Chapter 7
Every professor was looking forward to teaching the Boys Who Lived, especially Severus, but he would only get them on Friday mornings. Fillius was delighted that he would get the twins on Monday mornings, and he was excited to see how they would react to his class.
If they were as clever as their mother, however, they would be disappointed and probably bored. Fillius wouldn't be letting them perform the first spell for two months. He wanted to get the theory in his students before letting them use their wands. Charms were fickle spells, needed a lot of concentration. If you made the slightest mistake in wand movement or pronunciation, well...
Fillius waited until the students stopped filing in, then began a roll call. He always started with one, so he could suggest to another student to help out their colleague who missed class.
When he got to Harlequin Potter-Black's name, he couldn't help but squeak and fall off of his tower of books. Some of the Ravenclaws snickered, but Harrison Potter-Black spoke up.
"It's a little disrespectful to laugh at your professors, isn't it?"
His voice was so calm and patient that the Ravenclaws who laughed, the ones that would usually get righteously indignant if a Slytherin corrected or insulted them, relaxed and looked embarrassed.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter-Black," Fillius said as he climbed onto his pile of books again. "I suppose I don't need to call your name now, do I?" he added mischievously.
Harlequin Potter-Black snickered, which caused most of the Slytherins and Ravenclaws to join in. Harrison Potter-Black nodded, but Fillius couldn't really read his expression.
He continued with the roll call, even more interested in the boys, Harrison Potter-Black especially.
Harlequin Potter-Black, like most of the class, were indeed bored and indignant about the fact they wouldn't be casting spells until Halloween. Fillius noticed that the redhead couldn't sit still and his attention would wander, which meant he had ADDH, or whatever it was Severus had told him about. He made a note of that and decided to ask Severus how to help the boy later.
Harrison Potter-Black, however, kept his entire focus on Fillius. His expression was blank, but after a while, Filllius noticed how cautious and thoughtful the boy's eyes were. He certainly wasn't like his mother or James Potter-Black in that way.
Fillius didn't set homework at the end of the class, just suggested they read over the first chapter of their Charms book again. He was surprised to see that most of the Slytherin boys stayed back, and realized that it was because Harrison Potter-Black was heading up to his desk, Harlequin Potter-Black on his heel.
What devoted friends the boys had.
"Good morning, Mr.'s Potter-Black, what can I do for you?" Fillius asked warmly, his interest peaked.
"Good morning, Professor Flitwick," Harrison Potter-Black said calmly. "You are the head of one of the Houses?"
"I am the Head of Ravenclaw, yes," Fillius agreed, voice full of pride.
"Do you have a tutoring system in place, Professor?" Harrison asked.
"What do you mean?" Fillius asked curiously.
"I believe each House should have a system where students in fourth, fifth, and sixth year are assigned to a first, second, or third year, to assist them should they need it," Harrison explained. "I have noticed in my years in Muggle primary school that when I or other students helped others, we remembered the material better. I didn't suggest seventh years because they seem to be too busy to help anyone while they study for N.E.W.T.s. I would suggest having the older students paired with a younger student of another House."
"To promote inter-House relationships," Fillius said with interest. Harrison Potter-Black nodded. "That sounds wonderful. I will discuss it with the other Heads."
"Thank you, Professor," Harrison Potter-Black stated. "Fair morn, xe wixen," he added, eyes glittering.
Fillius beamed. The boy had guessed that he was half goblin! "Fair morn, xe wixen!"
Harrison bowed a little, another goblin tradition, and left the classroom, his friends following quickly.
When was that blasted staff meeting?! Fillius didn't know how long he could wait to speak to his colleagues....
Minerva was very interested in meeting the boys, just as Fillius was. Transfiguration was more difficult than Charms, but a mispronunciation or a wrong wand movement wouldn't hurt anyone except the object being transformed, and since they were working with inanimate objects for the entirety of the year, and there was a lot of spells these students needed to learn, they could and had to start right away.
She started her class with a roll call, followed by a strict speech about how Transfiguration was a very difficult subject, probably the most difficult they would take at Hogwarts. She noticed that Harrison Potter-Black was one of the students watching and listening intently, along with a few of the Hufflepuffs.
The door burst open at that moment, and Neville Longbottom entered, panting heavily. "Sorry... I'm... late... Professor...." he panted. "Ran... into... Peeves...."
He collapsed into the seat next to Harlequin Potter-Black, who grinned and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder in greeting.
"I will not mark you tardy this time, Mr. Longbottom, as it is your first day and Peeves can be..." she pursed her lips, and several of the students stifled laughs. Harlequin Potter-Black didn't; he cackled loudly.
Minerva was about to reprimand the boy, but his brother did it for her. Harrison Potter-Black turned his head, expression blank, his eerie green eyes staring at the laughing boy beside him. And Harlequin Potter-Black shut up immediately, casting Minerva an apologetic look.
She was quite sure she was the only one that caught the dark warning in Harrison Potter-Black's eyes. Minerva stifled a shiver. A boy whose laugh sounded exactly like Bellatrix Lestrange's, and a boy who hid danger in his eyes.
Clearing her throat, Minerva went back to the lesson, but she could feel Harrison Potter-Black's eyes on the back of her head. She wasn't surprised when he was one of the few who could turn his needle into a stick of hay.
When the bell rang and the class left, Minerva collapsed into the chair behind her desk, rubbing her head. She wanted a drink, but she'd promised herself to only drink on the weekend....
Pamona Sprout was a little relieved when the last class of the day arrived. As much as she loved her students, they were exhausting, and the other professors didn't have to take care of living, dangerous plants.
Luckily, this was a first-year class, so Pamona only had to deal with harmless fungi today.
Pamona did notice that the Potter-Black boys were in this class, but she figured the twins had had enough publicity and attention today, so she treated them like she treated all her other students: smiling, calling on an equal amount of students from each House (gently scolding Harlequin Potter-Black when he tried to have a staring contest with the Cyclops Flower, a flower with a huge stem and leaves and a giant eyeball sitting in the center), and giving an equal amount of points to both Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
When the bell rang, she said, "No homework today, but Mr. Harlequin Potter-Black, I want you to write a short essay on why you shouldn't have a staring contest with a Cyclops Flower."
"Fiiiiiiiiinnnnnnne," the boy said dramatically, earning laughter from most of the other students. Miss Hermione Granger seemed torn between amusement and reproving.
The students filed out, and Harrison Potter-Black walked up to her.
"Yes, Mr. Potter-Black?" she asked kindly as she shut her bag.
"Thank you for treating us like you treat everyone else," the child said quietly. His expression was blank, but Pamona could see sincere emotion in the boy's eyes.
Her smile softened. "You're very welcome, dear. If you or your brother need anything, you can come to me, you know. I offer that to all students," she added when Harrison Potter-Black raised an eyebrow.
"You do seem the type of person to do that, Professor," he agreed slowly. "Thank you for offering." He joined his friends, who were waiting at the door.
"Poor boys," Pamona murmured to herself as she headed up to the castle a few moments later. "I hope Severus noticed their behavior as well. Perhaps their relatives need a visit...."
The first day of school was always the worst. Severus always wanted to drink himself to sleep after dinner, but he knew that would make his headache worse the next day. So instead of pulling out that bottle of sherry he saved for holidays and weekends, he headed to his office to torture himself some more.
He found the Potter-Black twins, Draco, Zabini, Ron Weasley, a Ravenclaw first-year, and a Hufflepuff first-year waiting for him.
Severus stifled a groan and said gruffly, "What?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore wants to speak to Harley and I, Professor," Harrison said flatly. "I do not trust him enough to go without a trustworthy adult."
This time Severus really did groan. "He's going to try to persuade you to get a resort."
"Why would he do that?" the Ravenclaw -- Granger, was it? -- exclaimed in confusion and disbelief.
"We'll explain later," Zabini told her quietly. "Not out in the open."
Granger's expression became concerned and suspicious.
"I will join you, that way he won't try to use Legilimency on you," Severus said sourly. He saw cold anger in Harrison's eyes, but the boys' expression was blank as always.
Bloody h*ll, that boy was scary.
"Can I be chaotic, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaase?" Harley begged his brother.
A shrewd look appeared in Harrison's eyes, and he responded, "Actually, this time you can. Just enough that it distracts him from me," he added sharply when Harley crowed in delight. "Do NOT destroy his office."
"Awwwwwww."
Weasley, Draco, and Zabini snickered.
"I will escort you to his office," Severus said in resignation, swooping down the hallway. As the twins followed (he ignored Harley's bouncing), he asked, "Did the old fool give you his password?"
"Yes," Harrison said blankly, eyes full of disgust. "I destroyed the letter as soon as I read it, because I didn't sense any spells on it, not even compulsions."
"The headmaster will only use compulsions if he absolutely needs to," Severus explained. "He is very good at getting what he wants, either through careful persuasion, subtle manipulation, or even blackmail. He can't risk going to Azkaban with the Dark Lord still alive."
The faint sarcasm in his voice was noted by Harrison. "Do you think he's going to suggest to us that he is alive?" Harrison asked.
Severus paused in his stride briefly, frowning. "Most likely. He will probably try to subtly manipulate you into becoming a weapon against the Dark Lord."
"Why?" Harrison asked sharply.
"Not here," Severus said firmly. "My office on Saturday, nine o'clock. If our meeting happens to run past curfew, I have a door in my office that leads directly to the Slytherin common rooms, one only Slytherins can access."
"Very well. Harley, for Merlin's sake, keep up."
Harley had insisted on bouncing down the hallway and up the stairs, which left him very far behind. Severus knew the boy was pouting as he abandoned the hopping and ran up to them.
He was like James, but he wasn't arrogant or mean. He was just an idiot with too much energy.
Severus wanted a drink more now.
Albus glanced at the clock. It was almost seven.
Soon, Harlequin and Harrison Potter-Black would be back in his grasp. They would be in the House they were supposed to be in. They wouldn't be associating with any children of Death Eaters, or anyone that wasn't from Gryffindor. They would be on the path to be his weapon against the Dark and Voldemort.
Soon, Albus would be back in control again.
There was a knock on the door, but Albus recognized it as Severus', not an unfamiliar knock.
"Enter," he said, confused.
The door opened, revealing the dour man and the twins. Harlequin was staring at Albus' beard and robes, while Harrison was studying his office with a blank expression.
"Ah, thank you, Severus," Albus said brightly. "You may leave, I'm sure you have things to do."
"My godson and his brother requested my presence," Severus said sharply, indicating Harrison as his godson. "I'm staying."
"Godson?" Albus said in surprise. "Lily and James told me they'd picked-" He paused, not wanting the boys to know about Sirius and Remus.
"If you were trying to hide the presence of our other godparents, headmaster," Harrison said calmly, eyes landing on Albus' crooked nose, "you failed. We took Magical Blood Tests at Gringotts."
Albus cursed inwardly, but outwardly he said reassuringly, "That wasn't my intention, my dear boy. So, that's where you discovered that Severus was your godfather?"
"I am not comfortable with you calling me 'your boy,'" Harrison said, still in that calm tone.
"Of course, Harry, I am sorry," Albus said quickly, even more angry but hiding it behind a warm, apologetic smile. "Please, sit." He gestured to the chairs across from him. Harlequin plopped down immediately, now having a staring contest with Fawkes.
"I don't believe I gave you permission to call me by my first name, headmaster," Harrison said, and Albus noticed the slightest note of steel in the boy's tone now. It wasn't enough that he could reprimand him for it, but he could sill tell it was there.
"I do apologize, I didn't realize you were going to follow wizarding -- ah, wixen culture," Albus said in surprise. "Your parents didn't."
"Even if I weren't, headmaster," Harrison said patiently, "I still wouldn't be comfortable with any adult calling me by anything but 'Mr. Potter-Black,' as I'm a minor."
"Yes, yes, of course," Albus soothed. Inwardly, he was taking deep breaths, trying to figure out how to work this.
Well, of course the boy didn't trust him now. They'd just met. And since Hagrid hadn't met the twins yet, they wouldn't know how wise and trustworthy Albus really was. He'd give Harrison time to trust him, and in the meantime, he'd use the bloody wixen greetings around him.
Harrison sat down beside his brother, who was still holding Fawkes' gaze. Severus leaned back against the wall, keeping an eye on Albus.
"Ah, I see you've met Fawkes," Albus chuckled, seizing the opportunity to establish a connection with the mischievous twin.
"A phoenix," Harrison said slowly, studying the bird. "They're very rare."
"He's a prebby birb," Harlequin cooed, and Fawkes preened.
Albus was a little surprised; usually, Fawkes hated baby talk. Perhaps he had a preference on who spoke it?
"Yes, gorgeous," Albus agreed.
"What is it you wanted to speak to us about, headmaster?" Harrison asked, turning his gaze to Albus' nose again. Harlequin did the same. Why wouldn't the boys look him in the eye?
"A few things," Albus hummed. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss."
"Who'd we lose, headmaster?" Harlequin asked, looking incredibly confused.
"Your parents, of course," Albus said, startled. "I knew them quite well, and was devastated when they died."
"You knew two of them, headmaster," Harrison corrected calmly. "According to Uncle Severus, you didn't know Regulus Potter-Black, our second father and third parent.
"I am not sure why you are expression sorrow to children who never knew their parents."
Albus was even more surprised. "You did know your parents. You were nearly two when they died."
"We don't remember them at all," Harlequin chirped. Harrison dipped his head in agreement.
"I am pleased that you hold no negative emotions from their death," Albus said carefully. This was not good; he needed the boys to embody James Potter-Black, who was reckless, mean, and loyal to him, and how would they want to do that if they weren't attached to their parents. And if they weren't attached to any of their parents, they wouldn't want to get revenge on Voldemort. "I am sure someone has explained to you what happened when they died."
"Uncle Severus did, headmaster," Harrison said blankly.
Oh, no. A Death Eater, loyal or not, wouldn't portray their deaths the right way.
Well, actually, that didn't matter, because the boys weren't attached to James or Lily. He would have to have one of their close friends killed by "Voldemort" once the monster returned.
"Well, then the only thing that we need to discuss is your House," Albus stated.
"Why do we need to talk about the Slythies, headmaster?" Harlequin chirped. He was now bouncing in his seat, eyes wandering.
Severus choked, then glared exasperatedly at the boy.
Albus smiled briefly, then sobered. "I'm sure Severus has told you that Voldemort-" he ignored Severus' flinch "-tried to kill you, and failed?"
"Yes, headmaster," Harrison said slowly.
"Many, but not all, of his followers were in Slytherin House," Albus said. "And many, but not all, of their children were sorted into the same House. Most of their parents would have taught them that Voldemort-" Severus flinched again "-was someone to be respected. I worry that you are both in danger."
"None of the Slytherins have a problem with us, headmaster," Harrison said calmly. "If what you say is true, they can't do anything physical to us, because the professors would catch it immediately. They don't know Uncle Severus is my godfather, but they know he cares about us, and they respect him enough to either leave us alone or treat us with the same respect they treat other Slytherins. Besides, the Dark Lord is dead, isn't he? His followers think he's dead, at least. So, they'll just treat us with wary respect for somehow defeating a Dark Lord or, again, treat us with the same respect they treat other Slytherins."
Albus chalked up Harrison calling Voldemort 'the Dark Lord' to the fact that he was surrounded with Death Eater children. He knew that all of them were Death Eater children.
"I'm afraid that Voldemort isn't dead," Albus said heavily. "And I believe that his followers know that."
"If Moldyshorts isn't dead, then why hasn't he shown himself, headmaster?" Harlequin asked, earning a horrified sputtering noise from Severus.
"I wouldn't call him that in front of other Slytherins, Mr. Potter-Black," Albus said amusedly. He lost his smile and said, "I believe that Voldemort was weakened but not killed. He is in a form that cannot be found easily. I know he will return soon, for his ambition won't let him stay 'dead' for long."
"Do you think he will try to kill Harley and I again?" Harrison asked quietly.
"It is highly probable," Albus agreed gravely. "You are the only ones who have survived the Killing Curse, and he doesn't like to leave business unfinished."
Harrison and Harlequin met eyes and were quiet for a moment. Then Harrison returned his gaze to Albus' nose, and Harlequin started staring at his robes again.
"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, headmaster?" Harrison asked.
Albus had expected the boy to say that they needed a safer place to stay than a Muggle House, but he hadn't said anything. He even hoped that they would continue the conversation about Voldemort returning, but they hadn't done that either.
Patience, Albus. Remember, they don't trust you yet. Wait.
"I don't believe so," Albus hummed, standing. The twins stood up, too. "Severus, I'd like a word once you've escorted the boys to their common room."
"Very well, headmaster," Severus said sourly, looking very much like he'd rather go straight to bed.
As they left, Harlequin's eyes met his very briefly and, seeing that Severus wasn't looking, Albus tried to use Legilimency.
He was met with a cackling, dark shadows that were shifting and squirming like they were alive, and a very insane-sounding voice saying, What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
What? An unladen swallow?
Albus was thrown out immediately after this, and only had a split second to compose himself. He stared after Harlequin, who didn't seem to have noticed the intrusion, because his eyes had gone back to wandering, and the innocent expression he'd had on his face the whole meeting was still there.
That question was very familiar, he'd definitely heard it before. It must be a Muggle thing, otherwise Harlequin wouldn't have known it. Who had taught Harlequin Occlumency? And why was the boy's mind filled with chaos?
Albus was suddenly very tired. Legilimency was hard, especially if the recipient knew Occlumency. He'd rest, then plan more on how to get the boys to trust him tomorrow....