Misfit Managed
For the rest of the train ride Arcturus sat with Draco in the same compartment along with Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Every time those two boys were busy talking too loudly or laughing at Draco’s awful jokes, Arcturus tried to use the silencing charm on them with his wand moving swiftly in his hand under his long robe. It didn’t work though, no matter how hard he tried to move his wand hand exactly how Lucius Malfoy used to when casting this charm on him.
By the time the sun had set, the scenery became even more unfamiliar and unsettling to him. He was worn out and wanted to rest but was constantly reminded of his short conversation with Draco in the corridor. He wanted to know more without asking Draco about any of it, He wasn’t sure how he was going to find out more yet he knew he wouldn’t give up until he did. It all sounded awfully disturbing to think the boy he just had a really good time with might become the next Dark Lord, almost too ridiculous to be true, but again in the wizarding community ridiculous things happen all the time. He wondered if this was all this community was about, people born with magic go to learn magic then use it to hurt other people, like Grandma Walburga or Lucius Malfoy or even his father who was rotting in Azkaban.
His father was on his mind again. Strangely Arcturus was thinking about his father a lot today. When he was younger and more oblivious to his surroundings, he used to be very fond of amusing himself with the idea of having a father but as he grew up, he found it very shameful to create imaginary happy memories in his head with a criminal.
His mind went back to thinking about Harry and how his life possibly looked like. Deep down he was glad Harry’s aunt and uncle were muggles. That meant no one probably ever tried to punish Harry with a tiny stick after saying a few funny words.
The lights inside the compartment went on as the night approached. Draco was talking about how great Slytherin was compared to other houses, Crabbe brought up Durmstrang and asked Draco to give his thoughts on the school. Arcturus cast a disdainful look in Crabbe’s direction. Something about the attention Draco received by the two boys irritated him. A raised brow accompanied by a scornful scowl formed on his face as he finally spoke after hours of being silent and pretending to be asleep for the most part.
“Oi Crabbe. They are serving cupcakes for first years down in the corridor, did you know?”
Crabbe perked up, straightening his back. He and Goyle shared a look and within a few seconds they both dashed out the compartment as if they were racing each other to catch a golden snitch.
Draco frowned. “What was that about?”
Arcturus shrugged, stretching his legs and resting them on the now vacant seat in front of him. His arms crossed and his back leaning against his seat. “Just wanted them to shut up.”
Draco stood up and looked outside the compartment, amused by how that old trick seems to work almost every time.
They heard a voice echo through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
“Are you ready Artie?” A grin formed on Draco’s lips. Arcturus stood up, straightened his jacket and fixed his long robe. A lopsided grin appeared on his face.
“After you.” Arcturus nodded towards the door, Draco left the compartment first. Arcturus used this opportunity to open Goyle’s luggage and took out Goyle’s belt, there was no way he could go through the whole night with how loose his own trousers felt. He then took another look inside Goyle’s luggage before closing it.
“Sorry Gargoyle, I wish I was sorry.” He muttered, wearing the belt and off he was to join the crowd thronging the corridor.
He pushed his way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform when the train stopped. He was trying to find Draco when his eyes caught a glimpse of Harry, he felt as though he was nailed to the ground, until Harry looked back at him but didn’t look mad, his expression was unreadable to Arcturus but whatever it was, it wasn’t anger in Harry’s eyes. It made Arcturus less tense. He thought maybe he should go over and say something but all of this lasted only a few seconds before Draco found him and off they were following a half giant with a huge lamp in hand, beaming at all of them.
"C'mon, follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" Said the half giant wearing a moleskin overcoat.
“Is that Hagrid?” Arcturus whispered to Draco, standing closer to him as they walked down the dark narrow pathway. He remembered Hagrid from Diagon Alley with Harry was alongside him. Draco nodded with a huff, apparently not a fan of Hagrid. It didn’t come as a shock to Arcturus. Usually the majority, or the ones who consider themselves the majority, almost never like the minority, or the ones they consider lower than them. He had firsthand experience with that sort of prejudice for his whole life. His mind went back to the night before when he was down in the cellar, all alone in the dark, with dead rats and insects of all sorts constantly crawling all over him. In Arcturus’ case sometimes being the undesirable kind or the misfit meant resting your head on your school acceptance letter because it’s better than having the dust and tiny rocks on the ground beneath you scratch your face for the whole night.
Before he let his mind begin to play the dangerous game of reliving all those nasty memories and the unsettling disgust that come with it, he heard Hagrid’s voice again.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
The narrow path suddenly led to the edge of a big dark lake. Sitting on a tall mountain across from them, was a tremendous castle with numerous turrets and towers, whose windows shone within the starry sky. Arcturus’ mouth fell open at the scenery, they were told by Hagrid to get in the boats. Arcturus sat with Draco and of course Crabbe and Goyle followed them into the boat almost immediately. The lake beneath them looked like a black satin painted by Vittorio Reggianini, Arcturus thought. It was smooth and comforting. The great castle itself looked like it was done by an impressionist artist, it brought a smile to his face as he finally began to feel belonged and normal. His tense shoulders were finally beginning to relax. He was starting to actually believe he was a wizard after all, until the moment was robbed from him by Goyle who was talking to Crabbe and as always, the most ridiculous thing came out of the boy’s mouth. “The Castle is huge. How long do you think it would take us to eat it if it was a cake?”
Arcturus’ right eye twitched from suppressed anger, he took a deep breath and gripped onto the side of the boat.
“Don’t throw him into the lake, it’s not worth it.” Draco teased with a chortle, enjoying the latter’s agitation.
Arcturus shook his head and smiled uncharacteristically. Despite everything that went down in the train today and back home yesterday, he was feeling less anxious with Draco sitting next to him. He once again turned his gaze back onto the most beautiful castle he had ever seen and in that moment all his worries and doubts went away. ‘Muggles can't see the castle. If I wasn't magic, I wouldn't be able to see the castle.’ he assured himself.
The Sorting
By the time they were inside the castle, there were so many things that both fascinated and terrified him at the same time, comparatively to the Hogwarts castle, the Malfoy Manor appeared as nothing more than a modest cottage.
Everyone followed a professor dressed in emerald green robes, they all stood in a vacant chamber where on the other side of the grand door on their right, hundreds of voices could be heard. Arcturus wondered how many students could be in there.
The Professor began talking about the sorting ceremony, the four houses, the rules and ended her speech with "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Her tone was dry yet Arcturus could swear she sounded a bit excited. It made him feel rather uneasy to think about a ceremony in front of the rest of the school, his palms dampened a bit once again. He looked around, the rest of the first years who were standing so close to each other also looked as equally nervous as he was. This made him feel better for a moment, but fear of the unknown was always as nerve-wracking and painful as a crucio on a Monday, as the old saying goes.
As he continued to anxiously look around, he saw Harry again, standing a bit further along with Ron and the boy who had lost his toad on the train. He heard Ron telling harry that his brother Fred told him that the sorting was some sort of a test, a painful one. Arcturus’ mind immediately responded; ‘Easy, I can cheat on a test.’ Sure, he could cheat on a test, he just had to check his surrounding really well first to find his options, he told himself, trying to calm his nerves, rubbing his damp hands very slowly on the insides of his pockets.
Ron continued to whisper to Harry but it was loud enough for Arcturus and Draco to hear them from two rows behind. “Fred said, in the sorting you have to fight a troll.” Arcturus and Draco unintentionally chortled upon hearing what Ron said. “What type of idiot believes that?” Draco whispered to him with a smirk and in his usual condescending tone. Arcturus barely held in his scoff. "Only a Weasley."
‘A troll? Wait… What if there was an actual troll in there?’ Arcturus’ grin vanished as fast and as swiftly as it came when he involuntarily thought about it. He took a breath and shifted in his place, trying not to tap his foot or become too fidgety in front of everyone else. He tensed up wondering how he would deal with a troll...just in case there was an actual troll in front of him. Draco's snarky remarks about how idiotic Ron sounded faded out in his mind while he was busy figuring out how he could take down a troll. ‘Easy, yes it would be easy, trolls are not the most intelligent creatures. That’s it, I'll fool the troll into lowering his club, then use it as a ladder to land on his head and if he wants to hit me, he'll hit himself in the head and then—’ Draco nudged him in the ribs, letting him know they were going inside the great hall and Arcturus, with a pale face followed after him.
Inside the great hall was as bright as a place could be, the ceiling showing the night sky made him uneasy, but at least the candles looked nice, he thought to himself, the less starry the better. A girl walking ahead of them was talking about how much she knows about it all from the book she’d read. Arcturus wished he could read the books too, maybe after tonight that's what he’d do first. Read Hogwarts, A History and talk to Draco about it. Surely Draco would know more than he did. Professor McGonagall told them all to line up so they could start the sorting ceremony. Arcturus was ready to face a troll. He was determined to do whatever it takes to stay at Hogwarts no matter what. Anything was better than going back to the Malfoy manor, where he wasn’t even granted an easy and quick death by the wand but by starvation in the cellar instead.
In that moment he refused to ever go back to his old life, he was born a Black and decided he wanted to live proudly as the last male of the house of Black. He was no longer The Malfoy’s charity case to be treated like their house elf, to be punished for expressing any core emotion if it bothered Lucius Malfoy. He took in his surrounding with a brief glance of an eye and tried to remember this moment as the last moment of the boy he used to be; a lowlife, a bastard son of a criminal, a squib and something so unworthy of the gift of magic. From this moment on he was going to become the heir of the house of Black and Lucius Malfoy’s worst nightmare. A mixture of anger, pure hatred and excitement filled his insides. The air he breathed in filled every fiber of his being with adrenaline and he grinned softly to himself, his usual lopsided grin.
By this time, he was fully convinced that he could take down the troll in two minutes, instead he was met with an ugly wrinkled old hat placed on a stool by Professor McGonagall instead.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Professor McGonagall said.
Arcturus' nose scrunched in disgust. ‘Do they even wash that hat?’ He found the idea of wearing that hat revolting, although it was much better than having to face a troll. Draco looked at him with the same level of disgust for the hat.
"Abbot, Hanna." The first name was called and the girl went to sit on the stool, Arcturus' attention was back on the old hat when it started talking. ‘An old hat from Merlin's era is going to choose where I will be for the next seven years? Wait— if it's that old, does it mean Merlin himself had to wear it to be sorted too? Wicked.’ Arcturus amused himself with that idea but soon was nudged in the arm by Draco who nodded in the direction of the stool. They had called his name and he was not even paying any attention. The whole hall seemed so quiet; the silence was deafening. He slowly walked up to the stool and sat down. Professor McGonagall looked awfully shocked, so did a few older students in their seats, when his glance met them briefly, a few glared, others stared at him in horror.
"Hmm, another Black. Interesting. It feels just like yesterday when your father was sorted into Gryffindor, breaking five hundred years of tradition." A voice spoke in his head, as shocking as it was it calmed him down for a second, silenced out every other thought in his mind.
"So where should I put you? This is strange, very strange, I’ve never dealt with anything like this." The voice said in an amused tone in his head.
"Not Gryffindor!" Arcturus thought to himself firmly. He hated the idea of ending up where his father was.
"Not Gryffindor, no, definitely not Gryffindor." To Arcturus’ shock, the voice responded, fancy a hat read your mind when you’re this anxious. "Let me see—"
"If you put me in Hufflepuff where I’d have to wear yellow for the next seven years, I'll tear you apart and make ten caps out of you."
The voice laughed in amusement, time was passing and he was still stuck under the hat on his head. Everyone was staring at him. Arcturus suddenly was struck with a horrifying thought, what if the hat wasn’t going to choose a house for him? What if he wasn’t chosen for any of the four houses? His stomach churned, he looked at everyone in front of him and tried his best to look confident despite feeling like his heart was beating so fast in his chest, it was making him rock back and forth on the stool. However unnoticeable, he was genuinely terrified in that moment. What if the hat’s silence meant that the hat knew he was nothing but a squib? No, this was getting embarrassing. He thought maybe he should make a graceful exit on his own before the hat or the professor embarrass him by saying they know what he is and that he doesn’t belong here. This thought brought such great shame and humiliation to him that it almost made him want to puke his guts out.
“Stop the sorting ceremony.” A voice said loudly from behind him, from the High Table. It sounded stern and loud enough to make everyone stop their whispering.
Arcturus turned around with the hat still on his head. It was the Headmaster Dumbledore’s voice. He stood up from his seat and looked at Arcturus for a brief moment before turning his eyes onto Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall nodded at him, Arcturus didn’t know what that was supposed to mean or what was going on. All he knew was that in that moment his legs felt too weak for him to even move, let alone get up and make a graceful exit as he intended.
This was the moment he was dreading; they were going to tell him he doesn’t belong here. He wasn’t sure how he was going to find his way out and go back to the train, hopefully Hagrid or somebody would be kind enough to help him.
“Mr. Black, please step aside from the stool and wait until the ceremony is over.” Professor McGonagall said, removing the sorting hat from his head. Her voice was nothing above a whisper.
Arcturus nodded, he knew he probably looked pale and dreadful, yet he refused to let his head down. He gathered all his strength and walked back to the line of first years and stood next to Draco. Everyone at this point was beginning to whisper about him after the moment of shock had passed. Knowing this was as equally shocking and unusual for everyone as it was for Arcturus made this even more humiliating for him.
He stood there staring in the direction of the students who were sitting on the stool one after the other, his eyes unmoving and his jaws tensed. He didn’t dare look at anyone around him, not even Draco. The shame and humiliation felt like the weight of the whole castle crushing him underneath it. So far, he watched three students get sorted into Hufflepuff, two in Ravenclaw, one Slytherin and three students got sorted into Gryffindor.
He was too stunned to even think about anything, the sound of students applauding and cheering for their new housemates were becoming incredibly overwhelming.
He felt something crawling under his skin. Something like a tiny insect that lived in the cellar of the Malfoy manor. He was just scared in that moment, the crawling underneath the skin of his right arm was adding to the unsettling feeling he was trying to process yet was failing miserably.
Just a few minutes ago he finally had a moment in his life where for the first time he felt confident and could almost imagine his next seven years in a place away from the people who wanted him dead. His newly found tiny bit of ego and confidence left him so quickly and so brutally, it felt as though being stripped of his own sense of self, again.
Arcturus mustered the courage to speak again, he looked at Draco who almost immediately turned his head towards Arcturus, as if he was waiting for him to say something all this time.
“What’s going to happen next? Am I getting kicked out of Hogwarts already?” Arcturus whispered quietly; his voice was weaker than he would’ve wanted it to be. It made him feel pathetic. Before Draco could respond, his name was called and they both turned their heads towards professor McGonagall. Draco walked up to the stool with a smug look on his face, the sorting hat barely touched his head before it shouted “SLYTHERIN!”
The students at the Slytherin table cheered and clapped for him. Everything about this moment made Arcturus feel sick to his stomach. He clenched his jaws really hard and stared ahead with unmoving eyes, not daring to look anyone in the face. His heart was beating so fast in his chest and he was breathing rather heavily. ‘What type of torture is this? Couldn’t they just tell me to leave the castle?’
The line was becoming less and less crowded as more students were getting sorted, Harry got the loudest applause from the Gryffindors when he got sorted.
Arcturus couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong, he was desperately looking for possible reasons as to why this had happened. ‘Is there something wrong with me? Am I a squib? If I’m a squib then why did they bother sending me a letter? Was it a mistake? Did they change their minds after sending me the letter? But why? Is it because my father’s a criminal?’ All of those things made sense in his head. He stood there watching two other students get sorted into Gryffindor and one into Ravenclaw. When he finally moved his head to his side there was only one boy left, he too shortly after that was called by Professor McGonagall and got sorted into Slytherin.
Arcturus stood alone in front of the table full of Professors, He cast a long stare at each of the people at the High Table, Dumbledore’s eyes were gentle, another professor in turban looked at Arcturus and suddenly became very twitchy, covered his mouth and Arcturus could swear he squeaked. The professor next to the professor in turban on the other hand looked very stern. His hair was the same length as Arcturus’ hair but a tad bit shorter than the young lad. He hated how this professor stared down at him so he made sure to stare back long enough to make it known he was not appreciating the look. He allowed his frown to deepen and let his stare soak in arrogance one last time before they made sure he never steps foot in this castle again.
Deep down he wished somehow the castle could swallow him whole or make him disappear. But unfortunately, something worse happened. Professor McGonagall asked him to follow her and took him away from the Great Hall without any explanation. Not that Arcturus wanted to know, after all it wasn’t hard to guess, she probably was going to tell him the direction to the exit and how he could find the train back to King’s Cross.
They were heading towards a long corridor, where the walls were lit with flaming torches, it felt awfully cold and painfully nerve-wracking to walk in complete silence behind the Professor. Arcturus’ stomach growled, he was extremely hungry to the point of nausea, everything he had since yesterday was half a Mars Bar and a piece of chocolate frog for a whole day. Not his first time to starve for a whole day but at least at the Malfoy manor he could fight starvation by sleeping it off.
As they walked up the stairs, a tingling sensation still lingered in his right arm, that was probably his nerves, he thought to himself.
He wasn't sure how much more they needed to walk. He thought maybe professor McGonagall was trying to show him an easier way to exit the castle. A rather bone chilling thought came over him, what if Professor McGonagall was going to send him right back to the Malfoys? His breath hitched in his throat yet he mustered all his courage to say something, anything. Maybe even show them his Hogwarts letter as a proof of his acceptance. The thought just made him feel more shameful but he quickly got over his self-pity and opened his mouth. Professor McGonagall finally stopped walking after they reached the second floor, he closed his mouth, staring at the Professor, desperately looking for an answer. Professor McGonagall didn't even spare him a look. She stood in front of a statue of a Gargoyle. "Lemon Drop." Arcturus' eyebrows raised in shock, the Gargoyle leapt aside, the wall behind it split in two and revealed a spiral stone staircase. The professor gestured him to follow her as soon as they stepped on the stone stairs. The staircase soon began moving swiftly, like an escalator. "Excuse me?" Arcturus finally spoke up; his voice came out rather quietly and nervously. "May I ask something?"
Professor McGonagall finally looked at him, the look on her face was still cold and she looked as though she really didn't want to be a part of the process of letting a child go, yet her voice carried a warm concern. "I'm afraid I'm not the best person to answer your questions Mr. black. Professor Dumbledore will explain everything shortly."
Arcturus looked down at his feet, not quite able to maintain eye contact any longer. He didn’t know what he wanted to hear but it wasn’t this. His palms dampened again, the gargoyle entrance closed behind them, before their eyes was a highly polished oak door with a brass knocker in shape of a griffin. ‘Pretentious Gryffindors.’ Arcturus thought to himself.
A voice was heard from inside the chamber that had the griffin brass knocker. "It's not up to you to decide Severus, the boy is important, so is his future." Arcturus recognized this voice; it was Dumbledore he had no doubt about it.
Professor McGonagall as though suddenly becoming anxious, immediately opened the door, walking inside the circular room lit by candles and lamplight.
As Professor McGonagall announced the boy’s presence, Both Dumbledore and the Professor from the Great Hall wearing a black robe both looked his way. Arcturus looked around the room, with each glance something intriguing caught his eyes. “Good evening. We are terribly sorry to keep you waiting young Black.” Dumbledore’s voice gained his attention that was now fixated on the three adults in the room. That didn’t mean he didn’t keep glancing at the majestic Phoenix on a golden perch.
“Perhaps an introduction may help you feel more comfortable. This is our potion master Professor Snape, also the head of the Slytherin house.” Dumbledore gestured towards the Professor on his left. His voice as calm as the spring’s breeze, controlled and soothing. His half-moon glasses shining in the candlelight.
Arcturus couldn’t handle his nerves any longer. He cut Dumbledore off. “Sir, I’m not sure I understand why I wasn’t sorted, but if that means I have to leave this castle then I—”
“You are not here to be expelled Mr. Black. This is a private sorting ceremony.” Professor McGonagall responded quickly, as if trying to prevent allowing the wrong idea from beginning to form in his head.
“A private sorting?” Arcturus asked.
Dumbledore smiled pleasantly. “Yes, indeed it is.”
“Headmaster, you are making a mistake.” Snape’s tone was controlled, yet his thumb rubbing against each of his fingertips was an indication of his anxious disapproval.
Arcturus was shocked to hear this. In that moment he felt lonelier than ever. He didn’t expect his first day of freedom to be filled with humiliation and rejection. He opened his mouth to speak, his brows were furrowed but before he could say anything, Professor McGonagall walked towards him, her nervous glances between Dumbledore and the potion master made her seem as though she definitely couldn’t help Arcturus in any way in this situation besides taking him out of the office.
“You shall wait here Mr. Black, I’ll come and let you know when the sorting hat is ready for you.” She said with a hint of gentleness in her tone which wasn’t so evident before. Arcturus nodded his head.
Professor McGonagall walked back towards the oak door again and reached for the golden brass knocker in shape of a griffin, she looked back at Arcturus. Arcturus’ gaze raised to meet hers. “I myself happened to be a hatstall too. It doesn’t make one any less worthy Mr. Black.”
Arcturus’ face relaxed a bit, relief washed over him. His right arm which was still tingling and bothering him seemed to calm down. A lopsided gentle grin crept onto his lips when he stood there after Professor McGonagall’s departure.
Dumbledore sat down on his chair, pushing his half-moon glasses back on his nose. Snape followed, putting both palms on the headmaster’s table when he leaned in to speak in a hushed tone. “This is a risk, surely the sorting hat knew it, that’s why it refused to sort Black in any of the houses.”
“Yes Severus. The sorting hat knows what will happen. That’s why we need to keep the boy in here, under our supervision.” Dumbledore replied, giving Snape a glance before he looked back at the piece of parchment on his desk.
“Is it true then? Is the boy?” McGonagall asked, fear lacing her nervous tone.
“Yes, the boy is an obscurial. I’m not sure how he survived after the age of ten. But surely, he will not have much time left.” Snape responded, his words coming out sharply. He turned his head back to Dumbledore. “He is a dangerous and uncontrollable dark force that can burst out and attack anytime if triggered, therefore he should leave the castle.”
“He is just a boy Severus.” McGonagall cried, her eyebrows knitting together in worry.
“He is not just a boy. He is the most unpredictable and lethal—"
“The boy can be saved, it may have been late for the ones before him, but we can save him.” Dumbledore cut him off.
“How?!” Severus threw his hands up in exasperation.
Dumbledore was still calm. A smile formed on his lips. “Professor McGonagall, please bring the boy. We shall talk about this after the sorting.”
By the time Arcturus was back in Dumbledore’s office, they sat him down a chair near the table and in front of the phoenix which was on its golden perch. The sorting hat was placed on his head again but this time Arcturus tried not to think about anything, he feared it might’ve been his thoughts that made the sorting hat not see him worthy of any of the four houses. Instead, he tried to distract himself with what he remembered from an old book in the Malfoys library. ‘Bottle fame with a potion, sell it to a young man and make fortune. Sell it to a wise man and he’ll sell it back to take your fortune. Brew luck in a cauldron, if the cauldron didn’t explode, then your folly was showed—’
“SLYTERIN.” The sorting hat shouted, causing Arcturus to wince in his seat. It took him a moment to realise he actually did get sorted.
McGonagall beamed at him, she didn't seem genuine but bless her soul, at least she tried unlike the other Professor. Dumbledore was nodding in approval, but the potion master didn’t seem too happy with this and evidently, left the office with a stern look on his face. Professor McGonagall left too after Dumbledore handed her the sorting hat.
“Congratulations young Black. Welcome to Hogwarts.” Dumbledore’s eyes were twinkling, his long silver beard quivering as he spoke.
Arcturus finally let out a sigh of relief and got off the chair. This was the moment he was waiting for. He no longer had to go back to the Malfoys or run away, he was safe now. “Thank you, sir.” He smiled, barely concealing his excitement.
“Care for a Sherbet Lemon?” Dumbledore offered with a few in his palms.
“I’d love to—” Arcturus’ eyes glinting with excitement, he took only one out of politeness but he wished he could take more. “Thank you.”
Dumbledore seemed strangely pleased upon seeing the boy accepting his offer. As though he could read the boy’s mind, he put a few Sherbet Lemons on a clean napkin and handed it to the boy. “Life is always better with a few sweets. Don’t you think Black?”
“Yes sir.” Arcturus smiled, putting the napkin in his pocket. Dumbledore seemed much nicer than what Lucius used to say about him. Dumbledore then summoned the Slytherin Prefect Gemma Farley and asked her to take Arcturus to the Slytherin common room.