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Chapter Seventeen
Broadening the Playing Field
Hermione always relished the time that she spent with her parents, and even more so when she could show them her new world, such as now while they explored Diagon Alley. They had already planned to come sometime next month to buy her school supplies, but as they had been in London during a dentistry convention, they had all decided that they might as well drop by to at least look around a bit more and familiarize themselves with the layout of the magical marketplace.
Hermione hoped that they might consider buying a few magical odds and ends, useful things that would make their life at home all the easier, but her parents had been strictly warned by Professor McGongall that they ought to stay as normal as possible, as they lived in a completely muggle neighborhood, and both her mother and father had emphatically agreed.
Still, as she led them both down the cobblestoned street, idly explaining everything that they passed, Hermione couldn't have been happier. She felt that she was standing on the edge of something new, a bridge of sorts between the muggle world and the magical, and perhaps, if she did things just right, she could help to bring the two just a bit closer together. The magic far under the Alley seemed to hum in response to her desires, sending warmth through her body, and telling her that if she wished, power would come to her to accomplish anything she desired.
She was so lost in herself at the moment, that she very nearly ran into someone through the thick crowds, but managed to pull up short and avoid ramming headlong into the luxurious robes. "Oh… excuse me," she said, fretting that she might have startled the blonde man.
"Hermione?" said another voice nearby, and she turned slightly to see Harry standing just behind the blond man she had almost run into. There was also an equally well dressed woman on the man's arm, as well as a younger blond boy that she vaguely recalled seeing in Hogwarts, a Slytherin if she remembered correctly.
"Oh Harry!" she said, brightening even further, before remembering her manners and returning her attention to the blond man before her, who seemed to be some sort of aristocrat or nobleman. "I apologize for nearly running into you sir, but as you seem to be acquainted with Harry, I should introduce myself, Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Second Year." She said with a small curtsy, suddenly very grateful that her mother had forced her to wear a skirt today.
Instead of congenial, the man almost seemed to sneer in return, until Harry stepped forward, whereupon the man cooled his expression and offered his hand to her, "Lord Lucius Malfoy, my dear." Gesturing at the woman and the other boy, the man continued, "my wife, Narcissa, and our son, Draco. You know Mr. Potter already; he is currently staying with us over the summer."
"You're the Lucius Malfoy?" Hermione said, surprised, "I've read all about you."
Whatever the aristocrat had been expecting, that was certainly not it. And she had indeed read his name quite a number of times in various articles in the Daily Prophet, as well as several of the more modern books of recent wizarding history, among several other things that had been aided by his vast family fortune to produce. The man was also one of the Hogwarts Governors, one who had strong traditional morals and tendencies.
Unfortunately, that was where the majority of good things ended that she had learned about the man before her. But before she could excuse herself, her parents arrived, and were eagerly introducing themselves to Harry and the Malfoy family.
She held her breath, waiting for the bombshell to drop when the staunch Pureblood supremacist realized that he was speaking with a pair of Muggles, but if the man knew or even suspected, he made absolutely no mention of it, politely offering an overview of the highlights of Diagon Alley, and the best stores for young witches and wizards, even pointing out a few of the lesser known bookstores that usually had a better selection and were less crowded than Flourish and Blotts.
"Especially good to go to those now," he mentioned, glancing toward the store in question, "What with that pompous fool, Gilderoy Lockhart parading himself around trying to pawn off more of his books at the moment."
Hermione had heard that name recently as well, as his books were all on the course material for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year, although logically it was quite a few books for one class. When she mentioned this fact, Lucius Malfoy frowned momentarily, before requesting to see his son's booklist. "I see, well, I guess we will simply have to do without Lockhart's books, and hire a private tutor over the next summer to make up for it…" he said cryptically, exchanging a knowing look with Harry.
Hermione was uncertain if that was the best course of action, but challenging an adult's decision was not something that she felt comfortable doing, especially once as powerful and rather intimidating as Mr. Malfoy. "Well, we must be off now, it was a pleasure to meet with all of you," Lucius said after a few more moments, shaking her father's hand and kissing her mother's respectfully.
"See you," Harry and Draco said to Hermione, and soon the family, and Harry, was moving off through the crowd toward the back of the Alley. Hermione was about to turn toward the bookstore and see what the entire ruckus about this Lockhart fellow was going to be about, when there was a startling noise behind her.
It seemed that the Malfoy's had only made it a few yards from the Granger before encountering another familiar, if significantly less friendly, group of people. Wands were drawn, and people all around them were scrambling to get away just in case spells were cast.
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Lucius had known that the moment they started speaking with the muggle family of one of Harry's friends that they were all being watched. Normally he would have ignored the muggles and proceeded on, but as the girl had very politely tried to make amends for accidentally running into him, he was obligated to at least treat them with the same courtesy that he had received. It also didn't hurt that he seemed to have earned a bit more respect from Potter in the process, temporarily laying aside his long standing hatred for those who would want to trample their traditions into the dirt and leave them forgotten.
What he had not expected was to find that the muggle family of this Hermione Granger had no such feelings to change their way of life, but merely wanted to know how best they could become part of it, for their daughter's sake. The pair of magic-less adults knew that they would never fully belong here, but they wanted to do the best that they could with their limitation to facilitate their child to have the best possible life, and that was something that the Pureblood could respect, even coming from Muggles. So he had had no qualms speaking with them, and helping direct them to some of the more useful shops in the Alley, aside from the large and well known places that frequently had far too many customers at certain times of the year.
It was only when he spotted the Weasley family, the foolish and narrow minded followers of Dumbledore, that he quite abruptly dropped the conversation, and made their excuses so that they could try and slip through the crowd and get away, but the red haired family hadn't come completely alone.
Blocking the way ahead was the massive Gamekeeper of Hogwarts, one Rubeus Hagrid, another loyal Dumbledore supporter. Unfortunately, being blocked like that allowed for the red haired family to catch up with them. "Lucius…" came the irritating voice behind him.
Turning slowly to face them, Lucius narrow his eyes coldly, the hand upon his walking stick clenching, eager to draw the wand and curse his nemesis even as the fool approached. "Ah, Weasley Senior…
"Albus wants to speak with Harry, Lucius; surely you won't stand in his way here in public…" Weasley said.
"And I've responded to the Headmaster multiple times, Weasley," Lucius retorted coldly, "That if Harry wanted to be seen by him, I would do nothing to prevent it, however, why don't you ask the boy yourself, he's right there…"
Smirking as the red haired man turned, only just now noticing that the boy in question was actually present, "Ah, Harry, there you are…" the man started, but Potter had already turned away.
"I'm not interested in speaking with Professor Dumbledore until after returning to Hogwarts," the boy said flatly, just a small trace of irritation.
But the Weasley patriarch was not to be deterred, "Surely you know that Professor Dumbledore only has your best interests at heart, Harry…"
"Or so he's told you…" Harry replied, casually brushing stray hair from his face, "I would prefer to have my summer in peace for the time being, but your concern is appreciated."
In a flash of movement, the man's wand was in his hand, and Lucius responded with a jerking twist on his walking stick to bring his to bear as well. The crowd, instantly noticing the raised wands and the wizards wielding them, panicked and ran to get clear.
"Lucius, if I find out that you've bewitched this child in any way, so help me…" Weasley was saying, voice trembling with suppressed rage.
"You'll likely do nothing," Lucius replied coolly, "not until your precious Dumbledore had ordered you to… besides, I can assure you that I have done nothing of the sort. Is it really so difficult to imagine that not everyone likes your Headmaster quite as much as your family…"
Glancing around quickly, he spotted a young girl with the same fiery red hair that all Weasley's sported: the perfect target for his revenge on Weasley for this moment. He had fully intended to pawn off the strange little book in Knockturn Alley, but with all the eyes on them that was now out of the question.
"We are leaving now to continue our shopping, and neither you nor your pet half-giant will stop us…" Lucius hissed menacingly, before leading his family away, casually bumping into the girl and knocking her used cauldron filled with books to the ground. It was almost too easy to simple let the little black book fall from its hidden place in his robes to join the textbooks and other items on the ground.
Offering the scrambling girl no more than a small glare, Lucius quickly led his family, and Harry, away, inwardly smirking at the small victory he had won.
Once they were a fair distance away and the frightened crowd of wizarding sheep had calmed, Lucius turned back to the rest of his group. "We'll need to work quickly and get what we need in short order before Dumbledore himself decides to show up. Narcissa, if I can urge you to take one side of the Alley, I shall gather what the boys need for this year on the other side while they are fitted for new robes. Draco, keep an eye out for anyone who may wish to try and abduct Mr. Potter from our protection."
They all agreed, and split from that moment, Draco and Harry obediently going directly to Madam Malkin's for fitting, while Lucius and Narcissa went from shop to shop, gathering only the necessities. Say what you would about his wife, Lucius thought to himself, recalling what the other Black sisters had turned out to be, but she was indeed a shrewd and intelligent woman.
It took all of twenty minutes for them to meet up again at the robe shop, where the boys were just finishing up their measurements and getting their robes made. Narcissa went inside to offer her critical opinion about coloration and such for extra clothing for the pair of them, non uniforms and the like, while Lucius stood watch.
Knowing Albus Dumbledore as he did, Lucius was in no ways surprised when the man appeared himself, alongside Severus Snape in the Alley, shortly after the Weasleys had left altogether. Turning to look inside, he met his wife's gaze, and nodded slowly. It was time for them to bid a hasty exit if they wanted to keep Harry out of the Headmaster's clutches.
That was another thing he truly loved about Narcissa. While she had no idea the reasons that Lucius wanted to protect the boy so fiercely, she accepted and worked with him toward the goal whole heartedly. He was truly lucky to have such a wife. And to think that his parents had originally considered Bellatrix for him…
They boys and Narcissa had just emerged, and the group turned toward the exit to the dingy pub, when Dumbledore spotted them. 'Curse the old man,' Lucius thought as he approached.
"Ah, Lucius, I was hoping that I would run into you here today. And Narcissa, you're looking lovely as ever. Good afternoon young Draco, Mr. Potter."
"Albus…" Lucius replied cordially, although the frost was apparent in his words at the sight of the man.
The old man's eyes twinkled maddeningly with merriment, "I had been informed that you were here with young Mr. Potter, and was hoping for a few quick words with him regarding his relatives, whom he so abruptly left the company of after promising that he would remain with the for the duration of the summer. Surely you could understand what an important thing blood is, especially in these… difficult… times…"
"I understand its need, Dumbledore," Lucius said, using a great force of will to keep his voice even, even as his hand twitched to draw his wand and kill the man before him. "However, I have also heard the story from Harry's own mouth, and he was more or less dumped on their unwelcoming doorstep by none other than you, was he not?"
The twinkle left the Headmaster's eyes, and Lucius smirked, "In addition, Harry had gracious accepted an invitation from my son to stay with us during the summer, and while I believe family to be very important, there are many circumstances where others do not think the same as I do, these muggles you stuck the boy with being a fine example of that, would you not agree, Harry?" he added, turning to the boy in question.
It was sheer delight to see the annoyance flash momentarily through the boy at being called forward, but it was more to do with speaking to Dumbledore than Lucius calling him out, it seemed, "I truly tried to fit in there, Headmaster," he said honestly, "But my relatives wanted nothing but to take advantage of me for their own gain, so I decided that I could not in good conscious live with them, so I did indeed, of my own volition, call out to Mr. Malfoy and request to spent the summer with him and his family."
"I see…" Dumbledore said, but Lucius could see the calculating mind spinning to try and come at this again from another, stronger, angle. "But surely you know that I wouldn't have placed you just anywhere without regards to your safety?"
"I do not doubt that that was your intention," Harry replied smoothly, "but I was not aware that it was your position, as Headmaster of my school, to try and control where I went during the times that you lacked authority over me. I've been more or less taking care of myself for my entire life, and I've grown quite used to making my own decisions. You trying to take that control and freedom away from me so abruptly isn't something that I will simply lay down and permit."
Dumbledore seemed to deflate slightly, and Lucius simply stood back and watched, admiring Potter for his ability to so thoroughly pierce the Headmaster's defenses and get under his skin.
"Harry…" the old man tried, but the boy overruled him.
"And another thing… I had spoken in depth to Lord Malfoy over what transpired when I returned to this country, and I must know what you were thinking was your right to effectively abduct me right out on my parent's destroyed home? Sure, I am underage, sure, my parents are dead, but still what right do you have to invade my personal liberties and imprison me in that castle, especially after so long of a time that I had to wander fields and forests at a whim? Do you even understand what that does to someone? The caged bird may sing, but usually it is not a happy song."
The Headmaster recoiled as if struck with a vicious blow, before his head sagged slightly, "I think you have given me a bit to think about Harry. Just know that I do have your best interests at heart in accordance to my actions to protect you, but if you are more than sure of your own choices, then I will not stop you, for now. Just be safe, and I'll want to meet with you to discuss this further when you return to Hogwarts."
And without another word, to Lucius' great astonishment, Albus Dumbledore slunk away, defeated by a twelve year old boy. If he wasn't already committed to Potter and gleaning every ounce of knowledge about the Twisted Nether from him, this act alone would have eliminated any doubt to his ability. Ironically, it made sense that one who routinely conversed with demons would be one of the few who could out talk the master manipulator that was Dumbledore.
By the end of the summer, Lucius had pushed the Death Eaters that were with them to perfect their ability with the Nether so that Harry gave them all his permission to make their first demonic contract. The small army of imps that they were able to summon was interesting in their destructive natures, but personally Lucius was fond of their small stature mixed with their own flare for cunning and mischief. His own imp, Tarren, was particularly vicious to the others, aside from the demonic companions of Theodore Nott, Draco and Harry, all three of whom the little creature knew were his superiors.
Lucius had also managed to convince Harry to leave copies of several of his instructional materials for them while the three boys returned to Hogwarts. It wouldn't substitute for Potter's direct instruction, but it would allow them to at least progress a bit during the times that the boy was not able to personally teach them.
Seeing off the crimson steam engine, Lucius knew that the world was about to turn on its head with the advent of this new magic, and he was internally pleased that he and his family were to be at the forefront of it all. The Dark Lord, if he returned, would not find them meek and submissive slaves as they had been before.
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Nobu'tan initially took a cabin on the train with just Theodore and Draco, content to sit the train ride in peace, but knowing the aspects of children and his own personal fame that was so undesirably thrust upon him, it was no surprise when they were barged in upon no less than ten times.
At least one of these could be forgiven however, as Hermione Granger entered and joined them, smiling in her own secret knowledge that she shared with the orc-raised human, although he was sure that the two Slytherin boys were less than happy that they were unable to discuss the finer points of Nether magic any longer.
But that didn't matter to Nobu'tan, they could wait their turns, all three of them, and even then he had no more intention to discuss the magic of Azeroth until safety in the hidden room, away from prying ears and the spies of Dumbledore, who would be likely resorting to underhanded techniques by this time, smarting from the verbal confrontation as he made it seem.
Most of their other interruptions were taken care of as quickly as they happened, some onlooker that wanted desperately to catch a glimpse of the famous Harry Potter, and once satisfied, ran away as fast as they could. It was irritating, but tolerable, compared to certain individuals that thought it was their right to just waltz in uninvited.
"So, Potter, going to petition the hat to put you in the correct house this year?" said the irritatingly boyish voice of Ronald Weasley, as the gawky thin red head leaned in the open doorway after some unsorted first year got his fill of the lightning bolt scar upon Nobu'tan's forehead.
"That would depend," the warlock answered, "Are you going to petition to get 'Hog' removed from the name of the school because you find its reference to you insulting?"
Draco, Theodore and even Hermione stifled their laughs at the clever comeback, and Nobu'tan watched with barely concealed amusement as the youngest male Weasley's fiery temper flared. But even as he attempted to stalk closer, Nobu'tan withdrew the wand from his sleeve, they all having either arrived in or changed into their school robes soon after boarding the train.
"I'd reconsider that line of thought, Weasley, even though it'll likely made your thick head hurt just coming up with it," Draco added, his own wand in hand and pointing at the red haired boy.
Glancing to his side, Nobu'tan noticed that Nott had also withdrew his wand, while Granger stood neutrally to the side, neither assisting nor interfering, probably as she shared houses with the red head and would have to hear it all year afterward if she sided with Slytherins, not that it mattered to the fact that Nobu'tan was indeed a Ravenclaw.
The idiot swallowed loudly, before backing off with a strangled scowl. After that interruption, Nobu'tan finally just locked the door with wizard magic just to end the tide of irritants. Once that was completed, the warlock contemplated his next moves.
Looking at the three people sharing his compartment, the three that he had originally shared the secrets of Azeroth's magic, two as warlocks and one as a mage, each group blissfully unaware of the other, Nobu'tan wondered if he could get the two groups to work together under him, or if it was safer to keep them ignorant of the others and their powers.
Malfoy and Nott held connections, from which had led to Lucius and his Death Eater renegades, which had indeed added seven more warlocks to his side, while on the other hand Granger was a brilliant study, had read him quick easily over a short amount of time and was presently assisting with his project with designing portals via mage and wizard magic.
But could they effectively work together? No, Nobu'tan realized that it wouldn't work well between the two groups. While Lucius had clearly risen over his hatred of muggleborn magical people over the summer, and even accepted Hermione and her parents in their very public conversation in Diagon, there was no blotting out decades of hatred and superiority. And that sentiment had clearly been passed to the other two boys, who were only permitting her presence because Nobu'tan himself had demanded it, prior.
And on the other hand, Miss Granger had high moral sentiments, she would definitely not approve of allowing the Legion into this world to burn it to ashes. She would turn on him in a heartbeat once she learned of the inevitable outcome of her research. Granted, he wasn't completely sure if the others learning to be warlocks would agree with it either, which was why he had not told anyone of the Legion's true motives.
The only possible issue in the security of that information were the demons that the other warlock's had summoned. Draco and Theodore were still children, and therefore highly unlikely to ask the all important questions of their minions, but the ones that Nobu'tan was concerned about the most were Lucius, Nott Sr. and Yaxley. Those three were the most intelligent of the Ex-Death Eaters, and would intently question Nobu'tan's motives at every turn, unless it directly benefitted them. Currently he was quite safe, as the benefit of their new magic was enough to convince them, but in time the novelty would wear off, and he would have to be cautious to keep them from asking the right questions.
"Do we know who the new Defense Professor will be?" Nobu'tan asked aloud, hoping to spark some conversation.
"Based on the book list, as well as the tiny announcement that we conveniently missed in Diagon," Draco said casually, not looking up from his game of Exploding Snap with Theodore, "It would be the celebrity Gilderoy Lockhart himself."
"Your father did not get us his books…" Nobu'tan replied, having recognized the inconsistency earlier, "I gather that that amounts to his opinion of the man."
"Indeed," Theodore replied, "My father refused to purchase his books either."
"So, you mean to say that your families think that Lockhart won't be an adequate teacher?" Hermione spoke up, setting aside her copy of 'A Standard Book of Spells: Grade Two' and watching the three boys.
Nobu'tan stepped back from the conversation, metaphorically, and watched the back and forth between the two groups ignited. The topic was innocent enough, whether this Lockhart would be a decent teacher or not, but the underlying feeling was what Nobu'tan wanted.
Both Gul'dan and Teron Gorefiend had spent a great deal of time to instruct Nobu'tan in methods of manipulating other to do his work for him, and in getting others into the right mindset to cater to his every whim. By doing this here on the train, he had just caused a sense of competition between the warlock group, lead by Draco and Nott and supported by their connections within Slytherin and through their rich families, and the mage faction, solely lead by Miss Granger, for now, and granted the boon of her massive intellect, and whomever she soon started requiting to her side.
That of course was yet to happen, and wouldn't without a nudge from Nobu'tan himself to happen. He would also do the same with the Slytherins, forming more warlocks and mages in the school in secret, all unknowing loyal to him through the three children with him. It would prove to be both useful to him in achieving his goals, and rather amusing when the bickering between Gryffindor and Slytherin started to boil over into actual fighting.
The train ride was over shortly afterward, or at least it felt that way with all the entertainment before him. Nobu'tan led the way of his bickering allies as they followed the other students along the Hogsmeade platform, to the waiting carriages that brought all but the first years to the castle.
Entering the Great Hall, the group split up to sit at their appropriate tables, and Nobu'tan was once again on his own. He could feel the sets of eyes from the Head Table boring down on him, primarily from Professors Snape and Dumbledore. Briefly he wondered how the two fools would react if he just out and told them everything.
Smirking to himself as he waited with the other Ravenclaws as the doors opened to admit the new First Years, he imagined for a moment the shock grimace on Snape's face, and the loss of the ever-present twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes, the slackening of his features as he detailed exactly what he was up to and what the Burning Legion had in store for his precious world.
Slowly dismissing the bubble of sinister pleasure that threatened to cause him to burst into sardonic laughter, Nobu'tan forced himself to pay attention to the lines of first years. The eleven year olds were a odd lot, nervous and frightened to be sudden thrust into a full room so very packed with people, but through his connection to the magic of the castle, Nobu'tan picked out a few that seemed more interesting than the rest.
He made it a special note, during the Sorting Hats ridicules song, to pay attention to whom these few were and where they were sorted. There were only a few children that actually made that list. A tiny boy that was swiveling his head like a top, trying to take everything in at once caught Nobu'tan's eye, along with an almost airy girl with dirty-blonde hair and a near-vacant expression, and finally the fiery red head of a Weasley. It took all of a moment to recognize the youngest daughter of the family, which Nobu'tan had seen at Diagon recently.
Three out of an entire class, it was actually quite a good amount. But there was still the question of how to twist these new acquisitions to his side. Thankfully, the answer was provided by the hat itself, as it sorted the boy and the Weasley girl into Gryffindor, while the blonde girl came to the house of the wise.
Throughout the rest of the feast, Nobu'tan kept relatively to himself, mulling over the possibilities. It seemed that this year had provided him the issue of providing Miss Granger with more mages to train for him, which in turn would put pressure on the warlocks to try and keep up with her growing circle, once they learned of what the mages could do that was.
Who knew how much fun it was to micro manage a pair of warring, or yet to be warring, factions at once.
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Severus did not like the look on Potter's face throughout the opening feast. That boy was indeed up to something, and a sidelong glance at Albus confirmed that there was some sort of scheme afoot here.
Soon after the students were dismissed, Severus waited for the Headmaster to finish with Minerva and Filius so that he could approach without being overheard. "Potter..." he said simply, and the old Headmaster nodded, before they started the trek up to Albus' office, the most protected area in the castle from being overheard from anyone.
"There is something seriously wrong with that boy, Headmaster," Severus said in all brutal honesty, "I cannot prove what he's up to, but with each event since he left this castle, its far more obvious that he is playing some sort of game with those around him."
"While I will not try to cover for Harry, especially with the given suspiciousness regarding his stay with Lucius Malfoy," Albus said, taking his seat behind his desk, "But I cannot believe that a twelve year old boy would be behind something terribly elaborate or malicious."
Severus was about to argue, but the powerful wizard held up a hand, "Nevertheless, Severus I do agree that we need to keep a close eye on Harry's movements while he is here, especially if he is intent on continuing to flee from us once summer returns. I trust you are already keeping your eye on both Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Nott in your own house."
"Of course, Headmaster," Severus affirmed. He had fully intended to have private words with the pair of them regarding their summer activities. He was their Head of House, they would not dare to try and cross him here.
"Good, I will see about getting Professor McGonagall to keep her eyes on Miss Granger, and that will cover all of the student contacts that Harry had made in the previous year without revealing our suspicion of the boy himself." Albus said, nodding. It seemed that there was still a great weight on the old man's shoulders, but Severus hesitated before trying to breach the topic, but the Headmaster beat him to it.
"I am growing rather old, Severus, despite appearances…" the man explained, "and I fear that wars with two dark lords, and the fright of losing and suddenly regaining Harry is taking its toll on me."
Severus was immediately uncomfortable with the line of conversation, and regretted even indicating that he wanted to pursue it. Bidding a hasty retreat before the man waxed too philosophical about life and death and an old man's worries, Severus escaped down to his domain in the bowels of the castle, amid he fumes and bubbling of cauldrons and his own musings on what the spawn of Potter was up to.
Despite what Albus may choose to believe, Severus knew that the boy was brilliant, as much as he'd not want to admit it, but it was almost dangerous how sharp Potter's intellect was. The fact that the boy, with the aid of a few spells, was able to learn the English language in a single year, along with all the magical education that normally went on in the first year. One would have been impressed with barely passing under those circumstances.
But the boy had done more than just pass, he had excelled. Grudgingly Severus had to acknowledge that the boy seemed to be innately talented whenever magic was concerned, including potions. In fact the boy seemed to have a special interest for Severus' preferred subject.
It was almost a pity that Severus had minimal contact, by choice, with the boy, as he usually wasn't one to pass up such raw talent when he had to opportunity to mold another genius with the simmering cauldron. Momentarily Severus wondered if the Headmaster was going to insist on the private lessons that had barely managed to start before the chaos at the end of the previous year due to the fiasco with the stone and Quirrell.
But there was still something that the Potion's Master had difficulty placing. During previous summers, he had managed to maintain a specific closeness to the Malfoy family, not anything particularly meaningful, but a working association at least as close as any of the other former Death Eaters. Unfortunately, it seemed over the course of one handful of weeks with Potter, and Lucius was all of a sudden avoiding and blocking him from even entering the spacious manor with the other former associates of the Dark Lord.
It was disconcerting, that his remnants of his previous spying in the end of the first war had all but caved in now, and it all occurred around the same time that Potter reentered the picture. There were little things that were coincidences as far as Severus was concerned, and this was far too strange an occurrence to be so benign.
Irritatingly, Severus' job would have been so much easier if the boy had simply been in Gryffindor. Minerva had so much on her plate, between being Head of the house of lions as well as Deputy Headmistress and the Transfiguration Professor, that she rarely had the time to actually devote her attention to those students under her care, which made it all the more likely that Severus would end up responsibly for monitoring Granger as well as the Slytherin 'friends' of Potter.
Filius Flitwick on the other hand, only had his Charms classes in addition to watching over the Ravenclaws as their Head of House, and had ample time to actually care for the little oddities and quirks that cropped up in his students. Or at least, the ones that he managed to catch. Severus wasn't naive enough to believe that the diminutive part human was immune to the failings of his house, and sometimes got so caught up in the academics of something, like his own projects, that he sometimes overlooked the social or emotional aspect of things around him.
But the downside was that he was observant enough to hinder any attempt that Severus might make to take the watching of Potter into his own hands, much as he would be with the Gryffindor Granger. And the Dueling Champion was not one to cross under any circumstances.
Sighing with irritation, Severus set aside the class notes he was working on for his N.E.W.T. classes and decided to go address Slytherin house for his usual start of term words of warning and advice.
Sweeping into the common room, he felt a small molecule of pride that the entire house was waiting, despite the new first years seeming to almost drift off from their full bellies and overwhelming excitement wearing off, but they held themselves with as much dignity as they could as their Head of House came to speak with them all.
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Draco personally wanted nothing more than to go to bed already, but diligently he waited in one of the plush armchairs as Professor Snape swept in, addressing them as a house. "Another year had started," he began without preamble, "and it another opportunity for us as a house to prove that Slytherin in the most cunning and ambitious of the four houses in Hogwarts."
Glancing around at all of them with his cold black eyes, the Potions Master lingered on each of the new First Years, before working his way through the house by year. "If there arise any problems, I expect you to look to your prefects for assistance, only turning to me as a last resort. A major part of Slytherin is learning to make your own connections and working together to overcome challenges."
Draco felt the gaze of his Head of House on him again, and wondered why the man as so attentive to him of all people. He wasn't one of the students that caused problems, but them he remembered. Harry was probably under extreme observation now that they were back in the castle, and it was logical that those who were closest to him would also be watched. So his own Head of House was to spy on him and Theodore. It was rather disappointing, at one time he greatly respected Professor Snape as a brilliant Slytherin and gifted Potions Master, but if he was truly throwing in his lot with Dumbledore, then it explained why the man had been blocked from his usual summer visits with Draco's father.
Then again, it more than made sense, as they were all busy learning magic that would change the course of the world, putting the wizards firmly back at the height of their power once again, and of course a muggle loving fool like Dumbledore would want to keep that down, and Snape would do as Dumbledore told him to.
"And finally," the Head of Slytherin said, bringing Draco's attention back to him, albeit more out of curious observation rather than any devotion or respect. "Be wary of our new Defense Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. I presume that most of your families have already told you of this man and his rather outlandish tales. Work together to learn what you can for your tests, especially theses in fifth and seventh years, you can expect that this fool will end up teaching you very little."
Finally the man swept away just as abruptly as he entered, electing a swarm of muttering from most of Slytherin regarding his words about Lockhart. The Prefects leapt into action, herding the First through Third years away from the conversations, demanding that they go to their dormitories and go to bed so that they could function tomorrow, and put a strong face out to the rest of the school in their first impression for the year.
Draco caught Theo's eye and nodded once, breaking off of the group of second years and heading to the bathroom upon pretext of cleaning their teeth before sleep. "Didn't happen to catch some of what Professor Snape was saying did you?" Theo said, to which Draco nodded.
"There was some that I ignored, but the gist of it was that were going to be watched closer than ever because of our closeness to Harry…" Draco said.
"Indeed," the other boy replied, glancing at their reflections in the mirrors of the green and silver tiled room, before glancing at his own hands. "I still wonder, now and again if it's going to be worth it for this…"
Theo broke off at a sharp glance from Draco, even as the bathroom door opened and some other first and second years entered to use the facilities before bed. Ending their conversation, the pair returned to their dorm disappeared behind their four poster curtains.
Lying in bed, Draco thought about Theo's last words before they were interrupted. Was it indeed worth it? Thinking about the rush of power that he felt every time he touched the magic of the Nether, and the wonder that it caused that outshined anything he had experienced before, he smirked to himself as he settled into a comfortable position in the center of his mattress.
It was most assuredly worth it, if at least for the novelty of finding something about magic that was new and exciting, with a great promise of power for himself and his family for time to come.