Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. belong to J.K Rowling, not myself.
A/N: Wow, the response to this story is amazing. You guys rock!
I've had a few questions relating to Sirius and his role in this story. I can assure you guys that Sirius will play a role in Orion's life and I have everything all worked out. So, don't worry!
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, its a bit fluffy and what not, but I rather like it. Lots of Protective, Big Bro Draco.
R/R!
Chapter 4: Red Faced Weasels.
Orion settled himself in a seat in Transfiguration, making sure he sat on the designated 'snake' side of the room. His eyes slid over to the Gryffindor side of the room, Ginny was in this class, along with a few other Gryffindor fourth years he knew. He sighed, opening his book and staring down on it. He swallowed anxiously, he was not looking forward to this class, well he was looking forward to focusing on his school work if that meant anything, but he was not looking forward to the potential drama that would ensue pending on the Gryffindor reaction to his presence.
"Hey Harry" Ginny's voice sounded in his ear, startling the young Malfoy from his thoughts. He stiffened, turning silver-blue eyes on the red-head, watching her eyes widened at the sight of him. He felt the urge to sigh, it had been everywhere, the Prophet, the Quibbler, Witch Weekly that he was no longer Harry Potter, that he was Orion Malfoy, but of course, his former friend would insist on calling him Harry, probably trying to remind him of his duty and everything he wanted to forget.
"Harry I'm talking to you" Ginny said, poking his shoulder sharply. He sucked in a breath, glaring at her now.
"I'm not Harry" He snapped, "My name is Orion, Orion Malfoy" He was attempting to channel his inner Lucius Malfoy, or something similar.
"You're name is Harry" Ginny snapped, shaking his shoulders, where her hands had remained after poking him. "You've always been Harry. You can't let the Malfoys seduce you Harry. You have us, we're a better family then them any day" She said, shaking him again.
"Let me go Ginny" Orion growled, pulling away from her as much as the desk would allow.
"They're my family. Mine" He snapped back at her, "Harry Potter died Ginny, he died fourteen years ago. I am Orion Malfoy" He said, nodding his head sharply.
"No you're not" Ginny argued, letting her hands fall to her side. "You're Harry Potter, you're a Gryffindor and the Saviour of the light. You are not a slimy, evil snake or a Malfoy" She argued. "You can't decide after one summer to just throw all that away. The Malfoys don't love you Harry, we do" She argued, her face beginning to turn red as she grew more and more angry.
Orion snorted loudly.
"If you loved me, why did no one check on me?" He asked, his tone cold, very similar to Draco's when his older brother was angry. "I was left alone in that muggle hell, no one came to check on me, to see if I was okay or anything. Bloody Fudge came to get me Ginny! Fudge!" He snapped, "And only because my wand was giving off sparks and it alerted the Ministry to the use of Under Age magic" He growled. "If you gave a damn about me, if any of you did someone would have come to check on me" He snapped, "So excuse me if I embrace my new family. My real family, the people who helped me recover from everything, who are still helping me" He growled. "I am happy with everything I have now Ginny. Let me have that, let me be happy for the first time in my bloody life" And with that he returned his expression to the front of the class, just as Professor McGonagall stalked in.
"Please be seated Miss. Weasley, class is about to begin" The stern Transfiguration teacher said primly, moving to the front of the room.
-Blood-
Draco shook his head in disgust as he stalked out of the Potions' classroom.
"Calm down Draco, Weasley's not worth getting so upset over" Blaise said, resting a calming hand on his best friend's shoulder as they made their way towards the Great Hall for lunch.
Draco shrugged Blaise's hand off, flopping onto the bench, a scowl still on his face.
"Draco" Blaise murmured, "I know Weasley was off base, mouthing off about Orion like that, but he's a Weasley, he's uncouth and uneducated, he's not worth getting all upset over" The Italian teen said, shaking his head and trying to calm his friend.
Draco glanced at Blaise, letting out a sigh as he finally began to calm down.
"You're right, he's not worth it. He just pissed me off" Draco muttered, "Calling Ori names, hinting about his abuse, that he deserved it" Draco hissed, scowling at the goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him.
"I know Draco, it pissed me off too, but don't let him realize that" Blaise said, watching Orion wander over, a frown on his face.
"I know Blaise" Draco murmured, composing himself as Orion flopped down next to Draco.
"You alright?" Draco asked, his anger melting away into concern, Ori looked pissed off and shaken and that worried him immensely.
"Ginny" Ori muttered, beginning to pile small bits of food onto his plate. Draco arched an eyebrow at Orion, looking expectantly at his younger brother.
"Oh?" The older blond drawled, looking at the younger teen, a serious expression on his face.
"She was just being really irritating in Transfiguration" Orion explained, nibbling on some potatoes. "She was calling me Harry, going on about how I didn't belong with our family, that you didn't care for me" He said, "It just sucked" He murmured, rubbing a hand over his face and looking at his brother with a shrug.
"Ah" Draco said, shooting a glare at the Gryffindor table. "Don't listen to a word she said" He muttered, "We love you, you're a Malfoy" He said, rubbing his brother's shoulder.
"I know, I told her as much, it just irritated me" Orion said, taking a bite of his chicken.
Draco nodded in understanding, though he was pleased to see that Ori hadn't let the Weaselette get under his skin and make him second guess his place in their family.
"I told you today was going to suck" Orion muttered, smiling wryly at his brother.
"I believed you" Draco muttered, chuckling lightly as he absentmindedly put a bit more food on Orion's plate, ignoring his brother's huff of annoyance.
-Blood-
Orion slowly made his way into the Potions' classroom, chewing his lip nervously for a moment. He knew he and Professor Snape, or Uncle Sev, were on far better terms then they had been when he had been Harry Potter, but the classroom still inspired a certain sense of dread and fear in the pit of his stomach.
Carefully, Orion made his way towards a table on the Slytherin side of the room, shooting a light grin at the other fourth year snake sitting there.
"Orion right?" The boy asked, looking at him curiously.
"Yes, Orion Malfoy" Orion responded with a grin. "I'm sorry I don't know you're name" He said, blushing lightly.
"Dominick Warrington" The other teen said with a smile. "My friends call me Nick though" He said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you" Orion responded, grinning lightly at the other teen, pleased that he had succeeded in making a friend of his own, without Draco's help.
"Want to be my partner?" Nick asked, arching a dark eyebrow at Orion. The younger Warrington had dark hair, almost black which was cut short. He had pale skin, and brown eyes which were slightly sunken into his face. He had squared shoulders and was taller then Orion, which wasn't really all that surprising.
"Sure" Orion said, glancing up as Professor Snape came billowing into the room, scaring the Gryffindors. It was rather interesting to be on the other side of the room for a change for Orion, he had, instinctively, tensed when Uncle Sev had swept into the classroom, barking at them to get their books out. Instead, he watched in interest as Uncle Sev growled at the Gryffindors while shooting covert looks at his own students, looks of encouragement or contentment, it was startling to see this side of the man.
"Today, as you all should know, we will be brewing the Wit-Sharpening Potion" Professor Snape snapped, once he had finished stalking around the classroom.
"The instructions" He purred silkily, "Are on the board" He said, tapping the board with his wand, his spidery script appearing as he did so.
"You may begin" He added, seemingly taking pleasure in watching the mad scramble ensue as students rushed off to get supplies.
"I'll get the supplies" Nick offered, letting Orion begin to set up the cauldron. Orion nodded, focused on carefully getting the fire lit underneath the cauldron and to the proper temperature. He was well aware of a few of the Gryffindor students glaring at him as they brushed past his table on their way to the ingredients cupboard.
Once Nick had returned, the two boys began working in tandem, dicing, mashing, measuring, cutting ingredients before slowly adding them to the cauldron.
"Once you have added the armadillo bile, your potion should be turning a lilac colour" Snape drawled, peering into Ginny's cauldron and sneering.
"Once you have finished, bottle up a sample of your potion and place it on my desk. Once your station is clean, you may leave. I expect a two feet of parchment on the different uses of ginger root to be handed in at the beginning of next class" He said, ignoring the collective groan of students.
Orion carefully poured a measure of his and Nick's potion into the glass vial, admiring the lilac colour. It was nice to correctly brew a potion for a change, he had realized he was capable of brewing potions over the summer when his father and Draco had spent some time teaching him. It also helped having Uncle Sev on his side for a change, instead of making nasty comments and breathing down his neck.
While he handed the potion in, Nick quickly tidied up their work space and the two snakes were awarded ten points for following directions. It was the first time ever that Snape had awarded Orion any points, and he couldn't stop beaming. It was a thrilling feeling, of course Nick thought he was nuts, the other teen had been awarded points by Professor Snape consistently in his three previous years at Hogwarts. It seemed to Orion that Nick had forgotten who he had once been, not that that bothered Orion, for the time being he very much just wanted to forget being Harry Potter and everything that entailed.
-Blood-
Draco strolled tiredly out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom absolutely stunned. This had to be a sick joke right? He knew the Ministry had been concerned about Hogwarts for some time, but to assign that, that creature as a Professor was beyond comprehension.
The woman, Dolores Umbridge, had been at the Welcoming Feast, but he had paid her little mind, more focused on Orion and the sorting. Now, having actually been near the woman, he was beyond disgusted. She had assigned some awful textbook for them to read, and just read. This was going to be an entirely theoretical defense class, which was horrific.
"Well that was...interesting" Theo finally commented, his own face drawn in a scowl as he walked with Draco and Blaise, Vince and Greg were a few steps behind them, as were the girls.
"Mhm" Blaise commented dryly. "I thought it was impossible for a class to be more boring then History, today I was, and I will only admit this one, proven wrong" The Italian said, chuckling as Theo rolled his eyes at him.
Draco sighed, "That was by far the worst Defense class we've ever had and that includes Lockheart"
Blaise snickered, ignoring the scathing look his blond friend sent him.
"And you kept saying that there would never, ever be a Professor worse then Lockheart" Blaise teased.
"Well I was wrong, I can't believe the Ministry managed to scrounge up someone worse then that pretender" Draco snapped, clearly not in the mood to be teased. Blaise sighed, letting the topic drop, not wanting to upset the blond anymore. It was obvious to him that Draco wasn't just upset over the class, but over Weasley and everything else and his mother had always taught him that it wasn't safe to bate a Malfoy, even if it was fun.
The group of fifth year Slytherins made their way into the Great Hall, sour faces and goofy grins immediately vanishing behind well practiced masks. Draco was mildly relieved to see Orion already seated at the Slytherin table, speaking with Dominick Warrington. While Draco wasn't the biggest fan of Dominick's older brother, Charles Warrington, he was pleased to see that Ori had made a friend in Slytherin.
"Hey" Draco murmured, sitting down next to Orion, "Dominick" He said, inclining his head to the younger student.
"Hey" Orion beamed, pouring himself a goblet of pumpkin juice.
"Draco" Nick murmured, carefully placing some potatoes on his own plate.
"How were classes? No more incidents with Gryffindors?" Draco asked his younger brother, looking pointedly at his own relatively bare plate. Orion sighed, but carefully spooned some more food onto his plate, looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye, waiting for his small nod of approval at the amount of food added.
"Good, no incidents. It was interesting being on Professor Snape's good side" Orion said with a small shrug.
"He is rather nice when he's not growling at you" Draco said with a small smile.
"I didn't blow anything up" Orion said with a pleased smile, causing Draco to smile in return. He rather enjoyed seeing Orion smiling and happy, he had been a bit worried about Orion going to Uncle Sev's class, even though everything had been sorted between the two. He wasn't sure how Orion would react to Potions' class in general.
Silence fell over the table as the group of Slytherin students began to eat, speaking only occasionally and in hushed whispers. The Ravenclaw tables were equally quiet, though Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, the latter in particular, were rather boisterous.
-Blood-
Draco shifted, flexing his shoulder lightly as he looked over his Defense essay. It wasn't due for a week, but he wanted to get it done right away, particularly since he knew Uncle Sev and McGonagall would have some major assignments due in the next few days and those deserved his best effort, not this rubbish.
Orion was playing chess in the corner with Dominick, or rather, Dominick was attempting to teach his brother how to play. It was rather amusing to watch, since Ori definitely was not a chess player. He kept a careful eye on his brother as he worked however, noticing that Orion was occasionally rubbing his injured hand, flexing it lightly beneath the light bandages. He wondered vaguely if he should fetch their Uncle, he had a salve for Ori's hand when it was bothering him. It was going to for awhile, according to the Healers at least.
"You alright?" Nick asked Orion curiously, seeing his friend wince every time he moved his hand.
"Just sore" Orion responded, smiling grimly at Nick in what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
Draco glanced over at Orion again, having heard what his brother said, frowning, he rose, leaving his essay unfinished as he approached the table.
"Lets go see Uncle Sev" He murmured, resting his hand on Ori's shoulder. "He has some salve for your hand" The older blond murmured.
Ori looked torn for a moment, looking at the game and Nick before nodding at his brother.
"I'll be back in a bit" Orion said to his friend, a small sigh escaping him as he rose from his seat and followed after Draco.
Arriving at the portrait that hid the entrance to the Potion Master's chambers, Draco knocked carefully on the frame. Uncle Sev had chosen a notoriously nasty portrait to guard his door and the painting tended to get angry and rather loud if they bothered him.
After only a few moments, the portrait swung forward in a manner similar that of the Fat Lady who guarded Gryffindor Common Room.
"Enter" Sev's silky tones came from inside, and both boys quickly scrambled inside, the portrait banging shut behind them.
"May I ask why you're here?" Severus drawled, he was seated in his small living room, the fire roaring as he sipped his tea, an abandoned potions' manual in his lap. Sev's chambers were decorated mainly in greens, though he had black furniture. He had a small kitchen and living room along with a moderately sized washroom and bedroom. He even had guest chambers, and a private potions' lab which was attached to the main lab and his classroom and office.
"Orion's hand is acting up" Draco explained, Ori was half behind him, still a little shy and apprehensive around the man.
"Oh?" Severus murmured, setting aside his tea and going over to his storage cupboard.
"It's been aching on and off all day" Orion explained, his voice soft, "It started to really hurt just a little while ago" He added, letting his older brother man handle him into one of Sev's stiffer kitchen table chairs.
"Let me take a look" Severus murmured, sitting down opposite Orion, a pot of cream next to him. Orion nodded, letting his bandaged hand rest on the table between them, palm up.
Draco stood behind his brother, hands on his shoulders as Severus began to unravel the off-white bandage. Ori winced at the tugging sensation on his still raw wounds, and Draco winced as he saw the angry cuts and still rough burns which dominated his brother's skin.
"Hmm" Severus drawled, uncapping the cream and gently lifting Orion's hand to examine the injuries. "These aren't healing as well as we had hoped" He murmured, we being himself and the Malfoy parents.
"Oh?" Draco asked, Orion's eyes were clenched shut, it hurt when people touched his injuries and he found closing his eyes and praying for it to stop seemed to help.
"See how inflamed the burns still are? How puffy the cuts?" Severus murmured, carefully pointing the injuries out to Draco.
"I see" The older bond said with a small frown. "What does it mean?" He asked, rubbing Orion's shoulder soothingly.
"It means he has a slight infection in his injuries, plus all the use of his hand lately has aggravated his injuries, hence the aching and soreness" Severus explained as he scooped some cream up and carefully began rubbing it on Orion's injuries. He suppressed a wince as Orion let out a little gasp and a few tears leaked from beneath his tightly clenched eyelids at the pain.
"Does he need to see a healer?" Draco asked worriedly as he watched his godfather.
"I'll keep an eye on the injuries, if they don't improve or get worse then yes, he will need to see a healer" Severus murmured, carefully putting the cream down and wiping his hands off. Taking a fresh role of bandages, he gently began to wrap Orion's hand back up.
"You'll need to come see me every evening, after dinner" He murmured to Orion, smiling reassuringly at the boy, even though the soft expression looked very out of place on his face. "Try and use your left hand as much as possible, I know that's difficult, particularly in classes that use spell work, but you need to take some of the pressure off of your right hand. You might want to practice writing and wand work with your left hand in your spare time as well" Severus murmured, "You know you won't regain full use of your right hand, which will have repercussions for your wand work, you need to start learning how to use your left hand for spells and what not" Severus said, finishing his wrapping job.
"I-I'll try" Orion said, his voice shaky as he pulled his hand back and cradled it against his chest.
"Good" Severus said with a small smile, "Care for some tea before you leave?" He asked curiously.
"Please" Draco murmured, knowing Orion wanted to regain some of his composure before returning to the Common Room, though the atmosphere in Slytherin house was more relaxed behind close doors, one did not walk in sobbing unless they had very good cause. And while, in Draco's mind, Ori had very good cause to be crying, he knew the other snakes would see the tears as weak and use it against him later on, it was just a Slytherin thing to do.
"Thanks" Ori murmured, flashing Severus a watery smile as the man pressed a cup of tea into his shaking hands. He had laced it with a mild calming draught, knowing the teen would sleep better with a bit of help.
"Anytime" Severus murmured, settling down opposite Draco after he handed his godson a steaming mug.
"Are you gonna owl Mum and Dad?" Orion asked Severus curiously, sounding much more under control after a few sips of tea.
"Yes, they need to be informed about the infection. I know your father will want your healer to look at it, if it gets that bad" Severus explained. Orion nodded, taking another sip of the warm liquid.
"Why not just have Madame Pomfrey look at it?" Orion asked, ignoring Draco's scathing expression and snort of amusement.
"Because Madame Pomfrey is just a medi-witch, not a fully qualified healer" Severus explained. "She can handle broken bones and other minor injuries, but your hand requires greater finesse, and Healer Lawrence has worked on your hand previously, its better for her to see it, then someone inexperienced with the injury" Severus added at Orion's confused look.
"Oh" The teen murmured, "Okay" He said, he didn't want to go back to Mungos, he had had it with that place, but he did like Healer Lawrence.
Draco smiled, glad Uncle Sev was able to explain why Pomfrey wouldn't be involved in his healing in a diplomatic manner, he would have just snapped that she was an under-qualified, incompetent, fussy old woman. Which probably wouldn't have gone over to well.
-Blood-
Orion yawned, clambering into bed tiredly, it had been an exhausting day, first with classes and then with seeing Uncle Sev for his hand. Thankfully the appendage felt better now, though he still felt an irritating throbbing sensation in his palm, it was nothing compared to the ache that had been there earlier.
He sighed, he normally would think over the day, however now he was bloody tired and wanted nothing more then to go to sleep. So, for once instead of his agonizing journey to sleep, he drifted off without a problem, unaware that it was probably because of his tea laced with a calming draught earlier.
Draco heaved a small, yet satisfying sigh of relief as he rolled up his Defense essay. It was probably one of the worst essays he'd ever written, but he was extremely thankful to be done with it, regardless of the poor grade he was likely to receive.
"Done already?" Theo asked, peering over the blond teen's shoulder, a frown on his face.
"Already? Bloody essay took me forever" Draco grumbled, "Total garbage, that textbook is useless" He said, glaring at Defense Magical Theory as if his eyes could set it on fire.
"Agreed" Blaise said, shaking his head. "When I saw that text on our book list.." He trailed off shaking his head.
"My Father was pretty disgusted by it" Draco admitted, "He knew the Ministry wanted to have a bit more of a hand in education here, but even he thinks this is ridiculous. I owled him about Umbridge, she's the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, she has no background in education, nor any interest until recently" Draco added, wrinkling his nose in annoyance.
"What book did the fourth years get?" Theo asked curiously.
"Same rubbish as us, just an earlier addition, same author and everything" Draco said with a sigh. "How are we supposed to pass our OWLs with this nonsense being taught?" He asked, it was mainly a rhetorical question then anything else.
"We're not" Pansy pipped up, having been drawn into the conversation when Draco began discussion his Father's opinion on things. Most everyone was curious about Lucius Malfoy's take on certain events.
"I heard some Gryffindors talking about creating a defense group" Daphne Greengrass, a friend of Pansy's murmured.
"How? Umbridge won't allow anything like that" Draco murmured, "She has no intention of any of us learning defense, unless we want to use these books to beat someone of course" He said, gesturing at the textbook on the desk.
"I have no idea, it was just Granger and Weasley discussing it, muttering something about defending themselves form the danger outside of school" She added, flicking her golden-blond hair over her shoulder in an absentminded manner.
"Danger outside of school being the Dark Lord of course" Pansy said, rolling her eyes. "Like a defense group of Gryffindors would be effective against the Dark Lord or any of his Death Eaters" She added, sniffing disdainfully.
"At least they'd pass their OWLs though" Blaise said, "I mean, fifty percent of our grade is based on practical spell work, none of us are going to pass at this rate" He said, shaking his head. "Maybe we should ask Professor Snape for some private, in-house tutoring" He mused.
"That might not be such a bad idea, Umbridge doesn't seem to hate Slytherins as much as she does Gryffindors, as long as Uncle Sev was working with us, she might not say no" Draco murmured thoughtfully, "At least we'd have a shot at passing. My parents will kill me if I fail defense, I mean history they'd understand, they had Binns, but defense? That would be unforgivable" He said, wrinkling his nose at the thought.
"All our parents would kill us" Pansy said, admiring her fingernails for a moment. "I think we should approach Professor Snape though, see if he'd be willing to teach us at least a few of the spells that will be on the OWLs" She said, letting her hands fall into her lap.
"Agreed, we'll talk to Professor Snape" Draco said, as the others nodded, even Vince and Greg, which was surprising since they rarely paid attention to much going on beyond what time dinner was and who they got to pummel.