer). He sincerely hoped that they would join the offer.
Ares had almost screamed in delight when he had first set his eyes on the Hogwarts library.
He had managed to get a good spot in the library and was reading a rather excellent book on Magical Theory when Susan joined him along with a nervous-looking Hannah Abbott. Not a moment later, Daphne and Tracey had arrived. Judging by the familiarity of the four girls, Ares concluded that they knew each other quite well.
The group was soon filled with conversations and hushed laughter as they proceeded to tell each other about their classes.
Ares was surprised to see Neville Longbottom tagging along with his brother and Ron Weasley. The boy simply looked terrified with the prospect of meeting Slytherins and clearly wanted to be somewhere else. Although when he noticed the Hufflepuffs, he relaxed a bit.
"Harry. It's good to see you again." Ares welcomed him warmly, flashing him the happiest smile he could muster. "Weasley, Longbottom." he acknowledged their presence with a slight nod of his head.
"Potter" greeted both the boys, Weasley's with wariness, Longbottom's looked even more terrified.
"Call me Ares. We have two Potters here. Don't want others to get confused."
"We are here to make sure that you don't do any of the dark stuff to Harry." Weasley almost snarled (which looked rather cute when done by an eleven-year-old). His partner nodded meekly.
"Sure. Any friend of my brother is welcome here." he calmly replied, not taking the bait. Judging by the side-glances of his Slytherin companions, they expected a fight to break out.
After the initial fan-craze and the rapid questions being thrown Harry's way, the group settled into a cordial pace of talking and banter. Ares preferred listening to their conversations. It was surprisingly easy for eleven-year-olds to forget differences and simply start talking about anything. The conversation was currently about the Transfiguration class incident where Tracey was explaining to the others about the incident.
"And then Malfoy and Parkinson's face was so funny when the cat turned into Professor McGonagall." the girl exclaimed dramatically.
The banter soon turned into a study session as everyone realized that they had to do complete their homework.
"How were Potions and Herbology?" he asked, looking at the two girls.
"Potions was okay I guess. Snape is a scary teacher though."
"Herbology was fun, Professor Spout started us with the theory and even showed us a Devil's Snare," Hannah told him.
"No way, they are only found in the Amazon rainforests." Neville suddenly spoke, making the entire group look at him.
The boy turned beet-red. "I know a lot about plants and stuff since we have a big greenhouse," Neville murmured.
"I've heard about your greenhouse from my mother. She says that it has some of the rarest Potions ingredients in entire Britain." Daphne added her two cents.
"What's your favourite subject Pot- I mean Harry," asked Tracey.
"I like Defense Against the Dark Arts. Charms are was fun though," said Harry.
"Ares, why aren't you doing the homework," Weasley asked abruptly.
Before he could say anything, Tracey hastily interjected, "He did all the spells in the classes before everyone else. So he's free."
This interested Weasley a lot more, who simply grumbled before going back to work.
Ares was glad to see that the group was doing well. While adults couldn't achieve this in months, the first years had simply managed to make friends in a single setting. It was truly wonderful to see. Granted that it was more like him helping the others. But it was a good way to gain allies and friends.
"The innocence of youth is both a wonderful reality and a frightening hell."
Ares' stomach was grumbling when he reached the great hall for dinner. A bit of exploring later and he was back to his bed, with his familiar snoozing over his stomach.
[The Next Day]
Ares was currently sitting in the Potions class with Daphne as his partner since she had admitted that she had studied a lot about the subject.
Well, the Greengrass had an affinity for Potions, just like any other old family. The Potters themselves had an affinity for Transfiguration and Battle Magics. There was a reason why the family, despite being small was still standing. Numbers didn't matter when it came to an old line getting extinct. The Blacks were the prime example of that.
He snapped his attention back to the class as Snape entered the class in a very dramatic manner. Ares simply rolled his eyes at the attempt
Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at his brother's name.
"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — celebrity." Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands.
Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — just like Professor McGonagall's class. Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.
"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you to understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.…I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
More silence followed this little speech. Ares could see Hermione Granger on the edge of her seat as she looked desperate to prove that she wasn't a dunderhead. He had to give the man some credit, He had a certain flair for the dramatics.
"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. Ares looked at the man in confusion.
"The Gryffindor Potter." he sneered.
"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Ares could see Harry did not know the answer. Although to be honest, it was from the middle of the book and it was quite likely that most students had not read the book.
"I don't know, sir," Harry told the professor.
"Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." He ignored Granger's raised hand. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Ares narrowed his eyes as he saw Malfoy and his group laughing their heads off. Well, Malfoy had a certain way to earn his ire.
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" the professor taunted his brother.
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"You don't know the answer, do you? Thirty points from Gryffindor" ignoring the gasps from the lions, the man turned towards him before asking. "What about you, Slytherin Potter?"
"Powdered root of asphodel and an infusion of wormwood would give you a vile-smelling purplish-blue poison that can cause you food poisoning."
Snape sneered at him, but Ares was undeterred.
"However, when combined with Valerian Root, Sopophorous Bean, Sloth Brain and Moondew, it would create a sleeping potion so strong that it's called the Draught of Living Death."
"A bezoar is a magical residue that condenses in the stomach of a goat. It can be used to neutralize every poison in existence except for those derived from Dragon's Blood or Basilisk Venom. It has a very slight delaying effect on alchemically produced poisons but cannot neutralize them."
"As for the third question, Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same ingredients which also go by the name of Aconite. "
"What are its properties. Name a potion that uses the ingredient?" barked Snape.
"It's highly toxic and absolutely lethal for werewolves. It's the main ingredient for the Wolfsbane Potion which has been invented by you, Professor." Ares answered back.
"Name a potion that uses both Boomslang Skin and Fluxweed."
This was a tough question for Ares. Both the ingredients were highly unstable when combined. He paused for a second before answering back what he read from the Potions book he had researched yesterday.
Snape was looking at him with a cruel glint in his eyes. Well, time to wipe it off.
"Polyjuice Potion and Elixir of Immunity, Sir," he replied respectfully.
"A Potter who has opened a book. Will wonders never cease." he then looked at Harry. "At least your brother has some sense in him, Gryffindor Potter. Forty points to Slytherin"
The lesson started after the byplay. The class was brewing a boils-cure potion and it looked like most of the class were being careful to follow the instruction.
Snape swept around in his long black cloak, watching the students weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like along with ignoring him and the other Slytherins.
Snape was just showing everybody the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and the potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Ares had managed to shield Daphne in the time since she was too attentive towards the potion to see the incident.
Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.
The class continued after Neville was taken to the hospital wing. Ares and Daphne were the first ones to submit the potion. Malfoy followed after them and soon the entire class was finished.
Ares thanked his luck that he had focused more on the Potions theory. He may have excelled in theory, but practical was harder in his opinion. He was capable of following the instruction, but the sheer innovation and interest wasn't something he possessed for the subject. Snape didn't help matters either.
Only time would tell. Nothing can hide from the sands of time after all.
Another chapter done guys and I'm pretty sure you've been pretty excited about how the story is gonna progress. And I've been busy with a lot of stuff these days. I'm also updating the Prologue and chapter1 to ensure that the start of my story is more smooth and blended with the plot. Make sure to read them again.
I have a request for my readers. I have a Discord server where I post contents that is relevant to the SQFverse and I'd appreciate you there. The community also has several fellow writers and if you're interested in writing, that's the place you can get all the guidance and the start you need.
Discord Link- /6ngeKHXktN
You're all welcome to Thestral Manor. Our server is a lot more open-minded than most others, so I'm pretty sure we can have productive discussions as well as get a taste of Mim's sharp tongue xD.
Yours sincerely,
Ares Alexander Peverell,
