Hey! I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!

Enjoy the new chapter, it's the longest one so far :)

"Now, who can tell me in which year Gringotts was foun…"

"That would be 1474, Professor."

Sirius rolled his eyes, his annoyance growing. It had been like this all day- in Potions, in Defense, and now in History of Magic with Binns.

The new kid not only knew everything- he had an arrogance about it that made it very, very hard to not want to punch him.

"Very nice, Thomas! Ten points for Gryffindor!", Binns gave a nod of approval in his direction, and Sirius bit his lips when he saw the other Gryffindors smile at the new boy.

He had cost his house quite a few points- and now Thomas was winning them all back, which also meant he was quite alone in his dislike of the boy. Even Snape had been somewhat impressed by his potion earlier. Snape. Impressed by a Gryffindor.

I wish he had stayed at his school in fucking Scotland.

And tonight, there would be more Quidditch torture with Aurelius…

"I am now going to give you back the tests from last Friday", Binns now droned on, floating through the room, "very good efforts by many of you."

They had History of Magic with the always well prepared Ravenclaws, so the level this year was high.

Sirius barely glanced at his paper, biting his lips when he saw the scribbled D on it- D for Dreadful.

Why should I care? I am not really a third grader.

He stuffed the paper in his bag, not caring the slightest to read the teacher's explanation, unlike his classmates, who were eager to compare and discuss their grades.

"Orion, what did you get?", Colin whispered next to him, "I got an A, and Angus has an O again!"

"Got an A as well", Sirius lied, not in the mood to tell Colin he had failed yet another test, and he could see the new kid staring at him, frowning, and he suppressed the urge to stuck his tongue out at him.

Finally, the class was over, and they headed outside. Sirius was eager to get away from everyone for a bit- classes had been awful today, and then there was Quidditch later which would suck, and the new boy was really going on his nerves as well.

He watched Colin, Ginny, and a few others crowd around Thomas, and from the bits and pieces of the conversation he heard, they were talking about the damn owl again.

A snowy owl named Snowy- how fucking stupid.

He was certainly not going to join the others in their silly admiration of the new kid and his pet, he could care less.

"You look like you bit into a lemon, wild boy."

I hate my life.

"What do you want?"

Aurelius raised an eyebrow, "try that again."

Sirius wanted to glare at him, but stopped himself just in time, "is there anything I can help you with?"

"You can- by telling me why you are not over there with your classmates."

"I wanted to be alone. I never get to, for some reason."

Aurelius just smiled, looking over to the others still surrounding Thomas, "how's the new boy?"

"Thomas? He's a show off. Would be perfect for your Quidditch team- too bad he hates sports."

"A show off, hmm?", for some reason, Aurelius seemed to find that funny, "and here I thought you'd make a new friend."

Sirius had to snort, "with that arrogant prick? I'd rather not."

"Good thing you are so very humble yourself", Aurelius still seemed amused, "I just came over to remind of training tonight- 6 PM sharp, just like yesterday."

"Can't we take a break? I have a lot of homework, and…", his heart sank when he saw the look on Aurelius' face.

"I see you at six, Lemarc", and why did he always say his last name so weirdly lately?

"Fine. See you then", he mumbled, not daring to argue anymore, and Aurelius just nodded, walking back to his classmates.

He turned around- and his eyes met Thomas'. The new boy had clearly been watching him talk to Aurelius, and based on the cold expression on his face, he didn't seem thrilled.

And why would you even care who the hell I'm talking to?

Sirius felt even more irritated now, and when it was time to go back to class, he managed to walk up next to Thomas, casually shoving into the other boy.

"Sorry, my bad", he didn't even try to sound like he meant it, and Thomas just shot him another, uglier look, "are you always this clumsy, Lemarc?"

"Only when I feel like it", Sirius gave him a cold smile, walking ahead, and he could almost feel the death glares of the other boy in his back.

Not that I care.

He had made plenty of enemies back when he had been at Hogwarts the first time, mostly Slytherins, and he had always managed to come up on top somehow, and he intended to do the same thing with the new boy.

Alas, Tom had quite similar thoughts- and he decided to pay Sirius back in his own way, and unfortunately for Sirius, the opportunity presented itself in the very next lesson.

The next and last lesson of the day was Charms; Professor Flitwick had been teaching them a new spell, Petrificus Totalus, and today, the students were supposed to practice it with each other.

Tom had very politely introduced himself as a new student, slyly mentioning how he had always struggled in Charms, and he was nervous for his first class here, and if the teacher could be so kind to make sure to pair him up with someone who was also a bit of a beginner?

Professor Flitwick was full of compassion for the anxious new boy, and of course, he had just the student in mind- and he waved Sirius over, "Mr. Lemarc!"

Sirius bit his lips, not liking the rather smug look on Thomas' face when he walked over to his teacher, "yes, Professor?", he actually didn't mind Flitwick's class, even though he was barely producing any outstanding work in here, either.

"Our new student is a bit nervous about practicing spells, and since I know you also have had some troubles with the Totalus, I thought it would be good if you two boys work together", Flitwick announced, sounding quite pleased with that solution. He was at his wit's end as well with Orion Lemarc- most likely the laziest student he had ever taught.

"Is he now?", Sirius didn't believe one word he was hearing, but he couldn't argue with Flitwick- and besides, the Professor had heard so many excuses about unfinished homework from him that he'd hardly believe him anyways.

"Thank you for pairing me with a less experienced student, Professor", Thomas now said meekly, and the way he said less experienced student Sirius knew this wouldn't end well.

Damnit…

With Flitwick still watching, their assumed their dueling positions, stiffly walking away from each other, and then holding their wands in front of their face.

Showtime…

Watching Thomas at the other end was almost like looking into a mirror- and why did the new kid even have to look so similar to him?

The Professor was giving them the countdown now, and Sirius tightened his grip around his wand, his stare never leaving Tom's. The new kid was looking determined now- determined to see him fail.

He could feel his hand starting to sweat, and he forced himself to breathe. To relax. Tom's smug little smile turned arrogant, and he cursed at himself for even letting him get into another situation he'd likely loose.

"Three…two…o…"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

There were several gasps, and then half the class came running over, staring at amazement at Sirius- completely body bound and unable to move, laying on the floor as stiff as a board.

"Fifty points for Gryffindor for a perfect demonstration of the Petrificus Totalus spell!", Flitwick now squeaked, his voice even higher than normal due to his excitement, "very well done, indeed!"

Thomas just grinned, casually walking over to Sirius, who was unable to move anything besides his eyes, internally fuming with helpless anger.

Get me out of here! This isn't freaking funny!

"Indeed", Thomas now whispered, kneeling down right next to his ear, "that should make you remember to show me respect", and then he immediately got back up, smiling at the other Gryffindors who were standing around him and applauding him for his perfect spell, with Sirius helplessly on the floor, not able to move at all, being stared and pointed at by everyone.

I fucking hate you. I hate all this!

Finally- it felt like forever even though it had only been a few minutes- Flitwick reversed the spell, and Sirius had never been faster to get back up on his feet, the humiliation almost too much to bear. Thomas was still being congratulated, and Sirius had to think back of the snowball fight, and how everyone had been cheering him on- and now they were cheering on Thomas Sayre.

All. Day. Long.

"Let's go back to practicing", the Professor now announced, and Sirius walked over to Tom, wanting nothing more than to punch the other boy in the face, "so much for being nervous", he hissed, not caring the slightest if anyone could hear him, "you're nothing but a liar, Sayre."

And Thomas just smiled, a glint of something in his eyes, "too bad no one cares what you think, Lemarc", and then he walked back to his desk like nothing had happened.

And the war was on.

He had wanted to stop at one.

One horcrux. Just one. All he needed was one to be immortal. Just one.

But lately, he had been thinking- maybe he was becoming paranoid, but Severus had not even asked why he had wanted more Polyjuice again yesterday- and now he couldn't stop obsessing about the idea that somehow, Severus knew.

He needed to be safe, he needed to be absolutely certain, and in case anything happened to his horcrux, wasn't it better anyways to have a backup?

Two is better than one.

His plan had always been to get rid of the person he had transformed into his murdered victim, and now he thought- why not do both?

He would stage an accident with his transformed victim just as always planned, but in fact, that person would be dead already, too- his second murder.

Technically, he was killing the same person twice.

Dumbledore, his mind too far gone already, did not see the depravity of his scheme- he thought it a rather genius plan.

He knew very well he could not ask Snape for anymore Polyjuice before it really became obvious, so he had to act quickly- he had only enough potion for a week or so, then he had to kill again. And he disliked that part, he did- but it was necessary. He had to stay headmaster, he had to protect his school.

And when he thought of the person he was forcing to drink the Polyjuice- well, it wasn't like anyone was going to grieve for that one anyways…

"Hey…uhm…Thomas?"

Tom looked up from the essay he was currently writing for Snape and frowned, "yes?"

Colin turned red, slowly walking over to his table in the Common Room, "I was…wondering if you could help me really quick."

"Help you? With what?"

"The…that essay for Snape, I don't really understand…", and then Colin started a monologue about all the things he didn't get about the homework, and Tom's frown deepened.

This was not part of the deal, Gryffindor.

"Can't…Angus help you with this?", he interrupted Colin, trying to act like he thought a regular third grader would act, "he's your friend, right? He'll help you."

"I…thought we were friends, too", Colin now said, looking somewhat crestfallen, and Tom blinked, getting more and more uncomfortable. This was the part he had been secretly afraid about- relationships. He had never had a single friend in his life, and no family either- and that was just how he liked it. Emotions were confusing. So very confusing.

"I really have to finish this, Cre…Colin", he now said, "I have some suggestions for Snape how to improve this potion, and I am going to need all night for that."

"O…okay", Colin swallowed, looking down, "I…I'll go look for Angus, then. See you later."

Tom just nodded, his thoughts already back on his essay. Being the best in everything was fun- he liked the admiration it came with, and the feeling of being the smartest one in third grade, the one who was in charge.

Lemarc had to learn that the hard way- and the others will, too.

"A word, Lupin."

Remus turned around, a tired look on his face, "I…I have tests to grade, and…"

"Spare me the excuses- this won't take long."

They were standing in the hallway by the headmaster's office after they had finished a teacher's conference- a waste of time in Snape's opinion- and the Lupin had been silent for the whole meeting, looking withdrawn and unhappy, so the Potion Master had decided to investigate.

The other teachers had already left, and Dumbledore had stayed behind in his office, so it was just the two of them now.

"How can I help you, then?", Remus didn't even try to sound polite, and that was…new. Usually, the werewolf was quite eager to be as friendly as he could, pestering him at any given moment.

"Did you confront Black about stealing from me?"

"I…talked to him, yes. I told him how disappointed I was about the choices he had made. I didn't tell him that you know who he is, though, or that you know he stole from you."

"I see", Snape's face did not betray any emotion, just like always, "I am assuming that did not go well."

"And why would you assume that?", the Lupin sounded downright pissed now, "I am not going to use any old-fashioned discipline on him if that's what you're curious about. Sirius needs understanding and love, he's been through a lot, and…"

"Are you telling me that, or yourself?"

Remus' eyes went cold, "I appreciate you not telling anyone about his identity- but I certainly don't need any advice from you when it comes to Sirius. You know nothing about raising a child, and I doubt anyone at this school have ever considered you their favorite teacher."

"Whereas you are eager to be everyone's favorite- just like in the old days. Pleasing everyone around you like a good little pet, making sure Potter and Black are happy. Looks like nothing has changed in that regard, Lupin."

That hit did not miss its target, Remus went pale, "if that's everything, I have work to do, Snape", he said the last word like the insult it was meant to be, "and Sirius is fine. He's fine."

"He's not fine", Snape didn't even need Legilimens to be able to read the Lupin's mind right now, "you are concerned about him, which is understandable…but there's something else that's bothering you. Dumbledore?"

"How do you…"

"The meeting", Snape looked him straight in the eyes, "you seemed…upset. Withdrawn."

"I…I've been…trying to wrap my mind around what you told me the other day", Remus swallowed, looking down, "and…I've been following…Dumbledore", he lowered his voice, "he's going to the Astronomy Tower quite a bit. Always at odd times, too."

"Interesting."

"Could he…have the horcrux up there?"

"I do not know- but it is something I will have to tell the Founders about."

Remus nodded, biting his lips, "uhm…I might have overreacted, earlier", he was still firmly looking down, "I just…Sirius is so…so…"

"Rebellious?"

"Yes", it was merely a whisper, "and I feel like…I'm failing him. I don't want…I can't…"

"If you want the boy to learn some discipline- I know just the person who could take him in hand."

Remus' head shot up, "you…you don't mean…"

Snape snorted, "certainly not- even though the idea of spanking some sense into Black is quite tempting."

"Then…who?"

Snape smiled, but it was not a friendly smile, "Gryffindor."

"Orion! Are you down for a game of Exploding Snap?"

Sirius grimaced, walking over to the wall next to his bed and grabbing his broom, "can't do. I have practice."

Angus, who was sitting on Colin's bed next to Colin, Exploding Snap in front of them, frowned, "again? Didn't you already have practice the other day?"

I sure did.

"It's…just to get ready for the game against Ravenclaw", Sirius lied, getting into his Quidditch uniform, "I'll have more time once that is over."

Tom had been laying on his bed reading a book about medieval potions, but he had looked up just in time to see the small sparkle of anger in Orion's eyes.

Something about that Orion boy was odd.

Tom knew that Gryffindor and Salazar had suspected that he might be a spy for Dumbledore- and he had decided to investigate if that was true. Not only was Orion Lemarc as rude as he could be to him, he was also incredibly lazy and Tom would gladly find a reason to get rid off him. Exposing him as a spy might just do that.

There were definitely things that did not add up- the fact that Orion was part of the Quidditch team but did not seem to care for Quidditch, or that he had lied about his grade to Creevey, not even reading the comments of his paper.

He doesn't seem to care about anything.

And then there was his relationship with Aurelius- he seemed to dislike the fifth grader for some reason, that much was obvious from the conversation they had had.

Tom was clever and cunning when he had set his mind to something, so he when he watched Orion put on his Quidditch uniform right then and there, he decided to follow him and see if he truly had that much practice- every night now, really?

That's a lot of practice right there.

So he quietly followed the other boy, having told Angus and Colin he had forgotten a book in the library so they wouldn't grow suspicious, and it looked like Orion was really heading for the Quidditch field, but he did not seem excited at all. He was dragging his feet, his head firmly on the ground, which helped him stay unseen- Orion was not even bothering to look around.

He walked on the field now, and Tom could see Aurelius standing in the middle of it, holding a Quaffle.

I better find a hiding spot.

Tom had no interest in talking to Aurelius at all- he had avoided being alone with the older boy so far, and he intended to keep it that way. Aurelius had the same air of casual cruelty like his father, and the same strict ideas of justice and morals, which often did not match his own.

"You're late."

"Barely."

Tom, who was hiding safely behind a banner, had to swallow when he saw what happened next: Aurelius wordlessly walked over to Orion, turned him around, and smacked his butt, hard.

What the hell?

"I am getting quite tired of your disrespect, Lemarc", Aurelius' voice was cold and clear, loud enough for Tom to hear every word, "and I expect punctuality from you, understand?"

"Yeah."

Smack.

"Try that again."

"Ye…yes, Aurelius", Orion sounded like he wanted to cry, and Tom frowned.

Why doesn't he just quit the team? I don't get it. Why would he let Aurelius treat him this way?

His confusion only grew in the next twenty minutes. It was obvious that Orion hated every second of the training- and Tom, who had never been much into sports himself, could see why.

Aurelius did not let him slack for even one second- he made him run, and jump, and crawl, and then he had to get in the air and catch the Quaffle, over and over and over again.

Tom could hear Orion howl when the Quaffle hit him on the shoulder, "oww! Damnit, this hurt! I'm done!"

"You are done when I tell you that you are done, Lemarc", and then Aurelius threw the Quaffle at him again, and the younger boy sobbed, attempting to catch it but failing.

"Your reactions are too slow, boy."

"It's freakin dark, and I am injured, and…"

"Stop making excuses", Aurelius' tone had gotten sharp, "I despise nothing more than someone who cannot own up to their failings. You need to keep your eyes on the Quaffle at all times, and sit up straight, you should know by now how to hold your broom correctly."

"My shoulder hurts."

"If this is an excuse to get out of the game against Ravenclaw, I will spank you so hard you won't be able to sit for three days."

Tom's eyes widened in shock, but Orion seemed to be used to threats like this, "it really hurts. And I'll suck against Ravenclaw either way, you know that."

"You sound like you have given up already."

"Maybe I have", Orion sounded tired now, "I just…can't you just let Angus play? Please?"

"No."

"But…I'm not getting any better, I…"

"Nonsense. You are getting better, and you would get better faster if you actually cared, wild boy. It takes time to get athletic if you never really did any sports before."

"We…don't have time, though. And…the others are going to crucify me when they see me play against Ravenclaw."

"You should have thought about that before you decided to use Felix Felicis to cheat and get on the team", Aurelius' voice was even, "come here now- let me take a look at your shoulder."

Tom watched how Orion slowly got off his broom and walked over to the older boy, wincing when Aurelius gently touched his shoulder, "hurts!"

"Hmmm…looks like you might get your wish, after all", Aurelius sighed, a hint of amusement in it, though, "let's go see Poppy, and get you some medicine for that shoulder of yours, and then you'll go straight to bed."

"Is it broken?"

"No, silly boy- you'll be fine. As I said, you are not getting out of Quidditch this easily."

"How is this easy? I hate training."

"You'll hate the alternative even more, boy", and then they walked right by him, and Tom didn't even dare to breathe loudly, his heart hammering in his chest.

So Lemarc is a dirty little cheat…I wonder what the others think of that when they'll find out, with all their mighty Gryffindor goodness!

He needed some dirt on the new boy, and he needed it quick.

After Thomas had effectively body bound him, turning him into a mockery in front of everyone, he had been secretly planning his revenge. And revenge he would get.

He hated how Thomas was winning them house points left and right, how he managed perfect potions and perfect spells, and perfect everything- it was nauseating. And there was something else.

Something about that Thomas boy was odd.

The fact that he had appeared out of nowhere, in the middle of the week, was already suspicious- and Sirius had not forgotten how Thomas had looked at him and Aurelius when they had talked to each other a few days ago.

Like he somehow…knows Aurelius.

That thought had not left him, and if there was some kind of connection between Thomas and Aurelius, something bad, maybe…he could use it for blackmail, on either one of them.

He was sick and tired of Quidditch, he was sick and tired of Aurelius' threats, and he was equally sick and tired of Thomas being such a smartass and making him look like an idiot in every single class now, mocking him with having him body bound over and over again.

Sirius had been carefully following Thomas all day and so far, nothing remotely interesting had happened- but he would be patient.

Therefore, instead of doing his homework or studying, he decided to follow Thomas when he walked up to the Owlery- to visit his snowy owl again, he assumed. Deep down, he was quite a bit envious of the gorgeous owl Thomas had, but of course he'd never admit that.

The Owlery wasn't busy at this time, and it was freezing cold up here- it was the middle of November now, after all.

Sirius casually blended in with a group of second grade Gryffindors who were happily chatting and feeding their owls, completely unseen by Thomas who walked straight over to his snowy owl.

He watched him pet the owl and feed her some owl treats, and then some Hufflepuff girls came by openly admiring Snowy, and Sirius balled his hands into fists when he saw the smug grin on Thomas' face.

Stupid little show off.

He hid behind a pillar, not wanting to be seen by Thomas looking all envious, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Aurelius coming closer suddenly, George and Fred Weasley nearby.

The group of giggling Hufflepuff girls had left, and the Weasley twins walked over to look at another owl now, which meant it was just Thomas and Aurelius standing by his snowy owl, close enough to the pillar he was hiding behind to hear every word.

Showtime!

"What a beautiful owl", Aurelius smiled as he gently petted Snowy, "what did you name her?"

"Snowy."

He could hear Aurelius laugh, "that's pretty straight forward. I like it."

"Thanks."

Sirius bit his lips. So far, their conversation was pretty…normal. Maybe they really didn't know each other at all? He might have just been paranoid that day.

"How are classes going?"

Tom snorted, "how do you think? I am bored out of my mind sitting there. Why couldn't I be a seventh grader, at least?"

"There was no room in seventh grade", Aurelius replied mildly, "have you made any friends with the other boys yet?"

I fucking knew it!

"With them? Creevey is too naïve for words, that Lightwing boy bores me to death, MacDougall is a goody-goody, and Lemarc- how did that idiot even get into Hogwarts? I've never met anyone more stupid in my life."

Sirius had to forcefully stop himself from not coming up behind the pillar and punching Thomas straight in the face.

I'll get back at you for that one too, you'll see!

"Now, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?", Aurelius' voice was still very mild, with a hint of amusement in it, "you'll need a friend eventually, Tom."

"For what? This is only temporary anyways. I'll find out what you want, and then I am out of here."

"Did you find out anything, then?"

"I'm…working on it. I've been observing Dumbledore", Tom had no intention to tell Aurelius he had been spying on Orion Lemarc and knew all about his little blackmail scheme since he did not know how to use that information yet.

"And?"

"He seems to be going to the Astronomy Tower a lot. I've seen him walk up there three times within the last two days."

"Did you tell my father about that?"

He shrugged, "I told you, didn't I?"

"Don't make me spank you."

Tom's face grew hot, remembering how Aurelius had said something similar to Lemarc, that night on the Quidditch field- an empty threat, right?

"Very funny, Aurelius."

"It wasn't meant as a joke, Thomas. You know very well what's at stake here."

"That doesn't mean you can threaten me. I'm not…", he almost said Orion Lemarc, but stopped himself just in time. There was really no need for Aurelius to know that he had observed their little Quidditch practice.

"Careful how you talk to me, Thomas", Aurelius' voice was cold now, "I'm not taking any disrespect, not from you or anyone else in your class. And if I can give you some advice- act like you actually want to be here, or Dumbledore will find out sooner than later that you're only here to spy on him."

"Thanks for the advice, but before I make friends with the little losers in third grade, I rather jump from the Astronomy Tower myself."

"Suit yourself, Thomas- and don't tell me later I didn't warn you", and with that, Aurelius walked off, and seconds later, Tom stormed off as well, running right by Sirius without seeing him, leaving him alone at the Owlery now, darkness had set in early.

"I'm a loser to you? An idiot?", Sirius wasn't talking to anyone specific as he went over to the snowy owls, watching them eat their owl treats, "who the hell do you think you are, Sayre?"

He was too angry to give the fact that Thomas was spying on Dumbledore and Aurelius knowing about that another thought, and too self-absorbed to really care about that at the moment anyway.

One of the snowy owls hooted, and when he took a closer look, he realized it was Thomas' owl- Snowy.

"Never met anyone more stupid in your life…we'll see how stupid you feel tomorrow, arrogant little prick", and with that, he carefully picked up Snowy, and the small owl hooted again but didn't mind being carried away- and with another glance around, Sirius quickly left the Owlery, and walked down the stairs.

He had been humiliated one too many times now- and he was just done. Done with being Aurelius' and now Thomas' laughing stock and punching bag. It was time that Thomas Sayre learned that he wasn't one to be underestimated either when he found his snowy owl missing tomorrow.

He already knew exactly where to hide the owl, too- up on the Astronomy Tower.

Yep…that's it again. There will be quite the explosive meeting of Gryffindor and the boys in the next chap, and…another murder.

I'd love some feedback from you!

Xoxo, Antonie