6 Chapter 5
"Slytherin!"
Perseus heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked confidently toward the slytherin table. getting an applause as he was the first student to be sorted into slytherin , and also sighs of relief from most of the hall, Perseus's sorting had taken the longest by far and people were extremely hungry. Perseus looked down to his robes that still kept their black colour mainly but also gained the green and silver colors of slytherin as well as the crest with the snake on his breast. Taking his seat by his fellow housemates who welcomed him.
"What took the hat so long", asked one of the student who introduced himself as Abraham But before Perseus could respond another spoke up
" Well, what was there for the hat to even think about, where else would a black go if not in slytherin" .
"True that "Perseus said in an impassive tone.
Perseus tuned out his fellow housemates who were now talking amongst themselves , he then looked at the next name that was called out , a girl named Amanda Brown was also sorted into slytherin.
"Diggory, Cedric" McGonagall eventually called, catching Perseus's attention, the boy seemed alright and he seemed to have already made friends with Nicklaus, so he listened in.
"Hufflepuff!" Cedric took the hat off and blushed in embarrassment when the hall cheered for him before moving over to his table and sitting beside Gary, the first boy sorted.
Perseus zoned out as he looked around the hall some more, taking in the details of the still foreign room. He looked at the hupplepuff table where Cedric was talking to a girl, probably in her sixth or seventh year, the girl then suddenly looked at him with wariness and interest , she had dark, twinkling eyes, a pale, heart-shaped face and short spiky hair which, as weird as it sounds, were purple which changed suddenly , to a bubblegum pink color. And he knew who she was right away, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda's daughter and so Perseus gave her a nod of acknowledgment which she returned.
Just as he was wondering how hungry he was, another familiar name was called out.
"MIKAELSON NICKLAUS " with large, proud steps, Nick strode up to the chair and put the hat on his head, his grin still in place and could be seen from under the rim of the hat. Perseus watched the boy's facial expressions intently when he noticed the grin slip only to be replaced by his lips thinning ;a look that almost looked out of place on the boy's features and his hands clenched into a fist
After a long while, the hat made its decision. And the slytherins cheered for the addition to their house as nick came and sat beside him
Perseus idly heard a few names that he recognized getting sorted after his own; Weasley, Pucey and Rookwood being some examples, all the students were sorted, the girl who Perseus had seen at ollivander's when during his last visit to his shop , who Perseus got to know was angelica Johnson was sorted into griffindor.
Many students , specially the slytherins were talking about how only four students were sorted into the house of snake.
He could see the High Table properly now. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Perseus recognized him at once. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Perseus spotted a man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin , he knew him from voldemorts memories, Professor severus Snape, the half-blood potion master . He was dressed in his usual black robes, looking very bored as if he'd rather be anywhere but here.
Perseus looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Perseus didn't know whether to laugh or not.
"Is he - a bit mad?" Nick asked a fifth year student , who introduced himself a mark cook, a prefect .
"Mad?" said cook airily. " He is a bit mad, yes. But even we slytherins acknowledge the fact that he is the strongest wizard in Europe, after all , even you-know-who couldn't defeat him?"
"Yes , that's true" Perseus said, as a few older student listened in, trying to assess the black heir when Perseus said again
"But, it is also true that Dumbledore couldn't defeat him either" .
The students listening in their conversation nodded in agreement at his point
"But everyone says that Dumbeldore was the only one you-know-who ever feared" said Amanda.
"Maybe,"Perseus said but continued after giving a short pause.
" But if that were true , then why was Dumbledore unable defeat voldermort"
Every student shivered , literally shivered at the mention of the dark lord's name.
"Y-You s-said You-Know-Who's name!" Amanda stuttered.
But before Perseus could give her a reply another voice came.
"You dare say his name" a senior student, who had earlier introduced himself as Andrews, said angrily, trying to intimidate Perseus, as Perseus fixed him with a hard glare.
"And why shouldn't I "Perseus replied and before anyone could reply, he continued," Unlike you, I do not fear him, let alone his name".
"but-''cook said, "I thought the Blacks were avid supporters and followers of the dark lord".
"The house of Black does not follow anyone" he said and his already bright emerald green eyes glowed a bit, "yes some members of my family , made a few mistakes, not unlike any other person, but we did not support voldemort, we do not follow anyone" he finished all the while glaring at Andrews
"You think you are pretty bad ass, that you can say his name without any worries in the world don't you? You think you are so cool now huh?" Andrews said in a weak attempt to preserve his image.
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt Andrews. I do suggest you shut up." Perseus said and sent a weak mental probe towards him and he cowered back. As everyone pondered over his words.
'Step one towards fulfilling grandfather's dream,' he thought
Unknown to them all, the whole discussion was overheard by the teachers at the staff table who all had varied reaction towards the mindset of the black heir.
Then suddenly, the dishes in front of him were filled with food; roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
"Aah the work of house elves 'Perseus thought. As students tucked into their starters they began to speak with their new housemates, and the Slytherin table were abuzz with energy. Perseus had been inundated with questions and had answered none but the briefest so far.
He felt a chill from nearby and looked to his right to see a horribly disfigured ghost sitting one seat away. He had blank, staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Andrews who, Perseus was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.
"You look a lot like him" the ghost said, all the while looking intently at Perseus.
That again attracted the attention of many students around them.
"Like who?"Asked one of the students with interest.
"salazar slytherin" he said which spread a wave of murmurs amongst the students.
"I know who you are!" said Amanda suddenly. "My father told me about you - you're the bloody baron!"
"Yes, indeed, I am the bloody baron" he said.
"Welcome, Mister Black," the Bloody Baron said softly. "You will do quite well in Slytherin."
"How did you get covered in blood?" asked nick with great interest. Hearing that question, the students around them stopped eating and their eyes went wide. Apparently no one has asked that question before as the ghost glared at the Mikaelson with anger
The silver blood on his clothes and lack of any cut on his translucent flesh indicated that the blood was not his own and besides Perseus knew whose blood it was exactly. Voldermort or tom riddle was a very persuasive man , able to charm even ghosts . to yank the baron's chain a bit Perseus said
"Blood of a lover, perhaps " Perseus said absentmindedly and immediately the ghost looked back at Black heir while Perseus stole a glance at a ghostly figure at the ravenclaw table and then looked back at the baron
Then suddenly his suddenly his eyes got wide and the ghost got closer to Perseus and said in such a low voice that only Perseus was able to hear ," welcome back lord slytherin, I knew you would return one day" and then floated away from them.
Perseus was startled for a moment but then it hit him
'Ohh great , now the bloody ghost thinks that I am salzar slytherin reincarnated ,but that can be useful too'. ' Perseus thought as he went back to his meal as everyone chatted amongst themselves about the black heir.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding - "
On Perseus's other side, cook and Amanda were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult-";
"You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing - ").
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later, the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice puddings, and on and on.
As Perseus helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to the coming school year.
"I hope you're all up to helping us hold onto the House Cup this year," cook was saying. "Slytherin House has won the past four years. It's a matter of pride for us now."
"Four years, wow," said nick, clearly awed.
"So don't get caught breaking rules!" Cook admonished. "We're going to have a sort of orientation once we all get back to the dormitory to help make things easier for you
Perseus, looked up at the High Table again. Professor McGonagall l was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Snape was talking to a young witch beside him, probably in her late twenties , who suddenly looked at Perseus with clear loathing and he didn't have to use legillimency to find out her feelings for him, but her glare had no effect whatsoever on Perseus and he just gave her a smirk.
"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Snape?" he asked cook.
"Oh, you know professor Snape already, do you? No wonder she looks angry, that's Professor Vector. She teaches arithamacy , don't worry , you don't have to take that class till third year , and that too if you take that elective."
Perseus watched the young professor for a while, but She didn't look at him again.
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahern - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First of all, let me introduce our new defense against the dark arts professor, who is also a retired auror, has agreed to bestow his knowledge upon the students of Hogwarts, please welcome, professor Richard Castle"
The students clapped politely as a wizard, with sandy grey hair stood up from his chair .
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Perseus noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.
Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Slytherin first years followed cook through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and down the marble staircase, down the stairs that led to the dungeons. They turned left and right through the labyrinthine passages. Cook stopped partway along a hallway with a carved stone column at the corner
"The password is superbia
"Pride," translated Perseus absentmindedly which surprised others a bit and the fifth year said
"Right you are, and there is a reason behind it which you will get to know soon?"
A stone door concealed in the wall recessed and slid to the side. The first years poured through, eager to see their new home.
The common room was in the shape of an elongated rectangle. It was an underground-style room, with steps that led down to the recessed floor, carpeted in a rich green with silver designs. The walls and ceiling were rough-hewn stone. Lamps hung on chains from the ceiling, giving off a cozy greenish light. A fire was crackling cheerfully under an elaborately carved mantelpiece in the centre of the long wall. Beanbag chairs were scattered before the fire grate. Several high-backed chairs surrounded each of the tables that were evenly distributed throughout the room. There were two corridors at the far end of the room. Bookshelves lined the walls. It was a very pleasant sort of place.
A Slytherin prefect was lecturing the first years as they made their way to the dungeons.
" Slytherin house held itself above the other three famed houses of Hogwarts and as a result, students do not all share rooming and washroom facilities – instead two students per a room, with their own private bathroom attached. But since you are just four students this year, you will have a dorm to yourself"
The prefect then addressed the first year students as many students have taken seats around them
"Congratulations! I'm Prefect Mark cook and this is "he said indicating to a fifth year student, "Rachel Harper , and I'm delighted to welcome you to SLYTHERIN HOUSE. Our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures; our house colors are emerald green and silver, and our common room lies behind a concealed entrance down in the dungeons. As you'll see, its windows look out into the depths of the Hogwarts Lake. We often see the giant squid swooshing by – and sometimes more interesting creatures. We like to feel that our hangout has the aura of a mysterious, underwater shipwreck.
Now, there are a few things you should know about Slytherin – and a few you should forget.
Firstly, let's dispel a few myths. You might have heard rumors about Slytherin house – that we're all into the Dark Arts, and will only talk to you if your great-grandfather was a famous wizard, and rubbish like that. Well, you don't want to believe everything you hear from competing houses. I'm not denying that we've produced our share of Dark wizards, but so have the other three houses – they just don't like admitting it. And yes, we have traditionally tended to take students who come from long lines of witches and wizards, but nowadays you'll find plenty of people in Slytherin house who have at least one Muggle parent.
Here's a little-known fact that the other three houses don't bring up much: Merlin was a Slytherin. Yes, Merlin himself, the most famous wizard in history! He learned all he knew in this very house! Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Merlin? Or would you rather sit at the old desk of that illustrious ex-Hufflepuff, Eglantine Puffett, inventor of the Self-Soaping Dishcloth?
I didn't think so
But that's enough about what we're not. Let's talk about what we are, which is the coolest and edgiest house in this school. We play to win, because we care about the honor and traditions of Slytherin.
We also get respect from our fellow students. Yes, some of that respect might be tinged with fear, because of our Dark reputation, but you know what? It can be fun, having a reputation for walking on the wild side. Chuck out a few hints that you've got access to a whole library of curses, and see whether anyone feels like nicking your pencil case." He said with a smirk and then Rachel took the lead.
"But we're not bad people. We're like our emblem, the snake: sleek, powerful, and frequently misunderstood.
For instance, we Slytherins look after our own – which is more than you can say for Ravenclaw. Apart from being the biggest bunch of swots you ever met, Ravenclaws are famous for clambering over each other to get good marks, whereas we Slytherins are brothers. The corridors of Hogwarts can throw up surprises for the unwary, and you'll be glad you've got the Serpents on your side as you move around the school. As far as we're concerned, once you've become a snake, you're one of ours – one of the elite.
Because you know what Salazar Slytherin looked for in his chosen students? The seeds of greatness. You've been chosen by this house because you've got the potential to be great, in the true sense of the word.
A few more things you might need to know: our house ghost is the Bloody Baron. If you get on the right side of him he'll sometimes agree to frighten people for you. Just don't ask him how he got bloodstained; he doesn't like it."
Here she gave Nick a pointed look and continued speaking
"The password to the common room changes every fortnight. Keep an eye on the notice board. Never bring anyone from another house into our common room or tell them our password. No outsider has entered it for more than seven centuries.
Well, I think that's all for now. I'm sure you'll like our dormitories."Cook said, pointing towards the far end of the room. "Boys on the right and girls on the left. First years are at the end of the corridor this year."
Perseus and nick went through the corridor made a right-hand turn a few steps in, and they followed it to the end. They passed many heavy wooden doors on their left before they saw a bronze plaque reading 'BLACK' prominent on the door and 'MIKAELSON' on the one adjacent to it.. Perseus pushed the door to his dorm open to find his bed at last.
A four-poster bed was hung with velvet curtains of deep verdant green. There was also a chair and a writing desk. A silver and green scarf and tie was hung over the back of the chair.
"Not bad," said Perseus
His bed was positioned with the headboard against the near wall. In the opposite wall was a large picture window, giving a beautiful view of the night sky above and the black glass lake below.
"I'll say. Look at that view," echoed nick who was standing at the door."how come your room has a window"
"I don't know, must be because I am smarter than you" Perseus replied as he approached the picture, which had a note attached to it that read.
Congratulations my child, a gift on your sorting
-AB
It was from his grandfather, 'but how did he get the picture in here.' He thought
"Good thing I have curtains. I wouldn't want the sun to strike me first thing in the morning" Perseus said
"How can we have a view if we're underground?" nick asked.
"its enchanted," Perseus theorized.
", You want to go look around the castle tomorrow?" he asked nick
"sure" nick replied, "You won't mind if Helena tags along, would you?"
"Why would I"
"Well you two didn't get along very well on the train, so I thought, you know what I mean" nick aid.
"No Nicklaus , I won't mind"
"hmm, very well, good night then"
Too tired to talk overlong, he pulled on his pajamas and fell into bed and nick went back to his dorm. Perseus dropped off to sleep almost immediately. He was happy and well-fed and very, very tired. He slept soundly the whole night through.
Perseus awoke early the next morning, Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he cast a quick wandless tempus to see the time, it was still only five in the morning and Nicklaus was probably still asleep. He decided to continue his martial arts training.
He made his way towards the grounds, it was still dark outside and he started with a mild jog along the black lake and slowly picked up speed. After half an hour of jogging, he decided to venture a bit into the forest and soon found a clearing which was secluded from the rest of the ground. And transfigured a stone into a gladius and started practicing some techniques.
It was still dark, the sun has just begun to rise, and He has been practicing some maneuver for about 20 minutes when a gruff voice came from behind
"Who is there"
Perseus recognized that booming voice, it belonged to the gamekeeper , but before Perseus could raise his hands in a sign of peace, the half-giant had fired two arrows one after another, from his crossbow just as a bit of sunlight shone over Perseus , enough for hagrid to realize that he had fired at a student.
His eyes went wide in worry but he was even more shocked when Perseus didn't show any sign of fear and simply caught the first arrow in his hand, mid-air, merely inches from his head and used his sword to deflect the arrow. And it all happened in matter of seconds.
"What the hell hagrid!"
"I am so sorry, I didn't know it was a student, I just saw the sword and I thought it was someone dangerous" he said in a rush, "and it was dark and I couldn't see you, "
"It's alright hagrid, no harm done" Perseus said
"Oh Merlin I could have killed you"
"I doubt that" Perseus replied as he held up his hand to show him the arrow he had caught and then indicated toward the broken arrow on the ground.
Hagrid followed his gaze and it was then that he realized that Perseus had just caught an arrow mid air and deflected another with a sword.
"You should be a bit more careful with weapons, a word spoken and an arrow fired cannot be taken back Hagrid"
"Yes yes, right" he said sheepishly ," but how did you do that" he asked, and it was now Perseus realized that Hagrid was clearly wary of him
"I am trained in the use of many weapons, hagrid" he replied, "I could have stopped that arrow with my eyes closed ".
Hagrid looked skeptical but then asked
"What are you doing here, and that too at this hour" he asked
"I was working out, practicing, keeping my skills sharp, you know, I hope I didn't break any rule by doing so." he replied
"no, no , atleast no rule that I am aware of, it's just that hardly anyone is up this early"
"aah yes, but I wake up early and work out a bit, to keep my body fit , you see" he said
"Yes , yes"
"Well then, I think it's enough for today, good bye, "Perseus said as he started moving but stopped midway and looked at hagrid and said
"And hagrid , I work out everyday , I hope I won't have to deflect any more arrows in the future, " he said in amusement as he winked at the groundskeeper and made his way back towards the castle just as sun was rising
He entered his dorm and went for the bathroom. Coming out of the shower room, he was surprised to see that he had spent an hour getting ready. Grabbing a scarf after noticing how cold it looked outside, Perseus headed down to the great hall to eat his breakfast.
He passed several students conversing in the hallways on the way of different years and houses. He found though, that he didn't pass very many Slytherins. He figured that maybe because their common room was located in the Dungeons, they may just stick to their own area.
Entering the great hall, he looked around to see the Slytherin table being the most full, yet none of the first years, boys or girls, seemed to be up yet. Scanning the room some more, his eyes landed on Helena , who was also sitting by herself at the Ravenclaw table and eating her breakfast.
Shrugging mentally, Perseus moved over to sit beside her and eat breakfast. Many of the students, especially the Ravenclaw were eyeing him carefully, he really couldn't blame them; he doubted any slytherin chose to sit at the Ravenclaw table very often.
"Good morning Helena" he greeted, making the girl turn her head sharply to him before calming down.
"Morning Perseus, what are you doing over here?" she asked her face neutral as she ate her jammed toast that was currently sitting on her plate. Perseus was about to follow her example when suddenly a fruit bowl appeared in front of him along with a glass of milk, his usual breakfast.
'Ahh it looks like rokky is working at Hogwarts now, I will pay him a visit later'.perseus thought as he started with his breakfast.
"How did you do that" Helena asked.
"Do what?" he asked.
"The fruit bowl just appeared out of nowhere , did you use magic, but you didn't even took out your wand or said any spell?".
"Well, I am Perseus black" he said, which irritated her further
"How can you be so arrogant"
But before Perseus could reply , they were joined by nick.
"Good morning guys, how did you sleep Helena" he asked as he took a seat on the other side of Helena.
"Fine, and you?"
"ohh great " he said as he took an apple to start his breakfast.
"I see, so, how do you find your house?" she asked, trying to start up some conversation. Perseus shrugged again as he continued to eat, he had just noticed how many stares they were getting by sitting at this table.
"ohh its fine, It's just a bit chilly" he answered, "I guess I'm jealous of you in that respect.".
"We also are required to attend weekly study sessions with the older students to enhance our learning; you guys got anything like that?"She asked.
He shrugged, "no".
"My grandmother told me about Slytherins… I'd be careful if I were you" she warned Nicklaus, clearly worried about him.
"I will be fine, don't worry" he said giving her a soft smile.
These gestures were enough for Perseus to conclude that they both were very close to each other and cared a lot about each other.
"So Helena "Perseus said, "You didn't tell me that you are the princess of Olympia "
Her eyes widened in shock but she composed herself "how did you know"
Here she gave nick a questioning look, who shook his head and gave her an 'I am innocent 'look
"Well I have my ways" Perseus replied.
"I am not surprised that you know about that, but please don't tell anyone I am kind of hoping of keeping it a secret" she said.
"ok" Perseus said.
"Wait, why aren't you surprised that Perseus knows about it" nick asked her.
"Well , he is a Black "she said as if that explained everything
"So?"Nick said and she gave him a frustrated look.
"Blacks are the de jure rulers of Oceania"she replied and nick looked at Perseus for confirmation to which Perseus just gave him a nod.
"ohh" nick said. "When you both royalty are done with breakfast, you want to go look around the castle?" asked the boy, looking at Helena and Perseus who both shrugged and agreed "awesome, we'll just wait for Ced to get here, I told him we'd go exploring together" he explained, looking to his two new friends and waiting for confirmation. Helena nodded, signifying that she was ok with it and Perseus just shrugged, not caring either way.
After fifteen minutes spent watching nick hovel down his food, Cedric arrived to eat breakfast; when he was done, the four headed out of the great hall to explore the castle.
Perseus had, surprisingly to the group, suggested they map out their different classrooms, less they get lost tomorrow and not be able to find their way between each of them. So after they found the Potions classroom in the dungeons, the Transfiguration classroom near Gryffindor tower, the Charms classroom near the Ravenclaw tower and the Library, the Defence Against the Dark Arts class on the seventh floor and the greenhouse just outside on the grounds.
By the time they were done exploring, it was lunch time so the four of them headed back to the great hall to eat lunch. Perseus, however, stopped before the entered the door.
"I'll take a rain check on dinner, I'm just going to walk around for a bit" he said, and without waiting for an answer, moved towards the dungeons but took a different corridor than the one leading towards the common room. He reached the end of the corridor which was directly below the great hall and saw a painting of fruit bowl on the wall. He tickled the pear in the painting, which squirmed then laughed and changed into a green doorknob .
He opened the door, He had one brief glimpse of an enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the great hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace at the other end, when something small hurtled towards him from the middle of the room, squealing "master Perseus "
"rokky" Perseus said as the house elf stood in front of him,
"How come you are working at Hogwarts ?"
"Rokky is master Perseus's elf and lord black got permission for rokky to work for master Perseus at Hogwarts "he said
"Ohhh " Perseus said as he conjured a comfortable looking chair and sat on it,"very well than rokky, can I get some lunch,"
"Yes master "
Perseus had lunch in the kitchen itself , he was still amazed at the magic that the elves used, and how stupid wizards were , to not harness that power.
"so rokky , do you know any place at Hogwarts which can be used for training "he asked
"Rokky does not know, but rokky will ask the other elfs "he said
"very well then" Perseus said
He bid rokky farewell and made his way towards the great hall where he again met with nick, Helena and cedric. On his way he noticed that many students were giving him a wide berth and were wary of him.
"Hey Perseus, is it true,?" nick asked.
"What are you talking about "
"Everyone is talking about it" cedric said, "that you were in the forbidden forest in the morning and hagrid , considering you a threat due to not being able to see you properly, fired a dozen arrows at you using his cross bow , and you deflected them all with a sword , that too with your eyes closed and then you cut hagrid's bow in half"
'aah it would seem that hagrid is not capable of keeping things to himself and the famous Hogwarts rumor mill has done its job' Perseus thought and then said
"It was just one arrow"
"So you did reflect it with a sword" asked Helena.
"Yes" Perseus said
"Wow, that's so cool" said Nick
And then they parted ways, nick and cedric towards the dungeons, and their respective common room , Helena towards the ravenclaw tower and Perseus accompanied her as he had to visit the library.
"You must be really good with a blade "she asked
"I am good at everything "Perseus said, knowing fully well that this would irritate her and that's what happened as she just gave him an annoyed look. He didn't know why, but he liked annoying Helena , which baffled him to no end.
They were all talking amongst themselves about that encounter while they made their way towards the library, as such they didn't notice when 5 senior students surrounded them and cornered them in an empty corridor. Perseus was the first to notice them and knew that those students wanted to cause trouble.
Going by their robes, three of them were grifindors and two were in huffelpuf
"Well well well, look Raymond, it would seem like these ickle firsties are lost" one said.
"And what gave you the impression that we are lost" Perseus said in a cold voice.
"Don't you dare say a word black, I know your family very well , evil , all of you" one of the griffindor; Raymond ,said with pure hatred in his voice.
"It would seem you don't know my family that well, for you would have known that we blacks do not like it when someone insults us" Perseus said in a hard voice as his eyes glowed a bit
"listen guy, we don't want any trouble," Helena said," let's go Perseus"
"Lets go Perseus, we can't fight them" she said again, this in a very low tone that only Perseus heard him.
But before they could leave, one of the student pulled out his wand and said
"Where do you think you are going"
By now a few students had gathered around them.
"Put your wand away, before you hurt yourself" Perseus said as he pulled out his own wand in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the speed with which Perseus had pulled out his, the senior student did falter for a moment but in a attempt to look bold and brave in front of his friends, he fired a stunner at Perseus , who caught it with his wand and deflected it towards another and he went down immediately.
The remaining four students were shocked to see a first year student deflecting the stunner , Perseus took advantage of that and fired two consecutive stunners taking down two more of them . by now the remaining two students had taken out their wands and fired a stunner at Perseus who ducked them with ease, sending a stunner of his own , which hit his opponent square in the chest. But unfortunately, Raymond has managed to send a stunner towards Perseus and before Perseus could raise a shield or deflect it, the stunner hit him.
What happened next shocked everyone the spell which should have stunned Perseus , just fizzled out, it was nullified just as it reached Perseus.
Perseus fired a weak "reducto" at him which struck his wand, resulting in very bright flash bang. Which temporarily blinded Perseus and Raymond. Fortunately, Helena was not in the range of the blast.
Perseus couldn't see anything as when he tried to open his eyes , all he say was brightness , which also gave him an headache. He was aware that Raymond was still on his feet and just then,
"Oh shit, my eyes" came raymond's voice.
Listening to the voice, Perseus was able to deduce the position of Raymond, and he stood straight, eyes closed , raised his wand in that direction and fired a stunner and he knew he has hit his mark when he heard a sound of 'thump'
Everyone , was shocked; in a matter of a minute , Perseus has taken down five fifth year students and he has also hit Raymond with a stunner with his eyes closed.
Perseus was blinded temporarily, he could still hear everything around him; the voice Helena and surprisingly professor McGonagall's voice. His eyes were hurting badly and his head was aching badly.
"Are you alright Perseus"
"Perseus"
"Accompany him to the hospital wing , Ms Angelis "
Those Were the last words Perseus heard before he lost consciousness.
They must have just reached the hospital wing when Perseus regained his consciousness , as Perseus found himself lying on a bed and heard professor a woman's voice.
"ohh dear merlin, what happened Minerva" came the voice of the matron as Nicklaus helped Perseus sit on a bed.
"The usual poppy, students causing mischief and getting into trouble "she replied
"Yes, but tell me what happened so that I can treat them"
"When my spell hit his wand , it broke" Perseus said suddenly , surprising Helena who was under the impression that Perseus was still unconscious
"and that somehow created a flash bang of sorts, and I can't see properly now" he said the last part in frustration.
"ohhh " she said and after sometimes " open your eyes Mr. black "
He did just that and she poured three drops of liquid in both of his eyes and then closed them.
"Now keep your eyes close for a few minutes" she said
"Now I would like to hear the whole matter" McGonagall said and Helena then recited the entire story.
After listening to the whole matter McGonagall rounded up on the fifth year students who had been revived by now.
"I am ashamed of all of you , and speacially you mister gray ., you all will be serving detentions, and 50 points from your houses each."she said," and you mister black, since you only defended yourself , I am letting you go scot free. "
"Thank you professor "he said
"Now Mister Black and Mister Gray , you will be wearing these goggles to protect your eyes from extreme lights , and three drops of this liquid every morning for a weak" instructed the medi-witch handing Perseus a pair of goggles and a vial. Perseus wore them and opened his eyes.
He could see properly again but there was still a bit of strain in his eyes.
"Now off you go, all of you" McGonagall said.
Once outside the hospital wing, Helena asked him
"Are you alright"
"I think I will go back to the dorm and take some rest." Perseus told her.
"That's a good idea Perseus I will go along with you "she said as she put her hand on his shoulder
"No need for that Helena I can go myself" he said coldly as he shrugged of her hand.
"Ohh ok well then, take care" she said , a bit taken aback by his attitude.
Once in his dorm, he took of his goggles and changed into his night suite and went to bed. He didn't come for dinner.
By the time of dinner, Perseus's defeat of five fifth year students had spread like wildfire, and coupled with the rumor of his encounter with hagrid and overnight Perseus has gained a very dangerous reputation.
Perseus awoke early the next morning as the sun's rays peeked over the mountain and shone in his face through the window of the first year boy's dorms. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he looked around for his goggles and wore them and then saw the time, it was seven in the morning.
His eyes still hurt a bit when exposed to extreme sunlight , and as per matron's instructions , Perseus has to wear goggles for the entire week. Snape was furious when he heard of the incident and as a result Those fifth year students were punished severely; 50 points from each of them, and detention for the entire week with filch .
Perseus grabbed a pair of jeans, shirt, jumper and a fresh pair of underwear and headed into the showers to get ready for the day. Quickly finishing his morning ablutions.
Stealthily walking down the corridors as he thought of the knowledge of the castle from the memories of voldemort, he passed one person whom he wished he could have avoided, Peeves the Poltergeist.
Perseus wasn't in the mood for Peeves. He was holding Dung bombs. but when Peeves was about to drop them on him and some other students, Perseus whipped out his wand and cast a minor exoticism spell that had hit Peeves through his chest. He yelled in pain and flew toward the walls while swearing at Perseus on the way. And the students around him gave him a shocked but grateful looks.
Smiling, he went to have breakfast. And joined nick on the slytherin table who was talking to the fifth year prefects, mark and Rachel.
"Hey how are you feeling Perseus" Rachel asked.
" Ohh I am fine, thank you for asking Rachel" he said as he starting eating his fruits.
"You did great Black," mark said," you showed those griffindorks their place"
"You alright mate?" nick asked in what Perseus realized was genuine concern " I went to check up on you, but you were still asleep and I decided to let you rest"
" I am fine Nicklaus"
"Rachel , has Professor Snape given you the schedules yet?" Mark asked, between forkfuls.
She nodded. "I'll take care of the first years if you want to get the others."
"Sounds good."
Rachel handed Perseus his schedule, and he stopped eating to study it. It was written in a very neat script.
Transfigurationn first thing with Ravenclaw," Perseus said
They finished their breakfast and headed for thetransfigurationn class
Perseus entered the Transfiguration classroom with the rest of the slitherin and Ravenclaws. Taking a seat at the front with nick, he watched with amusement as his fellow first years looked at the stiffly sitting cat on the desk. Perseus knew it was McGonagall in her animagus form as the aura of the cat was same as that of her. But he waited for the others to be seated before he discreetly mouthed to the cat, "Hello Professor"
After every one was settled, the professor jumped from the desk and morphed in mid- air, coming to stand in front of Perseus's desk as several students whispered and one fell from his desk in excitement. Swishing her tartan robe around her, McGonagall l went to the blackboard before speaking, "Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses more on finesse then power" she had explained "it is a very dangerous branch of magic in the hands of a master and thus, one of the most complex branches of magic, so I warn you now, anyone caught fooling around in my class will not be welcome back in the future. Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure.
Swishing her wand, she ended her introduction by transfiguring her desk into a living pig that even gave out a few startled squeals.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
Turning it back to a desk, she walked towards her blackboard and started dictating, "Currently, Transfiguration is divided into four branches. They are, in ascending order of difficulty: Transformation, Vanishment, Conjuration and Untransfiguration.
"We will study the divisions of Transformation in a more detailed way later. Now all of you have been provided a wooden matchstick. Try to transform it into a matchstick. You may begin now", McGonagall l finished with a flourish.
Perseus took out his wand and flicked it at the matchstick, manipulating his magic to his will and transformed it on his first try. He then proceeded to change the matchstick in to a needle and vice-versa for the remainder of the lesson.
When McGonagall l had seen him turning his match stick into a needle and needle into a match stick repeatedly at the end of the lesson, her eyes widened slightly before offering Perseus a rare smile that looked foreign on the stern witch's features
"How did you do that" nick asked him
"well there is more to transfrugation than just saying the incantation and wand movements "Perseus told him in low voice, "you have to imagine the matchstick , then picture it changing into needle and then picture it transforming into metal."
Nick followed his instructions and by the end of the class , he was also able to transfigure his matchstick into a wodden needle. And McGonagall was very impressed by that and awarded both nick and Perseus 10 points each.
As the class was leaving after the lesson was over, McGonagall l called him back for a moment. Perseus motioned nick to move while he dealt with the professor.
"You wanted to speak with me, Professor?", Perseus asked curiously.
"I was very surprised by your performance in class today. "she said," now tell me have you done that spell before"
"No professor I have never done that spell before "he said
Which was truth of course; Perseus had never transformed a matchstick into a needle before, so technically he wasn't lying
"But I won't lie to you professor "he continued , and McGonagall l looked at him with interest," I have been doing magic since a very young age"
"ohhh" was all she could say, "but how did you get a wand?"
"Whatever gave you the idea that I used a wand professor" he said
Now this shocked her , but Perseus continued,
"You can say that I had the best teacher"
As Perseus turned to leave, McGonagall l called out, " who taught you, Mr. black ?"
Perseus smirked as he replied, " Life, Professor." He then gave a sad smile and With a bow, Perseus swished out of the classroom leaving McGonagall l stunned.
Perseus and nick had entered the Dungeon, and sat in the front row, both eager to learn the fascinating subject of Potions and were waiting for their professor to arrive, when suddenly the doors to the room burst open admitting a scowling Professor Snape striding up to the front of his classroom and to his desk with his black billowing robes flowing behind him.
The image of Professor Snape glaring down from his elevated position at his desk surrounding by several bottled animal parts and other Potions ingredients in the cold dark dungeons of Hogwarts served to intimidate several of the more timid first years; Perseus however, sat unfazed, ready to learn although he knew a lot about potions already, but even voldemort respected Snape's skill in potion making.
Like every other professor, Snape went through the class registry, stopping briefly on Perseus's name to comment on his presence.
"Ah yes, Perseus Black" he began, spitting out his surname as if it were a disease "a true phenomenon that you would end up in the house of the cunning , you seem to have a knack for causing trouble, but I won't accept that attitude in my class" he finished snidely.
Many of the first years looked on between the two in confusion while Perseus's eyes merely narrowed slightly, not willing to take the bait and give this man a reason to punish him.
Pereus had known that Snape hates the very name' black', but he thought that being in slytherin might have mitigated that hatred a bit. Apparently he was wrong.
After finishing with the registry, Snape put it away before locking eyes with the rest of the class. His eyes were as black as coal and held no emotion or warmth. Perseus thought that they reminded him of two dark tunnels. After several moments of silence, he began to speak to them in a voice that was barely above a whisper but seemed to cut through the silence of the room like a hot knife through butter.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art that is Potions brewing" he began, his voice just screamed, despite its low tone, that if you interrupted him there wouldbe pain "As there is very little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will believe that this isn't magic. I hardly expect for you to see the beauty in the softly simmering cauldrons with their shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that seep through your veins that can bewitch your mind or ensnare your senses…If you pay attention in my class, I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory or even stopper death – that is of course if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
There was silence met with his declaration. Most of the ravenclaws seemed to be quite intimidated and self conscious after his 'introduction' while many of the slytherins seemed to be determined to prove they weren't like the usual 'dunderhead'. and suddenly he heard his name being called out
"Black!" Snape barked "what Potion would I administer to someone to cure Petrifaction?"
Recalling what he had read in his first year books, and the actual Potion he remembered from his second year books, Perseus answered "A Mandrake Draught, sir" he answered respectfully, despite the shock the answer instilled to the Professor, who clearly hadn't expected Perseus to know or the others who had no idea of the answer either. Many Ravenclaws in the room could be seen scribbling down the question and answer fiercely on a spare piece of parchment.
Snape's lips curled into a sneer "Lucky guess" he replied "Let's try again, for what purpose would I use shredded boomslang skin for?"
"You can use it for Polyjuice Potion Professor Snape !" he said
"What is a bezoar?"
"A stone found in the stomach of a goat that will cure most poisons," Perseus replied.
"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"
"They are the same plant, which is also called aconite."
Severus progressed into more difficult questions, trying to stump the black heir. But perseus answered each question , thanks to the dark lord's knowledge and his great aunt Cassiopeia's tutoring. Finally Snape asked two of the more difficult ones that his seventh year students had trouble answering.
"Why is it difficult to produce the antidote for the Draught of Living Death?"
"Because the brewer needs to know how much the victim was given and have a sample of their blood from before the Draught was given," Perseus answered.
"Why is Veritaserum clear and when was it first brewed?" This was a tricky question, he normally asked this only of his NEWT-class students.
"First of all, Veritaserum is the most powerful truth-potion in existence. It's clear because it has the perfect balance of the ingredients considered 'Light' and 'Dark'. It was first brewed 85 years ago by Emma prince. she did it after the man who murdered her husband was allowed to walk away because he was able to lie under the truth-potion used by the Ministry at that time," Perseus met his from under his goggles without blinking as he finished.
Snape smirked slightly at the answer, though, Perseus mused, it wasn't as cruel as his other smirks – this was probably as close to Snape would ever come to being pleased.
"20 points to slyterin for an excellent knowledge of advanced Potions and brewing" he said and Perseus thought that Snape won't hate him as much now , since he seemed pleased with Perseus's knowledge.
"Well, why aren't you writing this down?!" he barked to the ravenclaws who had looked at the knowledge battle with confusion mostly. There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment as those who hadn't been taking notes began to do so.
All in all potions was a pleasant affair now.
"A charm is a spell that adds certain properties to an object or creature. Charms are distinguished from transfigurations in that a charm adds or changes properties of an object; it focuses on altering what the object does as opposed to what the object is. For example, the Colour Change Charm causes something to flash different colours; the Levitation Charm causes an object to levitate; the Cheering Charm improves upon a creature's mood. An object that has a lasting charm placed on it is called bewitched though charms in general appear to last longer than other spells", Flitwick lectured enthusiastically as the students listened avidly,
"Charms can be some of the most powerful and game-changing spells in existence. Spells such as curses, jinxes, and hexes are referred to as "dark charms. Successful casting of a charm is achieved through concentration, precise wand movements, and the proper pronunciation of an incantation. When a charm is casted poorly it will fail and the caster runs the risk of it backfiring."
Charms had been boring for Perseus. Having done all the spells before, he had been bored within seconds and so, instead of listening to the endless repetition of the incantation 'Wingardium Leviosa' . He just levitated his feather but Nicklaus was a surprise in Charms.
He too leaviated his feather a moment after Perseus's . They both made their feathers fight each other in mid air.
"Impressive, look at that . Mr. black and Mr. Mikaelson have successfully done the charm, 20 points each to slytherin" professor fitwlick said.
"So how did you do that" Perseus asked nick
"I don't know, I think I have a knack for charms, I am able to do every charm pretty easily "he replied.
As the class was leaving after the lesson was over, fitwlick too called him back for a moment.
"You wanted to speak with me, Professor?", Perseus asked cutiously, getting a feeling of déjà-vu .
"Yes, Mr. Black. First of all, are you feeling well now?", he asked
"Yes professor, I just have to wear these goggles "Perseus said as he pointed to the goggles he was already wearing, "other than that, I am perfectly fine".
"I heard about your duel yesterday, to defeat 5 fifth year students , that's impressive , and I then also heard about your skill with a sword from hagrid. I must say I am impressed. "he said
"Thank you professor"
"Regular classes might not be able to offer you much of a challenge , since I can clearly see you are way ahead of your peers." He said then after a moment's pause he continued.
" Mr. black , how would like to join the dueling club of Hogwarts, I am the supervisor of that club and I am sure you would be a great addition to the club , despite the fact that never before a first year student has managed to make his place in the club"
Perseus thought for a moment and then replied.
"I will be delighted professor" he said
"Very well then, "he said as he got around his desk and motioned Perseus to follow him as he left the class.
"Follow me, Mr. Black"
They went, up the marble staircase , and went to the third floor and still Professor fitwlick didn't say a word to him. He wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Perseus walking confidently beside him. Maybe he was taking him to Dumbledore.
He stopped outside a classroom, the door was already open and he silently went inside the class and stood at back of the class and Perseus followed suite .
Perseus realized that it was the newt level, professor babbling's ancient rune class and the said professor was writing a set of runes on the board had her back to them
"now, I know you must all be wondering, what runic language is this , well let me tell you its not furthark runes, I know its not in your syllabus, as a matter of fact only a dozen or so people in Europe can translate them, but anyone of you who can tell me about these runes will be exempted from doing any assignments this year, "she said , and she was so excited about the rune that she didn't even notice the tiny professor and a first year student standing at the back of her class
Perseus looked at the runes and laughed inwardly, for he knew no one would know anything about those runes, let alone translate them.
His doubts were confirmed when he saw the blank looks of the students
"ohk" babbling said," never mind then"
She hid her disappointment well, and was about to rub the board clean when she heard a soft yet confident voice from the back of the class.
"I can, professor" Perseus said
All the students in the class turned back to look at him and were surprised to hear it. , even fitwlick looked at the first year student in amazement.
Perseus recognized Nymphadora Tonks , who was giving him a weird look
Professor babbling turned back and zeroed on the source of the voice and, and from the black goggles that he wore , she recognized that it was the first year student that hagrid was talking about and had taken down five fifth year student in a duel according to Minerva.
She was so shocked that she didn't even noticed fitwlick standing next to him. But Before the professor could say anything Perseus spoke up.
"The runes generally used in Europe are the younger futhark runes, that is the viking runes , but these runes on the board , are ancient Greek runes , and you would be right to say that only a dozen of people in europe would be able to translate then for they are one of the five oldest sets of runes."
Perseus said confidently and gave the young, now surprised professor a knowing smile as he continued speaking" the first one, it means a SHIELD, the second is FIRE, third one is ASHES and the last on is of PROTECTION" he finished
"This " Perseus said and took a dramatic pause and then continued
"Is the basic runic scheme of the dragon ward, "
Babbling was even more shocked now , not only had the first year student recognized the runes but had also translated them , moreover he also knew that this was the basic scheme of the dragon ward.
She then noticed that everyone was now looking at her , to confirm whether Mr. Black was correct or not.
"absolutely correct" she said," simply amazing Mr. Black, how did you know that"
"Well I have been studying ancient runes since a very young age"
"that's amazing," she said and it was then that she noticed professor fitwlick's presence and addressed him immediately,
"professor fitwlick , I am so sorry sir , I did not see you there " she said, clearly she held fitwlick in high regard.
"No problem, bathilda , and can I borrow Weasley and Tonks for a moment please "he said
"yes yes, sure thing" she said as she motioned for two students who were sitting together at the front row.
"Follow me, you three," said Professor fitwlick, and they marched on up the corridor, they both looking curiously at Perseus.
"In here."
Professor fitwlick pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.
"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor fitwlick slammed the door behind him and turned to face the three students
"Black, this is Charlie Weasley and Tonks . Tonks ,Weasley - I've found you the third member of your team for the tournament next year."
Their expression changed from puzzlement to delight.
"Are you serious, Professor?" tonks asked.
"yes yes, absolutely , you must have heard by now that Perseus defeated five fifth year students in a duel yesterday "
"whooa , that actually happened , I thought it was the work of the rumor mill "
"No it did happen, and from what hagrid tells me, Mr. black is pretty good with a sword too" professor fitwlick said enthusiastically .
"Whoa wait, time out, what third member , what team ,?" Perseus asked
It was Charlie weasley who was quiet till now, that answered .
"Mahoutokoro institute of magic, in japan , hold a tournament after every 13 years , worlds most dangerous and toughest dueling competition, all the eleven magical institutes are invited to participate in the tournament . Every institute has to send a team of three. Hogwarts is taking part in this tournament after a 78 years, but we were unable to find the third member of the team"
Perseus didn't reply to this immediately,'it is great opportunity ,' he thought and then said
"I am in"
"Wait wait, you might have taken down some untrained duelers, that doesn't mean you are ready for that level of fight" Weasley said.
Professor fitwlick was about to say something but Perseus beat him to it.
"Don't you dare question my abilities weasley ," Perseus said in a very serious tone," how about this, if I defeat both of you in a duel, then I am in"
"That's a fair deal" tonks said at once.
"Very well then , we will meet on Saturday, at 5 in the evening"weasley said
" I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore about this then." Professor fitwlick said ,"Now go back to your class"
And they both left and fitwlick went to talk to professor dumbeldore about this, Perseus was left too and passed professor babling's class when professor babbling came out of the class and called out his name.
"Mr. BLACK" she said
Perseus turned and walked back to her and said
"yes professor"
"you have a lot of potential in the field of runes , clearly lady Cassiopeia has taught you well, I would like to discuss something with you, how about you report to me on next Friday, at 5 in the evening"
"Sure thing professor" Perseus replied. To which she just gave a soft smile.
Perseus and nick were walking towards their dormitory, Perseus has gone to duel tonks and weasley as per the deal and true to his words he had defeated them both.
"that was so cool dude"
And he was right too for Perseus had defeated both of them in one on one duel as well as intwo on one , Perseus thought about the duels as they walked.
Flashback
He had faught tonks first.
He had flicked out his wand and sent three disarmers and a stinging hex in quick succession. His opponent however quickly put up a shield and deflected the hexes back at Perseus. Perseus snarled and conjured a marble block. Blocking the curses, he sent back the disintegrating block at breakneck speed at his opponent who yelped as she dropped down to save her head from being squashed.
She Fired a slew of rapid fire curses at an impressive speed however Perseus with his increased speed easily avoided most of the spells while he batted away the others. Finally a disarmer caught the girl on her chest and her wand came flying to his hand. And she screamed in frustration Grinning triumphantly Perseus said
"I won, Nymphadora "
The girl if possible got even angrier as she let off a stream of obscenities that would have made a sailor blush. Finally, she seemed to calm down and said, "Don't call me Nymphadora, Never you mind, where the bloody hell did you learn all these spells and conjuration? That's sixth year stuff seriously."
And Perseus just gave her a smile and said
"I am a Black my dear"
And that did the trick as he saw a satisfied look on her face. That was another benefit of the name BLACK, his knowledge of advance magic was attributed to him being a black and his only living relative being arcturus black and Cassiopeia black, both pretty famous across europe for their knowledge . He motioned for Charlie to come forth and start the duel, now unlike tonks, Charlie possessed a wide arsenal of spells but he relied heavily on charms , and so Perseus adopted a different technique .
He rapidly fired, stunners after stunners at the weasley , he did not havd to use the runes on his wand to initiate firing stunners in quick succession , but simply fired stuners normally, Charlie had to stop firing spells at Perseus and had to go defensive and started dodging but Charlie just couldn't match the speed with which Perseus was firing spells and ultimately erected a shield , but Perseus did not stop his attack and his shield gave away and a stunner hit him square in the chest.
He had then revived him and then tonks had suggested a two on one duel to which Charlie was reluctant at first but both tonks and nick got him to fight somehow.
Perseus was tired by now , and he knew he had to end the duel soon , and thus as soon as the duel started Perseus aimed his wand at tonks who had erected a shield , and yelled
"Magna Tonitrus"
A lound thunderclap echoed in the room and a thunderbolt came out of Perseus's wand and went through tonks's shield like a knife through butter and hit her, knocking her out, the downside of using this spell was that by the time Perseus leveled his wand at Charlie , he had already fired a stunner at Perseus.
The stunner was already too close to Perseus for him to dodge , so Perseus just raised his hand and intercepted the red bolt, which was then nullified, and simultaneously fired a stunner at a shocked Charlie, knocking him out too
He had just revived them when they heard the sound of clapping from behind and turned to see it was nick and professor fitwlick
"an amazing show of skills , mister black, now I am sure both Mr. Weasley and Ms. Tonks won't doubt your abilities anymore, and professor Dumbledore has given the assent to send the three of you for the tournament next year."
Flashback ends
"You kicked their asses " Nick said to which Perseus just gave a smirk and they talked a bit more about the duel as they walked.
So engrossed they were in their conversation that they did not notice someone standing in front of them and Perseus collided with him and then fell , and his goggles fell in the process.
"Sorry professor" Perseus said as he got to his feet and picked up his goggles, and pocketed them.
"Watch your steps, mister black" he said "that would be a detention with—" he stopped suddenly as he looked at Perseus. His eyes went wide and shock was evident on his face. And it was then Perseus noted that Snape was staring straight into his eyes , with an expression of disbelief on his face
"Professor, are you alright " Nick asked.
That was enough to break Snape out of his daze.
"aah yes , yes I am fine, what are you all waiting for, get out of my sight" he said
They then walked away from the potion master leaving Snape to ponder over his discovery.
"What did you do to him, Perseus, one moment he was looking at you and was to assign detention, and the next he looked like he had seen a ghost"
"I don't know mate" Perseus said, but he knew why Snape had reacted like that, he had looked at Perseus's eyes, the one prominent feature he has inherited from his mother , and Perseus knew for sure that Snape had recognized him.
And he was right too for Snape was thinking along the same lines
'Those eyes, lily's eyes, it's him, how is that even possible?, I will have to tell lily, but first I have to be sure about it' Snape thought as he composed himself and went to his chambers.
so yes snape knows , but he keep it a secret , what will the potters and dumbledore do when the will know the truth .
keep reading to find out.
