Arcturus Black
By: Katerinaki
Published: 10/3/2014
Beta'ed: No
Notes: If there's anything worse than losing your mother to dragon pox and then coming to live in a whole different country, with relatives you've never even met before, it's coming to live with relatives who already hate you, for something you didn't even do. That was how Arcturus Sirius Black, secret son of Sirius Orion Black and Lenora Cassandra Malfoy, understood family politics.
Chapter 6: The Lion's Den
During the day at Marius and Ariadne's house, Arcturus had been bored most of the time. This wasn't the case at Hogwarts. Not in the slightest. Every day at Hogwarts was full of classes in charms, transfiguration, potions, herbology, astronomy, every subject Arcturus could hope for. He learned how to turn a match into a needle and back again. He learned how to make things float through the air and how to unlock doors, a particularly useful skill in Arcturus's opinion. But the best part of all, Arcturus made friends. Real friends, not fake ones like Malfoy and his lot claimed to be. Fred and George quickly took on the roles of guide and mentor, although most of the time Arcturus ended up in the complete opposite end of the castle from where he wanted to go or in McGonagall's classroom, serving detention for something the twins cooked up. But Arcturus didn't really mind it because along with Fred and George, Arcturus had Lee. Lee Jordan was quickly taken in with the Weasley twins as well and soon became Arcturus's partner in crime. They did everything together. In fact, Lee was serving detention cleaning out cauldrons by hand alongside Arcturus for purposefully tossing extra horned slugs in Hestia Carrow's Boil-Cure Potion. But in their defence, she shouldn't have left it unattended. Someone could've thrown just anything in there. She was lucky all that happened was a nice change in colour and a few hissing sparks.
Professor Snape, the Potions Master, sat at his desk but still managing to breathe down Arcturus's neck as he cleaned the cauldrons. It hadn't taken Arcturus long to figure out that Snape hated him, beyond the normal Gryffindor hatred that the Head of Slytherin House harboured for all those in the rival house. Arcturus was fairly certain that even if he'd been Sorted into Slytherin and had become one of Snape's snakes, the greasy git would still hate him. With a vindictive streak Arcturus had only seen in a few.
"Jordan, you may go," Snape told Lee. Lee shot Arcturus an apologizing glance but didn't hesitate to leave. Arcturus didn't blame him. They'd been cleaning cauldrons for hours, and most of the potions ingredients were pretty nasty.
"What are you waiting for, Black," Snape sneered at Arcturus. "Keep scrubbing."
Arcturus waited until Snape had turned around before sticking his tongue out at the grouchy professor's back.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Snape declared.
"For what?" Arcturus demanded without thinking.
"For disrespecting a professor and another ten points for the tone. Keep scrubbing."
Arcturus wanted to show Snape just how much he disrespected the Potions professor, but didn't. Snape would just give him yet another detention, and Arcturus didn't really want to miss the upcoming Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match. It'd been the talk of the house after Charlie Weasley's tryouts where he'd picked up three second-years, Angelina Johnson as a chaser and his own brothers Fred and George as beaters. Arcturus was just looking forward to watching Fred and George's antics on broomsticks in front of the entire school. It was sure to be a good show and Arcturus wouldn't put it by Snape to assign him detention right during the middle of the game. It was just the sort of git Snape was.
As Arcturus scrubbed, he imagined all the things he could do to get back at Snape. The professor only ever wore black. Perhaps he'd enjoy a change in colour, perhaps something that could really bring out the bottomless darkness of his eyes. Arcturus thought he knew just the spell, but he'd have to talk it over with Fred and George for the flourish, and maybe he'd get away with it. After all, hexing a professor was dangerous business. Detention at least, but if Snape was feeling particularly vindictive, and with Arcturus he usually was, Snape might even be able to have Arcturus expelled. No way was Arcturus going to spend all his time with the Squibs, and Durmstrang was a bit too cold and dingy for Arcturus's taste. He would rather have to spend the majority of the year in the arctic tundra.
Somehow, Arcturus managed to get through the rest of the detention with Snape without doing anything to merit another. Snape tried, but all he could do was take another thirty points from Gryffindor for Arcturus's apparently shoddy cleaning job before dismissing him with directions to return straight to Gryffindor Tower and a threat of more detentions if he found out that Arcturus had made any side stops.
"Yes, Professor," Arcturus replied.
"Another ten points from Gryffindor for the tone," Snape sneered. "Leave."
Arcturus didn't bother opening his mouth, he just left. Snape would take points from him for breathing through his mouth rather than his nose.
"Stupid wanker," Arcturus grumbled as he climbed the steps from the dungeons, all the way up to Gryffindor Tower and came to the portrait of the Fat Lady who guarded the Gryffindor common room.
"Bumbershoot," Arcturus told the painting.
"I daresay you'll need one for the match tomorrow," the Fat Lady replied, glancing out the window at the large storm clouds rolling in. She swung open and Arcturus stepped inside.
"Archie! What are you still doing out of bed at this hour, you little rascal!" Fred called from one of the tables at the side of the room. Arcturus joined him, George, and Lee at the table.
"Sorry about that, mate," Lee apologized.
"Don't worry. You know how the git is," Arcturus reassured his friend.
"Sure has it in for you, doesn't he, Surutcra?" commented George.
Arcturus raised an eyebrow, fighting back a grin. "Surutcra?"
Fred shrugged for George. "We're still experimenting with the nicknames," he replied. "Though I think your name backwards might be longer than your name forwards."
"Of course it's not, idiot," George retorted. "It's the same amount of letters."
"I told you, it's just Arcturus," Arcturus cut in, before the twins could start in on another "argument".
"Alright, alright. So what are you going to do to get back at the dungeon bat, Blacky-boy?"
Arcturus shrugged, choosing to ignore the stupid name. "I don't know. I was thinking that maybe Professor Snape could use some colour in his life. He always looks so washed out in all black."
Fred and George nodded, "Couldn't agree more."
"But how are you going to do it? You can't hex a teacher. You'll be expelled," Lee said.
"Yeah, not to mention Snape's too smart to fall for anything with a potion," Arcturus added. "I doubt he even uses shampoo anyways." Arcturus looked to the twins. "I was actually hoping you guys would have an idea of how to pull it off."
"Hm," Fred stroked a non-existent beard. "Tricky, tricky. I'm assuming you'd want this to be a public retaliation."
"Of course. The more people who can see Snape with pink hair, the better."
"I think there is much, much more potential in this little scheme," George said. "After all, why just stop with his hair?"
Arcturus grinned. "Of course not. I was actually thinking that maybe Professor Snape could display his Gryffindor colours at breakfast tomorrow, before the match? It doesn't give us much time but..."
"It would make quite a show, not to mention boost house morale. An excellent idea, Twinkle."
Arcturus was brought up short at the most recent attempt. "'Twinkle'? Really?"
"Yeah, as in 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star'. Keep up, boy!"
"You're ridiculous."
"Why thank you!"
They spent the next hour planning the mode of attack before moving on to the homework that none of them had even started. Arcturus attempted to write the Potions essay, but all he could think about was what they had planned for their dear Professor Snape the next morning. He'd hate it, but unless he caught them right in the middle of it, there was no way Snape would be able to prove that Arcturus, Fred, George, and Lee had been behind it. There was some work to do.