Matou Shinji and the Heirs of Slytherin
A Harry Potter / Fate Stay Night Story
Disclaimer: Though I wish it were otherwise, I do not own or in any way, shape or form hold a legal or moral claim to elements of either the Nasuverse, the Potterverse, or other works I may reference in the course of this story.
Summary: Trouble is brewing in the Wizarding World. In the wake of the Stone Incident, Albus Dumbledore has begun quietly preparing Britain to survive the coming war. The Stone Cutters, a new organization at Hogwarts for the most talented and distinguished of students, seek new blood to bolster its strength. The Boy-Who-Lived seeks his destiny as the Heir of Slytherin. And a boy from the east meets a specter of the past.
Chapter 31 In the Darkness of a Labyrinth
As he stood before the assembled staff and students at Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy was not particularly happy. But then, this was no new state of affairs, given that the man was usually dissatisfied with how things were in Magical Britain, especially in the last decade. When he'd graduated from Hogwarts long ago, joining the retinue of the powerful and charismatic Lord Voldemort, he'd thought there would be an opportunity for change – to stop the influx of Muggleborn and half-breeds into wizarding society, so that the purebloods would not be threatened in their rightful place as leaders.
A place they deserved, for it was they, not the Muggleborns, who had built Magical Britain and its institutions into powerful bastions of magic that all of Europe once envied.
…and then, Albus Dumbledore had come onto the scene, after his…fortuitous defeat of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald after years of bloody war. War that had hammered the rest of Magical Europe, but not Britain.
Lucius Malfoy had always found Dumbledore's intervention to be rather convenient, given that the widely acknowledged "most powerful wizard of his era" had not stopped Grindelwald shortly after his initial rise to power. Instead, the man who would later be known as a staunch champion of the light had let Grindelwald commit atrocity upon atrocity, terrorizing the Magical Nations of Europe and wearing down what resistance they offered until they were nearly at the point of collapse – with Grindelwald on the cusp of declaring himself Emperor of Europe.
It was then – and only then – that Dumbledore had intervened, defeating Gellert Grindelwald in a three-hour duel that became the stuff of legends – one of the greatest duels of all time, according to witnesses. The aftermath was much less clear.
Most believed that Dumbledore had slain Grindelwald for his crimes, though a few – including Malfoy – believed that the Dark Wizard was still alive, perhaps imprisoned in his old fortress until Dumbledore needed yet another bogeyman to scare Magical Europe into compliance.
But they said nothing, given that after the duel, Dumbledore put aside his own wand and openly used the wand with which Grindelwald had killed so many – a stark symbol of dominance that most didn't overlook.
Indeed, in those days, it was easy for the man to ascend to the heights of power. Emperor, perhaps, might have been beyond him, but not much else. Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, even Minister – though he had turned that last position down, claiming he didn't want power, and simply wanted to be Headmaster of Hogwarts.
'And yet he accepted everything else as his due…'
That fact alone was very telling of the man's character – his capacity for deceit and manipulation. Given Lucius Malfoy's knowledge of the two, he'd had had no doubts that Dumbledore was using his influence to shape Britain in his image without the legal constraints of the legal of Minister.
Lord Voldemort had tried to do the very same thing, after all, though in his case, Dumbledore and his forces had put up a staunch, but what seemed an ultimately futile resistance. In the end, the Ministry was close to falling, and everything seemed poised for the Dark Lord's triumph.
Only then, the Dark Lord had fallen, and Harry Potter had become the Boy-Who-Lived.
Not that Lucius Malfoy himself believed that the boy had any special properties – he'd assumed that Dumbledore had laid some kind of trap, one he'd cold-bloodedly sacrificed the lives of his Order and the Minstry's Aurors to lay. The man did have a penchant for long-term plans, after all, given his actions during the Grindelwald conflict, and never minded seeing other die as long as he triumphed in the end.
It had taken some rather convoluted bargains and some…generous donations to the Ministry to avoid being sent to Azkaban after that, but Malfoy had managed. After all, as he was so quick to point out when questioned, he was a victim of the Dark Lord as well, an upstanding member of society who had been caught under the Imperius Curse.
And it had worked.
After the Dark Lord's reign of terror, all Magical Britain had wanted to do was have everything go back to the way it was, so they accepted him at his word – well, with the considerably Malfoy fortune helping them to come around to his point of view.
In the years since, he'd made a point of studying Albus Dumbledore and his career in detail, learning the man's preferred tactics, leadership style, associates and histories. Ruling from the shadows, not claiming certain positions so that one could presume to speak from the moral high ground – and in the interests of the "greater good" (a term that Grindelwald himself had been fond of using), and whatever means were necessary to discredit one's opposition.
And yes, how to entrap people who had believed they had succeeded.
It was unfortunate that this focus had kept his attention from the matter of the Boy-Who-Lived, who had disappeared from the awareness of Magical Britain for many years, with Lucius believing him to be a figurehead, and not much else. He'd hoped that when the boy inevitably came to Hogwarts, that his son Draco – once a large fan of the Potter boy (and he would know, given that he had had to buy Draco every single book concerning the Boy-Who-Lived) would be able to sway him.
Alas, it was not to be.
Everything had seemed as if it would go smoothly at first, with the boy being sorted into Slytherin, under the supervision of Malfoy's old friend Severus Snape…but the Boy-Who-Lived had ignored the subtle – and not-so-subtle – offers of support or alliance from pretty much every faction in the House, much to Draco's frustration. His only known contact at the time was one Matou Shinji of Ravenclaw, which made Lucius wonder exactly where the Boy-Who-Lived had been hidden away for the last decade.
What had Potter learned? What were the boy's ambitions? What was he capable of?
He'd learned that the hard way after Draco had…needlessly antagonized the boy, setting a snake on him during a meeting of the dueling club – at which the Boy-Who-Lived had demonstrated his abilities as a Parselmouth and ruthlessly crushed Draco without casting a single spell.
Lucius remembered the accounts he'd heard, of how the Boy-Who-Lived had simply issued a command, and the snake had turned on its summoner. He'd seen the memory supplied by Dumbledore, of course, as well as the written affidavit from Filius Flitwick that Potter had simply not wanted to be hurt…but it would be generous to say he was skeptical as to its veracity.
Memories could be altered, especially by a master Legilimens – which Albus Dumbledore most certainly was.
And in the wake of the incident, Potter had laid open claim to the title of Heir of Slytherin, and every faction of the House of Slytherin had fallen in line with his agenda, seeking his favor, attempting to ply him with sweet words or other such. Even the heiresses of Greengrass and Parkinson had begun to express their interest in a match, according to the admittedly bitter account of his son.
Still, this would have been manageable enough, save that at the end of the year, the Boy-Who-Lived and his band of…Stone Cutters had been honored with rank in the Order of Merlin. At that point, the Boy was a potential threat – and such threats were best…derailed early. As such he'd given the Diary of T.M. Riddle, left to him by the Dark Lord as a way to cause chaos in Hogwarts, to Matou Shinji, in the belief that the boy's Ravenclaw curiosity – and presumably his newfound confidence from defeating a Dark Wizard at such a young age would lead him into folly.
After which of course, Draco would be able to take the eastern boy's place.
…but this had not come to pass.
Frankly, Lucius Malfoy was beginning to despair of anything interesting happening this year until the sudden death of Albus Dumbledore over the winter holidays. A curious thing, as there had been no indication the man was in ill health (at least physically, as his mental state was something else altogether).
And it was quite…convenient how the body had been…cremated, for lack of a better word, in accordance to a will that had been established only days before his death. It was as if the man had known he was going to die, and had taken pains to cover up the cause of death.
But Severus – who had been the executor for Dumbledore's estate – had mentioned no sign of foul play. No dabbling in curses. No strange spells. Simply that to all indications, the man had died in his sleep.
A curious thing indeed, but Lucius Malfoy was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and if Severus Snape had helped arrange for the death of Dumbledore through some manner of treachery, then all the better, frankly.
Why, at dinner over Christmas Eve, they'd had a private conversation about how different things might be if Dumbledore were no longer on the scene – not that he would ever be felled by force of arms, presumably. The man had indeed commented that he was too well-loved, too influential, even after his humbling the year before, that no tactic seemed suitable against him.
The Potions Master had pointed out that no man was truly invulnerable…and merely a week later, had brought the news of Dumbledore's death, news confirmed when Dumbledore's phoenix – which had gone missing – returned, sang a lament, and left forever.
…it made Malfoy wonder what Severus Snape was capable of, what passions lay behind his…icy demeanor, and if the Potions Master had played a longer, subtler game than anyone knew.
Still, the opportunity to appoint a new Headmaster and help to fill the positions Dumbledore's death left vacant was too tempting to pass up.
Lucius had assumed of course, that he could sway the Board into appointing Severus Snape as the new Headmaster, given that the man, while young, was preeminent in his field, that he had been a Head of House for a long time, and that there was an easy replacement for him.
Certainly, he thought he would be able to sway them to appoint him over Minerva McGonagall, much less the part-goblin whose candidacy was a mere formality.
…or so he'd thought until the Boy-Who-Lived had made the front page of the Daily Prophet by endorsing Filius Flitwick.
BOY-WHO-LIVES BACKS PROF FLITWICK FOR HEADMASTER!
That had been the headline.
Other papers, without the draw of the exclusive interview, had simply reported this: HEIR OF SLYTHERIN SUPPORTS PART-GOBLIN!
Which had been…quite a setback for the pure-blood agenda, if Lucius wanted to be honest. When someone widely regarded not only as the savior of Magical Britain, but as the presumptive heir to Salazar Slytherin, cast his support in favor of a…half-breed, it did make people wonder as to how closely the pure-bloods adhered to Slytherin's original intent.
This had cost Lucius some support among the Board. Not a very large amount, to be sure – but that was irrelevant, given that merely a week later, the organization called the Ourea had come into being, with the heirs of many influential families being selected to join.
Officially, the Matou boy was its head, with Gilderoy Lockhart as its advisor, but Lucius Malfoy was no fool. Matou Shinji, as had been proven extensively in the first year, was a very capable tool of the Boy-Who-Lived, and if he led this organization, he was sure Potter's influence was behind it.
And with Draco as one of the Ourea's recruits – yet passed over for leadership – the message being sent was loud and clear.
Potter was…offering him a deal, as it were: Accept his recommendation for Headmaster, and Draco would be given a place at Potter's side – eventually. Refuse, and he would simply be kept close enough to be crushed.
If necessary, that was.
Oh, the Boy-Who-Lived hadn't said so in as many words. He hadn't addressed Lucius directly at all, but the man had not survived for so long by being blind to these…insinuations and suggestions. Dumbledore had used them all the time, after all, and apparently the boy had learned well from the old fool.
As it was, Lucius had accepted the implicit deal, for he was no fool. He knew that despite the Ministry pardoning him for his actions during Britain's Wizarding War, citing the Imperius Curse defense, most still suspected him of having followed the Dark Lord willingly.
Just as Severus Snape had once been a Death Eater himself – something that Potter had apparently learned as well, given his comment about Snape being a "private man" who would not care to be "in the spotlight."
So it was that he'd quietly dropped his opposition to appointing Filius Flitwick as new Headmaster of Hogwarts, while looking for other opportunities to limit the avenues through which the Boy-Who-Lived's influence might spread.
The families of the Stone Cutters, Potter's closest associated, had been of considerable interest for him in that regard.
Of Matou Shinji's family there was little known, save that his deceased mother, Aisaka Mariko, had been a Ravenclaw and had headed up the Charms Club at Hogwarts. And given that he resided in Japan and was a citizen of such, there was little Lucius could do in that regard.
Hilliard's father was an Arithmancer, and his mother a Professor at the Wizarding Academy of the Dramatic Arts, so there was little to be concerned with in that regard.
Which really only left Arthur Weasley, a blood traitor who had been a perennial thorn in his side, and oh-so-inconveniently headed up an office under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. A fairly low-ranking office, to be sure, but it was almost certain that the man would rise in prominence and rank in the next few years, with the tacit support of the Boy-Who-Lived.
…and frankly, Lucius did not need another wand pointed at his back, or one of his enemies in a position to conduct raids upon his manor.
So – with the Board serving as his intermediary – he'd made Arthur Weasley an offer he was sure the man would not be able to refuse.
Given that the promotion of Filius Flitwick left the Charms Master position open, his agents had inquired if the Weasley patriarch would have any interest in becoming a Professor – a position that was certainly more prestigious than the one he held now, and which had the added bonus of tuition benefits for his…dependents.
His very many dependents.
As expected, Arthur Weasley had all but fallen over himself in accepting the position, and had been heard saying that it must rub Lucius the wrong way to have a Weasley as a professor, since the Malfoy patriarch would not be able to comment on the Weasley's financial issues.
The reverse could not be truer.
Granted, the post was certainly more prestigious, but Lucius Malfoy was fine with a slight bit of present…unpleasantness if it avoided future trouble. After all, it meant that Arthur Weasley was now out of the Ministry entirely, and there was little chance he would ever rise about the rank of Professor.
In the same way, he had recruited Amos Diggory, who worked for the Ministry's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but whose claim to fame was being the father of Ourea member Cedric Diggory, as the new Care of Magical Creatures Professor.
But here he was, before the gathered staff, students, and faculty of Hogwarts once more.
"Greetings," he intoned. "As Chairman of the Board of Governors, I am pleased to announce that we have come to a consensus as to the identity of our new Headmaster."
He glanced over at the Slytherin table and was unsurprised to find that Potter was watching him – well, much like a snake.
"This was not a decision we came to lightly. There were many fine candidates for the position, each with great talent and remarkable vision for the future of this fine institution, and we weighed their statements with great care, as well as the input of faculty, staff, students and other interested parties," he continued, nodding to the assembled masses. "In the end, however, one candidate stood out above the rest for his dedication to the school, his considerable abilities, and the amount of support he received from all the Houses of Hogwarts. As such, on behalf of the Board of Governors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Charms Master Filius Flitwick as the new Headmaster of Hogwarts."
At his words, the Great Hall erupted into applause, as the students of Ravenclaw – joined by Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and even Slytherin – rose to their feet and expressed their approval with a standing ovation.
It was…impressive, to be sure.
Still, he smiled politely, gesturing for the part-goblin to join him before the masses, and waited for the sounds of merriment to die down.
"Headmaster, would you care to say a few words?" he asked, with Flitwick accepting in that ridiculous squeaky voice of his.
'I've kept my end of the deal, Potter. See that you keep yours…'
He was pleased that the new Headmaster at least had the courtesy of thanking the Board and the selection committee for their many hours of effort, though he found the half-breed's claim that he never expected to be chosen as Headmaster facetious, especially after the Potter interview. Still, whatever the truth, the words were part of the usual formula of acceptance speeches, so he couldn't begrudge the man too much in that regard.
Merlin knew he'd used that exact formula when he was appointed Chairman of the Board.
Lucius listened politely as the part-goblin laid out a vision for a Hogwarts which better promoted learning, one where students would better prepared for the realities of the world ahead.
He spoke of a new arrangement with the Ministry, in which the Auror Office would provide Hogwarts with trained and skilled Defense Professors on a rotating basis, citing their practical experience with the matter, with next year's instructor to be the high-ranking Kingsley Shacklebolt.
He praised the performance of Gilderoy Lockhart's Consul system, asking them to stand and be recognized for their efforts in helping their fellow students.
And as expected, the new Headmaster also made his first appointment, with Aurora Sinestra, the astronomy professor selected to be the new Head of Ravenclaw House. Not that there were many who had the rank to take up the post.
In accordance with his vision, Flitwick also announced the discontinuation of the Divination elective at Hogwarts, citing its lack of practicality as part of the foundational knowledge that every young witch and wizard needed to know.
With that, Flitwick had turned the floor over to Lucius Malfoy, who announced the hiring of Professors Weasley and Diggory, much to the surprise and astonishment of several students in the audience, as well as his intent as the new Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation (following the passing of Bartemius Crouch Sr.), to reinstate the Tri-Wizard Tournament after the next year, adding that that should be more than a suitable test for the new Headmaster's policies.
Lucius Malfoy saw no need to mention the other role he'd been offered – and had accepted – of course. For it was hardly Hogwarts business, and in Dumbledore's absence, there was no one more suited to become Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.
Through the proceedings, many had seen Severus Snape with a rather grim expression upon his face, which the whispers claimed was because he'd been passed over for the position of Headmaster. And he let them believe it, as it was a convenient enough fiction and close enough to the truth to pass muster.
In reality, though, even as he stalked back to his office, he kept thinking back to events earlier in the year, with Dumbledore's death occupying a rather large portion of his thoughts.
But it wasn't alone.
Joining it were thoughts about the Diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle – the Horcrux of the Dark Lord that Matou had pressed into his hands, claiming it had come from Lucius Malfoy. That, he found to be fairly credible, given that he didn't think a student would have possession of a Dark Artifact otherwise.
The Diary itself sat on his desk even now, a haunting reminder of the consequences of knowledge, with Snape torn about what to do with it. On the one hand, he could destroy it with Fiendfyre. On the other, the presence of such an artifact might well serve as a check to Lucius Malfoy's ambitions if it were in the hands of someone trustworthy, like Mad-Eye Moody.
Not that Alastor Moody had ever fully trusted him, since "once a turncoat, always a turncoat."
Still, he'd never expected that the confirmation that the Dark Lord had made Horcruxes would lead to Dumbledore's death, since he'd always thought of the man as stronger.
Even during the War, it was widely known that the Dark Lord had feared Albus Dumbledore, and had not attacked Hogwarts due to this, which was why Snape had thrown himself upon the man's mercy and begged him to protect Lily. He had seemed so powerful, so confident in life – but not when Snape had found him on the brink of death on Christmas Day, with the old fool having succumbed to…temptation.
In the wake of the confirmation that the diary was a Horcrux, the Order had been dispatched to seek out anything that might have been a Horcrux…given the admission that Voldemort had been a half-blood named Tom Marvolo Riddle who had desired trophies.
Some had been tasked with searching through Knockturn Alley for any strange artifacts that might have been unearthed as of late.
Arthur Weasley had been asked to make discrete inquiries – through his son Bill – about odd objects deposited at Gringotts.
Snape had been asked to look around the Malfoy house, following the only known lead they really had. This was easy enough, given that he was Draco's godfather and usually was invited to join the Malfoy family over Christmas dinner, though the Potions Master had doubted that he'd find anything. While Lucius trusted him due to their shared past as Death Eaters, it wasn't as if he could test objects to see if they were Horcruxes.
Dumbledore had mentioned that he'd follow up on a possible lead of his own, concerning a peculiar ring that Riddle had worn while at Hogwarts, but not later, upon his rise as Lord Voldemort. Severus had expressed his misgivings, but the old man had insisted he would be fine. When he'd pressed the issue, Dumbledore had lent him his "Deluminator", as he called it, so that Potions Master would be able to apparate to the Headmaster's location if it was necessary.
Frankly, Snape hadn't thought it would be, given that the Headmaster was generally quite competent. So he'd taken the evening of Christmas Eve and enjoyed dinner with the Malfoys. Not entirely to his surprise, much of the conversation had revolved around the Boy-Who-Lived and his…organization, as well as more prosaic matter such as how Draco was doing in school.
He'd said as little as he could get away with in regards to the former topic, though he did mention that the Boy-Who-Lived was staying at Greengrass Manor over the holidays, a point that brought some consternation to Lucius' face. As it turned out, the young Potter boy had been invited to Malfoy Manor as well, except that the invitation had apparently come too late.
The Head of Slytherin House had assured his old…friend…that he would talk to Potter about the matter.
Only he'd never had the chance.
When Albus Dumbledore failed to return to Hogwarts the next day, Snape had used to Deluminator to meet up with the Headmaster.
What he found was a scene of horror.
The smoldering remains of a shack, with the badly burned body of Albus Dumbledore within. The man had but one arm, with what looked like veins of shadow shooting up from the stump of the other.
'A curse.'
Snape realized it at once. Dark, powerful magic.
The man's breathing was labored, but he retained enough awareness to notice the arrival of his old friend.
"…Severus…" Dumbledore had croaked, raising his one good arm, with his wand – Grindelwald's old wand, still tightly clutched in his hand. "…please…"
"…Albus, what have you done?"
"Disarm me. Now," the man had all but ordered.
Severus Snape had done as the man requested, using the Disarming Charm on the old man, and catching the wand with his off hand.
"Fine. Albus, will you…"
"I was a fool," Dumbledore had croaked, nodding over to somewhere in the ruins. "The Ring…Riddle's ring…had the Resurrection Stone."
"…you put it on," Snape had deduced, barely stifling a curse. "You old fool."
Albus Dumbledore had proceeded to explain the sordid tale of the Deathly Hallows, and how in his youth, he'd lusted for their power. How he – and Grindelwald – his old, old friend – had dreamed of conquering the world all the "Greater Good." How he had stood by and watched Grindelwald until there was no choice, until a strange "Enforcer" had threatened everything he'd ever held dear, a man that he imagined must have sought him out specifically.
How he'd beaten Grindelwald and claimed the Elder Wand – the meanest, least extraordinary of the Hallows – and thought at the time that he had taken it to save others from it. But in the end, despite what he believed he had become, despite his belief that he acted to save others, the truth made itself plain.
He'd recognized the sigil of the Peverells on the Stone of Riddle's ring, and seized by his old yearning, had claimed it, put it on his finger.
…and in turn, it had destroyed him from the inside out.
"…I…destroyed the Ring with…Fiendfyre," the man croaked out. "But I could not control it. Not well. Not…"
And so the fire had raged out of control, burning and burning, and burning, eating away the Shack, taking away the air, burning Dumbledore's very flesh.
"The Stone…it's…still here…. Find it…Severus…"
As it turned out, Snape had stepped on it when he appeared. A simple black stone in the shape of a diamond, inscribed with the symbol of the Peverells.
"This, Albus?" he'd asked, holding it up.
"Yes…two of the Three…"
With the help of Fawkes, he'd managed to keep Dumbledore alive for about a week afterwards, while the goblins of Gringotts were asked to help draft a new Will for Dumbledore, with Alastor Moody acting as witness.
Everything he owned at time of death would go to Hogwarts.
It had been assumed that with his passing, Lucius Malfoy would appoint Severus Snape as Headmaster, so they had all deemed that for the best.
And his body would be cremated upon his death.
So none might know that he expired of a curse, that the Dark Lord, if he was out there, would not realize that Dumbledore had sought his hidden lifelines.
Dutifully, he'd played his part, before the man had mercifully expired, since even phoenix tears could not stop Riddle's encroaching curse. The Dark Lord had schemed well. Too well.
What came afterwards – the whole business with the Headmaster succession – was…unexpected, with the Boy-Who-Lived actually making use of his status as a…celebrity to influence matters. Frankly, after he'd seen the interview in the paper, Severus Snape hadn't known whether to curse the boy's name or be grateful had his best interests at heart – even if they went against Albus' last wishes and threatened to ruin everything.
Flitwick was a good man and good Professor, certainly, but he was not a member of the Order, and was not privy to the fact that the Dark Lord was still alive. Nor could Snape really bring this up as a concern, as no one would believe it. McGonagall could be worked with, but…
…with the founding of the Ourea, Lucius Malfoy tacitly withdrew his support from Severus Snape as a candidate for headmaster.
Which made Snape wonder if Gilderoy Lockhart had some knowledge of the situation, and was manipulating things to suit his plans. Albus had shared his misgivings about – and his suspicions regarding – Lockhart with the Potions Master, but the History Professor had seemed relatively aboveboard, and his actions…congruent with his stated claims and his not so hidden ambitions.
Albus had claimed that what drew Lockhart to Hogwarts in the first place had been the chance to work with Harry Potter and his motley band – and this had proven true, with Lockhart becoming the boy's publicist and official biographer.
But to what ends?
The endorsement of Flitwick had been arranged by Lockhart, of course, as was the interview, Snape was sure, given how Rita Skeeter had refrained from any untowards verbal jabs.
But what had been the man's agenda in doing so? Was it merely that Lockhart disliked the Potions Master – a low-level antagonism that was more or less returned – or was there something deeper?
Not that Potter's words had been anything less than generous and whole hearted – which was surprising for a Slytherin – but perhaps made him a useful tool for Lockhart. And if he'd backed one candidate for succession, he'd been careful to lay out his reasoning and to take care not to offend the others.
Not for the first time, he reflected that Potter was very, very different from his parents, both in terms of how he carried himself and those he associated with.
Two individuals among these caught his eye, of course.
Not the Weasley Twins – he acknowledged their talent with charms and…admittedly, potions – but they were from extraordinary in his eyes.
Robert Hillard, however, was one of the youngest individuals to ever cast a corporeal Patronus, and had been chosen as Prefect Watch-Captain – a duty he'd handled exceedingly well.
And then there was Matou Shinji, the boy from the east who had apparently finished the decapitation of Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, separating the ghost's head from its body. This might not sound impressive, but to someone who understood the mechanics behind it, he'd managed to alter a ghost after death – to touch a soul – something usually considered quite impossible.
More, he'd done so without the use of a single spell – or at least a spell anyone heard being used. Of course, Severus Snape knew the rumors that the boy could cast silently, and well…he knew full well spells could be invented, as he'd invented on his fair share.
But why would Matou focus on spells that dealt with ghosts?
Was he still, perhaps stricken with grief over the death of his fellow Ravenclaw and friend Sokaris? Moody's words about a certain scenario Lockhart had posed to the young boy suggested this might be so. But to actually succeed in interacting with the dead was…unusual.
After all, the last wizard to have done that…had been in possession of the Resurrection Stone, an item he himself had not yet dared to use.
For Severus Snape was afraid. He was afraid the legends were false – that it was just a stone. He was afraid the legends were true – for if it worked, how could he explain things to Lily?
So he'd distracted himself for a time, looking further into Potter's and Matou's associates, and coming across Hermione Granger – whose skill at Potions had improved quite a bit from mere competence. There was something more than adequacy in her work now, beginning to verge on the quality he'd seen in the work of Sialim Sokaris the year before, with Moody mentioning something about Invisibility and Explosive potions.
She'd even apparently been brewing potions for the benefit of others. How she was able to do this was a source of curiosity to him, given that no student had that much in the way of ingredients, and none of his personal stocks had gone missing.
So he'd investigated, following up on what she'd checked out from the library – discovering that she had been granted use of the Book of Potions for the year.
He'd been unaware of that particular tome, and had obtained it from the library himself, finding to his shock that it contained the personality and power – of a Master Potioneer, along with a wealth of ingredients, and what amounted to a private laboratory.
A Master Potioneer named Zygmunt Budge – who claimed to be the greatest potion-maker ever born.
…the man who had invented one of the greatest potions known to wizardkind.
Felix Felicis.
Liquid luck.
After some initial testing and jibes, they'd managed to have a rather stimulating conversation about the Art they both loved, and the potential of a rare ingredients such as Witch's Ganglion or Preacher's Porridge, neither of which were found in Britain itself. It had been…remarkably…to talk to someone who really understood his passion for the subtle science of Potioneering, to which Budge had agreed.
Most students simply didn't appreciate magic that didn't involve much silly wandwaving, and neither did many full-grown wizards, until they needed a potion and needed it now, without understanding the difficulties or time involved.
Then Budge had mentioned something quite interesting – that his chief aim now was to aid a budding potioneer to win the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship. And well…according to the current rules it was certainly permissible for a student to bring a textbook with them for reference.
…so perhaps Hogwarts might produce a champion after all.
And given the recent developments with Potter, with his relatives off in Majorca, perhaps it should be Lily's son. After all, the Potions Master was sure that the Boy-Who-Lived must be feeling stifled with being unable to use magic during the summers, given he'd been able to in Japan, so perhaps if he lent it to Potter – gave him his mother's legacy as a Potioneer in exchange for his father's Invisibility Cloak, allowing Snape to gain all three of the Hallows…
Well, it was worth a thought…
But for the moment, he had put off wondering long enough, as he palmed the Resurrection Stone in his hand and turned it about three times.
"Lily…" he whispered. "Lily…"