Chapter 5: First Day

Nathaniel found himself standing on the shores of a vast, shimmering lake, the moon casting an eerie silver glow upon the water. The air was thick with an otherworldly stillness, and the scent of wildflowers hung in the air.

Nathaniel looked down at himself and realized he was dressed in armor, a suit of gleaming silver with a crest he didn't recognize emblazoned on his chest. His hands gripped the hilt of a majestic sword at his side, its blade reflecting the moonlight.

As he gazed out across the lake, a sense of longing and nostalgia washed over him. He knew this place, though he had never been there in his current life. It felt like a distant memory.

And then, in the distance, he saw her—a figure cloaked in shimmering robes, her presence radiating an aura of power and mystery. She stood at the edge of the water, her eyes fixed on Nathaniel.

"Viviane..." Nathaniel whispered, his voice carried away by the gentle breeze. He felt an inexplicable connection to this woman, a connection that transcended time and space.

As he approached her, their eyes locked in a silent exchange of understanding. She reached out a hand, and he took it, feeling a surge of energy course through him. The world around them began to blur, and Nathaniel realized they were no longer on the shore of the lake.

Now, they stood in a grand hall, its towering walls adorned with tapestries depicting heroic battles and noble quests. King Arthur's court. Nathaniel knew it instinctively, even though he had never seen it before in his life.

The woman was gone, replaced by another armored individual who led him to a magnificent throne.

"It's been empty for centuries my king... Avalon has fallen, you promised Avalon would be safe," A voice whispered in his mind as he walked up to the throne.

But then, as quickly as the dream had begun, it shifted. The grand hall crumbled, the tapestries turned to dust, and the once-mighty throne turned to ash. Nathaniel felt a growing sense of dread, a darkness closing in on him.

"My king! You've returned... But you don't look so good... Forget all this and just... Wake."

Nathaniel's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, bashing his head into the bottom of Draco's bunk.

"Ah! Bloody hell," He cursed, holding his nose in pain as he slipped out of bed.

'Just... What the hell was that?'

As he got dressed in his Slytherin robes, he couldn't help but replay the dream in his mind. The voice, the crumbling hall, the words of the mysterious figure—it all felt too real to be dismissed as mere fantasy. But he had no answers. 

'Yeah, there's no way haha.'

...

Breakfast in the Great Hall was a chaotic affair, the students from all four houses chatting and laughing, and owls delivering letters and packages from home. Nathaniel took a seat at the Slytherin table, not far from his sister Millicent. She was deep in conversation with her friends, and Nathaniel couldn't help but feel like an outsider among his fellow housemates.

That was short-lived however as Draco sat next to him, laughing about something with a female Slytherin.

"Oh Nathan," Draco said, pointing to the girl. "Have you met Parkinson yet? She was just telling me something interesting she heard about Potter."

Nathaniel held out his hand, shaking the girl's hand with a timid smile. "Oh? And what is that?"

"Apparently, he's been off living with muggle his entire life, never stepped foot in the wizarding world, can you believe it?" Draco said with another laugh.

Nathaniel was actually shocked by the news. "They had the boy who lived grow up with muggles all these years? Then are all those rumors even true? Does he even know a spell?" Nathaniel asked, genuinely curious now.

He wasn't expecting the legendary Harry Potter to basically grow up without knowing magic existed.

"Who knows but I guess Potter's a fraud," Draco hissed out as they began to dig into their breakfast.

Crabbe and Goyle soon joined the two and they talked and joked like kids do.

For the first time in his life, Nathaniel felt like he actually had friends.

'Do you deserve it though?' The little voice in his head whispered as they finished up with breakfast and rushed to the charms room for the first class at Hogwarts.

...

"Good morning, everyone! Welcome to your first Charms lesson at Hogwarts," Professor Flitwick chirped, his voice barely audible but magically amplified to reach every corner of the room. "Today, we shall start with a simple charm that many of you have seen. The Levitation Charm, Wingardium Leviosa!"

With a flick of his wand, Professor Flitwick made his desk levitate in the air.

"Now, I want each of you to give it a try with the feathers at your seats," he said, his gaze sweeping across the room.

Nathaniel watched as people began trying, The hufflepuff's, which they shared charms with, waved and stabbed their wands while saying the charm, but to no avail.

"Very good Mister Malfoy!" Professor Flitwick yelled out and Nathaniel realized Draco had done it right next to him. "Five points to Slytherin."

Draco leaned over and whispered, "Nathaniel. It's just a simple charm. Get on with it yeah?" Draco said cockily, laughing as Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

Nathaniel nodded, but his fingers were trembling as he raised his wand. He muttered the incantation, "Wingardium Leviosa," and tried to mimic the wand movement Professor Flitwick had demonstrated.

At first, nothing happened. Nathaniel's feather remained stubbornly still. He could feel the eyes of his classmates on him, clearly trying to see if he got it so they could copy the way to do it, which only added to his anxiety. He attempted the charm again, this time with a bit more determination.

To his amazement, the feather twitched and wobbled but didn't lift off the desk. Nathaniel clenched his jaw in frustration. 

"My god Nathan, maybe those squib rumors are true?" Draco said with a laugh.

Nathaniel looked down, gritting his teeth as he stood up, glaring down at the feather.

'Just a simple charm, point and flick, Wingardium Leviosa.'

"Wingardium Leviosa," The feather jumped in the air, floating up to Nathaniel's level as he smiled widely. 

"What was that Draco? You can barely get it off the desk," He said with a laugh as the blonde boy immediately stood up to outdo him.

'Well done my king, you'll make a fine wizard...'

Nathaniel, for the first time, realized his thoughts weren't his thoughts. He looked around, but couldn't find the origin of the voice speaking to him.

'Tonight my King, I will lead you to me tonight...' The voice said again as Nathaniel sat in his seat, a strange feeling washing over him.

The next class was history, and then Astronomy right after that, finally they went to lunch.

"Ah Pansy," Draco called out as they neared the table, and Nathaniel stopped.

"Hm? Oh right, you guys are twins, aren't you? What's that like?" Pansy Parkinson asked, seeing Nathaniel and Millicent, who sat next to her glaring at each other.

"It's a pain in the ass," Millicent grumbled as Nathaniel sat down next to Draco. 

"Yeah it is, she's so fat you can't really walk around the house without bumping into her, makes for unsatisfactory evenings."

"You!"

Nathaniel gave Millicent a smirk as he watched her about to have an outburst, but there was nothing she could really do, especially not here at Hogwarts.

The rest of the day was uneventful, there was herbology, defense against the dark arts, and Transfiguration as their last class. Nathaniel couldn't wrap his head around Tranfiguration, and defense against the dark arts felt like another history class with Proffessor Quirrel.

But, as the Slytherin's settled for bed, Nathaniel heard the voice once more.

'It is time my king... Wait until the others sleep, then I shall lead you to me.'