Chapter 17 Notes:

CW; vague depiction of violence (magic duel), and talk of torture/death in a joking manner.

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That weekend Nayaz left the dungeons for the first time since his arrival at the castle. All the staff knew of his presence, theoretically, but he'd been submerged in studying and he had said he felt weird just thinking about interacting with the other children in the school too, especially because he was new to the whole magic thing… but all his reservations seemed to vanish when Marzan guided him through the hallways that weekend, gazing up at the moving staircase and the bubbling noise of portraits and ghosts going about their day. They received a look or two but most students were already out in Hogsmeade and they weren't bothered once.

"This place is wicked" His cousin mumbled in amazement, looking around the entrance hall.

Marzan was very used to it, but he had thought the same the first time around.

"Do you ever get lost?"

"Not anymore, but there are areas of the castle that are not easy to navigate. You will get used to it"

The snow had already melted but the weather remained cold when they stepped outside, the wet ground crunching under their boots. Up ahead the carriages were waiting, but as they started to make their way over he spotted a pair of professors walking their way and he clenched his jaw momentarily.

"Do you see the professor with the read beard?" he leaned over a little bit, subtle.

"The one with the horrible tunic?" Nayaz asked, taking the clue and speaking in a low voice.

"Yes. Whatever you do, never look into his eyes, you hear me? Never"

"Um…"

"I'll explain in a minute. Don't do it"

They fell silent for the next few metres as they reached the professors and Marzan bowed his head politely.

"Professor Mulberry, professor Dumbledore" he greeted them.

"Mr. Gaunt" Walton Mulberry answered in a good mood as they passed each other.

Just like that each went their way and Marzan urged Nayaz to get into the carriage without leaving him time to ask about the thestrals. It started moving and he checked the window, but Dumbledore didn't turn their way and soon they were out of sight. He sighed and leaned back on his seat.

"What was that?" Nayaz asked, perplexed. "Why did you ask me not to do that?"

"That was Albus Dumbledore, transfiguration professor. He's a legilimens, he can read minds by looking into your eyes." And Marzan knew very well that no other member of staff was aware… "Listen, I can't really explain how I know any of this, not now anyway, but he's dangerous. That man started the movement with Grindelwald and only when he noticed it didn't benefit him the way he thought did he drop it. He's been keeping an eye on me since I first stepped into the castle, and as long as he can't get to me he will try to use you, so you better avoid him like the plague"

Nayaz frowned in thought for a moment but nodded.

"He knows Grindelwald?" he asked.

Marzan let out a humourless snort.

"Know him? They were together. Gellert Grindelwald studied in Durmstrang, but he came here for his sixth year as an exchange student. Everyone said they were glued at the hip. They travelled together for a while, and they only grew apart a few years later; there's a rumour that they became estranged due to an incident where Dumbledore's younger sister died"

"Oh…" Nayaz paused. "And that thing you mentioned, the legilimens? You can really learn to read minds?"

"Legilimency is the branch of magic. A legilimens is someone who can practice it." He corrected automatically before answering. "And well, no you can't. You can learn occlumency, which is the opposite, how to defend your mind, although it is very hard to grasp. But legilimency needs a predisposition, and very few have it… even fewer ever dominate it properly"

Nayaz took a long look at him, narrowing his eyes.

"You can do it"

It wasn't a question. Marzan offered a wolfish grin.

"Have you read my mind?" He sounded a whole lot less alarmed than most people would, leaning forwards on his seat with interest.

"No, you would know if I did. There are legilimens that can do so without alerting the target -Dumbledore amongst them-, but subtlety has never been my thing"

That was only half a lie. He could be subtle if he wished, but he preferred not to. It was much more fun to push in aggressively and tear his target apart, because he never really saw a point to do it unless he wanted to cause harm. Voldemort had never really been the type of man to cheat and find easier ways to reach his goals, so more often than not it was just another torture method in his wide arsenal.

"Hmm… and that other thing, occlumancy, can you teach me?"

"Occlumency. And yes, I could… it is not easy though, like I said. It'll take a long time before you can block a true legilimens"

"That's fine, at least I'll know what to do"

They left it at that and after a while the carriage stopped, they had made it to Hogsmeade. The town was full of people, lively and noisy, and they moved in between the students and villagers slow enough so Nayaz could take a look at the stores and houses. Even though the village wasn't too big there were a fair few stores there, since they had plenty of business from the students and professors in the castle, as well as any parents that came in to stay and see their children on the weekends, thus providing a stable economy. In this time there was a tea shop that in the future would be completely changed into a pastel pink nightmare by the owner's niece, there was no joke shop yet, and the 'screaming shack' was still inhabited, being a tasteful home of some eccentric wizard that would soon go missing, which would leave it completely deserted from then on. Marzan didn't know who the owner was, just that he'd disappeared. Probably killed in the war, if one wants to be realistic.

"Where are we going?"

"The Three Broomsticks, it's the most popular place in town. I think you'll like the butterbeer"

Nayaz squirmed a little as they approached the building.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked hurriedly. "I don't think I'll fit in"

Marzan opened the door and shoved him inside.

"Stop whining, it'll be fine"

The entire place was packed, but Marzan wasn't interested in wasting time on the first floor and instead guided Nayaz upstairs. The private rooms were there, but also a small balcony with more open tables, ones that were mostly empty. In a corner were his four friends and he made his way over to them, snatching Abraxas' glass off the table and helping himself to a sip of his honeybrew.

"Ah, there you are!" Alphard smiled. "We were just wondering if you were going to be late"

"Of course we weren't, I am never late"

"Ah, that's right— who did you want us to meet?" Orion asked curiously, and very unsubtly glancing at Abraxas to gauge any possible reactions.

Marzan decided he would mark it for payback later and glanced over his shoulder. Nayaz stepped forwards from behind him, standing by his side awkwardly. Orion, Alphard and Tiernan stared openly at him before Tiernan opened his mouth.

"What the—? Since when did you have a brother?"

"We're not!" They both protested immediately.

"What do you mean 'not'? You could be twins" Orion said in amazement.

They didn't look that similar! Marzan eyed his cousin just to make sure, but they definitely were nowhere near identical. Their hair was different textures, and their skin different tones, as well as their eyes— not to mention the fact that they had different features too. They were not even the same height or build!

"You're blind" he decided, pulling a chair and taking a seat. "This is Nayaz, he's my cousin. Nayaz, my friends and roomates; Orion and Alphard Black -cousins, not siblings-, Tiernan Lestrange, and Abraxas Malfoy"

"Cousin… Morfin's?"

He nodded. Abraxas was the most decent by offering a handshake, any harshness or coldness slipping away from his eyes now. Marzan stepped on his foot under the table for good measure. Jealous bastard.

"Pleasure to meet you, Nayaz Gaunt. Forgive our rudeness"

"Oh. Um, it's ok" he smiled a little nervously and shook his hand.

"Yeah, sorry." Alphard smiled sheepishly. "To be fair, you look more alike than the Potter twins do to one another… How old are you? Were you studying somewhere else? Nobody knew Morfin Gaunt had any children"

"I'm less than a day younger than him" Nayaz pointed to Marzan with his thumb, but looked unsure if he should mention his origins.

"Nayaz is a halfblood like me" Marzan said for him without hesitation. "He didn't know anything about magic until recently, he's studying to catch up"

"Really?" Alphard leaned forwards on the table "What is it like? Marzan never talks about it even though he grew up there. Is it true you can fly without magic?"

Nayaz was surprised that none of them batted an eye, but Marzan wasn't. For whatever reason they had all been shockingly accepting of his own origins, and he knew that at the very least they didn't outright despise mudbloods. And even if they did, they respected and liked him enough to be polite for his sake… Not to mention, his housemates had all at least begun to question if their ideals of blood supremacy were all that they thought ever since it came out just how horrible the matter of his conception had been. A wholly unintended result on his part, but useful nonetheless.

"Oh. Um… boring, I guess? It's not that impressive…"

"Aww…"

"I already told you, there's not much to tell beyond what I've mentioned." Marzan insisted.

"Are you at least going to tell us how you suddenly acquired a cousin?" Tiernan questioned.

Alright, fair point.

"My ma' died a few months ago," Nayaz explained a bit quieter, "and before she died she told me about magic. I don't know if she believed it herself, and I definitely didn't at first, but as it turns out it's real… I didn't know I had any other family, so I was also surprised to find I had a cousin my age"

"We sort of fought over the Lordship for a bit." Marzan coughed into his fist, moving his eyes away as his friends chuckled. "Which, by the way, won't be a problem. We found out that the Slytherin Lordship is still intact, once I can claim it Nayaz can keep the Gaunt Lordship for himself"

"That's good news!" Alphard nodded enthusiastically. "Imagine just how much you can find about your family this way"

"I can imagine Morfin will be furious when he finds out…" Orion let out a snort.

Oh, his uncle was sure to have an aneurysm.

Marzan eyed Abraxas from the corner of his eye, but he had remained mostly silent, obseving from the sidelines. He could tell he wasn't upset or jealous, but it felt -inevitably so- a bit suspicious that he hadn't dominated the conversation as he tended to do.

"Why are you so quiet?" He asked eventually, once the interrogation Nayaz was half subjected to had piped down a bit.

Abraxas shrugged. It was mildly infuriating how he could make even such a mundane gesture look effortlessly elegant… as someone who had trained himself rigorously to replicate it, he deeply resented it.

"No reason. I was simply musing over how curious your situation is." He reached to touch Marzan's growing hair, fingers brushing against the back of his neck. The touch was fleeting, as he simply flicked at his hair in a playful gesture, but his touch burned nonetheless. "You have a cousin who has also lost his mother, both your fathers are absent, you are the exact same age…"

"Ugh, you're impossibly annoying"

Marzan shoved his arm away as the blond laughed.

Nayaz leaned in to his right where Tiernan sat very slowly, whispering a question to the others;

"Do they always flirt like this in public?"

He whiped his head around and slapped him on the back of the head, lamenting that he couldn't quite reach his supposed friends, who had nodded solemnly in response.

"Yes, we've been enduring it for years." Orion sighed.

"I'm going to kill you and feed you to my dragon"

He quickly waved his hands in front of his body degensively.

"On second thought—"

"Is it really allowed for you to date each other?" Nayaz asked.

"We're not dating." Both Marzan and Abraxas answered in unison, one far more unbothered than the other.

"Yes, sure," he rolled his eyes, "but if you were…"

"We wouldn't." Marzan sighed.

Nayaz elbowed him on the side.

"You know exactly what I actually meant!"

He did, but Marzan was clinging to the last threads of his sanity and he didn't want to dwell on any thoughts remotely regarding his and Abraxas' bizarre relationship. If he did he might lose it completely.

"Well, why wouldn't they be allowed? In a hypothetical situation of course." Alphard quickly clarified before Marzan started on it again. "The rules in Hogwarts require for everyone to behave properly and without public shows of affection, but they don't forbid dating in any sense"

Nayaz's cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Yeah, I mean…" He looked at Marzan for help, but the elder Gaunt shrugged his shoulders as to indicate this was his own fault for bringing it up. He then sighed in defeat and hesitantly brought up his reason; "Um… Muggles don't approve of those… of two men together…?"

For a second the table was silent, with the four pureblood lordlings staring at him, utterly baffled. Marzan almost wished he had a camera at hand to capture the sight.

"Not at all?" Alphard asked.

"No? I mean, the Bible says it's a sin"

That brought in a new wave of confusion.

"What is a bible?"

"A book about God"

Orion glanced at Marzan, who despite finding this extremely amusing, decided to have some mercy on them all.

"One of the muggle world's most prominent religions is christianity, which is a monotheistic religion. There are multiple different ramifications within itself, but all of them believe in 'god'. The bible is a compilation of the original Jewish tradition, and the additional text that narrates the life of 'Jesus Christ', the one they believe to be the son of god and the messiah that will save them all. In England the majority is protestant, but I was raised in a catholic orphanage." Was that right? It had been quite a long time after all, he wasn't quite sure if he was being completely accurate. "A lot of christians follow the word of the bible like it is law… but the bible was written by men and translated or rewritten multiple times through the centuries. Not to fan old flames of any conflicts, but christianity was one of the reasons the witch hunts were started"

Tiernan frowned to himself, swaying his nigh empty glass of butterbeer, and the Black cousins seemed each lost on their own thoughts as well.

"Speaking of which, I did not expect you to even be christian." Marzan added casually, looking at Nayaz.

"I'm not, but my mum didn't teach me anything of hinduism either, and most people around me were"

Made sense…

"But which god do they believe in?" Orion asked, confused.

"Just god," Marzan shrugged, "according to them, the creator of the universe and all life"

"Doesn't he have a name?"

"In some versions"

"Wizards don't believe in god or gods?" Nayaz asked next.

"No, not really. But when saying 'wizards' keep in mind you are not referring to every magic person, only one specific subsection. Most magic folk in Europe and USA are witches and wizards, but they are not the same universally. Look at baba and shushu; they are cultivators, and their magic is completely different from ours down to its most basic elements. They do have gods too, and supposedly can cultivate to immortality or eventually ascend as gods. Don't quote me up on that, better ask either of them…" Marzan had made questions here and there, but not at depth just yet. There was so much to learn in the world at large and in eighty years of his conjoined lives he had only scratched the surface. "Here in Europe, a lot of 'gods' weren't proper gods. Beings of high power, certainly, but evidently not divine as their current absence shows. The first witches created a tradition of leaning towards nature and connecting with it to channel magic, and through time it was forgotten"

"First witches?"

"Old magic only answered to the call of women." Abraxas clarified. "Even now, witches are statistically more powerful than wizards. They also learn faster, consume less magic in their spells, and have a higher affinity for rare magic branches like divination"

"Then how did it transfer to men too?"

"Intermixing with elves," he answered with a tense smile. "All wizards alive today have at least a tiny trace of elven blood"

"There's some theories there are wizards with fae blood, but that hasn't been proven." Marzan added, seeking to quickly change the topic before it upset Abraxas.

"Ah…"

"Ok, let's go back a bit—" Alphard waved his hand. "So muggles don't approve of same sex relationships due to religion?"

Marzan nodded.

"It tends to change with the eras as they come and go, but currently it is illegal in a lot of places. And if not, then at least severely stigmatised"

"It's so… different here." Nayaz nodded.

For Marzan it had been like that too. Young Tom Riddle had been completely blindsided from the start, and the only reason he didn't make a fool of himself about it was that he thankfully found out through books. Admittedly, it had taken a lot of time to accept it, but due to his tendency to isolate himself it was never too big of a problem. By the time Alphard and Orion started fooling around in their shared bedroom, he was at most simply annoyed at having to deal with not being able to come and go from said room as freely as before. Now that he thought about it… maybe that was the reason he had been completely blind to Abraxas' utterly unsubtle interest.

"You'll grow used to it." Alphard said with some pity.

"Yes well, you try to get used to magic, dragons and all that out of nowhere…"

They all laughed quietly at that.

Later that night as Marzan walked his cousin back to the dungeons, Nayaz had reluctantly and a bit embarrassed thanked him.

"I liked your friends," he explained, "and I'd never really felt very comfortable around other people, but… they are nice. I had fun"

Refusing to admit he was pleased and at least partially relieved, Marzan extended his hand and ruffled his hair roughly until Nayaz tried to push him off, at which point Elerhys had caught them each by the ear before they could start to behave like wild animals.

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"Thank you for your help, Mr. Gaunt."

Professor Salman sighed in exhaustion, offering him a thankful smile. Her hat had been discarded and her long sleeves gathered away to have her hands clear for once.

"You're quite welcome, professor." He dismissed with a shake of his head. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Oh no, I can handle everything else myself. Now go, you still have time to enjoy your Sunday"

Marzan nodded and picked up his robe, pulling down his sleeves before he put it back on.

"I will see you on Tuesday then, professor"

"Until then, Mr. Gaunt"

It was barely past midday, as per his pocketwatch marked. He'd told Nayaz he'd meet him in the southern courtyard to show him more around the castle, but knowing that child he would be feeling impatient already. Normally Marzan would not go out of his way to babysit more than necessary, but his friends were busy attending a Quidditch game -which he could hear in the distance- and he'd promised Iraia he'd try to bond with Nayaz… besides, he didn't have much else to do. In the morning he'd spent a couple of hours grooming HanQiang's fur and scales while they had a casual conversation, a part of his routine that he was trying to enforce more often; despite being bonded in soul, Marzan had not spent enough time around the ancient dragon. After that he'd taken a shower and changed clothes, seeing as he'd been sitting in the damp grass, but before he could meet with his cousin professor Salman had spotted him and asked for help rearranging an empty classroom for a lesson she was preparing for the third years, and he couldn't simply say no as a prefect and model student.

He stepped out the doors to the inner courtyard of the castle and stopped in his tracks for a second, seeing in the distance how Nayaz stood tense, surrounded by a group of four very familiar Gryffindors. With a deep sigh and already dreading the interaction, Marzan started walking over.

"… answer? Come on, we don't bite"

"I already told you, leave me alone"

Nayaz didn't look too confident, but he wasn't cowering, although his hand was steadily placed over Anika's head to hold her back, who was wrapped around his shoulders.

"What, you think you are better than us, snake?" McLaggen pushed a finger against his chest. "Don't be so full of yourself"

"I didn't say that, don't put words in my mouth"

"Now, now, I think you might need a lesson on how to speak to your betters"

Marzan reached out and grabbed Weasley's wrist, forcing him to let go of Nayaz's collar, and forced some distance between them before he let go.

"He told you to leave him alone." He said plainly but camly.

"Would you look at that…"Potter glared at him, arms crossed on his chest. "Our favourite bootlicker is here"

Please…

"Just shut your mouth, Potter. If you took a single minute to learn that from your brother I would truly appreciate it. Let's go, Nayaz"

Mallory quickly stepped in their way.

"We never said you could go anywhere"

He raised an eyebrow, completely unimpressed.

Now, it was true that the four Gryffindors were more built thanks to their quidditch playing, and both Potter and McLaggen were quite tall, but despite all the time he'd spent behaving like a Lord, Marzan was yet to forget the vicious instinct to survive instilled in him through the orphanage. That was also, of course, assuming that they would even get a chance to do anything before he stunned them with a spell.

"I am giving you the opportunity to walk away and pretend none of this ever happened, I would suggest you take it"

Potter nudged Mallory aside, stepping closer in what he probably thought was a menacing prowl.

"Why are you so worried, hm? Could it be that Malfoy finally ditched you so you had to find a replacement?"

"Leave it, Potter"

"Or what? Are you going to complain to your daddy?"

Marzan rolled his eyes. Truly, teenagers were the worst.

Weasley approached them from the left and Anika hissed menacingly. The redhead clearly wasn't too clever, because he tried grabbing at Nayaz again anyway, and in a perfectly understandable reaction the young snake bit his hand. Weasley stumbled backwards with a yelp, clutching at his wrist.

"It bit me! That stupid snake bit me!"

The others all pulled out their wands and pointed them. Half hidden behind Marzan, Nayaz hugged Anika close to his chest.

"Anika isn't venomous, you'll be just fine." Marzan clenched his jaw and extended his arm forwards to stop Potter. "Rai, however, is. So step. back."

The viper that had so far stayed inside his sleeve hissed as he came out to light, and Potter did have the mind to step back out of range.

"How dare you!?" Potter pointed his wand at his chest. "You'll pay for that, Gaunt!"

"I already told you I want no trouble, go away"

"As if! Stupefy!"

Marzan dodged to his left just in time, pulling out his wand and lifting up a protego just before another barrage of spells came their way. Nayaz screamed, curling down around Anika and cowering behind him, but that was the best position he could possibly be at the moment considering he didn't know any spells to defend himself. He was a great duellist and keeping these children at bay was no trouble at all, but he focused primarily on fending off their attacks, only sending harmless jinxes their way since he still didn't want to get in too much trouble. Flashes of light lit up the courtyard and he started running through possible ways of cutting off the duel, when suddenly a voice echoed around them with a boom.

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Marzan fought the compulsion, fingers clutching around his wand with so much strength that it dug painfully into his skin, the wand shaking madly, but the compulsion of an expelliarmus didn't last all too long and eventually the shaking of his wand subsided. All the Gryffindors had lost their wands, which were swiftly collected by a professor dressed in bright green.

"What is the meaning of this?" Dumbledore demanded to know, blue eyes sparkling with rage and disappointment.

"P-Professor Dumbledore! I… we were just…"

Potter was of course out of words, and Marzan angrily shoved his wand into his sleeve, reaching back to grab at Nayaz. His cousin flinched at his touch and then to his surprise reached out to hold onto his robes tightly, trembling against his side. Unsure of what to do he pat his head to try and soothe him.

"They started it." He accused. "I tried to tell them to walk away"

"Your snake attacked me first!" Weasley retorted.

"You tried to grab him!"

"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore glared at all of them and then pointed to the doors. "To the headmaster's office. Now!"

Marzan had to contain the bubbling rage of the obscurial beneath his skin, holding onto Nayaz's arm as he stormed into the castle, holding him close and getting ahead of Dumbledore and the Gryffindors. As they walked Rai slid over to Nayaz, soothing Anika with a few hisses. The poor girl was still very young and she had never encountered something like that.

«Are you alright?»

Nayaz nodded slowly. Little by little his trembling was subsiding.

«Yeah… that was just- very sudden. Are all duels like that? How do you even do it?»

Marzan huffed.

«That wasn't a real duel, I could've been done with it in less than fifteen seconds. I just didn't want to get in trouble; duels are forbidden out of class»

«Who are they?»

«I will explain later. First we handle this mess»

They waited for a few seconds in front of the gargoyle, waiting for the others to catch up. Marzan glared at Dumbledore's feet as to not be overly rude to a professor that could get him in trouble, and then they all followed behind him upstairs. For better or for worse, Dippet was currently in a meeting with professor Merrythought, the deputy headmistress, and they all looked baffled as the six boys walked in silently behind Dumbledore, standing at opposite sides of the room. The Gryffindors definitely looked rougher, with Weasly clutching his bleeding hand, McLaggen having tears in his uniform, Mallory dirt all over him, and Potter having cracked one lense of his glasses. Marzan looked perfectly composed, and Nayaz was simply a little roughed up with his clothes in disarray.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Dippet inquired.

Dumbledore set the confiscated wands on the desk and crossed his arms, looking at the boys with disappointment.

"Imagine my surprise to find Mr.'s Weasley, McLaggen, Mallory and Potter engaged in a duel with Mr. Gaunt"

Dippet's mouth fell open inevitably, shocked at the news.

"With Mr. Gaunt?" He asked for clarification.

"Yes"

Merrythought also looked stunned. Marzan was, after all, regarded as a well behaved child. If not the best behaved.

"He threatened us, and the snake bit Weasley!" Potter immediately accused.

"You were harassing Nayaz, and I was giving you the opportunity to back away!"

"You have no proof to accuse us!"

The room soon devolved into a full screaming match in which nothing but a few words were intelligible. Nayaz had started shouting too, and neither Dippet nor Dumbledore could get a word in.

"I think it's best if we could call professor Dracul here—"

"But that's not fair!" McLaggen whipped his head around instantly. "He always gets preferential treatment for being a prefect!"

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Nayaz snarled.

"It's TRUE!" Potter yelled. "Dracul and Staghart always side with him!"

"That would be because you're in the wrong!"

Both Potter and Nayaz made to step forwards and professor Merrythought finally stepped in, physically in between them.

"That's enough! All of you! Do you have no shame, behaving like this? You are nearly grown men, supposed to be mature! Is this the kind of students worth representing our school?"

That finally had them quieting down once again and she shook her head.

"Now, since none of you wish to cooperate and prefer behaving like children, you will be treated like so. Professor Dippet, I believe it would be appropriate to call for each of their parents"

Dippet nodded, looking just as disappointed.

"Indeed. Professor Dumbledore, please escort these young men to the detaining room to wait, and do notify Madam Magnolis so that she might check them over"

Great. And here Marzan was thinking he was having a good day…

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The detaining room was seldom used, to his knowledge, and it was rather plain with white walls and floor. The professors fetched a few old desks for them to sit, and the Gryffindors sat mumbling to each other in one corner while Nayaz and Marzan sat in the other. Madam Magnolis had briefly checked over the Gryffindors and bandaged Weasley's hand, but aside from that they remained alone for a couple hours. The two of them were quiet for most of it, to the point Rai and Anika fell asleep on Nayaz's lap, but eventually his cousin started to mumble under his breath.

«… If only I had a knife at hand…»

Marzan's lip twitched.

«Stabbing or slashing?»

Nayaz narrowed his eyes but answered nonetheless.

«Stabbing, of course. It's more efficient»

«Maybe so, but it lacks finesse.» Marzan stretched out his legs and slid down his chair a bit. «With how much I hate them however, I could see myself reduced to lesser methods. I'm picturing… disembowelment. Perhaps skinning too, I am still deciding»

«Oh, extracting all the organs?» Nayaz nodded enthusiastically. «Do you think someone can be kept alive while it's done?»

«If you're careful enough, I don't see why not. The bloodloss is inevitable though»

«Hmm, that's true… It would be over too fast»

«Skinning a person can be done all the while they're alive»

«Extra slowly to get it all in one piece too»

«Maybe to make a coat»

«A pair of shoes?»

«Ah, we'd have four hides, so that'd be worth at least a few pairs, right?»

«For different occasions, yeah. The rest of the body would unfortunately be wasted…»

«Bones»

«Bones?»

«It seems like an interesting material to experiment with. Weapons, instruments…»

«A wand would look very cool»

«I'm not sure of the exact properties of them, but perhaps there are ways to use it for wandmaking. It would be worth looking up»

«Human bone wand. Truly unique»

«You'd need a core too. Wands require a core to work»

«Uh…»

«Heartstrings? Hair?»

«A mix of all of it?»

After what felt like an eternity they came to be fetched by the custodian, Mr. Codde, who gestured for them to follow, and then he escorted them back to the headmaster's office. For how spacious said room was, it now felt cramped with all the parents present, plus professor Beery as the Head of Gryffindor too. The second they walked closer Iraia craddled Marzan's face and examined him for any damage, holding Nayaz by the shoulders to do the same once he assured himself that his sometimes reckless son didn't have a scratch. From the corner of his eye he saw the anxious mothers of the Gryffindors gasp at the sight of them— he was not eager to get into that, but he had to because before any discussions could be started, a voice echoed in the room.

"Septimus! What happened to you!?" Mrs. Weasley wailed as she looked at her son's bloodstained uniform and bandaged hand.

"I'm fine, mum." He said, unhappy but calmer after Madam Magnolis had patched him up and told him quite bluntly to his whining that it was not a serious injury at all. "The snake bit me but I'm fine"

"A snake bit you?"

She looked utterly horrified. She turned towards the two Slytherins, eyes zeroing on Anika and Rai. Marzan had picked Rai back up by then and only part of him was visible from the fold of his robe against his chest. Anika on the other hand, was fully curled around Nayaz's shoulders as she tended to do.

"I assure you, Mrs. Weasley, the healer already checked his wound." Dippet made sure to clarify.

She visibly spluttered before she cried out; "Why is it that those boys carry such dangerous animals in a school full of children!? Those are not pets allowed by the school! What if my son has been poisoned!?"

Mrs. Mallory had wrapped her arm around her son, tugging him closer while she looked at them with distrust.

"Madam, he couldn't possibly be poisoned." Marzan couldn't help but say bluntly, raising an eyebrow. "Snakes are venomous, not poisonous"

Elerhys nudged at him with an elbow, his mouth twitching ever so slightly as he contained a smirk, but Nayaz was a bit more unsubtle as he snorted, quickly hiding it behind his hand.

"What Marzan is trying to say," Iraia quickly spoke before they could whine even more, "is that your son is under no risk. Anika is not a venomous snake. She is very young still and likely only reacted out of fear, but we apologise nonetheless. The boys are responsible and would never have Anika or Rai bite anyone on purpose"

"That doesn't answer our question!" Mrs. McLaggen huffed. "Those are illegal pets!"

"Nayaz is not a Hogwarts student, he is not tied to the pet restrictions." Iraia answered ever so patiently. "Rai, on the other hand, is not a pet. He is Marzan's familiar. As per Hogwarts' rulebook, animal familiars are the exception to the pets rule"

"Professor Staghart said it perfectly." Merrythought agreed smoothly. "It is illegal to force separation between a witch or wizard and their familiar. I can also confidently say that Mr. Gaunt's familiar has been perfectly behaved in the past five years, and there has never been a single incident involving them. Now, as this particular point has been clarified, can we get started?"

Reluctant and wary, everyone nodded and focused while Dippet took over, clearing his throat.

"Thank you, professor Merrythought. I apologise for having interrupted your day, but this was a grave enough matter. I will describe only what we know before we delve into the boys' personal accounts; professor Dumbledore found the six of them in the courtyard, and at the time Mr. Gaunt was engaged in a duel with Mr.'s Potter, McLaggen, Weasley and Mallory. As you know duelling is strictly forbidden and carries a heavy penalty to all sides involved, but they could not agree to a single narrative and engaged in screaming at each other instead. Thus, I have called you all here." He glanced around the room and then looked at Nayaz. "Mr. Gaunt, could you please start with your side of the story?"

Nayaz squirmed a bit at being the centre of attention but he didn't hesitate to start telling the story.

"Um… Marzan promised yesterday that he would show me around the castle so I wouldn't get lost, and we arranged to meet in the courtyard at eleven, but he got delayed. I was waiting all by myself because I thought everyone was in Hogsmeade. Then they came over to talk to me— I don't know anyone really, and I didn't really want to entertain them, but then that one," and he pointed at Weasley, "became mad that I wasn't answering happily. They teased me and at that point I just wanted them to go away, they just wouldn't leave me alone. One of them shoved me and that's about when Marzan interrupted and told them to go away, but they still wouldn't leave, and Anika got really upset so she bit the redhead. And uh, they did not like that… Marzan sort of threatened them by saying he'd get Rai to bite them, but neither of us actually did anything at all. It was the one with the glasses who casted a spell at us, and then uh, well then things went really crazy and I don't know much of anything else. The other professor interrupted them after a couple minutes and that's that"

The Gryffindors mumbled protests, insisting to their parents that they hadn't done anything wrong. Dippet thanked Nayaz softly and eyed the group, but no voices were raised just yet. Mrs. Mallory seemed about to speak up to defend her son, but actually it was Lord Potter who interrupted her.

"I'm sorry, did you say that young man was duelling against all four boys… all by himself?" He wanted to verify, in disbelief.

"Well I've never been in a duel…" Nayaz mumbled, looking away in embarrassment.

Marzan lifted his chin in a slightly arrogant gesture.

"I did"

Lord Potter blinked slowly and glanced at Iraia and Elerhys, who of course looked completely unperturbed.

"Marzan is… ahead of his peers sometimes." Iraia said delicately.

Lord Potter still was obviously shocked.

"He does not have a single scratch on him." He emphasised.

If he did, Marzan would consider it a personal failure. He was way older than any of those brats and had a lot more experience, of course he could duel them all at once without issue. However, getting out of such an unbalanced duel unscathed was not normal for a regular teenager, and for quite obvious reasons, everyone thought he was a regular teenager.

"That is not relevant!" Mrs. Mallory finally interrupted. "Our children were attacked!"

"Attacked!? They were the ones who were harassing me!" Nayaz protested.

"Mrs. Mallory, Marzan Gaunt has never once done something like this…" Merrythought shook her head.

"Are you saying my son is a liar!?"

"Why do you have to believe him?" Weasley agreed, looking at both Slytherins in disgust. "He always gets preferential treatment! Especially because of professor Staghart!"

What!?

"Hmph! Of course he would," Mrs. McLaggen glared openly at Iraia, looking him up and down despectively. "That is what happens when guardians are allowed to teach children under their charge"

The obscurial rattled in his chest fighting to get out in response, in tandem with Elerhys' low growl on his throat. Marzan's jaw tightened— despite all his conflicting emotions and confusion to how he was supposed to handle being adopted and having a family, he knew this much; he greatly respected Iraia for taking him in under his wing and looking after him since he was eleven. He'd slowly worked his way to earn his trust without making him feel like a stupid child, and fought endlessly to make sure he didn't have to stay with his uncle anymore, only having his wellbeing in mind. Maybe he couldn't understand the coddling and shows of worry and affection, but the sincerity in each of his actions left very clear how much he cared… and for Marzan, who had never been wanted, neither as Tom Riddle nor as Voldemort, that was something to be treasured.

"My fathers," he hissed, placing emphasis on the word as his eyes narrowed and hardened, "have never once shown any favouritism to me in or out of the classroom. They are both professionals who take their job seriously, and if I ever did anything worth being punished for, they'd be first to put me in my place. Hogwarts' professors have had their own children as students all through the history of the school, starting from the founders themselves, it isn't anything new or unusual"

The short silence that followed was very tense, but eventually Dippet spoke up again.

"… Indeed, it is as Mr. Gaunt has said. Most members of staff have taught at least one member of their family in the past, and their integrity has never been brought into question." He said it with a sense of finality, leaving it clear he would not take lightly to his professors being targeted. "And while I in no way intend to imply Mr. Mallory or his friends lie, we have to look at the objective facts; Mr. Gaunt is not only a prefect, he has an absolutely perfect record. He has never been punished with detention, and none of his professors have reported anything less than exemplary behaviour. Even professor Dumbledore, whom Mr. Gaunt is known to not like, has had no complaints to say over the years"

And Dumbledore had tried to find faults, make no mistake. He still tried to get into his head, to which he never found a thing, and he constantly lurked in the corridors waiting to catch him doing anything suspicious, but the most he had seen so far was him going to class or performing his prefect duties. He couldn't even get away with lowering his grades because Marzan was his best student, and Dippet had a close eye on him to make sure he was impartial ever since first year.

"They have been very transparent with the fact they hate me," Marzan stated bluntly, "but I don't care about their petty thoughts. I have much better things to focus on than their childish behaviour. I repeatedly told them to stop harassing my cousin, and they refused to walk away. I could have used my privileges as a prefect to take points from Gryffindor, but I didn't. I wasn't even going to tell any professor about it, and if things escalated, then they are to blame. I didn't pull out my wand until they casted the first spell, and I only did it to defend us, even though I could have stunned them easily from the beginning"

Potter scoffed.

"Arrogant snake…" he mumbled.

"That's enough, Mr. Potter." Dippet reprimanded heavily, and the boy lowered his eyes when his father also glared at him. "This is a serious matter! You risked all of you in so recklessly starting a duel, especially considering Nayaz Gaunt does not know any spells to defend himself! You are lucky the castle was mostly empty, but any first or second year student could have walked by and gotten caught in the crossfire!"

The Gryffindors blushed furiously, mouths agape at the reprimand, but Dippet was not done even though their parents also looked terribly shocked and as if they were being scolded.

"Mr. Gaunt is an obscurus, do you have any idea of how much danger you put yourselves in? If he were to lose control -and you should be grateful that he has such a fine one- you could have died easily!"

An understanding dawned on the group of parents as they realised that the obscurus child the press had been talking about for months was the very boy their stupid sons were fighting. It was no secret that an obscurial could wreck entire buildings in seconds, let alone the fragile structure of a human body. The last known obscurus had destroyed an entire town when brought to the utmost limit, before it perished.

"All four of them are to receive a month detention, after a week long suspension that they will spend in the school. They cannot participate in any extracurricular activities either." The headmaster sentenced even as they gasped. "I trust this is the last time any such incident will ocurr"

"But—"

Lord Potter clamped his hand on his son's shoulder and Fleamont shut up.

Marzan took a deep breath.

"How long will I be in detention, professor Dippet?"

Ah, there went his perfect record…

All the professors in the room blinked at him.

"You are not in trouble, Mr. Gaunt." Merrythought shook her head. "You acted in self defense, something corroborated both by your cousin, and Madam Magnolis after she examined all of you. I can say, however, that I appreciate your sincerity in offering to shoulder the punishment"

Oh…

He had to admit, it was somewhat funny that he had accidentally made himself look even better in the eyes of his classmates' parents by doing that. Still, he had expected to be at least given a week of detention or something.

"Well, I think we can adjourn this meeting, then…"

They filed out of the headmaster's office. All day had been wasted just like that, but at least it was over…

«No new shoes…» Nayaz said mournfully as they reached the hallway below.

Marzan couldn't contain a snort at that. Elerhys gave them a narrow eyed look and he quickly shook his head.

"Nothing! It's nothing, it was just a dumb joke"

The elder vampire shook his head, flicking his ear with a finger.

"How is it that you always end up in this sort of trouble? You're getting extra lessons out of school, even if you're not officially in detention"

Marzan sighed, he'd figured that would happen. It wasn't too big of a loss however, he at least wouldn't be bored.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gaunt?"

He turned, finding that Lord Potter had split from the group to approach them. Elerhys raised an eyebrow.

"Can we help you?" He asked, clearly placing himself in between.

"Ah, my apologies for the rude interruption…" Lord Potter offered a hand. "Henry Potter"

Slowly, he accepted the handshake.

"Elerhys Dracul. Potions professor"

"Yes, yes— my son -Charlus, that is- has commented on how interesting your class is." Lord Potter cleared his throat. "This may seem too forwards from my part… but, has your son perhaps considered a career as an auror? He definitely seems to have the ability for it, not to mention a strong integrity"

Elerhys' eyebrow arched even higher and Iraia couldn't help but smile behind a hand.

"And work for the Ministry?" Marzan couldn't help but say.

The clear horror in his face surprisingly made Lord Potter laugh. An auror! Him! Absolutely not.

"Well, I suppose that is an undeniable downside." Lord Potter smiled, eyes shining with mirth. "Nonetheless, let me assure you that talent such as yours is not easily found. If you are at least interested to further those skills, the auror's office offers a preliminary course without commitment to the job"

Hm, it could still be something useful to do, and he could at least practice without restraint against full adults…

"If you wish to try it, you can visit our department during your summer break. Captain Sanders would definitely like you"

Marzan nodded slowly.

"I will consider it"

Lord Potter smiled.

"I hope so. Now if you excuse me… Oh, and— I truly apologise for Fleamont's behaviour. I will most certainly have a stern talk with him about it"

"Thank you, Lord Potter." Iraia said softly.

An auror. Ugh, Marzan needed something strong to drink. He wondered if maybe Azure could be persuaded to get him a glass of firewhiskey…

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When he got to his bedroom that night he did so sober, but at least hearing his friends laugh about the absurdity of the situation made him feel slightly less insane. He fell asleep beneath Abraxas' steel tight grip, and to his utter surprise he woke the last of them all, rolling to cover his head with the blankets at the brightness of the lights. That was most unusual for him, who had always been a morning person, but he just felt really tired and he didn't want to deal with any stupid people after that fiasco the day before. It was way too much trouble to pretend to be normal, so maybe he should just snap and commit mass murder again, because at least then people would be too terrified to try and bother him with inconsequential things and petty arguments. Eventually and after getting ready Abraxas physically picked him up and dragged him to the bathroom, at which point he relented to wake up so he could kick him out of his cubicle, but he was not happy about having to get ready. On top of that, his handkerchief wouldn't fold the perfect way, and a few strands of hair refused to stay brushed backwards anymore, having grown too long to be kept in the same hairstyle. Frustrated, he found himself sat on top of the trunk at the end of his bed, with his roomates surrounding him.

"I think it's time you either cut it or force it to grow with a spell." Alphard finally decided, tapping his chin with his finger. "I don't see another way"

"You could have it like me," Orion pointed, "so it is not too long"

"I still maintain short hair is better…" Tiernan shrugged.

He had worn short hair most of his lives, but he didn't know if he would absolutely commit to having long hair. Elerhys' hair was only slightly longer than Orion's, which was at his shoulders, which was definitely a look easy to replicate. On the other hand, Iraia and Azure had long hair to their waist that looked incredibly good… in his past, Abraxas had too grown his golden curls, and it also looked good… but Marzan's hair was not curly to look like that, nor was it pin straight like his father's or Salazar's. It was at best, a bit straight and a bit wavy sometimes.

"Try it longer." Alphard encouraged him. His own hair was only at mid back, and it varied between very straight to curlier when the straightening spells wore off, but it always looked nice on his softer face and effeminate look. "If you don't like it, it's easier to cut it off than grow it"

They turned to Abraxas, who hadn't given his opinion. Cross armed, the Malfoy heir tilted his head and considered it.

"Longer." He decided after a moment.

"Great! We still have some time before breakfast starts, so shoo! Go away, I need peace to work"

Alphard shooed all of them away, pushing them towards the door.

"Hey! We could help too!" Orion protested.

"Nope"

Alphard slammed the door on his face and turned, pulling his sleeves up.

"Now, let's see…"

Marzan was starting to have many regrets again.

.

.

"Are you sure it doesn't look bad?"

"Marzan if you make me repeat it again I will punch you"

The hair growth spells were awful, making his scalp tingle in the worst of ways, but after the effect subsided he had ended up with hair nearly as long as his waist, and it looked horrible. He had been about to give up entirely, but Alphard insisted he needed to trust the process, and that of course nobody would look perfect just like that, because styling was also a key element. And now, sat in front of the bathroom vanity, he could admit that Alphard had been right… it didn't look bad at all. With his hair grown longer it had turned wavier, but not nearly enough to become unruly, frizzled or tangled, just about the right amount to give it volume and body. Alphard had cut it in very subtle layers just above his mid back, and gathered it in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck, tied off with a green ribbon. A few wisps of hair were still too short to reach the ribbon, but they framed his face nicely to balance out the rest that was pulled back.

"Now come on, we'll be late!"

Marzan managed to grab his bag before he was dragged outside. The common room was already empty, but breakfast had only started a couple minutes ago, so they should have enough time to eat at their own pace. When they walked into the Great Hall heads turned their way, and Marzan decided he would be delusional and pretend he wasn't being stared at by half the school, following Alphard towards their spot at the Slytherin table.

"Ta-da!" Alphard smiled proudly once they reached the others, showing off his work.

"Wow…" Orion seemed very impressed, and even Tiernan couldn't deny that it was a good look.

"Look at you! Very handsome." Walburga laughed, sat just a few seats down with Lucretia and Eileen Prince. "I'm sure your list of admirers just grew twice its size"

"Ugh." Marzan groaned, and that only made her laugh again.

"Hey, Gaunt—!"

"Go fuck yourself, Rosier"

Their classmates started snickering and laughing and he sat down on his usual spot to serve himself a plate. Everyone else was busy chatting away and asking Alphard about his styling skills, so thankfully the attention wasn't on him for at least a little bit… he knew they would tease him later however.

He almost jumped when cold fingers brushed against his neck, and he turned his head to look at Abraxas.

"It suits you very well." The blond said directly, his pale eyes focused on Marzan's. "I like it"

Marzan turned away, pretending that his cheeks didn't feel warm.

"Even if you didn't, I'm not changing it for you"

He didn't know why, but Abraxas' soft chuckle made him… made him…

Marzan shook his head and started on his breakfast.

It definitely made him want to punch his face, that's what.

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* The exact workings on Occlumency and Legilimency are made up to suit my worldbuilding.

* I am by no means an expert on theology, and if I have put down any incorrect facts, feel free to correct me. I have pulled this out of my upbringing in a predominantly christian latinoamerican culture, so it is from memory. Similarly, I chose to made up the fact that Wool's Orphanage was catholic because this is the branch of christianity I am actually familiar with. It just makes it a bit easier on me, instead of having to investigate religion at depth… Not even I am dedicated enough for that.

* While not mentioned directly, Henry Potter is an auror. I imagine that likely inspired James Potter to become one later on.

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This was a more lighthearted chapter, as I feel that putting down too much lore at once may be overwhelming. Besides, we also get a chance for casual interactions and the like.

I apologise for the delay in posting this one— I had half of it written for a while, but since I am back in university I just couldn't find it in me to continue it. I am not truly busy, actually, but one of my professors just made me lose joy in life for anything and I had to push myself harder to write. She has a talent for making me hate the things I like, evidently.

With any luck, next chapter won't take as long to come out.

If you wish to ask me anything or chat with me, you can find me on Tumblr as @/sadlybeans. I have been posting more about other fandoms, but if I ever make some more art for this fic, it will be posted there.

Thank you very much for your patience and support. Comments are as always very appreciated :)

I will see you, hopefully, soon.