Dark, Foreboding, and Forshadowing
Chapter 5- Dark, Foreboding, and Forshadowing
Severus hated staff meetings.
They never did anything other than gossip, as the lesson plans very rarely changed, and he didn’t care about who all was coming to Hogwarts this year.
That was until the new Muggle Studies professor was introduced. Severus didn’t go to Hogwarts with William Afton, but he heard many stories of the electronic obsessed Slytherin over drinks with Minerva. He also knew of the Afton Robotics, LLC due to living in the muggle world outside of the school year. The company had been under fire due to some missing children a few years back. Severus didn’t know the details, but he had seen the missing posters and remembered something in the muggle paper about a pizzeria employee being involved.
So when a man who was without a doubt his son walked in and sat next to him, he was intrigued. While waiting for the meeting to end, he observed the young man. He was clearly exhausted, but there was a haunted look in his eye that Severus knew all to well. He tried some subtle legilimency, but instead of stray thoughts or whispers of emotion, he was met with something else entirely. It was as if he was being sucked into a black hole, stretching and spiraling with agony, screaming filled his head. Or was this Afton’s screaming thoughts? Maybe this was some obscure form of occlumency? He had heard that the Afton’s had some sort of special family magic, but no one knew what it could be. Was this part of it?
He quickly left the tortured mind. It’s secrets would remain hidden for now. Luckily, Dumbledore prompted the quiet man to speak. As Afton quite bluntly laid bare the injustice that was the Muggle Studies lesson plan, Severus enjoyed the looks sported by the other teachers. Most were baffled, especially by Afton’s cellular device, while Quirinus looked nervous for some reason, Albus looked constipated. If Severus were a different man he would have laughed at their ignorance.
Then Albus mentioned William.
The air grew thick. You could feel the tension in the room. Afton clearly did not like to be reminded of his father. Afton’s glare made the tension crackle. It was then that Severus realized that it was magic, not tension, making the room uncomfortable. More glares were sent towards Albus as he asked how William was doing. The magic snapped.
“He’s dead.”
A sense of foreboding filled the air.
What has Albus brought to Hogwarts.
Minerva McGonagall did not know what to expect when Albus said Mr. Afton would be teaching. Like most of the room, her mind went to William Afton. The boy was brilliant yes, but he wasn’t exactly teaching material. But her worries were in vain, because the man who walked through the staff room doors was not William, although he definitely resembled him. She was momentarily relieved. When he revealed his new lesson plan she was impressed, although not entirely surprised. If William was his father, which he had to be, then he must have passed on some information to his son.
Then Albus just had to mention William out loud.
The shock must have shown on her face. She could not believe Albus would prod the obviously grief ridden young man. She could see it clear as day. The dark circles, slouched posture, dead eyes. She remembered seeing that exact look in her own mirror after Lily and James died. Although it didn’t show on his face, she knew from the crackling magic rippling through the room that he was angry. Minerva only hoped his time here would help him through this stage of grief.
Quirinus Quirrell knew from the moment his replacement opened his mouth, he was fucked. There was no doubt about it, as he could feel the splitting headache from the Dark Lords anger. He was in for it later.
Quirinus didn’t know much about the Afton family, outside of the tragic string of accidents that killed them all, so he didn’t have the same shock as the other staff. He could however feel the deep recognition and slight curiosity that came from his Lord. It made him sick. This entire situation he found himself in made him sick. Of course he wanted to help his Lord! But possession was hard on the strongest of wix, of which Quirinus was not.
He didn’t think he would make it to the end of the school year at this rate.
He needed to get the Sorcerer’s Stone, and fast.
But there was something else on his mind. The purple eyed man. His magic was powerful, rippling through the room in angry waves, yet it seemed as though he didn’t notice. There was a darkness to it as well, something he had only felt in Inferi. But that couldn’t be right. That would mean this man was dead, and that was impossible. Sure, he looked a little worse for wear, but he looked alive at least. No empty eye sockets or rotting skin.
The Dark Lord must have known something he didn’t.
‘I need to ssssspeak with him.’
Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore was surprised and unnerved by the angry dark magic that tainted the air. It was this that confirmed in his mind that this was in fact Williams son. It was the same darkness he felt from that young Slytherin all those years ago. At least now he could keep an eye on him, who knows what the Dark would have done with such a broken person. They would twist his mind and use him.
He would not let this boy slip out of his hands. He would have to see just how dark the boy really was, and see if he could be dissuaded. After all, if he could get a Black and a werewolf on his side, he would be able to get an Afton.
Maybe he could even help find the lost Harry Potter, that family had to have some sort of tracking spell he hadn’t seen yet.