Chapter 4: First Impressions

A moment later Perseus appeared just outside the wards of the black manor, he looked at the sight in front of him, the black manor sat gloriously amidst the valley, a stream flowed from the mountains which then divided into two sub-streams and went around the manor , one on each and again merged in such a way that the manor and its vast surrounding land was surrounded by the water body in a circle. The stream was also a major water source of the inhabitants of the forest, many of which were magical.

He crossed the drawbridge and entered into a wide driveway.. The high hedge curved with him, running off into the distance beyond the pair of impressive wrought-iron gates barring his way. He stood in front of the gate for a second and then walked right through them, the gate appeared to be naught but an illusion, but Perseus knew that the gate would block anyone other than those keyed into the wards. A handsome manor house grew out of the darkness at the end of the straight drive, lights glinting in the diamond-paned downstairs windows. Somewhere in the dark garden beyond the hedge a fountain was playing

He shook his head, once again stunned by the opulent magnificence of Black Manor. It suited the moniker, a handsome manor house surrounded by elaborate gardens, including a fountain. The front door swung inward as he approached without anyone visibly opening it. The large hallway, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificent carpet covering the stone floor. The walls of the entrance hall displayed pale-faced portraits lining the walls . Black Manor had been built quite some time ago, the art of such construction now mostly lost.

"rokky" he called out .

Instantly a little creature with large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis ball appeared with a pop, rokky was his personal house elf. He was wearing a white tunic of sorts.

"Master Perseus is back, is master fine? "he asked in a happy tone bouncing all the while .

"Yes, rokky, I am fine, thank you." Perseus said. he had always treated the house elves of the blacks with affection , and these elves reciprocated it and cared for him deeply , rokky was quite unhappy when he was informed that he won't be serving Perseus while he was under the tutelage of the ancient wand-maker.

" where is grandfather." he asked.

"Lord black has gone out, "he replied.

"Out?" Perseus asked, at which the elf replied." Did he say where?"

"no master, lord black did not. "He said

"very well then, when he comes, inform him about my return, I am really tired so I am going to get some rest".Perseus said as he climbed the staircase and moved towards the wide corridor on the first floor and entered his room. He changed into his nightwear and climbed into the bed and he was soon sound asleep. After all the hard work he has done in the last five months, he deserved the rest.

Perseus woke up from his slumber the next day, did a quick tempus charm and which showed him it was 9 in the morning. He freshened up and glanced outside the window, and what he saw made him curious, his grandfather was having tea with a woman in the patio. He dressed up and went to meet his grandfather.

Lord Black stopped talking when he saw his young charge walking towards them. He took in his appearance , the change Perseus has gone through over the last five months was obvious, his height and shoulder length hair were almost the same , his movement were even more graceful .

'if he wears a robe, it will appear like he is gliding' he thought. But the most obvious change was his eyes, while before they radiated power and Arcturus had often witnessed those emerald green eyes glowing whenever Perseus got angry. The anger and rage was still there, but now it was more controlled, those eyes now radiated knowledge along with power,

"Welcome back , Perseus," the lord black said as he got up from his chair and moved to embrace his heir .

"it's good to be back , grandfather" Perseus replied, as he hugged him back then he stole a glance at his grandfather's visitor ,She appeared to be in her late thirties , but one can never be sure in case of wizards and witches . She had light brown hair, Framed by trademark high cheekbones and picturesque pale skin, she has the face of a pureblooded daughter, even if it is rather forgettable. Soft and wide eyes. She was tall and bore the patrician beauty common to the Black family. And he knew at once who she was. She looked a lot like bellatrix lestrange and perseus knew too well how she looked like from voldermort's knowledge.

"Perseus, I want you to meet someone "Arcturus said as he motioned towards her, "this is-"

"Andromeda tonks "Perseus said, finishing his sentence. Both Arcturus and Andromeda were surprised, the former less than the latter as he was used to his heir's astute observation skills.

"yes, and Dromeda, child, this, is Perseus" Arcturus introduced him," the heir to the house of black". He finished, with a somewhat proud look.

"Pleasure to meet you my lady "Perseus said with a short bow.

The said lady just looked at him with wonder, but then composed herself. And said with an obvious fake shock in her voice

"ohh, a black with manners ,now that's something new, no need to be so formal young man" .

Andromeda tonks took pride in the fact that she was not easily surprise but even she was rendered stunned for a moment when she met the Black scion. Then she looked into his eyes, and she felt a shiver run down her spine, for the eyes of Perseus black were the same shade of green as that of the killing curse. She wanted to ask Arcturus who were the parents of this young man, but she didn't know how to do so without offending him. But then she composed just smirked when she asked again,

"you said 'good to be back', so where have you returned from, you must have been away for a long time for grandfather to lose control of his emotions."

Perseus was about to reply but his grandfather beat him to it," oh Perseus has been learning from none other than silas ollivander, the art of wand crafting and-"

"and this and that" Perseus cut him short and gave his grandfather a pointed look .

"wow, that's realy amazing , "Andromeda replied ," and hard to believe" she added.

"Indeed" Perseus replied, "Perhaps a demonstration is in order" he finished as he raised his left hand which held a wand, Andromeda's wand to be exact.

And for the second time in just 5 minutes Andromeda was left stunned.,"how, how -".

"How did I get your wand?" Perseus asked, at Andromeda's nod, he replied," well it has a very simple explanation, I am Perseus black".

He then gave her an amused yet a teasing grin, "anyway" he said," nine and a quarter inches, unicorn hair and black walnut combination , it makes for an excellent, flexible wand for charms and intricate wand work." He said, but just to yank her chain he continued ,

" The wand can tell a lot about its owner , Mrs. tonks, the wood of your wand must have reassured you of your place in the world even more .it must have been surely fate that a Slytherin, and a Black of all people, would get a black walnut wand."

Perseus saw her narrow her eyes ," however" he continued before she could interrupt him,

" despite its name, black walnut wands are actually far more attuned to the light side than the dark and are often attributed to people of a subtle nature." Perseus then looked at the wand for a few more seconds before he spoke again,

"from the type and amount of magic that has flowed through the wand, I can deduce the profession of its owner. Healer tonks." he finished with a challenging tone.

Andromeda was shocked, how was it possible for an 11 year old boy , to have mastered the art of wand crafting, and she knew from the way Perseus had interrupted Arcturus earlier that he has learned more than just wand crafting.

"That was brilliant, "was all Andromeda could say.

"Indeed, now enough about me, what have you been up to grandfather, mending broken relations ? " he asked in an impassive tone.

"hahha , you see Perseus, Andromeda's mother might have disowned her, but as the head of the family only I can disown someone from the house " he said and again looked at Andromeda

.

"You didn't disown me grandfather, and I am grateful for that , but you were never in support of my decision to marry ted . You too hated muggles and despised muggleborns, then what changed ?" she asked in a cold voice.

"Perseus" replied Arcturus after a long pause, and Perseus looked at him in surprise," it was Perseus who made me realize that some of the traditions and belief we hold so close to our heart are useless. and finally in this old age when I think about it , I feel sad to know that I am responsible for the state our house is now in. and I wish to reprimand those mistakes in the small time I am left with " he finished.

"Good to know that grandfather, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that" she said, and then she looked at Perseus.

"So you ready to go to Hogwarts then "she asked.

"Absolutely" Perseus replied," just waiting for the letter"

"If you need any help , you can meet my daughter anytime you want , she will begin her sixth year this term." She said, "but I somehow doubt that you would need any help" she finished and gave him a knowing look.

"Thank you, Mrs. tonks" Perseus replied

"No need for formalities, Perseus, call me Andromeda", she said," and I think I should be going now, grandfather, it was good to meet you Perseus, "

And with that she walked towards the boundary of the wards and disapparated . as the two blacks watched her departure and waved her goodbye.

It was three days later when lord black saw Perseus who has been holed up in his room for all this time, sitting on his bed, with a very thoughtful expression, staring at the Hogwarts letter that he had received that morning.

"Checking it for traps" he asked.

Perseus glanced at his grandfather and said, "no , just thinking".

"Thinking what ?" he asked

"Weather to attend Hogwarts or not" he said, now that troubled Arcturus.

"And what prompted you to have second thoughts " Arcturus said.

"I have gone through the syllabus of Hogwarts, it's not much , I don't think Hogwarts have much to offer to me," he said," I want to travel , learn magic of distant lands"

"Perseus" Arcturus said, as he sat on the bed," it's not just knowledge that matters in life."

Perseus was about to show his disagreement with the statement but Arcturus continued," no no, hear me out first, the syllabus of Hogwarts, that's not all Hogwarts has to offer, remember Hogwarts has produce lot of average witches and wizards but has also given the world some of the strongest wizards of all time. knowledge is like a river Perseus, you drink as much as you can, it depends on one's capability , and Hogwarts is like a sea of knowledge." He said.

"knowledge matters I agree but You will realize in due time, that there are other things that also affect your life, one goes to a school not just to acquire knowledge but one also gets to make friends, allies, a chance to leave your mark on the world, maybe even more, after all I did met my wife, Melania at Hogwarts only." He said with a fond smile" think about it before you make your decision"

Whatever Arcturus had said must have done away with Perseus doubts as he said" you are right, grandfather"

"You still have something on your mind, child" lord black asked.

Perseus hesitated for a moment but then said," yes, it's just that, I was wondering what would my life be like have you not adopted me, maybe, I would just be a kid in the orphanage."

"I cannot say what your life would have been like, if that were to happen, but I am sure of two things , " he said," firstly I would have been robbed of the opportunity to get to know you and to see you grow into a wonderful boy , and secondly , you would have still been a great wizard." He finished.

Arcturus then quickly opened the Hogwarts acceptance letter that was labeled 'Mr P. Black, 14 Black Manor, Nigrum valley, Wales', he quickly skimmed through it and found exactly what he expected to be written inside:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Black,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September (or when you happen to register). We await your owl by no Later then 31st of July.

Yours Sincerely

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

HOWGARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Uniform

First year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please not that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

Set Books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl, cat or toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"thank you," Perseus said as he saw his grandfather skim through the letter, "I was thinking of going for shopping for school supplied today , if that's alright with you, " seeing him about to interrupt he said " I know you have a wizengamot session to attend , but I can go alone, I will be fine, trust me."

"oh I know you will be alright" After a moment Arcturus said,"ohk then, we both must get going"

"oh and one more thing," Perseus said" I have to discuss certain matters with you," Perseus finished.

"ohh me too, shall we talk in the evening" he asked.

"fine by me" Perseus replied as he got up from the bed and made his way for the floo.

It was nearly half an hours after perseus had first entered Gringotts that he found himself standing outside of it's doors once more. The sunlight hit his face, forcing him to squint due to how much time he had spent in the darkened passageways where his vaults were held.

Taking out the Hogwarts letter from within his back pack, perseus pulled out and unfolded the second piece of paper that he had found attached to the first. It was a list of all the things he was required to buy for Hogwarts:

perseus frowned as he looked at the list. He turned his head to look at the back pack on his back, and then back at the list. There was no way he would be able to fit all of that in his back pack, it was nowhere near large enough.

Blowing out a soft breath, Perseus decided that the first thing he would need was a trunk to carry everything in. Fortunately for him, he had seen a place that sold trunks on the way to Gringotts.

Perseus black entered the shop known as Truckle's Trunks, and took a look around the basic looking shop. Well, he assumed it was a basic looking shop for a magical store selling trunks. It was quite a bit larger on the inside than the outside, at least a dozen square meters, something that Perseus picked up on immediately. There were several isles, and each one contained rows upon rows of various trunks of all shapes, sizes and colors. Some of them were floating, a few were opening and closing. Perseus even saw one that looked like it was undulating. Shaking his head at the unusual sight, and bothered that he couldn't for the life of him figure out how something such as a trunk could undulate, he made his way to the desk where a middle aged man was sitting behind a cash register.

"Excuse me," Perseus called out in a confident voice. The man with slightly graying hair looked down at him, blinking. Perseus ignored the inquisitive and slightly incredulous stare and continued. "I'm looking for a trunk."

"Well you've come to the right place," the man said with a smile. "You are a Hogwarts student, yes? A third year?"

"no first year" Perseus replied which surprised the shopkeeper a bit but then he said with a nod.

"All of our standard trunks cost fifty galleons, if you want them to be made with something other than leather you will need to specify what you want it made from."

"I was actually thinking of getting a custom made trunk," Perseus told the man, interrupting the older male's sales pitch.

"A custom, eh?" the man's eyes lit up a bit, and Perseus could detect the greed in them. Custom trunks must be expensive, he mused. It almost made him wonder why this man assumed Perseus could actually afford the trunk when he was so young, but realized that he was wearing his signet ring of the heir of the house . "Well, what exactly are you looking for?"

Perseus was silent for a moment as he tried to decide what he wanted.

"I would like a five compartment trunk. What sizes do your compartments come in?"

"We have three sizes, standard, that is to say, the average size one would expect from a trunk with no magical enchantments. Our next size is what we call closet sized, which is about the size of a walk in closet. And finally, we have our largest size, apartment sized."

Biting his lower lip for a moment, Perseus pondered which size he should get. He didn't want the standard, as he would not be able to carry very much in them, and considering where he was going and what he would be doing, one never knew what sorts of interesting items he might pick up. That left closet size and apartment size. A part of him wanted to go for the apartment size, but having four compartments the size of an apartment seemed a little excessive, not to mention it was probably pricey, and while he didn't have any shortage of money, he had never been what one would call wasteful.

"I'll go with the closet size for all five compartments," Perseus decided. He doubted he would need to something bigger, and on the off chance that he ever needed a trunk with a larger compartment, he could just come back and buy another trunk he reasoned.

"Very well, and what would you like your trunk to be made of?"

A pause. Perseus tilted his head, considering.

"What are my options?"

"Well," the man started, rubbing his hands together in undisguised glee. "We have all the normal materials, leather, wood and such, but we also have several types of dragon-hide available as well, including Hungarian Horntail, Norwegian Ridgeback, Hebridean Black, and Ukrainian Ironbelly."

'Well, all dragon-hides are magic resistant. You can cast just about any spell at them short of a dark curse and they won't even receive a scratch. Dragon-hide is also much tougher than normal materials, strong as steel in some cases, such as with the Ukrainian Ironbelly. Course, the hide of a Ukrainian Ironbelly is much heavier than anything else, so it's a trade off.' Perseus thought.

"Then why don't we go with a happy medium? I want something durable, but not something that's too heavy for me to lift."

"In that case, why don't we go with the dragon-hide of a Norwegian Ridgeback?" the man suggested. "They're hides are more durable than the Hebridean Black's and the Horntails, but not nearly as heavy as either of them. Definitely one of the better choices, I believe."

Perseus thought for a moment, before nodding. "Very well, we'll go with that. Now what about security?"

"Security?" the shop keeper blinked, confused.

"Yes," Perseus replied. "I don't want people trying to get into my trunk without permission."

"Ah, well, all our trunks come standard with a magical lock," the man answered. "It requires you to speak a password in order to open."

Perseus raised an eyebrow. "Are there no other options available?"

"None, I'm afraid," the man shifted uncomfortably.

"Very well," Perseus sighed, he had been hoping for something a bit more secure, like a lock that could only be opened with his own blood, or something of the sort. But if he had no other option then that's what he would go with, at least until he could create his own security. "I believe that will suffice. Now all we need to discuss is the cost and how long it will take for my trunk to be made."

"You're in luck," the man replied, grabbing the wand from the desk and making a swish and flick motion. perseus watched as a trunk made of a brown material that looked like leathery scales floated over to them. It set down directly in front of Perseus, and the older male set his wand back onto the desk. "I already have a trunk with the exact specifications you are looking for."

Well that was convenient, though Perseus assumed the man likely had many such trunks that were pre-made to fit exact specifications so anyone looking to buy a custom made trunk wouldn't have to wait.

"The trunk will cost two thousand five hundred galleons," the man told him. Perseus raised an eyebrow at the price, noticing just how much more expensive getting a custom made trunk was from getting a standard trunk. This made him realize that it was highly unlikely that anyone except for maybe himself, and a few of the children from an Ancient and Most Noble family would have something like this. Still, he had more than enough money, and it wasn't like he had no intention of using his trunk to it's fullest. He then pulled out his wand and waved it at his new trunk, immediately his name " PERSEUS ARIES BLACK" were engraved over it along with the coat of Armour of the house of black and the word "TUJORUS PUR" engraved under it.

Reaching into his back pack, he pulled out the pouch inside of it that had been magically expanded to carry more money inside of it than he could possible carry on hand. He gave the man two thousand five hundred galleons, a not insignificant sum but not enough to even put a dent into the amount he had, and left with his new trunk in tow. The shopkeeper was stunned by the casual display of magic by the young wizard, he was even more surprised and wary when he noticed his name.

"Have a great day," Perseus said, as he left a shocked shopkeeper behind.

It would not be a surprise to anyone who knew Perseus that his first stop after receiving his trunk was the book store, Flourish and Blotts. Those who knew him knew that Perseus had an insatiable desire to learn. His grandfather had said it best when she had once commented that he was practically married to his books when he had spent an entire day at the library reading.

Flourish and Blotts was a lot different than any other book store or library he had ever been in. Like the trunk store this one was also much larger on the inside then it was on the outside, it looked to be around two or three times the size of the trunk store. All around the shop Perseus could see rows upon rows of books. It looked like the books were organized categorically by subject. Charms. Transfiguration. Defense Against the Dark Arts and so on.

After purchasing all the books on his school list, he purchased the rest of the series of the 'Standard book of Spells' as well as books on advanced Transfiguration theory, battle Transfiguration manuals, advanced Charms and spell, and several texts on Runes and their application. Perseus spent more money on books than some people had ever spent in their life.

The next shop on Perseus's list of places to go was none other than Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There, he got his first sight of the owner of the store, Madam Malkin. She was a rather squat witch, dressed in a mauve robe, and giving him a pleasant smile. While she looked a little odd in Perseus's opinion, being so short and all, he couldn't help but decide he liked this woman. And if nothing else, at least she took better care of her appearance than those other witches he had met in the Leaky Cauldron did.

"aah Mr. Black , Hogwarts uniform dear?" asked the woman, her kind smile still in place.

Perseus nodded. "Yes."

"We've had quite a few Hogwarts students coming in today," the woman said. "In fact, there's a young lady being fitted up just now."

In the back of the shop, a young girl with slightly curly brown hair that was currently tied into a pony-tail, bright brown eyes, and a pretty smile was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up her long black robes. Madam Malkin made Perseus stand on the stool next to her, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hi!" The girl greeted him in a voice that was every bit as cheerful as her smile. "Are you going to Hogwarts too?"

"That's right," Perseus told her with a smile of his own, his mind and demeanor easily slipping into that of the polite and helpful boy. "From how excited you are I take it you're a first year?"

"That's right," the girl said with a nod. "What year are you in?"

"First year."

"Really?" The girl looked at him wide eyed. She eyed him up and down, and as she did, her cheeks gained a bit of color. Perseus frowned when he saw her staring at him, it almost looked like she was eyeing him through the robe. "You don't look like a fist year," she mumbled to herself.

"I get that a lot," Perseus admitted, and the mild blush that had been staining the girl's cheeks spread to the rest of her face as she realized she had not only been caught staring at him, but also hadn't been as quiet as she should have been.

The frown marring Perseus's face deepened for a moment as he wondered why the girl seemed so embarrassed. It's not like she hadn't said anything he had never heard before. Or maybe it had something to do with how she had got caught staring at him?

Well, whatever. It wasn't like it really mattered in the end. Shrugging the thought of as irrelevant, he decided to restart the conversation by steering it towards the one thing they had in common. The new school they would both soon be going to.

"So are you excited to be going to Hogwarts?"

"You bet I am!" the girl replied, enthused, her bright smile returning again. It was almost amusing how she seemed to bounce from embarrassed to excited so quickly, a thought that Perseus wisely kept to himself. "So what house do you think you'll be in?"

"I'm not sure," Perseus admitted, almost tempted to shrug, but held himself back for fear of accidentally getting stuck with a needle while Madam Malkin was fitting his robes. "

"ohh ok" the girl said. Not giving him a chance to respond, she said, "Both of my parents were in Gryffindor, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's where I'll end up. I suppose I will go to whichever house they put me in." She paused for a moment, then asked, "are you a pure-blood then?"

"yes" Perseus told her. "Not that it matters."

At that the girl flashed him a grin. "oh I am a half blood, My mum was a muggle-born while my father was pure-blood."

"So what House do you think you'll be in?"

"Well," the girl actually seemed to think for a moment, before shrugging. "I'm not really sure, I would say Gryffindor, since my parents were in that Houses, but the truth is nobody really knows they'll be sorted until after the sorting. I just hope I'm not in Hufflepuff."

"And what's wrong with being sorted into Hufflepuff?" asked Perseus.

"Don't you know?" the girl asked, before hurrying on with the answer before Perseus could say anything to the question that was obviously rhetorical. "Hufflepuff's supposed to be the house of cowards and left overs. No one who goes to Hogwarts ever wants to go there."

The girl was leaning towards him slightly, as if what she was telling him was some great secret. Which would explain why she had missed the look of anger on the face of the young woman pinning up her robes. However, while the girl missed it, but someone of Perseus's observation skill saw it easily

"You were in Hufflepuff, weren't you?" Perseus asked of the young woman. The girl's head turned in surprise as she looked at the woman pinning up her robes. Said woman gave the brunette a cold smile.

"Yes," she answered Perseus's question. "I was one of those... left overs, as you called them."

"Urk," the girl made a strangled sound and her face began to pale, all except for her cheeks, which reddened as she realized her mistake. "Uh... I'm really sorry about that..." The woman huffed, but didn't say anything further as she continued working on the robes.

"You really should learn to be more careful when you speak," Perseus admonished lightly. "You never know when someone around you might be insulted by what you say. Also, you probably shouldn't judge a person based on what House they go into. Preconceptions about someone based upon where they are sorted can lead to making assumptions based out of ignorance, which could lead to a confrontation if you're not careful and insult the wrong person. " here he gave a slight pause and then said again

"Personally I believe, of all the founders, only Helga huffelpus was a true teacher, for a teacher does not discriminate amongst their students "

"Yes mum," the girl said with a slight roll of her eyes. As the worker gave Perseus a surprised look.

"You may roll your eyes now," Perseus spoke with a tone of warning, "but when you end up inadvertently insulting someone again just remember that I told you so."

The girl sighed. "Yeah I get it." She grimaced. "You're probably right anyways. My dad always said that I should learn to think before I speak." Which was exactly what Perseus said just a few moments ago, said raven haired youth noted with amusement.

"Your dad sounds like a smart man," Perseus said, getting the girl to stick her tongue out at him. He chuckled a bit at the childish return.

"That's you done, dear," Madam Malkin said, interrupting any further attempt at conversation. Perseus nodded and hopped of the stool.

"Do you think I could also get several sets of dress robes?" asked Perseus

"Of course," Madam Malkin smiled at him. "Just tell me how many, what colors, and what you would like them made out of."

"I want three, two black and one dark green," Perseus began.

"I would like all of my dress robes made in Acromantula silk," Perseus told the woman, shocking both her and the girl that had been listening – eavesdropping – on the conversation.

Acromantula silk was the best material to make robes out of. If it weren't for the fact that Perseus didn't want to seem like some kind of rich snob, he would have probably even considered using Acromantula silk for all of his robes.

"Very well," Madam Malkin quickly recovered her smile and pleasant demeanor. "The dress robes will take a while, but they should be done in a day or so if you would like to come back then. Or I can have them sent to the black Manor."

"send them to the manor" Perseus replied

"Of course. Have a pleasant day, dear."

"And you as well," Perseus gave her a small bow of the head, then turned to look at the brunette who was only just now recovering from her shock of someone spending over six hundred galleons on dress robes. "I'm sure we'll see each other at Hogwarts."

"Right. I'll see you around then." The girl waved at him as Perseus walked out of the store.

The next few stops consisted of him stocking up on his potions ingredients at an Apothecary that smelt so bad that his eyes watered from the stench of the combined ingredients. He definitely appreciated the art that was potion's making, but he could never really find any joy with working with some of the most disgusting ingredients on the planet, despite knowing that it was a necessity.

He also stopped at the Astronomy store to purchase a top of the line telescope for his star gazing activities at school. The telescope had several different settings that allowed him to gaze further than any regular muggle telescope could hope to see, there was even a function that mapped out constellations and drew them for you as you gazed through the eyepiece.

He then made his way for a very familiar shop , As soon as Perseus entered the stall, there was a tinkle of a bell from above indicating to whoever owned the store that they had a customer. Surprisingly enough, the small dusty stall was empty currently, despite all the children his age outside running around getting supplies.

" aah back again, Mr. Black , I know you are not here for a wand, because I am sure as of now you know as much about wands as I do, perhaps you would be interested in buying a wand hostler ." Came the voice of the old wandmaker.

"Nice to meet you too Mr. ollivander, I already made a wand hostler for myself "Perseus replied ,"how are you doing".

"aah fine , " he replied," so can I see it?" he asked in an childish glee.

Perseus whipped out his wand and offered it to Mr. ollivander ,"simply amazing, a hybrid wood, and the feather of a thunderbird . I can sense that there are runes on it but surprisingly I can't read them. This is a very powerful wand Mr. black, having affinities for all branches of magic. This is probably the most powerful wand I have ever seen, you have become an excellent wand crafter and I hope for the sake of my business that you are not planning on setting up a competition." he finished.

"No no Mr. ollivander I have no such intentions" Perseus assured him and just then the bell behind him tinkled and a girl entered the shop accompanied by her father probably.

"I will take my leave then Mr. ollivander, "Perseus said.

"Good bye Perseus." He replied as Perseus left the shop.

Humming to himself Perseus wandered down to the entrance of Knockturn Alley. He eyed the different stores as he walked. Most of them were shops a bit more specialized and smaller than those in Diagon. There was a shop with music instruments and an optician, a few shops specialized in working equipment for different jobs, a second hand bookstore and another apothecary that interestingly enough looked a lot cleaner than the one in Diagon Alley. He had reached the clothing store and took a last look towards the end of Knockturn Alley. The more distant the shops were to the entrance the more run-down and dark they seemed. He didn't find anything he couldn't get his hand on any other way so he left.

"so Perseus , what did you have to discuss with me" Arcturus asked him as they both sat in his room.

"A couple of things grandfather, "he said." first is a possible business venture" he finished. As he handed his grandfather a silver snitch, which had a crystal in it, he then waved his hand and motioned towards a six by six mirror that was at the other side of the room.

He then tapped the snitch and suddenly the crystal started glowing and simultaneously the mirror started showing the view that the snitch was covering.

"I got this idea from watching a muggle television, the mirror and the snitch are linked and runes have been drawn upon them to achieve this particular effect. This can be a huge business venture, we can sell them to the people who host tournaments, quditch world cup and much more.' He said.

Arcturus looked at the screen for over a minute in wonder and then at Perseus and then sai

" this is an amazing invention Perseus , and you are indeed right, this can be very profitable, I will have it patented and it will be in the market in about a year, we can launch this in the world cup. "he finished as he beamed at Perseus.

"So what did you want to talk about" Perseus asked his grandfather.

"you do know that I won an order of Merlin, first class. " he said. To which perseus replied in a well rehearsed manner

"Yes, Oceania is a small island country, one of the very few all-magical country, and also one of the very few to have a monarchy system. In 1931, you defeated the king of Oceania and his army in a battle because they were aiding the dark lord grindelwald .and as per the international rights of contest you became the king of that small island kingdom , but you never accepted that position, instead you became a interim king of sorts."Perseus then said again said,

" and for your bravery and valor the ministry bestowed upon you the order of Merlin, first class . And to this day you handle the affairs of that country. Did I get it all? "He asked

"yes you did, now I will be visiting Oceana for a few days in October, but I wanted you to visit too, so we will probably visit in the near future, for you have to learn all about it., if you are to rule it one day " he said" what do you think" he asked

"Grandfather, I somehow doubt I am fit to rule a nation, nor I am a ruler material, but we will visit nonetheless ." Perseus replied.

"Brilliant, now it's getting late, you must rest now "he said. And with that they both went to our respective rooms. But Perseus didn't go to bed immediately.

Once inside his room, Perseus faced the wall on the right side and pressed his palm on the wall, and a second later the wall sprung aside, creating a path for another room , made of rocks. It was a ritual room.

Perseus was going to perform his first rituals. Most rituals yield best results when done before the attaining maturity . like strengthening rituals, ritual to increase the basic size of one's magic core, one to increase senses. But alas most wizards only acquire that knowledge very late in life. Perseus had the knowledge of rituals that voldemort has used , but he won't be doing the dark rituals.

Rituals are a combination of Potions and Runes, using blood as the main source to power them. This is also sometimes referred to as Blood Magic. Rituals can be used to alter your body or your magic. Senses of a werewolf, strength of a giant, speed of a cheetah, they are all within the realm of possibility.

It was going to be a very simple piece, a few cuts and runes that would be carved lightly into his skin, and Perseus would have to push the bloodmagic that he was familiar with into the cuts as he made them. The patterns and runes that he cut would determine what the piece would do, and the bloodmagic that he pushed into and imbued inside the cuts and slices would power the piece. It would take a small bit of magic to always power the bloodmagic piece, but Perseus would get used to constantly powering it after a few days. And after he was used to it his magic would be slightly stronger than it was before.

He had decided what his first piece should be, it would be a simple piece that would help improve his physical strength, making Perseus stronger than before, more agile and would improve his reflexes. He would later add on more pieces to this 'set' of bloodmagic, as it was called.

Multiple pieces of bloodmagic that all built on each other to achieve the same purpose to a greater sum were called a 'set'.

Looking at his notebook that he had taken down notes in Perseus took one last look at the diagram of the human body that was on one of the pages. He had carefully traced and planned out exactly how each line and rune would be sized and where it would be located on his body.

The trick was that during the ritual the knife could not leave his skin. This was because as the 'caster' performed the bloodmagic and was embedding magic into the fresh cuts and runes it was important that the magic be in one consistent line, and not broken up into pieces. If it was broken up into pieces it was highly unstable, and would almost instantaneously fail catastrophically.

It was imperative that the knife did not break contact with his skin as he performed the ritual. It would be difficult at first, it was unnatural and unnerving to cut oneself in such a cold and calculated manner.

The first ritual that a person performed was one of the most dangerous, with the exception of a few higher level and higher expertise rituals that combined other schools of magic such as Necromancy. These rituals were highly dangerous, and required the 'caster' to be well versed in both potions and runes.

But the legality, or lack thereof, did not bother Perseus, at least not for bloodmagic. Bloodmagic, if he was good at it, would be incredibly beneficial for him to learn. It would give him a physical edge over someone without bloodmagic, and it would also give him a better connection to his magic, make him stronger magically, and also it would give him unique attributes and abilities if he went to a high enough level with bloodmagic.

Tossing aside his notebook, he was confident that he had a firm grasp on exactly what he needed to do for this ritual, Perseus picked up the ritual knife made of mithril that he has gotten from the black family vault.

Taking one last deep breath before making the very first cut into his palm Perseus exhaled. He cut a reasonably deep gash into his left palm, and then smeared it in a circle all around where he was sitting, pushing the reddish gold magic into his blood, and as it settled slightly it became more of a gold color, still glowing faintly.

This circle would hopefully contain any sort of failure of the ritual, should anything go wrong. In the higher level rituals a complex circles of runes that would help with the channeling of magic during the ritual.

Finishing the circle of blood Perseus pressed the tip of the knife into the upper part of his left forearm, this was where the ritual would begin, and it would circle back around at the end and finish on the same cut.

Dragging the knife up his left arm and bringing the knife up across his chest Perseus was relieved. It was much easier than he thought it might have been, he had been slightly worried beforehand, but now he was confident. Keeping the knife at a consistent depth and progressing at a somewhat speedy pace Perseus switched from his right hand to his left hand holding the knife, at the middle of his chest.

Perseus was going at a very quick pace, but he did not now that that was not normal. Usually it bothered people the first time, apparently this was not so for Perseus. Perseus could not tell it, but he appeared to be some sort of a natural at bloodmagic, based on his performance during this first ritual.

Sweeping the knife across his chest and down his right arm Perseus followed the diagram as he had memorized it. The way the lines were laid out would be optimal for strength increase.

As he finished on his right arm Perseus moved down to about his waist, this ritual would require no cutting below his waist or on his legs. Circling the blade around his waist in a perfect circle Perseus moved the knife up his left flank, and up to his left shoulder. Perseus had switched the knife back to his right hand again, very carefully. Dragging the knife once more down his left arm Perseus circled the line down to the lower side of his forearm, and circled it around to the other side, lower down on his arm than where he had started. Bringing the knife back to where he had started Perseus finished the ritual.

He had been very careful to push a constant amount of bloodmagic through the knife and into the long cut as he had made it, which would ensure the best results.

Remaking the first cut he had made in his palm Perseus swept his hand across the crude, dried circle of blood he had made in the beginning of the ritual.

With a flash of pale golden light the ritual was complete, and Perseus slumped down to his knees, he had dried blood all over his body and the entirety of the cut he had made was sore and painful.

Stumbling, ever so slightly, out of the ritual chamber and into the washroom to shower and wash himself off Perseus was relieved. The entire ritual had taken less than ten minutes total, which was incredibly speedy for a ritual. Perseus would start to see results in the next two or three days as the magic settled, and would become stronger than he was now and more agile and faster.

Feeling sufficiently washed and refreshed Perseus stepped out of the washroom, wearing a pair of pajamas and slumped on his bed and soon he was asleep.

Lily potter looked fondly at the sleeping form of her two months old daughter. Unlike Charles, Iris was a very easy child to handle.

'just like her eldest brother, harry.'she thought of her eldest , long lost son , ohh how much she missed him.

She had heard James and Remus talking a few days earlier, and James had said, 'iris's birth is a blessing indeed , now I am sure lily will be busy with her enough that she won't think much about the loss of harry."

How wrong he was, as much as she loved her baby girl and Charles , harry's loss had left a hole in her heart and nothing short of her eldest son's return will ever be able to fill that hole .

'He would have gone to Hogwarts today, 'she thought as fresh set of tears escaped her eyes.

Unknown to her, her eldest son was indeed going to Hogwarts and was in London, about to board the Hogwarts express

It was September 1st, 1991 and Perseus Black stood watching the entrance to King's Cross. He found it amusing to see how many Muggle-borns or half-bloods were clumsily strolling with their trunks and pets towards the trolleys.

It had been two months since Perseus made his trip to Diagon Alley, and showed Arcturus his invention. Arcturus has gotten it patented by not only the ministry but also the ICW. They had decided on naming it the 'BLACK SCREEN'. And already many organizations had ordered for the said screen and the ministry of Japan has ordered a dozen of it, the size of those screen was 20 * 25 feet, as they are hosting the quiditch world cup next year..

But then his grandfather had another idea which proved why he was such a successful businessman. He recalled the words of his grandfather.

''Why limit this screen to just tournaments , why not model them for security purposes . Install the silver snitch at the front gate and you can see who is on the door from inside the house Only.'' , and it was a huge hit too.

Initially Perseus has worked on the screens himself for a month and had finished 40 of them. But with the increase in demand, Arcturus has hired 4 metals charmers who had signed a magically binding contract, according to which they cannot disclose anything regarding the screens.

Ever since Arcturus had told Perseus that one day he would have to take charge of Oceania , despite that country being under the jurisdiction of the British ministry of magic and as such is a part of the united isles. And as a result of which, The next month, Perseus spent on reading about the political system of wizarding countries as well as about notable organizations and leaders.

King's Cross Station during the morning was probably one of the most busiest places in all of London, which was proved when Perseus and his grandfather arrived at said station only to be met dozens of families, people heading off to work, muggle school children and regular citizens running around and rushing to their respective trains.

Perseus had never had a reason to go to King's Cross personally, so this was his first visit to the famous train station, which would explain his awed and wary state of mind as he and Arcturus approached. He never was one for crowds.

"Perseus, stick close to me until we get to Platform 9 ¾ okay?" Arcturus asked with a kind smile, understanding his heir's discomfort. Perseus nodded and grabbed onto the back of his grandfather's coat allowing himself to be led through the crowd at King's Cross as they passed families that Perseus was sure were magical also.

Finally, Perseus and Arcturus arrived at Platform 10, a platform that was coincidently devoid of any muggles.

"Perseus, what you need to do is run into the wall right there" Arcturus indicated the brick wall before them "it's an illusionary wall that you can walk right through; Platform 9 ¾ is on the other side" explained the aged lord.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind them and perseus caught a few words of what they were saying. "- packed with Muggles, of course -" he swung round.

The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk , in front of them, though unlike Perseus's, they were just ordinary trunks which looked rather worn out.

"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small boy, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go... "

"You're not old enough, Ronald, now be quiet. All right, Percy,-" , she however stopped speaking as her eyes fell on Arcturus black, and realization dawned upon her.

"Do I have something on my face, molly " Arcturus asked her.

"no I am just surprised to see you here" she replied. And she was indeed shocked,. She was related to black family, both through the prewets as well as the weasley family. The last time she had met him was on the funeral of Arthur's mother , Cedrella Weasley nee Black, and Arcturus's daughter.

'But what is he doing here'she thought. Her unasked question was answered when Arcturus said

"well , Perseus here will be starting his Hogwarts education " he said as he put his hand on Perseus shoulder as Perseus tilted his head to acknowledge her.

Now this surprised molly, for as far as she knew Arcturus was the last living male member of the black family, 'well that is if one does not include the traitor Sirius Black', she thought. Then

where did this young man come from, ' he is a black, no doubt about that, he has all the prominent features that the blacks are famous for.'

"oh that's good., my children, the twins are to start there first year too" she said as she motioned towards her children ,"this is Fred , George, this is Percy and this is Ronald, my other son has already boarded the express as he had prefect duties" she finished as she introduced her children one by one." And children, this is your great-grandfather, lord Arcturus black, the third." The weasley children greeted him

"Very well, now enough with the chit chat, we should move along now." Arcturus said.

Then percy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Perseus watched as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went.

"well Perseus, your turn" Arcturus said. And Perseus marched towards the barrier and crossed it. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. Perseus looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it.

A moment later his grandfather joined him while he was inspecting the ruins and enchantments on the archway.

"that is a very interesting piece of magic" Perseus said.

"Yes indeed it is, " he replied .

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. They walked down the platform in search of an empty seat.

Perseus pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train.

It was almost 11 and Perseus looked at his grandfather but before he could say anything, Arcturus said "well , this is it then, the beginning of a new phase of your life, ".

"I will miss you, grandfather"

"And I will miss you too Perseus, and before you leave , I just wanted to tell you that I love you very much child, and I am extremely proud of you" he said as he pulled Perseus in a hug. And then Arcturus apparated away seeing as it was almost time for the express to depart as Perseus boarded the train

He sat down in the compartment and watched through the window as parents said goodbye to their children and pushed them towards the train. He could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now." One of the twin replied.

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes.

"All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there. "Said their mother fondly.

"Now, you two - this is not your home, its Hogwarts , you will behave yourselves. If I get even one owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or -"

"Blown up a toilet? why would we blow up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's not funny. so you two better behave". She said

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the twins clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye.

"Don't, ronald, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mom." The train began to move.

Perseus saw the boys' mother waving and their brother, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then he fell back and waved.

Perseus watched the boy and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Perseus felt a great leap of excitement. He had one motive now, to make his grandfather proud, to bring glory to the blacks. And to learn as much as he could and become the best.

He took out a book on curse breaking and began reading , after sometime the compartment slid open and a young boy came in. and behind him came an irritated voice,

" At least show some manners , you should have knocked first" and then the speaker of those words came in.

The girl had long black hair tied in a low pony tail and tanned skin who was seemingly annoyed with the other person in the compartment. Her accent was slightly different and he was certain she was not from Britain. The boy, had dark brown hair, pale skin and high cheekbones, giving him an aristocratic look, he also seemed to have a permanent cheesy grin on his face that he wouldn't drop, even while he talked.

"You don't mind if we take a seat do you?", the girl asked politely , "everywhere else is rather full…"

Her tone and gestures were definitely that of someone belonging to an elite class. After settling in the compartment the girl turned to him and nodded," I am Helena and this is Nicklaus. "

"Hello, my name is Perseus." He didn't hold out his hands, since that was an act of friendship and alliance in the old pureblood customs but kept a welcoming smile on his face and refrained from saying his surname just as the girl had.

"Nice to meet you Perseus, "Nicklaus said," but call me nick, everyone does, anyway, I have to go to the washroom, excuse me". And with that he left the compartment.

"You are not from the isles " Perseus said as he looked at Helena after she had settled down on the seat in front of him," , if I were to hazard a guess , I would say Greece".

"And you would be correct" said the girl after a brief look of surprise crossed her face.

"Then why attend Hogwarts, I mean why not go to Archnae , Institute of Magiks in Alexandria , " he asked.

"yes, well , the Greeks attend Archnae, all my cousins are students of that school. But my grandmother was from England, and she went to Hogwarts , she wanted me to go there , and I too wanted to something different ." she replied.

" hmm that's all well and good, but Archnae has the largest and the oldest library in the world." Perseus said.

"Yeah, but I am sure my experience in Hogwarts will be great too." She replied,

After a minute later Nicklaus returned and sat alongside Helena And he started chatting with her. They were arguing over who was a better wand maker and suddenly Nicklaus asked Perseus.

"Tell her Perseus, ollivander is the best wandmaker in the world , and she should have gotten her wand from him."

"Well it depends , which ollivander are we talking about, " this surprised both of them." If you are talking about Garrick ollivander , then I would say he is one of the best wand makers but if you are talking about Silas ollivander, than I can say without any doubt that he is the best wandmaker in the world." Perseus replied.

"There are two of those creeps" Nicklaus asked .

" Show me your wands " Perseus said and they both complied, Perseus first inspected Nicklaus's wand.

It was brown, with a black handle," 10" long, made of hawthorn wood, and had a unicorn hair core. reasonably pliant, interesting very interesting" he said as he handed his wand back to Nicklaus who was looking at him as if he had grown an extra eye.

"How did you do that, only wand makers can do something like that" Helena asked, and she knew at that very moment that Perseus was a very capable wizard.

"I may have studied a bit about wands " he replied

"From who?, can you learn that? , will you teach me?, And what did you mean when you said 'interesting, very interesting'" Nicklaus asked all at once.

"yes Nicklaus you can learn that art, but I can't teach you, " he replied,

"Call me nick" he said," and what about the interesting part.

"the interesting thing is hawthorn wood makes a strange, contradictory wand, as full of paradoxes as the tree that gave it birth, whose leaves and blossoms heal, and yet whose cut branches smell of death" Perseus replied ," the hawthorn wand seems most at home with a conflicted nature, or with a witch or wizard passing through a period of turmoil. hawthorn wands are not easy to master and may be particularly suited to healing magic, but they are also adept at curses."

"wow , you are amazing mate" he said," now check helena's wand and tell us which one is better."

Helena handed over her wand to Perseus , her eyes were wary and yet dancing with excitement .

"That's a very beautiful wand, 10¾" long, made of vine wood, and possess a , dragon heart string , oh my-"

"what, what is it" nick asked.

"Dragon heart string , dipped in the dragon's tear" Perseus replied as he looked at her in surprise.

now this shocked Helena , after his examination of nick's wand she had expected Perseus to be able to know the core and wood of her wand, but to be able to know that the core was also dipped in the tear of a dragon , now that was something else .

"The vine is a symbol of passionate emotions in each extreme — both happiness and wrath. It was connected to the autumn equinox, when there are equal hours of darkness and light, and thus to balance, as well as to the harvest, a time of growth and achieving goals. This wand is best suitable transfrugation and defense" Perseus finished as he handed back her wand

"One of O'Scarlets creation, I would guess " Perseus asked.

"Yes, how did you know that"

"she has a tendency to create beautiful wand, and wands without an obvious handle , plus not many wand makers soak the cores in a binding liquid, that is O'Scarlets work." He finished

"wow, you are really good, who taught you , I somehow doubt that you learned all this from a book" she asked

But before Perseus could answer.

"So which wand is better" Nicklaus asked in excitement.

"well, its your's Nicklaus, your wand is better " Perseus replied.

"What?"

"Yes, woo-hoo"

They both said at the same time.

"How can you say that" Helena asked

"Well if nicklaus's wand was made by Garrick ollivander , then maybe your wand would have been better, but Garick ollivander did not make that wand, I can assure you of that, for I would recognize a wand made by Silas ollivander in a second. And no matter what O'Scarlet does, she cannot match the talent that is Silas ollivander nor his experience " Perseus replied

She remained silent for a few seconds and then suddenly said," it was Silas ollivander that taught you, wasn't it, no wonder you have him in such high regards?"

"yes" Perseus replied.

"So, maybe you are not the right person to judge which wand is better " she said.

"are you accusing my knowledge or my mentor's teaching" Perseus asked in a sharp voice and his eyes glowed slightly . He never liked when people questioned his talents and he had utmost respect for his mentor and he won't tolerate if anyone were to insult him

That cold voice sent shivers down Helena's spine but one look in his eyes and she knew that Perseus was a very dangerous wizard.

"I am just saying that you could be biased, that is all"

Suddenly there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

"No thank you I am rather full "Perseus said

"Right, full of yourself" Helena said

"I am hungry" Nicklaus said, trying to break the tension he got up and got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

They both stared at Nicklaus.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Starving," he said, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty, "Go on, have a pasty,".

Perseus unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

Perseus turned over his card and read:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

The train had been travelling for five hours of the estimated eight hour journey and the sun was beginning to set in the horizon. The image of the lush greens of the Scottish countryside being painted orange and red by the sunset was definitely something Perseus would admit to finding a beautiful sight.

Unfortunately, within the compartment, the noise hadn't died down much at all. Perseus wouldn't have believed it possible that someone could talk so much for so long about pretty much nothing in particular, but Nicklaus proved him wrong on that. He could understand why the greek girl had snapped at him earlier, if Perseus had to put up with that constantly, and by the looks of the two, they seemed fairly familiar with each other, he would snap also.

"So, what house do you think you'll be in Perseus?" Helena asked, trying to start up a conversation with the green eyed boy, hoping to quell Nicklaus's need to talk for at least a few minutes and earn some well deserved silence.

"Doesn't matter" Perseus said with a shrug "as long as I can learn about magic, I don't much care what house I'm in" he trailed off, not even looking at the people he was speaking to as he spoke; he'd much rather keep his eyes set on the beautiful countryside that was rapidly passing them by.

"Definitely a Ravenclaw then" Nicklaus said with a nod, seemingly sure of herself "No prior prejudices about any of the houses and a will to learn, I bet you'll be a Raven. My family has always been Slytherin so I'll probably end up there" he said, skillfully dancing around the topic on whether he wanted to be in the house of snakes or not.

"I don't see how their history at school is of any influence to your sorting" Perseus said.

"You're right. However the designated house of a parent CAN predict the personality of the child, since the houses are based upon characteristics and it's possible to assume that a parent raises their child by their own morals and standards." Nicklaus explained.

"So you're saying that every person in a Hogwarts house, sorted in that house at the age of eleven, has the same morals and standards not only at that time, but also for the rest of their lives? Or at least fifteen years later?" Perseus asked in discussion.

"You have a point. However you do realize that the former Hogwarts house of a parent can define some of the characteristics of that person and they can pass that along to their child?"Nicklaus asked for clarification.

"I realize that. On the other hand, it is equally possible that the child learns from their parents faults, develops completely different characteristics or even renounces their beliefs. Thus, making it just a matter of chance with perhaps a slightly larger probability for your conclusion." Perseus argued and gave in to some extent.

Perseus smiled victoriously at winning the argument over him until Nicklaus dropped the bomb on the conversation.

"But this is all under the assumption that the parents are present to raise their child…."

"Ohhh " realization dawned upon him

"I….. I'm sorry." Perseus continued after the silence became uncomfortable.

"That's alright, you obviously didn't know." he tried to smile reassuringly towards his travel companion.

Fortunately, they were interrupted when two red headed boys barreled into the compartment, closed the door behind them and hid below the window as not to be seen.

"Brother of mine, I think that girl is crazy…"

"I am going to have to agree with you Gred; I don't think she would prank her ever again if we want to keep out bits…"

"Too right, old chap"

Looked on in confusion as two red headed twins their age seemed to be conversing with each other without any special regard to who else was in the compartment with them.

"What should we do next do you think Feorge?"

"We could steal all the chocolate frogs and let them loose on the train…"

"Or we could throw dung bombs in the toilets…"

"Or we could magically tie Charlie's show laces together…"

"Oh, that is just devious brother of mine"

"Why thank you old chap"

Perseus, Helena and Nicklaus were watching the exchange between the two boys like a tennis match. Before they were about to leave their compartment as quickly as they barged in, they turned around revealing pale skin and freckled faces – they seemed to be identical twins.

"Thanks for not snitching us out, I'm Fred…"

"…and I'm George Weasley" they introduced themselves with huge nicklaus like grins.

Immediately, as soon as they left nick looked up to them and grinned "I like 'em."

Helena and Perseus simultaneously rolled their eyes in annoyance before going back to what they were doing previously – Helena looked out the now dark window, Perseus went back to reading his book.

When the train started to slow down, a voice called down the train that they had to change into their robes since they would be arriving at Hogwarts in ten minutes time. Perseus and nicklaus left the compartment shortly for Helena to get changed and returned quickly after , and they too changed into Hogwarts uniform.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Hogsmeade station was so dark that even when the students got off the train, they could barely see more than 10 feet in any direction. The cold Scotland air also assaulted Perseus's senses as soon as he stopped off the train and leaving the warming charms of the express behind.

Perseus saw as Helena shivered in the cold night air. He cast warming charm at her. The sudden warmth surprised her and she looked for the one who helped her and Perseus winked at her.

Eventually, after the first years waited by themselves for a while as they watched the older students walk off in the direction where some carriages were, a large bobbing light started coming from the opposite direction.

"Firs' years, Firs' years, this way please" yelled a booming voice over the sea of first years. The huge man had to be over ten feet tall with a huge bushy beard and beady eyes while wearing a large haggard coat.

"Come on Firs' years, my name's Rubeus Hagrid, but everybody calls me Hagrid, follow me up te the castle now, its cold out" he said, turning around and motioning for them to follow him "try te keep up now, no fallin' be'ind"

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Perseus thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much..

"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Perseus and Nicklaus and Helena were followed into their boat by a boy who introduced himself as 'Cedric Diggory' "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and her posture clearly said' do not mess with me'

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was even bigger than the one at the black manor. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Perseus could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here - but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

Perseus, recognizing the speech as a memorized one, decided to intervene to start his breaking of prejudices in the Wizarding World.

"Excuse me professor. Are you saying that we can't spend our free time in one of the other common rooms? If so, then where will we meet up with people from other houses then? Are there any common places for promoting the inter-house relationships?"

"Not that I'm aware of, mister….?" McGonagall replied.

"Black ma'am, Perseus Black. Nice to meet you, Professor McGonagall," Perseus filled in.

Perseus swore he saw her tense for a moment and then bewildered as she looked into his eyes. Her face was conflicted with emotions; wonder along with slight worry.

"It is nice to meet you too, Mr. Black."; she said after a moment "Now, as I was saying before," here she glared mockingly at him and Perseus just smiled his lopsided grin in return, the one his grandfather said was part of the Black charm'.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school.I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber.

Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air - several people behind him screamed.

"What the -?" Nicklaus gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

"no we havetraveled all the way from England just to meet you lot" Perseus shot back

Then the Bloody Baron, floated into the room they were waiting in and just glared at them all for a while silently with slightly intimidating eyes. The blood stains on his ghostly white outfit were commented to 'probably' be apple sauce by some naïve girl waiting with them in the room.

The ghost, Perseus knew, served the Headmaster as a part of Hogwarts but were the rumor mill of the castle and had once lived as witches and wizards, therefore had knowledge of old magic.

The definition of old magic was used very widely by Perseus, for he realized everything what those two words entailed. They would know of rituals, spells and items that are no longer in use, not mentioned anymore in literature or even outlawed since then by the Minstry of Magic. They would be the ultimate teachers and all you had to do for acquiring that knowledge was to receive their acceptance and friendship. Also, the ghosts would know Hogwarts like no other and thus had invaluable information for Perseus.

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." And One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" a girl asked to no one in particular

Perseus recognized the girl; he had met her at madam malkins' shop who introduced herself as Alicia Spinnet

"I asked my grandfather before we boarded the Hogwarts express about how we get sorted, he said that it's a secret and that nobody going to Hogwarts for their first time should know how…" Nicklaus said

Perseus nodded dismissively, still leaning against the wall and looking off into space. The other three just assumed he wasn't really paying attention, but in truth, to pass the time, Perseus was taking in the aura of every first year student and the castle . the castle's magic was emitting such magic that almost enthralled Perseus

Nicklaus frowned in thought "What if we have to fight some dangerous magical beast? Yeah, I bet that's it…and depending on how we go about it, they decide on what house we belong to…if we defeat it in fair combat, we go into Gryffindor, if we outwit it, we go into Ravenclaw, if we befriend it, we go into Hufflepuff and if we use our cunning to strike it down from the shadows, we go to Slytherin!" he exclaimed, thinking he was the most brilliant man in the world for deducing such a cunning theory.

Some of the other first years who overheard his theory were looking pale and more frightened then ever at his theory Cedric trying to suppress a laugh.

"You are the biggest moron if have ever had the displeasure of meeting!" shrieked Helena "he has no idea what he's talking about, they won't make us fight a dragon" she said to the others in hearing range, trying to calm them down somewhat.

"You have a better idea then?!"Nicklaus challenged, his pride hurt at being shot down so easily.

"Yes" she provided "They assess our personalities with some magical object and judging by the assessment, they place us into a house that would suit us best" she offered and Perseus had to admit, as he overheard, that it seemed like a well thought out and reasonable guess…maybe too well thought out and reasonable. Perseus looked her directly in the eyes after she was done and noticed with satisfaction that she looked a little nervous and embarrassed under his gaze. He found it funny

The doors through which the professor had disappeared opened and McGonagall entered the entrance hall once again. No one but Perseus and Cedric had noticed it since everyone was still in awe or in conversation with the four house ghosts. McGonagall smiled briefly when she saw Perseus looking at her, but it disappeared when she spoke up.

"Move along now!" Everyone but the twosome jumped at the sharp voice in surprise. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Form a line and enter the Great Hall in an orderly fashion."

"If you would all follow me into the great hall for your sorting" she said "you will wait at the back of the hall until your name is called so we can have you sit on the stool and place the sorting hat on your head" she offered as Perseus watched the lack of surprise on Stephanie's face with amusement.

As they were walking into the hall, Perseus grabbed Helena by her elbow to slow her down "Who told you about how we get sorted Helena ?" he asked with an amused smirk as he watched her avert her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she mumbled under her breath nervously as Perseus watched her try to deny it with amusement.

They both entered the great hall behind the rest of the pack

The great hall as massive with a ceiling charmed to show the night sky instead of a painted ceiling. There were four long tables placed vertically along the hall with a large and elevated horizontally placed table that the teachers were sitting on looking down at the first years at the opposite end of the hall. The other four tabled seemed littered in seas of green, yellow, red and blue showing clearly that each house sat separately at one of the four tables. The hall itself was illuminated by several lit candles spelled to float independently that all shone their light onto the students and teachers below like stars in the night sky.

Perseus finished his observations and looked to the other first years, who, seemed to all be in shock and awe by the hall and its decorations. Looking up at the head table, Perseus noticed several recognizable figures; one of those was the giant of a man Hagrid that had picked them up from the train station at Hogsmeade. Another recognizable figure was the very short elderly wizard recognizable from a lot of his Charms books as Filius Flitwick. The man was somewhat of an idle for him, being a former duelling champion and one of the world's most renown charms masters. However, probably one of the most recognizable figures seated at the head table looking down upon everyone in the hall from the headmaster's chair was Albus Dumbledore; the man looked to be the very picture of what one would expect Merlin to look like with long silver hair with a matching silver bear. He also seemed to favour bright and eccentric clothing, especially if the light blue shiny silk robe covering his purple undergarments was anything to go by.

Professor McGonagall walked through another door into the great hall holding an old looking brown wizards hat and a rickety looking stool, both of which were placed at the head of the hall – the hat on the stool – before she pulled out a rolled up scroll form her sleeve.

Perseus was slightly surprised when there was a slight coughing noise coming form the hat, as if it were clearing its throat, before the creases in the material contorted to that of a face of sorts.

Oh you may not think me pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm theHogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong inGryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!

Everyone in the hall applauded politely at the conclusion of the song. Perseus looked over to Helena who was standing beside him with a raised eyebrow, his question clearly on his face. A little guilty, she gave a small smile before slipping her face back under a mask of neutrality.

"My grandma told me that the sorting hat looks through our minds to determine which of the four house's qualities we mostly possess and sorts us into that house…also that hat comes up with a new song every year at the opening feast, she refused to tell me at first but then I acted like a pampered child and threatened her by saying 'I won't go to Hogwarts if you won't tell me.' And so she had to tell me" she explained, quietly so only the two of them could hear.

Perseus nodded dismissively, that information didn't really interest him, what interested him more was the information that her grandmother was in a position to release such secrets that he knew were under secrecy oaths without a worry in the world for any sort of reprimanding that she may receive.

"Asmoedius, Gareth" called out McGonagall from the now unrolled sheet of parchment. A boy with light brown hair and grey eyes scurried forward as everyone in the hall had his eyes set on him. McGonagall with a thin lipped smile motioned him towards the chair where he sat down and placed the overly large hat on his head, allowing it to engulf his head whole. There were several moments of silence before the hat spoke up for the hall to hear.

"Hufflepuff!" the table that was the second from the right erupted with cheers as the boy's robes magically changed to match the Hufflepuff colours of black and yellow. The boy scurried over to the table and took a seat with his fellow housemates while McGonagall called forth the next person.

The next name was familiar to Perseus but it also surprised him

"Angelis, Helena"

Now this surprised Perseus, the Angelis clan, was the noble family and the ruling clan of the kingdom of Olympia in Greece.

How was he to know the girl who had shared a compartment with him was most probably the princess of Olympia. he could see recognition in the eyes of some older students ,

The sorting hat took a minute before it shouted " RAVENCLAW"

As the table that was the second from the left erupted with cheers as the Helena's robes magically changed to match the Ravenclaw colors of blue and bronze. The boy scurried over to the table and took a seat with his fellow housemates while McGonagall called forth the next person.

Perseus zoned out as he looked around the hall some more, taking in the details of the still foreign room. Just as he was wondering how hungry he was, his name was called out.

"Black, Perseus" McGonagall called out .

As Perseus stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Black, did she say black"

"Black as in the most noble and ancient house of black"

"But I thought there was no one of that age in the black family"

"He can't be a black'

"He is, look at his signet ring"

Perseus walked down the isle between the two tables and took his seat on the stool before McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head

Hmm why can't I look into your mind, curious, very curious , you are not using occulemency

Perseus was shocked to hear a voice inside his head, but he was somewhat relieved to hear that the hat can't read his mind.

it's as if the enchantments place on me are being nullified, ohh wait yes, that's it, you are a nullifier, I haven't sorted out a nullifier in 5 centuries.

"Then how are you going to sort me , if you can't read my mind, not that I am complaining" he said

Well it is quite simple you tell me what do you want to achieve in your life and I will sort you on the basis of your answer

"Very well, shoot." He said.

Have you no preference, no say in this matter?

"I'm just here to learn, that is all" Perseus replied, finally giving the hat something to feed off of.

Learn yes, but why, what do you want to achieve Mr. Black.

"I want to be great, I want to be the most powerful wizard in the world"

Ahh and what set you on this path, Mr. Black

"I want to make my grandfather proud, I want to be able to protect those I love if need be and –"I stopped mid sentence.

And?

"And I want to prove my might and power to those who abandoned me in favor of another." He said with slight rage in his voice and then he reprimanded himself for losing control like that

Aah, so you wish to be great, I don't have to read your mind to know that you will achieve greatness regardless of the house you are sorted into. And there is one house that will lead you towards your goal, but you will be under a lot of pressure in your life

"oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure." Perseus supplied.

That must have satisfied the hat as it said

Well said, but the Pressure Will Turn You Into Either Dust Or A Diamond

"I am willing to take the chance" Perseus said

Such bravery, godric would have loved to have you in his house,

"No, because I can recognize the line between bravery and stupidity, and grifindors are mostly fools.

Aah well then there is only one house that will help you the most on the way to greatness, no doubt about that. Better be in—